词条 | Currier & Ives |
释义 | Currier & Ives American lithographers firm whose lithographs were among the most popular wall hangings in 19th-century America. The prints of Nathaniel Currier (b. March 27, 1813, Roxbury, Mass., U.S.—d. Nov. 20, 1888, New York, N.Y.) and James Merritt Ives (b. March 5, 1824, New York, N.Y., U.S.—d. Jan. 3, 1895, Rye, N.Y.), which typically depict the history and customs of the American people, also provide a valuable historical record of a time when news photography was still unknown. After undertaking apprenticeships in Boston and Philadelphia, Currier set up a print publishing company in New York City in 1834. He hired Ives as his bookkeeper in 1852 and made him a partner in 1857, creating the firm of Currier & Ives, which lasted, eventually under the management of their sons, until 1907. ![]() While never purporting artistic greatness, Currier & Ives insisted on fine craftmanship and the best lithographic materials. Most designs were created by house staff; others were commissioned from young artists such as Louis Maurer, Thomas Worth, and Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait. As the firm was not equipped for chromolithography, prints were hand-coloured by a dozen or more women in assembly-line fashion, one colour to a worker. The colours favoured were clear and simple, and the drawing was bold and direct. Though their methodology was ultimately rendered obsolete by automation and the photograph, Currier & Ives prints became valuable records of the politics, history, and manners of 19th-century America. Additional Reading Harry T. Peters, Currier & Ives: Printmakers to the American People (1942; originally published in limited edition, 2 vol., 1929–31; reprinted 1976); Currier & Ives: A Catalogue Raisonné (1984), published by Gale Research Company; Kevin O'Rourke, Currier and Ives: The Irish and America (1995); Bryan F. Le Beau, Currier & Ives: America Imagined (2001). |
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