Cree or Ojibwe
Pouch Pieces, early 1900s
Leather, glass beads
Gift of Wendy Ellsworth, 2017. (2017.24.23-24)
The small, bright flowers on these pouch pieces may represent wildflowers, seen in the Subarctic region only during its short summers. The maker might have also found inspiration in the art of Indigenous trade partners, or the floral fabrics sold by Euro-American traders. At the time when she was working on these pieces, Cree artists had been creating elaborate floral designs using European glass beads for a century, establishing beadwork as a vibrant form of cultural expression that continues to thrive today.
American
Hooked Rug, late 1800s
Wool fabric strips hooked to burlap ground
Gift of Pamela Miller Ness and Paul Marc
Ness in Memory of Professor and Mrs. Edwin Haviland Miller, 2003 (2003.39.17)
American
Trotting Horse, mid- to late 1800s
Hammered copper, tin wash and gold leaf
Purchase: The Gift of John and Fannie Saeger, 1973. (1973.3)
John Valentine Haidt
American, born Germany, 1700–1780
Erstlingsbild (“First Fruits”), ca. 1754–1760
Oil on canvas
Made in Bethlehem, PA
Loan from the Moravian Archives
Benjamin West
American, 1738–1820, active in Britain
Return of the Prodigal Son, 1772
Oil on canvas
Made in London
Purchase: Priscilla Payne Hurd Endowment Fund, 2002. (2002.19)
The dramatic light and expressive poses of father and son in this work by Benjamin West contrast with Haidt’s painting at right. West actually took lessons from Haidt as a teen, and his earlier work resembled Haidt’s style. After study in Italy, however, he mastered the realism and subtlety of academic painting, and settled in London where he met great success.
A generation of American artists would travel to London to train with West—including Gilbert Stuart and Rembrandt Peale, whose works are at left.
Gilbert Stuart
American, 1755–1828
Ann Penn Allen, ca. 1795
Oil on canvas
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Purchase: The Gift of John and Fannie Saeger, 1978. (1978.13)
Rembrandt Peale
American, 1778–1860
Erinna, ca. 1830s
Oil on canvas
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Purchase: General Acquisitions Fund; the Gift of Paul Kania; and the Gift of Sam and Missy Saxton, 2002. (2002.22)
Chinese, for export to Western market
Urns, ca. 1790
Porcelain with enamel overglaze decoration
Gift of Mrs. William P. Hacker, 1981.
(1981.25.1, 2a, b)
The unique shape and delicate decoration of these urns illustrate Chinese artists’ skill in producing porcelain for a Western audience. Using prints and painted wooden models provided by European merchants, Chinese artists created export goods that suited current fashions halfway around the world. On these urns, details like floral swags and faux-woodgrain bases cater to the taste for designs inspired by ancient Greece and Rome.
The United States became a leading importer of Chinese porcelain soon after independence.
Frederick Gutekunst, after Ann Hutchinson
American, 1831–1917
Mahlon Hutchinson’s Family, ca. 1870s or 1880s
Photograph with watercolor
Gift of Robert E. Hartlein in memory of Robert C. Hartlein and Jane Hartlein-Leef, 2024.
About seventy years after Ann Hutchinson embroidered the family portrait at left, one of her descendants commissioned this photograph—probably so that another relative could have a copy for their home.
The photography studio added hand-painted color to this black-and-white image, though you will notice some differences from the original. These variations may reflect the fading of the embroidery’s colors, especially the dark pinks; or artistic license on the part of the colorist.
Ann Hutchinson, with Samuel Folwell
American, 1789–1848 (American, 1764–1813)
Portrait of the Hutchinson Family, 1806
Hand-painted silk satin, with silk running
stitch, satin stitch, and straight stitch
embroidery
Gift of Elizabeth M. Wistar, 1986. (1986.36.1)
Seventeen-year-old Ann Hutchinson stands at the center of this family portrait, surrounded by her siblings, parents, and grandmother. She made this portrait at Elizabeth Folwell’s embroidery school, using a design drawn for her by Elizabeth’s husband Samuel. Students at girls’ schools during this era often made silk needlework pictures, but not usually portraits: Ann must have been especially skilled to take on such a challenge.
Look for Ann’s subtle gradations of color and varied textures of thread, which bring the work to life.
James Claypoole Jr.
American, ca. 1743–1822
Robert Shewell, 1765
Sarah Sallows Shewell, 1765
Oil on canvas
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Purchase: Priscilla Payne Hurd Endowment Fund, and Gift of Francie Starr, 1992. (1992.19.1, 2)
Jingdezhen, China, for export to American market
Cup and Saucer, ca. 1805
Porcelain with black enamel overlay and gilding
Gift of Hampton C. Randolph Sr., 1984. (1984.23.1, 2)
British, for export to Pennsylvania German market
Plate, 1835–1855
Ceramic (spatterware)
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Kaplan, 2009. (2009.28.15)
American
Buttermold, 1800s
Poplar
Made in Pennsylvania
Gift of William W. Swallow, 1963.
