Baptism

William P. Chappel

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

During the Second Great Awakening (ca. 1790–1830), New York City became a center for Methodist and Baptist revivalist preachers who inspired their flourishing working-class congregations. Baptisms of adults and older children by total immersion in water—embraced by some Methodists but a particular hallmark of the Baptist faith—drew large audiences for Sunday morning ceremonies. Such immersions were performed on the banks of the Hudson and East Rivers. Here, Chappel represents the beach at Corlear’s Hook, a popular spot for baptizing as well as bathing, due to the fine sandy bottom and shelving shore.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art