HAND-CARVED CABINET, 19th century

Cabinet, hand-carved by Kate E. Perry Mosher

Dark stained wood and glass; 80" X 64" X 15.25"

Donated by Marian Gex Graham, 1996.5.1

Courtesy Kentucky Historical Society

This hand-carved cabinet was donated to the historical society by a great-niece of Kate E. Perry Mosher, who said, “She made it piece by piece and had it put together by a cabinet maker.”

About the Artist | Classroom Ideas | Links

About the Artist

Kate E. Perry Mosher was born in Warsaw, a small town on the Ohio River in Northern Kentucky, on July 11, 1836. A Confederate sympathizer during the Civil War, she was active in veterans’ organizations afterward. After losing her hearing as a result of meningitis, she took up wood carving and helped found the Covington Art Club in 1877. Her carvings include a complete dining set later used by U.S. Sen. Richard Ernst, carvings for the Trinity Episcopal Church in Covington, and a carved panel exhibited in the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. She died in Covington on April 5, 1926.

Classroom Ideas

Discussion: Is this cabinet art? How do the carvings enhance the cabinet? Look at and compare a variety of examples of woodcarving in the Arts Toolkit. (On this CD, examples can be found in the Museum of Art and Craft, Kentucky Folk Art Center, Kentucky Library and Museum, Owensboro Museum of Fine Art, and Speed Art Museum galleries. Toolkit video segments on woodcarving include “Wood Sculpture: LaVon Williams” on Through Artists’ Eyes and “Minnie Adkins” on Spectrum of Art.) What are the benefits and challenges of wood as a medium?

Activities: Look around your school or house and make a list of the decorated useful items, such as decorated dishes, fabrics, wallpaper, or paint. How would the setting be different without color and pattern?

Find out more about the World’s Columbian Exposition. What is a “world’s fair”? What kinds of things are exhibited? Plan a school exposition. What types of items would you want on display?