Currier and Ives

Key facts

Lived

1857–1907^[1]

Works held in

5 museums

Wikipedia

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• What is Currier and Ives known for?+

  Currier and Ives are known for producing cheap, popular prints depicting various aspects of 19th-century American life. Their lithographs covered subjects such as clipper ships, whaling, presidential campaigns, railroad construction, and winter sleigh rides.
• What is Currier and Ives's most famous work?+

  It is difficult to name a single "most famous" work from the thousands of prints produced by Currier and Ives. The firm operated for over seventy years, creating images that were popular and widely distributed. Their lithographs covered a range of subjects, appealing to a broad audience. Prints depicting American life were common. These included scenes of cities, rural areas, sporting events, and historical moments. "The Life of a Hunter: A Tight Fix" (1861^[1]) is one example of their outdoor scenes. Another popular category was depictions of ships, such as "Clipper Ship 'Great Republic'" (1856), which captured the public's fascination with maritime travel. Sentimental domestic scenes were also a staple, often portraying family life or seasonal celebrations. The firm's success lay in its ability to capture the spirit of the times and make art accessible to the masses. Rather than one definitive piece, the collective body of work from Currier and Ives provides a visual record of 19th-century America.
• What should I know about Currier and Ives's prints?+

  Currier and Ives were American printmakers Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888^[1]) and James Merritt Ives (1824-1895^[1]). Based in New York City from 1835 to 1907^[1], the firm mass-produced inexpensive lithographs. These prints depicted a wide range of subjects, from historical events to everyday life. Initially, Currier worked alone. He produced prints documenting news events; for example, the fire that destroyed the New York City's Merchant Exchange. Ives joined the company as a bookkeeper in 1852, becoming a partner in 1857^[1]. Currier and Ives employed many artists to create original designs. These were then transferred to lithographic stones for printing. The prints were hand-coloured by a team of mostly women workers, which kept production costs low. Due to their affordability, Currier and Ives prints became hugely popular with the American public. They offered a visual record of 19th-century America, reflecting popular tastes and interests. The firm's slogan was "Prints for the People". After Currier and Ives retired, the business was continued by their sons, until the company closed in 1907.
• What style or movement did Currier and Ives belong to?+

  Currier and Ives prints are linked to the Regionalism movement, which also includes folk and primitive arts. This movement aimed to produce popular art accessible to everyone, reinforcing democracy. Regionalism embodies a notion of objectivity similar to journalism. Currier and Ives prints, along with cartoons and comic strips, contribute to this tradition. The motivation stems from literary objectivity applied to a genre tradition. During the 1930s, the native element received emphasis from artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, and John S. Curry. Benton developed a vigorous style, incorporating detail into ordered turbulence. Wood created a simplified style with rural Midwestern motifs, while Curry addressed native material in an illustrative style. Regionalism's advocates extolled popular idioms for their democratic attributes. However, their dialectical purpose celebrated both the heroic and the genre, revealing an inconsistency due to a lack of myth for illustration.
• What techniques or materials did Currier and Ives use?+

  Currier and Ives were prolific producers of mass-market lithographs in 19th-century America. They employed a division of labour, with multiple artists and artisans involved in the creation of each print. The firm primarily used lithography, a printmaking technique that relies on the chemical repulsion of oil and water. An image is drawn with a greasy crayon or tusche (a greasy ink) onto a prepared limestone or metal plate. The stone is then treated with chemicals that fix the image and make the non-image areas receptive to water. During printing, the stone is dampened with water, which adheres to the blank areas, and then inked with an oil-based ink, which adheres only to the drawn image. Paper is then pressed against the stone to transfer the image. Currier and Ives prints were typically hand-coloured after printing, often by a team of women working in an assembly line. The colours were applied using stencils or brushes, resulting in a characteristic style with flat, bright colours. The firm also employed specialists who added details and shading to enhance the realism of the images.
• What was Currier and Ives known for?+

  Currier and Ives were a New York-based printmaking firm. They were successful in the United States from 1835 to 1907^[1]. James Merritt Ives joined Nathaniel Currier's lithography company in 1852, and the firm became "Currier and Ives" in 1857^[1]. They mass-produced inexpensive black-and-white lithographs which were then hand-coloured. These prints depicted a range of subjects, including historical events, genre scenes, portraits, and sporting activities. Their prints became highly popular, offering ordinary people affordable access to art. The firm was skilled at marketing, and they recognised the opportunities presented by printed reproductions. They created appealing titles to attract buyers browsing catalogues. Prints were made large enough to fill a wall, giving them the presence of fine art when framed. Currier and Ives played a significant role in shaping popular taste in 19th-century America.
• When did Currier and Ives live and work?+

