Eagle
Wilhelm Schimmel|Aaron Mountz
1865–90 · White pine · The American Wing
The surviving body of brightly painted carved birds and animals attributed to the German émigré artist Wilhelm Schimmel represents one of the best known groups of American folk carving. Schimmel arrived about 1860 in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley and found support within the close-knit community of German and Scotch-Irish farmers, who purchased or traded food and lodging for his work. Using a common folding pocket knife, Schimmel carved deep, angular cuts to articulate his eagle, then applied a white primer and common house paints. His student Aaron Mountz would continue this carving tradition into the early twentieth century.
- Artist
- Wilhelm Schimmel|Aaron Mountz
- Date
- 1865–90
- Medium
- White pine
- Culture
- American
- Department
- The American Wing
- Credit line
- Gift of Mrs. Robert W. de Forest, 1933
