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AIC: American Art (Bot)

@aicamerican.bsky.social
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Sharing artworks from the Art Institute of Chicago's American Art department. Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social

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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 12h
Dressing Table www.artic.edu/artworks/67364
Gift of the Antiquarian Society through the Jessie Spalding Landon Fund
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 15h
Bowl www.artic.edu/artworks/76792
Emily Crane Chadbourne Decorative Arts Fund
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 18h
Curley-Custer Scout-Crow.Crow Agency.Montana.1912 www.artic.edu/artworks/69530
The sculptor Edward Warren Sawyer, who trained with Hermon Atkins MacNeil at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in the mid-1890s, sought out the artist Elbridge Ayer Burbank in Yuma, Arizona. For a short time in 1904, Sawyer worked alongside Burbank, producing two-inch bas-relief medallions in silver and bronze of many of the same subjects as the painter. Although Sawyer’s subject matter and general format were in some respects similar to those in Burbank’s portraits, Sawyer produced idealized profiles rather than ethnographic records. His medallions were collected by Burbank’s uncle and patron, Edward E. Ayer, as well as by Charles Hutchinson, the president of the Art Institute from 1882 to 1924.

Gift of Edward E. Ayer
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 20h
Vase www.artic.edu/artworks/135263
Bequest of Pauline Seipp Armstrong
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 23h
Self-Portrait www.artic.edu/artworks/133852
Bequest of Katharine Kuh
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Card Table www.artic.edu/artworks/69545
Restricted gift of Mrs. Burton W. Hales
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Cup plate www.artic.edu/artworks/82702
The Mrs. Maurice H. Mandelbaum Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Box www.artic.edu/artworks/94606
Restricted gift of Marshall Field, Mrs. C. Phillip Miller, and Mrs. Frank L. Sulzberger
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The Miraculous Drought www.artic.edu/artworks/13726
Walter H. Schulze Memorial Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Nightlife www.artic.edu/artworks/117266
Chicago painter Archibald Motley represented the vibrancy of African American culture, frequently portraying young, sophisticated city dwellers out on the town. Nightlife depicts a crowded cabaret in the South Side neighborhood of Bronzeville, with people seated around tables and at the bar. The clock reads one o’clock, and the place is still hopping with drinkers and dancers. Two bartenders serve customers and restock the well-lit display of liquor, and couples dance furiously in the background to music provided by the jukebox at the right. The strange head atop the jukebox may be a peanut-vending machine known as “Smilin’ Sam from Alabam’”; when a coin was inserted into the head and the tongue was pulled, the machine would dispense peanuts. Motley unified the composition through his use of repeated forms and a pervasive burgundy tone that bathes the entire scene in intense, unnatural light. (The artist had seen Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks at the Art Institute the year before and was intrigued by his use of artificial light.) The stylized figures are tightly interconnected; they are arranged along a sharp diagonal that compresses the space into a stagelike setting. The dynamic composition and heightened colors vividly express the liveliness of the scene, making Nightlife one of Motley’s most celebrated paintings.

Restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Field, Jack and Sandra Guthman, Ben W. Heineman, Ruth Horwich, Lewis and Susan Manilow, Beatrice C. Mayer, Charles A. Meyer, John D. Nichols, and Mr. and Mrs. E.B. Smith Jr.; James W. Alsdorf Memorial Fund; Goodman Endowment
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Rocking Stool www.artic.edu/artworks/51416
Gift of Joseph H. Makler
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Pin entitled "Continuous Extension of a Strawberry Heart" www.artic.edu/artworks/70144
Raymond W. Garbe Fund in honor of E. Norman Brydges
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
From a Wasp www.artic.edu/artworks/65871
Arthur Dove lived in France from 1908 to 1909, where he absorbed the lessons of Pablo Picasso and other avantgarde artists working in Paris at the time, including fellow American Max Weber. Upon his return to New York, Dove joined the circle of artists at Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 gallery, and he became the first American painter to experiment with pure abstraction in works like From a Wasp. Employing subdued colors, perhaps in acknowledgement of the tones of Analytic Cubism, Dove created a tightly focused, highly abstract composition that renders the curving forms of a wasp’s body as a series of overlapping planes.

Alfred Stieglitz Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Ring www.artic.edu/artworks/32949
Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Coffer www.artic.edu/artworks/250531
This coffer, or box, reflects a blending of designs: octagonal spice boxes from India; inlay techniques of mother-of-pearl from Japan; and in the interior, gold-painted scenes—a hut, figures, and birds in an imaginary landscape—from Chinese lacquer screens. Lima craftsmen absorbed all of these influences from the traffic of Asian goods through the Philippines and other Spanish Pacific colonies. This piece served as a receptacle for jewelry, combs, and other materials for a member of colonial Peru’s wealthy class to prepare at their toilet, a European aristocratic morning custom of formally donning dress, cosmetics, and jewelry that found its way to the Americas.

