Textile
ca. 1780
Medium
printed, dyed & painted textiles
Classification
printed, dyed & painted textiles
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Accession Number
1980-34-6
About this artwork
Research in Progress
Art Historical Context
This vibrant *Textile* from around 1780 exemplifies the artistry of printed, dyed, and painted in late 18th-century America. Housed in the Smithsonian American Art Museum Smithsonian Collection, it showcases the ingenuity of anonymous makers during a transformative era just after the Revolutionary War. Such textiles were essential to everyday life, adorning homes, clothing families, and even serving as trade goods in a young nation building its identity. The medium highlights sophisticated techniques: printing with carved blocks or stencils for bold patterns, dyeing with natural pigments for ...
About the Artist
Unknown
The artist designated as "Unknown" in our virtual museum's collection exemplifies a poignant chapter in art history: creators whose identities have faded into obscurity despite the enduring power of their work. With only one known artwork attributed to them in our holdings, this figure represents countless anonymous hands that shaped visual culture across centuries. Museums worldwide, including th...