Foiled: Tinsel Painting
in America
September 12, 2012 - January 13,
2013
Object labels from the exhibition
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- FOILED: Tinsel Painting in America
- On view September 12, 2012-January 20, 2013
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- Checklist:
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- Height precedes width precedes depth
- All original framed dimensions unless otherwise indicated
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- INTRODUCTION
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- I. REVERSE PAINTING ON GLASS / HISTORY / RELATED EXPRESSIONS
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- Dressed Picture of Peacock with Iris and Thistle
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- Twentieth century
- Paint and metallic foil on cardboard
- 24 1/2 x 29 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.102
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- Dressed Picture of Two Women, Urn of Flowers, and Starry
Sky
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 1890-1920
- Metal foils, metal mesh, and paint on cardboard
- 16 1/2 x 18 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.68
- Photo by Gavin Ashworth, New York
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- Dressed pictures are not to be confused with tinsel paintings;
they are collages on a paper or cardboard ground that often include metallic
foil. In this example, metallic foil is used but there is no reverse painting,
and glass is not the support. First appearing in France in the eighteenth
century and in England at the beginning of the nineteenth century, "dressed
engravings," or gravures découpées, often depicted
theatrical or royal figures, frequently shown as caricatures.
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- George Washington
- Attributed to William Matthew Prior (1806-1873)
- Probably East Boston, Massachusetts, or Baltimore
- c. 1860-1873
- Reverse painting in oil on glass
- 22 1/2 x 17" (sight); 23 1/2 x 17 1/4" (sight)
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Harris S. Goldstein
- 1986.2.1, 2
- Photo by Gavin Ashworth, New York
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- William Matthew Prior was a prolific and masterful portrait
and ornamental painter who is also known today for his entrepreneurial
marketing approach: he was capable of painting naturalistic likenesses
but also offered a more abstract style "without shade" that he
could paint quickly and inexpensively. He was long an admirer of painter
Gilbert Stuart, and, in 1850, after three years of effort, Prior was given
permission to copy the Stuart portrait of George Washington in the Boston
Athenaeum. Prior's copy served as a model for at least two signed and six
attributed works; he also painted at least two signed and four attributed
pendant portraits of Martha Washington. Prior began offering reverse paintings
on glass late in his career. In 1862 the artist charged eight dollars for
a single glass painting and fifteen dollars for a pair of Washington portraits.
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- Abraham Lincoln
- Attributed to William Matthew Prior (1806-1873)
- Probably East Boston, Massachusetts, or Baltimore
- c. 1860-1873
- Reverse painting in oil on glass
- 23 1/2 x 17 1/4" (sight)
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Museum purchase
- 1985.18.1
- Photo by Gavin Ashworth, New York
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- There are at least nineteen known reverse paintings on
glass of Abraham Lincoln. All of the versions are based upon the photograph
of the president taken by Anthony Berger at Mathew Brady's Washington,
D.C., studio on Tuesday, February 9, 1864. The large number of extant glass
portraits of Lincoln and other luminaries suggests that many more of these
paintings were painted than have probably survived due to their fragility.
In three of the Lincoln portraits the president is facing right, which
incorrectly places his signature mole on the wrong side of his face.
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- This example is attributed to William Matthew Prior,
who painted more than one hundred surviving reverse paintings on glass
of celebrated American heroes including George and Martha Washington, Abraham
Lincoln, Andrew Jackson, and Daniel Webster.
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- Hannah Perkins Fuller
- Caleb Fuller
- Attributed to Benjamin Greenleaf (1769-1861)
- Maine
- 1816
- Reverse painting in oil on glass
- 15 3/4 x 11" each (sight)
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Sybil B. and Arthur B. Kern
- 1983.11.2, 1
- Photo by Gavin Ashworth, New York
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- Benjamin Greenleaf was born in Hull, Massachusetts. He
started his career as an itinerant portrait painter as early as 1803, traveling
through Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. His subjects were interrelated
by marriage or by community ties and included doctors, clergymen, and military
personnel. Greenleaf usually worked with oil on board, but from 1810 to
1818 he also produced reverse paintings on glass. Caleb Fuller was born
in Oxford, Maine, on February 19, 1771. He was one of the early settlers
of Paris, a town about forty miles from Wiscasset. Both portraits demonstrate
typical characteristics of Greenleaf profiles. Most notably, they are three-quarter
bust-length portraits that fill most of the support and stand out from
their dark backgrounds.
