Object of the Day
Discover a different object from the Museum’s collection every day of the week!
Museum curators, conservators, and educators, as well as design enthusiasts like our teen Design Scholars, docents, and Master’s students, are sharing their favorite objects from Cooper-Hewitt’s incredible collection.
Many of these objects will be featured in the expanded collection galleries when Cooper-Hewitt reopens in 2014. Until then, “Object of the Day” is your uniquely-curated corner of the Museum!
Illuminating New York: Caldwell & CompanyPosted by Jen Cohlman, on Tuesday March 12, 2013This black and white photograph represents just one of 37,000 from the National Design Library's Caldwell & Company Collection. Also containing 13,000 original drawings and watercolor sketches, this immense visual resource comprises one of the largest lighting fixture archives by a single American company. lighting, Art Deco, Carnegie mansion, ceiling fixture, metalwork |
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Napoleon's Other WifePosted by Sarah R. Donahue, on Monday March 11, 2013Though most people only know of his first wife Joséphine, Napoleon I of France was married twice during his lifetime. Napoleon and Joséphine were married on March 9, 1796. Their marriage was a strained one, due to Napoleon’s extensive travel and their inability to have children. Though their correspondence shows that they had once cared for one another, by 1809, Napoleon was looking to divorce Joséphine and wed another woman who could offer him money and children. Napolean, Marie-Louise of Austria, embroidery design, commemorative |
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Birth of VenusPosted by Christopher Chitris, on Sunday March 10, 2013The reason I chose this wallcovering by Teresa Kilham was due to the mythology behind this piece. As a child I was obsessed with Greek and Roman mythology. I was so fascinated by all the different gods and goddesses. The gods portrayed in this piece, Neptune and Venus are largely involved in the ocean which I have also loved my whole life. When I was younger my favorite mythological god was Aphrodite due to her strange "birth." The story behind her birth is that she rose from the sea foam in a seashell. Venus, shell, wallpaper, sea, Neptune |
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Keeping Warm: A Pennsylvania CoverletPosted by Kimberly Randall, on Saturday March 09, 2013The American woven coverlet presents an appealing visual record of the patterns and designs of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The seemingly simple geometric elements come together in a boldly graphic way that resonates with many collectors today. This particular coverlet, acquired by Cooper-Hewitt in 2010, was most likely made before the arrival of the Jacquard attachment – a special mechanical loom component from France that was made of a series of punched cards. Invented in 1806, it was widely available in the United States by the early 1820s. coverlet, Jacquard, Pennsylvania, woven, snowball, pine tree |
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Flower PowerPosted by Gregory Herringshaw, on Friday March 08, 2013Love in Bloom is a beautifully designed wallpaper that speaks of the period during which it was made. The differing shades of taupe printed in transparent colors on the reflective Mylar foil ground create a great sense of depth. Produced in 1968, it speaks very strongly of the Flower Power movement, of peace in turbulent times, as well as the use of new materials. wallpaper, Mylar, screenprint, peace, floral, flowers |
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Before There Were Ring Tones There Were RingsPosted by Cynthia Trope, on Thursday March 07, 2013If you grew up in America in the mid-1950s-70s, you no doubt encountered the Model 500 telephone or one of its variants in almost every home or workplace you entered. The model 500 became the standard desk-style phone in the U.S., with over 93 million units produced for homes and offices between 1949 and the divestiture of AT&T (the Bell System) in 1984. Telephone, Model 500, Henry Dreyfuss, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Western Electric Manufacturing Company, Industrial Design |
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Art Deco: Cubism and Classical TraditionPosted by Terry Ryan, on Wednesday March 06, 2013If c.1900 - 1914 the international avant-garde held sway over the cultural life of Paris, the period immediately following World War I -- often referred to as the "return to order" -- saw a renewal of French cultural values -- that is, "tradition" and, of course, "Classicism." When these values in design were touched by the lingering spirit of the avant-garde, the result was one of the most successful and admired styles of the 20th century: Art Deco. Terry Ryan, Art Deco, Louis Sue, Andre Mare, Architectures, National Design Library, Cubism, La Compagnie dea Arts Francais, Paul Valery |
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The Union ForeverPosted by Susan Brown, on Monday March 04, 2013Today marks the 148th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, which closed “With malice toward none, with charity for all… let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds...” This delicate design of floral wreaths encircling womanly hands clasped in friendship seems to embody the ideal of reconciliation set forth by the President as he entered his second term of office, just a few weeks before his assassination. Abraham Lincoln, abolition, Civil War, campaigns, Lincoln’s second inaugural |
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Roche MailPosted by Stephen H. Van Dyk, on Sunday March 03, 2013Maria Sibylla Merian (1647-1717), a painter of flora and fauna, was one of the first naturalists to have observed insects directly from nature. She was a pioneer in the study of how caterpillars become butterflies and moths, which was still a mystery at the time. Her large folio volume http://archive.org/details/Metamorphosisin00Meri depicting on its first plate Cockroaches on a Flowering Pineapple (above), was considered the most outstanding work on insects of its day. botanical illustration, insects, U.S. postal stamps, Maria Sibylla Merian |
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Pulsating LifePosted by Alison Charny, on Saturday March 02, 2013Gunta (Aldegunde) Stölzl is known for her weaving and teaching at the Bauhaus. Her compelling textile designs, which play on line and color, appeal as independent artworks in themselves. Gunta (Aldegunde) Stölzl, Bauhaus, textile design, drawing, watercolor, World War I, Germany, Color |
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