Statue of Liberty Cabinet1886–189077 3/4 x 30 3/8 x 21 1/8 " (197.5 x 77.2 x 53.7 cm)Wood cutouts and paint on woodGift of the Hirschhorn Foundation1997.6.201538192382Julius H. HasenritterFurniture/FurnishingsThe American Folk Art Museum believes this work to be in the public domain.http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster20049Vicinity of St. LouisVicinity of St. LouisUnited StatesMissouriThree Dimensional WorksVicinity of St. LouisFURNITUREIt is not known whether Titus Albrecht made this cabinet in an elaborate late nineteenth-century revival style or embellished a purchased piece of furniture with his own fantasy, crowned by the Statue of Liberty. At the time it was made, there was an explosion of interest in woodworking techniques such as tramp art, marquetry, and fretwork. This was due in part to the availability of free or inexpensive wood in the form of discarded cigar boxes and crates, but it may also be tied to the large influx of emigrants from parts of the globe where such techniques flourished. During this same period, a great number of Germans arrived in St. Louis. The piece displays intricate cutout work in an overall scroll pattern and is further decorated with cherubs, angels, and figures. The latter strongly evoke theatrical poses from stage and vaudeville, including popular “statue” acts that featured a performer wearing all white, striking classical poses associated with marble statues. St. Louis was a center of such entertainments, with multiple theaters devoted to these performing arts, as well as German theaters dedicated to that immigrant community. Various types of performances were used to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty, a joint Franco-American venture that was brought to fruition in 1886. The statue at the top of this confection is in the guise of the Madonna, installed on a crescent moon and surrounded by a ring of stars. The deck of the cabinet features a patriotic eagle and bunting in marquetry, small pieces of wood veneer laid puzzle-like over the wood surface.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Statue of Liberty Cabinet,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.It is not known whether Titus Albrecht made this cabinet in an elaborate late nineteenth-century revival style or embellished a purchased piece of furniture with his own fantasy, crowned by the Statue of Liberty. At the time it was made, there was an explosion of interest in woodworking techniques such as tramp art, marquetry, and fretwork. This was due in part to the availability of free or inexpensive wood in the form of discarded cigar boxes and crates, but it may also be tied to the large influx of emigrants from parts of the globe where such techniques flourished. During this same period, a great number of Germans arrived in St. Louis. The piece displays intricate cutout work in an overall scroll pattern and is further decorated with cherubs, angels, and figures. The latter strongly evoke theatrical poses from stage and vaudeville, including popular “statue” acts that featured a performer wearing all white, striking classical poses associated with marble statues. St. Louis was a center of such entertainments, with multiple theaters devoted to these performing arts, as well as German theaters dedicated to that immigrant community. Various types of performances were used to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty, a joint Franco-American venture that was brought to fruition in 1886. The statue at the top of this confection is in the guise of the Madonna, installed on a crescent moon and surrounded by a ring of stars. The deck of the cabinet features a patriotic eagle and bunting in marquetry, small pieces of wood veneer laid puzzle-like over the wood surface.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Statue of Liberty Cabinet,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgEven before it was built, Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty captured the American imagination. The statue was conceived as a joint Franco-American venture, with France designing and building the statue proper and the United States providing the pedestal upon which it was to be placed. Fund-raising efforts in America included theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions, and prizefights. Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, with more than a hundred thousand Americans eventually contributing to the project. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, at the height of one of the greatest periods of immigration to American shores.
