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Liberty & Justice:
American Ideals Portrayed by Currier & Ives
through July 8, 2007
Patriotic images of
American history and heroes are on view at the Museum of Fine Arts in Springfield
through July 8, 2007, in the special exhibition Liberty & Justice:
American Ideals Portrayed by Currier & Ives.
Before the era of photography and mass media, the lithography
firm of Currier & Ives -- the "printmakers to the people"
-- produced prints that created a visual history for the American public.
Liberty & Justice: American Ideals Portrayed by Currier & Ives
examines the firm's role in shaping American identity through images that
defined the prevailing cultural, social, and political ideology.
Included are pictures of great moments in American history,
national heroes such as Presidents Washington and Lincoln, symbols of freedom
such as the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty, and other images created
to express and foster national pride and patriotism. These quintessentially
American images reflected what Americans wanted to believe about themselves
and their nation.
The Museum of Fine Arts holds 787 works by Currier &
Ives, one of the largest public collections of Currier & Ives lithographs
in the country. Selections from the collection are displayed in thematic
exhibitions throughout the year in the Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert Gallery,
the country's only permanent museum gallery devoted to the work of Currier
& Ives. The gallery also houses a Currier & Ives resource center
with a searchable database of the entire collection and information about
19th-century American art, prints, and social and cultural history.
A virtual
version of the exhibition is available on the Springfield Museums' website
at www.springfieldmuseums.org.
The exhibition is supported in part by a grant from the
Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities, a state affiliate of the National
Endowment for the Humanities.
Selected object labels from the walls of the exhibition
galleries
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- After Louis Maurer
- American, 1832-1932
- Washington's Dream, 1857
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- In this portrait of George Washington, Currier & Ives pictured
a hero dedicated to attaining American independence from British rule.
With his battle plans spread on the table and his sword beside him, Washington
is portrayed as a leader fighting for freedom. An army encampment is visible
through a door in the background. In his dream, Washington's desire to
establish an independent nation is realized by the presence of three allegorical
figures dressed in flowing garb. Triumphantly positioned on a globe labeled
"America," the figures symbolize (from left to right) prosperity,
liberty and justice.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.529
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- Washington's Reception by the Ladies, on Passing the Bridge at Trenton,
N. J. April 1789: On His Way to New York to Be Inaugurated First President
of the United States, 1845
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- Currier & Ives produced more than one hundred images of George
Washington. As the first president of the United States, Washington was
distinguished as the father of a new nation and he was respected for his
wisdom, honesty and leadership during the Revolution. The pageantry of
this image, with its flowing flags and mighty eagle, reflects the European
tradition of imperial imagery used in grand history paintings. The notion
of Washington as defender and protector of the country is represented by
the presence of women and children, who greet the new president as he travels
to New York City for his presidential inauguration.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.211
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- Washington and Lincoln: The Father and the Saviour of Our Country,
1865
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- After George Washington fought bravely for an independent nation, the
fabric of the United States was threatened by Southern succession and the
Civil War. Abraham Lincoln made it clear that the most important role he
played in resolving the conflict between the North and South was to save
the Union. After the Civil War, Lincoln was celebrated as the nation's
savior. In this image, Lincoln joins Washington as one of the great heroes
of the United States.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.116.
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- Assassination of President Lincoln: at Ford's Theatre, Washington,
D.C., April 14th, 1865, 1865
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- On the evening of April 14, 1865, Abraham Lincoln and his wife Mary
Todd Lincoln attended a special performance of the comedy "Our
American Cousin" at Ford's Theater. Accompanying them were Major
Henry Rathbone and his fiancée Clara Harris. During the third act
of the play, at about 10:15 p.m., John Wilkes Booth entered the presidential
box and shot Lincoln in the back of the head. The bullet entered through
Lincoln's left ear and lodged behind his right eye. He was paralyzed and
barely breathing. A doctor in the audience immediately attended to the
president in the theater and then moved him to a house across the street.
The doctor's best efforts failed, however, and nine hours later, at 7:22
a.m. Lincoln died. Only days after General Lee's surrender at Appomattox
which ended the Civil War, Lincoln's death shocked the American public.
