The Great American Hall of Wonders is a vividly illustrated survey of the American ingenuity that energized all aspects of 19th-century society, from the painting of landscapes and scenes of everyday life, to the planning of scientific expeditions and the development of new mechanical devices.
It focuses on six iconic objects that inspired the American imagination: the buffalo, the giant sequoia, and Niagara Falls (symbolizing vast natural bounty), and the gun, the railroad, and the clock (representing all things mechanical and the purposeful use of time). Each of these served as cultural lightning rods, sparking creativity across a wide swathe of American society. Visions of buffalo herds, railroad trestles, big trees, and Colt rifles engaged not only artists, scientists, and inventors, but also poets, educators, farmers, chaplains, and members of Congress. This new book is a tribute to their energy and vision. AUTHOR: Claire Perry is a guest curator at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, and her work focuses on the art and cultural history of the United States in the nineteenth century. Before working for the Smithsonian, Perry served as curator of American art at the Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University. She is the author of Young America: Childhood in Nineteenth-century Art (2005) and Culture Pacific Arcadia: Images of California, 1600-1915 (1999). SELLING POINTS: . Includes works by pre-eminent American artists, including Winslow Homer, John James Audubon, Thomas Eakins, Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Cole . Features rarely seen prints, survey photographs, zoological and botanical illustrations, patent models, and engineering diagrams
ILLUSTRATIONS: 80 colour & 56 duotone