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- Banjo Clock
- J.N. Dunning (1795-1841)
- Burlington, Vermont
- c. 1828
- Mahogany case with gilding and reverse painting on glass
- 34 x 10 1/4 x 4"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration
- 73.6
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- The youthful depiction of Neptune on the rectangular
glass box tablet of this banjo clock shows the Roman god of the Sea seated
calmly in his chariot as it is being pulled by two hippocampuses in a violent
storm. The hipppocampus is a hybrid creature with the head of a horse and
coiled tail of a serpent.
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- Looking Glass
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- 1830-1849
- Reverse painting and gold leaf on glass and mirror glass,
in gilded wood frame
- 34 3/4 x 17 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration
- 64.1
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- A gold-leaf painted panel etched and shaded with umber
in the top section of this metal leaf frame features a bald eagle, the
national emblem for the United States, holding a banner marked E Pluribus
Unum over a figure of Britannia with a staff and shield. The sentiment,
meaning "Out of many, one," is central to American thought. Britannia
is the female personification of Great Britain; one might interpret the
imagery as America's recognition of its independence. The cascading swagged
garland is a tasteful convention derived from earlier sources.
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- Ogden Family Mourning Piece
- Ellen Ogden (1795-1870)
- Probably Litchfield, Connecticut
- 1813
- Watercolor and ink on silk, with original reverse-painted
églomisé mat in original gilded wood frame
- 29 x 36 1/8"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Promised gift of Ralph Esmerian
- P1.2001.270
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- Ellen Ogden's memorial mourning piece is one of ten similar
works but the only example in which the date of execution is inscribed
on the églomisé mat in its original frame. The term
églomisé comes from the name of eighteenth-century
French framemaker and printseller Jean-Baptiste Glomy, who revitalized
an ancient technique to apply gilt and color bordered by black paint to
the reverse side of glass in order to protect prints and watercolors.
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- II. BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS
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- Select Collection of Valuable and Curious Arts, and
Interesting Experiments, Which Are Well Explained, and Warranted Genuine
and May Be Performed Easily, Safely, and at Little Expense.
- By Rufus Porter. Concord, N.H.: Rufus Porter, 1826. First
edition.
- 6 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of the Historical Society of Early American Decoration
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- Art Recreations: Being a Complete Guide to Pencil
Drawing, Cone Work, Imitation of Pearl, Oil Painting, Feather Flowers,
the Aquarium, Water-Color Painting, Potichomanie, Sealing-Wax Painting,
Crayon Drawing and Painting, Leather Work, Panorama Painting, Painting
on Ground Glass, Hair Work, Coloring Photographs, Grecian Painting, Taxidermy,
Enamel Painting, Antique Painting, Gilding and Bronzing, Diaphonie, Oriental
Painting, Plaster Work, Charcoal Drawing, two kinds, Sign Painting, Decalcomanie,
Linnaeography, Theorem Painting, Wax Work, Heraldry, Ferncries, Shell Work,
Flower Painting, Moss Work, Magic Lantern, Sorrento-Wood Carving, Papier
Mache, Paper Flowers, Illuminating with Valuable Receipts for Preparing
Materials. Splendidly Illustrated.
- By Mme. L.B. Urbino, Prof. Henry Day, and others. Boston:
S.W. Tilton & Co., 1859. First edition.
- 7 3/4 x 5 1/8 x 1" (closed)
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner and Kohler Foundation,
Inc.
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- Young's Demonstrative Translation of Scientific Secrets;
or a Collection of Above 500 Useful Receipts on a Variety of Subjects.
- By Daniel Young. Toronto: Rowsell & Ellis, 1861.
- 71/8 x 4 1/2 x 1"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner and Kohler Foundation,
Inc.