Currier & Ives, as they often did, satisfied the public's demand for
details of the tragedy in prints such as this.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.216.
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- The Presidents of the United States, 1844
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- The founding fathers and American heroes were glorified in prints created
by Currier & Ives. Creating more than 600 portraits, pictures of popular
personalities constituted one of the largest segments of the firm's business.
The most frequently depicted subjects were George Washington and Abraham
Lincoln; however, group portraits, such as this one, were also widely collected.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.074.
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor, 1846
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- On the evening of December 16, 1773, a group of men disguised as Mohawk
Indians, who called themselves the "Sons of Liberty," boarded
three ships and dumped 342 chests of tea into the Boston Harbor. Of the
many important Revolutionary events captured by Currier & Ives in their
lithographs, The Destruction of Tea at Boston Harbor is one of the
most popular because it represented the spirit of the people united against
British authority and in support of the New Republic.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.165
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- After John Trumbull
- American, 1756-1843
-
- The Declaration Committee, 1876
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- Currier & Ives published several prints commemorating the Declaration
of Independence. While other compositions picture the numerous men who
signed the document, this scene portrays the authors, Thomas Jefferson,
John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston. A detailed
inscription provides a history of the declaration's origins to its acceptance
on July 4, 1776. This print was published in 1876, the centennial of American
Independence.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.727
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- After John Trumbull
- American, 1756-1843
-
- The Declaration of Independence: July 4, 1776, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- Of the many and varied lithographs issued by Currier & Ives that
celebrated the fight for and success of American freedom, The Declaration
of Independence is one of the most poignant. The image symbolizes the
new nation's pledge to fairness and belief that "all men are created
equal."
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.677
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- The Tocsin of Liberty: Rung by the State House Bell, (Independence
Hall;) Philadelphia, July 4th. 1776, 1876
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- "Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants
thereof - Lev. XXV, v. x. By order of the Assembly of the Province of Pensylvania
[sic] for the State House in Philada." -Liberty Bell Inscription
-
- The Liberty Bell, housed in the Pennsylvania State House (today called
Independence Hall), was chimed to notify the citizens of Philadelphia of
public notices and to celebrate important events. On July 8, 1776, the
bell was transformed into an international symbol of freedom when it rang
out to announce American independence from the British. The bell's sound
summoned citizens to hear the first public reading of the Declaration of
Independence by Colonel John Nixon.
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.092
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- The Union Volunteer, 1861
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- "Flagmania," termed by a newspaper, developed after the fall
of Fort Sumter in April, 1861. The stars and stripes became a symbol of
the Union during the Civil War and Currier & Ives often used the flag
in the firm's patriotic prints. In this image a young Union recruit clutches
the flag in his right hand and holds up a sword with the other. Below the
image is the following verse:
- O'er Sumters wall our flag again we'll wave,
- And give to traiters all a bloody grave.
- Our Union and our laws maintain we must;
- And treason's banner trample in the dust.
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.084
-
- Published by Currier and Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- The Great Bartholdi Statue. Liberty Enlightening the
- World, 1885
- Color Lithograph
-
- During the 19th century, grand scale public monuments were installed
throughout the cities of the United States. The tallest structure in New
York City when it was dedicated on October 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty
was created by Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (French, 1834-1904). It was given
to the American people by the citizens of France in recognition and celebration
of the first centennial of the United States. France, an ally during the
American Revolution, admired America for its success in establishing a
democratic government, abolishing slavery and for the country's continued
pursuit of liberty. Bartholdi, who actively sought commission for the project,
wrote that he found the perfect location for the sculpture even before
he landed. Writing of his sailing into New York Harbor, he stated:
- The picture that is presented to the view when one arrives in New York
is marvelous, when, after some days of voyaging, in the pearly radiance
of a beautiful morning is revealed the magnificent spectacle of those immense
cities [Brooklyn and Manhattan], of those rivers extending as far as the
eye can reach, festooned with masts and flags; when one awakes, so to speak,
in the midst of that interior sea covered with vessels....it is thrilling.
It is, indeed, the New World, which appears in its majestic expanse, with
the ardor of its glowing life.
