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The bird of paradise image may have been borrowed from imported European or even Indian textiles. The plant is a stylized representation of a popular annual, Love-lies-bleeding, which has distinctive red blossoms.
Exhibition History"The Bird in Art," The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, January 15, 1965 - February 14, 1965; University Art Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, October 15, 1964 - January 15, 1965.
“The Flowering of American Folk Art,” M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA, June 24, 1974 – September 15, 1974; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, April 22, 1974 – June 2, 1974; The Whitney Museum of Art, New York, NY, February 1, 1974 – March 24, 1974.
“Uncommon Quilts: Treasures of the New York State Historical Association,” Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, June 4, 1998 – July 19, 1998; Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, August 29, 1997; Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 1996 – December 31, 1996.
Artist
Unidentified Artist
(American)
Bird of Paradise
Datec. 1830
MediumWatercolor on paper
DimensionsSight: 23 3/4 × 17 5/8 in. (60.3 × 44.8 cm)
Object numberN0108.1961
Credit LineCollection of the Fenimore Art Museum. Gift of Stephen C. Clark
Photograph by Richard Walker
Label TextTheorem paintings are watercolors or oils on velvet or paper. Whether painted freehand or more characteristically by using stencils, this type of painting was constructed in parts, according to a kind of formulas. It consisted of tracing a design on transparent paper, cutting out the pattern and using the resulting stencil. Despite the use of stencils, it required considerable deftness and imagination to combine shapes and shaded colors into pleasing designs. The still life composition was a popular motif, often depicting fruit or flower baskets, or birds.The bird of paradise image may have been borrowed from imported European or even Indian textiles. The plant is a stylized representation of a popular annual, Love-lies-bleeding, which has distinctive red blossoms.
Exhibition History"The Bird in Art," The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR, January 15, 1965 - February 14, 1965; University Art Gallery, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, October 15, 1964 - January 15, 1965.
“The Flowering of American Folk Art,” M.H. de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco, CA, June 24, 1974 – September 15, 1974; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA, April 22, 1974 – June 2, 1974; The Whitney Museum of Art, New York, NY, February 1, 1974 – March 24, 1974.
“Uncommon Quilts: Treasures of the New York State Historical Association,” Aspen Art Museum, Aspen, CO, June 4, 1998 – July 19, 1998; Johnson Museum of Art, Ithaca, NY, August 29, 1997; Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, NY, April 1, 1996 – December 31, 1996.
On View
Not on view
