Silver Whale1860–188012 5/8 × 14 3/8 × 1"Reverse painting and foil on glassGift of Kristina Barbara Johnson1992.17.10Tinsel painting showing profile of whale with upturned tail in silver foil. At base of picture shooting from his spout is a geyser of silver flowers and green tinted vines. Silver seagull with outstretched wings above. Background is black. Rectangular wood frame,painted gold on front surface. Frame backed with a glittery effect.1529791085Artist unidentifiedPaintingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain. United StatesPaintings
Whaling was an important industry in nineteenth-century America. Hundreds of ships left New England and returned, sometimes after several years, with whale oil and other products derived from the huge mammal. When oil reserves were discovered on land and refineries developed, whaling declined. Memories of the industry live on in literature with Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and in art with scrimshaw, or whalebone carving. In this small nineteenth-century tinsel painting, the whale spouts water from its blowhole.
Lee Kogan, "Silver Whale," FOILED: Tinsel Painting in America (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013), 90Tinsel PaintingPAINTING18601880 1992 17 1
Whaling was an important industry in nineteenth-century America. Hundreds of ships left New England and returned, sometimes after several years, with whale oil and other products derived from the huge mammal. When oil reserves were discovered on land and refineries developed, whaling declined. Memories of the industry live on in literature with Herman Melville's Moby-Dick and in art with scrimshaw, or whalebone carving. In this small nineteenth-century tinsel painting, the whale spouts water from its blowhole.
Lee Kogan, "Silver Whale," FOILED: Tinsel Painting in America (New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2013), 90Tinsel PaintingPAINTING