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Emporium Of Indian Curiosities
Emporium Of Indian Curiosities
Artist (1819 - 1895)

Emporium Of Indian Curiosities

Date1856
DimensionsSight: 18 × 24 3/4 in. (45.7 × 62.9 cm)
Object numberN0279.1961
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextRichardt traveled to the United States from Denmark in 1855 to record the wonders of Niagara Falls and the American landscape. He employed the lucid topographical style of landscape painting that was typical in Denmark at this time. The subjects of his paintings indicate the scope of his travels and include scenes of Canada, Philadelphia, Kentucky and Virginia, as well as views of the Mississippi and Hudson Rivers. The Emporium of Indian Curiosities is one of over 50 paintings that he completed to illustrate the many aspects, both natural and man-made, that comprised Niagara Falls. In the foreground of the painting, Richardt depicts Native Americans (probably Haudenosaunee) selling beaded purses to tourists. Examples of Native-made purses sold for the tourist trade, along with many other types of souvenirs, can be found in the Thaw Collection.
Exhibition History“Across the Borders: Beadwork in Iroquois Life,” McCord Museum, Montreal, Canada, June 1999 - January 2000; Castellani Art Museum, Niagara, NY, July 2nd – November 19, 2000; Canadian Museum of Civilization, Quebec, Canada, May 25 – October 28, 2001; National Museum of American Indian, Washington DC, December 9, 2001 – May 19, 2002; Royal Ontario Museum, Ontario, Canada, June 21 – October 13, 2002; Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center, Ledyard, CT, November 23, 2002 – February 16, 2003.

“The Hudson River School: American Treasures from Fenimore Art Museum,” Mennello Museum of American Art, Orlando, FL, October 14, 2005 – March 26, 2006.

“On the Trails of the Iroquois,” Kunst-und Ausstellunghsalle, Germany, March 21, 2013 – April 8, 2013; Martin-Gropius-Bau, Germany, October 18, 2013 – January 13, 2014.


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5798 STATE HIGHWAY 80
COOPERSTOWN NY, 13326
607-547-1400

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