Billiards – "Froze Together"
John Cameron American, born Scotland
Publisher Currier & Ives American
Not on view
In this billiards room satire an old man leans over a billiard table to prepare a shot, as young couple take advantage of his diverted attention and lean against one another. The New York firm of Currier & Ives grew from a printing business established by Nathaniel Currier (1813–1888) in 1835. Expansion led, in 1857, to a partnership with brother-in-law James Merritt Ives (1824–1895). The firm operated until 1907, lithographing over 4,000 subjects for distribution across America and Europe with popular categories including landscape, marines, natural history, genre, caricatures, portraits, history and foreign views. Until the 1880s, images were printed in monochrome, then hand-colored by women who worked for the company at home.