-
- Currier & Ives issued twelve editions of the print, including early
versions of sketches of the sculpture, various descriptions of the statue
and differing views of the New York Harbor.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.530
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- Washington Crossing the Delaware, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
- On night of December 25, 1776, George Washington led his troops across
the ice-swollen Delaware about nine miles north of Trenton, New Jersey.
The weather was horrendous and the river treacherous. Raging winds combined
with snow, sleet and rain produced impossible conditions. To add to the
difficulties, many soldiers marched through the snow without shoes. The
next morning the troops attacked to the south, taking the Hessian fort
by surprise and over-running the town. After fierce fighting, and the loss
of their commander, the Hessians surrendered. Washington's victory was
complete but his situation precarious. The continued violent weather made
a strike towards Princeton problematic. Washington and his commanding officers
decided to retrace their steps across the Delaware, taking their Hessian
prisoners with them. The news of the American victory spread rapidly through
the colonies reinvigorating the failing spirit of the Revolution.
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.217
-
- .
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- Washington at Valley Forge, December 1777, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
- The unforgettable suffering and endurance associated with Valley Forge
in the winter of 1777-1778, is alluded to in this print. "An army
of skeletons appeared before our eyes naked, starved, sick and discouraged,"
wrote New York's Governor Morris of the Continental Congress. Here George
Washington stands with his cloak wrapped around his shoulders looking concerned.
His right hand is resting on a cannon, as if to remind himself of his purpose,
while his troops sit huddled around a fire in the background. George Washington
accused Congress of having little feeling for the distressed soldiers and
wrote that he felt "superabundantly for them and from my soul pity
those miseries which were neither in my power to relieve or prevent."
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.178
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- Battle at Bunker's Hill, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
- The Battle at Bunker's Hill was one of the earliest and bloodiest battles
of the American Revolution. The battle's name is a misnomer because the
major part of the dispute was fought on Breed's Hill in Charlestown, Massachusetts.
The losses were astounding for the British. More than one thousand soldiers
died, were wounded or imprisoned. The American army lost approximately
400 men. According to military tradition of the time, the British won because
they had possession of the field at the end of the battle. The casualties
told a different story, however. This attack was immortalized forever in
American history by the famous quote attributed to one of the American
commanders of the battle. In order to preserve the American's gunpowder,
he ordered the patriots, "Don't fire until you see the whites of their
eyes!"
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.198
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- Surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, Virginia, 1846
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- On October 19, 1781, British General Charles Cornwallis surrendered
at Yorktown, Virginia giving up almost 8,000 men and any chance of winning
the Revolutionary War. The combined forces of the French and American armies
exhausted the British army's supply of food and ammunition. With no hope
for escape, Cornwallis surrendered, effectively ending the war. Although
Cornwallis is identified in this print, he refused to attend the surrender
ceremony out of embarrassment, claiming that he was ill.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.295
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- The Tomb of Washington, Mount Vernon, Virginia, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
-
- Throughout the 19th century American citizens and visitors from abroad
continued to visit the tomb of George Washington at Mount Vernon paying
homage to the great hero. The original tomb, designed for the basement
of the United States Capitol building, was two levels beneath the ornate
Capitol rotunda. Its plan included a glass floor which would allow the
public to view the tomb of the first American President. This idea was
never implemented because Washington was buried at his estate at the request
of his widow. Washington's remains originally rested in a small vault constructed
for his brother Lawrence. They stayed in that location until April of 1831,
when Washington's heirs constructed a new and larger vault. The remains
of George and Martha Washington lie in two marble sarcophagi inside the
tomb.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.261
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier
- American, 1813-1888
-
- National Washington Monument in the City of Washington, D.C.,
undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
- Of all the Presidents of the United States, George Washington is the
most celebrated. Efforts to honor his legacy began during his lifetime
and continue to this day. He has been memorialized through the naming of
the Federal capitol, universities, streets, counties, and the state of
Washington. He has been remembered in works of art and monumental buildings.
