Carver artifact from Iowa State archives on loan to the Met

At the confluence of science, art, and history is a bottle of Egyptian Blue hand mixed by George Washington Carver. On loan from the Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives, the bottle holds a place of honor in the groundbreaking exhibition Flight into Egypt: Black Artists and Ancient Egypt, 1876-Now, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York open through Feb. 17, 2025.   

George Washington Carver (c. 1864-1943) was a pioneering agricultural scientist, whose experiments and research resulted in the discovery of hundreds of uses for peanuts and transformed farming in the United States. But Carver had a lifelong passion for art. 

Carver’s enthusiasm for art charted his path to becoming a researcher and inventor. Before arriving at Iowa State University, he was a student at Simpson College, Indianola, where according to the National Park Service, his art teacher Miss Etta Budd recognized his talent and encouraged him to explore agricultural studies. Carver, the first African American student at Iowa State, earned a bachelor’s in 1894 and a master’s degree in 1896. During his agrarian and botanical studies, one of Carver’s oil paintings earned honorable mention at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. 

Carver’s experimentation with color and natural pigments led to his re-creation of Egyptian Blue, valued for its intensity and consequence in history. The same blue pigment was discovered in King Tut’s tomb in 1922.  

There are accounts of Carver talking about the blue of the Egyptians as the most brilliant blue there ever was, according to Akili Tommasino, curator in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Met.  

“Once I became aware of this almost legendary rediscovery of Egyptian Blue by Carver, that sparked my curiosity,” said Tommasino. The thought was there had to be a vial or bottle of this blue at either Tuskegee University or the Carver National Monument. Exhibition researchers were then directed to ISU Special Collections and University Archives. 

Artifacts are included in the exhibition based on connections Black historical and contemporary cultural agents have made to ancient Egypt. “I tend to think of Carver’s claim to have rediscovered the formula for ancient Egyptian Blue to be emblematic,” Tommasino emphasized. 

“This bottle of Egyptian Blue is an example of his work and passion in developing inexpensive colors and dyes,” said Greg Bailey, head of Special Collections and University Archives. “When the Met inquired about the bottle to be a part of their exhibit it was something we were immediately interested in.” 

Carver observed his world in tiny detail under his laboratory microscope then magnified visions of the plants and flowers he talked to as a child through art, curious about their brilliant chromatic properties.  

“He wanted to produce his own pigments and to be an artist,” said Tommasino. “I can’t imagine the visionary mindset of somebody who was born enslaved to aspire to be a visual artist, and that’s kind of the miracle of George Washington Carver.” 

Carver’s childhood fascination with flowers never left him and his interest in being an artist shaped his scientific pursuits.

To date, thousands of people have made their way through the exhibition at the Met to contemplate Carver and his bottle of Egyptian Blue. In March, the bottle returns to the Iowa State University Special Collections and University Archives where it is available for public viewing upon request.