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Object Timeline

1938

  • Work on this object began.

1940

  • We acquired this object.

  • Work on this object ended.

2012

2016

2024

  • You found it!

Sidewall, Buffalo

This is a sidewall. It was designed by Dorothy Brodhead and made by D. Lorraine Yerkes. It is dated 1938–40 and we acquired it in 1940. Its medium is screen-printed paper. It is a part of the Wallcoverings department.

The simple line drawing of the buffalo and rain cloud motifs, along with the stepped repetition, illustrates streamlining and accentuates the leaping motion of the buffalo. Yerkes was an early proponent of screen printing wallpaper, begun commercially in 1938, which permitted larger pattern repeats than machine roller printing and more dense opaque colors.

This object was donated by D. Lorraine Yerkes. It is credited Gift of D. Lorraine Yerkes.

Its dimensions are

83 x 74 cm (32 11/16 x 29 1/8 in.)

It is inscribed

Printed in left selvedge: "Buffalo" Designed by Dorothy Brodhead for D. Lorraine Yerkes Chicago.

Cite this object as

Sidewall, Buffalo; Designed by Dorothy Brodhead; Made by D. Lorraine Yerkes; USA; screen-printed paper; 83 x 74 cm (32 11/16 x 29 1/8 in.); Gift of D. Lorraine Yerkes; 1940-117-27

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.

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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/18558465/ |title=Sidewall, Buffalo |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=17 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>