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Artist unidentified, United States, c. 1901-1920
Reversed painting and embossed foil on glass
7 1/2 x 8 3/4 in.
American Folk Art Museum
[I managed to get a copy of this piece printed on a large postcard for a mere $2.50]
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One of the places I briefly visited in New York was the American Folk Art Museum. There was a tiny, but crammed, exhibition called: Foiled: Tinsel Painting in America. Here is the website's description of this exhibition:
Tinsel paintings are reverse paintings on glass with smooth or crumpled metallic foil applied behind translucent and transparent areas; when viewed in candlelight or gaslight, the effect was one of shimmering highlights. In the first half of the 19th century, tinsel painting was taught to young women whose parents were dedicated to providing refined education for their daughters and paid for such special classes. By the mid- to late 19th century, the art had expanded outside the school curriculum, and instructions proliferated in books and were advertised in women’s magazines. Its origins are related to forms developed in Renaissance Italy, 18th-century China and France, and 19th-century Austria, England, and Germany. Floral imagery predominates, as botanical copy prints and patterns were often employed. Especially appealing today are rare works that combine a variety of techniques and materials, including photography and collage.Below is a PBS video, Tinsel Painting in America, on the exhibition. Lee Kogan, Curator Emerita at the American Folk Art Museum, gives a tour of the exhibition.