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The American Gilded Age

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

67 works · hang 7118 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. Three Girls and River, by Louis M. Eilshemius, 1907
    Three Girls and RiverLouis M. Eilshemius, 1907Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. The Gulf Stream, by Winslow Homer, 1899; reworked by 1906
    The Gulf StreamWinslow Homer, 1899; reworked by 1906Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  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. Pale watercolor drawing of young dancer in long sheer dress.
    Green and Blue: The DancerJames McNeill Whistler, c. 1893Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

First room, south wall

  1. Diving Cormorant, by Otto H. Bacher, 1900
    Diving CormorantOtto H. Bacher, 1900Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  2. Thomas Eakins
    Portrait of Mrs. Helen Mac Knight (Portrait of a Mother)Thomas Eakins, (c. 1903)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution
  3. IN CLOISTER OF CATHEDREAL, LE PUY
    In Cloister of Cathedreal, Le PuyArnold William Brunner, 1883Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  4. James Abbott McNeill Whistler
    Girl in Black (Pouting Tom)James McNeill Whistler, (1896-1901)Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

Second room, south wall

  1. 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
  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. ITALIAN GIRL
    Italian girlElihu Vedder, ca. 1885Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Second room, north wall

  1. A young man with a peachy, ruddy complexion lies on his stomach in a wooden rowboat on a river, reaching forward to grasp the horn of a stag almost completely submerged in the rippling water with one hand. On the opposite riverbank, gold, rust, and scarlet-red trees span the width of this horizontal painting. The boy’s arms straddle the stern of the boat so one holds the antler with his right hand, closer to us, while the other clutches a rope with a loop at the end. He turns his face, mouth agape and cheeks flushed, over his right shoulder to look to our left, at a dog swimming toward the boat. The dog has white and caramel-brown markings, with dark brown ears. The boy wears earth-brown clothing and the front of his wide-brimmed hat is pushed up to reveal dark eyes and sable-brown bangs and brows. The stag and dog are between us and the boat, and are surrounded by thick brushstrokes of parchment white to create ripples in the forest-green water. Only the open muzzle, part of the eye, and the tips of the stag’s antlers are above the water’s surface. To our right, a bare, fallen tree lies along the far riverbank parallel to the boat. The boat and water fill the lower half of the scene and the autumn trees fill the upper half. The artist has signed and dated the painting in the lower right, “Winslow Homer 1892.”
    Hound and HunterWinslow Homer, 1892Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  2. Checker Players, by Thomas Anshutz, ca. 1895
    Checker PlayersThomas Anshutz, ca. 1895Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  3. This detailed painting shows two pink roses and a pink bud on a long, thin green stem with green leaves and small green thorns. The tall stem rises near the right edge of the painting, with some thin branches reaching out to either side. The largest rose is positioned near the top left corner of the painting, with the small bud right below it. The other large flower is right around the center of the painting. The background is a flat beige color.
    Pink RosesFidelia Bridges, 1875Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Third room, north wall

  1. Sand Dunes, Harlech, North Wales, by George Elbert Burr, 1899
    Sand Dunes, Harlech, North WalesGeorge Elbert Burr, 1899Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. The Witch's Daughter, by Frederick Stuart Church, 1881
    The Witch's DaughterFrederick Stuart Church, 1881Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum