“Hebe Giving Support to the Bald Eagle” Fire Engine Panel Painting
date: label: date made
content: ca 1832
name: label: referenced
content: Sully, Thomas
label: referenced
content: Savage, Edward
label: artist attribution
content: Sully, Thomas
notes: label: Description
content: In the nineteenth century, volunteer fire companies often commissioned paintings to decorate their hand-pumped fire engines for parades, competitions, and community events. Sometimes framed with elaborate carvings, they adorned the tall air chamber located at the middle or rear of a pumper. The paintings would often feature patriotic, heroic, or allegorical images to associate the volunteer companies with these lofty ideals.
label: Description
content: This fire engine panel painting likely came from the Aetna Fire Engine Company No. 16 of New York City that was active from 1786 to 1833. The painting is attributed to Thomas Sully and dates to around 1832. This painting takes after Edward Savages’ <i>Liberty in the Form of the Goddess of Youth: Giving Support to the Bald Eagle</i> [1796], a popular image of the period. The image parallels the mythological figure of Hebe, cupbearer to the gods of classical Greece, bringing them ambrosia and the nectar of immortal youth. It depicts a figure of Liberty pouring a bowl of ambrosia for an American bald eagle, granting it the immortality of the gods. Neo-classical themes on panel paintings linked the new nation to the ancient ideals of liberty, democracy and prosperity. They also allowed the volunteer companies to display paintings of an idealized female form, an image that was sure to be eye-catching during parades.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: used
content: United States: New York, New York City
topic: label: classified
content: Fire Fighting
setName: label: See more items in
content: Home and Community Life: Fire Fighting and Law Enforcement
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content: Engine Panel Paintings
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content: Cultures & Communities
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content: Work
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content: Firefighting Collection
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content: Art
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of CIGNA Museum and Art Collection
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: 2005.0233.0300
label: accession number
content: 2005.0233
label: catalog number
content: 2005.0233.0300
objectType: label: Object Name
content: painting, engine panel
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: wood (overall material)
label: Physical Description
content: oil paint (image material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 29 3/4 in x 17 1/4 in; 75.565 cm x 43.815 cm