Pewter Pitcher c. 1936

Hyman Pearlman created this drawing of a pewter pitcher on paper at an unknown date. We might consider this image as part of a broader cultural interest in early American material culture. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, objects like this pitcher were being celebrated as examples of early American craftsmanship, emblems of an imagined past of homespun virtue. This coincided with the rise of industrialization, immigration, and other rapid social changes. Institutions like museums and historical societies played a key role in shaping these narratives, collecting and displaying these objects to promote a particular vision of national identity. Artists, like Pearlman, contributed to this process by documenting and idealizing these artifacts. To understand this drawing better, we might consult period catalogs, museum records, and publications on decorative arts. In doing so, we can gain insight into the social and institutional forces that shaped its meaning and significance.