Emblems for Royal Crown Lodge No. 22
Artist unknown
1810–15
Medium
Oil on panel
Dimensions
63.5 × 80.7 cm (25 × 31 3/4 in.)
Classification
painting
Department
Arts of the Americas
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
61117
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This sign likely hung in an English lodge of the Odd Fellows, an international fraternal organization founded to promote mutual aid, charity, and moral responsibility. The myriad symbols here include a heart in hand, denoting openness and sincerity, and an hourglass, suggesting life’s transience. At the bottom, a phrase in Latin extols the principles of friendship, love, and truth. Chartered groups developed in the United States beginning in 1819. While the English orders had long admitted blac...