AIC: American Art (Bot)

While working in the engineering corps in New York’s Central Park, Edward Kemeys observed an artist at work in the zoo and was subsequently inspired to pursue animal sculpture. In 1872–73 he made his first of several trips west, living with Native Americans and trappers, and he based his work on his hunts and studies of wild animals in their natural habitats. Kemeys’s sculptures express the newly developed national interest in the extinction of certain species of wildlife, which were already endangered by westward expansion. Gift of Margaret S. Watson

Locked in Death (Bear and Panther) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/56690/

Restricted gift of Gilda and Henry Buchbinder

Coffee Set https://www.artic.edu/artworks/137002/

Gift of Mrs. Howard R. Cannon

Paperweight https://www.artic.edu/artworks/55257/

Decorative Arts Special Fund

Cake mold https://www.artic.edu/artworks/77712/

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome Schultz

Dessert Plate https://www.artic.edu/artworks/49078/

Gift of Kate S. Buckingham

Pitcher https://www.artic.edu/artworks/4878/

Roger McCormick Purchase Fund

Homer Reciting the Iliad https://www.artic.edu/artworks/103854/

Gift of Judge B. Fain Tucker

Flask https://www.artic.edu/artworks/19167/

Gift of Mrs. Everett L. Millard in memory of her mother, Mrs. Charles T. Boynton

Flask https://www.artic.edu/artworks/50664/

Gift of Dorothy Rosenthal

Bowl https://www.artic.edu/artworks/120141/

George Cope spent most of his life in West Chester, Pennsylvania where he specialized in local landscapes and still-life paintings. This large work, known in the 19th century as an “exhibition hanging picture,” was Cope’s first documented canvas in the trompe l’oeil (fools the eye) style. Commissioned in 1887 by the artist's friend Levi McCauley, a leading citizen of West Chester, this carefully organized and balanced composition depicts precisely rendered swords, military medals, a leather belt and buckle, a Major’s kepi (hat), and a holster, all of which belonged to the patron. The ensemble of military artifacts commemorates Major McCauley’s participation in the Civil War. Quinn E. Delaney and Chauncey and Marion McCormick funds; Wesley M. Dixon Endowment

Civil War Regalia of Major Levi Gheen McCauley https://www.artic.edu/artworks/154495/

Sculptor Sidney Waugh joined Steuben as chief designer in 1933, creating such memorable designs as this bowl. It was made using copper-wheel engraving to produce the raised decorative effect for each of the 12 signs of the zodiac. Discussing Waugh’s work in a London exhibition of 1935, a critic for the Sunday Times wrote, “The work of Mr. Sidney Waugh attains a classic beauty and perfection quite unrivalled in contemporary glass engraving. His taste is unfailing as his line is exquisite, delicate, and expressive.” Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh J. Smith Jr.

Zodiac Bowl https://www.artic.edu/artworks/71789/

Missing its cover, this ovoid stoneware jar has an unusual reddish hue due to the soil composition near Bladensburg, Maryland. The area's foundation was characterized by red sandstone, which was reinforced by the exposed red soil in nearby Washington, D.C. Mrs. Hannah Craig, for whom this vessel was made, would have used it for the storage of saleratus, a rising agent used to make buckwheat cakes, muffins, doughnuts, and other baked goods. Gift of Mahlon D. Moulds

Saleratus Jar https://www.artic.edu/artworks/78243/

Frederic Remington was greatly impressed by the Mexican army, which he observed during a six-week visit to Mexico in 1889 in preparation for an article in Harper’s Weekly magazine. The Mexican Major is an elaborate, multifigural composition, designed to convey the professionalism, discipline, and “immensely picturesque” appearance of the officer and his regiment. Remington enjoyed the soldiers' ornate costumes, and he emphasized these through the use of rhythmic, flashing colors and the depiction of brilliant light. The line of horsemen stretches off into the far distance—a sign of honor, strength, and dignity. George F. Harding Collection

The Mexican Major https://www.artic.edu/artworks/97912/

Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the Susan Bennett Fund in honor of Milo M. Naeve

