Browse Items (1402 total)

Anti-Irish sentiment in America had dated to the early 1800s, when immigrants arrived to work on major infrastructure projects like canals and railroads. This only accelerated during the Great Famine (1845-52) and afterwards. Frederick Opper was the…

In 1784, a grateful New York state legislature granted to the important American revolutionary Thomas Paine a farm seized from Tory supporter. Paine lived here between 1802 and 1806, surviving one attempt upon his life. Eventually the saltbox house…

The structures depicted here are in all likelihood those of the Theron Higgins Mill located alongside the Little River in Worthington, MA. They’re rendered in a somewhat telescopic view so as to compress a nearly impossible number of scenic elements:…

Perhaps influenced by geocentric cosmologies, earth is divided in four quandrants: two on land (a prickly pear cactus and a fire), and two under water. Surrounding the planet are four nested spheres: a rainbow of multicultural colors, upon which…

Prior to the 1800s, corn was planted by hand in hillocks or rows. Industrial technologies profoundly affected agriculture with many patent machines like this horse-drawn planter designed by Calvin Olds. In a language typical for other devices of the…

This item consists of three images from a NY Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) management plan for a 750-acre area located in Ontario County. Much of the land had been used for agricultural production, with resulting soil exhaustion,…

Underneath the shelter of a large tree in winter, one fox rejoins what is likely its mate with a bird in hand—perhaps a grouse. Underneath the paws of the other fox appears to be a rabbit...a good day of hunting! Palmer’s somewhat implausible…

Two adjacent types of painting—still life and domestic “genre”—blur in this creatively arranged scene. At right, staples of the still life tradition like fruits, flowers, and drapery are displayed on a table. Yet there also is a child’s toy, and it…

Some elements of this watercolor are abstract and patterned: the green leaves at left, the tablecloth, wallpaper background, and even the vase’s outline. Other elements, however, show careful attention to modeling and texture, like the orange. Palter…

The pleasing daisies in a vase at center may give this painting its name, so artfully have they been created and arranged. If so, their status as humble field flowers plays against the ornate, patterned background and checkerboard table. Beautifully…