There were many different pieces of artwork at the Crocker Museum, but the main

exhibit pieces were the items that E. B and Margaret Crocker and pieces of the Gilded Age.
There items that belonged to Mrs. Crocker, such as dresses, shoes, a dresser, some clothes pins,
and even some drawings that Mrs. Crocker had done herself. There were ceramic pots that the
Crockers had previously owned and even a painting of Mrs. Crocker herself. The exhibit on the
Gilded Age contained mainly ceramic pieces. There were goblets and pitchers that were painted
in very fine detail. Each set had a theme to it, such as “honey overflowing” and there were bees
and flowers that were carved into the goblets and the edges of the pitcher were painted on gold,
to make it look like there was honey overflowing. The pieces of the Gilded Age had very bright
colors and emphasized the theme of nature and life, while the Crocker’s exhibit had very dark
somber colors, and the jewelry was very elaborate.
A piece that really caught my eye was “In the Artist’s Studio” by Edouard Marsal. This is
a painting of an artist painting a woman in his studio; he used oil paints. The studio seems to be
in the parlor of his house and there are many objects in the painting, such as a globe, mirror, a
mantel, and furniture. What I liked about this painting is that it has very rich color and every
part of the painting has very fine detail. There is an excessive amount of the use of value, due to
the window being open in the painting. You can see the shadows of the woman’s skirt, and the
wrinkles in the clothing. He used very fine precise strokes in the painting and made sure each
object in the painting had color.
Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibit. There were many pieces that made me stop and
think about it. I like the different variety that the museum contains. I would have like to see more
contemporary art pieces. There was a whole floor that contained art from the 1800s, and a small
room that contained a bit modern art. But I enjoyed most of the pieces overall.