Shirt
Unknown Artist
late 19th–early 20th century
Medium
cotton
Classification
Shirt
Culture
American
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of The New York Historical Society, 1979
Accession Number
1979.346.60
Art Historical Context
This unassuming cotton shirt, crafted by an unknown American artist in the late th to early 20th century offers a window into everyday life during a transformative era in U.S. history. Produced amid the rise of industrial textile manufacturing, it exemplifies the shift toward mass-produced clothing made accessible by cotton mills in the American South and New England. Cotton's breathability and durability made it ideal for workwear and daily attire, reflecting the practical needs of farmers, laborers, and urban in the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's ...