Title
Decorative Panel (One of a series designed for Willard D. Straight Esq.)
Object Type
Creator
Date
1914
Notes
As Howard Gardiner Cushing's career advanced, he began to create more stylized interpretations of the East. In 1914 he completed a set of decorative panels designed for the dressing room of Willard Straight, in his residence on Fifth Avenue in New York City. Straight was a financier and diplomat specializing in Far Eastern relations and founder of The Journal of the American Asiatic Association. Architect William Adams Delano, who designed Straight's residence as well as the Cushing Gallery, wrote of the Straight panels, "Curious, unseaworthy ships drift on a golden sea towards islands and rocks constructed on lines far from nature's formulae..."
Much of the style and imagery of these Straight panels derives from Cushing's familiarity with Ukiyo-e prints, which he collected. In particular the Japanese printmaker Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) often portrayed cliffs overlooking the sea, with ships in the distance (see example to the left).
Much of the style and imagery of these Straight panels derives from Cushing's familiarity with Ukiyo-e prints, which he collected. In particular the Japanese printmaker Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858) often portrayed cliffs overlooking the sea, with ships in the distance (see example to the left).
Cultural Origin
Newport/New York
Medium
Oil on canvas
Extent
framed: 78 in x 41 in; Image: 75 1/2 in x 38 1/4 in
Source
Deed of gift of the Howard G. Cushing Memorial Committee
Identifier
1920.001.004
For more information about this item, please contact its owning institution.