Eagle Weather Vane and Standard
Artist unknown
1800–1900
Medium
Copper and gilding
Dimensions
68.6 × 62.2 × 101.6 cm (27 1/16 × 24 1/2 × 40 in.)
Classification
metalwork
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77697
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
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.