Floor plan

Style galleriesThe American Gilded Age

The American Gilded Age

This painting shows a person seated on a stool or chair, wearing a long, dark-blue robe or gown. They are slightly turned toward the right, looking downward at something they hold in their hands, and their head is covered with a cloth or cap. The background is textured with earthy tones, mostly tan with some patches of yellow ochre and gray.
Landscape, by George Inness, 1888
Leaping Trout, by Winslow Homer, 1889
Christ, by Kenyon Cox, 1905
We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian), by Lilly Martin Spencer, 1869

The works in this room are listed below.

Works in this room

Painting and design in the United States from the Civil War to 1910.

First room, north wall

  1. This painting shows a person seated on a stool or chair, wearing a long, dark-blue robe or gown. They are slightly turned toward the right, looking downward at something they hold in their hands, and their head is covered with a cloth or cap. The background is textured with earthy tones, mostly tan with some patches of yellow ochre and gray.
    The ChaperoneThomas Eakins, c. 1908Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Landscape, by George Inness, 1888
    LandscapeGeorge Inness, 1888Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. Leaping Trout, by Winslow Homer, 1889
    Leaping TroutWinslow Homer, 1889Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

First room, south wall

  1. Christ, by Kenyon Cox, 1905
    ChristKenyon Cox, 1905Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian), by Lilly Martin Spencer, 1869
    We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian)Lilly Martin Spencer, 1869Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. The Gulf Stream, by Winslow Homer, 1899; reworked by 1906
    The Gulf StreamWinslow Homer, 1899; reworked by 1906Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Bridge at Grez [recto], by Childe Hassam, 1904
    The Bridge at Grez [recto]Childe Hassam, 1904Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. VIGNETTE: MAN CROUCHING ON A SCAFFOLDING
    Vignette: Man Crouching on a ScaffoldingWalter Appleton Clark, 1899Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  4. A young, gangly, brown-skinned boy sits on a green chair and leans over the banjo he plays in this loosely painted, vertical composition. His body faces our right in profile, and his head leans to his left and away from us. Light comes from our left to highlight his ear and the side of his chin, but throws his profile into shadow against the lighter background. The boy has short black hair and wears a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black pants, and black shoes. The floor is loosely painted with streaks of earth brown, taupe, and dark moss green. The wall behind the boy is painted with visible strokes of parchment brown, peachy tan, pearl white, and fog gray. The space to our left of the boy is dark brown, and an outline of a standing person is sketched in the top left corner. A grid is overlaid across the boy’s body and the chair.
    Study for "The Dancing Lesson": The Banjo PlayerThomas Eakins, probably 1877Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, north wall

  1. The Stubble Field, by Henry Golden Dearth, c. 1909
    The Stubble FieldHenry Golden Dearth, c. 1909Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. BALCONY
    BalconyRobert Frederick Blum, 1880Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. BUTTRESSES ON CITY WALLS; LOCHES
    Buttresses on City Walls; LochesArnold William Brunner, 1883Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  4. The painting depicts a rural landscape at sunset or sunrise. The horizon is slightly above the center, showing distant pale-pink and purple mountains against the sky. Closest to us is an area with dark green bushes and vegetation, leading to a lighter green field surrounded by green-and-brown trees. The palette is warm and earthy, with greens and browns in the bottom transitioning to purples and pinks in the distance. The sky is a pale-yellow color that fades into light blue towards the top left corner, and faint yellow and gray clouds drift across it.
    Peaceful ValleyAlexander Helwig Wyant, c. 1872Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, north wall

  1. Checker Players, by Thomas Anshutz, ca. 1895
    Checker PlayersThomas Anshutz, ca. 1895Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. A Rose, by Thomas Anshutz, 1907
    A RoseThomas Anshutz, 1907Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  3. Shown from the knees up, a pale-skinned woman stands close to us with a red schoolhouse in the distance under a sunset sky in this vertical painting. The woman’s body faces us, but she turns her head to look off to the left with light brown eyes. She has a short, straight nose, full pink lips, and a round face. Her blond hair is pulled up under a round white hat layered with ruffles, which lies like a pancake over the top of her head. Her white dress is vertically striped with thin rust-red lines and has a long-sleeved, tight-fitting bodice and a long skirt. A dark gray belt is cinched around her narrow waist, and she wears a black, lacy ruffle around her neck. The woman’s arms hang by her sides, and she holds two paperback-sized books in her left hand, to our right. An earth-brown lawn stretches back to the schoolhouse, which has crimson-red walls, a chimney, and a dark gray roof. Three forms painted with a few streaks of dark or light gray or topaz blue suggest people standing near the door of the schoolhouse. Trees and a grassy lawn beyond the building are loosely painted with blended strokes. The sky is shaded pale lemon yellow and light peach with touches of rose pink. The artist signed and dated the lower right corner, “HOMER 1873.”
    The Red School HouseWinslow Homer, 1873Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington