Cultural Leadership in America by Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

CULTURAL LEADERSHIP IN AMERICA ART MATRONAGE A

ISABELLA

D PATRONAGE

STEWART

GARDNER

MUSEUM

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CULTURAL LEADERSHIP IN AMERICA ART MATRO

AGE AND PATRONAGE

B EL LA STEWART GARD

Fenway Court Volume XXVII

ER MUSEUM

Publi sh ed by th e T rustees of th e Isab ell a Ste wa rt Ga rdn e r M use um Two Palace Roa d Boston , Massac hu setts 02 11 5 Copyri ght 1997 ISBN 0-964847 5-5-8 T h e essays in thi s p ubli cati on we re ori gin ally prese nted a t th e Isab ell a Stewart Ga rdn e r M use um as Cu ltura l LeadershifJ in America, th e M use um 's fourth annu al inte rdi sciplin a ry symp osium , whi c h was h eld in 1995 a nd was gen e rously fund ed throu gh a donati on fr om C h a rl es 0 . Woo d III a nd M iri a m M . Woo d . Cove r: Lu cy Ma u d Bu ckin gh a m M e m ori al Gothi c Roo m , wa ll with vv ind ovv, c. 1924 . Ph otograph ÂŠ 1994 . T h e Art In stitute of C hi cago . All Ri ghts Rese rve d . H alf titl e page: Je nn y H olze r, fr om Trui sms a nd The Sun1ival Series, 1986, D ectroni c Sta rburst doubl e-sid ed electro ni c di splay signboa rd. In stall ati on, Caesa r's Palace, Las Vegas. Co urtesy, Barba ra G ladston e Ga ll e ry.

C ultural Lead e rshi p in Am e ri ca: Art Ma tron age a nd Patro n age is volum e XA'V II of Fe nway Co urt.

•o re\\'ord

-\rt :\ Iatronage in Po t-Vi ctor ian America

\\'anda Corn Women Artists and th e Probl ems of ~ I e tropolitan Cu lture :

l\e\\' Yo rk a nd Chicago, 1 90- 1910

Chri tine Stansell \\'omen' Phil anthropy for \Vomen ' Art, Pas t a nd Prese nt

Karen / . Blair \ e,·er

omplain,

[\ rt of ocia I

,·er

xplain: El ie de \Volfe and th e

ha nge

Dal'id Park Curn' Pri, a te \lu seum , Public Leadership: Isabe ll a and th e ,\ rt of

te wart Gardner

ultural ,\ uthorit,·

, \ n ne f-1 igon net 'l he

pecial

onn ct ion: .\ lbert Barn

and Lincoln

ni,·e r ity

Dal'id Lel'ering Lell'i \l id" e t rn \l edie ,·a li m: Three

\ eil f-larr i

hicago

o ll ector

104

FOR J•: \\ ' OR I

Anne l-/ a 1vley Dir to r

urt pr nl Thi s vo lum e of Fe1 \\'a)' th e pap r giv n at th e 1995 I b ll a tewa rt Gardner Inte r li eip lin ary yrnpo ium , th e fo urth in our ong in g annua l seri e . h titl f th e 1011 , "C ultural L acl er hip in m ri a," i an au pi iou one fo r u . Gardne r wrote in l 917 to he r fric1 I, Edmund Hill , "Year ago l I id d th at th egrea te tn eecl in our Art. We we re larg ly cl ve lop in g th e oth er id es ... o I determin d to mak it my li fe work if I co uld ." Her vi ion in th e crea ti on of Fen way ourt (now th e Isa bell a tewa rt Ga rdn er Mu eum ) a a mu se um "for th e edu ca ti on and enj oyment of th e publi c foreve r," as he r wi ll states, se t a precedent in Ame ri ca. Her bequ est preceded those of J. P. orga n, Henry C lay Frick, and Henry Huntin gton and also es tablished a tancl arcl of mun ifi ce nt benefaction for future ge nerations. Furth ermore, she was devo ted to th e broad er support of th e arts through th e intense energy and fo cus she brought to a broad ran ge of da ily activities and 1ifelong interes ts. Her

ben fac tion in clud e l th fri e nd hip , un 1, upport , ·111 I palronag · ol m ri C'll1 arti ls, 11 rit crs, and 111mi cia1 in Iu ding I I n r) Ja 111 c , Jame \ le'\ c iII \ Vhi tier, John Sin ge r ' arge nt , I e1111i /\ Iill r Bunke r, ' harl · J,oc mer, <rnd th youn g I ab! 'a al , a111 011g 111 a 11~ oth er . f\ UJ porter and co ntril utor to c ultu ra l and pub li · in tituti n , in lud1n g lh c B t n ymphon: r he tra, lh c /\ [u un of I• in ,\ rt , and B slon % h r 1 ubli pirit ;..t nd cl lo upport of Iit ra ry a va t Iona ti n to t\111 ri ca n m 1 um , and eve n th off rin g f pri zes f r l 11e111 ent hou gard en . H r intell ec tual , civi , an I arti ti c a ti\·iti mad Fem\'a) ourt an unprec dent cl 111 ri can ultu ra l ce nt r f a ti \'ity. It i in th pint f th cultural ta tu re e tab Ii h cl by I r th at we ce leb rate thi s year' ympo ium and its intercli ciplin ar ' explorati n of culture. It i al o in th at spirit th at program , in cludin g temp orary exhibiti ons, arti sts in resid ence, th e Eye of the Beholder lec ture by indi vidual reno\ necl for th eir visual and intell ec tu al crea ti vity 7

in va ri ous disciplin es, a concert s ri es ranging from music of th e Baroqu e to contemporary jazz, and our exc iting, ongo ing work with stud ents, teach e rs, and c urri c ul a in our local communi ty, c harac terize today's Isabell a Stewa rt Ga rdn er M useum. Preserving and fostering th e in spi ra ti on of grea t art, th e Museu m ac tive ly engages in sc holarship, arti stry, and th e edu ca ti on of our you th . Th e topi c's coo rdinato r, Dr. Wand a Corn , introdu ces th e symposium and its oth er di stinguished speake rs in h e r pape r, "Art M atronage in Post-Victo rian Am eri ca ." Th at essay also exa min es th e li ves of three fa scinating and distin cti ve wo m en patrons of th e arts: Isa bell a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r, Jane Stanford , and Ali ce Pike Barn ey. Dr. Corn is Professo r of Art History in th e D epartm ent of Art, Stanfo rd U ni ve rsity. Fro m 1992 to 1995 sh e also se rved as Directo r of th e Stanford Hum aniti es C e nte r and hold er of th e Anth ony Meie r Fa mil y C ha ir at Stanford Uni ve rsity. Th e symposium a nd thi s publi ca ti o n have bee n m ad e poss ibl e through a ge ne rou s don ati on fr om C h a rl es 0 . Wood III and Miri am M . Woo d . T h e ir d evotion to m akin g access ibl e to our publi c th e "li fe of th e mind " h as bee n th e to uchston e of th e ir un stintin g suppo rt for thi s Mu se um .

ART M AT R ONAGE I

POST-VICTORIA

AM E RI CA

Wanda M. Co rn St a nford Uni ve r s it y

Today th e re is eve ry reaso n to b e dee pl y co nce rn ed ab out th e h ea lth a nd welfa re of our country's c ultural in stituti ons. Th e troubl es a re m a ny: th e in ability of mu seum s to find direc to rs wh o wa nt th e job; in stituti ons sellin g p a rts of th e ir coll ecti ons so th a t th ey ca n keep th e ir doo rs op e n; ga ll e ri es in m a jor city mu se um s op e n onl y on a rota ting b as is, or cl own to three fr om six clays a week. And n ow th e ve ry rea l threa t of Co ng ress killin g th e appropri a ti o ns to NEA a nd

E H . So

wh e n Hilli a rd Goldfarb asked m e to orga ni ze th e fourth a nnu al Ga rdn e r sch ola rl y sympos ium , a nd expressed th e wish th at I dedi ca te it to som e aspect of Am e rica n a rt, it was Isabell a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r

Fig. l . Baro n Adolf De Meye r, Isabella Stewart

(1840- 1924) wh om I kept thinkin g about,

Gardner, 1905 . Co urtesy of the Ga rdn er

ra th e r th an th e Ja m es M c eill Whi stl e rs,

Muse um Arc hi ves, Isabe ll a Stewa rt Ga rdner

John Singer Sa rge nts, and D ennis Bunkers

Muse um, Boston.

th at sh e coll ec ted a nd hung in h e r first fl oor gall e ri es (fi g . 1). It was Ga rdn e r as

dedi ca te thi s sympos iu m to th e hi sto ry

self-appointed gua rdi a n of c ulture, as museum found e r, as c ultural m ave ri ck,

of c ultural lea d e rshi p . M y hop es a re twofold : fi rst, to lea rn more about th e

a nd as di c ta tori al c rea tor of th e m ost

ea rl y hi story of today's tro ubl ed in stitu-

strin ge ntl y word ed will in Am e ri ca n

ti ons, m a n y of whi c h were fo uncl ecl by

muse um hi sto ry th a t in spired m e to

m e mb e rs of Gard n e r's ge n e ration, a nd

sec ond ly, to showcase wh a t I take to be

te rs, patron s, sp ec ul ato rs, and mu se um

a newly revitali zed schol arship around

tru stees. D ea lin g with art both as a social

qu esti ons of coll ec ting, patronage, ph il an-

and co mm e rcial practic e, as well as a n

th ropy, and a rts ma nage m e nt. Sin ce so m e of th e best of thi s new sc holarship

aesth eti c o n e, th ese semin al studies,

looks for th e first tim e a t women as c ul -

as re fe re n ces a nd guid es to th e ir subj ec t.

tural lea de rs, th e topi c see m ed a na tural 1

for a Gardn e r symp os ium . It was in th e 1950s an d ea rl y 1960s that a mod e rn lite rature about Am e rican

publi sh ed thirty yea rs ago, re main use ful In th e 1970s a nd early 1980s, th e two mod es of inquiry- biog raphi ca l and soc io-hi storica l -continu ed but witho ut e nge nd e rin g much exc ite m e nt in

co ll ec to rs first appeared. Th e first vo lumes te nd ed to be biog raphi es, writte n

th e academy or on th e best-sell e r list. In

not by aca demics but by profess io nal write rs wh o gave us richl y colored stori es

in cu ltural studi es h as give n n ew bite

recent yea rs, howeve r, th e n e w inte res t a nd pro vocation to o ur topi c by produc-

about outrageo us and extra vaga nt people. I rem emb e r vividl y as a first yea r gradu-

in g a mu ch more c riti ca l look a t in stitu-

ate stud ent di scove rin g thi s ge nre and takin g from it anecdotes fo r man y a

Ra ng in g from Larry L ev in e's HighBrowl

futur e lec ture . M y rea din g includ ed Alin e Saar ine n's The Proud Possessors ( 1958), S. N. Behrm an 's Duveen ( 1952 ), Wi lli am Schack's Art and Argyrol, The

Life and Career of Dr. Albert C. Barnes ( 1960), Loui se Hall Tharp's Mrs. Jack ( 1965 ), and th e related studi es by Ru ssell Lynes, Th e Tastemakers ( 1949), fo ll owed 2

by the Good Old Modem ( 1973 ). With th e appearance in 1966 of Ne il H arri s's The Artist in American Society and Li lli an B. Mill e r's Patrons and

Patriotism th e e mpha sis on colorfu l individuals bega n to be suppl a nted by a more co ntextua lized and schol arl y view of lea dership in th e arts. 3 Each of th ese studi es took on th e 1790- 1860 pe riod and investi ga ted th e ways in whi ch art-makin g was shaped by a host of playe rs-so m e of th e m in stituti onal-academies, governm e nts, art union s, clubs, and soc ie ti esand others of them , indi vidu als- minis10

ti o ns, th e ir found e rs, a nd th e ir hi stories.

Lowbrow ( 1988) to Ne il Harri s's Cu ltural Excursions ( 1990), and from James C l ifford 's Th e Predicam ent of Cu lture (1988 ) to Philip Fi sh e r's Mahng and Effacing Art (199 1), th ese studi es h ave rai se d n e w qu estion s a bout wh o h as d e te rmin ed what goes into our art muse ums a nd wh a t stays out; wh o runs mu se um s and who does not; a nd th e ti es betwee n mu se ums, co nsum e ri sm , spectacle, and bu sin ess inte rests.â&#x20AC;˘ Toda y it is th e period after th e C ivil War tha t is und e r close sc rutiny, b eginnin g wh e re H a rri s's and M ill e r's hi stori es left off. It was th e Gi ld ed Age and late r th a t saw th e e m erge nc e of th e co untry's mi lli ona ire coll ec tors, th e fo undin g of th e co untry's la rge c ultural in stitution s, a nd th e e nd owment of th e m not on ly with ca pital but with habits of th o ught a nd mi ss ion state m e nts th at still guid e th e ir act ions tod ay. Th is is also th e mom e nt, as Karen Blair h as est abli sh ed ,

Fig. 2. "Mrs. Jac k Ga rdn er crea ted a sensa tion at th e zoo last week by lea ding one of the lions about th e hall." Boston news paper clipping, Jan uary 31, 1897. Courtesy of th e Ga rdn er Muse um Archi ves, I abella Stewa rt Ga rdn er Museum , Boston .

whe n clubwom en coll ec ti vely bega n to take th eir sa n ction ed id entity as angels of culture out of th e hom e and into th e muni cipality. 5 Th ere th ey founded amate ur art assoc iations, th ea te r guilds, and music soc ieti es, establishin g patte rn s of volunteer service still in evid ence throughout our country in do ce nt assoc iations, art clubs, and women 's boa rds supportin g ball et, symphon y, and opera. If th e 1880s and 1890s produ ced th e first women 's art clubs a nd assoc iati ons, th ese yea rs also yield ed a c riti ca l m ass of wea lth y soc iety women who eme rge d as individu al art activists, founders of in stituti ons, and coll ec tors. They were thi s co untry's first important "a rt matron s," as I will call th em , who establish ed a distin cti ve style of "matron age ." Isa bell a

Gardne r of Boston m ay have bee n th e most promin ent of th em, but sh e was not alon e in leavin g he r city ind ebted to h er for d eca d es to co m e. Th ere was also Be rtha Honore Palm er of Ch icago, Loui sin e E ld er H avem eyer of Nevv York C ity, Jane Stanford of San Francisco, and Alice Pike Barn ey of Washington , D.C. And in th eir wa ke ca m e Abb y Aldri ch Rockefell er, Electra H ave m eye r Webb, Gertrud e Vanderbi lt Whitney, and m any oth ers whose sto ri es and collec tion s are well kn own in th eir loca liti es but h ave ye t to be ti ghtly wove n into our broad er histori es of cultural entreprene urship in thi s co untry. On e imp ortant stud y th at begins this synth es iz ing is Kathle en McCa rth y's 199 1 book on women art philanthropi sts 11

in thi s co untry be tween 1830 and 1930. M cCa rth y is th e first hi stor ian to un cove r a hi sto ri ca l tra jec to ry for a rt m a tronage in this co untry and very usefull y co mpa res matron s to pa trons in h e r hi sto ry. Sh e dedi ca tes a ch apte r to Isa bell a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r who m sh e sees as a key tra nsiti on al fi gure be cwee n th e Vi c to ri a n a nd m odern e ras. For McCa rth y, it is Gardn e r's h e ighte n ed indi vidu al ism an d ecce ntri c, no n-co nformin g be h avio r th a t is h e r ce ntral a ttribu te, a devia ti on from genteel soc ie tal no rms th a t looks forward to th e m ode rn e ra wh e n wome n became m ore ind epe nd ent in th e ir publi c acti on s and o utspo ke n in th eir co nvic ti on s. Sh e ass igns Ga rdn e r to a kind of tran siti o nal or limin al space betwee n th e Vi c toria n and mod e rn wo rlds, co nstru c ting h e r as a

Fig. 3. Jane Sta nford and Leland Stanford

pre-mod e rn , a pre mon iti on of th e " n ew

Jun ior, ca bin et ca rd, 1874. Co urtesy of the

wo m e n" to co m e and th e "harbin ge r of a

Stanfo rd Uni ve rsity Arc hi ves.

n ew phil anthropi c style."

I wish to diffe r in degree fro m th at

e mpha sis h elps keep th e m in c id e ntal to

rea din g and m ake Ga rdn e r more typi ca l

Am e ri ca n c ultural hi story ra th e r than

of th e wome n lea de rs of her gen eration -

ce nte re d in it.

not just subsequ e nt ge ne ra ti o ns- th a n

What is now needed are studi es th at

McCarth y ge n e rall y all ows. I'll d o thi s

look at turn-of-th e-century art matron s

by co m paring Ga rdn e r to o th e r wea lth y

coll ec ti vely a nd subj ect th e ir non-con-

soc ie ty wo m e n wh o fa shi o n e d th e m-

formin g an d di c tatori al styles to a nthro-

selves as c ultural phi la nth rop ists a nd

pol ogica l a nalys is. In so doin g, we wo uld

publi c fi gures in th e 1885- 1915 pe riod.

un cove r a n ew fe mal e stra tum of c ul-

Beca use th e ir ind epe nd e nt ac ti o ns ofte n stre tch ed o r broke with th e cod es of

co nstitu e nts did not just a nti c ipa te a

V ic to ri an wo m a nh ood, th ese wo m e n , I

futur e ge n e ration of mod e rn wome n

wa nt to sugges t, too ofte n ge t packaged

but who , in th e ir own ri ght, we re pe rso ns

tural lea d e rship in thi s co untry wh ose

as individu al ecce ntri cs or as domin ee r-

wh ose a uth o ritati ve ac tion s pe rm a n e ntl y

ing wom e n wh ose p e rso naliti es ge t more atte ntion th a n d oes th e fac t th a t th ey

c h anged th e c ultural lan dsca pes of th e ir

spent yea rs of th e ir li ves trying to sh ape th e cultural li fe in th e ir citi es. Su ch an 12

h om e towns. An d whil e I ca nnot do justi ce h e re to th e probl e m ati c of fe mal e ecce ntri c ity, le t m e suggest th at we beg in

to think of fl a mboya nt beh av ior in thi s ge n e ration as a kind of pe ri od style, as a pe rfo rm ative mod e th a t women of thi s ge n e ration used to cla im c ultural au th o rity in socia l se ttin gs wh e re prev io usly th ey h ad n on e. Outra geo u s publi c act ion s, I wou ld suggest, we re n o t a m a tte r of iso lated beh avior but rath e r a m o r broadl y adop ted strategy amo n g wea lth y women wh o wanted to asse rt self-expression and ind epend e n ce of mind , but not at th e exp e nse of brea king with th e ir soc ial class -as wou ld ha ve been th e case had th ey elected to se ttl e in Gree nwi c h Village. Ecc e ntri c ity was a fin-d e-siecl e style th at conta in ed within it a c ritiqu e of th e sta tus quo wh il e a t th e sa m e tim e ca rved o ut n ew kind s of publi c space a nd publi c reputati o ns for wo m e n wh o

Fig. 4. Ali ce Pi ke Barn ey in Studi o House, ca.

h ad neve r h ad a ny before. (Sarah Be rn-

19 J 5. Ph otograp h courte y of th e Alice Pike

h a rdt comes to mind as an inte rn a ti o n al

Barn ey rchives,

exa mpl e of th e su ccess su ch be h avior

Art, mithsoni an Institution .

ation al Muse um of Am erica n

h ad durin g thi s pe riod in givin g a wo m a n fam e a nd a uth ority. )7 In a p e riod wh e n

citi es from east to west in 1885- 1915,

wea lth y women were not asked to se rve

a nd are hi sto ri call y interco nn ected, so m e-

on muse um boards of tru stees, or to se rve

tim es in li fe-styles , but always in th eir

th eir cities in oth e r publi c c ultural ro les,

dec ision s durin g th eir la te r li ves to dedi-

and wh e n self-express ion b ec am e an

ca te signifi ca nt portion s of th e ir exp e nd-

honorable an d tol e rated pursuit for those

ab le tim e to improvin g publi c c ulture .

connec ted to th e a rts, Gardner and oth e r

L e t m e profi le so m e of th e co ntours

women c ulti va ted non-co nformity as

of wh at we mi ght c h a rac te ri ze as post-

one way of accompli shin g n ew publi c

V ic tori a n (rath e r th an pre- m ode rn )

misions. Some tim es suc h non-conformity

fe m ale lea de rship by givin g yo u synop ti c histori es of two wo m e n wh o, th o ugh

ap pea red as imp e riou s a nd di c ta tori al action s; at oth er tim es, it was expressed through sen sational mod es of dress o r attention-ge tting ac tion s like Isa bell a Gardn er walking a li on at th e zoo (fi g. 2). But wh a teve r sh ape it took, women of independ ent mind e m e rged in America n

th ey li ved m any mil es from o n e a noth e r, were soc iologica ll y related to Isa b ell a Stewa rt Gardn e r. Th e tra its th ey sha red includ e th e fo ll owin g: a sure a nd sec ure pla ce in hi gh soci ety; th e possess ion of a pe rso nal for tun e, o r m arryin g into wea lth ,

Fig. 5. T he Leland Sta nford Juni or Muse um , 1905, a yea r befo re th e San Francisco ea rthqu ake. The cen tra l pavili on still stan ds and houses th e Stanford Uni vers ity Muse um of Art. Ph otograph co urtesy of the Stanford University Archi ves.

o r so m e tim es both ; urb a n c iti ze n ship

more co n ve nti o n al in h e r life-s tyle, an d

with a stron g id entifi ca ti on with th e ir c ity

more ti e d to class ic Vi c torian fe m a le

and a pronoun ced se nse of c ivic duty to

va lu es . Stanford co u c h e d h e r philan-

br in g c ulture to th ese ce nte rs; a nd most

th ropy in th e rh e tori c of be n evolen ce and

imp o rta nt of all , a des ire that m a ni fes te d

c ha rity, not th at of wi llful non-co nformity

itself so metim e in middl e to late life to

to ge nteel expec ta tion s. Sh e was also

be phil a nthropi c, an d to leave a c ultural

wedded, as Qu ee n Vi c toria was , to large-

legacy th a t ca rri ed th ei r fam il y na m e.

sca le fami ly m e mori als. Sh e was unu sual,

Two of my three exa mples c ulti va te d

h owever, and clea rl y post-Vi c tor ian in

a n id e ntity as a non-conforming wo m a n

th at sh e tra nsfe rre d th e fe mal e pre roga -

as a way of oppos ing th e conve nti o n ali ty

ti ve of bei ng di c ta tori al, m a nage ri al, a nd

of upp e r-class c ulture a nd of woma n'

a uthorita ti ve in th e hom e into th e rea lm

res tri cted phere, wh il e at th e ame tim e,

of publi c in stitution-buildin g. She ac ted

c ultivati11g a fr equ e nt appea rance o n

imp er io usly in th e publi c sph e re. Th e seco nd wo m a n I want to co nsid e r is Ali ce

th e soc iety pages which the wea lth y we re acc ustom ed to use as a ga uge to th e ir status wi thin the community. T he first woman I want to introduce

Pike Barney (1857-193 1) of Was hington , D .C., wh o built Ba rn ey Studio H ouse (fig. 4). Alice was twe lve yea rs yo un ge r

to yo u is Jane Stanford (1828- 1905) wh o

than Isa b ell a an d c ulti va ted an eve n

founded th e Le land Stanford Juni or Museum at Stanford University (fi g. 3).

more extre m e repu ta tion as a colorfu l

Jane was twelve years older th an Isa bell a,

personality. Giving c redence to those feminists who have a rgu ed th a t women

do th eir best wo rk in th eir midd le to late yea rs, all three of th ese women co nstru cted th eir legac i in widow hood. In th eir sprea d of twen ty-n ine yea r's diffe rence in age, th e th ree of them exe mpli fy th e arri va l of a new kind of cultura l matro n within th e cour e of a single ge nera ti on. Jane Stanfo rd wa s as dete rmin ed and ambiti ous in her efforts to brin g enl ightenm ent and culture to her reg ion as Ga rdn er was in hers. Stanford 's benefa cti ons we re direc ted to no rth ern Californ ia, particularly to th e peninsula south of San Francisco, on land where she and her husband summ ered an d ran a horsebreeding fa rm. In the 1880s and 1890s, thi s area wa s a wil dern ess co mpa red to Boston where peop le had bee n bu il ding and refinin g th e urban infra structure for well ove r two hun d red yea rs. 8 Both Ga rdn er and Stanford had on ly one child and both tragicall y lost them, eve nts whi ch drove each woman into a long peri od of depress ion. T hese losses surely help ed make it poss ible fo r them to conceive large-sca le pro jec ts. Fo r eac h had tim e on han d th at oth er wome n put into childrea rin g and fa mil y activiti e , and each had siza bl e fi nanc ial reso urces with no immedi ate heirs. Gard ner los t her so n, Jacki e, when he was a to ddl er and was told she co uld no longer have children; Stanford bro ught Leland Ju nior (1868- 1884) into th e wo rld when she was forty yea rs old and had no m ore children. By all acco unts, not just those of Jane Stanfo rd , her son was a precocious and lea rn ed boy who loved to travel abroad, study hi story, and coll ec t antiq -

u ities. Wh en he di ed sudd enl y from typhoid fever at th e age of fiftee n, both of th e Stan ford s we re devas tated. In th eir gri eving, th ey determin ed to found a pri va te un ive rsity in th eir so n's memory and name. Th ey sited th e Leland Stanford Junior University on th eir summ er es tate in Palo Ito, thirty-fi ve mil es so uth of San Franci co. Leland Stanford Seni or was a fairly typi cal G ild ed Age tycoo n, albe it one with a vision fo r in tituti on bui ldin g. He had bee n gove rn or of Ca liforni a and by th e tim e of hi so n's dea th , alrea dy made h is m ill ion s as one of th e four bui lders of th e Centra l Pac ifi c Rail way. It was he who hired Frederi ck Law Olmsted and orch es trated th e or igin al plan fo r th e uni ve rsity. But one proj ec t was Jane Sta nford 's fr om th e sta rt: th e foundin g of the fir t mu se um in th e Un ited States w st of the Mississ ippi. Co nceive d as a separate, or seco nd , memor ial to Leland Jun ior, the mu se um was initi all y intended for Go lden Gate Park in San Francisco but ultim ately built at th e edge of th e fl edglin g ca mpu s in Palo Alto. Its 189 1 neo-class ica l bui ldin g wa s based upon th e ation al Archa eologica l l use um 111 thens th at yo un g Leland had grea tl y admi red.9 W hereas Isabell a Gardn er did mu ch of he r co ll ec ting before sh e bu il t a muse um , Jane Stanford erec ted a giga nti c muse um first and worked for th e res t of her li fe to fill it (fi g. 5). E ncyc loped ic in its vision, Stanford's mu seum - like oth er municipa l muse ums at th e timewa s to be as much an archeological and ethn ograp hi c muse um as an art muse um .

Fig. 6. T he Ces nola co llec tion install ed at th e Stanfo rd 1\iluse um, 1893. Ph otog raph courtesy of th e Stanfo rd Un ive rsity Arc hives.

Fig. 7. Eadweard

~luybridge ,

Ph otogra ph of the

art ga ll ery in th e Sta nfo rds' Sa n Francisco home, 1878. Thomas llill 's 1\ lount Shasta and Wi ll iam Kei th 's Upper Kern River on the left-hand wa ll ; a repli ca of Rap hael' \ ladonna of th e C hair in the fa r right corner. Courtes) of th e Sta nford Uni\'e rsity Archil'e .

Let me onl y hint here at th e range and di ve rsity of its holdin gs, many of whi ch we re bought in bulk as coll ec ti ons alrea dy fo rm ed. G ive n th at th eir son had co llec ted Egypti an bro n ze , G ree k va ses, Tanag ra fi gures, co ins, and glass, and give n th e peri od interest in th e beginnings of Western civili za ti on, th e Stan ford s bought h eav il y in a ntiquiti es, ac quirin g, fo r exa mpl e, fi ve th ousa nd pieces of th e Cesnola coll ec ti on of Cypriot antiquiti es fr om th e Me tro politan Muse um (fi g. 6). Jane Stanfo rd th en we nt on to ac quire co ll ec ti ons of Co pti c tex til es, Egypti an b ro nzes, prehi stori c stone too ls from D enm ark, Ame ri ca n mound re li cs, lorthwe st Coas t Indi a n materia l, and Japa nese and C hin ese antiqui ti es. Both Stanfo rds also wo rk ed to increa se th e paintin g co ll ec ti ons th ey

had in th eir res id ences, knowin g that th ey vvou ld som eday be tran fe rr ecl to th e mu eum (fig. 7). Leland Stanford , probabl y advi sed by lb e rt Bi erstadt,

F ig. 8. Astl ey D . M. Cooper, Mrs. Stanford's

Jewel Collection , oil o n ca nvas, 1898. Sta n ford Uni ve rsity Mu se um o f Art, Sta n ford Mu se um Co ll ec tion s, 16294.

among others, form ed an impress ive ly large co ll ec ti on of contemporary Am erica n painting and ph otograph y- in cludin g Thoma s Hill s, Bi erstadts , Willi am Keiths, and th e famou s horse trotting photograph s by Eaclwea rcl Muybridgeand Jane Stanford went on buying trips to E urope to acquire old master paintings. Wh en h er husband sudd enl y di ed in 1893 , just after th e University opened, Jane Stanford , at th e age of fifty-fi ve, ca me out from und er hi s shadow and pres ided over th e entire uni ve rsity as well as th e mu se um . Sh e wi eld ed fanta sti c power, controllin g th e uni ve rsity's budget as well as its co ntinuin g co nstruction. For twelve more years, until her own dea th in 1905 , she initiated th e bui ldin g of new campu s fac iliti es-a library, a chemi stry building, a memor ial arc hway and a M emori al Church cl ecli-

ca tecl to her hu sband . (Th e first uni ve rsity pres id ent, Dav id Starr Jord on, who fa il ed in hi s attempts to ge t money from her for new fac ulty positi ons durin g thi s buildin g ph ase liked to co mpl ain abo ut bein g in th e "s tone age.") 10 And in two different building ca mpai gns, she aclcl ecl thousa nd s of square fee t to her mu se um , makin g it indi sputably th e larges t pri va t mu se um in th e wo rld . She co ntinu cl to coll ec t on trips to th e eas t coas t, to Europ e, and to Egypt and Japan - her mu se um always evo lvin g and in a state of expansion . Lik e Isa bell a Ga rdn er, she direc ted all of its ope rati ons, hi rin g rece nt gradu ates of Sta nford to help he r and no t re ta inin g a pe rm anent c urator until 1900. Like Ga rdn er, she fou nd herself with out enough mon ey to do ve rythin g sh wa nted, and in a hi ghl y publi cized ges ture put her jewels up for sa le in Lond on , but not befor e she had ph otog rap hs take n and a pa intin g made of th em (fi g. 8). It is not simpl y hi stori cal ignorance th at explains why Jane Stanford and her museum are not as well known as Gard ner's and her . Nature is mu ch to blam e. The yea r aft er Jane di ed, th e grea t ea rthqu ake of 1906 des troye d 60 % of th e Stanford Muse um as well as mu ch of its coll eti ons (fi gs. 9- 10). H er h om e in San Fran cisco, whi ch h oused th e gr at Am eri ca n paintin gs and th e old mas ter wo rks whi ch were to go to th e mu se um , burn ed to th e ground . Sin ce th e mu se um was not separately endowed, its fortun es were ti ed to that of th e uni ve rsity as a whol e, a uni ve rsity th at suffered so mu ch dama ge in 1906 th at its contin-

Fig . 9. C yp ri ot pots from th e Cesno la co ll ec ti o n in th e Sta n ford Uni ve rsity M u se um a fte r th e 1906 ea rth quake . Ph otog rap l' cou rtesy of th e S ta n fo rd Uni ve rsity Arc hi ves.

uati on was in jeopard y. Th e museum was

old e r a nd m o re traditi on al, did eve ry-

cl osed, its coll ec ti ons no t ye t ca talog ue d.

thin g in th e n a m e of h e r husband a nd

Wh a t survived was bad ly m an age d and

so n ra th e r th a n in h e r own . Both c on-

thieved upon , and m ost of wh a t re main ed

sulted with exp e rts but prim a ri ly mad e

of th e muse um buildi ng wa s give n ove r

th e ir own dec isio ns. Both b u ilt, c ol-

to o th e r aca de mi c purp oses . Reo pe n ed in th e ea rl y 19 50s as a n a rt mu seum , and slowly transfo rm ed into a m odern coll ec ting and exhibitin g h all , Ja n e Sta nford 's mu se um o n ce aga in h ad to be cl osed

afte r th e quake of 1989 and is n ow und e rgo in g resto ra ti o n and e nl a rgem e nt, soo n to beg in li fe ove r aga in . It is Ja n e Sta nfo rd 's un wave rin g visio n for h e r mu se um , a nd h e r sure ha nd in see in g h e r vision fulfi ll ed, th a t

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wo rked e no rm o usly h a rd to leave publi c legac ies in th e arts with th eir fa mil y

F ig. I 0. T h e Le land S tan fo rd Juni o r Mu se um ,

na m es attac hed to th e m , th ough Ja n e,

ea rthq uake. Drawin g by Pa ul Ve na ble Turn er.

pl an show in g wha t re m a in ed a fte r th e 1906

_ _! ·· ...... ..

AN A RTI ST IC HOME IN WAS H INGTO 路

Fig. 11. Ali ce Pike Barn ey, Medu sa, 1902 , pastel on ca nvas.

ational Muse um of Am e rica n rt,

Smithso nian Institut ion. G ift of Laura Dreyfus Barn ey and

a ta lie C liffo rd Barn ey in

emo ry

of T heir Mother, Alice Pike Barn ey.

Fig. 12. Town 6 Country article about the open-

lec te d , a n d d irec te d th e ir mu se u m s

Ali ce Pi ke Barn ey Arc hi ves,

with o ut boards of di rec to rs o r profes-

of Ame ri ca n Art, Smithso nian Institu ti on.

sion al st affs. Bo th e n visio n ed th e m selves as phi la nth ro pi sts to th e ir co mm uni ties,

with h e r fa m o us decolletage, dress to be

ing of Ba rn ey Studio House, 1904. Courtesy of th e at iona l Muse um

edu ca tin g a nd civili z ing ge n e ratio n s to

n o ti ce d (fi g . 4 ). Sh e also h os ted oirees,

co m e . And both we re wom e n wh ose se nse of co nfid e n ce and sure place in

sa lon s, mu sica les, pagea nts, a nd da n ce p e rforma n ces th a t we re so prog ress ive

th e wo rld wa s stre ngth e n ed no t weake n ed by wid owh oo d . Ind eed o nly afte r

a n d self-co nsc io usly orc h estra ted tha t th ey we re th e talk of th e soc ial pages.

th ey ass um ed sole a uth or ity ove r spe nd -

M a rri ed to a m an of co mple tely co nve n-

in g th e fa m ily fo rtun e d id th ey acc o m-

ti o n al tas tes wh o was e mb a rrasse d by hi s wife's pub li c ac ti viti es, Mrs. Ba rn ey re m a in ed in a loveless m a rr iage . Sh e

pli sh th e ir goa ls. Thi s was also tru e of Ali ce Pike Ba rn ey wh ose husba n d di ed just as sh e was co mple tin g h e r building p ro jec t, a studi o h o use th at sh e wo uld ope n fo r a

res id ed in a typ ica l G ild ed Age m a nsio n a nd summ e red in a shingle style "co ttage" in Bar H a rbo r, M aine . In c reas in gly sh e

ra nge of a rti sti c e ve nts. An a rti st ra th e r th a n a coll ec to r, Alice n eve r wa lked lions as did Ga rdn e r, but sh e did , like Ga rdn e r

a nd h e r hu sb a nd we nt th e ir sepa ra te wa ys, es pec iall y wh e n Alice d eve lop ed se ri o u s inte res ts in b ein g a p ainte r,

Fig. 13. \Ve l tudi o, Barn e)

tudi o 1lou e, 190-+. Ph otograph co urle) of th e Alice Pike Barn er

,\ rc lrn es, \. ati onal i\ lu eum of ,\ meri ca n ,\ rt , Smith so ni an Instituti on.

Fig. 14. T he Goth ic Room , Isabe ll a tewart Ga rdn er Muse u m, I 926. Ph otograph co urtesy of th e Ga rdner Muse um Arc hi ves, Isabella Stewart G ardner l\ luse um , Boston . 20

seekin g in stru c tion with Whistl e r a nd

ti cism typi ca l in uppe r-class deco r a t th e

oth e rs on h e r fr equ e nt trips to E urope

tim e, but th ey th e n te mpe red it by a n arts

(fi g. 11 ). As sh e m a tured as a pa inte r,

a nd c rafts e mph as is o n wood a nd fabr ic,

and absorbed symboli st a nd fin-d e-s iecle

til ed fl oors, tap es tri es o n th e wa ll s, sto n e

tas tes, sh e d e te rmin ed to ove rh a ul th e

fir e pl aces, a nd heavy-se t ca rved woode n

wa y sh e li ve d , dressed , a nd e nterta in ed .

furnitur . Th ese e nviro nm e nts evoked

Like Gardn e r, sh e im ag in ed c rea tin g a

old wo rld c ha tea ux but eve n m o re so,

totall y aesth e ti c ized e nviro nm e nt, o n e

ecc les ias ti ca 1 a rc hitec ture-Ga rdn e r's

in whi c h th e deco ra ti o ns, th e furniture,

acce nted wi~1 Venetian go thi c, Ba rn ey's

and th e arts o n th e wa ll toge th e r form ed

with Span ish go thi c (fig . 14).

a spiritualized space . Sh e bought a lot o n Sh e ridan C ircle, so m e di stance away from th e Rh ode Isla nd Ave nu e m a n ion sh e h ad co m e to ha te, a nd with yo un g Wadd y Wood as he r a rc hitec t, des ig n ed h e r dream h ou se. 11 Barn ey hou se, op e n ed a yea r afte r Fenwa y Court, was a studi o h o use, n o t a h ou se mu se um (fi g. 12). Its sca le was con sid e rab ly sm all e r th a n th e Ga rdn e r M use um a nd th e paintin gs o n th e wa ll we re not those of old maste rs but by Ali ce and h e r artist fri e nds. Ali ce des igned

Fig. I 5. Th e Isabe ll a Stewart Gardner Museum

h e r largest room as a wo rking studio , but it was also a space for th ea te r and mu sic

fro m th e Fe n way, photograph ed by Thomas

(fig. 13). But despite th e di spa rity of

Arc hi ves, Isa be ll a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r Mu se um .

la rr, 1903. Cou rtesy of th e Ga rd ne r Museum

sca le, th e re are many simil ariti es b etwee n th e two buildin gs, in cluding th e way th e ba sic li vin g quarte rs -bedrooms, bathroom s, a nd dress ing room s- were located o n flo o rs above th e publi c room s. Both women ac ted as artistic directors of th e ir monum e nts. Stori es a re told about each of th e m direc tin g and inte rve nin g in th e process of d es ign in g, buildin g, and d ecorating th e ir h om es, and it is cl ea r th at th ey both h eld a tight re in over th e orch estration of the ir inte riors, whic h like works of a rt, we re des igned to nouri sh th e sou l. Both e ndorsed a kind of hi sto ri ca l eclec-

For bo th wome n , it was th e da rk a nd moody m elange of tex tures, a rt fo rm s, a nd p e riod assoc ia tion s th a t m ade for th e a rt spirit of th e two buildin gs. And thi s was not to be expe ri e n ced until yo u left th e stree t, we nt through th e po rtals a nd e nte red dee p into th eir stru c tures. T h e fa ca des of th e bui ldin gs, pl a in to th e point of be in g unin vitin g (a nd th e refor e, rarely ph o tograph ed), tell us n o thin g about th e ri c h es we wi ll find within (fi g. 15 ). Th ey act rath e r as ston e di vid e rs, e mph atica ll y se pa ra tin g th e m a te ri al 21

wo rld of mon ey and comp e tition outsid e

pl ace, a nd open ed th e hou se to th e publ ic as a mu se um to Barn ey and h e r lite r-

th e house fro m th e artisti c a nd sp iritu al wo rld th e two wo m e n c rea ted within.

a ry a nd artis ti c circl e. Theatrica l and

In sid e bo th ho uses o n e e nte red a kind of

l ite rary eve nts were staged to res urrec t

gesamtkunstwerk wh e re th e arc hitec ture,

th e spirit of th e pl ace a nd th e house

th e indirec t li ghtin g, th e furni shin gs, a nd th e art o n th e wa ll co nspired to wrap

ca m e ali ve aga in for a deca de.

th e viewe r in the effe rvescen t spirit of a rt itself. Th e wholes we re grea te r th a n th e

everyone, its furni shings an d paintings in storage, a nd its fate unkn own . A m e ta-

sum of th e ir pa rts. Th ese women represe nted th e m selves

phori c sh roud ha ngs over th e door. In 199 5

Today however, the house is closed to

th e Smithsonian a nn o un ce d its inte nti on to sell th e buildin g, an action th at gave

as a rti sts of domestic spa ces, whi c h is clear from th e ir de te rmination to leave

birth to th e Fri e nd s of Barney Studio

th eir h omes to th ei r co mmuniti es as e nsembl es, wi th eve rythin g in pl ace.

House, a g roup advoca t ing its prese rvation an d avai la bility to th e pub lic. 12

Th e ste rn a nd un compromi sing la nguage of Ga rdn e r's bequ es t is well known.

stru c tures is that th ey a re intac t a nd rea -

O n e reaso n to c h e ri sh both of these

No thin g in th e rooms was to be ch anged o r alte red -a nd no wo rks of a rt we re to be add ed o r subtrac ted . If th ey we re, th e

so nabl y untou c hed . Th ey co m e to us as wh ole en sem bl es without ha vin g bee n

mu se um was to be di sso lve d, th e wo rks of a rt sold in Pa ri s, a nd th e procee ds

th ey th e opportunity, wo uld have most

di sasse mbl ed by m ode rni sts who, h ad ce rta inl y put th e m through a purificati o n process, white nin g th e ir wa ll s, elim-

give n to Harvard Co ll ege. In Barn ey's case, she left it to h e r two da ughte rs, La u ra Ba rn ey an d Na tali e Ba rn ey, th e la tte r a well-kn own lesbian po e t, to ca rry o ut h e r wish es. Sh e wa nted h er h o u se to be used as a muse um o r art ce nte r for Was hin gto n , D.C . In 1960, th e two siste rs left Barn ey Studio H ouse, with an e nd owm ent, a nd all its furni sh ings a nd paintin gs, to th e Smith so ni a n with th e und e rsta ndin g that it wo uld be used to furth e r th e a rts of th e city. For m an y

of th e subj ec ti ve se lf and th e b el ief in aes th e ti c expe ri e n ce as th e h ighest form of hum a n ac ti vity com b in ed to give us a wea lth of n e w expe rie n ces th a t forced us to engage our inn e r selves. Fo r th ea te rs of th e self, Ga rdn e r's and Barn ey's houses

yea rs it was used as office spaces. Th e n , in 1979, Jos hu a Ta ylor, direc tor of th e Na ti o nal Muse um of Ame ri ca n Art (ca ll ed th en Th e Natio n al Collec tion of Fin e Arts) gave th e building a mod es t restoratio n, put its furni shin gs back into

are right up th e re with symboli st pa intin gs, Ri c h a rd Strau ss's operas, or J. H. Huysma n's sea rch for a rtific iall y ind uced pleas ures. But for m e today, I prese nt th ese stru ctures-a nd h e re I includ e Jane Stanford's

inating th e ir furni shin gs, a nd in c reas ing th e wa ttage of th eir dim lighting. Both of th ese art-h omes a re fabu lous pe riod pi eces that prese rve that spec ia l mom e nt - th e Post-Victorian on e -when th e b irth

muse um -as exq ui sitely ge nd e red a nd

mod el of Am e ri ca n a rt matronage

class-bound produ c ti on s of th e co untry's

e m e rge d a t th e tum of th e ce ntury, it

first ge n e ra ti o n of c ultural matron s. Like

ex pa nd ed across th e co untry as women

Mary Cassa tt's paintin gs, th ese buildin gs

- tak in g th e ir own co unsel - ded ica ted

re nd e r vis ibl e th e lin e th a t wa s c rossed

th e ir fin a n c ial reso urces a nd elec ted

by a few wea lth y women in th e la te nin e-

to put th e ir tim e into fou ndin g a rt mu se-

tee nth ce ntury fro m be in g a ngels of c ul -

um s, h ouse mu e um s, a nd publi c col-

ture withi n a domestic se ttin g to be in g

lec ti o ns. From Loui se

urdock in

que e n s of c ulture in publi c. As Anne

Wi chita to Jess ie Mar io Koogle r in San

Hi gon n e t's explora tion s h ave sh own ,

Anto ni o, or th e be tte r known exa mpl es

th e re wa s a ce rta in " n a turaln ess" in

of Abby Aldrich Rockefell e r a nd Ge rtrud e

Gardn e r's transform in g h e r hom e into

Vand e rbilt Whitn ey in

a hou se mu se um , a women h ad sa n c-

women bega n a hundred yea rs ago to

tion ed rights in th e h ome th a t th ey did

assert a powe rful and direc to ri al role in

not have elsewh e re. 13 So too with Ba rn ey's

th e co untry's c ultural lan dsca pe. Isa bell a

ew York, wea lth y

crea tion of h e r h ome as a studio hou se.

Stewart Gardn e r, as th e fo undin g mother

Yet I think we have more to lea rn a bout thi s ge n e ratio n befo re we ca n th oro ug hl y

of thi s mu se um , along with h e r siste r a rt m a tron elsewh e re, de dicated th e ir adult

und e rstand wh a t mad e it poss ibl e for Jan e

yea rs to rewritin g th e sc ript of wo rn n's

Stanford , Isa bell a Stewa rt Gardner, a nd

lea de rship an d b e n efac ti on in th e a rts.

Ali ce Pike Barney in th e ve ry sa m e three decades, and across th e co untry fro m o ne anoth e r, to h ave th e will and a mbition and exe rt th e raw power that it took to found th e ir institution s. Wher e did th ey get th e ir moxie? Certainl y th e ir wea lth h e lp ed , as well as th eir social sta ndin g, as well as th e n ew fr eedom s wom e n we re asse rting th roughout Amer ica n c ulture by th e 1880s a nd 1890s. But how to explain full y th e e mergence wi thin one generation , in c iti es across th e co untry, of such co nfid e nt egos, dictatori al styles, and, most of all , clea rl y articulated des ires to leave a c ultural legacy? For genera ti o ns, wea lth y m e n had publi cly d e mon stra ted th e ir dri ves to acqu ire, possess, a nd bequ es t but with th e exception of isolated examples, women h ad not. And onc e th e

1. l want to thank Anne Hawley, Direc tor; Hill iard Go ldfa rb, Chief Curator of Coll ec tions; Patri ck tlcMahon, Registrar and Assistant to th e Ch ief Cu rator; along ll'ith oth er staff members of th e Isa bell a Stewart Gardner Museum for th e ir gracious hospitality and continu al support durin g th e plan nin g sessions and day of th e symposium . Th eir annu al interdi scipli nary symposium is a mod el of its type.

2. Al ine Saarinen, Th e Prou.d Possessors ( ew York: Rand om House, 1958); S. N. Behrm an, Du veen ( Tew Yo rk : Rand om House, 1952 ); W illi am Sc hac k, Art and Argyrol, Th e Life and Career of Dr. Albert C. Barnes (Ne w York: T. Yoseloff, 1960); Loui se Hall T har p, Mrs. Jack (Boston: Littl e, Brown & Co., 1965 ); Ru sse ll Lynes, Th e Tastemakers ( ew Yo rk: Harp e r, 1949) and Good Old Modem : An Intimate Portrait of th e Mu seum of Modem Art ( ew York: Atheneum , 1973 ).

8. Th e bes t so urces of in fo rm ation about Jane Stanford are: Ca rol M . Osborn e, Museum Builders in the West: Th e Stanfords as Co llectors and Patron s of Art, 1870- 1906 (Stanfo rd : Sta nfo rd Uni ve rsity Muse um of Art, Stanfo rd Uni ve rsity, 1986); Roxa nn e N il an, "Th e Te nac ious and Co urageo us Jane L. Stanford ," San dstone and Tile ( ewsletter of th e Sta nfo rd 1-1 istori cal Society) 9, no. 2 (winter 1985 ), pp . 2- 13; and G unth e r W. Nagel, Jane Stanford: Her Life and Letters (Sta nfor d: Stanfo rd Alumni Associati on, 1975) .

3. Ne il Harr is, Th e Artist in American Society: Th e Formative Yea rs, 1790- 1860 ( ew York : Geo rge Braz iller, 1966); Lilli an B. Mi ll er, Patrons an d Pa triotism: Th e Encouragement of the Fine Arts in the United Stales, 1790- 1860 (C hicago: Un ive rsity of C hi cago Press, 1966).

9. See Paul Ve nable Turn er, "Th e Architectural Signifi ca nce of th e Stanfo rd Muse um ," in O sborn e, Mu seum Builders in the West, pp. 92- 105 .

4. Larry Levin e, Highbrow/Lowbrow: Th e

11 . T he definiti ve biography is Jean L. Kling, Alice Pike Barney: Her Life and Art (Washington, D .C., and Lond on: Na ti onal Muse um of Am erica n Art; Smithsoni an Institution Press, 1994). See also Delight [-la ll , Ca talogu.e of Th e Alice Pike Barney l\llemorial Lending Collection (Was hington, D.C.: ati onal Collecti on of Fin e Arts, 1965 ) and Donald R. McC lell and, Wh ere Shadows Live: Alice Pike Barney and f-J er Friends (Was hington, D.C .: Na tional Coll ec ti on of Fin e Arts, 197 8).

Emergence of Cultu ral Hierarchy in America (Ca mbridge: Harva rd Uni ve rsity Press, 1988); Ne il Harri s, Cu ltural Excursions: Marketing Appetites and Cultural Ta stes in Modem America (C hi cago: Uni ve rsity of C hi cago Press, 1990); James C lifford, Th e Predicamen t of C ulture: Twentieth -Centu ry Ethnogra phy, Literature, and Art (Ca mbrid ge: Harva rd Uni ve rsity Press, 1988); Phi lip Fisher, Making an d Effacing Art: [\l/odem American Art in a Culture of Mu seums (New York : Oxford Uni ve rsity Press, 199 1).

5. See Ka ren Bl air, Th e Clubwoman as Feminist: Tru e Woman hood Redefin ed, 1868- 1914 ( ew York: Holmes and M eier, 1980) and The Torchbearers: Women and Th eir Amateu.r Art Association s in America, 1890- 1930 (Bl oo mi ngton: Indi ana Un ive rsity Press, 1994) . 6. Kathl een D. McCarth y, Women's Cu lture: America n Philanthropy and Art, 1830- 1930 (C hi cago: Uni ve rsity of C hi cago Press, 199 1), pp . 148-176. 7. I th ank my fri end and coll eague Mary Lou Roberts fo r draw ing my attenti on to Sa rah Bernh ardt.

10. Nagel, Jane Stanford, pp . 157- 158.

12 . In Ma y of 1995, th e Sec retary of th e Sm ithso ni an l nstitution put Barn ey Studi o House on th e market, with th e pro viso th at he wo uld co nsid er transferrin g th e property to th e members of anoth er non-profit orga niza tion if th ey wo uld mainta in th e house and open it to th e public. 13. Ann e 1-!igo nn et, "Wh ere Th ere's a Will . Art in America 77, no. 5 (May 1989), pp . 65-75.

W OME

ART I STS

T H E PR O B LEMS OF M ET R O P OL I TA N E W Y O RK A D CHI CAGO, 18 90 -

C U LTU R E:

19 10

Chri stin e Stan se ll P rin c e t o n Un i v e r it y

wa a fe mini zed backwa te r pres id e d ove r by ge ntee l la di e . San taya n a's c ritiqu e, alth o ug h ph rased as n ovel a nd revelato ry, drew up o n fo rty yea rs of co mpla int a bo ut th e supp osedl y ove rwea nin g role of fe m ale co nsum e rs a n d tas te m ake rs in impr intin g

m e ri ca n c ultu re with m ora l

uplift a nd imp roving sen ti me nt - in sh ort, in fo rg in g th e V ic to ri a n link be twee n a rt a nd b o urgeo is p ro priety. 1 T he upp e r-a nd m idd le-cl a

fe m ale a udi e n ces wh o wer

the subj ec ts of th e fe mini za ti o n di sc ussio n h ad lo ng a tt rac ted de trac to rs. T h ey spo nso re d a rt ex hibits a n d ra ise d m o n ey for o rc he tras, d evo ure d th e light fi c ti o n Fi g. I. Anders Zo rn , M rs. Potter Palmer, etc hin g,

of n ovels a nd m agaz in es, a nd reco il ed a t

1896. Co urtesy of th e Isa bella Stewa rt Ga rdn er

th e su ppose d excesses of n a tu ra li st a nd

M use um, Bos ton . Berth a Palme r helped to lea d

rea li st a rt. As e mb odi e d in M rs. D o ub le-

the Boa rd of Lady Manage rs in c rea tin g th e

d ay, wh o urged h e r publ ish e r hu sba nd

Women's Buil din g for th e World 's Co lumbi an

in 1903 to suppress th e vu lga r a nd sca n-

Expos ition in 1893.

dalou s Si ster Carrie, th ey represe nt to us n ow a rea rg ua rd Vi c to ri a n ta ncl agai n t

In a n ow-fa m o us lec ture in 19 11 , th e

a n onr ushin g mod e rn ist tid e . Bu t th e

H a rva rd phil osoph e r G e o rge Sa ntaya n a

p ro bl e m s of "fe min iza ti o n " also e n c om-

ru e d th e powe r of wo m e n ove r Am e ri ca n

passed grow ing numb e rs of wom e n in

a rts a nd le tte rs. In co mpa rison to E u rope,

th e la te nin etee nth a nd ea rl y twe nti e th

Sa ntaya n a avowe d, Am e ri ca n c ulture

ce nturi e wh o th e m se lves aspi re d to be

a rti sts a nd write rs, a soc ial pr ese n ce less

wo man a rti st took up a pla ce as a ch a ra c-

eas il y sa ddl ed with th e attributes of a class-

te r in a fin-d e-siecle lite ra ture su spi c ious

bound gentili ty. Ind eed, in th e soc ial com-

of fe mal e ind epe nde nce and unsupe rvised

m enta ry of th e day, th e aspirin g wo m e n

sex uality. Sh e was a n innovati ve and

arti sts app ea red as di so rd e rl y wo m e n of a

di sturbing pr sen ce of frequ e ntl y amb igu-

troubl ed age, represe nta ti ves of a n in c ip-

ou s class a ffili a ti o ns. D es pite wom e n's

ient mod e rnity ra th e r th a n defend e rs of

re puta ti o n as fe mini ze rs conte nt in th e

a m o ribund Vi c to ri a ni sm . Betwee n 1890 an d 19 10, th e situation

V ic tori a n backwa te rs of a rt, fe mal e a rtistry mi ght be toke n som e thin g n ew

of wom e n in th e a rts b eca m e co mpl ex

a nd mod e rn for wom e n , a n e ngagem e nt

and , to us n ow, co nfu sin g. \Vom e n

with pol yglot c ity c rowd s, sexual free-

c rossed virtu all y all th e nin e tee n th-ce n-

d o m , and profess ional ind ep e nd e n ce,

tury sex ba rs in th e arts, seekin g admi s-

not effe te am ate uri sm and dom esti city.

sion to and e mpl oym e nt in c ultural sec to rs previou sly m o n op oli zed by m e n . But integra tion , as in th e o th e r profes-

Th e F e mini za tion of Cu ltur e

sio n s, res ulted in a resegm e nta ti on of

a nd th e Woman Art i s t

hi e ra rchi es rath e r th a n equ ali ty of opportunity. Th e press ures wom e n brought to

By th e 1890s, press ures from e du cated

bea r we re acco mm oda te d by re drawing

wom e n o n o th e r areas of public li fe had

th e lin es of sex ual diffe re n ce- th e di vi-

tra nsform e d form al stud y in or susta in ed

sio ns b e twee n th e pro pe rl y fe minin e a nd

co mmitm e nt to th e arts from th e nearl y

th e prop e rl y m asc ulin e- to c rea te a n

in con ce iva bl e option it had b ee n for

expa nd ed , alb e it still segregated and

wo m e n in th e ea rl y nin e tee nth ce ntury

ofte n a m ate urish sph e re for the "woman

to a prop e rl y fe min in e pursuit. In th e

arti st" alongs id e th a t of th e prope rl y pro-

upp e r a nd middl e c lasses, wr iting, paint-

fess ion al "a rti st," n o rm a ti vely m ale . T h e

in g, sc ulptin g, a nd eve n som e of th e pe r-

di visio n worked to co nfin e wo m e n to tra-

forming a rts-s in gin g a nd pi ano-playing

diti o nal a nd co nse rva tive sec to rs a nd to

-we re d eem ed less dra inin g in te rm s

di squ ali fy th e m fr om th e ava nt-ga rd e .

of famil y obli ga ti o ns and more eas il y rec-

But at th e sa m e tim e, th e fi gure of thi s

on c il ed with m a rri age th a n full y blown

wo m a n a rti st, re nd e red in th e popu la r

p rofess io n s to whi c h wom e n we re also

lite rature of th e cl ay, m ag n eti zed popu la r

seeking access, like m edi c in e and law.2

inte rest as o n e of a ra nge of ew Wo m a n types wh o ch all e nged th e im ag in a ti ve

wo m e n a mo di c um of a rti sti c a uthority,

di vid e of sex. Neo-ro m a nti c and reve r-

a t leas t as tas te m ake rs. Fe mininity im -

be ratin g with a co nvic ti o n in a tra nsce nde nt e nte rpri se of a rt, pass io na te in an

printe d itself o n th e high c ulture of

un fe minin e urge n cy to express h e rself,

of ge ntl e m e n. Am o ng wea lth y wome n ,

inte nt o n ea rnin g h er own livin g, th e

a rti sti c inte res ts le d to rol es as pa tron s

Co n ve nti o n ce rt a inl y acc ord e d

urban elites, o nce wholl y a provin ce

Fi g. Z. Wi ll iam tvl crrill

hasc, Portrait 0( 1\ l iss Dora \\ heeler, I 8"l .

G ift of Mrs. Bou din ot Keith , in m emory or i\ I r. and \ I r;.

J. I I.

v hee l er, and one of

where th ey

ha c' slud cnl>, she ; l arl cd a firm

Labli heel ar

rs in Lh c

' I he ' b eland \111 ;e urn or \rl.

\\ <Id e, 21 . I 2"l9 f)aughler or \ rnd ace

ilh her moth er and ; e1路c ral olh er 110 111 e11

ora li l'C art> .

an d coll ec tors legitim at cl by ve ry ol 1 ari to cra ti c antecedents. A few promin ent ri ch wome n at th e t 1rn of th ce ntur ' drew up on thi s E urop ea n traditio n to acquire promin ence and ome powe r as hostesse and presc ient co ll ec tors: Isa bell a tewa rt Ga rdn e r of Boston, Lou isin e Havemeyer of Phi ladelphi a, Berth a Honore Pa l me r of C hi cago (fi g. 1), and th e salonniere and painter Helena D ekay G ilde r. O th ers ought an outl et for impu lses of ap prec iati on and aesth eti c c uri os ity in th e instituti on of th e Europea n Gra nd Tour-tho e pi lgrimages to th e art ga ll eri es, th e cas tl es, and th e opera whi ch H enry James had mocked m ercil essly in Daisy Miller (1878) and wh ic h Jane Addam s, h erse lf a wea ry veteran , enca psulated as th e "feve rish

ar h aft r cullur ." nd in ivi life , midd le-c la wom n gal' riti c I upport to loca l ultural a ti1路iti e -m u ica l -ve nt , art bazaa r and fair , ch I r hip fo r th ey un g-ll" hi c h tr d upliftin g entim ent an 11 rote tant l'irtu e, "a n offiial me ri ca n 1路 r ion of r ality"- wl i h uph eld th e cultivated ta te of it pon or and aud ience again t th el'c r-threa t ning vu lga rity of th e mas es. ' T hese ll'er th e prom ot r of th e uppose d femini za tion f merica n culture, whi ch criti cs und erstood as a prob lem of femal e ta te and ma le di sa bi lity. Wom en, as patrons and co nsum ers, prefe rred tri vial an d pueri le work and thu s preve nted male arti sts from crea ting th e viril e, energe tic art th e tim es deman ded. But th ere was also an un eas in ess with worn n's

growing claim to be ar ti sts th e m selves .

n w di visio n of th e se riou s arti st fro m

By 19 10, th e m oveme nt th at in th e a nte-

th e "wo m a n a rti st," who mi g ht still be a

bellum yea rs h ad bee n co nfin e d to th e

da bbl e r but co uld also be ass imil a ted

"sc ribblin g wo m en " of popul a r lite ra-

into th e lowe r rea lm of th e c omm e rc ial

ture-

a th a ni el H aw th o rn e's phrase-

a rts. Ca ught in th e n e w c onfi g ura ti o n of

was writ la rge acros th e a rts. In fa c t, th e

sex u al diffe re n ce, fe m ale ava nt-ga rdi stes

ava il a bl e sta ti sti cs supp o rt th e view th a t

wo uld soo n fl ee fr o m th e des ign a ti o n ,

wo m e n we re ind ee d p ress in g o n occ upa-

"wo m an a rti st," repudi a tin g th e lac hry-

ti o ns assoc ia ted w i~h a rts a nd le tte rs. In

m o e a nd se ntim e ntal c onnota ti o ns o f

1870, th e prese n ce of wo m e n in a n y

fe minin wo rk , its asso c ia ti o ns with mid -

Fede ral ce nsus ca tego ry assoc ia ted with

dl ebrow fe m ale supporte rs or unin spired

th e a rts was sm all , in so m e cases tin y:

h ackwo rk. Ye t even th e wom e n th ey

4 12 fe m ale a rti sts co mpa re d to 3,669

a bh o rre d , th e prim and prop e r produ c ts

m e n , fo r exa mpl e. In 1900, m e n still

of fin-d e-s iecle a rt edu ca tion , cann ot be

o utnumbe red wo m e n in all ca tego ri es

und e rstood simpl y as recruits in a last

except th a t of " mu sic/mu sic teac h e r,"

stand of Vi ctori an c ulture.

but th e fe m ale in c reases in all fi eld s we re ph e n o m e n al: 13,875 m ale a rti sts, 4

11 ,027 fe m ale. Th e cla im to profess ion al

By th e turn of th e ce ntury, yo un g wo m e n of m ea ns found a rt sc hool a rea dil y ava il abl e alte rn a ti ve to a coll ege

se ri o usn ess as a n a rti st h ad beco m e o n e

edu ca ti o n . In Pa ri s, th e las t bas tion of

hallm a rk of th e

sex segrega ti o n fell in 1897 wh e n th e

ew Wo m a n : "Th e re

a re .. . m o re wo uld -be prime donne in

Aca de mi e d e Bea ux-Arts, th e pre mi e r

C hi cago th a n a nywh e re e lse o n ea rth ,"

sc hool o n th e Co ntin e nt, a dmitted

sn ee red an op e ra sin ge r, a su ccessful one

wo m e n to its e ntran ce compe titi o n . In

he rself, in 19 13. Ca nd ace Wh eeler (fi g. 2),

th e U nited

longtim e patro n of wo m e n in th e pl as ti c

o pe n e d to wo m e n durin g th e C ivil W a r

a rts, stru ck a diffe re nt n o te, exultin g in

yea rs (fi g. 3): M a ry C assa tt, for exa mpl e,

ta tes, th e aca de mi es had

1897 th at " th e re a re tod ay th o usa nds

h ad studi e d in Phil a delphi a at th e Pe nn-

up on th o u a nd s of girl a rt stud e nts a nd

sylva ni a Aca de m y of Fin e Arts in th e

wo m e n a rti sts, wh e re o nl y a few yea rs ago th e re was sca rcely on e ."

In th e visu al a rts, th e e m e rge n ce of th e wo m a n a rti st was fa r fro m a stra ight-

1860s wh e n th e sc hoo l, de pri ved of m ale stud ents by th e wa r, had turn ed to wom e n to m a inta in its e nrollm e nts. Sin ce its fo undin g in 1875, th e

ew Yo rk Art

sce nd e nt realm of c rea ti vity a nd e pres-

S tud e nts Leagu e h ad stre se d its co mitm e nt to "wo m e n who se riou sly des ire to

sive n ess . T h e profess io n , o nce wo m e n

stu dy a rt as a profe io n. " In Pa ri s, th e

integra ted it, reco n figure d it e lf. T h e old sex bar, wh ic h had d ivid ed p rofess io nal

pri va te ateliers, whi c h pre pa red tud e nts to co mp e te fo r admi ss ion to th e Ec ol e,

a rti sts (m ale) from ama te ur da bbl e rs

ca te red in th e 1890s to wom e n a nd be n-

(fe ma le), once br idged , gave way to a

efite d fro m th e lu c ra ti ve fees th ey pa id -

fo rwa rd saga of e m a n c ipa ti o n into a tra n-

F ig. 3. Ph otograph e r unkn own , Th e H unt C lass, ca. 1873 . Pri va te Coll ec ti on . Ph otograph co urtesy of Ali ce Ka p row. \,Yi th few o pp ortuniti es fo r p ro fess ional instru c ti on , wome n ofte n crowded into c lasses lik e th ose ta ught by W illam Morri s H u nt.

twice th e tuiti on paid by m e n in so m e

wom a n ee in g a n aked body, m ale or

cases. 6 Yet despite being expl oited for th eir

fe m ale. Entra n ce to th e li fe classes was

fe es, ofte n ignored a nd in sulted , badly ta ught a nd c rowded into sepa ra te classes,

for wom e n , eve n afte r th ey we re adm it-

wo m e n flo cked to th ese sc h ools. "Th e

ted to th e sc h ools. At th e Juli a n in Par is

wom e n stud e nts a re al m ost as num e rou s

th e re was a sepa rate cl ass with dra ped

as th e m e n ," a m agaz in e pi ece o n th e

m odels for fe m ale stud e nts; th is room

Am e rica ns in Pa ri s re p o rted in 1896; " ew Yo rk is swa rmin g with g irl a rt stu-

h ad its own sep a rate e ntra n ce a nd stair-

d e nts," la m e nte d th e di sa pprovin g a rti st

gli mpse into th e roo m with a nud e mod el.

h e ro of Th e Coast of Bohemia ( 1899), Willi a m D ea n H owell s's thinl y di sgui sed portra it of th e Art Stude nts Leagu e .7 Through out th e nin etee nth ce ntury, th e c riti ca l iss u e th a t ba rred wo m e n fr om a rt cl asses was th a t of life drawing (fi g. 4). For ce nturi es, th e co re of a n edu ca ti on h ad bee n ca reful , p rolon ged stud y of th e nud e m odel in aca d e mi c life cl asses a nd pri va te studi os . But Victo ri a n propri ety milita ted aga in st an y dece nt

thu s a protrac ted a nd wea rying battle

case to protec t th e m from an in advertent In th e 1890s, h oweve r, li fe draw in g bega n to fa de as th e c riti ca l m a rke r of th e ge nd e r di vid e. By th e ce ntury's e ncl , it was m ore ofte n th e case th a n not th at wo m e n co uld wo rk with nud e m od els in th e m a jor sch ools. Ra th er, a rt sc h ool itself was co min g to co nn ote th e rea lm of th e respec ta bl y fem inin e. Art hi sto ria n Li sa Ti ckn e r h as a rgu ed th at wo m e n 's long-sought victory occ urred at th e m om e nt wh e n th e academi es, ba tte red by

success ive waves of ecess ions, surrendered any claim to fo rwa rd-lookin g work. Th e wo men fl ooded th e sc hoo ls "just when th e talented were ge tting out," he puts it dril y, "tu rnin g bo hemi an, se ttin g up bro th erh oo ds and oth er kind s of anti bodi es."8 By 1900, art sc hoo l was to th e E u ro pea n avant-ga rd e hope lessly co mpro mi sed by a des icca ted aca demi cism and e ri ou tu dent loo ked elsewhere th an admiss ion to th e Eco le. ln so me respec ts, for mal edu ca ti on had beco me a li abil ity. In meri ca th e situa ti on wa le s clear cut beca u e there was no ava ntga rd e and th e powe r of th e acade mi e was weake r to beg in with . Still , it is fa ir to ay th ere we re sim il ariti es, as wo men moved in great numbe rs into th e art sc hoo ls at the momen t when men we re lookin g elsewhere, exce pt fo r holdin g on to rem un era ti ve teac hin g pos iti ons. One ece sioni st "a ntib ody" in ew York wa th e group of rea li t coll ec ted aro und Robert Henr i, men who mos tl y started out in news paper sketch wo rk rath er th an aca demi c painting, a rebelli ous bro th erh oo d whi ch wo uld emerge onto th e publi c stage with a major ind ependent exhibiti on in ew York in 1908. 9 s "modern " art like th at of th e E ight signaled its perm ea bility to expres ivity, co ntem pora neity, and th e signs and im age ry of popul ar life in th e metropo1is, wo men entered classes where th ey studi ed neo-c lass ica l ubj ec ts and lea rn ed hi gh fini sh brush wo rk. For th e most part wo men graduated into co rn ers of th e art world untouched or onl y faintl y tin ged by mod rni sm of

Fig. -+. lice Barber Step hens , The Women's

Life Cla s, ca . 1879, oi l on ca nvas. The Penn ylvania Acade my of Fin e rts, Phi ladelphia . Gift of the artist.

any so rt: po rtraitu re and deco ration , ge nre paintings of ru ra l life, still lifes of fl ora l arrange m ents, mi ty land sca pes, grave id ta tu ary, prim busts and statu e of loca l notabl es in pro vin cial town , mini atures, paintin gs of fri ends' house . Henry James' desc ripti on of Bl anchard ' paintin gs in Roderick Hudson (1875) suffi ce for a tradition running tro ng twe nty year later: "th ese represe nted ge nerall y a bun ch of dewsprinkl ed roses, with th e dewdrops ve ry hi gh fini shed, or else a ways id e shrin e and a peasa nt woman with her back turn ed kn eelin g before it." Whil e in th e mid-nin eteenth century, th en, th ere had bee n onl y "a rti sts," with a handful of odd wom en trying to capture th e titl e th emselves, by 1900 a socia ll y recogni zed "wom an arti st" had emerged, alli ed with middl ebrow genti li ty. Her diffe rences fr om "th e arti st" were en-

h anced by th e support which wo m e n 's

symbol s of exo ti c romantic c rea tivity.

clubs gave h er, circ umscribing h er achieve-

In th e m agaz in e's tour th e inte rviewe r

m e nts within a circl e of fe mininity eve n

fo und hi s subj ec t, th e portraitist E li ot

as th ey provid e d mu c h-n eeded fin an c ial

Grego ry, se ttl ed in a room of soft Or ie n-

backing, spon sorin g exhibits and bestow-

tal carp e tin g an d h eavy d ra pe ri es, low

ing m edal s on fe mal e painte rs and sc ulp-

couch es a nd d iva ns, sta in ed glass a nd

tors (thi s acti vi ty would reac h its ze nith in th e grand exhibit of wom e n a rti sts a t

Egypti a n la tti ce wo rk , dow n to a ra cy "h a ree m wind ow." "H ere am id bea utiful

th e Wom e n 's Pavilion of th e Columbi an

bri c-a-brac, th e coll ec ti o n of m a n y wa n -

Exposition in 1893). Th e effects of th e n ew diffe re ntiati o n

d e rin gs in France, Italy, Spa in , a nd

a re visibl e in a se ri es on co nte mpora ry arti sts in 1896 in Godey's Magazine , th e

c h a rmin g a rt." 10 T h e "wom a n a rti st,'' however, was ill-

pre mi e r wome n 's magaz in e of th e day.

fitted to di spl ay h e rself or h e r wo rk in

To in clud e wome n along with m e n in

su c h surroundings. Wom e n h ad less

th e E as t, Mr. Gregory pra c ti ces hi s

su ch a survey wo uld h ave bee n unthink-

mon ey for bri c-a-brac a nd little largesse

abl e thirty yea rs ea rli e r-th e re we re too

fo r th e wo rld wa nd e rings th at produ ced

fe w of th e m , a nd th e occupa ti on ve rge d

su c h dec or (Cec ili a Bea ux, on e of th e

on sca ndal. By th e 1890s, Godey's co uld

most su ccessfu l fe m ale a rtists of h e r day,

turn its pla c id ge nteel gaze on both

traveled with a ch apero n e well into th e

sexes in th e ateliers. But a t a hi stori ca l

twe nti e th ce ntury). In a n y case, th e

mom e nt wh e n rese ntm e nt of th e man-

woma n a rti st a ttrac ted too mu c h suspi-

nish amb ition s of th e

cion in c ultural co mm e ntary to all ow

ew Woman wa s

raging, th e maga z in e ke pt a ny su ch

practi cing profess ional s to put th e m-

troubl eso m e iss u es at bay by surrounding th e subj ects with th e e mb elli shm e nts

selves on view in th e way m e n did. Th e

of sexua l diffe renc e, so th a t a n y app ea ra n ce that th ey were work in g a t th e sa m e

te rs to Godey's prese nted irreproa c h a bly

occ upa ti o n as m e n wa s obv ia ted . The articles hin ged on visits to each

women wh o ope n ed th eir wo rking qu arbri ght plain littl e studi os . Th e sc ulptor C li o Hun eke r, on e of th e wo m en inte rviewed, was kn own as one of Sa int-

arti st's studio , refl ec ting a n e w co mm e r-

Gaud e ns's m os t promi sin g stud e nts and

cial pra cti ce in th e citi es wh e reby painte rs op e n ed up th eir studios for pub-

a woman-about-town in New York in th e

li c vi ewings, thu s pla c in g th e m selves within th e prec in cts of urba n touri sm .

artists, a nd write rs who frequ e nted th e ca fes of downtown Manhattan. Ye t a ny

"Artists" (mal e), whil e competing for th e favo r of gen teel purc h asers, n on eth eless

tra ces of b oh e mia n lax ity were go n e in th e Godey's re nditi on. Hun eke r was fea-

m ade a ri sque boh e mian d e m ea nor a part of th e package. Th ey situ ated th e m-

fo rtabl y m e rged h e r tidy studi o with a

selves in studios re pl ete with signs a nd

well-run h om e. 11

1890s, a regul a r in a c ircl e of musicia ns,

tured as th e m oth e r of a baby, wh o co m-

0 111m r ce, th e W o m e n Art i

i t i c, a n d

But ll' hi lc th e a rt c hoo l c hann el I ll'Ol11 Cn into a fc mini ;,cd a rl , th e rege ncl c ri no of th e arl lid nol cnl irc h· quell b ' th e a nxi ti c a ri sin g lrom thi hange. Th ir 1·cn · C\ i le n still 11m clll ed a n c ntre n h cJ SI' lc n Ol ge nde r scgr ga tion an I 111al aulh ori l) a n I lea r lc ma r ation f fc male res pe l bilil ). \Vome n 11 ar li ls lhu altra l cl both th c nd io11 of th e inn o1·ator , 11·h de pi cl th e m fo r their sup1 o eel ob isa nc lo a a le111ici 111 , and th cl isa pp ro1·al of co n e rl'ati 1· , 11·h di lik e I th eir un11 oman l) amb iti on and co 111pr mi in g inclq nd nee. ,\ l th e hea rt of th e proble m of th ll'0111a11 a rli l 11 a an un cc rta inl ) ab ul he r ex ualil \ . r all th e a rts in th 11i11 lcc nth e ntur), 111 ) ac tin g il'l d su h tra nsg r i1e co nn olali ons !or 11· m n a did paintin g and c ul1 lin g. Th e taae ha 11 ng bee n a o ial I 11 ilh pr ti tut an I demi-mondaine fo r oul idc th e pale offcmale re p labi lit) . In th e l' i ual art , ll'0111 en' e ntran e en 111 s e 11·a a rclati l' ii' re nl cl e1·clo1 m nl , th ol I identificati on ll' ith pro lilulcs 11•a abse nt. But th e re ll'as till an amb iguity ti a t tc mm ecl from th e un ·i )' 1rc um tan cs of wo men in th e lud ios. T he tro ubling pr p rlic of th ll'Oma1 a rti t a a I ot nt iall y di rupti vc exual figure, whateve r th ac tu alit i f her ca e, ca me fr om the ·ige-o lcl c roticization of women a th e ubject of painting and sc ulptu re. As a rt hi tori a n Lind a oc hlin has argued, th e g nd red tru ctur - of th e Ji[ cla c in th e nin e tee nth

l<' ig. 5. R bcrl I lc nri , T he Ari tudenl (l\ili Jose phin e N i1·iso n ), l906. ivlilll'auk ee t\rl lu- cu111 , J se phin e

1 u r c h ~se, 1 \ e l

1uisilion fi' u nd.

i1·ison later married th e paint r

Edwa rd I loppe r a nd su rre ndered her tim to mode li ng fo r him an I help ing to manage his ca r er ralh r than her own.

ce ntury-male a rti sts, fe m ale m odels-

already stro ng assoc ia ti ons be twee n

m ade a n es th e ti c of m ale gaz in g th e

fe m ale ind e p e nd e nce , artistry, a nd

bas is of tra inin g. Th e ce ntrality of n aked

sex u al tra nsg ress io n .12

wom e n to mod e rn paintin g m ea n t th a t

A strin g of n ovels of boh e mi a in th e

wom e n see m ed m ore p ro pe rl y obj ec ts

1890s mull ed ove r th e co nj u n c tur e.

than c reators of a rt. D espite th e enn obling

Th e a rti st-h e ro in es we re po pul a r va ri a-

fram e of a rt, m odelin g co uld b e a humil -

ti ons of th e Am e ri ca n girl fin ely wro ught

iation . At th e Aca cl e mi e Juli a n , m odels

by H e nry James in th e 1870s (fig. 5).

di srobed b efor e th e class to awa it th e

Aud ac ious inn ocen ts ca ught in im poss i-

coll ec ti ve ve rdi ct; ca tca ll s and jee rs

bl e situ a ti on s created by th e vaga ri es of

for ce d a re treat. Th e ope nin g of th e a rt

ill-co n ce ived fre edom an d d es ire, th ey

school s confu sed thi s situ ati on, but n ot

ge n e rall y su cc u mb ed to so m e form of

always to th e be n efit of fe m ale stud e nts.

th e sedu ced-a nd-abando n ed pl ot, to b e

In som e ateliers, wom e n we re som etim es

resc u ed in th e e ncl fo r m a rri age by so m e

asked to pose as pa rt of th eir edu ca ti on . Wom e n without support fr om h om e

b e n evole nt m ale a rti st. Ca uti on a ry tales to famili es co nsid e rin g se ndin g th ei r

habituall y mod eled in ord e r to pay th e ir

da ughte rs off to Pa ri s or New York, th e

stud e nt fees; thi s was h ow wo rkin g-class

n a rra ti ves gloa ted ove r th e defea t of

wom e n stud e nts suppo rted th e m selves.

fe m ale ambiti on b ut a t th e sa m e tim e

By th e 1890s, som e un easy acco rd , based on class diffe re n ces about wh o wa s who , mod el or arti st, developed : wo rkin g

e nd owed th e wo m a n a rti st with co nside rabl e inte rest a nd e n e rgyn As a rti sti c li ve lih oo ds fo r wo m e n

for th e fi gure" whil e middl e-cl ass wom e n

b eca m e in c reas in gly ti ed to co mm e rce, wage-ea rning, with its co nn ota ti ons of

with finan cial resources simpl y studi ed .

un sup e rvised fe m ale sex uali ty, furth e red

Returnin g hom e from Pa ris, Rob e rt

th e confusion . In c reas ingly, wo m e n

H e nri h elp ed orga ni ze a ske tch class at

a rti sts wh o sought to support th e m selves,

th e Pe nn sylva ni a Acad e m y whi ch use d, in a boh e mian mann e r, th e stud e nts

whateve r th eir class origin s, d epe nd ed on th e sph e re of ca pitali st co mm e rce

th e m selves, mal e a nd fe m ale, as m odels.

ra th e r th a n patro n age or a rti sin al lab or.

H e found th e wome n relu cta nt to pose, so mu ch so tha t th ey so m etim es fe ign ed

A boom in publi shing h ad rippl e effec ts in th e visual arts. Inn ova ti ve tec hn ologies

illn ess to avoid th e sess ion for whi c h th ey we re sch edul ed . Thu s th e visual

of re produ cti on fu eled a bri sk de m and for illustrati ons fo r books, m agaz in es,

arts we re a plac e wh e re wo m e n of diffe re nt classes mingled , so m e to di spl ay

a nd n ewspap e rs; ph otograph y wo uld n ot co m e to domin ate co mm e rc ial illustra tin g until afte r 19 10 . It was on e thing fo r

wome n we re ge ne rall y th e ones wh o "sat

th e m selves scandal ously, oth e rs to paint. But th e confu sion of sexu al refe re n ces tend ed to tinge the wom a n painte r with e rotic proj ection s a nd h eighte n ed

aspiring arti sts to pai nt dain ty oil s at h om e, anoth e r to tra mp th e streets a nd h a ng about n ewspape r offi ces looking for wo rk.

Co mm e rcial illu stra tin g b roke down

th an th ey, wh o h ad se ttled clown to wa it

di visions be tween work ing a nd midd le-

for m a rri age , foreve r des irin g th at th ey

class wo m e n , th ose tra in ed in a rt sch ool

mi ght h ave th e ir try in th e world ." H e r

and th ose who we re self-sch ooled . Fe m ale

d e te rmin a ti o n to h ave th at "try" fin all y

illu strato rs we re some thin g of a n equi va -

took h e r to New Yo rk in 1896, wh e re sh e

le nt to Gru b Stree t writers, wo rk in g o n

co ntinu ed to stud y a t th e Art Stud e nts

ass ignm e nt a n d p iec in g toge th e r a li vin g

L eagu e. In th e city, h e r " bra ve sp irit"

fr o m a n asso rtm e nt of e m pl oym e nt. It was wo rk whi ch was n o t co nso na nt with

swell ed a nd sh e c ut h e rself loose from

co n venti on al d ic ta tes of m iddl e-cl ass

as a co mm e rcial illu stra tor. For th e first

wo m e n's p ropr ie ty. T h e ea rl y adult years of o n e of th ese

time in h e r life sh e was un c h ape ron ed .

arti sts, Mary Heaton Vorse, offers a gli mpse

lo t with a n o th e r h ost of re belli ous work-

h er p a re nts' supp o rt to la un c h h e rself

In h e r own eyes sh e h ad thrown in h e r

into h ow th e com pe tin g im ages of fe m ale

in g wo m e n. Like o th e r fen â&#x20AC;˘ale wage-

arti stry shaped on e young wo m a n's sen se

ea rn e rs n ew to New Yo rk, sh e lived m ostly

of h e rself a t th e fin de siecl e. Vo rse was a da ughte r of th e u pper middl e class, born in Amh e rst, Massachuse tts, in 1874,

alo n e a nd wa lked th e streets lookin g for self with h e r a rt, psyc hologica ll y, with a

and raised to take up a pl ace as a prop e r

beli ef in h e rself as a h e roin e in a n ew

Victori an m atro n in New E ngla nd soc iety. "Art" wa s th e teenager's way out. Lite r-

sto ry, th a t of " th e a rm y of wom e n all

a ture did no t a ttrac t h e r a t th e tim e-

th eir m o th e r[s] .. . in ord e r to work ." Co nse rva ti ve d etrac to rs of th e woman

alth ough withi n a deca de sh e wo uld beco m e a tale n ted write r; in th e 1890s, th e ch oice to write profess io nall y wo uld h ave stra nd ed h er a t h om e. Bu t she did sh ow a be nt towa rds draw in g a nd so sh e co nvin ce d h e r parents to send h e r to Pari s. It was a daring ch oice fo r a properl y brou ght up girl. Ye t Vo rse qui ckly sli pped loose fro m th e co nstraints of th e ge nteel fe m ale a rti sts, alth ough her wo rk itse lf n ever did . H e r acco u n t of h e rself in th ese yea rs was ind e bted to th e fic ti o n of th e New Wo ma n a rti st. In Pa ri s, sh e seem ed to h e rself a brave sp irit; b ack at h o m e afte r h e r tim e away, sh e fel t h e rself slip into th e grea t "fe male arm y of th e defeated 'girls' wh ose pa re nts h ad been stro nge r

wo rk. Eco n o mi ca ll y, sh e supported h e r-

ove r th e co untry" who a re "out to hurt

a rti st wo uld h ave cas t h e r story with in an im age ry of fri e ndl ess n ess, mi se ry, sexual vuln e rabili ty, a nd mi sb egotte n ambition . Ye t for Vo rse, th e n ega ti ve associati on s of th e wo m an a rti st with a compromi sed sexu ality we re e mb old e nin g. Sh e fe lt h e rself in a metro politan situation whi ch we mi ght see as in cipi e ntly mod e rn ra th e r th a n Vi c to ri an , repl e te with odd c h a nn els into soc ial situ a tion s pre vio u s! y hid de n fro m a wom an of h e r class. H e r life, p e nuri o us and clingy, was non eth eless a nim ated by th e "pl easures of th e day," tin ged with a diffu se sen suality and ero ti c im ag in a ti ve n ess whi ch h ad onc e b ee n th e exc lu sive prop e rty of m e nab o ut-town . As sh e hunted for ill ustrat-

Fig. 6. Fra nces Be nj am in John sto n , C lass of Fema le Stu dents Drawing from the Antique, 1899 . Co urtesy of the Libra ry of Congress.

ing jobs, th e life of th e ge nteel wo m a n

sh e had b ee n ta ught. H e r social positi on

a rti st m e ntall y slipped into th a t of th e

as a workaday a rti st bred a m e tro p olit a n

ordin ary wo rking wo m a n a nd eve n th e "bad" wo m e n of th e wo rkin g poo r. "Th e

im ag in ati on of " imp oss ibl e a nd forbid-

di spla ce m e nt of e n e rgy fro m drea m s of

de n" thin gs and th e sexu ally compromi sed wo m e n wh o so ught th e m . T h e

a rti sti c su ccess to th e practi cal reali ty of

odd a nd fl eetin g id e ntifi ca ti ons with

findin g a job with a li vin g wage," obse rves

oth e r wo rking "girl s" across class lin es

h e r bi ograph e r, "appa re ntl y in c reased

a ugm e nted h e r se nse of a dawning e roti c

h e r awa re n ess of m e n, stoking h e r des ire for ' imp oss ibl e a nd fo rbidd e n ' things."

self. Sh e toye d with th o u g hts of th e

It was n ot tha t Vorse was in fac t in th e

" reckl ess irrespo nsibili ty th a t a wo m an of bad life must feel" and co n clud ed,

sa m e situ a ti on as a p ros titute or a facto ry

da rin gly, th a t it mi ght b e wo rth th e

girl , or th at sh e felt h e rself to be, but rath e r th a t h e r situ a ti on as a wo rkin g

pri ce." In 190 5, wh e n sh e b ega n to wo rk as

a rti st di slodged th e old fe minin e di ch otom y of goo d wom a n /ba d wo m a n whi c h

a journ ali st, Vo rse wo uld ge n tly m ock th e admi xture of roma nti cize d ind epe n-

de nce with m edi oc re tale nt whi ch le d yo un g wo m e n to a rt sc h ool. T h e h a rd truth , as th e n ow wo rldl y-wise fo rm e r

l. "T he G enteel Traditi on of Ameri ca n Phil osoph y," in Th e Gentee l Tradition , ed. Douglas L. Wil son (Cam bridge: Harvard Uni ve rsity Press, 1967).

arti st saw it, wa s th at des ire to li ve in "as pi cturesqu e a nd rom a nti c a m ann e r as p oss ibl e" land ed rec ruits in sea m y b oa rding h o uses a nd stulti fying classes copyin g antiqu e casts (fi g. 6). Wh at is inte restin g

2. See the major reassess ment of Ameri can wom en artists in Kri stin Swinth's "Painting Profess ionals: Women Artists and th e Development of a Profess ional Ideal in Ameri ca n Art, 1870- 1920" (Ph .D. di ss ., Yale Uni ve rsity, 1995 ).

about Vorse's sec on d th o ughts, h oweve r, is how cl earl y sh e und e rstood "th e wom an a rti st" as a fo c u s of soc ial im agin a ti o n whi ch se rved a quite diffe re nt purp ose th a n as a bul wa rk of co nse rva ti ve taste. For Vo rse, th e ta ngle of ass oc iati o ns had p rovid ed threads th at sh e h ad foll owed o ut to oth e r parts of th e c ity: fro m th e "low" wo m e n a rti sts wh o "sa t for th e fi gure" to "wo m e n of bad life" a broad in th e stree ts. 1' It is strikin g to co nsid e r h e r pee rin g abo ut cove rtl y, sin ce a rt hi sto ri an s have ta ught us to think of th ese fin -de-sie cl e citi es as ca pitals of m ale voye uri sm in whi c h wo m e n looke d down a nd awa y fr om a n ubiquito us m ale gaze- includin g th at of th e a rti st - ra th e r th an a round in th e ir own ri ght. We kn ow fro m di sc ussio ns of la te nin eteenth-ce ntury Pa ri s th at wo m e n lookin g back at th e vie we r and th e arti st, like Ma ne t's Olympia and hi s ba rm a id , beca m e embl em a ti c subjec ts of m ode rni sm . With Vorse's sto ry we can wo nd er abo ut th e exte nt to whi ch th e ch angin g soc ial locati on of th e wo m a n a rti st, whi ch ce rtainl y in c urred th e di sapp ro vin g gla nces of oth e rs, also all owed oth e r wo m e n to look abo ut in a n ew wa y as well.

3. Kathl een D. McCa rth y, Women's Cu lture: America n Philanthropy as Art, 183 0- 193 0 (C hi cago: Unive rsity of C hi cago Press, 199 1); Alan Trac htenberg, The Incorporation of America: Cu lture and Society in the Gilded Age (New Yo rk : Hill & Wang, 1982). T he Add ams qu ote is fr om her autobiograph y, Twenty Yea rs at H ull House (New York : Mac mill an Co ., 1910), p. 66. 4. Figu res are taken fr om th e printed Federal ce nsus tal Iies, 1870- 1920. 5. Clara Louise Kell ogg, M emoirs of an America n Prima Donna (New Yo rk: G . P. Putnam's Sons, 19 13), p. 320; Wheeler quoted in McCarth y, Women's C u lture, p. 94.

6. Th e popula r aca de mi es, Juli a n a nd Colaross i, offered fem ale stud ents, m any of th e m Am e ri ca n , a ra nge of classes- m any sex-segrega ted , som e mi xe d - for ge ne rall y hvice th e fees pa id by m ale stud ents. M cCa rth y, Wom en's Culture, c hapte r 4; Lu cy H . Hoope r, "Th e Art Sc hoo ls of me rica," Cosmopolitan 14 (N ove mb e r 1892), pp. 59-62 ; W. S. Ha rwood, "Th e Sc hoo ls of Am e ri ca," Cosmopolitan 18 ( ove mb e r 1894 ), pp. 27-34; L. Jerrold and Arthur Horn bl ow, "Stud io Life in Pa ri s," Godey's Magazine 132 (January-Ju ne 1896), pp . l 28- 135; C hristin e Jon es Hu ber, The Pennsylvania Academy and Its Women: 1850-1920, ex hibiti on ca talog ue (Philade lphi a: Pe nn sylva ni a Acad e m y of Fin e Arts, I 973); C hri stin e Havice, "In a C lass by He rse lf: 19th C entury Im ages of th e Wom an Artist as Stud e nt," Women's Art Journal 2 (s pring/s umm e r 198 1), pp . 35-40; Jo An n We in , "Th e Parisian Trainin g of Am e ri ca n Wom e n Arti sts," ibid ., pp . 41 - 44. 7. Je rrold and Horn blow, "Studio Life in Pa ri s," p. 132 . 8. Ti ckn e r, quoted in We in , "Pari ia n Trai nin g," p. 44.

9. Rebecca Zuri e r, "Pic turing New York Ci ty: ew York in th e Press and th e Art of th e Ashca n Sc hool, 1890- 19 17 (Ph .D . di ss., Yal e Uni ve rsity, 1988). 10. On visits to arti sts' studi os see M cCa rth y,

Women's Cu lture, pp . 95-97 . William Merritt Chase, a successful society pa inte r, wa s a m aste r of th e studio visit and th e boh emian pe rsona. See M rs. Dani el C h este r Frenc h, Memories of a Scu lptor's Wife (Boston & N ew York : Houghton Mifflin Co, 1928 ), p . 61.

1 I . W . A. Coo pe r, "Artists in Th e ir Studi os X-E li ot G rego ry," Godey's Magaz ine I 32 (Jan uary-Jun e I 896), pp. 187- 192; "Ma ry E . T illinghas t, Ann a M eigs Case, M abe l R. Welc h," ibid ., pp . 68-76; "Mrs. H u neke r, Sc ulptress," ibid ., pp . 356-36 1; Ali ce Seve rance , "Ta les by Successfu l Wome n: M iss Bess ie Potter Sc ulptress" Godey's Magazine 133 (Ju ly- Dece mb e r 1896), ' pp . 356-360. Fo r more on C li o Hun eke r see Dee Ga rri so n , Ma ry f-I eaton Vorse: Th e Life of an American Insu rge nt (Ph ilad e lphi a: Te mpl e Uni ve rsity Press, 1989), c hapte r 2; Arn old T. Sc hwa b, Jam es Gibbons f-J uneker (S tanford : Stanford Uni ve rsity Press, 1963). 12. Lind a N oc hlin , Women, Art, and Power and Other Essays (New York: Harpe r a nd Row, 1988), c hapte r 7. T he sc holars hip o n th e relat ionshi p of fe mal e m ode ls to a rtisti c tra inin g is fa scin atin g. See E uni ce Lipton, Alias Olympia (New York: C harl es Scrib ne r's Sons, 1992 ); Apri l F. M aste n, "Mod e l Into Arti st: Th e C hangin g Face of Art," Women's Studies 2 1 ( 199 1), pp . 17-41. Sa intGaud e ns, who had m any fe male stud e nts, see ms to have asked th e m to pose (in th e nud e?) as part of th e ir tra inin g. Th e Reminiscences of Augustus Sain t-Gaudens, ed . Hom e r Sa int-Ga ud e ns (New Yo rk: Th e Ce ntury Co., 19 13), vol. 2, pp . 3-39. See a lso Hoope r, "Art Sc hoo ls of Pa ris," p. 62. On th e Juli a n a nd on He nri 's c lass, see Be rn ard B. Pe rlman , Robert Henri: f-I is Life and Art ( ew York: D over, 199 1), pp . 9, 13. See a lso th e stri kin g ph otograph of a gro up of He nri 's cron ies in Pa ri s posed with a nud e fem ale mode l in Wil li am Inn es Hom er and Viol e t Organ , Robert f-I enri an d f-I is Circ le (Ith aca: Corn ell Un ive rsity Press, 1969), p . 40 . Th e entire prac ti ce n ow see ms th at mu c h more intri guing with th e ev id e nce fro m Eak ins's cac he of ph otographs of nud e stud e nts, mostl y ma le, posed in a va ri ety of clini ca l a nd (s om e a rgue) se mi-porn ogra phi c ways .

13. Th e evolutio n of th e di sc uss ion ca n be traced fr om novels whi ch portray artists and th e yo un g wo men who wa nt to marry th em [T homas Janvier, Co lor Studies ( ew York: C harl es Sc ribn er's Sons, 1885 )] to artists who wa nt to marry yo un g wo men who aren't so interes ted. See Ge rtrud e Fosdick, Out of Bohemia: A Study of Paris Studen t Life ( ew York : G . H . Ri chm ond , 1894); Geo rge du Mauri er's bes t-se lling Tri lby (Li epzig, Pari s, Lond on, and l ew York : Harper & Bros., 1894); Will iam Dean Howells. The Coas t of Bohemia (New York & Lond on: Harper Bros., 1899); Rober t C hamb ers, Outsiders ( ew York: F. A. Stokes Co mpany, 1899); "Wome n- V/ ives or Mothers, By a Woman," in The Yellow Book 3 (October 1894) attempts to enfo ld th e artisti cminded wo man into a heightened ro le as th e artist's co mpani on. 14. Ga rri so n, Mary Heaton Vorse, chapter 2. Vorse is kn ow n toda y fo r her in vo lve ment in the pre-wa r mili eu of G ree nwich Vi ll age intell ec tu als and radi ca ls and fo r her ca ree r as one of th e co un try's leading labor journ alists. 15. Mary Hea ton Vorse, "Th e Truth Co nce rning Art Schools," Th e Delineator (Oc tober- ovember 1905 ), pp. 706-7 10.

W O M E i 's PHIL A P AST A

Kar en

T HR OPY FO R W OME N'S ART ,

D PR ESE N T

Blair

C e ntr a l Wa s hin gton U ni ve r s it y

Th e fe mini st m ovement of th e 1970s

Skinn e r No rdh off, Sea ttl e stea m ship

indi sputabl y la un c h ed an e ra of ch a n ge

h e iress, spe nt $5 million in 1988 to

in wom e n 's politi ca l, eco nomic , and

es tabli sh a retrea t fo r wome n write rs on

soc ial li ves, providin g oppo rtuniti es and

Whidb ey Island, a n h o ur from Sea ttl e .

ad va n ce m e nts in gove rnm e nt, th e wo rk-

Th e six "Cottages at H edge brook,'' nestl ed

plac e, a nd perso nal li ves . Durin g thi s

in a re mote co rn e r of Pu get Sound , h ave

e ra , wome n also saw n ew ga in s in th e

co ntinu ed to provid e a luxuri o us h aven

arts, notabl y a blosso min g of a rts in stitu-

for c rea ti ve women. Since its open ing,

tion s c reated for th e work of women.

six wome n at a tim e, suppo rted by a staff

Man y of th e found e rs of arts faciliti es were women donors wh o sh ared a respect

of te n , h ave devo ted th em selves full y to th eir writing, un e n c umbe red by domestic

for th e crea ti vity of women, felt th a t re-

or oth er respon sibiliti es. Over th e yea rs,

so urces for women in th e a rts were mea-

seve ral hundred women h ave worked, for

ger, ch all enged th e canon of worthi es, a nd

stays of te n da ys to six month s, in a p eace-

so ught to give exposure and res pec t to

ful setting, to produ ce sh ort sto ri es, nov-

women 's works of art. Whil e th e impac t

els, poe m s, childre n's lite rature, pla ys,

of th e ir efforts h as b ee n m eas ura bl e,

and essays on topi cs of eve ry so rt. An o th e r mod e rn philanthropist is

mod e rn goa ls and ga ins rese mbl e efforts of tum-of-th e-ce ntury American women 's

Wilh elmin a Cole Holl ada y, found e r in

ri ghts ac tivi sts. D espite th e passage of over h alf a ce ntury, th e parall els be tween women philanthropists of wo m e n 's c re-

th e 1980s of th e Na tional Muse um for Wom e n and th e Arts in Washington ,

a tivity now a nd th e n are strikin g. xamples abound of co ntem po rary women who founded fac iliti es to e nhan ce

developer and publishin g e ntrepre n e ur, sh e co ntributed a co ll ec tion of paintings

a rts opportun iti es for women a nd edu cate th e broad e r publi c to th ei r va lu e. a n cy

D.C. Wife of a self-made rea l-es tate

by women as well as million s of h e r own and h e r fri e nd s' mon ey to refurbi sh a 1907 Ma so ni c Temple. It sta nds o nl y a

fe\I' ity bl ocks from th e Sm ithso ni an mu um and oth er 1·enerable art in ti tu ti ons in th e nati on's apital. T h re, it ex hi bi ti on of pa intin g by uch arti sts a f\n ae lica Kauffm an, nn a Pea l , uza nn aladon, an I li ce Nee l hallenae th e male- I m inatcd ca non of art on di pl ay cl 11·n th e tre t in u h ill u tri ou ga ll erie a th e Na ti onal all ry of Art. P rhap in modern tim e no crea ti l'C 11· rk by 11· men ha fa red bett r th an the tradit ional wome n· nee lie raft f qu il tin g, a craft ll'hich ha ll'Oll th re I ct both of femin i t 11·h appl au I th Iona hi tory of 11• men' ll'Ork and tra liti nali t 11·ho co ntinu e t mbra c w me1 ' hou eholcl ac ti l' iti . N f \\'Cr th an fi l'c qu ilt mu cum h 1· OJ en cl in r nt yea r , dedica te I to th e xhi bi ti o n r antiqu e n I ontemp orary 1u il t. T h old t of the i the American J\ Iu um f _ u iIt an IT xtile in an Jo , a li ~ m ia, ~ un cled in 1977 by ti e memb er of th Iara Va ll ey _ 1il t iati n. In olor do , a uburb of Denv r, l~ u ae ni a J\1l itchell fou nded th Rocky J\tl unta in Q uilt Mu se um in 1990 and clo nal cl on hun cl re I qu il ts to it p rm anent c lie ti n. T he fo ll ow in g 1ea r, Meredith chroe l r, and her hu ba nd , Bi ll, clo nat cl nin tyon qui lt to the co ll ec tio n of th eir branclnew merica n Q uilt oc iety l[u e um in Padu ca h, Kentu ky. In 198 , Mennonite Merle and Phylli oo cl , wit h their in-laws, Rachel and Kenn eth 1 ell nrn n, es tablished and managed Peo ple' Place, an Ami sh qu ilt muse um , one of the co mponents of their Ami sh C ultural Ce nter in Interco urse, Pennsylva nia, th e hea rtland

of Mennonite and Am ish life. T he ew Eng land _ u ilt Ju um opened in 1988 in Loll'ell, ifa sac h use tts. oll ec ti vely, th e e five new in titution have prov id ed hu nd reds of ex hib iti on of both heirloom and new ll'Ork fo r th e in spi ra ti on of nC\I' qu il te r and the enli ghtenm e nt of the ge neral pub lic. T he donor of all thee arts in tituti ons hal'e di tingu i heel themse lv s a nurturr of 11·ome n' crea ti vity in un iqu e way , but th eir effort al o illustrate another not worthy phenomenon in phi lanth ro py. Th e f und er are fa r remove d from th e tradit ional te r otype of rich inclu triali t 11·h ll'rite fat che k fo r a pe t art pr J t and pro ceed to fa shi on an in tituti n fr m their per nal vi ion. T hee cl nor in tea d refl t a vital move ment t amas a upportil'e nviro nm ent fo r If- n ciou I co ll aboratil'e 11'8)'. hey see k to in vo lve wide nu ml r f ind ivid ual in th eir goa l of in tituti n bui lding. Na turall y, an expand ed body of do n r a i t in solving th eir in titu ti n' encll e demand for fi nan in g. Yet th ere has be n co nsid erabl u ce in cl 1·elop in g a broa d base of wom en fo und ers fo r women' art in tituti ons. ne of my goa l is to exa mine th e way th at 1 ome n's fo rms of oll aborati ve ph il anthropy have had b th po iti ve an l n ga tive impac ts on two of the ne1 afo rementi oned institution levotecl to th visual art , state co mm itt fo r th ati onal fu se um of Women and the Art and the New E ngland Qu il t M use um . Bu t if we imag in e th at these mo dern fo und ers have bee n gro und break ing in

th eir efforts to forge wid e pa rtn e rships

pl a in ed th a t h e r in stitution sm acks

for giving, we a re un ap pri sed of anteced-

offe nsively of fe mini sm ; som e wome n

e nts from th e turn of thi s ce ntu ry. It

a rti sts h ave re jec ted thi s "gh e ttoi za ti on"

should not be forgo tte n th at ea rl y twe nti -

of th eir work, refu sin g top rmit it to be

e th-ce ntury American women built on a

exhibited in a se parate, all-wome n 's arts

vital women 's move m e nt a nd e mb a rked

in stituti on.

on a simil ar mi ss ion to c h amp ion th e

managed to attract fund ing from a healthy

c rea ti ve work of wom e n, seekin g to sus-

pa n el of co rp o ra te don o rs, in cludin g Philip Morri s, AT&T, Martin Mari e tta,

ta in and prom ote it, a nd usin g inge niou s

eve rth eless, H oll aday h as

alli ances to achi eve th eir coll ecti ve goals.

a nd Dup ont, to create a form id a bl e

I also wish to review th e Progress ive E ra

space fo r wom e n 's art.

efforts by women 's a mate ur a rts soc ie ti es

Le t us exa min e a h e re tofore un ex-

to found an e n vironm e nt to fo ste r th e

pl o red dim e nsion of th e

creative wo rk of women artists.

in stitution 's eage rn ess to a ttract support,

MWA, th e

fin a n cial a nd oth e rwise, from a broad ba se of wome n . T hi s brand of phi la nTh e Nat i ona l Mu se um o f

thropy h as bee n initi a ted "at th e top" by

Wom e n a nd th e Art s ( NM WA )

th e lea de rship , n ot from the grass-roo ts as it h as in quilt muse um s. But part of

The

ationa l M use um for Wom e n a nd

Holl aday's gen iu s li es in h e r a bility to

the Arts , opened in 1988, h as e njoyed

link h e r in stituti on with mod e rn wo m e n's

co nsid e rabl e publi city as th e first mu seum in th e world to d edi ca te itself co m-

co nsc iousn ess of women 's a uxiliary status in past a nd prese nt. H e r strid es in win -

pl e tely to th e exhibiti on of wo m e n 's a rt.

ning support of th e mu se um on th ese

Th e found e r, Wilh elmi na Cole Holl aday,

gro unds are co nsid e rable. 1 For exampl e,

h as deservedl y rece ived th e li on 's sh a re

th e first thin g yo u see wh e n yo u walk in

of atte ntion for h e r inge nuity a nd th e million s of doll a rs sh e h as co ntributed to

to th e NMWA, long befor e you see a paintin g, is a large book a t th e Reception

th e acquisition of a hi stori c building in

D esk. Thi s book h old s th e n a m es of all th e ch a rte r m e mb e rs wh o co ntributed

Wa shin gton , D .C ., th e coll ec ti on of paintin gs b y E uropea n and No rth American women painte rs sh e h as assembl ed

$2 5 when th e facility wa s onl y a n id ea.

and donated to th e museum , a nd h e r tal-

to ass ist h e r in fundin g h e r mu se um , soli citing h elp from women sh e located on fi ve m a iling li sts (muse um ca tal ogu e

e nt for sec urin g co n sid e rabl e co rpora te supp ort for a som ewh at co ntrove rsial

Holl aday in vited multitud es of wo m e n

gen erall y e njoyed recognition in tradi-

bu ye rs, upscale ca talogu e shoppe rs, fe m ale m e mb e rs of profess ion al a rts o rganiza tions, c ultural p rog ram supp ort-

ti on al a rt muse um s, is not therefore worth definin g as a rt. Oth e rs h ave com-

e rs, and m em bers of wo m e n 's rights orga ni za tions). With pe rsiste n ce, sh e

e nte rpri se. Criti cs h ave a rgu ed th a t th e work sh e sh ows , by women who h ave not

coll ec ted sma ll c h ecks fro m 8 5,000 wo m e n , e n ablin g h e r to boa st th a t h e r

do n o rs with wom e n a rti sts in Washingto n Sta te . S he orga ni zed th e survey of wom en

m e mb e rship li st tra il s on ly b e hind th at

arti sts in th e sta te and urged submi ss io ns

of th e revered and establi shed Me tropolitan M use u m of Art an d Art In stitute

T h e fund-r a isin g c h a irp e rso n , Ruth

of C hi cago. T h e bou n d li st of ch a rter

Ge rb e rclin g, wife of th e pres id e nt of th e

m e mb e rs of NMWA today is steadil y fo n-

respec ted U ni ve rsity of Was hin gton , a r-

dled by g ues ts to th e m use um wh o h ave

ra nged rece p ti o ns fo r wo m e n wh o h ad

co m e fr o m d ista nt places to view th e res ults of th eir suppo rt. T h e pro min ent

b ee n sup po rte rs of a rt in th e No rth west a nd were n ot un willin g to assoc iate th e m-

book re mind s them th at th e effort to b uild thi s uniqu e women 's a rts in stitu-

selves with a wo m a n-fo c used muse um . Am o ng th e fi ve-hunclre cl-cl oll ar do n o rs

ti o n was sh ared . T h e inte nsive appeal fo r ch a rte r m e m -

Pilchu ck Sc h ool for G lass a nd patron

of th eir wo rk. Ove r 668 arti sts respo nd ed .

were Ann e Go uld H a u be rg, found e r of

be rs wa s onl y on e of H oll acl ay's i nve n-

of D ale C hihul y, and Be tty H eclree n ,

ti o ns to build a fo und a ti o n fo r h e r n ew in stituti o n . On e of th e m ost su ccessful

suppo rte r of th e Sea ttl e Art Muse um . Still , wh e n o nl y twe nty do no rs offe red

h as bee n h e r invita ti o n to each sta te to fo rm a co m m ittee of wo m e n to ge n e ra te

fi ve hundred doll a rs, th e re re m ain ed a

a sh ow of loca l con te mp o ra ry wo m e n 's

co mpe titi o n , asse mbl e th e sh ow, c ra te,

a rt a nd fund its exhibiti o n a t th e mu -

in sure, a nd fl y th e show to Washingto n , D .C., a nd back, print a ca talogue, and

se um in Was hingto n , D .C. T h e pl a n h as h ad wid e appea l, fo r it taps th e prid e of wo m e n volu n tee rs, a rti sts, a nd individu al a nd co rp o rate sp on so rs, eve n , a nd pe rh aps esp ec iall y, in sta tes fa r di sta nt fro m th e ca pital. To el ate, twe nty-o n e states h ave respond ed with th e form a ti o n of state co mmittees and eleve n of th ose h ave asse mbl ed shows fo r NMWA. 2 Let us exam ine th e work of th e wo m e n in Washin gto n Sta te, wh o fo rm ed a Sta te Co mmittee in Jul y 1987 and raised abo ut e ighty th o usa nd doll a rs in two yea rs to send a juri ed sh ow of fo rty-three pi eces (oils, wa tercolo r, ph otograph y, glass, co mpute r graphi cs, ce ra mi cs, a nd sc ulpture) by fiftee n wo m e n . 3 It was an a rti st, Nellike La ngo ut- N ix, wh o bl e nd ed th e inte rests of wo m e n

n eed fo r additi onal fundin g to h old th e

fl y th e a rti sts to a ga la ope ning atte nd ed by th e ir se na tors, co ngress m e n , gove rn o r a nd th e ir wives. To raise more support, lecture rs to ured state uni ve rsiti es, se ni or ce nte rs, wo m e n's clubs, and oth e r publi c fora with a slid e sh ow of wom e n 's a rt. Local communiti es ca m e forth with small am o unts of m o n ey wh e n th e exhibit was promi sed to to ur in eleve n Was hington sta te co mmuniti es. 4 Th e Sta te Co mmittee also wo n supp o rt fro m loca l busin esses whi ch did n ot gen e rally support wo m en o r th e a rts. Th ey we re attrac ted by th e opp o rtunity to champi o n N orthwest co ntributi o ns in th e nation 's ca pital. Mo n ey ca m e fr om su c h improba bl e so urces as th e D eep Sea Fish e rman 's U ni o n , Ol ympi a Brewe ry, Washington

State Appl e Co mmi ss ion, Arb or C res t

Jun e 19 87 to exhibit traditi ona l a nd co n-

Win e ry, Puget Powe r a nd Light, Tree Top

te mpo ra ry quilts to visito rs in th e C ity of

(appl e juice) Coope rative, Boeing Airc raft,

Spindles. Th e hi stori c mill town to day

Kaise r Aluminum , a nd Weye rh ae use r.

trad es to touri sts in its hi stori c assoc ia-

Th e e n o rm ous effo rt wa s su ccessful. T h e

ti on with th e tex til e indu stry. 5

mu se um in W ashin gto n, D .C., wa s pub-

In 199 1 th e mu se u m 's coll ec ti on was

li cize d throu gh out Washin gton Sta te,

mu c h bolste red by a ge n e ro us co ntribu -

fiftee n Washin gto n wo m e n a rti sts we re

ti on of thirty-fi ve anti qu e quilts m ade by

fea tured in th eir h om e sta te a nd a t th e

C rayo la C rayo n h eiress a nd quilte r, Ga il

n ation 's ca pital, loca l spon sorship touted

Binney-Win slow. Also a coll ec to r o f

th e N orthwest on th e east coas t, a nd

quilts, sh e h ad circ ul ated pa rt of h e r col-

loca l wom e n a rts supp orte rs used th e ir

lecti on n a ti o nall y th ro ugh th e Smith-

talents for a ca use th ey d ee m ed wo rth y.

soni a n In stituti on 's SITES progra m in

In bi gge r sta tes with grea te r wea lth ,

198 5. Th e sh ow, "H om age to Am a nd a,"

th e fund-ra ising wa s n ot as exh a ustin g

toured in citi es th ro ugh out th e U nited

to th e Sta te Co mmittee m e mb e rs, but

Sta tes. Binn ey-Winslow m ade h e r gift to

in eac h sta te n ew qu es ti on s a rose with

th e

ew E ngla nd Quilt M use um , in-

th e co mpl e ti on of th e exhibit. H ow co uld

cluding som e of th e quilts whi c h h ad

loca l e n e rgy re m a in hi gh fo r additi on al

e nj oye d na ti on al exposure, to a buddin g

support for a di sta nt museum ? Th e Wash-

in stituti on in h e r own h om e te rritory.

in gton Co mmittee, left with a budge t

Fo r all h e r ge n e rosity, th e n e w quilt

in suffi cie nt eve n for postage to a nnoun ce

mu se um was n ot ba nkroll ed by a m a jor

its m eeting da te to 1,600 m e mb e rs, h as

don o r. Instea d, it was fund ed by an a mbitious alli a n ce of h om e quilte rs,

suffe red stagnan cy sin ce th e Jun e 19 89 exhibition . Its rece nt soluti on h as been

united through th e N ew E ngla nd

to n o min a te a n e w pr es id e nt, D av id

Quilte r's G uild (NE Q G ). As a m emb e r

M a rtin , ga ll e ry own e r a nd write r on

of th e C ra nbe rry Quilte rs G uild of Ca p e

wo m e n a rti sts, th e first m a n in volved in th e Wa shin gton Sta te o rga ni za ti on, to

Co d, Binn ey-Winslow was also alli ed with th e ew E ngla nd Quilte rs G uild ,

brin g n ew e nthu siasm fo r fu nd-ra isin g to

whi ch form ed in 1976 to m ee t th e n eeds

th e group .

of m ode rn qui! te rs. It wa s in 198 1, eage r to vie w as m a n y quilts as poss ibl e a nd

Th e

ew E n g l a nd Quilt

di sa ppo inted in th e a tte nti on th a t loca l fin e a rts mu se u m s gave to quilts, th at

Mu se um ( NE Q M )

offi ce rs of th e E Q G vo ted to e mba rk on th e fo undin g of a quilt mu se um . Six

Pe rh aps th e ultim a te express ion of wo m e n 's coop era ti ve phil a n th ro py li es

yea rs la te r, th e o rga ni za ti on's m emb e r-

in th e c rea ti on of th e New Engla n d Quilt Mu se um. It ope n ed its doo r in

ship had raised fo rty-fi ve thousa nd doll a rs and open ed a muse um dedica ted to quilts. T he story of th e fund- ra ising is a pains-

takin g on e. In th e abse n ce of an a n gel co min g for ward, th e me mb e rship of th e

admi ss ion s, a nd e nte rta in at ope nin gs.

New E ngla nd Quilte r's G uild , two th ou-

th e operation of th e mu se um a nd th eir

sa nd indi vidu al quilte rs a nd m e mb e rs of

mi xed m essages h ave co ntributed to th e

In re turn , th ey h ave exp ec ted a say in

fifty guilds (1986-88 fi gures ), pooled

proble m of twelve direc tors in as m an y

th ei r e ne rgies to fund a n in stitution in

yea rs. But th e in volve m e nt of thou sa nds

whi c h th ey beli eved. D oze ns of sm all quilt clubs, with a h a ndfu l to a few hun -

of New E ngland wo m e n in the found ing

dred m e mb e rs, used th eir m ee tin gs not

of supp ort a nd se nse of own e rship and a

onl y to trade quilting tec hniqu es, sew c rib quilts fo r AIDS babi es a nd batte red

pool of c rea tivity th a t is impress ive. Th e

wo m e n's sh elte rs, an d atte nd worksh ops

brin gin g a traditi on al a rt form of wom e n

to imp rove th eir techniqu e, but th ey also devised m e th ods to raise contribu -

to th e atte nti on and rec ogni ti on of th e publi c overco m es an omi ss ion in the

ti ons for th eir mu se um in Lowell. Th e

profess ion al a rt wo rld and dignifi es th e

Na rraga nsett Bay Quilte rs se nt $7,65 0

hi story of wo m e n 's c reative efforts by

ove r te n yea rs, by au c ti on ing off quilts

desce nd a nts who carry on th e traditi on

that had bee n don ated . H a nd s Across th e Va ll ey Qui lte rs G uild in Amh e rst,

a nd d e m a nd its resp ec t.

Ma ssachu se tts, sent profits from th e quilt th ey raffl ed at th eir own quilt show. Othe r m e mb e rs simpl y wrote c h ecks. Som e groups coaxe d oth e r wo m e n's voluntary assoc iati ons to co ntr ibute, as wh e n th e Co nn ec ti c ut Fede ration of Wom e n 's C lubs we re coaxed to con tribute $25 a t

of th e in stitution provid es a fou nd a ti on

effort of so m a ny wo m e n who in sisted on

Pr og r ess i ve E r a, 1 900 - 1920 It is a hi stori ca l to ass um e th at coll aborati ve efforts amo ng phil a nthropi c wom e n a re a modern d evelopme nt, bu t it is not commo nl y known , even in th e mu se um

th e urgin g of Connec ti c ut qu ilte rs. Som e guild m embe rs preferred sendin g n eedl ewo rk to cash . T h ey c rafted item s for sa le at

wo rld , th a t a la rge n e twork of women's am ate ur a rts soc ie ties b ega n to form a nd

th e muse um gift sh op fo r muse um profi t. T h e G uild 's meth ods fo r pay in g muse um bills we re and co ntinu e to b e a rdu ous. A fl ood from broke n pipes in 199 1 did n ot da m age th e co ll ec ti on but necess itated co nsid e rabl e fund-rai sin g for a m ove to a more reli able bui lding, at 18 Shattuck Street, wh e re th ey reo pe n ed in Jul y of 1993. Volunteers h ave provid ed n ot onl y money but h ours, to give tours, han g exhibits, organize the libra ry, se ll

m e mbe rship ca rri ed on m a ny of th e sa m e patte rn s of phil an th rop y we h ave just obse rved in th e 1980s. In hundreds of Ameri ca n citi es and towns, a doze n or

fl ouri sh at th e turn of thi s century. Th e

more a rt-l ov ing n eighbors m e t monthl y or eve n weekly, except in summ e rtim e, to stud y art hi story for th eir own edifi cation , ac quaint th e m selves with th e wo rk of co nte mporary arti sts, and grad uall y to foster cultura l developm e nt th rough fou nding c ultural opportuniti es in th eir

co mmuniti es. Th e m e mb e rship was n ot

sewing circl es in th eir churches, a nd ladi es

co mp osed of th e ri c h est wo m e n , th ose

aid soc ie ti es fo r wa r reli ef.7

traditi on all y assoc ia ted with phil a n-

M os t wo m en's arts gro ups fo rm ed ini-

th ro py in Am e ri ca, but of m iddl e-class

ti all y for th e purpose of stud ying a rt hi s-

wives of su ccessful busin ess a nd p rofes-

tory. Thi s was tru e in th e H a rtfo rd Art

sional m e n in Am e ri ca's b ig citi es a nd

C lub in Co nn ectic ut, th e Ma nkato Art

sm all towns. Th e wo m e n we re ge n e rall y

Hi sto ry C lub in M inn esota, th e D ecatur

P ro tes ta nt, white, a nd eco n omi ca ll y

Art C lub in Illin o is, a n d th e Auburn Art

co mfortabl e, with tim e, taste, a nd back-

C lub in M a in e . So m e tim es a h a ndful

gro und to pursu e th e a rts. Th ey ca m e to

of wo m e n m e t to exc h a nge rev iews of

build a nd exhibit a rt coll ec ti o ns, c rea te

ex hibiti ons th ey h ad a tte nd ed or offe r

a rts ce nte rs, a nd beco m e th e ea rli es t

a pape r th ey h ad resea rc h ed . So m e tim es

supporte rs of Municipal Art Commi ssions.

th e a rt e nthusiasts we re ac tu all y a de-

In eac h co mmunity, th eir achi eve m e nts

pa rtm e nt of a la rge r wo m a n 's club ,

we re sm all rath e r th a n extrao rdin a ry,

whi c h also h ad sub-gro ups devo ted to

but as a wh ole, th eir efforts n ati on wid e

th e stud y of lite ra ture, music, la ngu ages,

to d eli ve r kn owledge of a nd access to

c urre nt eve nts, o r soc ial p ro bl e m s. Th e

wo m e n 's art a re siza bl e .

New E ngla nd Wom a n's C lub in Boston,

M e mb e rs of a m ate ur a rts assoc iati ons

for exa mpl e, c reated a n Arts a nd C rafts

felt e ntitl ed , eve n resp on sibl e, fo r be in g

Di vision in 1899, but th e club h ad also

tas te m ake rs in th e ir co mmuniti es. Th eir

form ed groups devo ted to bota ny a nd

above-ave rage levels of edu ca ti on a nd

p oliti ca l eco no m y. 8 Wh e th e r th ey we re

th eir husba nd 's sta ture a nd influ e n ce co ntributed to this attitude. So did th eir

ind e pe nd e nt clubs or di visions of la rge r assoc iati ons of wo m e n , wo m e n arts advo-

ge nd e r, for nin e tee nth-cen tury "ladi es"

ca tes te nd ed to e mbrace a reve re n ce for

we re th ought to b e esp ec iall y se nsitive

th e Wes te rn ca n on of old m as te rs. How-

to bea uty. In fa c t, wo m e n prefe rred to

eve r, they inva ri a bl y wid e n ed th eir c ur-

culti va te th e arts in the co mpa ny of

ri c ulum to includ e th e stud y of loca l

oth er wo m e n, a nd th ey ro utinely declin ed

a rti sts, esp ec iall y th e wo rk of wo m e n, a nd in cludin g cra fts, n otabl y th e a rt pot-

opp ortuniti es to join coed a rts soc ieti es. In mi xed co mpa ny, th ey did n ot h old exec uti ve offi ces a nd did n ot h ave th e cl out th ey e nj oyed in wo m a n-onl y a rts

te ry in whi c h wome n we re excelling. Wh e n th e H a rtfo rd Art C lub e mba rked on a stud y of Am erica n a rt, th ey d evo ted

groups. In additi on , middl e-class Am e r-

sepa rate m eetings to th e stu dy of wo m e n

ica n wo m e n drew on a long traditi on of

illu stra tors, wo m e n sc ul p tors, wo m e n portra it pa inte rs, a nd wo m e n mini a tur-

service th ro ugh voluntary effo rt. Members' m oth e rs a nd gra ndm oth e rs h ad join ed

ists, a nd in clu ded wo m en in th eir exa mi-

wo m e n ' soc ieti es a nd a uxilia ries fo r a

n a ti on of Co n nectic u t a rti sts. 9 P ro babl y

wid e ra nge of purposes, from guild s fo r th e supp ort of be n evo le nt insti tuti ons,

thi s ca th oli cism arose for a va ri ety of reaso ns, in clu ding th e me m be rs' lack

of access to th e old maste rs, th e ir loca l

in whi ch wome n we re noteworth y, includ-

prid e, a se nse of sisterh ood, limited

ing Rookwood, Ove rb eck, N ewc omb ,

fin an ces fo r coll ecting a rt wo rks, a nd

a nd Gru e by Potte ri es. 12 Su c h ac ti viti es

tas te in hom e deco ra ti o n . It wa s n ot lon g befor e th e m e m b e rship obse rved th e dea rth of opportuniti es

we re logica l se rvices for m e mbe r clubs

for wo m e n in th e a rts a nd defin ed it as a probl em th ey should solve. Thi s is h ardl y

two thou sa nd clubs in th e GFWC re ported th ey h ad offe red lec tures o n

surprisin g, give n th e refo rm impu lse th a t

art tha t yea r a nd three hundred clubs

gripped m a ny middl e-cl ass wo m e n of th e day, wh o routin ely addressed soc ial

h ad h eld th eir own exhibiti o ns. 13 Som e wo m e n 's o rgan izatio n s that

probl e m s by c rea tin g parks a nd playgro und s a nd free h ea lth clinics a nd lo bbyin g for clea n milk, moth e r's p e nsions,

ex isted for purposes far di stant from

wh o had lo ng supported th e a rts with impress ive zea l. In 19 12, for exa mple,

th e ca use of fin e art n eve rth eless beca m e patron s of th e arts to accom-

and child labor laws. We ca n doc ume nt

pli sh th eir wo rk . Patrioti c soci eti es of

club efforts to provid e as a group , rath e r

wo m e n n ee ded d es ign e rs for ta bl e ts,

th an indi vidu all y, a wid e range of suppo rt for wom e n a rti sts. Philanthropy in th e

a nd st a tu es of h e ro es . Th e Wom e n 's

form of sch ola rships to wo m e n , urba n

Roo seve lt Soc ie ty, for exa mp le, sou ght a

res id e nces fo r wom e n a rt stud e nts like th e Three Arts C lubs in New York,

bron ze m edal with th e im age of

C in cinn ati , and Ch icago, jobs as in-

hi stor ica l pl aqu es, m e m o ri als, m a rke rs,

Th eodore Roosevelt in 19 19 , an d th ey co mmi ss io n ed Anna H yatt Huntin gto n

stru ctors a t club m eetin gs, exposure throu gh ex hibiti o n opp ortuniti es, co mmi ss ion s, and don a tion s are a m ong th e

to d es ig n it. S h e also c rea ted a bron ze statu e of Sybil Luddington , Re volution-

wa ys that wome n in arts clubs facilitated th e caree rs of wo m e n a rti sts of th e ir clay. C lub m e mb e rs clicl th e wo rk th at well -

th e Ame ri ca n Re volution. Much of th e wo rk th a t wome n 's clubs

h ee lecl philanthropists h ave clon e, but acco mpli sh ed th eir goa ls as a group . Th ese wo m e n built a stron g reco rd of publi cizing wo m e n a rtists by h oldin g exhibiti on s of th eir wo rk , eve n if limited bud ge ts te mp e red th e ir a mbitions. Th e G e n e ral Fede rati on of Wom e n 's C lubs, claiming a m e mbe rship of fo ur million in 1926, displayed fifty sc ulptures by twe nty Am e ri can wo m e n at th e ir bi e nni al co nventio n . 11 Th ey also circ ul ated an exhibiti on of art potte ry from potte ri es

a ry War h e roin e, for th e D a ug hte rs of

co mmi ss ioned for th e d eco ration of th e ir suburban clubroom s was c rea ted by wom e n a rti sts. Th e Dau ghte rs of th e Am e ri ca n Revoluti on purchased work by L. Pea rl Sand e rs for Co nstituti o n H all in Wa shin gton , D .C ., a nd by Ge rtrud e Va nd e rbilt Whitn ey, whose sta tu e was un ve il ed in 1929 for th e co urtya rd a t DAR h ea dqu a rte rs. Viol et Oakley, re nown ed for h e r mural pa intings at th e Pe nn sylva ni a Sta te Cap itol Bu il ding at H a rri sburg, wa s reve red by th e Philad elphi a Re publi ca n Wom en 's

Club, whi ch bought th home of C harlton Yarn all to save Oakley's mural deco rati ons insid e it. A bron ze fo untain by Jan et Scudd er wa s co mmi ioned as a memori al shrin e to Mrs. E. J. Robin so n, pres id ent and found er of th e Woman 's Departm ent C lub in In dianapolis, and was placed at th e entrance to th e main hall of th e clubh ouse. Th e Juni or Lounge of th e America n Women's A oc iation building in M anhattan co ntain ed a se ri es of mural by Lu cil e H owa rd and M. Eli za beth Pri ce. Th e Wedn es day C lub in San Diego hired nn a Val enti en to produ ce all of th e door pl ates, hardwa re, an d co pper and glas lantern s for th eir clubhouse. T he Daughters of th e Republi c of Texas co mmi ss ioned statu es of Steph en Au stin and Sam Houston by Eli sabet Ney, whi ch neve r ado rn ed th eir clubrooms, but went to th e United States Ca pitol Building. 14 Wom en's gro ups faci litated publi c familiarity furth er when th ey began , after World War I, to build pac ious and luxurious clubh ouses with money from gove rnm ent bonds th ey had ac quired to support th e wa r effort. Som e of th ese were des igned by wom en architec ts. Julia Morgan shaped man y Ca li forn ia clubhouses, th e Berkeley Woman 's C ity C lub probabl y th e most adm ired. Mrs. Minerva P. N ichols des igned th e New Century C lubh ouses in Wilmin gton and also in Philadelphia . In both Worces ter and Lynn , Massachuse tts, Josephine Wright Chapman des igned th e woman 's clubhouses . Ha zel Wood Waterman des ign ed th e Wednesday C lub in San Diego and Gertrude Sawyer designed th e

Juni or Leag ue Building in Wa hin gton, D .C . Whi le th e e buildings provid ed mee tin g roo ms for a va ri ety of club fun cti ons, in cludin g mee tin g roo ms for club busin ess, kitchen and dining areas for club lun cheo ns, and aud itori a fo r speeches and co nce rts, the new hall s additi onall y offer cl hi gh-ce ili ng, elabo rately furni shed ga ll ery spa ces for wome n' art and rece pti o n areas for open in g parti es. T h e D es oin es Wom en's C lubhou e in clud ed a se parate ga ll ery. Som e tim es th e ex hibits were open on ly to club m emb ers, but fr equ ently th e clu b ope ned th e hows to th e ge nera l publi c. Th ese ga ll e ri e and rece pti on hall s lent a luster to th e a rt of wo men such as th at attempted by Wilh elmina HolJ aday in he r mode rn -da y wo men's art showpl ace. Th e adva ntage of supp ortin g wo men's art as a coll ec ti ve enterpri se we nt beyo nd th e in creased financ ial base ava il abl e to a project supp orted by hundreds of women. Th e members now hared a respon ibility for th e arts projec ts and enj oyed a se n e of ownership of th e art. Any club 's upport al o se rved to ensure wid e publi city and thus increa e th e visibili ty of th e arti sts. An d th e work of fundin g, assemblin g, hangin g, and adve rti sin g th eir art shows gave wom en lessons in arts ad mini strati on, skill s not mu ch ava il able to th em elsewhere. Th e di sadva ntages, howeve r, were also apparent. A grea t numb er of donors in evitably brought co nfli ctin g opinions to eac h issue and prac ti cali ty wa s som etim es lost in th e hi gh-flown ambition s of drea mers. In ew York C ity, th e Nationa l Association of Wom en 47

Pa inte rs a nd Sc ulp to rs gave up th e ir sh owpl ace afte r fi ve yea rs, und o n e by th e

two th o usa nd doll a rs p e r yea r to th e e ndeavo r. Th e co mmi ss ion 's ob jec ts were

expe nse a nd deba te ove r h a ndlin g th e

a mbiti o us: "to ad va n ce th e inte res t of

cl ta il s of clubh ou se m a nage m e nt.

th e fin e a rts, to develop th e influ e n ce

Limits o n tim e, spa ce, coll ec ti o ns, a nd sec uri ty fin all y daunted as m a ny proj ect

of a rt in edu ca ti o n and fos te r th e intro-

pl a nn e rs a th ose who su cceed cl . C lu bwom e n 's soluti o n to th eir prob-

m od e t budge t of th e Minn eso ta a rt

du c ti o n of art in manufa c tures." Th e

le ms was un surpri sin g, give n th e ir will -

co mmi ss io n , eve n suppl e m e nted by m e mbe rships and donation s, wo uld not

ingn ess to de m ocra ti ze th e ca no n , b roa de n publi c access to th e a rts, a nd

h ave p e rmitted appreciable activity h ad n ot wo m e n 's voluntee r powe r fu eled th e

wid e n pa tte rn s of givin g, all goa ls destin ed to in c rease worn n's rol e in th e

age ncy. C lu b-wom e n o n th e State Art

a rts. Th ey beca m e ea rl y c ha mpi o ns of gove rnm ent a id to th e arts, in th e form of Muni cipal Arts Co mmi ss io ns (MAC). Wom e n we re no t major playe rs in th e

Soci e ty Boa rd delive red the unpaid labor th a t e tablished its lec ture se rvice, a traveling ex hibition prog ram , th e loan of ph otograph s of m aste rpi eces of Weste rn a rt, a nd th e beginnings of a n o rigin al a rt

first city art co mmittee in Am e ri ca, th e

coll ec ti on . Through th e coo pe ra ti on of

pri va tely fund ed New York C ity MAC

th e St. C lo ud Read in g Room So cie ty,

c ha rte red by th e C ity of

th orga ni za tion initiated a n a nnual ex hibiti o n . In 19 11 , with a n in c reased

ew Yo rk in

1897, but th ey soo n beca m e m a jo r expo n e nts of th e id ea. Th e Minn eso ta Co mmi ss io n was form ed in 1903, th a nks in large part to press ure fr om M inn eso ta's

app ro pri a ti on of $7, 500, th e soc iety was abl e to hire Maurice Irwin Flagg as parttim e director to expand th e se rvices. Thi s

State Fede ratio n of Wo m e n 's C lub s. M e mb e rs of St. C lo ud 's Art and Hi story C lub , whil e stud yin g th e subj ec t of

ad va n ce did n o t m ea n th a t clubwom e n

Franc e, obse rved th e ph e nom e non of support for th e arts by th e French gove rnm e nt. D e te rmin ed to emulate thi s

sta te fundin g coll apsed , clubwom e n revi ved th e Minn eso ta State Art Soci e ty

gene rosity, th e gro up's offi ce rs introdu ced th e co n cept at th e ir di stri ct co n ve ntion in 1898 a nd wo n th e support of th e presid e nt of Minn eso ta's State Fed e rat ion of Wom e n 's C lubs, Mrs. Marga re t J. Evan s. With th e e ntire federat io n be hind th e proposal, Govern or Van Sant and th e 1903 1eg isla tu re agree d to es tabli sh a state a rt commi ss ion (also known as th e State Art Soc iety). Th e gove rnm e nt appropriated

dropp ed o ut, howeve r. Th ey lent fund s for sp ec ial proj ects and in wartim e, wh en

in 192 1. It foundered in 1927 , but was aga in revived in th e mid-1940s. 15 E arl y twe nti eth ce ntury wom e n's efforts to broade n Am e ri ca n access to th e a rts we re te na c ious , c rea ti ve , and amb itiou s. C lubwom e n 's in siste nc e on informin g th e m selves about wome n artists of past and prese nt, co mmi ss ionin g work by women artists, and press in g governme nt to enh ance public access to art, including th a t by women , was bold and in va luable.

Th e forebea rs of co ntemporary wom en's arts philanthropy were no le s im ag inati ve th an co ntempora ry women in supportin g publi c und erstanding and respec t for wome n's art. The goa l , problems, successes, and limitati ons th ey faced ee m remarkably co nstant. In both eras, wome n arts advoca tes ought to es tablish women 's art in th e publi c eye , in th e face of indifference, hostility, and insuffi cient reso urces. Yet their projects reac hed broadl y and th ey made a place for women's art where th ere was none before.

4. Pu ll man, Ell ensburg, two sites in Sea ttle, Yakim a, Ri chl and , Ilwaco, Pasco, Eve rett, and Wall a Wall a. 5. arter Houck," l use ums Quilts" Quilters Ne wsletter Magazi ne ( pril 1994), pp . 22-23; th e compl ete run of Co mpass, th e Newslette r of th e ew England Qui lter's Guild ; K. Blair's inte rviews with larj ori e Dannis, Susa n Raban, Ca il Binn ey-S til es, Un a Baxe r; and th e Papers of th e ew England Quilt fo se um in th e library of th e luse um in Lowell , Massac husetts. 6. Karen) . Bl air, Th e Torchbea rers: Women and Th eir Amateur Arts ssociations in America, 1890- 193 0 (Bl oo min gton: Indi ana Uni ve rsity Press, 1994), chapter-+. 7. Barbara Berg, Th e Remembered Cate: Origin s of American Femini m , Th e Woman and th e C ity, 1800- 1860 ( ew York: Oxfo rd Uni ve rsity Press,

1. See Pape rs of th e MW in th e li bra ry of NM WA, Washi ngton , D.C .; nn e Higonn et, "Woman's Place," Art in America 76 (Ju ly 1988), pp. 127-149; K. Bl air's interview with W. Holladay; ational Mu seum of Wom en in th e Arts (l ew Yo rk: Harry N. Abrams, 1987); and American Wom en Artists, 1830- 1930 (Was hin gton , D.C .: Na ti ona l Museum of Women in th e rts, 1987). 2. Th e first state co mmittees to send a show were Kansa s and Colorado in 1987 and th e most recent were north ern California and southern California in 1994. Texas se nt its first show in 1988, Washin gto n State and orth Ca rolina in 1989, Upstate lew York in 1990, rkansas in 1992, and Uta h and Tenn essee in 1993-onl y Rh ode Island 's State Com mittee has no intenti on of pl ann ing and fundin g an exhibiti on to send to th e nati onal muse um . 3. Twelve ca me from the Seattle area and thre e from th e eastern part of th e state . Exhibitors were Sonj a Blomd ahl, Rac hel Feferm an, Lorn a Paul ey Jord an, Francesca Lacagnina , olve ig Lanci a, Maril yn Lyso hir, Jan ice Ma her, Inge No rgaa rd , Co nni e J. Ritchi e, Jennifer Stabl er-H oll and, Sarah Jane Teofanov, Barbara E. Thomas, Li za von Rose nsti el, Linda E. A. Wac htm eister, and Patti Waras hin a.

1978); Paula Baker, "Domes ti ca ti on in Politi cs: Wom en and Am eri ca n Politi ca l ociety, 17801920," American Historica l Review 89 (Jun e 1984), pp . 620- 647. 8. Massachuse tts tate Federati on of Women's C lu b, Progress and Achieve ment: A History of th e Ma ssachusetts State Federation of Women's C lubs, 1839- 1962 (Lex ington: Massac husetts tate Federation of Wom en's Clubs, 196 2); Jane Cunningham Cro ly, The Histo ry of the Woman's C lub Movem ent in America (Ne" York: Henry C . All en, 1898). 9. 1-l artforcl Art C lub Yearbooks, 1921 - 23 (Hartford: Stowe-Day Foundation ). I 0. Karen J. Blair, Th e Clubwoman as Feminist: True Womanhood Redefin ed, 1868- 1914 ( ew York: Holmes and Meier, 1980), chapter 6.

11 . Rose V. S. Berry, "T he Sp iri t of Art," Eig hteenth Biennial Proceedings (Washin gton, D .C .: Ge neral Fed eration of Wom en's C lubs, 1926), pp. 270-273. T hese in clud ed th e wo rk of Brend a Putnam, Edith Barretto Parsons, Bess ie Potter Vo nn oh, G race Mott Johnson, Laura Ca rdin Fraser, Anna Va ughn Hyatt Huntington, Harri ett Payne Bingham, and Harri ett Frishmuth . 12. "Art Department," General Federation Magazine 12 (April 191 4), pp . 9- 10. 13. Oth er netwo rks with wo men art lovers similarl y supported th e acco mplishm ents of women. \Vh en th e Fri ends of th e Arts in Pittsburgh publi c sc hools acq uired 134 wo rks of art to hang in th e class room s, 47 of those wo rks we re by wo men (see Ca th erin e Kaiser, "Those On e Hundred Fri ends," Carnegie Magazine [September/ October 1984], pp. 22-24). In McPherson, Kansas, th e communi ty featured Anna Keener's painting Mountain Ranch (see "An Ex hibition in a Kansas High School," American Magazine of Art 9 [January 19 18], pp . 111- 11 3). Th e Woman's Art C lu b of C incinnati bo ught a painting by Mary Spencer in 19 12, a gift for th e C in cinn ati Art Muse um . In Ri chm ond , Indi ana, th e wo manrun Art Associat ion purchased Indi ana art for th e hi gh school art ga ll ery, in cluding sculpture by Janet Scudd er and pottery by th e Ove rb eck Sisters alongside th e wo rk of Hoosier-i dentifi ed male artists li ke Willi am Merritt C hase .

14. See American Art Annual 26 ( 1929), p. 18; American Art Annual 24 ( 1927), p. l 7; American Art Annual 25 (1928), p. 18; American Art Annual 28 (193 1), p. 18; Vern on Loggins, "Elisa bet Ney," in No table American Women, ed. Edward T. James, et al. , (Cam bridge: Harva rd Uni ve rsity Press, J 97 J ), vol. 2, pp . 623-625; Bride leill Tay lor, Elisabet ey, Scu lptor (Austin : Thomas F. Taylor, 1938), pp . 75-78. C lubs also wo rked to imp rove th e kn owledge of th e communi ty. Th e Ge neral Federation 's Art Director, Rose Berry, urged club wo men to stud y th e wo rk of Am eri ca n wo men painters Mary Cassatt, Eliza beth Bour e, Cecili a Bea ux, Helen Mari a Turner, Lilian Westcott Hale, Jea n McLane, Gertrud e Fiske, Lilli an Con th , Anna Fisher, Feli cia W. Howell , M. DeNea le Morga n, Helen Dunlop, Mari e Danfo rth Page, Alice Kent Stoddard, Ell en Emm et Rand , Lydi a Fi eld Emmet, Viol et Oakl ey, Dorothy Ochtman, Evelyn Withrow, Paulin e Palm er, Mary Foote, Jane Peterson , Johann a K. Hailman, and Mari e Oberteufer and Am eri ca n sculptors Harri ett Fri shmuth , Anna Vaughn Hya tt Huntingto n, Malvin a Hoffm an, Edith Barretto Parso ns, Bessie Potter Vonnoh, Laura Ca rdin Fraser, Brend a Putnam, Evelyn Bea tri ce Longman, Beatri ce Fenton , Gertrud e Vand erbilt Whitn ey, G race Ta lbot, Marga ret French C resson, Abasteni a Eberl e, and Lucy Perkins Ripl ey (see Scribner's Maga zine 83 [Jun e 1928], pp . 792 g, h, and 76). Th e Federati on's 19 1 J editi on identifi ed numerous exa mpl es of wo men's art in public spaces, in cluding South ern Womanhood statu e in Atlanta by Bell e Kin sey; statu es of Lady Macbeth , Ge neral Albert idney Johnston , Sam Houston, and teph en Austin in Au tin by Elisa bet ey; Leif Ericso n by Ann e Whitn ey in Boston; Inspirati on statu e at th e front of th e Buffalo Historica l Building by Ge rtrud e (Mrs. Harry Payne) Whitney; Moth e r Bi ckerd yke statu e

in Ga les burg, Illinois, by M rs. Th eodore Ru ggles Kitson; Dani el Boo ne statu e in Loui svil le by Enid Yandell ; Soldi ers' Monum ent in ewb uryport, Massac huse tts, by Sa ll y James Fa rn sham; Ca rri e Brow n Bagnotti M emori al Fo untain in Providence, Rh ode Island , by Enid Yand ell ; statu e of Adm iral Ese k Hopkins in Pro vidence by Mrs. Th eodore R. Kitson; Beatri ce C enci by Harri et Hosmer and Awake ning of Spring by C lara Pfeiffer Ga rre tt in St. Loui s; Ca rn egie Library des igned by Juli a Mo rgan in Semin ary Park , Ca lifo rni a; Hamilton S. White Memori al in Syrac use by Ga il herm an Co rbett; Admi ra l Dav id Farragut in Washin gton, D.C ., by Mrs. V. R. Hox ie; bust of Ali ce Free man Palm er in \i\fell esley, Massac husetts, by Ann e Whitn ey; bas reli ef portrait in co urth ou e by M ar Sti ckn ey in Wo odsto ck, Ve rm ont; and th e wo man's clubhouse designed by architect Jose phin e Wri ght Chapman in Worcester, Massachuse tts (see Mrs. Everett W. Pattison, Handbook of Art in Our Own Co t1ntry [St. Loui s: G eneral Federati on of Women's C lu bs, 1908 and 19 11 ]). 15. See Mrs. Everett W. Pattison, "Art and th e Women's C lubs," Federation Bt1 lleti n 7 (May 1909), pp . 38- 40; G FWC , Eig hth Biennial Proceedings (l 906), p. 106; Staff of th e M in nesota Histori ca l Society, "Bri ef History of th e Minn esota State Art Society," and "Report of th e M in nesota State Art Society, 1903- 4," both in M inn esota Historica l Society (St. Paul: M inn esota State Hi stori cal Society, ca. 1949); Mrs. Ph elps Wyman, "State rt Society of Minn esota," American Ci ty 7 (Au gust 19 12), pp . 142-14 3.

NEVER Co~rPLAIN, NEVER E x rLAI 1

ELSIE DE WOLFE

AN D THE ART OF SO C IAL CHA NGE

Da vi d Park Curry V ir g ini a Museum of Fine Arts

"Th e fact was , yo u cou ld hardl y t ell a lad y now from an actress. " -Edi th 'vVh a rt on, Th e Bu ccaneers'

E lsie de Wolfe's long life- from 1865

into a single-mind ed qu est for personal

to 1950-e nco mpasses an extraordinary

ind epe nd e n ce, de Wolfe's career ca n be

period of techn ological, economi c, and

seen as a n exus, linkin g com pl ex c ultural

socia l c h a n ge in th e United Sta tes. Whether la n g uidl y loun g in g in th e

hun ge rs that are also expressed in Ameri-

overupholste red Turkish Corne r of th e

ca n lite rature and painting. In 1897 John Sin ge r Sarge nt painted

Aesthetic Movement (fi g. 1), or about to race away in a strea mlin ed jazz age

Mr. and M rs. Isaac Newton Ph elps tokes

a irpl an e, de Wolfe h elped to establi sh

co upl e worr ied a bit over h ow th e portra it wou ld be rece ived b y th eir circle of

fresh m odes of c ultural lea de rship in Amer ica b y taking advantage of th e co mm e rciali za tion of leisure to blur th e bou nd a ri es be twee n publi c and pri va te spaces . Ignoring stri ctures that stymi ed m an y others of h er sex, de Wolfe chose as h e r startin g point "th e h om e" - th a t sac red gro und whi ch both defin ed and limited Vi ctorian wome n . H e r co ndu ct offe red an expanding definition of decorum , for in E lsie de Wolfe as pa radi gm , we se nse a profess iona l I ife I ived as a co n ti nuou pe rformance . D eta il s of de Wolfe's va ried acti viti esas both amateur and profess ional actress, inter ior decorator, a rt adviso r, and highfl ying soc ialite-m ight read alm ost as soa p opera. Howeve r, when con densed

wearing cas ual dress (fi g. 2). Th e yo ung

fri e nd s a nd acquaintances, who numb e red a mon g th e "400" of ew York soc iety. But Ph elps Stokes and hi s brid e were also aware that Am e rican c ultural lea de rship was in flu x. Sociall y consciou , Isaac se rved as an a rchitec t for

ew York's

Un iversity Settle m e nt, a philanthropi c organi za ti on offe ring m edi ca l, educ ation al, a nd soc ial support to immi gra nts. Hi s wife , as th e pres id e nt of th e ew York Kind e rga rte n Ass ociation, aim ed to soc iali ze "c hildre n wh ose ea rli es t edu ca ti on wo uld oth e rwise be rece ived on the streets." 2 The co upl e selec ted a fashionab le painter but accep ted an un co nve ntion al compos iti on-with Mr. Ph elps Stokes

F ig. 1. E lsie d e Wo lfe in a Turkish Co rn e r in th e Irving House, New Yo rk, 1896. Ph otog rap h, Mu se um of th e C ity of New Yo rk .

relega ted to th e backgro u nd a n d hi s

pe rfo rm a n ces, to be staged in fr ont of a n

wife o ut fr ont wea rin g th e sort of sports

eve r-c riti ca l gall e ry of th e alrea dy-a rri ved ,

cloth es popul a ri ze d in th e G ibson G irl

h ow we re in ge nu es to come off as ladi es

im age. Su c h ch oices refl ec t n ot onl y th e dyn a mi cs of soc ial ch ange, but also a signifi ca nt shift in pe rm iss ible beh av io r

ra th e r th a n ac tresses? Fo rtun ately, var ious guid es we re ava il-

fo r polite soc iety. D espi te th eir h es ita-

a bl e to th e n e wly affl u e n t, indi ca tin g wh a t was tastefu l. Am ong th e m E lsie de

ti ons ove r th e pi c ture's u nconve nti onal-

Wolfe 's T he H ouse in Good Taste ( 19 13)

ity, th e Ph elps Stokeses we re p rom in e nt

p roved among th e most e ndur in g of th e

e n o ugh to ma ke su c h c h oices wi th a degree of co nfid e n ce. Bu t what did th e

twe nti eth century. In it, th e fo rm e r ac tress wh o subse qu e ntly wo uld b ec om e

simpl e folk d o? H ow we re Amer ica's

a ti tled lady es tabl ish ed a ligh th ea rted

newly afflu e nt supposed to kn ow wh a t was tas teful ? In orch estra ting th e ir soc ia l

ye t u psca le co m bination of F re nc h a n tiq u es, mod e rn re prod u ctions, a nd

E ngli sh chintz th at h as re m ain ed in 4

vog ue to th is day. Fo r th e b ook 's sign ed fronti spi ece ph o tograph , th e auth o r lea n s casu all y o n th e mantle (fi g. 3). Alth o u gh sh e is draped in a d rop-dea d fur , h e r book is both prac ti cal a nd purposeful , sta ndin g in sh a rp co ntradi stin c ti o n to th e so m ewh at eliti st Decoration of Houses written by E dith Wh a rton and O gde n Codm an in 1902. 5 C lea rl y, de Wolfe h ad stud ied th e ea rli e r text, b olste red with refe re n ces to " th e best m odels," m ea nin g "buildings e rected in Italy after th e b eginnin g of th e sixtee nth century, a nd in oth e r E urop ea n co untri es after th e fu ll assimi lation of th e Itali an influ en ce." 6 H owever, de Wolfe abandon ed a rt histori cal propinquity for "s uitability, simplicity a nd pro-

Fig. 2. John Singer Sa rge nt, Mr. an d Mrs.

po rti on ."7 Th at th ese we re "self-ta ught

I. N. Phelps Stokes , 1897, oil on canvas.

lesso ns" suited a n a udi e n ce co mpri sed

Th e Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York,

chi efl y of th e self-made. D e Wolfe was less co n cerned with a uth e nti city, prove-

Bequest of Ed ith Min turn Phelps Stokes

na n ce, a nd ri gidl y defin ed u se of spaces th an with ph ys ical comfort a nd visu al effect a t a tim e wh e n th e excesses of th e G ilded Age as well as th e moral izin g of

(Mrs. I. N. ), 193 8, 38. 104.

a nd cli e nts alo n g to g rea ter ta stefu ln ess. It sh o uld b e und e rstood that de Wolfe ad vise d th e sa m e midd le class audience

b oth th e Aes th e ti c and th e Arts-andC rafts m oveme nts we re b e in g ca ll ed

th a t h ad bee n addresse d ea rl ie r by th e comm e rc iall y mind ed self-h elp books of

into qu es ti o n . By th e tim e de Wolfe put p e n to pape r, Am e ri ca 's wre n ch ing tra nsformatio n from a n agra ri a n eco nom y to a n indu stri ali zed , urb a n soc ie ty m a rk ed by co nfid e n ce a nd doubt, exc ite m e nt a nd tre pid ati on, was well und e r way. Lik e m ost popul a ri ze rs, de Wolfe did not in ve nt eve rythin g sh e ad voca ted . Rath e r, sh e kept a well-m a ni c ured finge r on soc ie ty's pul se, nursin g fri e nd s

th e 1870s a nd 1880s, su ch as Suggestions for House Decoration in Painting, Woodwork and Furniture (London , 1876),

wh ose British a uth o rs asse rted : It is middle-class peo ple specia lly

who require the aid of a cu ltivated and yet not extravagant deco rator who may help them to blend the fit tings of their now incongruous rooms into a pleasant and harmonious habitation. 8

T h at th e Am eri ca n C lare nce Cooke's m ore m e m orabl e titl e, W hat S hall We D o With Our Walls? (New Yo rk, 1880),

lowe d on th e heels of anti-clutter exh ortati ons to th e mo de rn h ousewife th at

was publi sh ed by a wa llpaper m anu facturer und e rsco res at on ce th e dil em m a:

h ad fill ed edito ri al pages for yea rs. "D o n ot h es itate to store orn ame nts," a typica l H ouse Beautifu l ad mon ishm ent,

anxious co nsum e rs beset by see mingly endl ess ch oices ye t fea rful of errors in

anti cipates by nea rl y a deca de de Wolfe's reass urin g pro mi se th at h e r rea ders "will

tas te th a t mi ght co mp ro mi se ha rd wo n soc ial status; and th e soluti on : co mm ercial e nterpri se willing to ass ist th e m .

neve r aga in be guilty of th e errors of m ea ningless magn ificence ." 10 D e Wolfe thu s built on the mo ralisti c co rn e rstone of Arts-and-C rafts theory-s impli c ityeve n as sh e re jec ted th e co mmercial p roducts of th at move m ent - fl orid Mo rri s wallpapers an d sturd y mi ss ion furnitur e -as too pl ebi an . Simultan eo usly, he r text subtl y und erm ines anoth er favo rite te net of Arts-a nd-Crafts th eo ri sts: th e importance of ea rn es t h and labor. D e Wolfe did no t labor ove r th ese pagessh e use d a gh os t writer. 11 H er's rapidl y beca m e a "celebrity look," assoc iated

Fig. 3. Elsie de Wolfe , fronti spiece to The H ouse in Good Taste (New York, 1913).

As th e nin etee nth ce ntury drew to a close, va ri ous journ als and pe ri odi cals took up tas te-ma kin g. Always a cl eve r busi ness wo man, de Wolfe ad dressed a rea dy-m ade audi ence. Parts of he r book first app ea red as a se ri es of a rti cles co mmi ss ioned by Th eodore Dreise r, th e n editor of The Delineator. A seco nd se t of arti cles was publi sh ed in The Ladies' Home Jow nal.9 D e Wolfe's timing was imp ecca bl e, fo r he r un compli ca ted approach to implifi ed deco rati on fo l-

with glam oro us ga th erin gs in New York, Ve rsa ill es, and Pari s, wh e re pill a rs of soc iety- th e Astors, th e H ewitts, th e Morga ns, even Isa bell a Stewa rt Ga rdn er -mingled with glittering opera stars E mm a Calve and elli e M elba, ac tresses Sarah Bernh ardt, E ll en Terry, Eth el Barrym ore, and Maxin e Elli ott, aesth ete O sca r Wild e, histori an H enry Adams, and oth ers. "I went to th e Ma rbury salon," wro te H enry Adams, and foun d myself in a mad cyclone of peo ple. Miss Marbury and Miss

de Wolfe received me with tender embraces , but I was struck blind by the bri lliancy of their world. Th ey are grand and universa l ... I had to chatter as one of the wicked, and got barely a whisper of business. 12

D e Wolfe's look was fresh , easy to recogni ze, easy to im itate, a cleve r co mbinati on of th e real and the id eal as de Wolfe's bi ogra ph e r po ints o u t. 13 D e Wolfe p rese n ted he r fo rmu lae in a ch atty offh a n d first-pe rso n m ann e r th a t offe red th e use r a se nse of pe rso nal assoc ia ti o n with sta rd o m th a t a nti c ipates exc hanges be twee n tod ay's talk show h os ts and th e ir gu es ts, n o t to m e nti on a rt ic le afte r a rti c le in th e glossy "s h e l te r m agaz in es" of o ur ow n tim e. D e Wolfe was ale rt to th e bea uti fu l ea rl y on , reco unti ng a tale of d ec o ra ti o n go n e wro ng th a t ri va ls O sca r W ild e in co mbinin g see m ing fr ivol ity with las ting purpose:

The fart hest away thing that I can remember of my chi ldhood is starting off for school one day brig ht and happy because the fami ly sitti ng roo m was to be done up afres h. All th rough the sc hool hours my mind was fu ll of how beautifu l that roo m was going to be. W hen I returned an d saw it I burst into bitterest tears, much to the amazement of my fa ther and mother, who could no t imagine the cause of my grief I fina lly sobbed out that the room was yglx - UG LY - an d that my heart was breaking with the disa ppointment of it . .. I think that this intense love of everything beautiful . .. has been the dominant trait all throug h my life. 14 C lea rl y, sh e took to h ea rt th e Aesth eti c

F ig. 4 . John Singer Sa rge nt, fsabella Stewart

Gardner, J 888, oi l o n ca n vas. Co urtesy of th e Isabell a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r M use u m, Boston .

D e Wolfe h e rself wa s n o t with out a pa radi gm -sh e g rea tl y admired Isa bell a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r. " H e r bra in was fa r ah e ad of h e r tim e, a nd sh e h ad tre m e nd o us co urage in ad va nc ing h e r id eas," d e Wolfe la te r wrote of " Mrs. Jack,"

Move m e n t's p rim ary th e m e - th e pursuit

wh ose th ea tr ica lity, extravaga nt tas te,

of bea uty- alth ough sh e re jec ted th e

an d su mp tu o us coll ec ti o ns well fitted

style itself.

h e r as a role m od el fo r a n as p iring

amateur actress stri ving to beco m e a pol-

fond ly refe rred to Bos ton 's most famou s

ish ed profess ion al arbiter of ta ste . 15 Eac h

patron, wore bi gge r pea rl s an d m ore of th e m. On th e oth er h and, E lsie neith er inh erited no r ma rri ed mon ey-sh e made h e r own fo rtun e, rem arkin g ca n-

lady, bred by a respec tabl e New York famil y, fl outed co n ve nti on ye t climb ed to th e top of th e socia l tree. On h er occasion al visits to Boston, de Wolfe was impressed by Isa bell a Ga rdn er's spl endid, art-encrusted pal ace on th e Fe nwa y, and eve ntu all y end ed up with he r own palac e of sorts, th e Vi ll a Trianon nea r Versa ill es . Followin g a sess ion with M rs. Jack in 1907, E lsie wro te:

I shut my eyes close to shut in all the beauty of . .. yo ur wonderful things 6 shut out all the banali te and sordidn ess of our incredible presen t. You have accomplished a great and beautiful thing which will bear fruit in the great artistic advancement of our waiting people. 16 Eac h lady unde rstood that an audi ence awa ited th em . Th e m ethod s eac h pursued in he r ri se to e min ence and c ul-

didl y, "I we nt up on th e stage beca use I loa th e pove rty." 18 Workin g primar il y in New York, with sojourn s in Lond on , Pa ri s, and even tu all y Los Angeles, de Wolfe's beh avior was shaped by th e th eater as bo th vehi cle fo r adva n ce m ent and pl atform for express ion. Th e stage gave h er th e freedom sh e need ed, and h er later wo rk as in terior d ec ora tor and artisti c adviso r wo uld evolve from it. D e Wolfe's ch oices of life companion s, in cludin g not onl y h er long relati onship with th ea tri ca l agen t E li za beth Ma rbury but also a marriage of co n veni e nce to Sir C h arl es M encl! , sugges t th at sh e was willin g to step outsid e co nve ntion al mores. H oweve r, like Isabella

tural leadership sometim es ove rl ap, so m etim es differ, refl ec tin g large r soc ial shifts as endl essly retail ed by a progression of journ alists and nove li sts, as we ll as impress ioni st and rea li st painte rs. Just as Sarge nt's well-known portra it of Isabe ll a Gardner prese nts th e Bos ton coll ec tor as an ico n (fi g. 4), so did Cec il Bea ton late r stage E lsie d e Wo lfe, festoo ned with sumptu o us pea rl s and silhou etted aga inst lu xuri ous fabri c . Recallin g Sa rge nt's wo rk, d e Wolfe later co mm e nted , "In stea d of fee t h e gave he r two tin y hoo ves se t close toge th er." 17 D e Wolfe 's own portrait may well be an

on ca nvas. Memori al Art Ga ll ery of th e

homage to a d ev ili sh kindred spirit. Granted , "Qu ee n Isa bell a," as de Wolfe

Stratton Gou ld Fund, 51.1 2.

Fig. 5. John Sloan, Chinese Restau rant, 1909, oil Un ive rsity of Rochester, l ew York, Marion

Ga rdn er, de Wolfe was dextrous at stre tch-

Cassa tt's self-possessed woman sta res,

ing, but n ot quite breakin g, th e soc ial

n ot at th e stage, but at an un see n occu-

e nvelope. No t go ing too fa r was also a primary

pant of another box. M ea nwhil e, a

ch a racte ri stic of Am e ri ca n pa inting a nd

p or tl y man lea ns out of hi s box to ogle th e woman in bl ack. Not th e opera itself

lite ra ture a t thi s tim e. John Sloan's

but th e a udi e n ce was now of inte rest,

C hinese Restaurant ca rri es th e point (fi g. 5). Th e arti st himself impli ed that 19 th e girl in a red-fea th e red h at is a hooker. Yet, un like num e rou s cafe, ni ghtclub , and broth el sce n es by E dgar D egas, with th eir c hill focu s upon sordid tran saction s, Sloan's yo ung woman di spe nses good c h ee r, feedin g both h e r boyfri e nd a nd th e res id e nt cat, whil e amu sin g two ma le din e rs-a nd by exte nsion , u s. A graceful ch a in of h and s links th e ch a rac te rs in thi s esse nti all y good na tured littl e pe rform an ce, whi ch tran spires below bri ght red C hin ese c h a racte rs wishin g us good fortun e. Lik e oth e r e ntrepre nurial so ul s durin g thi s pe riod - including painte rs and wr iters- de Wolfe cl ea rl y rec ogni zed th e selfco nsc ious n ature of a rt as p e rformance. Surviving nea rl y a ce ntury of turbul e nt chan ge, de Wolfe kept h e rself on th e c utting edge with e n e rgy, imagination , a nd humor. Long afte r sh e h ad ceased b eing an ac tress, de Wolfe continu ed to b e a pe rform e r: a ce ilin g deco ration for h e r Fren c h vill a ca ptures h e r lea pin g th e Atl a nti c, followed by one in h e r boundless succ ess ion of lap clogs (fig. 6). D e Wolfe's ca refree posture h e re is so sa u cy and unl adylike that it is rath e r ha rd to beli eve th at Mary Cassa tt's Woman in Black at the Opera , painted m ore th an four deca des ea rli e r, reco rd ed beh avior th at was once equall y ind eco rous (fi g. 7).

for th e arts of th e pa st, wh e th e r music or paintin g or architec ture, we re in se rvice of th e prese nt. A deca de after Cassa tt painted th e Woman in Black at

the Opera , d e Wolfe paid a vi sit to th e

Fig. 6 . A. Dr ia n , ce ilin g pa intin g, oil o n ca n vas. E lsie de Wolfe Founda ti o n .

C h a tea u at Blois, telli ng th e rea de rs of Th e Cosmopo litan that it mad e h e r "think of nothing so much as th e rows of boxes at th e 1e tropolita n Ope ra House, a nd whi ch n eeded onl y a few of th e 400 20 a nd th eir apparelling to be co mpl e te ." Acceptab le b e ha viour wa s in flu x. By th e turn of th e ce ntury, looking-at fin e

a rt, at di spl ays of tec hnology or con sum e r goods, at publi c pe rform a n ces, a nd , of

Journa li sts regul a rl y used th ea tri ca l fi gures of sp eech to c haracte ri ze th e

co urse, at one another-had become a n

m ode rn c ity. On e wrote in 1909, "Th e

es tabli sh ed pra cti ce . "Spectator sp orts"

city slee ps for a few h ours . . . li ke a

ranged far beyo nd th e race track a nd th e

wea ry co lumbin e a t th e th ea te r wi ng, in

boxin g rin g. Cassatt co mposed Woman

in Bla ck at th e Opera with o ut a fore-

all its pa int a nd spangl es, expec tin g its ca ll to 'go o n' at a ny mom e nt." 23 To b e a

gro und , automa ti ca ll y plac ing th e viewe r

parti c ipa nt in th e mod e rn c ity was to be

within th e woman's opera box. Co mpl ete-

cas t in a role, filling a t leas t a bit part or

ly abso rb ed in h e r own sc rutin y, th e

pe rh a ps even tak ing a star turn . Thi s

elega nt sp ec ta to r takes no n oti ce, as if

iss u e wa s und e rstood by arc hitec ts who

we h ad e nte red uninvited. H e re we see h ow Amer ica n painte rs had begun to follow Fre nch prece de nt, adopting a va ri e ty of establi sh ed artis ti c d ev ices that involved viewe rs in th eir co mp os ition s by making th e m part of th e painted a udie n ce ca ptured on ca n vas. Cassatt kept a low pe rso n al profil e, yet other painte rsJames M cNe ill Whi stl er n otoriou s among th e m -ac ti vely worked to kee p th e mselves in the publi c eye. 21 Similarly, de Wolfe's publi city-seekin g a nti cs ke pt th e public spotli ght focused on h e r, just as h e r acting in volve d th e audience with itself. In 1901, h e r aptl y na m ed pl ay,

Th e Wa y of the World , seem ed : ... not so much a dramatic entertainment as a social function. Any well-ordered co mment upon it must take cog niza nce of the audience as well as of the mummers who perform on the far side of the footlights. [The audience is J as much a part of it as th e stage setting, and the resu lt of thei r presence is that the five-act drama and its four intermissions and final curtain form a continuous performance the like of which Tew York has never seen before. 22

Fig. 7. Mary Cassatt, Woman in Black at the Opera, 1879, oi l on ca nvas. Muse um of F in e Arts, Boston , The H ayde n Co ll ec tion , 10.35.

c rea ted elabo ra te public spaces to le t hotel, resta ura nt, an d th ea te r patron s see a nd b e see n . Respl e nd e nt facades, clad in th e orname nt of th e long ago a nd th e far away but festooned with th e latest electri c li ghts, spill ed "th eir in vitati ons in strea m s of golden li ght across th e sid ewa lk ," as Mariana Gr iswo ld Van Re nsselae r obse rved in 1895, abo ut th e 59

Fig. 8. Willi am Glac kens, Chez Mouquin , 1905 , oil on ca nvas. T he Ar t Institute of C hi cago, Friends of American Art, 1925.295.

tim e E lsie de Wolfe, still a buddin g ac tress, was bein g photograph ed regularl y for publi city purposes H Th e fo cus of architec ts, decorators, journ alists, novelists, painters, and actors - perform ers all - fr equ entl y co in cid ed. In th e city's th ea ters, opulent lobbi es an d parterre boxes framed one part of th e audi ence fo r th e rest. Refreshin g roof ga rd ens and pri va te dinin g clubs at th e tops of kysc rapers took in views of th e metrop olis eve n as th ey pro vid ed sa nctu ary from it, offe rin g sp cta cle of th e city th at co mpl emented th e spec tac les onstage. G ilt-framed mirror encrusted th e wa ll s of glitterin g hotel lobb ies, lobs ter palaces, and drinkin g e tablishments, reflecting th e city's pla ye r upon th emselves. Willi am Glackens's Chez IJ.ouquin, painted in 1905, depict a res taurateur ,

Jam es B. Moore, sitting with hi s yes ave rted from us as he lifts a small glass of whi skey (fi g. 8). Turn ed away from him , hi s co mpani on wea rs an eni gmati c express ion whil e tou chin g th e stem of a well-fill ed cockta il glass . Like th e open pink rose in th e littl e tabl etop still li fe, th e nam less wo man is in full bloom. Behind th e Man et-like roses a suggesti ve bottl e stands tall. Remarkin g upon "that still li fe whi ch make life at Mouquin 's far fr om still ," one co ntemporary newspaper criti c annou nced "it is th e 25 mom ent of liqu eurs and soft asid es." An ind epend entl y wea lth y bon vivant, Moore was noted in arti stic and literary circle for hi s amorous peccadi ll oes in volvin g a se ri es of young wom en whom he refe rred to as hi s daughters. fter de cribin g such allurin g ni ghtlife poss ibiliti s in sedu cti ve detai l, th e 1iterary rea li st Th eodore Dreise r wa m ed th e rea ders of Sister Carrie in 1900: so long as . .. the human heart views this as the one desirable rea lm which it must attain, so long . .. will this remain the realm of grea tness. So long, also, wi ll the atmosphere . .. work its desperate results in the soul of man. It is like a chemical reagen t. 26 Like Elsie de Wolfe, Drei er's lea d characte r se rves first as an amateur , th en a profess ional ac tress . Unlike E lsie, whose th espi an skil ls we re esse nti all y limited to th e role of cloth es horse for th e lates t Paris fas hi ons, Ca rri e becomes an ac cl aim ed perform er. Y t, at th e end of hi s tal e, th e moralisti c and eve r-wo rd y Dreise r leave Carrie unfulfill ed, for she has been sedu ced in cozy re tau rants on

th e ord er of C h ez Mo ugui n and mu st be puni sh ed :

Know, then, th at for you is neither surfeit nor content. In your rocking chair, by your window, dreaming, shall you long for beauty. r On e in th e h ost of de Wolfe's p ubli city ph otograph s sh ows he r sea ted in a rocke r. But de Wolfe didn ' t just ro ck and yearn fo r beauty. Sh e went out and ea rn ed it. "I am emin e ntl y prac ti cal and don ' t dream of obta ining thin gs for whi ch I am not willing to wo rk," de Wolfe cri spl y told th e readers of Metropolitan Magazine in 190 1.28 Wom en h ad bee n wo rking in th eater fo r over two hundred years. F requentl y, turn-of-th e-century ph otographi c theater ca rds, includin g som e of de Wolfe, repli -

Fig. 9. Elsie de Wolfe, T hea ter Ca rd, 1890s. Muse um of th e C ity of New York.

ca te th e frankl y casual poses of ac tress portraits from prev ious ce n turi es, su ch as Sir Joshua Reynold s's d epi cti on of Fran ces Barton Abington in th e role of "M iss Pru e" in Co ngreve's Love fo r Love (fi gs. 9 , 10). M rs. Abin gton began h er ca reer as th e tawdry "Nosegay Fa n" wh o sold m ore th an just fl owe rs in th e streets of Lond on befo re eve n tuall y ma rrying adva ntageously and ea rnin g fa m e and fortun e as a multilingual stage star wh o dazzled Lond on aud ie nces of th e 1760s by portrayin g Lady Teazle in Sh e rid an 's

School for Scandal .19 T h at th e th ea te r has long provided a pl atfo rm fo r wo m en to advance th emselves regul arl y p rovokes th e di smay of social comm entato rs. As on e obse rved sard oni call y in 189 3, wh en Elsie d e Wolfe wa s just establ ishi ng h erself on th e stage:

Fig. 10. Sir Joshua Reyno lds, Mrs. Abington as M iss Prue in Congreve's "Love for Love," 177 1, oil on ca nvas. Yale Ce nter fo r British Art, Pa ul Mell on Coll ection.

Thal cu nnin o prestidigitator, misca lled Progre , lau gh in it lee ve o it lead th e girl bochelor lo th e footlight s an d introdu ce her as the 11•omv 11 of th e future. w D Wolfe, li ke i\ lr . Abingto n, 11·ould el'c ntrnil l) 1 la\' th e r le of Lael ) Tcnlc, but he rc111a in cl fundaillcn lalh· unt arn1 heel b1· th e breat h of and al. \li e11 c I by c ntc111pora ri c as ind epend ent 11 0111en f th e futur e. 1..: lsi an I h r fr i nd , in lu din o h r lo1cr. th e th atri al ao nt l~ li za b e th \l arbur), 11 r kn o11·n in l\e11 York' polite ictl a .. th b ch I r ." Th ir per a nal relati on hiJ r Ill a in cl tri ctl y pri1 al . Th e ro le l~ I ic t k on slao , u ha \ Ir . ro) cl c n, th Ill a li on cl but 1uit f ithful 11 if of a ri in o politi i n in l)d Fit ch's Th e \ \'n· of th e \\'arid , t ncl d lo rein for 11 id l) a eptcd ultu rn l 111 orc . ,\L lh n I of lhe pIa) , a ill ra II) 1 in Ii l cl an I ill di hI:· a 11 n I \ Ir . panyin a h r hu ard n for I i cepl an nell' g 1ern or. No ting th at A111cr ica n th ea l r ha I bee me a Ir fitabl ial paradi gm "ll'h re th art of rend rin a 111 r ly hum an actre sc int livin g lllb diment of felllinin e I rfe li on 11· r pra cti ced at th e 111 t xperl and profi tab le level f r ma in tru ction and emul ati on," hi tor ian Kirn Marra r cntly analyzed Th e \i oy of the \ arid , a play produ ce d sp cifi ca ll y a a ve hi cl for le Wolfe. 11 R ade r of J-farfJ er's Week ly we re ass ured that th e play pro vid ed it audi ence with "mo re than one's mon ey's

J<' ig. 11. Sce ne: fro111 Th e ll'a)' o( lh e World , 190 1. Th ea ter 'ollcc ti on. \l mc u111 of th e '\ c:11

ityo f

York.

11 rth in in tru ti n , not to mention th e 111 re matter f cli1· r i n." noth er journ Ii t om111 nted, "i\ l iclcll - la peo pl e n, f r th mal l pr i e f aclmi ion, I arn h 11 th e upp r ten enter th eir and rl' five 'c lock tea." '~ me s n f nee d fo r u h a p rad iam i vicl ent in th lame nt f I ich rd i\ lan fi eld in hi aclclre s to th tud nt at th e Am eri ca n ca demy ft h ram ti r\rt : It i quite lim e that people with the nw n ner of, let u ay, a seo cook, hou Id cea e from di fJ orti ng th emefr so n th e to ge , e pecia lly in societv dr 1ma ."" Int n e rca li m gov rn ecl both th e a lin o 1 cl th nery of th e produ cli n - "A 1lirror of o iety" a one criti c put it." T h curtain 11· nt up on a lush, unlit ntral Park sce ne enh anc cl by th e hirp in g of bi rd s. D Wo lfe her elf cho e th e furnitu re and appointm ents th at cl cora ted th e interi or ce ne . Th e pl ay' devo ti on to rea lism in clud ed an automol il e (fig. 11 ), not unlik th e

on de Wolfe and !larbury actuall y used in Franc e. 11 A haffeur joined th e ca t after a reh arsal durin g \\'hich se ve ral mu ician s in th pit came clo to dea th as de Wolfe nearly drove off the tage. Howeve r, desp ite de Wolfe's drivin g skil ls, thi s i th e first tim e that a bea uti ful woman appear in connection with a desirabl e automobi le-a Iarra point out, one of th longest la tin g ploys in American adverti sing. 16

Fig. 12 . John Sloan, Gray and Brass, 1907, oil on ca nvas. Collection of Mr. and Mr . Arthur G. Altschul.

Relentl essly rea li tic stagi ng in some of New York's th ea ters co in cid es with th e em ergence of meri can rea li sm in paintin g circles dominated by Rob er t Henri , John Sloa n , and others who shortly wou ld be lu mp ed toge th er as "th e Ashcan school." Sloan 's mordant canvas, Grey and Brass, serves to remind us of th e mi xed fee li ngs that the products of new tech nology regularl y enge ndered (fi g. 12 ). Sarcasticall y, perhaps enviously, Sloan dismi ssed thi s ca rtoon ish

ve hi cle as a "brass-trimmed , snob" automob il e laden with th e "nouvea u ri che." r Socia ll y instru ctive pla ys on th e ew York stage ca rry on in th e vein of late Vi ctorian co medi es of mann ers. But th er are also parall els \\' ith other co ntemporary urban entertainm ents. For exa mpl e, new res taurants for th e middl e classes imitated uch elite es tabli shments as Delm oni co' , where elega nt mea ls epitomi zed Tew York's upp er-clas social life by th e mid 1 80 : 1an)' per ons ... learned for th e fir st time at Delmonico's that dinn er was not merel)' an ingestion, but an observance ... Wh en we compare the commensualities of our country before th e Delmonico period ... with our co ndition in res{Jecl of din ner now, and think how large share of the difference is du e to Delmonico's, we shall not think it extra vagant to call Delmonico 's an agenc)' of civili:::ation. 18 Supping at Sherry's \\'ith her current lover, Drei er's Si ter Carrie observe a ho t of instructive detail that actua ll y did make thi s res taurant the lea din g haunt of ew York ' young mart se t in th e ea rl y 1900s. Dreise r chroni cles "th e white shirt fronts of the gen tl emen, th e bri ght cos tum es of th e ladi es, diamonds, jewel s, fin e feath ers ... " emp ha sizin g that "th e air of assura nce an d dign ity about it all was exceedin gly noti cea bl e to th e novitiate.'' 19 But de Wolfe 's sta ge performan ces, co upl ed with th e power of mod ern journalism, went beyo nd other urban entertainm ents by reinforcing role mod eli ng

Fre n c h clothin g was th e most imp ortant produ c t tha t E lsie de Wolfe an imated for h e r th ea te r audi e n ces. Sh e mad e flo wing gowns by Paquin a nd Worth as des irable as The Black Hat , re nd e red by Benso n in sedu c ti ve laye rs of ri ch , thi ck pigment (fi g. 13) . Lavish , if n ot to say worshipfu l, desc ription s of indi vidu al gown s in th e fashion press reite rated th e de tails of th e cos tumes, notin g:

Fig. I 3. Frank Benso n, Lady Tryi ng on a I-l at (Th e Black I-l at), 1904, oil on ca n vas. Mu se um of

Th eir wearer may, it is safe to asse rt, step from the stage to a ball-room or drawing-room with perfect impunity. Nothing in the style or color or general effect of her gowns is dependent upon the footli ghts. 40

Art, Rh ode Island Sc hoo l of D es ign, Prov id ence,

Th e produ ce r C h a rl es Frohman, who

G ift of Wa lte r Ca ll e nd e r, He nry D . Sha rp e, Howa rd L. C la rk, Willi a m Ga mm e ll , a nd Isaac

paid for th ese gowns, crowed, "Fifth Avenu e looks to th e sta ge for its id eas in

C . Bates, 06 002 .

mod es and fo ll ows those id eas impl icitly, alm ost blindl y ... Socie ty is about fi ve month s b ehind th e stage in th e co rrectn ess of its apparel." 41 Th e painte r Eve rett Shinn , whose ca ree r de Wolfe co nsc ie ntiou sly promoted , explores this iss u e on ca n vas in A Footlight Flirtation (fig. 14 ), usin g a parasol tip to link th e fa shionab ly-clad ac tress on stage to a woman in th e audience .42 Of co urse, part of th e point of hi gh fa shi on is th a t it can n eve r be attain ed

F ig. 14. Eve rett Shinn , Footlight Flirtation ,

entirely by th e man y. Afte r visitin g th e a nnu al November h orse show in 1899, "Lady Modi sh ," th e fa shion re porter for

19 12, oil on ca nvas. Co ll ec ti on of Mr. an d M rs.

New York's Town Topics, sniped:

Art hur G. Altsc hul.

with pass ive wind ow-shoppin g- product e ndorsem en t was pa rt of th e show. At thi s point in h e r ca ree r, h a ute co uture

Th e amount of ill-matched and grnbby-looking chinchilla on puttytoned fro cks upon pasty-faced, fadin g women is enough to make the woman who has color and youth and

ca n wear really handsom e chinchilla, bury her fa ce in her muff and baptize it wi th her tears. lsie de Wolfe mu t be amu sed to note how many women are wearing refl.ection s of that clinging blue crefJe ivith th e chin chilla an d silver embellishments which she exhibited in th e muff fl.irtation scene as long ago as wee/J)' Ca th e rin e held the boardsH o ma tter h ow in spirin g de Wo lfe may hav bee n a a cloth es hor e a nd role m odel, h e still had to con te nd with se riou s newspaper cr iti ci m . Stu cli e of th ea ter pe rfo rm e r ' hard li ves, driven by th e de mand for co nti nuous performance , and tou c hed by th e eve r-prese nt etho of th e sa d clown , remind us just how unforgivin g th e th ate r wo rld ac tuall y wa s, a n iss ue m ade clea r in tum -of-th e-ce ntury pi ctures, suc h as Hammerstein' Roof Garden (ca. 190 1, Whitn ey u eum of American Art), whe re William G lacken s ca ptures a darin g femal e perform e r tete rin g preca ri o usly on a te nu ou hi ghwire stretch ed above a ga pin g c rowd. A little pastel by Shinn , now in a pri va te coll ection , depi cts a lone, ha rshl y lit va ud evilli an gettin g th e hook. D e Wolfe 's ac tin g ca ree r wa s equ all y preca ri ous. The Wa y of the World , her most ambiti ous pl ay, was intend ed to la un ch h e r ind epend ent company, but it fail ed from a fi sca l standpoint, a victim of th e co mp etiti ve economi cs of th e New York th ea ter wo rld , not to m en tion de Wolfe's limited ac tin g tal entsH On e rev iewe r noted de Wolfe's "fro cks all through h e r n ew pl ay are as delightfu l as th e first three ac ts of th at play, and that is sayin g a grea t dea l.

Un li k th dra ma, th e re is, sa rto ri all y, no le t up. " 11 Oth e r reviews were far less kind . Hav in g made th e tra n iti on from amateur to profess io nal ac tress, de Wolfe was still e nco unte rin g th e sa m e offh and c riti ca l di smi ssa l she rece ived as a yo un g soc ia lite in ama te ur produc tion : "S he wa s ple ndid in th e secon d dress ."46 Wh e n \\'e reca ll hO\\ , durin g th e 1770 , London fa~hion \\'as "se t by Mrs. bin gton' tage costum e , and he r co ntrac t with Drury Lane th ea tre in 178 1 tipulated an a nnu al a ll o\\'ance of 500 pounds for h r \\'a rd robe," \\'e see how ofte n th e patte rn of modern life in turnof-the-ce ntury Am e ri ca have th e ir antece de nts in prev ious ce nturi es!" It \\'as by turnin g to th e pas t th a t de Wolfe \\'Ould co ntinu e to make he r mark on th e future, becom ing an inte rior deco rator and co llec ti ons advisor, endorsin g through he r own examp le- he r "life- tyle" in today' te rms- not on ly fashionab le clre s, but al o se lected art, furniture, and deco ration s. he had alrea dy la id the grou ndwork , wr itin g trave l a rti cles for th e popul ar press, doing costum e and et resea rch for hi storica l drama s, and pe ndin g in stru cti ve summ er in France where sh e enj oyed th e soc iety and th e tutelage of coll ec tors, hi tori ans, and co nn oisse urs in c lu din g Lady Minna nglesey, th e Baro n Pi chon , Pi erre de olh ac , and Comte Rob ert de MontesquiouFeze nsac.48 Sensibl e to th e core , de Wolfe e nd ed h e r profess iona l stage ca re er in 1904, a t th e age of thirty-n in e, alth ough she still indul ged in private vaudev illi an spec tacl es, such as an ex travaga nt c ircus ball

h eld at h er Fre nch vill a in 1938.4 ln

afte r. Comme nta tors e mpha size that it

leav in g, de Wolfe took with h e r both a n

h ad "th e app eara n ce of a co mfortable

avid fo ll owing and a sa lea bl e ski ll Fo r

a nd di gnifi ed pri va te res id e nc e, rath e r

New York e rs, n o t on ly opu le nt gown s

th a n th a t of a clubhouse." 51 Th e pa tri-

but also elabo rate stage se ts se rve d as

c ia n cli e ntele ch ose th e dev ice of Dian e

mod els for e mu la ti on. Lav ini a H a rt, a

d e Poiti e rs as th e ir club c res t. H oweve r,

soc ie ty columni st, d esc rib e d th e inte rior

Sta nford White des ig n ed th e bui lding

sce n e ry of The Wa y of the World :

in th e Colon ial Rev iva l style . Put up in

We would do away with "fJrop s" and ha ve peo fJl e act in rea l scenes from life-in rooms that might rea lly be li ved in, with hangings of ve lvet, not of paint; with statuary of marble, not of plaster; with ca rpets into which correctly slippered feet may sink instead of painted boards; with des ks and tables that are real, not made of papier-mache, and with flow ers not made of paper or wax, but fres h-cvt and dewey, whose cent gets over the footli ghts and help make a rea l i llu sion real .. . Miss de Wolfe's Mrs. Croyden is a character with whom we are all familiar , and Mi ss de Wolfe presents her to us just like the Mrs. Croydon on ou r visiting lists.50

1905-06 a t 120 M ad ison Aven u e, just north of 30 th Street, th e club se rved as a power-base for :

leading women in the business, the social, th e artistic, the literary [and) the theatrical worlds [g iving} them a club home where they can enjoy social pleasures ... athletic privileges ... a literary and artistic center. 53 A see min gly joc ul a r c hildre n 's illu stration by L. Frank Ba um sugges ts just h ow

FATHER._GOOSE

By crea tin g li ve-in stage se ts th a t m ade illu sion s real, de Wo lfe subsum ed th e ge ne ral con cept of publi c interior pa ces wh ere patrons wo uld see a nd be see n. In 1905 , sh e la nd ed he r first im portant co mmi ss ion: c rea tin g th en-un xp ectedly cas ual inte ri o rs for th e Co lo n y C lub whi c h Stanford Wh ite had des ign ed as a ga th e rin g spot for well -bo rn N ew York lad ies in Ameri ca's first large-scale pri va te clubhouse fo r women .51 Th e Colony C lu b rece ived a grea t

Old Mother Goose became quite new, d joined aWoman's Oub; She left poor father Goose at home To care for Sis and Bub. They called for stories by the score, And laughed and cned to hear All of the queer and merry sonr;s That in this book appear. When Mother Goose at last returned for her there was no use; The gos lings much prefe rred to hear The tales of FATHER..._ GOOSE.

Fig. 15. W illi am \/,,!. D enslow. Ill ustra ti o n for L.

deal of press coverage, beco ming a

Frank Baum 's Father Goose (C hi cago, 1899).

mod el for wo m e n's clubh o uses th e re-

Co urtesy, Ri chm ond Pub lic Library.

Fig. 16. "T he Trellis Roo m in th e Colony C lub ," Elsie de Wolfe's Th e House in Good Ta ste ( Tew York, 19 13).

threa te nin g to establi sh ed va lu es of

Among h e r m os t fa mili ar, m ost ofte n

hom e and fami ly su c h a powe r base

reprodu ced a nd fr equ e ntl y copi e d inno-

might see m (fi g. 15). A fri e nd of Stanford White, E lsie de

va tion s wa s a trelli s room "whose vin e-

Wolfe got th e co ntra ct to d eco rate thi s

g ive it a pleasa nt air of outdoor life," a n

clad wa ll s, fountain , a nd ga rd e n vases

imp o rtan t inte ri or. It also did not hurt

important a m e nity in th e stee l a nd co n-

that man y foundin g club m e mb e rs 路we re

c rete g rid of th e m od e rn city (fi g. 16 ).56

old fri e nds and th at h e r love r, E li za be th Marbury, chaired th e House Comm ittee. 54 Signifi ca ntl y for de Wolfe's futur e ca ree r:

Th e pleasing effect of [her] simple and restful ornamentation has made more than one visi tor decide to go home and [incinerate] all the indifferen t and medi ocre pictures and bric-a-brac cumbering her domicile, and to start fresh with humility in the heart and nothing but hope on the wa lls. 55

Fig. 17. Elsie de Wolfe, des igner. T he swim mi ng poo l at th e Colony Club, 1907.

m odifi e d L o ui s XVI style, not on ly in pri va te h om es a nd c lubs, but also in certa in

ew York th ea te rs of th is p e riod .

On e of th e m o t e lega nt, built for ac tress Ma xin e E lli o tt, was patte rn ed afte r the Pe tite Trianon at Ve rsa ill es (fi g. 18).

Wolfe's friend a nd fell ow th espi an wrote in Woman's H ome ComfJanion:

Fig. 18. Ma xin e ElIiott's Th ea tre, 1908. Ph otogra ph , Sc hubert Archi ves, New York .

But a n extravaga nt base m e nt-l evel sw immin g p ool room be tte r ugges ts th e th ea tri ca l asp ec t of th e Colo n y C lu b as a

For eight years I have cherished co nsistently- though I am a woman the dream of building a theatre that should be small and intimate; that should be beautiful an d harmonious to the eye in every last detail; that should be com fortable for the spectators, and, behind the scenes, comfortable and humane for every least player in the company. 59

stage se tting for some of th e m ost i nfl u-

Aga in th e domesb c and publi c sph eres

e n ti al wom e n in Man h a tta n (fi g. 17):

collid e as profess iona l poss ibiliti es for

Th e ceiling of ground glass is covered with a lattice. Grap e-vines are twined thickly over the lattice, their broad leaves and big clu sters of frnit a most natural looking arbor. Electric lig hts are arranged above the glass ceiling in such a way as to send through it and th e vines a so ft ye llow light, Ii ke sunlight filtered through folia ge. The wa lls are all lined with mirrors which create an amazing effect of spaciousness. As one glances about the room the sin gle pool is multiplied many times and the eye looks down a long vista of vine-covered, sun-lighted arbors and marble basins. 57

wo m e n exp a nd e d . E lli ott wa s on e of th e first wo m e n to co nstru c t and manage h e r own th ea te r in Am e ri ca , a nd sh e tra n slated h e r th ea trica l su ccess into a brilliant ca ree r in British society-her vill a a t Cannes b eca m e known as "th e House of Lords." 60 H aving a rri ved , h oweve r, sh e stopp ed. Onc e ca ll ed "Th e Ve nus d e Milo with Arm s," th e statu esque Maxin e E lli ott let h erself run to

fat.

But not E lsie d e Wolfe, whose atte ntion to di e t, exe rc ise and groo ming n eve r relaxed . A sh e wen t on , d e Wolfe tended more and more to id e ntify with th e glori es of la te e ightee nth-ce ntury Fra ne e . T h roug h out h e r life, a profusion of see min gly ca ndid photographs sh ow h e r

Thi s is pure th ea te r. It is no acc id e nt

h oldin g be ribb oned lap dogs or sitting

that e ighteenth-ce ntury French architec-

o n Wattea u es qu e swin gs o r conducting

ture and d eco ration rea pp ea r as a so rt of

fetes champetres. She based h er costum e

Fig. l 9. De Wo lfe dressed for th e James Haze n

Fig. 20. James Mc eill Whi stler, Th e Artist in

Hyde Ball at She rry's Res ta ura nt in 1905.

Hi s Studio, 1865-66, oil on paper mounted on

Photog raph , Muse um of th e C ity of

ma hoga ny panel. T he Art Institute of C hi cago,

New York.

19 12. 14 1.

for a notori ously lavish banqu e t g ive n by New Yorker H aze n H yd e on portraits

184 8 .63 Seve n years late r, th e villa h ad bee n "res c u ed from obli vion a nd re-

of th e fa m ous da n ce r M ll e Ca m argo , a

stored by th e skill ed h a nds of Mi ss E lsie

stage favor ite in th e cl ays of Watteau a nd

de Wolfe to eightee nth-ce ntury p e rfe c-

La n c re t (fi g . 19 ). H eld on Ja nuary 3 1, 1905 , th e b all - " m ean t to rec all th e

ti on" and was "a m ee ting pla ce fo r wit

spl e ndor of Ve rsa ill es" -prov id ed an eve ning's fanta sy fo r som e six hundred 61

lavishl y costum ed gu ests. But de Wolfe ca rri ed fa ntasy furth e r th a n most. Already a fr equ e nt summ e r visitor to th e sea t of th e ancien regime, by 190 2 sh e told h e r publi c th at sh e wou ld li ke to bu y a prope rty th e re .62 By 190 7, d e Wolfe a nd Marbury we re proud own e rs of th e n ea rby Vi ll a Trianon , a h ouse that had stood vacant sin ce th e Du e de

e mours, so n

of Kin g L oui s Philipp e, had left it in

a nd wisd om of m a ny land s," acco rdin g to a two part a rti cle in VogueM D e Wolfe wa s fo ll owin g an a rtistic trail bl aze d by Vi ctori a n painte rs wh ose ca refull y decora ted studios we re a n imp orta nt ste p in th e m e rgin g of publi c a nd pri va te spa ces. In 186 5, th e yea r of de Wolfe's birth , Whi stl e r pa inted his a uste re gray studi o, reli eve d by bits of blu e a nd white porce lain and a nima ted by graceful ladi es wea ring th e fl owing gowns th a t de Wolfe wo uld la te r affec t (fi g. 20 ). Whistle r was ale rt to issu es of packag ing

- h e translated ce rta in dom esti c co mp o-

m e nt in th e Ru e Lafitte. Not "a t all di s-

n e nts of th e ca refull y d eco rated arti sti c

conc e rted by the [untid y] junksh op

studio into powe rful publi c exhibiti o n

a tm osph e re of th e clutte red rooms," Fri ck fo ll owed d e Wolfe's advice. 66 Still

di splay techniqu es th a t provid ed th e 65 se ttin g for hi s pe rforman ce as a n artist.

to be seen in Fri ck's muse um in New

As able as Whi stl e r to strike a pose, de

York a re pi eces acq uired at de Wolfe's

Wolfe also strad dl ed publi c a nd private paces as sh e exploited th e poss ibiliti es

marqu e try wo rk table by m as te r ebeniste

reco mm e ndation , in clud in g a bea utiful

of a self-consciou s, co mm e rc iali ze d artisti c life. Pa rt of th at life was a regular comm e rce in artworks old and n ew, located

F ig. 22. Elsie de Wolfe, des igne r. Sid ec hair for Hope Hampto n resid e nce,

ew York , ca. 1939,

lu cite, woo d , a nd upho lste ry. Ba rry Friedman , Ltd .,

ew York.

Fig. 2 1. Martin Ca rlin , Bed an d Work Tab le with

Trelli s Marquetry, ca . 1770- 72 , Th e Frick Co ll ec ti on , 14.5.67.

a nd ve tted by a rti sts and oth e r fr eela n ce go-b e twee n s who se rve d as bu ye rs o r age nts for wea lth y cli e nts d e p e nd e nt upon expe rt advice from co nnoi sse urs of th e bea utiful. D e Wolfe 's most famou s cli ent in thi s ve in wa s H e nry C lay F ri ck, wh o left a Fre nch golf course "dressed in plu s-fours and a pla id ca p" to go shopp in g with h er in a clutte red Pari s apart-

Martin Ca rli n (fi g. 2 1), an d a n a iry if somewhat more th ea tri ca l forged iro n co n sole ta ble . "I beli eve in pl e nty of op timi sm and wh ite paint," de Wolfe proclaim ed . H e r em ph as is o n li ghtn ess, first see n wh e n sh e bani sh ed th e dinin g room clutter in th e h ouse sh e sh a red with E li za beth Ma rbury on 17th Stree t, co in cid ed with a growing publi c taste for th e impressioni st pa le tte in painting. H oweve r, the n ew in Ame ri ca n a rt te nd s to be tern-

Fig. 23. "Th e Draw ing-roo m shou ld be lntimate in Sp iri t," Elsie de Wolfe's Th e House in Good Ta ste (New York, 1913).

p e red and soften e d with th e old . Th e n-

Gard e n , Smithso ni a n In stituti on ), is

con te mp o ra ry impress ion ist land sca p es

quite firml y b ased upon a d e ta il borrowed

a re not to b e found in d e Wolfe's fr esh

fr om a Dutch pi c ture h e saw at th e Fran s

n ew room s - sh e favore d e ightee nth-

H als Mu se um .

ce ntury paintings, prints, a nd draw in gs,

Abundant photographs and pa intings

whi ch sh e also coll ec ted for h e rself

reco rd d e Wolfe's signature b le nd of

wh e n in fund s. 6-

E n gli sh printe d chintzes with simpl e,

Wh e n d e Wolfe go t aro und to usin g

al m ost seve re late e ightee nth-c e ntury

a n inn ova ti ve mate ri al, su ch as lu c ite

F re n ch furnitur e, or co pi es wh e n a n-

for a sid ec h a ir, sh e h ad it cast in an old

tiqu es we re too d ea r (fi g. 23 ) . Th e qual-

form , selec ting Bi e d e rm e ie r, a n ea rl y

ity of th e mix was linke d to th e ca pa c ity

nin e teenth-c e ntury style (fi g. 22 ) . Am e r-

of th e c lie nt's purse:

ica n pa inte rs of th e e ra exhibit simil a r fo ibl es. C h a rl es H awthorn e's pi c ture of mod e rn clubm e n , The Story (ca. 1898-99, Hirsc hh o rn Mu se um and Scu lp ture

Without sacrificing her belief in simplicity, she made sure her wealthy clients lived in a style appropriate to their station . The simple cu rtains

to detail, French style is as popular today as it was in the pre-Revolutionary da ys trill ed th e bro c hure copy.

The da y wi ll include a worl?shop on decorating in the French manner on a limited budget with furniture from Sotheby's Continenta l Arcade Sale. Fee $2 45. 69 Like pl atform sho es, de Wolfe still co m es a nd goes in Amer ican popular c ulture . From 1890 to 1950, no important tre nd see m ed to esc ape h e r noti ce. Ech oes of h e r co ntinuous pe rforman ce ca n be found in Cole Porte r's "Anything Fig. 24. Miss Piggy in ti ara and gloves, from

Goes" a nd other lyrics (th e thirti es), in

Miss Piggy's Guide to Life (New York : Muppe t

th e anti cs of Patrick Dennis's Auntie

Press/Alfred A. Knopf, 198 1, p. 36).

Mame (th e fifti es), eve n th e laven der spl e ndors of toil e tte a nd actress-cum-

were silk, not muslin, the lampshades were hand-pleated, the wallpaper was hand-blocked and cost fort y-five dollars a roll. On all of this Elsie received a commission, generally between twenty and thirty percent of the total cost of the job, which was quite enoug h to keep her living in the style that both she and her customers adm ired.68 That prac ti cal th ea tri cality- th e e mpha sis upon total visual impact rath e r th an ri gid sta nd a rd s of qu ality for indi vidu al co mpon e nts- mad e de Wolfe's look m ore wid ely access ibl e, a nd surely h as contributed to th e long-lastin g popula rity (a nd profitability) of h e r deco ratin g style. In 1995, Sotheby's, New York, promoted "Rooms With a Vi ew":

Distinguished by its elegance, refinement, sumptuousness and attention

ca ree r-girl affecta ti ons of th e muppet "Moi, Mi ss Piggy" (th e seve nti es) (fi g. 24). A copy of D e Wolfe's once-radical

Fig. 25. Elsie de Wolfe, 1941. Photograph , Elsie de Wolfe Foundation.

Fig. 26. Throw pil lows in El ie's hom e. Ph otograph , Elsie de Wo lfe Foundation .

1912 wa lking suit, it skirt shortened to

a melon?" h a ked her rea der

th e ankle to permit ease of move ment, is fo r sa le in a current mail order ca talogue; her 1924 p hotograph by Edwa rd Steichen lea ds off a rece nt best-se ll in g popul ar stud y of styli sh wo men of th e twe nti eth cen tury. 70 D e Wolfe's magaz ine arti cles, her books, her parti es ce ntered around th e inter iors she occ upied herse lf- her own spaces we re exper imental laborator ies . "Have you eve r ta sted whi te turtl e soup? D o you kn ow what Ta rh onya rice is? Have you eve r ea ten a duck cooked in

RecifJies for Successfu l Dining, 1935. " re yo ur plates hot, hot, I-JOT?" he demand ed , presag in g by ixty y ars th e pse ud o-per onali za ti on of co ntemporary "1ife-style" gurus such as tlartha Stewa rt. ' 1 In America n culture, Time is Money. For a photograph el ate d 194 1, de Wolfe wears the sh ort white co tton gloves she es tablish ed as de rigeur for a lady of tas te and refin ement go ing out to luncheo n (fi g 25 ). A hole in th e back let h er co nsul t her wristwa tch, th at prac ti ca l ye t fa shi onable tim epi ece, unknown unti l

111

Th e form e r ac tress is sle nd e r as a n

had just fl ed war torn E urope am idst h arrow in g c irc um stances. Following h er

in ge nu e, h av in g ea rl y advoca ted both a

esca p e, a h ea dlin e in th e Boston Post

ca reful di e t and regul a r exe rc ise. D e Wolfe's ha ts and littl e white gloves

procl a im ed , "On ce World 's Most

for afternoo n wea r di sa ppea red in th e 1960s , but we still exe rcise to keep fit;

inte rview, de Wolfe sa id , "A woman of

we still e nco unte r th e sta tu s wr istwa tch ,

of sorrow a nd not its se rvant. Sh e ma y

along with blu e-rin se d h a ir, sumptuou s beige inte riors fill ed with pres ti ge-co n-

have gri ef but n eve r a grieva nce." 72 Sorrows a nd trui sm s a re still with us.

fe rrin g a ntiqu es, a nd th e occa siona l dra-

"Mon ey C reates Taste" conte mpora ry

m a ti c ri se to social e min e n ce on th e win gs of th e " right" inte rior deco ra tor.

a rti st Je nn y Hol ze r announces in bl az ing

World War I airpl ane pil ots wo re th e m .

Famou s Hostess Poor but H ap py." In th e th e wo rld should always be th e mi stress

All th ese b ea r witn ess to E lsie d e Wolfe's

li ghts (fi g. 27 ). E lsie de Wolfe wo uld probabl y have it th e oth e r way- "Ta ste

pliabl e parti cipa ti o n in th e a rt of soc ial

Crea tes Mon ey." But de Wolfe was not

c h ange. On e of h e r m ost end ea rin g affec ta-

one to m ake a fu ss about circ um stan ces.

tion s was th e sc atte rin g of elega nt littl e

one of th e pillows. " eve r complain ,

pillows e mbroid e red with trui sm s, so m e-

n eve r explain ," says a noth e r.

''Th e re are no pocke ts in a shroud ," says

tim es poi gnant, so m etim es funn y (fi g. 26). "A Life is What Our T h o ughts Make It," read s o n e . Th e h at-and-gloves photograph was taken sh ortly after on e of Am e ri ca's most su ccessful ta ste m akers

Fig. 27. Jenn y Holze r, from Trui sms and The

Surviva l Series, 1986, Dec tronic Sta rburst doubl e-s ided elec tro ni c displa y signb oa rd . In stall at ion, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas. Co urtesy, Barbara G ladstone Ga ll ery.

1. Edith Wharton, Th e Bu ccaneers, co mpl eted by Marion Mai nwa rin g (Lond on: Vikin g, 1993),

p. 4. Written at th e tim e when Edwa rd Vlll was marrying Wallace Simpso n, an meri ca n di vo rcee, Edith Wharton's unfinished manusc ript was first published in 1938. 2. New York Kindergarte n Association, Fourteenth Anmwl Report . . June 1903- 1904 ( ew York: 1904), p. 8; cited H. Barbara Weinberg, Doreen Bolge r, and David Park Curry, American i mpressionism an d Rea lism: Th e Painting of Modem Life (New York: Me trop olitan Muse um of Art, 1994), pp . 260-26 1. My current ideas about th e significance of urban entertainm ents and the artist as perform er we re first explored in th e M etropolitan project, and I am indebted to my coa uth ors for th eir ge nero usly shared insights.

3. Douglas . Rus 11, oslum e I listory and S ty le (En<>lewood liffs. N. ).: I renti ce I !all . 1983) , pp . 395-3 96 .

12. Smith , A Li(e, pp . 69-7 1, 12-t- I 25.

-t. T he enlury 0111pany published edit io n of cl e V/o Ife's I oo k in I 9 I 3, I 9 1-t, I I 5, I 9 I6, ancl 1920 . It was rep rinted in 1975 (Arn o Press), and again in 19 -t and 1990 ( ye r 0111pan) ). 1\ll citati ons below ar fro111 l ~ l s i e de \Volfe, Th e I-l ouse in ood Tc1ste ( 19 13) (Ne11 York: 1\rn o Pr s, 1975).

1-t . 1..: lsic de \Volfe. "S tray l,ca\'es from my Boo k of IAc, a littl e aut obi ograph) and so me nce tin g th oughts b1 a fa mom 110111 an of th e 1\ meri ca n stage," \l elro/Jo litan \l aga;:ine 1-t ( 190 1), p. 80). In 1935 de \Volfe bega n h<:r J ulobi ogra ph y 11 ith a repetiti on of thi s 1,1 lc, cJ e,c nb111 g ll'a ll s "papered in a i\ lorri s des ign of gra) pa lm-lcal'es and splotches of bright red and gree n 011 a background of dull ta n So methin g terri ble th at cul like a knife ca me up 1micle [me]." 1\(ler /\//, p. 2.

S. Edith Wh arton and Ogden ocl111 an, Jr., Th e Decora tion o( I-J ou es ( 1902), ll'ilh inlrodu lory note by John Barrin gton Bay le)' and\ illi alll A Co les (l ell' York: Sc ribn er's on , 197 ). Pri or lo pub Ii hin g Good Ta ste, de Wolfe had join ed fo rces with ocllll an on an 'as t 71 t lree l h011 hou e where th ey "wa\'c cl th e cli l'inin g rod 11 hi ch brought it latent gra ce lo the surfa ce." \ Vharl on, on th e oth er hand , re111 ained for de 'vVolfe "s harp" with "a fo rbid ding coldn c of lll ann r." l~ I ie cl Wolfe, After All ( 193S) (reprinted le11 York: t\rn o Pre , 1974), pp . 107, IH 6. 'v\fharton and p. 2. 7. De Wolfe,

od111 an, Decoration o( I louses,

13. Ibid ., pp . 143- 144.

15. De \Volfc, t\(ter All , p. I02. 16. Letter, l ~ l s i c de \\'olfe lo Isabella .' tell'arl 'a rcln cr, l"ri da), Jan. 20, 190:-, from hotel Tourain e, Boston. Roll 39- , l<'rames 066-067, ,\ rchi l'CS of 1\m eri ca n \rl. 17. De \Volfe, A(lert\ 11 , p. 103. ' I he Bea ton paint in g, as 11e ll as th e ph otograp h of l<: lsic 11 ith an air plane, is rep rodu ced in ~ in a 'a mpbcll and 'a rolin c S ebohm, Elsie de \\lol(e: ,\ Decorat ive Li(e (1 e11路 York : Poller Pu bli shers, 1992), pp. H-t, 147.

ood Ta ste, p. 4.

