Ceiling Design with Center Cut Out
1854–68
Medium
Pen and ink and watercolor
Dimensions
sheet: 9 13/16 x 5 1/4 in. (24.9 x 13.3 cm)
Classification
Drawings|Ornament & Architecture
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of the Royal Institute of British Architects, 1961
Accession Number
61.669.3
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the delicate "Ceiling Design with Center Cut Out" J. S. Pearse, a mid-19th-century architectural created between 1854 and 1868. Crafted in pen and ink with watercolor on a modest sheet measuring just 9 13/16 x 5 1/4 inches, this work exemplifies the precision and elegance of Victorian-era ornamentation. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, was generously gifted by the Royal Institute of British in 1961, its value to scholars of British design. Pearse's design showcases an intricate ceiling pattern with a distinctive central cut-out, likely intended...
About the Artist
J. S. Pearse · 1800–1900
**Joseph Salter Pearse (c. 1822–1896)** was a celebrated British decorative artist and architect whose intricate designs captured the opulent spirit of Victorian-era interiors. Active primarily between 1854 and 1868, Pearse began his career as a house decorator before gaining renown for his architectural ornamentation. Little is known of his early life or formal training, which remains sparsely do...