But nothing has captured the imagination of people world-wide like the
Washington Monument. The marble, granite and sandstone structure was designed
by Robert Mills, a prominent American architect in the 1840s. Although
the construction began in 1848, it was not completed until 1884 almost
30 years after the architect's death. This hiatus was due to funding issues
and the construction was also interrupted by the American Civil War. When
completed it was the world's tallest structure until 1889, when the Eiffel
Tower was constructed. This Nathanial Currier print shows the obelisk,
an Egyptian motif, surrounded by a colonnade that was never actually built.
The Washington Monument is still the tallest obelisk in the world.
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.331
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- Freedom to the Slaves, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
- On January 1, 1863, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation
Proclamation ordering that all slaves be freed. Although the results were
not immediate, the Proclamation transformed the character of the Civil
War by expanding the domain of freedom. African-American men were accepted
into the Union Army and Navy, enabling them to fight for their own liberation.
By the end of the war, almost 200,000 African-American soldiers and sailors
had fought for the Union and in support of their freedom. Almost four million
people were freed under the terms of the Proclamation, which is regarded
as one of the most important documents in United States history.
-
- This print shows an African-American man kissing the hand of President
Abraham Lincoln who is standing on broken shackles, symbolic of breaking
the chains of slavery. The man's family watches from behind them.
-
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.002
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- Death of President Lincoln, 1865
- Hand-colored lithograph
- The dramatic scene of Abraham Lincoln's death was described in detail
in the diary of Gideon Wells, Secretary of the Navy under President Lincoln:
- "The President had been carried across the street from the theater
to the house of a Mr. Peterson. He lay extended on a bed, breathing heavily.
Several surgeons were present, who reported that the President might live
three hours or more. His slow, full respiration lifted the clothes with
each breath that he took. His features were calm and striking. A double
guard was stationed at the door and on the sidewalk to repress the crowd,
which was of course highly excited and anxious. The room was small and
overcrowded. About once an hour Mrs. Lincoln would repair to the bedside
of her dying husband and with lamentation and tears remain until overcome
by emotion. I remained in the room without sitting or leaving it, when,
there being a vacant chair which some one left at the foot of the bed,
I occupied it for nearly two hours, listening to the heavy groans and witnessing
the wasting life of the good and great man who was expiring before me.
The colored people were especially overwhelmed with grief and there more
of them at this time, perhaps, than whites. The respiration of the President
became suspended at intervals and at last entirely ceased at twenty-two
minutes past seven."
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.167
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- Funeral of President Lincoln, 1865
- Hand-colored lithograph
- The nation mourned the death of President Lincoln deeply. After lying
in state at both the White House and the Capitol, Lincoln's body was transported
to the railway station where it began a 1,700-mile journey back to the
President's native home is Springfield, Illinois. The nine-car funeral
train stopped in 11 cities along the way and over a million citizens paid
their respects to the fallen leader. On May 4, 1865, Lincoln was finally
laid to rest.
- This print shows the many pairs of horses used to draw the funeral
coach through the crowded streets. American soldiers occupy the foreground
and the faces of mourning citizens can be seen watching the procession
from the windows of the buildings in the background.
- Gift of Lenore B. and Sidney A. Alpert, supplemented with Collections
Funds
- 2004.D03.015
-
-
- Published by Nathaniel Currier and James Ives
- American, 1813-1888 and American, 1824-1895
-
- The Lincoln Statue, undated
- Hand-colored lithograph
- The Emancipation Memorial, also known as "Freedom's Memorial"
was unveiled in 1876, in Lincoln Park on Capitol Hill. President Ulysses
S. Grant, members of Congress and the Supreme Court were all present at
the ceremony and Frederick Douglass, a former slave and leader in the abolitionist
movement, read the original Emancipation Proclamation.
- The memorial was created under the initiative of Charlotte Scott of
Virginia. Scott donated the first five dollars of her earnings as a free
woman toward the project and encouraged other African-Americans to donate
in Lincoln's honor. In the end, the statue was funded entirely by former
slaves. Designed by Thomas Ball, it portrays a kneeling man who represents
the last man captured under the Fugitive Slave Law. The man, modeled after
former slave Archer Alexander, is shown snapping his chains of bondage
as Lincoln presents the Emancipation Proclamation.