Art Institute of Chicago

Eagle Weather Vane and Standard

Artist unknown (American, active 19th century)

Date

1800–1900

Medium

Copper and gilding

Culture

Maryland

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This weathervane likely sat atop a building for much of its history before it was taken down and collected as an example of American folk art sometime in the 20th century. Weathervanes are celebrated both as functional crafts and as some of the earliest non-Indigenous sculpture in the United States: artistic and technological marvels found across the country’s rooflines. As emblems of flight and freedom, wingspread eagles like this were a particularly popular subject within this art form.

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