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The American Gilded Age

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

67 works · hang 4586 ·

The rooms are imagined; every work on their walls is real.

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. OTTER CLIFFS
    Otter CliffsArnold William Brunner, 1879–80Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. ITALIAN GIRL
    Italian girlElihu Vedder, ca. 1885Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  3. 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
  4. The Witch's Daughter, by Frederick Stuart Church, 1881
    The Witch's DaughterFrederick Stuart Church, 1881Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum

First room, south wall

  1. Pointe de Cabellou, Brittany, by William L. Picknell, 1881
    Pointe de Cabellou, BrittanyWilliam L. Picknell, 1881Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. William Merritt Chase
    Good FriendsWilliam Merritt Chase, (c. 1909)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution
  3. LOCUST BLOSSOMS
    Locust BlossomsSamuel Colman, June 6, 1877Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, south wall

  1. Twigs of a magnolia tree with light green, glossy leaves and three cream-white blossoms lie on a sapphire-blue cloth in this horizontal still life painting. Brightly lit from our left, the blossoms and leaves nearly fill the composition, and the cut ends lie on the fabric to our right. The blue fabric cascades from the upper left and across the table or ledge. The three flowers are in various stages of bloom. The tightest bud is to our left, overlapped by a stem and the tender, unfurling leaves of a branch. The blossom next to it, at the center, is starting to open. The petals of the third blossom, to our right, splay open around the flower’s oval-shaped stamen. Light glints off the waxy leaves surrounding the flowers. The tawny-brown underside of one leaf is visible where it turns over, near the cut ends of the branches. Light shimmering on the fabric darkens from bright blue to our right, to deep royal blue in the shadows to the upper left, suggesting the fabric is velvet. The background is streaked with tan and pine green behind the fabric, and becomes nearly black in the shadows of the upper right corner and along the bottom edge. The artist signed the lower right corner, "MJ. Heade."
    Giant Magnolias on a Blue Velvet ClothMartin Johnson Heade, c. 1890Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Artist: Thomas Cowperthwaite Eakins, Sitter: Talcott Williams, Current owner: National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
    Talcott WilliamsThomas Eakins, c. 1889Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
  3. Alvan Clark, 1870s
    Alvan ClarkUnrecorded American maker, 1870sCourtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art

Second room, north wall

  1. Repose, by John White Alexander, 1895
    ReposeJohn White Alexander, 1895Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. The Old Road to the Sea, by William Merritt Chase, c. 1893
    The Old Road to the SeaWilliam Merritt Chase, c. 1893Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  3. TWO STUDIES OF WOMEN STANDING BEHIND RAILING, LOOKING AT THE LAUNCHING OF DORIES, CULLERCOATS, ENGLAND
    Two Studies of Women Standing behind Railing, Looking at the Launching of Dories, Cullercoats, EnglandWinslow Homer, 1881Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Third room, north wall

  1. VIEW OF VENICE, ITALY
    View of Venice, ItalyRobert Frederick Blum, 1880Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. 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
  3. Boy with Anchor, by Winslow Homer, 1873
    Boy with AnchorWinslow Homer, 1873Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art