  Nathaniel Currier (1813-1888^[1]) and James Merritt Ives (1824-1895^[1]) were printmakers in 19th-century America. Currier began his lithographic career in 1828, and he established his own firm in New York in 1835. He initially produced inexpensive prints depicting current events such as fires and shipwrecks for newspapers. Ives joined Currier's firm as a bookkeeper in 1852. He became a partner in 1857^[1], at which point the firm became known as Currier and Ives. The company operated under that name until Currier retired in 1880. After Currier's retirement, Ives continued the business with Currier's son. Currier and Ives produced lithographs for a mass market. These prints covered a wide range of subjects, including genre scenes, portraits, and sporting events. They were particularly known for their depictions of American life and expansion. The firm ceased operations in 1907^[1], a little over a decade after Ives's death.
• Where can I see Currier and Ives's work?+

  Currier and Ives's prints can be viewed in several museums. In the United States, these include the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (California), the Minneapolis Institute of Arts (Minnesota), the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the National Museum of American Art (Washington, DC), the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (Richmond), the Wolfsonian at Florida International University (Miami Beach), and the Yale University Art Gallery (New Haven). The Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art (Winter Park, Florida) also holds relevant works. In Canada, the Royal Ontario Museum (Toronto) has examples. In the United Kingdom, see the Brighton Museum & Art Gallery, the Geffrye Museum (London), the Manchester Art Gallery, the National Museums of Scotland (Edinburgh), and the Victoria & Albert Museum (London).
• Where was Currier and Ives from?+

  Nathaniel Currier was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, in 1813. He began his career as a teenager, working for a Boston print shop. He then moved to Philadelphia to work as an apprentice for a lithographer named M. E. D. Brown. In 1834, Currier relocated to New York City. There, he initially partnered with Stodart, another lithographer. James Merritt Ives was born in New York City in 1824. He started working for Currier as a bookkeeper in 1852. Ives had a strong understanding of popular tastes, and he soon became the firm's general manager. In 1857^[1], Ives became Currier's partner, and the company became known as Currier and Ives. Both men were American, with business operations based in New York. The company operated until 1907^[1], long after both men had died.
• Who did Currier and Ives influence?+

  Currier and Ives, as a commercial printmaking firm, had a broad, diffuse influence rather than a direct impact on individual artists. Their inexpensive, mass-produced lithographs made art accessible to a wide audience in the United States and beyond. Many artists and illustrators found employment creating images for the firm. These included Frances Flora Bond Palmer, who created some of their most popular works, and George H. Durrie, whose winter scenes became iconic. The firm’s success also inspired other printmakers and publishers to enter the market, increasing the availability of popular imagery. The firm's output shaped popular taste and contributed to a shared visual culture. Their prints depicted a wide range of subjects, from historical events to everyday life, and helped to create a sense of national identity. The firm's distribution network was extensive; this ensured their images reached homes, businesses, and public spaces across the country. The firm's influence can be seen in the subsequent development of American illustration and commercial art.
• Who influenced Currier and Ives?+

  Nathaniel Currier and James Merritt Ives oversaw a large printmaking firm; they were businessmen more than artists. They employed many artists and printmakers, so pinpointing direct influences is difficult. However, some context is possible. Currier began his career in the 1820s as an apprentice to William and John Pendleton, who ran a lithography shop in Boston. Lithography itself was a relatively new technology at the time, having been invented in the late 1790s. The firm of Currier & Ives produced images for a mass market; their prints were often based on popular paintings or drawings. They also employed staff artists to create original compositions. The prints covered a wide range of subjects, including historical events, portraits, genre scenes, and sporting events. It is likely that the artists working for Currier and Ives were influenced by the popular art and illustrative styles of their day, including academic painting and popular illustration. The firm's focus on appealing to a broad audience meant that their artistic choices were often guided by commercial considerations.
• Who was Currier and Ives?+

  Currier and Ives were a prominent American printmaking firm based in New York City from 1835 to 1907^[1]. Founded by Nathaniel Currier, the business initially operated under his name. In 1857^[1], James Merritt Ives became a partner, and the firm was renamed Currier and Ives. The company produced inexpensive, mass-produced lithographs catering to a broad audience. These prints covered a wide range of subjects, including historical events, portraits, sporting scenes, genre scenes, and depictions of American life. They became immensely popular, earning Currier and Ives the nickname "the Grand Central Depot for Cheap and Popular Prints". While Currier and Ives employed many artists, they are not necessarily known for developing a specific American style in subject matter or technique. Their prints were more commercial than fine art, intended for popular consumption rather than critical acclaim. The firm's success lay in its ability to capture the public's imagination and provide affordable art for homes across America.