Immigrants to the State of Pennsylvania
in America brought brush stroke painting as one of their traditions.
Pennsylvania Dutch is characterised by bold
and colourful motifs and was originally painted on tinware first
painted with a red, black or asphaltum background.
In the early 1800's it became known as "flowering".
The style further developed into one more elaborate with the
addition of stylised fruits, flowers and strokes.
This brush caddy was painted with a Pennsylvania
Dutch motif from a book by Helen Jeglic.
Strange as you might find it, "Dutch" in "Pennsylvania
Dutch" did not refer to Dutch immigrants - they were actually
German. Apparently, the misnomer came about because the German
word for "German" was "Deutsch"and the other
residents of Pennsylvania anglicised this to "Dutch".
The Pennsylvania Dutch and their art are
therefore, really of German ancestry.