Neville and John H. Bryan and Roger and J. Peter McCormick endowment funds
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sauceboat and underplate ("American Modern" Dinnerware) www.artic.edu/artworks/142414
An ardent promoter of modern design, Russel Wright developed his American Modern line of dinnerware in 1937, which included serving pieces such as this sauceboat. Wright claimed that the organic shapes of the pattern reflected each piece’s function, and that muted colors such as seafoam blue were used in order to “dramatize” the service of food. Although Wright designed the line in 1937, American Modern was not produced until 1939, because of the skepticism of potential manufacturers during the Great Depression. Nonetheless, it has proved to be one of the most popular ceramic patterns ever created.

Gift of Beryl C. Michels
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Medal Commemorating James Whitcomb Riley www.artic.edu/artworks/141312
Gift of an Anonymous Donor
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
After Rain, Chicago www.artic.edu/artworks/117702
Friends of American Art Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Bowl www.artic.edu/artworks/104678
Gift of the Antiquarian Society through Mrs. Gardner H. Stern
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Spoon www.artic.edu/artworks/61586
Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Moonrise www.artic.edu/artworks/64754
Edward B. Butler Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Clock, Model 6366 www.artic.edu/artworks/202085
Although he lacked formal artistic training, Gilbert Rohde pioneered the field of 20th-century design by creating clean, modern furniture that, like many domestic objects during the first half of the century, skillfully married the machine age with convention. By 1930 Rohde entered into a partnership with furniture manufacturer and distributor the Herman Miller Company, for whom he developed innovative storage cabinets and sectional sofas, among other decorative articles. In 1933 he designed a series of clocks for the company, debuting these in his experimental “Design for Living” interior at the Century of Progress International Exposition in Chicago. For this example, Rohde employed opulent Macassar ebony for the body and accented it with chrome-plated steel. The gleaming metal bands give the clock a streamlined, modern appearance—as do the stylized numbers on the face—while the dark, polished wood provides the impression of solidity and tradition.

Stanley and Polly Stone Endowment; American Art Purchase Fund
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Return from the Hunt www.artic.edu/artworks/75290
Gift of Mrs. John J. Boyle
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
The Little Pond, Appledore www.artic.edu/artworks/105462
One of the Isles of Shoals located off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire, Appledore Island was the home of the poet Celia Thaxter and attracted numerous artists and writers to its rocky shores during the late 19th century. The Little Pond, Appledore dates from Childe Hassam's first summer sojourn there, after three years spent working in Europe, and reflects his burgeoning interest in the bright palette, broken brushwork, and dramatic light effects of Impressionist painting.

Through prior acquisition of the Friends of American Art and the Walter H. Schulze Memorial collections
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Jephtha's Daughter www.artic.edu/artworks/159661
This sculpture by Chauncey Bradley Ives presents a character from the Old Testament book of Judges. An Israelite leader engaged in war against the Ammonites, Jephtha made a promise to God that if his army was victorious, he would sacrifice whoever met him upon his return home from battle. Jephtha's army prevailed, but when he arrived at his house, he was met by his only child, a virgin daughter. Here we see the young woman grieving over her imminent death, her tambourine stilled and her head and shoulders drooping with the weight of her knowledge. For audiences of the day, this work represented a form of tragic female bravery—a victim who was innocent, obedient, and pure.

Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Vase www.artic.edu/artworks/47688
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William G. Swartchild Jr.
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Pair of Candelabra www.artic.edu/artworks/90933
Wesley M. Dixon Jr. and  Albert Pick Jr. funds
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
My Mother www.artic.edu/artworks/9320
“There she would sit, as in a throne,” a niece once recalled of George Bellows’s mother, Anna. In this painting, which evokes the Parisian interiors of such French artists as Édouard Manet, Bellows depicted his mother in a large chair in the Victorian parlor of their family home in Columbus, Ohio. This forthright presentation of a distinguished, elderly woman with a strong character, coupled with the subdued palette, also recalls the portraiture of Thomas Eakins, whom Bellows greatly admired. The painting’s power derives in part from its highly structured composition. Influenced by the artist Jay Hambidge’s theory of dynamic symmetry, Bellows constructed the portrait in an organized, geometric arrangement of proportionate rectangles and triangles.