(1963.152a, b, c)
American
Plate, 1800s
Redware
Made in Pennsylvania
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herman E. Finkelstein, 1975. (1975.110)
American
Pitcher, 1800s
Ceramic
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Herman E. Finkelstein, 1975. (1975.122)
American
Stove Plate: Publican and Pharisee, 1742
Cast iron
Made in Pennsylvania
Inscription: “The proud Pharisee glorifies himself in prayer, but the heart of the humble Publican pleases God much better. Luke Chapter 18, 1742”
Gift of Dorothy C. Miller, 1975. (1975.148)
In the Christian parable of the Pharisee and the Publican, Jesus teaches humility by recognizing the ardent Publican, a Jewish tax collector for the ancient Romans, over the self-righteous Pharisee, a member of an ancient Jewish sect who believed their manner of religious observance superior. The designer of this stove plate based its design on an illustration from a popular German bible (below).
This work not only reflects the transfer of German traditions to Pennsylvania, but also calls to mind iron foundries’ as enslavers. Enslaved people, some of whom may have had experience in West African metalworking techniques, often performed skilled work at mid-Atlantic foundries.
Illustration from the Elector Bible (published in 14 editions, 1640–1758). Pictured in Henry Mercer, The Bible in Iron (Doylestown: Bucks County Historical Society, 1961), 191.
British or French
Cimarrónes or Quilombolas Fleeing Enslavement, ca. 1820s
Oil on canvas
Gift of John (Jay) and Jan Ruhle, 2022. (2022.14)
This painting depicts an enslaved family seeking freedom. Based on the topography and tropical setting, they are likely cimarrónes or quilombolas—people who liberated themselves from enslavement and established free communities in the Spanish Caribbean and Brazil. The sticks of sugarcane on the ground and in the man’s hand suggest that he was forced to labor to produce sugar, a commodity in demand around the world.
Explicit in its detail of the man’s shackles and the distress of the woman and older son, the image was likely meant to inspire sympathy in support of the abolitionist cause to end slavery. The man’s red cap is a symbol of liberty, worn in Roman times by formerly enslaved people who had gained their freedom.
This composition echoes Christian scenes of the Rest on the Flight into Egypt, in which the Holy Family paused during their escape to save the life of the infant Jesus. As the family in the painting here faces the threat of recapture, the young child at the center seems to offer a bit of hope.
Faith Ringgold
American, 1930–2024
Henry Ossawa Tanner: His Boyhood
Dream Comes True, 2010
Screen print, edition: 100
Printer: Curlee Raven Holton, Raven Editions, Easton, PA
Publisher: Raven Editions and Experimental Printmaking Institute, Easton, PA
Gift of Experimental Printmaking Institute, Lafayette
College, Easton, PA, 2015. (2015.4.3)
In this print, Faith Ringgold illustrates a key moment in the childhood of artist Henry Ossawa Tanner. After seeing a man painting in the park, Henry decides to start painting too. He grew up to be a renowned artist: the painting of the lion at left is his work, made about fourteen years after the scene Ringgold depicts here.
In turn, Henry also became a mentor for the next generation of African American artists, who visited him at his home in France during the 1910s and 1920s.
Inscription:
“One day walking in Philadelphia’s Fairmont Park with his father, Henry saw a landscape painter. As he looked at the artist he saw himself painting there. When he got home he told his mother what he saw in the park. She gave him 15¢ to buy some dry colors and used brushes. The next day Henry returned to the same spot in the park. It was 1872 and Henry Ossawa Tanner was a young boy, only 13 years old, but he would become the first African American painter to be celebrated in both the United States of America and Europe.”
Henry Ossawa Tanner
American, 1859–1937, active in France
Lion Licking Paw, 1886
Oil on canvas
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Philip I. Berman, 1962. (1962.5)
Henry Ossawa Tanner painted this lion from life at the Philadelphia Zoo. He was preparing to make a larger work depicting Androcles, a formerly enslaved Roman who stopped to remove a thorn from a lion’s paw while fleeing his enslavers.
Tanner often explored stories of oppression and freedom in his work. As the son of a woman who liberated herself from slavery, and as an expatriate who left the United States to mitigate racism’s impact on his career, he likely found particular significance in these themes.
American
Birth and Baptismal Certificate for Levina Keil, 1847
Bucks County, PA
Engraving with watercolor
Printer: Blumer and Busch, Allentown, PA
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Kaplan, 2009. (2009.6.36)
In spite of its lively decoration, this birth and baptismal certificate was not intended for display. Pennsylvania Germans usually kept such certificates stored away, occasionally taking them out for reflection.
