New York Subway The Cook Tile

Satin finish
COOK IN ORDINARY COSTUME, CA 1810
Baroness Anne Marguerite Henriette de Marigny Hyde de Neuville (ca. 1776-1849) (1953.276)

Inscribed in ink at lower edge of sheet: "Cuisioniere [?] costume ordinaire, D'apres Martha church"

In the caption of this drawing, Baroness Hyde de Neuville identifies the woman as, "cook in ordinary costume." A companion portrait, Scrubwoman , bears a similar inscription that suggests that the two portraits were probably created on the same leg of Hyde de Neuville's tour of the United States and perhaps even in the same sitting. Nothing more is known about these women; their names and stories are lost. Yet the images are notable as some of the earliest of black Americans. They are furthermore remarkable for their objectivity: in a time when so many depictions of black Americans were caricatured to serve racist implications, these women look much as the eye might have seen them. Perhaps, as an expatriate, exiled from her native France, de Neuville was less committed to the white American fears and prejudices that led to such distortions. Whatever the case, these unique watercolors depict black American women with a rare honesty in typical occupations of their time.

Images of the ceramic mosaics and plaques of the New York subways arechemically imbedded into our tiles. This process makes it possible to capture the detail and color of these pieces despite the decades of accumulated grime and mutant subway lighting. We couldn't climb up and wash the panels, but properly lighted and photographed, they do come alive!

Decorative, high-glaze ceramic tile with metal hanger on back.