Medieval Art

Henry Linder

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Linder’s “Oriental Art,” for the facade of the Fine Arts Building at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in Saint Louis, inspired further exploration of the theme of the freestanding female as an allegory of art. “Medieval Art,” a heavily draped women holding a covered beaker and a reliquary in either hand, is his only other known example of this type of personification. It was modeled in 1909, just a year before the sculptor’s death and was cast in bronze posthumously. Primarily a decorative sculptor, Linder is best known for his domestic objects including andirons, candlesticks, and inkwells that often incorporate figures of capricious children.

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