This example, made for Levina Keil, maps the relationships key to her moral and spiritual upbringing—her parents, Johannes and Catharina Heil; her baptismal sponsors Jacob Fellman and Levina Heger; and the local pastor, Otto Peicks. The texts in the yellow boxes complete this roadmap for life, reminding Levina of her place with God in heaven.
Thomas Birch
American, 1779–1851
Great Falls of the Lehigh at Stoddartsville, Pennsylvania, late 1820s–1830s
Oil on canvas
Purchase: Gift from Three Supporters in Honor of Elliot J. Sussman’s Years of Service to the Allentown Art Museum and the Priscilla Payne Hurd Endowment Fund, 2011. (2011.18)
Gustav Johann Grunewald
German, 1805–1878, active in Bethlehem 1831–1868
Niagara Falls, 1834
Oil on canvas
Purchase: The Gift of John and Fannie Saeger, 1986. (1986.7)
Tompkins Harrison Matteson
American, 1813–1884
The Return of Rip Van Winkle, or, Rip Van Winkle’s Return from the Mountains,
1840–1845
Oil on canvas
Purchase: The Leigh Schadt and Edwin Schadt Art Museum Trust, 2001. (2001.10)
American
Quilt, Star of Bethlehem, late 1800s
Pieced and quilted printed cotton plain weave
Gift from the Collection of Rosalind and Edwin Miller, 1991. (1991.13.10)
Henry Mosler
American, 1841–1920
Invoking God’s Blessing (Pilgrim’s Grace), 1897
Oil on canvas
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Hirschl, 1977. (1977.4)
In their humble home, this Pilgrim family embodies faith, morality, and simplicity—values that some Americans feared were disappearing in the late 1800s. Artists like Henry Mosler depicted the past to offer inspiration and reassurance to those worried about urbanization and immigration transforming the United States.
Such artists were usually more concerned with celebrating American identity than with historical accuracy. Look for fun anachronisms in this painting, such as the very Victorian bows, and painted Chinese porcelain (rare in North America until about a century after the Pilgrims’ time).
Winslow Homer
American, 1836–1910
Holiday in Camp ‑ Soldiers Playing
Foot‑Ball, from Harper’s Weekly, July 1865
Wood engraving
Publisher: Harper’s Weekly, Harper & Brothers, New York, NY
Purchase: SOTA Print Fund, 2006. (2006.15.5)
George Cope
American, 1855–1929
Mr. Darlington’s Still Life, 1890
Oil on canvas
Made in West Chester, PA
Purchase: Leigh Schadt and Edwin Schadt Art Museum Trust Fund, 2004. (2004.35)
Severin Roesen
German, ca. 1815–ca. 1872, active in the United States
Still Life with Wine Glass and Watermelon, ca. 1860
Oil on canvas
Purchase: Frank E. and Seba B. Payne Foundation Gift, 1987. (1987.41)
Thomas Pollock Anshutz
American, 1851–1912
The Chore, ca. 1888
Oil on wood panel
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Purchase: J. I. and Anna Rodale Fund, 1949.(1961.26)
What might the woman who posed for this painting have thought about the finished work? Artist Thomas Anshutz—who was white—hired her to model because he wanted to paint a Black female servant, and chose the studio props, her pose, and the scarf she wears.
Either she or someone close to her probably had experience working as a servant: an 1899 study by W.E.B. DuBois and Isabel Eaton found that 90% of Black women employed in Philadelphia at this time were in domestic service. Maybe this woman preferred modeling to her regular job—or perhaps it was more tiring to work with Anshutz.
Susan Macdowell Eakins
American, 1852–1938
Kate Lewis, 1884
Oil on canvas
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Purchase: J. I. and Anna Rodale Fund, 1945. (1961.21)
William Seal
American, active 1810–1822
Coffee Pot, Creamer, Teapot, Sugar Bowl, Waste Bowl, Tongs, ca. 1817
Silver
Made in Philadelphia, PA
Anonymous Loan
James Tissot
French, 1836–1902
Croquet, 1878
Etching and drypoint, edition: 100 projected
Printer: Frederick Goulding, London, United Kingdom
Gift of Paul K. Kania, 2005. (2005.1.4)
John Singer Sargent
American, 1856–1925
Study of a Young Cleaning Girl, ca. 1885
Charcoal on paper
Bequest of Peter Kern, 2024.
John Singer Sargent
American, 1856–1925, active in Europe
Head of a Young Woman,
1878–1880
Oil on canvas
Gift of Katherine Merle‑Smith Thomas, 2008.
(2008.22)