Frank Russell Wadsworth Memorial
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Major-General Henry Dearborn www.artic.edu/artworks/69619
Gilbert Stuart’s idealized portrayal of Major-General Henry Dearborn presents an aging, yet robust military leader invigorated by power and the challenge of the War of 1812. A Revolutionary War hero who served as secretary of war during Thomas Jefferson’s two presidential terms (1801–09), Dearborn continued his service as senior major-general in the 1812 campaign. This work is one of several likenesses Stuart executed of Americanmilitary and political men, among them his well-known depictions of George Washington. Stuart painted directly on the panel or canvas over the course of several sittings, capturing the new country’s fervent nationalism in skillful, vigorous portraits.

Friends of American Art Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Sugar Tongs www.artic.edu/artworks/29861
Gift of Emily Crane Chadbourne
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Pitcher www.artic.edu/artworks/103117
Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society through Mrs. Nelson Edward Smyth in memory of Nelson Edward Smyth
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Vase www.artic.edu/artworks/120136
Gift of Dorothy Rosenthal
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Rushing Red Lodges Passed through the Line www.artic.edu/artworks/97894
George F. Harding Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Portrait of Clowns www.artic.edu/artworks/118964
Anonymous loan
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Whirlwind www.artic.edu/artworks/120329
Jonathan Scott Hartley first worked in the studio of American sculptor Erastus Dow Palmer before training in several schools in Europe. Whirlwind secured the sculptor’s reputation when it was exhibited in New York in 1878. Embodying intense energy and dynamism, the female figure leans forward with her arms raised to steady herself in the wind, her legs tightly tangled in a swirl of drapery. This is a copy of the second version of the sculpture that Hartley exhibited in 1896. It is an early, rare American example of the method of bronze casting known as “lost-wax”—a process that granted sculptors more agency in producing an accurate translation of a clay model into bronze.

Roger McCormick Endowment
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Cabinet www.artic.edu/artworks/72816
Restricted gift of Fern and Manfred Steinfeld, through prior bequest of Chester D. Tripp
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Fireback www.artic.edu/artworks/251877
Delphine G. Schoen Trust Endowment Fund; through prior bequest of George F. Porter; through prior gifts of Mr. and Mrs. Carter H. Harrison and Emily Crane Chadbourne; through prior purchase of the Mr. and Mrs. Frank G. Logan Purchase Prize Fund; through prior gift of Robert Allerton; Cyrus Hall McCormick Fund
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Vase www.artic.edu/artworks/120135
Gift of Dorothy Rosenthal
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Landscape, Sunset www.artic.edu/artworks/64740
Edward B. Butler Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Medal Commemorating State of Indiana www.artic.edu/artworks/72537
Gift of Indiana Historical Commission
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
A Boy Named Alligator www.artic.edu/artworks/111636
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William J. Terrell, Sr.
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Side Chair (part of a set) www.artic.edu/artworks/122121
Gift of an anonymous donor
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Compote on Stand www.artic.edu/artworks/158475
This type of flared openwork bowl was popular in the United States in the 1830s; it imitates both French porcelain compotes that were exported to America and those made in Philadelphia at the Tucker Porcelain Works. Most likely made to hold fruit, this bold, lavish object—a very early example of American pressed glass—would have served as a dynamic centerpiece on a table or sideboard.

Mrs. Eric Oldberg Fund
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Mrs. William Carmichael www.artic.edu/artworks/27148
Goodman Fund
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Dressing Glass www.artic.edu/artworks/111451
Restricted gift of the Antiquarian Society
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Chocolate or Coffee Pot www.artic.edu/artworks/52735
Restricted gift of Mr. and Mrs. Myron F. Ratcliffe in memory of Mrs. Elizabeth Robertson Archibald
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Berry dish www.artic.edu/artworks/89350
Restricted gift of Mrs. Eric Oldberg, Mr. and Mrs. John F. Silver, and the Oak Park-River Forest Associates of The Woman's Board of The Art Institute of Chicago
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Sacramental Trees www.artic.edu/artworks/16684
Mr. and Mrs. Martin A. Ryerson Collection
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Cup (from Imperial Hotel table setting) www.artic.edu/artworks/136931
Gift of the Noritake Company, Inc.
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AIC: American Art (Bot) @aicamerican.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Amor Caritas www.artic.edu/artworks/107050
This angelic figure by Augustus Saint-Gaudens, a foremost sculptor of the Gilded Age, is the culmination of his portrayals of allegorical women. He made similar designs for the tomb of Edwin D. Morgan in Hartford, Connecticut, and the mantelpiece in the house of Cornelius Vanderbilt II in New York. Like many other late 19th-century artists, Saint-Gaudens often modeled angels to symbolize the traditional virtues of women. Amor Caritas (Love [and] Charity) probably depicts Davida Clark, the artist’s mistress. Saint-Gaudens brought a level of naturalism to his ideal figure, particularizing the facial features and rendering the drapery so that it suggests the human form beneath.

Roger McCormick Fund
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