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Pipes Sign
Artist unidentifed
United States
c. 1868
Reverse painting and foil on glass
12 …
Pipes Sign
Pipes Sign
Artist unidentifed
United States
c. 1868
Reverse painting and foil on glass
12 …
Pipes Sign Artist unidentifed United States c. 1868 Reverse painting and foil on glass 12 x 20" Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York Gift of Susan and Laurence Lerner, 2009.13.1 Photo by Gavin Ashworth
Record Details

Pipes Sign

Datec. 1868
Place/RegionUnited States
MediumReverse painting and foil on glass
Dimensions12 x 20 x 1 1/4"
Credit LineGift of Susan and Laurence Lerner
Accession number2009.13.1
Description

Rufus Porter offered instructions for reverse painting on glass as early as 1826 in his manual Curious Arts. In this technique all lettering must be written in reverse so that is reads correctly when viewed from the front of the glass. Art Recreations devotes a chapter to sign painting using the reverse-painting-on-glass technique with foil or mother-of-pearl backing.

Lee Kogan, "Pipes Sign," FOILED: Tinsel Painting in America (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013), 79

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