Take a Trip to Washington D.C.: "Pictures in the Parlor" at the Smithsonian
Exhibition
"Pictures in the Parlor"
Feb. 1 - June 30
Where
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Eighth and F streets N.W.
Graphic Arts galleries, second floor
Description
"Pictures in the Parlor" examines decorative images from the mid-19th century through the early 20th century that were used in domestic interiors to convey the values, aspirations and achievements of their owners. The installation includes 25 painted tintypes, 21 hand-colored photographs and nine folios from a Victorian collage album from the Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection.
Photography was introduced to the United States in the 1840s, allowing a wider range of Americans to afford portraits and decorative images; paintings and sculptures had previously been beyond the means of most families. Painted tintypes and hand-colored photographs democratized home décor, enabling ordinary Americans to own pictures that recalled art in upper-class homes. The parlor became the center of middle-class domestic life, a place where pictures that reflected a family's aesthetics, status and history were prominently displayed.
Nine folios from an album of collages portray domestic interiors, each representing a different room in a home. These collages are typical of the "scrapbook houses" made by young, middle-class girls in the 19th century, helping to prepare them for domestic life through designing the interior spaces that would one day convey their families' status and values.
The installation highlights objects from the museum's permanent collection. The artworks were selected by independent scholar Rafe Statfeld Recanati of New York.
The Smithsonian American Art Museum, located above the Gallery Place/Chinatown Metrorail station, is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Dec. 25. Admission is free.Follow the museum on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, ArtBabble, iTunes and YouTube.Smithsonian information: (202) 633-1000. Museum information (recorded): (202) 633-7970. Website: americanart.si.edu.