Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Previous 1 2 / 2 Next

Mary Ann Willson

Pelican with Young, ca. 1800–1830

Description

Maker

  • Mary Ann Willson, active 1818-1829, American

Title

Pelican with Young

Year

ca. 1800–1830

Medium

Ink and watercolor with stenciling on paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • watercolor,
  • ink

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

32.7 x 40.8 cm (12 7/8 x 16 1/16 inches)

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Jesse Metcalf Fund

Object Number

44.092

Projects & Publications

Publications

RISD STEAM/Discovery Through Juxtaposition

Read Online

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Landscape and Leisure

March 13 - July 19, 2015

In this fanciful image, George Washington fires his gun atop a noble black steed. Artist Mary Ann Willson punctuated the background with a series of marks that create a surprisingly effective atmospheric space. The freehand decorations on the horse’s saddle are typical of her approach to pattern and design. In Pelican with Young, she embellished the pelican—a symbol of Christ’s sacrifice—with a patchwork pattern. Stencils were used for the feet and beak, suggesting Willson made several versions.

Willson lived in upstate New York, where she and her female partner earned a living farming and selling pictures. Entirely self-taught, she created pigments from berries, bricks, and vegetables, only occasionally using store-bought paints. A contemporary of Willson’s wrote that her paintings were purchased as far north as Canada and as far south as Alabama.

American Folk Art from the Permanent Collection and Pilavin Collection of 20th-Century American Art

July 15 - August 15, 1981

Selection 1

December 30, 1971 - January 23, 1972

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Pelican with Young with the accession number of 44.092. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use