On your next visit to the Museum, keep an eye out for classic American icons such as George Washington, the Stars and Stripes, the Liberty Bell, the tricorn hat, fife-and-drums, and eagles. Lots of eagles.
Sonday Family (American), Coverlet, Four Eagles (detail), 1930s-40s, cotton. Allentown Art Museum: Gift of Milton Sonday, 2007. (2007.21.4)
To commemorate the 250th anniversary our nation’s birth, our curatorial team brought a flock of eagle textiles out of storage to inhabit our American galleries. Many of these textiles drew inspiration from the Great Seal of the United States, which depicts an eagle overlaid with a shield holding arrows and an olive branch in its talons.
Artist once known (American), Table Rug (detail), mid to late 1800s, hooked wool on linen ground with fringe and loop embroidery. Allentown Art Museum: Gift from the Collection of Rosalind and Edwin Miller, 2001. (2001.18.1)
Considered a sign of strength since ancient times and adopted by Congress as the nation’s symbol in 1782, the eagle became a popular emblem for home decor in the nineteenth century and quickly spread throughout the world as a symbol of America. For instance, when Japanese-American trade took off in the late 1800s, some Japanese merchants began to offer embroideries with patriotic motifs as souvenirs for American sailors, like the one shown below.
Artist once known (Japanese), Eagle Embroidery, 19th century, silk satin with silk-and-metal-wrapped thread embroidery. Allentown Art Museum: Gift of Pamela Miller Ness and Paul Marc Ness, in memory of Professor and Mrs. Edwin Haviland Miller, 2003. (2003.39.351)
To learn more about the eagles on view from AAM Associate Curator Claire McRee, click HERE.
More eagles and other symbols of America can be seen upstairs in our special exhibition Revolution Retold: Commemorating American Independence in Art and Design. This exhibition reveals an enduring fascination with the story of our nation, and how we look to the past to make sense of the present.