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!

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American Gothic Posted by Stephen H. Van Dyk, on Sunday December 09, 2012 This trade catalog, which contains more than 100 photographs of furniture in the “modern" gothic style, is one of the only remaining works to visually document the furniture designed by the renowned New York cabinetmakers, Kimbel & Cabus. Anthony Kimbel emigrated from Germany in the late 1840s and partnered with Anton Bembe to form Bembe and Kimbel in 1854, creating furniture in the Rococo-revival style. Kimbel & Cabus, furniture, Neo-Gothic, trade catalog, American, National Design Library
Shocked and Appealed Posted by Matthew J. Kennedy, on Saturday December 08, 2012 Well, this is certainly pugnacious—but what propaganda isn’t, really? It takes no learned scholar to discern that this poster means business. Euphemism wasn’t really of interest to the United States in December 1941, when its resistance to entering World War II was abruptly terminated by the infamous events in Pearl Harbor. The nation was catapulted into the global turmoil that had already blurred national boundaries and sent refugees seeking shelter in other countries all over the world. World War II, propaganda, Cubism, Jean Carlu, posters, graphic design, offset lithography
Down the rabbit hole Posted by Seb Chan, on Friday December 07, 2012 In this latest report on your usage of our new online collection, I'm going to look at entry points. One of the main aims of an online collection these days is to move beyond a "view on a database" and deliver some of the affordances of a gallery experience—especially the ability to serendipitously discover new rabbit-holes down which to disappear. permanent collection, furniture, jewelry, graphic design
Crocodile Posted by Matilda McQuaid, on Thursday December 06, 2012 Japanese textile designer, Junichi Arai (b.1932), said that the crucial problem for contemporary textile makers is choosing and blending the myriad of available materials, tools, and technologies. He explains that history should be the maker’s guide, as there have been passionate efforts dedicated to making better fibers, textiles, and garments. Junichi Arai, Japan, textiles, melt-off
Cocktail wallpapers Posted by Gregory Herringshaw, on Wednesday December 05, 2012 Cocktail papers followed the end of Prohibition in 1933. This design is typical of the genre, with its whimsical personifications of cocktails. The drinks shown in this design include a Pink Lady, Sidecar, a Manhattan, Scotch & Lime, and a Stinger. They are printed in bright colors on a metallic copper background. Quite often, these motifs were mixed with elements of gaming, such as cards or dice. Interior decorators began recommending game rooms for adult use in the mid-1930s. wallpaper, cocktail, Manhattan, Pink Lady, Prohibition
Printing Furniture Posted by Cara McCarty, on Tuesday December 04, 2012 “Stereolithography has enabled us to…imagine, on an industrial level, a new freedom of creation, which would notably emancipate us from the limitations of molds.”[1] Patrick Jouin Patrick Jouin, C2 Chair, furniture, rapid prototyping, printed furniture, Materialise, Sterolithography, mass customization, Solid Collection
A Poster by Michiel Schuurman Posted by Ellen Lupton, on Monday December 03, 2012 Every summer, hundreds of thousands of visitors travel by ferry to Governors Island, a former Coast Guard outpost that has become one of New York City’s most popular public parks. In summer 2012, Cooper-Hewitt was proud to host our exhibition, Graphic Design: Now In Production, on Governors Island, and I was proud to be among the organizing curators. Michiel Schuurman, Graphic Design: Now in Production, posters, graphic design, 21st century
Learning Can Be Fun Sunday December 02, 2012 Alphabet border by William Wegman was a charming addition to the field of children’s wallpapers in 1993. Wegman began photographing his weimaraners in 1970 and his photographs became a huge favorite with adults and children alike. What’s not to like about a beautiful dog holding a goofy pose! Alphabet border takes the dog photography a step further by making it educational. The dogs are arranged in groups of 2 to 5 dogs, spelling out the different letters of the alphabet from A to Z. wallpaper, border, dog, ABCs, alphabet, Wegman
Alpha Workshops Posted by Gregory Herringshaw, on Saturday December 01, 2012 Block-printed on a painted ground, Sunflower is a contemporary wallpaper created using techniques popular in the early years of wallpaper production. The design is printed in two colors with a single set of blocks, with the registration shifted after the printing of the first color. This two-layer printing over painted ground creates a subtle all-over effect. Eliminating voids in the pattern creates a nice flow over the wall surface. Sunflower, Alpha Workshops, wallpaper, block print, New York City
The Dome and Cupola that Were Not There Posted by Gail S. Davidson, on Friday November 30, 2012 This perspective tour de force dazzles the eye with the complexities of its illusionistic architecture. The story behind the work is equally compelling. Andrea Pozzo, Architecture, Italian architecture, Church of Saint Ignatius Loyola, Jesuit Order, Counter Reformation, Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Baciccio, fresco, foreshortening, dome, perspective, drawing, illusionism, Japanese, painting, cupola, Rome