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- Dr. Chase's Recipes; or, Information for Everybody:
An Invaluable Collection of About Eight Hundred Practical Recipes, for
Merchants, Grocers, Saloon-Keepers, Physicians, Druggists, Tanners, Shoe
Makers, Harness Makers, Painters, Jewelers, Blacksmiths, Tinners, Gunsmiths,
Farriers, Barbers, Bakers, Dyers, Renovaters, Farmers, and Families Generally,
to Which Have Been Added A Rational Treatment of Pleurisy, Inflammation
of the Lungs, and other Inflammatory Diseases and also for General Female
Debility and Irregularities: All arranged in their Appropriate Departments.
Stereotyped, Carefully Revised, Illustrated, and Much Enlarged, with Remarks
and Full Explanations. We Learn to Live, by Living to Learn.
- By A.W. Chase, M.D. Ann Arbor, Michigan: self-published,
1867.
- Forty-ninth edition.
- 6 3/4 x 4 3/8 x1" (closed)
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner and Kohler Foundation,
Inc.
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- Needle and Brush: Useful and Decorative.
- New York: Butterick Publishing Co., 1889.
- 10 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 1" (closed)
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner and Kohler Foundation,
Inc.
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- Flowers in a Bowl Paperweight
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- Mid-twentieth century
- Reverse painting and foil on glass
- 7/8 x 2 1/2 x 4"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner and Kohler Foundation,
Inc.
- 2012.13.20
- Photo © 2006 Andy Duback
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- Butterfly Paperweight
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- Mid-twentieth century
- Reverse painting and foil on glass
- 1 1/4 x 3" diam
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner and Kohler Foundation,
Inc.
- 2012.13.5
- Photo © 2006 Andy Duback
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- Floral Arrangement and Pattern
- Gen "The Tin Lady" Ventrone (dates unknown)
- Pennsylvania or Belle Mead, New Jersey
- Twentieth century
- Reverse painting and foil on glass; ink on tracing paper
- 15 1/4 x 11 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.89
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- Gen Ventrone, calling herself "The Tin Lady,"
taught stenciling from her Belle Mead, New Jersey, studio for more than
forty-five years. She wrote articles and books on the subject and hosted
a series of PBS programs in the 1970s on the art of stenciling. In 1995
she liquidated much of her collection at auction. Her vast holdings included
1,300 stencil designs for chairs, small tins, trays, borders for walls
and floors, and tinsel painting. This tinsel painting and the accompanying
pattern may have been part of that sale.
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- Book Cover with Spray of Flowers
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 1880-1910
- Reverse painting and foil on glass, in brass binding
- 6 x 5 x 2 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.94
- Photo by Gavin Ashworth, New York
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- III. WREATHS AND GARLANDS
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- Two Garlands of Flowers
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 18601890
- Reverse painting and foil on glass
- 14 1/4 x 18 1/4"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.5
- Photo © 2006 Andy Duback
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- Wreath of Flowers: Lucy
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 18601880
- Reverse painting and foil on glass
- 13 1/2 x 17 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.7
- Photo © 2006 Andy Duback
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- Wreath of Flowers with Photograph of Couple
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 1864
- Reverse painting and foil on glass with photograph
- 17 1/2 x 13 5/8"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.8
- Photo © 2006 Andy Duback
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- Wreath of Flowers with Cameo of Figure of Hope
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 1880-1910
- Reverse painting and foil on glass with cameo
- 12 5/8 x 12 1/2"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
- 2009.13.9
- Photo © 2006 Andy Duback
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- The embossed paper center of this wreath features the
allegorical figure of Hope, one of the theological virtues of Christianity
that is typically found in private memorials or monuments displayed in
a cemetery. During the Victorian era, cemetery statues of Hope were often
carved in limestone and, later, cast in zinc. This tinsel painting was
probably made as a memorial for someone dear who had recently died. The
small memorial shows a female figure wearing Roman stola and palla
garments with one arm resting on or holding an anchor. The other arm
is raised with the index finger pointing upward, symbolizing a pathway
to heaven.
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- Wreath of Flowers with Daguerreotype of Boy and Girl
- Artist unidentified
- United States
- c. 1864
- Reverse painting and foil on glass with daguerreotype
in brass bezel
- 10 3/4 x 14 3/4"
- Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York
- Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner