Object Number 2013.0031.102 A

Object Name

Fraktur (Cutwork picture)

Category

Works on Paper

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase with funds provided by Nicholas and Jo Helen Wilson, Thomas K. Johnson II, Bridget and Al Ritter, and the Henry Francis du Pont Collectors Circle.

Creator (Role)

Sussel-Washington Artist (Maker)
References: Earnest, Papers for Birth Dayes, pp. 407-10; Swank, Arts of the Pennsylvania Germans, p. 243. The Sussel-Washington Artist takes his name from Arthur J. Sussel, Philadelphia antiquarian and fraktur collector, from whose sale Winterthur purchased fraktur 58.120.15 at Sotheby's on October 24, 1958. This artist's designs are distinguished by men and women in colonial and Old World dress. He also made Taufwunsches (baptismal wishes) rather than Taufscheins. Taufwunsches typically begin with the heading "Tauf Wunsch", followed by a religious message and then the birth and baptismal information - the opposite order from Taufscheins. Since Taufwunsches were more popular in Europe than America, a European (possibly Swiss) background for this artist has been suggested. Identifying this individual is complicated by the fact his two dozen or so known pieces list birthplaces from six counties.

Place of Origin

Lancaster, Pennsylvania, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1775-1780

Subjects

Military; American Revolutionary War

Materials

Paper (laid); Watercolor; Ink

Techniques

Hand colored, Drawn, Cutwork, Painted

Dimensions (inches)

4 (H) , 3.25 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

10.16 (H) , 8.255 (W)

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Weiser, Frederick S. 1994 The Gift is Small The Love is Great: Pennsylvania German Small Presentation Frakturs.
• See pp. 68-9 for three other small drawings by the same artist.
[Catalogue] Minardi, Lisa. 2015 A Colorful Folk: Pennsylvania Germans & the Art of Everyday Life.
• Published: fig. 72, p.56