This confection of a cabinet celebrates the Statue of Liberty by perching her cutout silhouette triumphantly atop a pinnacle of cascading filigree woodwork. The statue stands, Madonna-like, on a ring of stars surrounding a crescent moon. The cabinet itself combines several woodworking techniques, including marquetry, carving, and applied jigsaw cutouts. Titus Albrecht, who is thought to be the maker of this cabinet, used jigsaw cutouts throughout as ornamental fretwork and in the form of silhouetted figures. Several of these are in the guise of dancing girls in classical garb, possibly referring to the neoclassical presentation of Bartholdi’s statue but also bearing a suspicious likeness to theatrical show figures and high-wire, equestrian, and other performers in itinerant carnivals. The cabinet stands incongruously on elaborately carved, scrolling vine feet with berries and snakes, providing the only touch of color to this otherwise unpainted piece. In form it is in the style of the Renaissance Revival; a tall mirror with swinging candle arms sits over a desktop with two drawers above a two-door compartment, every inch covered with decorative wood elements. Completing the patriotic theme, the desktop features marquetry of an eagle with spread wings standing on a furled American flag and holding three arrows and an olive branch in its talons. http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster20049http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster20049http://nodes.emuseum.com/BU1BGBAG/apis/emuseum/network/v1/vocabularies/termMaster2004918861890 1997 6 2 FURNITUREIt is not known whether Titus Albrecht made this cabinet in an elaborate late nineteenth-century revival style or embellished a purchased piece of furniture with his own fantasy, crowned by the Statue of Liberty. At the time it was made, there was an explosion of interest in woodworking techniques such as tramp art, marquetry, and fretwork. This was due in part to the availability of free or inexpensive wood in the form of discarded cigar boxes and crates, but it may also be tied to the large influx of emigrants from parts of the globe where such techniques flourished. During this same period, a great number of Germans arrived in St. Louis. The piece displays intricate cutout work in an overall scroll pattern and is further decorated with cherubs, angels, and figures. The latter strongly evoke theatrical poses from stage and vaudeville, including popular “statue” acts that featured a performer wearing all white, striking classical poses associated with marble statues. St. Louis was a center of such entertainments, with multiple theaters devoted to these performing arts, as well as German theaters dedicated to that immigrant community. Various types of performances were used to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty, a joint Franco-American venture that was brought to fruition in 1886. The statue at the top of this confection is in the guise of the Madonna, installed on a crescent moon and surrounded by a ring of stars. The deck of the cabinet features a patriotic eagle and bunting in marquetry, small pieces of wood veneer laid puzzle-like over the wood surface.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Statue of Liberty Cabinet,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.It is not known whether Titus Albrecht made this cabinet in an elaborate late nineteenth-century revival style or embellished a purchased piece of furniture with his own fantasy, crowned by the Statue of Liberty. At the time it was made, there was an explosion of interest in woodworking techniques such as tramp art, marquetry, and fretwork. This was due in part to the availability of free or inexpensive wood in the form of discarded cigar boxes and crates, but it may also be tied to the large influx of emigrants from parts of the globe where such techniques flourished. During this same period, a great number of Germans arrived in St. Louis. The piece displays intricate cutout work in an overall scroll pattern and is further decorated with cherubs, angels, and figures. The latter strongly evoke theatrical poses from stage and vaudeville, including popular “statue” acts that featured a performer wearing all white, striking classical poses associated with marble statues. St. Louis was a center of such entertainments, with multiple theaters devoted to these performing arts, as well as German theaters dedicated to that immigrant community. Various types of performances were used to raise funds for the Statue of Liberty, a joint Franco-American venture that was brought to fruition in 1886. The statue at the top of this confection is in the guise of the Madonna, installed on a crescent moon and surrounded by a ring of stars. The deck of the cabinet features a patriotic eagle and bunting in marquetry, small pieces of wood veneer laid puzzle-like over the wood surface.
Stacy C. Hollander, “Statue of Liberty Cabinet,” exhibition label for Self-Taught Genius: Treasures from the American Folk Art Museum. Stacy C. Hollander and Valérie Rousseau, curators. New York: American Folk Art Museum, 2014.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated with new research. Records are reviewed and revised, and the American Folk Art Museum welcomes additional information.
To help improve this record, please email photoservices@folkartmuseum.orgEven before it was built, Bartholdi’s Statue of Liberty captured the American imagination. The statue was conceived as a joint Franco-American venture, with France designing and building the statue proper and the United States providing the pedestal upon which it was to be placed. Fund-raising efforts in America included theatrical events, art exhibitions, auctions, and prizefights. Financing for the pedestal was completed in August 1885, with more than a hundred thousand Americans eventually contributing to the project. The Statue of Liberty was dedicated on October 28, 1886, at the height of one of the greatest periods of immigration to American shores.
This confection of a cabinet celebrates the Statue of Liberty by perching her cutout silhouette triumphantly atop a pinnacle of cascading filigree woodwork. The statue stands, Madonna-like, on a ring of stars surrounding a crescent moon. The cabinet itself combines several woodworking techniques, including marquetry, carving, and applied jigsaw cutouts. Titus Albrecht, who is thought to be the maker of this cabinet, used jigsaw cutouts throughout as ornamental fretwork and in the form of silhouetted figures. Several of these are in the guise of dancing girls in classical garb, possibly referring to the neoclassical presentation of Bartholdi’s statue but also bearing a suspicious likeness to theatrical show figures and high-wire, equestrian, and other performers in itinerant carnivals. The cabinet stands incongruously on elaborately carved, scrolling vine feet with berries and snakes, providing the only touch of color to this otherwise unpainted piece. In form it is in the style of the Renaissance Revival; a tall mirror with swinging candle arms sits over a desktop with two drawers above a two-door compartment, every inch covered with decorative wood elements. Completing the patriotic theme, the desktop features marquetry of an eagle with spread wings standing on a furled American flag and holding three arrows and an olive branch in its talons.