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The American Gilded Age

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

67 works · hang 7122 ·

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

Walk this roomRehang this room

First room, north wall

  1. "King Lear," Act I, Scene I, by Edwin Austin Abbey, 1898
    "King Lear," Act I, Scene IEdwin Austin Abbey, 1898Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art
  2. Louis Eilshemius
    Samoan SceneLouis M. Eilshemius, 1908Courtesy of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Smithsonian Institution

First room, south wall

  1. FIGURES
    FiguresRobert Frederick Blum, 1881Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. A woman with smooth, pale skin and wearing a hat, long dress, and gloves, stands holding a bunch of pumpkin-orange leaves against a background of trees painted with touches of rust orange and pine green in this vertical painting. The woman tips her head back slightly to look at us with dark eyes under arched eyebrows. Her cheeks are flushed and her coral-pink lips closed. Her round black hat perches on the back of her head and she has an inky black, long-sleeved, hip-length jacket with bronze trim at the shoulders, cuffs, and down the front. A gauzy bow is tied at her neck. Her left elbow, on our right, is bent and she holds up her tan-colored, ruffled skirt with a white-gloved hand. The raised skirt exposes sky-blue lining and white, ruffled flounces at her feet. Her right arm, on our left, hangs at her side and holds the handle of a basket. Deep marigold-orange leaves cascade out of the basket. One black shoe peeks out from under her long skirt. She stands on a hill carpeted with crimson-red, tawny-brown, golden yellow, and forest-green leaves. The space behind her is filled with touches and dabs of red, orange, brown, black, and tan.
    AutumnWinslow Homer, 1877Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington

Second room, south wall

  1. A work made of pastel and black chalk on brown wove paper with fibrous inclusions.
    Corte del ParadisoJames McNeill Whistler, 1880Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
  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. Leaping Trout, by Winslow Homer, 1889
    Leaping TroutWinslow Homer, 1889Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  4. 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

Second room, north wall

  1. Checker Players, by Thomas Anshutz, ca. 1895
    Checker PlayersThomas Anshutz, ca. 1895Courtesy of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
  2. Study for "The Dancing Lesson": The Boy, by Thomas Eakins, probably 1877
    Study for "The Dancing Lesson": The BoyThomas Eakins, probably 1877Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington
  3. Pointe de Cabellou, Brittany, by William L. Picknell, 1881
    Pointe de Cabellou, BrittanyWilliam L. Picknell, 1881Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art
  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

Third room, north wall

  1. IN CLOISTER OF CATHEDREAL, LE PUY
    In Cloister of Cathedreal, Le PuyArnold William Brunner, 1883Courtesy of Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum
  2. The Stubble Field, by Henry Golden Dearth, c. 1909
    The Stubble FieldHenry Golden Dearth, c. 1909Courtesy of the Cleveland Museum of Art