My Home in Fresno around the Year 1900

Marguerite Zorach, My Home in Fresno around the Year 1900, 1949, wool embroidered on linen, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Collection of Tessim Zorach, 1970.65.12
Marguerite Zorach, My Home in Fresno around the Year 1900, 1949, wool embroidered on linen, 23 14 × 32 14 in. (59.1 × 81.9 cm) framed: 29 14 × 38 14 in. (74.3 × 97.2 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift from the Collection of Tessim Zorach, 1970.65.12

Artwork Details

Title
My Home in Fresno around the Year 1900
Date
1949
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
23 14 × 32 14 in. (59.1 × 81.9 cm) framed: 29 14 × 38 14 in. (74.3 × 97.2 cm)
Credit Line
Gift from the Collection of Tessim Zorach
Mediums
Mediums Description
wool embroidered on linen
Classifications
Subjects
  • Landscape — California — Fresno
  • Figure group
  • Architecture Exterior — domestic — house
Object Number
1970.65.12

Artwork Description

These works are built out of my life and the things that have touched my life.
--Marguerite Zorach

Marguerite Zorach's "pictures in wool" are bold and vibrant explorations of color that often incorporate imagery from her own life. My Home in Fresno around the Year 1900 is a portrait of the artist's childhood. In a 1956 essay she described planning this work, to include "a large white gingerbread house, light and airy and delightful in stitches; the magnolia trees and palms, fences and flowers; [and] children at night playing hide and seek under the street lamp." 
Following the birth of her two children, Zorach turned to embroidery to adapt to the realities of juggling both her household and her work as an artist. Painting required periods of uninterrupted time, but with fiber she could pick up and put down the work as needed, as well as visualize and plan a composition while accomplishing other tasks.

Works by this artist (1036 items)

William H. Johnson, Breakdown with Flat Tire, ca. 1940-1941, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.587
Breakdown with Flat Tire
Dateca. 1940-1941
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Chain Gang, ca. 1939, oil on plywood, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.675
Chain Gang
Dateca. 1939
oil on plywood
On view
William H. Johnson, Ferry Boat Trip, ca. 1943-1944, oil on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.1011
Ferry Boat Trip
Dateca. 1943-1944
oil on paperboard
On view
William H. Johnson, Midnight Sun, Lofoten, 1937, oil on burlap, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.907
Midnight Sun, Lofoten
Date1937
oil on burlap
On view

Exhibitions

Media - 2019.15 - SAAM-2019.15_1 - 137377
Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women
May 31, 2024January 5, 2025
The artists in Subversive, Skilled, Sublime: Fiber Art by Women mastered and subverted the everyday materials of cotton, felt, and wool to create deeply personal artworks.

More Artworks from the Collection

William H. Johnson, Seated Female Nude With Black Background, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.219
Seated Female Nude With Black Background
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paper
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Standing Female Nude with Red Hair, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.186
Standing Female Nude with Red Hair
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paperboard
Not on view
William H. Johnson, Bearded Man in Yellow Chair, ca. 1939-1940, tempera on paperboard, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the Harmon Foundation, 1967.59.276
Bearded Man in Yellow Chair
Dateca. 1939-1940
tempera on paperboard
Not on view
Arnold Blanch, Harvest Scene (mural study, Fredonia, New York Post Office), ca. 1937, tempera on illustration board, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Internal Revenue Service through the General Services Administration
, 1962.8.28
Harvest Scene (mural study, Fredonia, New York Post Office)
Dateca. 1937
tempera on illustration board
Not on view