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Peacock Weather Vane

A work made of pennsylvania iron.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of pennsylvania iron.

Date:

1800–60

Artist:

Artist unknown (American, active 19th century)
Pennsylvania

About this artwork

Early American weather vanes, such as this silhouetted peacock, were collected in the 20th century for their sculptural qualities and celebrated as precursors to modernism. The Art Institute acquired this hand-forged vane from gallerist Edith Halpert, who distinguished herself in the New York art world by focusing on modern American art and vernacular arts from centuries prior. She operated two galleries in the same building: the Downtown Gallery, which focused on modern American art like the painting My Man (1944.426) by Yasuo Kuniyoshi, and the American Folk Art Gallery. Weather vanes were popular among Halpert’s clients; as Time magazine reported, she “busily stripped the New England skyline of more than 100 vanes” for sale to collectors and museums.

Status

On View, Gallery 265

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Artist unknown

Title

Peacock Weather Vane

Place

Pennsylvania (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

c. 1800–1860

Medium

Pennsylvania Iron

Dimensions

131.8 × 71.1 × 2.5 cm (51 7/8 × 28 × 1 in.)

Credit Line

Elizabeth R. Vaughan Fund

Reference Number

1952.549

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/77688/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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