Potpourri Jar: Eagle c. 1941

Adolph Opstad created this watercolor painting of a potpourri jar, adorned with an eagle, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Opstad, who lived a long life spanning from 1855 to 1995, would have witnessed immense change; he would have been exposed to varying cultural, technological, and political shifts that would have inevitably influenced his art. The eagle, often associated with freedom, power, and the United States, takes on a decorative form here, adorning a potpourri jar. It invites us to consider the ways in which symbols of national identity are domesticated and integrated into everyday life. The choice of rendering this object in watercolor gives the work a delicate, almost dreamlike quality, which contrasts with the bold, assertive symbolism of the eagle itself. The speckled blue and white pattern adds another layer of complexity, softening the object's imposing presence. The painting blends the symbolic weight of national emblems with the intimacy of domestic interiors. How does this interplay shape our understanding of both?