Rip Van Winkle

Rip Van Winkle

Albertis del Orient Browere

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Washington Irving’s popular story “Rip Van Winkle” (1819–20) inspired several artists to select dramatic moments from it for the subjects of paintings. Browere chose the conflict between the dazed and unkempt Van Winkle, who has just awoken from a long, deep sleep, and a large group of curious onlookers. A town official confronts Van Winkle with questions about his appearance and his politics, and it is eventually discovered that the old man slumbered through the entire period of the American Revolution and the change in the country’s government.

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.