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Unidentified, Untitled (Eagle Weathervane), ca. 1875, painted sheet iron, 21 1⁄8 × 24 3⁄4 × 1 1⁄8 in. (53.7 × 62.9 × 2.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson, 2016.38.75
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Artwork Details
- Title
- Untitled (Eagle Weathervane)
- Artist
- Unidentified
- Date
- ca. 1875
- Location
- Dimensions
- 21 1⁄8 × 24 3⁄4 × 1 1⁄8 in. (53.7 × 62.9 × 2.9 cm)
- Credit Line
- The Margaret Z. Robson Collection, Gift of John E. and Douglas O. Robson
- Mediums Description
- painted sheet iron
- Classifications
- Keywords
- Animal — bird — eagle
- Object Number
- 2016.38.75
Artwork Description
Whether a rustic carving or a forged metalwork, weathervanes have long been part of American rooftops, and their forms often suggested something about the beliefs of the people whose homes or buildings they graced. Fusing art, design, and functional object, weathervanes came to symbolize a democratic art form, something that could be made by farmers, blacksmiths, artisanal craftsmen, or anyone who wanted to. Patriotic fervor following the creation of the new American republic made the eagle an abiding favorite, symbolizing a nation born of strength, courage, and independence.
(We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection, 2022)
Exhibitions
July 1, 2022–March 26, 2023
We Are Made of Stories: Self-Taught Artists in the Robson Family Collection traces the rise of self-taught artists in the twentieth century and examines how, despite wide-ranging societal, racial, and gender-based obstacles, their creativity and bold self-definition became major forces in American art. The exhibition features recent gifts to the museum from two generations of collectors, Margaret Z. Robson and Douglas O. Robson.