See more objects with the tag interior, domestic, home, smoke, harlequin, cigarettes.

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Object Timeline

1920

  • Work on this object began.

1930

  • We acquired this object.

  • Work on this object ended.

2013

2024

  • You found it!

Sidewall (possibly USA)

This is a sidewall. It is dated 1920–30 and we acquired it in 1930. Its medium is machine-printed on paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

This wallpaper is a good representation of the art deco style, being designed in a geometric format and printed with strong bright colors. The motif consists of a pair of affronted harlequins, dressed in full regalia, one masked and one wearing an Elizabethan collor, each with an unlit cigarette held in their lips. Printed in a relatively monochromatic blue theme, along with neutral gray, off-white, and metallic gold, the design is printed on an embossed paper which highlights the gold color. The strong patterning of the backgrounds is offset by the simplification of the harlequin figures, each being reduced to essential elements, which creates a nice flow to the design.

This object was donated by Charles Grimmer & Son. It is credited Gift of Charles Grimmer & Son.

Our curators have highlighted 5 objects that are related to this one. Here are three of them, selected at random:

  • Sidewall
  • machine-printed paper.
  • Gift of W. H. S. Lloyd Co., Inc..
  • 1930-18-1-i
  • Matchsafe (USA)
  • plated metal.
  • Gift of Stephen W. Brener and Carol B. Brener.
  • 1978-146-6

Its dimensions are

L x W: 52.7 × 47 cm (20 3/4 × 18 1/2 in.)

Cite this object as

Sidewall (possibly USA); machine-printed on paper; L x W: 52.7 × 47 cm (20 3/4 × 18 1/2 in.); Gift of Charles Grimmer & Son; 1930-14-1-f

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/68765599/ |title=Sidewall (possibly USA) |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=24 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>