Cabinet R: Shelf 4

American Plaster Casts

When conceptualizing a large-scale work, artists often start by making a smaller model or maquette in an easy to sculpt medium such as clay. Often, plaster casts of the original model are produced by making a mold of the piece, and pouring fresh plaster into it, which, after the plaster dries and the mold is removed, creates an exact copy of the original.

At the end of the Civil War (1861–65) there was an effort to promote an American Renaissance and to beautify cities with civic monuments and public sculpture. Artists such as Randolph Rogers and Thomas Ball were commissioned to produce memorials that addressed themes of war and slavery and to commemorate military heroes, from the common soldier to President Abraham Lincoln himself. The plaster casts by Rogers (whose Nydia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii and Bust of George Washington after Houdin are also in the Museum’s collection) and Ball displayed here were maquettes for Civil War monuments; these frequently depicted Lincoln as the “Great Emancipator,” freeing a slave and establishing peace and unity.

Other nineteenth-century works focused on domestic scenes that highlighted happier aspects of American life. Many of John Rogers’ sculptures depict genre scenes infused with sentiment and a touch of humor. Rogers worked directly in clay from live models (often his wife, children, and friends). He mass-produced affordable plaster copies of his most popular pieces, and his works soon became a necessity in the Victorian parlor.

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Cabinet A: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Inkwells </p>

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<p>Selections from the Bohlen Wood Art Collection ...

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<p>Inkwells </p>

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<p>Inkwells </p>

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<p>Selections from the James Marshall Plumer Collec...

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<p>Mortuary Art from China </p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China </p>

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<p>Mortuary Art from China</p>

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<p>Art of Islam</p>

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<p>Art of Islam</p>

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<p>Art of Islam</p>

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<p>Art of Islam</p>

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<p>Religious Sculpture from India</p>

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<p>Religious Sculpture from India</p>

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<p>Art of Islam</p>

Cabinet L: Shelf 1
<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

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<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

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<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

Cabinet M: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Dora and William Hunter Coll...

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<p>Selections from the Dora and William Hunter Coll...

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<p>Blue-and-White Porcelain and Stoneware</p>

Cabinet N: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Margaret Watson Parker Colle...

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<p>Selections from the Margaret Watson Parker Colle...

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<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet O: Shelf 1
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet O: Shelf 2
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

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<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet P: Shelf 1
<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

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<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

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<p>Celadon Wares in Asia</p>

Cabinet Q: Shelf 1
<p>Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Coll...

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<p>Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Coll...

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<p>Selections from the Ellen and Richard Laing Coll...

Cabinet Q: Shelf 4
<p>American Plaster Casts</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 1
<p>American Plaster Casts</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 2
<p>Apostle Spoons and American Silver</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 3
<p>Modernist Glass and American Art Pottery</p>

Cabinet R: Shelf 4
<p>American Plaster Casts</p>

Cabinet S: Shelf 1
<p>American Silver</p>

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<p>Tiffany Glass</p>

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<p>American Silver</p>

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<p>American Art Pottery</p>

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<p>American Art Pottery</p>

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<p>Native American Art</p>

Cabinet U: Shelf 1
<p>American Art Pottery</p>

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<p>American Art Pottery</p>

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<p>Native American Art</p>

Cabinet V: Shelf 1
<p>The Human Figure in African Art</p>

Cabinet V: Shelf 2
<p>African Miniature Masks</p>

Cabinet V: Shelf 3
<p>African Masks and Masquerades</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 1
<p>The Head in African Art</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 2
<p>Selections from the Helmut Stern Collection</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 3
<p>Selections from the Helmut Stern Collection</p>

Cabinet W: Shelf 4
<p>African Masks and Masquerades</p>

Cabinet X: Shelf 1
<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

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<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

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<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

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<p>Modern Sculpture</p>

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<p>Selections from the Fusfeld Art Collection</p>

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<p>Contemporary Art</p>

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<p>Contemporary Art</p>

Cabinet Y: Shelf 4
<p>Contemporary Art</p>

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June 8, 2020 1:36 p.m.

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