Desk Box https://www.artic.edu/artworks/120395/

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Donald Miezio

Vase https://www.artic.edu/artworks/99544/

Restricted gift of Mrs. Burton W. Hales

Tea Service https://www.artic.edu/artworks/100053/

In 1897 the Chicago artist Elbridge Ayer Burbank traveled west on behalf of his uncle, the philanthropist Edward E. Ayer, to paint a portrait of the famed Apache chief Geronimo, who was then living in captivity at Fort Sill in the Oklahoma territory. During his subsequent travels throughout the West, Burbank depicted individuals from numerous Native American tribes in ethnographic portraits, nevertheless focusing a sensitive artistic eye on his sitters. Like Hermon Atkins MacNeil before him, Burbank witnessed the Hopi Snake Dance in Arizona and followed the dance’s nine-day progress, ultimately producing more than 19 paintings of the participants. The Art Institute owns eight of these portraits. Each element of paint and dress carries a specific meaning in Burbank’s portraits. In his depictions of the Hopi priests Ko-Pe-Ley and Ho-Mo-Vi, for example, the black paint on the upper parts of their faces represents heavy rain clouds, and the white around their mouths stands for purity and faith. Eagle feathers, used in the ceremony to soothe the snakes, adorn their hair. Thus costumed, the priests would have removed the snakes from a special bag and placed the reptiles crosswise in their mouths. Despite his slightly loose brushwork, Burbank carefully depicted the priests’ ceremonial garb, giving his images anthropological authenticity as well as aesthetic power. He inscribed each portrait with the sitter's name and tribal affiliation, using "Moqui," an obsolete term for the Hopi people that is now considered offensive. Restricted gift of Mrs. Herbert A. Vance in honor of James N. Wood

Shu-Pe-La https://www.artic.edu/artworks/182384/

Gift of Jamee J. and Marshall Field

Table https://www.artic.edu/artworks/139818/

Restricted gift of Marilyn and Thomas L. Karsten in honor of her parents, Gertrude and Perry S. Herst

Armchair https://www.artic.edu/artworks/105465/

The combination of delicate weaving and bold designs evident in this neckpiece exists in much of Mary Lee Hu’s work. In the 1960s, while a student of metalwork, Hu took a weaving course, which inspired her to use textile techniques (such as threading, knotting, and weaving) in crafting her wire jewelry. This neckpiece, like much of her early work, is characterized by intricate forms with organic curves reminiscent of Art Nouveau. Neckpiece #25 illustrates Hu’s interests in abstraction and nature; the open laciness of the wire serves to accentuate the solidity of the jadeite pieces, while the design itself evokes a graceful bird in flight. Gift of Mrs. Edwin A. Bergman

Neckpiece #25 https://www.artic.edu/artworks/73035/

Amelia Blanxius Collection, gift of Emma B. Hodge and Jene E. Bell

Cup and Saucer https://www.artic.edu/artworks/90964/

The Mrs. Maurice H. Mandelbaum Collection

Cup plate https://www.artic.edu/artworks/83434/

Gift of The Antiquarian Society through the Mrs. Myron F. Ratcliffe Gift

Vase https://www.artic.edu/artworks/38796/

The Silver Seminar Fund of the Woman's Board of the Art Institute of Chicago

Taperstick https://www.artic.edu/artworks/61768/

When Arthur Dove first exhibited Telegraph Pole at Alfred Stieglitz’s gallery An American Place in 1930, the artist wrote that his painting depicted “a wet telegraph pole, some flying leaves, and silver.” He evoked the shininess of the wet pole by painting his work on a steel plate. Although he frequently experimented with metallic effects and nontraditional materials, Dove only rarely depicted such modern subjects. Here the gleam of the steel emphasizes the newness of the telegraph pole, which, with its hard geometric edges, contrasts with the timeless, organic curves of the natural landscape behind it. Alfred Stieglitz Collection

Telegraph Pole https://www.artic.edu/artworks/65884/

Elias Boudinot intended to become a minister but his father’s death in 1720 forced the fourteen-year-old to find a way to help support his mother and siblings. He apprenticed for seven years in New York with Simeon Soumaine and eventually made his way to Philadelphia, where he opened a shop. This salver was originally commissioned by Henry (1714–1766) and Mary Aspen (1719–1813) Harrison, who married in 1748. Henry, a merchant and shipowner, became the mayor of Philadelphia in 1762. Albert Pick Jr. Fund

Salver https://www.artic.edu/artworks/93825/

Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Kubicek

Card Table https://www.artic.edu/artworks/61911/

The vast array of ethnographic material at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago piqued Hermon Atkins MacNeil’s interest in Native American culture, and he traveled to the West in 1895 to experience it firsthand. This sculpture depicts the Snake Dance, a Hopi prayer for rain in which priests run from the high mesa to the plains while grasping handfuls of snakes. MacNeil achieved a new level of dynamism that reflected the thrill of the spectacle, as described by his friend, the author Hamlin Garland: “They had rushed four miles at top speed, but they mounted the trail toward Walpi with incredible celerity. As they passed me their long hair waved up at the sides in a peculiar and beautiful fringe. I have never seen anything finer in the way of motion.” Gift of Edward E. Ayer

Snake Dance https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14551/

Gift of the Noritake Company, Inc.

Bread and butter plate (from Imperial Hotel place setting) https://www.artic.edu/artworks/226603/