8. R. and . Ga rrett, uggestion for /-l ouse Decoration in Painting, Woodwork an d Purnilure (London: Ma clllill an and Co ., 1876), p. 7, cited Peter McNeil, "Des igning Wom en: Gend er, Sexuality and th e Interi or Decorator, . 18901940," Art I-J istory 17, no. 4 (December 1994), p. 633. 9. Jane S. Smith , Elsie de Wolfe: A Life in th e [-J igh Style ( lew Yo rk: Ath eneum , 1982), pp . 142-143. This is th e defini ti ve bi ogra ph y. 10. De Wolfe, Good Ta ste, p. 16. 11 . Rub y Ross Wood, th e ghost writer, was a journalist who eventuall y beca me one of de Wo lfe's biggest com petitors.

18. De \Volfe," tra) Lea1路es," p. 09. 1\l ways ca ndid ll'ith th popu lar pre , he told an intervi wc r ll'ho as ked 11 hy a ociely wo man wo uld go on th e slag , "Th e grea t acl l'a nt age i . .. that it i a pl easa nter ll'a)' of making a li\' ing th an many oth ers." Wi11 iam rm stro ng, " ilh ouette : J\ Iiss Elsie de \.Vo lfe," Le lie's Weeki)' (J anu ary 16, 1902), p. 64 . t th e height of her professional actin g ca ree r, de \.Vo l~ wa paid -tOO a wee k, at a tim e when two and a half doll ars was "co nsid erably more th an th e ave rage man in New York earns per cl ay." Sec Fo ter oa tes, "Popul ar Amusements in New York," C haulauqua11 2-t (March 1897), p. 707. 19. Sloa n, Gist of Art, cited in Rowland Elzea, John Sloan's Oil Paintings: A Cata logue Raisonne, 2 vols. ( ewark, OE: Un iversity of Delawa re Press, 199 1), vol. I, p. 96 .

20. Elsie de Wo lfe, "C hatea ux in To uraine," Th e Cosmo politan X, no. 4 (Febru ary 1891), p. 397. 2 l . Eric Denker has located over fo ur hu ndred images of Whistler, ranging from fo rma l portraits to ciga r band decorations. See Denk er, Jn Pursuit of the Butterfly: Portraits of Jam es Mc Ne il/ Whistler, ex hib ition catalogue (\Vashingto n, D.C .: Na ti ona l Portra it Ga ll ery, Sm ith soni an Insti tution, 1995 ). 22. John Kendri ck Bangs, review of The Way of the World, Harper's Wee kly 4 5 ( ovem ber 23 , 190 l ), p. 11 80. T he co ntinu ous perfo rma nce-a suc cessio n of nonsto p short vaud eville ac ts- was ve ry hard on perfo rmers who had to "ge nerate th e magnetism to attract a large aud ience, year after year, in a wo rl d of entertainm ent th at knew no season." For an ana lys is, see Gu nther Barth , City Peo ple: Th e Rise of Modem City Cu lture in Nine teen th-Centu ry America (Ne w Yo rk: Oxfo rd Un ive rsity Press, 1980), p. 208. 23 . John C . Van Dyke, Th e New New York : A Commentary on the Pla ce and the People (New Yo rk: Macmill an Co. , 1909), p. 220 .

28. De Wolfe, "Stray Leaves," p. 910. T he roc king chair publi city ph otogra ph is reprod uced in Campbell an d Seebohm , p. 28. 29. Malcolm Co rm ac k, "Star Quality," Artnews (s ummer 1983 ), p. 112-114. l am gratefu l to M r. Corm ack for bringing thi s pi cture to my attention. 30. G . 1-I. Hepwo rth, l 893 , cited Weinb erg, Bolge r, and C urry, Painting of J\llodern Life, p. 258. 31. Ki m Marra , "Elsie de Wolfe C irca 190 1: T he Dynami cs of Presc riptive Feminine Perfo rmance in Ame rica n T hea tre and Society," Th eatre Survey 35 (Ma y 1994), p. 105.

32. Bangs, Harper's Wee kly (November 23, 190 1) and New York Sun (und ated press clip), cited Ma rra, Th ea tre Survey , pp . 101, 110. A large collecti on of de Wolfe's reviews fi lls a scra pbook in th e Bill y Rose T hea tre Collecti on, New York Publ ic Lib ra ry- Lin coln C enter.

24 . Marianna Griswo ld Va n Rensselaer, "People in New Yo rk," Century 49 (February 1895 ), p. 546. De Wo lfe beca me a professio nal ac tress in September, l 890 . See Sm ith, A Li fe, p. 4 1.

33. "Plays and Players," The Theatre (May 190 1), p. 4. Ma nsfi eld used as an exa mp le "the case of th e actor who enters th e stage draw ing ro om, puts his hat on the mantlepi ece, shoots out his cuffs from his sleeves, parts hi s hair with his hand and engages th e hostess in co nve rsation."

25. Jam es Hun eker quoted in lra Glacke ns, Wi lliam Glackens and th e Ashcan Grou p: Th e Emergence of Realism in American Art ( ew York: Crown Publ ishers, 1957 ), p. 9 1.

34. Unid enti fie d news clip ( ovember 5, 1901), de Wolfe scrapbook, cited Ma rra, Th eatre Survey, p. 11 0.

26. T heodo re Dreiser, Sister Carrie (1900 ) (reprinted, New Yo rk: Banta m, 1982), pp . 232- 233 .

35. For illustra ti on of "M iss de Wolfe and Miss Ma rbury in th eir Parisian automob ile ca rr iage," see de Wolfe, "Stray Leaves," p. 816.

27. Ibid , p. 409 .

36. Marra, Theatre Survey , p. 11 2. 37. John Sloa n, di ary, September 15, 1907, quoted in Elzea, Sloan's . .. Catalogue Ra ison ne, vol. I, p. 82.

. "T he Last Delmoni co' ," 1-/ arper's Wee kly 28 (January 26, I 4), p. 56.

46. "Aft r th e tvlati nee," Town To(Jics ( J 887), cited Smith , A Life, p. 56.

39. Drei r, Siter Carrie, pp . 253-254.

47. Mrs. bington as "Mi s Prue", in Reynolds, ed. i holas Penn y, xhibition ca ta logue (Lond on: Roya l ca cl emy f Arts, 19 6), no . 78, pp. 246-247.

40. "Miss de \i\/olfe' Exq uisite ow n ," Harper's Bazaar (Febru ary 3, 1900), p. 94. 41. Unidentifi ed press clipping, de Wolre scrapbook, itecl Marra , Th ea tre Sun1ey , p. 107. 42. Sm ith cliscu ses de Wolfe's ex hi biti on of Sh inn 's wo rk at Irv ing House, th e Marbury-de Wo lfe domi cil e, in A Life, pp . 76-77. For a social doye nn e to promote sa les of a yo ung arti st' wo rk in her home was not unh ea rd of, and provid e furth er evidence of th e merging of publi c and priva te spaces. Ce lia Th ax ter ex hib ited and sold pi ctu res by C hi Ide Has am and other impress ionists in her parl or on Appleclore I land in th e 1880s and ea rl y 1890s. See David Park urry, "In Celia T hax ter's Parl or," C hi/de 1-/ assam : n Island Garden Revisited ( Tew Yo rk: Denve r rt Muse um in sociation with \I./. W. lo rton , 1990), pp . 18-57. 4 3. "Lady Modish," in Town Topic (1899), cited in Smith , A Life, pp . 56-57. 44. Eliza beth Marbury, a successfu l th ea tri ca l age nt, co nsidered her compan ion 's acting skills inadequ ate for profess ional surviva l without th e protec ti on of a powerfu l produ cer. Having "decided to beco me her own produ ce r" de Wolfe "pra cti ca ll y lost most of th e money whi ch she had saved through hard wo rk and strin ge nt economy." Eli za beth Ma rbury, My Crysta l Ball: Reminiscences (New Yo rk: Boni and Li ve ri ght, 1923 ), p. 63.

48. mith ,

Life, pp . 59-63.

49 . Fo r photogra ph s and liver Me se l' pa inting of de \.Volfe a rin gma ter ll'ea rin g a dress by lvlainboc her and controlling a group of miniature p nies, ee amp bell and See bohm , pp . I I - 120. 50. La vini a I !art, ''The \ a} of th e \ ori el Justifi es ft T itl e," unid entifi ed newspape r clip ( lovem ber 17, 190 1) ind e Wolfe s rapbo k, cited f\ larra, Th ea tre un1ey, p. 11 0. 51. ee mith,

Li(e,pp. 102- 11 2.

52. nn a Mc lure chol l, "T he olony lu b," Mun ey's M agazine 37 (t\ ugu t 1907), p. 595 . 53. Florence Finch Kell y," lub-\Vom en' Pa latia l Home," Indoors and Ou t 4 (Ma ' 1907), p. 77. 54. choll , p. 599. 55 . Ibid . 56. Ill ustra ted Sc holl , p. 595; Kell y, p. 81; De Wo lfe, I-l ouse in Good Taste , p. 270. 57. Kelly, p. 79.

45. Un identifi ed newspaper clipping (December 7, 190 1), de Wolfe scra pbook, cited Ma rra, Theatre Sun>ey, p. 111.

58. See N ic ho las va n Hoogstrate n, Lost Broadway Th eatres (Ne w York : Prince ton Arc hi tec tural Press, 199 1), pp . 108- 111. T he bu il din g, e rec ted at 109 Wes t 39th Stree t by Marsha ll a nd Fox, a C hi cago firm , opened o n D ece mbe r 30, 1908 . T he brow n and go ld inte ri or wa s re mini sce nt of Wh istle r's fa vor ite inte rio r palette fo r ex hibi tion s of hi s work . 59. Quoted va n Hoogstrate n, Lost Broadivay

Th eatres, p . 109 . 60. Dictionary of American Biography, Sup pl e me nt 2, to Dece mbe r 31, 1940 (New York: Sc rib ne r, 195 8), pp . 170- 17 1.

69. " C ha nce to Lea rn Somethin g New," broc hure, Sotheby's Edu cati onal Studi es (win ter 1995 ). Th e wo rkshop was h e ld o n Marc h 24, 1995. 70. J. Pe te rm a n Co mpan y, Owner's Manual No. 36a (s umm er 1995 ), p . 111. T he wo rshipful tex t ass ures us that de Wolfe "gave be tte r pa rti es than E lsa Ma xwell . Ta ught Wa lli s Simpson whi c h fo rk to use. But nobod y ca ll ed Elsie de Wolfe a soc ia l butte rfl y. No t whe n she co uld se ll Mr. Fri ck $3 milli o n wo rth of a ntiqu es (at 10% co mmi ss ion ) in ha lf a n h our. O r win th e Cro ix de G ue rre during 'vVWl." For th e Steiche n ph otograph , see Ann e tte Ta pe rt and Diana Ed kin s, The Power of Style:

Th e Wom en Wh o Defin ed the Art of Living Well 6 1. J. C . Cartwri gh t, "Ja mes Haze n H yde's Costum e Ba ll ," Metropolitan Magaz ine (J un e 190 5), pp . 305-3 19. 62. \Villi am Arm stron g, "Si lh o ue ttes," p. 64 . 63 . Smith , A Life, p . 11 3. 64. Ruby Ross Goodn ow, "T he Vill a T ri a non ," \!ogu.e (M a rc h I, 19 14), p. 4 5. 65. See Dav id Park C urry, "Tota l Co ntro l: Whi stler at a n Ex hibiti on," Stu.dies in the I-l istory of Art 19 (Washi ngton, D .C.: Na ti onal Ga ll e ry of Art, 1987), pp. 67-82. T hese tec hniqu es not onl y presage co ntemporary pe rfo rma nce art, but also today's m use um displ ay tec hniqu es. 66. C ha rl es Ryskamp, " Prefa ce," to Th e Frick Co llection: An Illustrated Catalogue V ( ew York: Prin ce ton Unive rsity Press, 1992 ), p . xvi. 67. He r a lbums are he ld by th e D eco ra ti ve Arts Stud y Ce nte r, San Juan Ca pistra no, Ca li fo rni a. 68. Sm ith , A Life, p. 124.

( ew York: Crown, 1994 ). 7 1. E lsie de Wolfe (Lad y M e ncl!), Elsie de Wolfe's Recipies for Successful Dining (New York a nd Lo ndo n : Ap pl e ton-C e ntury Co mpany, 1935 ), pp . 13, 17. "It does not m atte r whethe r one pa ints a pi c ture, wri tes a poem , or ca rves a statu e, simpli city is th e ma rk of a maste r-hand ," she advised . Sixty yea rs la te r, M a rth a Stewa rt co mm e nted on "a simpl e se tup" for a C hri tm as pa rty, sighing "l have ofte n wished that I co uld lea rn from suc h less ons in simplicity." See "A Le tte r from Marth a," Martha Stewart Living (Dece m ber 1995-Ja nu ary 1996 ), p. 8.

72. G eorge Brinton Bea le, Boston Post (Ma y 2, 1942 ).

PR I VATE I SABELL

EUM

STEW

, PUBL I C LEADERSH I P:

RT GARD

TD THE

ART OF CULTURAL AUTI-I OR I TY

Ann e Hi go nn et

We ll es ley Co ll ege

Isa be ll a Stewa rt Ga rdn e r m ad e h e rself a

th e Huntin gton Art Coll ec ti o ns, a n d

c ultural lea de r by exe rcisin g th e a uth o rity

Dumba rto n Oaks. T h e g rea t exa m ples

of a mu se um . T h is was a p ro jec t th a t fa r

of th is mu seum type were fo und ed b etwee n 1890 a n d 1940 , ba eel o n coll ec-

excee ded h e r ro le a a coll ec to r, whi c h is to say th a t a muse um ca n ac t as ve ry

ti o ns begun around 1848. T h ese pri va te

m u ch more th a n th e sum of its p arts.

a rt mu se ums expressed many of th e ir

O r ra th e r, a mu se um , th e Ga rdn e r Mu s-

ce ntury's m o t fund a m e n ta l co n cepts a bo ut a rt's va lue, abou t art's role in hi s-

e um fo r in sta n ce, o n ly beg in s to ac t, to fun c ti o n , to exe rc ise a uth o rity, o n ce it bec o m es som e thi ng else b es id es a col-

to ry a nd in co ntempo rary c ulture, ab out wh e re a rt sh o uld belong, a nd to whom.

lec ti o n of a rt o b jec ts. G a rdn e r's ge n ius

Th e type of th e pri va te m use um is

lay in h e r un de rst a ndin g th at sh e co u ld

closely rela ted to oth e r mu se um types, but re m a in s di stin c t. T hink of th e d iffer-

be th e indi vid u al wh o co ntroll ed and d es ign ed th at a uth o rity. In o rde r to do so, sh e h ad to un de rst a nd h ow to exe rt a uth o rity in sp ec ifi ca ll y visu al form s

e n ce be twee n th e above m e nti o n ed pr iva te mu se um s a nd th e type of th e h o use-mu se um , of whi c h Mt. Ve rn o n is

h ad ac quired. M y first task is to add ress a seem in g

a n o u tsta nd ing exa mpl e. O r th ink of th e di ffe re n ce be twee n pri va te mu se ums a nd a mu se u m base d o n a n a rti st's stud io, th e

pa radox. H ow can a pr iva te mu se um exercise publi c leade rshi p? To a nswe r thi s

M usee Rod in for exa mple. And of co urse th e re's th e o bvio us co ntras t with th e m e t-

qu esti on , let m e put th e Gardn e r M useum

ro polita n o r na ti o nal type, th e Ga rdn e r's

in its histo ri cal in stituti onal context. T h e Ga rdn e r is o n e amon g doze ns

n e igh bor th e Bos to n Mu se um of Fin e Arts, for insta nce. To defin e th e type ch ro n ologica ll y, co mpa re th e Ga rdn er with th e ve ry ea rl y nin e tee n th-century Soa ne mu se um in Lond o n , wh ic h was

th a t we nt b eyo nd th e a rt obj ec ts sh e

of priva te mu se um s, so m e of th e m as importa nt as th e Wall ace Coll ec ti on , th e Musee Co nd e, th e F ri ck Coll ec ti o n ,

n o t devo ted prim ar il y to th e exhibiti o n

Ga rdn e r Mu se um , both sepa ra tely a nd

of a n a rt coll ec ti on fo r th e purpose of

as a part of a n in stitutional typ e, exe rted

publi c view ing pl eas ure, but ra th e r for

c ultural a uth o rity, a nd seco nd : to es tab-

profess io n al in stru c ti o n .

li sh th a t its a uth o rity wa s influ e ntial a nd

o r is th e

mu se um s that ca m e afte r it. Co n sid e r,

inn ova ti ve . Th e Ga rdn e r see m s to be all about a

fo r in stan ce, tn e co ntrast be twee n th e

E urop ea n pas t. Whi ch is prec isely wh y,

ve ry pe rso nal es th e ti c of th e Ga rdn e r

pa rad ox ica ll y, it m a nifests a patrioti c

a nd th e mu ch more de tac h ed esth e ti c of

a uth or ity, o n e whi ch asse rts Am e ri ca's

th e D eM esnil coll ec ti o n in Texas, whi ch

n a ti o n al supe ri o rity. Durin g th e age of

looks like a small publi c muse um . Th e

th e pri va te a rt mu se um , Europe h ad to

pri va te muse um begin s with a n a rt col-

co n stru ct a re publi ca n c ulture on roya l-

Ga rdn e r quite like th e pri va tely found e d

lec tion whi ch a pri va te found e r sh apes

ist foundation s. M ea nwhil e Am e ri ca

into th e skeleton of an appare ntl y dom es-

h ad to co m e to te rms with its beli ef in

ti c in stall a ti on inte nd ed to bec om e a

Europ e's c ultural sup e riority and asse rt

publi c museum . Th e m ode rn ar t mu se um , as a

a role in world c ulture co mm e nsurate

bro ade r type, wo rks to produ ce a c oll ec-

po we r. On e way, th e mod e rni st way,

ti ve sph e re for ar t cl efin cl as publi c, a nd

wa s to reac t aga in st Europe a nd aga in st

in th e case of mu se um s devo te d to wh a t

th e past. But a no th e r way wa s to cla im a

we call g rea t o r hi gh a rt, to de te rmin e

E uropea n pas t as one 's own , as som e-

th e do min ant registe r of visu al c ulture . A pri vate a rt muse um like th e Ga rdn e r

thin g Am e ri ca co uld own. Am e ri ca n pri va te a rt mu se um

acco mpli sh es tasks w ithin th a t wo rk :

found e rs took E uropea n mod els in ord er

co nn ecting hi sto ry and indi vidu ality;

to g ive Am e ri ca wh a t th ey beli eved

di stin g ui shin g b e twee n publi c a nd pri-

Am e ri ca lacked , but also dese rved . At

va te; situ atin g fem ininity in rela ti o n to

th e age of sixtee n , Isa bell a Stewa rt

publi c a nd pri va te va lu es; and reclefi n-

a nn oun ced th at som e day sh e would

in g a rti sti c qu ali ty. Th e pri va te muse um was in a positi o n

h ave a h ome like th e Mu se o Polcli -

to affec t th e c ulture of th e la te nin e-

p ic tures and o bj ec ts of a rt, for pe ople to

tee nth , ea rl y twe nti e th ce ntury, a nd ,

co m e a nd e nj oy." 1 Am e ri ca ns wa nte d to

m o re impo rta ntl y, to affec t h ow c ulture

sh a re a Europea n pas t. But sin ce th ey

wo uld reg iste r a nd sh a pe soc ia l a nd

co uld n ot simpl y find it a ro und th e m ,

politi ca l valu es. In o th e r wo rds, to exe rt

th ey h a d to imp o rt it. Afte r see ing th e

auth o ri ty. C ultural lea de rship co nsists

Wall ace Coll ec tion , H e nry C lay Frick

in an influ e nti al a nd inn ova tive- in

co nfid e d to a fri e nd: "Th e Am e ri ca n

Amer ica we like th e wo rd p ioneering-

peo pl e a re fond-a nd prope rl y so-

c ultural a uth o rity.

of go in g to Europe , c hi e fl y to ee th e

y tasks now be-

co m e, th e n , first: to establi sh th a t th e

with its n evv politi ca l and eco nomi c

Pezzoli in Mil a n , "fill e d with bea utiful

famou s pa intings an d o th e r wo rks of

Fig. I . Th e Dutch Roo m, lookin g towa rd th e eco nd-fl oo r stairha ll. Between th e doorwa y and th e court wind ow are Rembrandt's 1629 Self-Portrait (left ) and a portrait by Di.irer. All ph otograp hs in this essay are by David Bohl , 1993, and reproduced courtesy of th e Isabe ll a Stewa rt Gardner Museum .

art th ere . I a m go in g to try to bring so m e of th e m h e re wh e re all Am e ri ca ns m ay h ave th e opportunity of see in g th e m without c ross ing th e ocea n. " 2 For man y m e mb e rs of America 's intellectu al eli te, imm e rsion in a recrea ted Europ ean p ast wa s th e ir way to find a sec ure p e rso nal and n ation al id e ntity.' Be rnard Be re nson sa id th a t th e "four most auth e nti c Americans in hi s gen e ration we re E dith Wharton , H e nry James, H e nry Adam s, and him self." 4 Be re nson , Jam es, and Adams were all close fri e nds and admire rs of Gardn er's, whil e Wharton's writin gs provid e th e lite ra ry ana logu e to Gardner's visu al se n sibility. Along with such prestigious peers, Gardne r be! ieved that America 's place in th e prese nt could on ly e m e rge out of th e pa st. Am erican a uthority had to b e found in a relationship to th e pa st, a nd it was a function

o f th e mu se um to h elp c rea te th a t rela ti o nship . A mu se um li ke th e Ga rdn e r n o t on ly c rea tes a n a rrative of hi sto ry, but m akes its viewers a pa rt of th at n a rra ti ve. Pri va te mu se ums, whi c h te nd ed to b e found ed a ge n e ration o r two afte r th e ir loca l, nati o n al, o r muni cipal co unte rpa rts, reac ted aga in st th eir instituti o nal predecesso rs by e mphas izin g th e o rgan ic visual coh e re n ce of hi sto ri c pe riod s and th e e mpath eti c poss ibiliti es th a t organicism offe red to visitors. For pri va te a rt muse um s sp ec iali ze d in m aking peopl e feel a t hom e with hi story by providin g wha t was alwa ys desc rib ed as "li ving" di spla ys as opposed to th e "dea d" spaces 5 of th e nation al or muni cipal muse um. Gardner mad e h e r mu se um a hi sto rical narrati ve, a spatial n a rrati ve. In th e Mu se um yo u ca n move through 2,000

years in as littl e as a h alf a n h o u r. F rom

an indi vidu al visito r. Fo r th e Ga rdn er

th e ce ntral co urtya rd with its class ica l

M useum ma nages to assert a t o n ce

sc ulpture a nd m osa ic u p to th e m edi eva l

coll ec ti ve a nd p e rso nal powe r. Eve ry-

c h a pel into th e qu a troce nto Itali a n

thing about th e museum celebrates both

roo m th ro ugh th e sixtee nth-ce ntury

hi sto ry a nd indi vidu ali sm . And this

"Titi a n Roo m " into th e seve ntee nth -

individu ali sm of th e Ga rdn e r in turn

ce ntury "Dutch Roo m " (fi g. 1) o n p as t

represe nts a t o n ce a ge n e ral id ea a nd

th e e ig htee n th -ce ntury "Littl e Salo n "

a pa rti c ul a r pe rso n . Th e ve ry te rm pri va te a rt muse um

with a p ossibl e ex o ti c de to ur d ow n a Spa ni sh h all way. T hi s is a ve rsio n of E urop ea n hi sto ry th at today we ca n see

unites th e co n cept of pri vacy with the

summ a ril y as prefi gura tio ns of ca pitali sm

a rt mu se ums we re und e rstood in th eir

ground ed in E uropea n a ntiquity. Thi s juxtap ositi o n of n eighbo ring

tim e to ac hi eve a preca riou s a nd pre-

spaces, eac h fill ed with obj ects th a t

publi c p oliti cal va lu es, b etwee n th e indi vidu ali sm a nd civic respo nsibility

as a group re present o n e tim e a nd pl ace -seve ntee nth-ce ntury H oll a nd , for in-

publi c fun c ti o ns of a mu se um. Pri va te

cio u s bala n ce b etween pri va te a nd

b oth co n sid e red vi ta! to a de m oc rati c

stan ce- is wha t di stin gui sh es a mu se um

id ea l. Mu se um fo und e rs like Ga rdn e r

like th e Ga rdn er from prev io us muse um s.

beli eved that by purc has ing so m e of th e m ost fam o us of all a rt obj ects and o rch es-

Th e re h ad of co urse bee n coll ec ti o ns

tra tin g sumptu o u s di spl ays, th ey co uld

of a rt in stall ed in pri va te d wellin gs a t least sin ce th e Re n aissa n ce, but th ese

e nn o bl e bo th th e m se lves a nd th e ir

in stall a ti o n s did n o t c ite th e pas t as o rga ni c e ntiti es, n o r did th ey strin g

n a ti o n whil e fo ste rin g d e mo c racy, by ex hibitin g at o n ce pe rson al powe r a nd

toge th e r su c h gro ups of obj ec ts into

civic se rvice , indi vidu al tas te a nd a co l-

hi sto ri ca l n a rrati ves. But wh e re, yo u will ask, a re th e Ga rdn er's nin etee nth-century roo m s?

lec ti ve c ultural h e ritage. H e nry Jam es ca ll ed th e acti vity of mu se um found e rs

Sup e rfi ciall y, down o n th e g round fl oo r by th e e ntranc e. Mo re powe rfull y, h oweve r, th e Gardn e r signifi es th e prese nt with its displ ay of th e past, with its beli ef in itself as th e cu lm in a ti o n of hi sto ry.

All pri va te mu se um found e rs desc rib ed th emselves a t so m e point as a stewa rd . T h ey we re co n vin ced th at th ey ac ted as m e rely th e te mpora ry gu a rdi ans

Every room signals the cultural and economi c powe r of Am eri ca a t th e turn of th e ce ntury, the power that e nabl ed Ga rdn e r to purch ase an d display the c ultural treasures of every past, and foreign , c ulture. T h e vi sitor who is th us im pressed with Am e rica 's cu ltural auth or ity is very mu ch

"acquisiti on o n th e hi gh est te rm s."

of obj ec ts th a t belo nged to th e publi c . T h ey wo uld n eve r h ave assembl ed su ch g rea t coll ec ti on s if th e ir beli efs h ad n ot b een genuin e. Adviso rs a nd dea le rs always in th e las t reso rt appea led to co llec to rs as m use um fo und e rs. Be re nso n wro te to Ga rdn e r wh e n Titi an 's 156 2

Europa, whi c h sh e h ad just b ought,

a rri ved in Boston : "I also sp e nd mu c h

with Ga rd n e r's m o tto: "C'es t Mo n

tim e drea min g of your M use u m . If m y

Pl a isir" (whi ch tra nsla tes as e ith e r "it is

drea m s m ake but a fa ir app roa c h to rea l-

m y will " or " it is m y pleas ure" with a n

izati on yo urs sh all n ot be th e least

a mbi guity th at sui ted Ga rdn e r). Ta ke n

a mon g th e kin gdom s of ea rth ."

At on ce self-aggra ndi z ing and selfl ess,

as a pa ir, a nd th ey look like a pa ir, th e two pl aqu es sum ma ri ze th e rela ti onshi p

th e pri va te a rt museum acco mplished a

Ga rd n e r's mu se um crea tes a m ong a rt

ca pitalist goa l. Ca pitali sm ass um es th a t if

obj ec ts, h e r indi vidu ality, a nd h e r c ul -

all m e mb e rs of soc ie ty try to beco m e as

tu ra l a mbi ti on. Ga rdn e r m ade se lf and

ri c h a poss ibl e, soc ie ty as a wh ole will

a rt obj ec t, id e ntity an d th e coll ec ti on ,

a utoma ti ca ll y be n efit. Pri va te mu se um s

soc ie ty a n d th e mu se u m symb oli ze each

provid ed a fl agra ntl y visibl e p roo f of thi s

oth e r. Th e qua li ty asc rib ed to th e a rt

feli citous ca lc ul ati on . In th e m ea ntim e

obj ec t ca ll ed bea uty p rom ises th e powe r

th e pri vate mu se um wa s supposed to

with whi ch a self ca n a t on ce co urt a nd

compe nsate for a n un equ al di stributi on of wea lth . Th e fortun es m ad e by fa mili es

shi eld itself fr om th e gaze of oth e rs,

like th e Stewa rts a nd th e Ga rdn e rs we re

pe rm a n e ntl y exposed a nd prese rved .

acceptabl e if return ed at leas t pa rti all y

whi c h all ows th e self/a rt ob jec t tu be

in phil anthropi c form . A muse um , m o re-

Ga rdn e r id e ntifi ed p e rson all y with m a ny obj ec ts in h e r coll ec ti on . To h elp

ove r, re turn ed m o re th a n mon ey; it pa id

co nvin ce h e r to bu y T iti a n 's Europa ,

c ultural inte res t, as it we re. Pri va te mu se-

for in sta n ce, Be rn ard Be re nso n pl ea ded:

um s we re pe rce ived as co mp on e nts of a

" it wo uld be poe ti c justi ce th a t a pi cture

c ultural h e ritage. It m ay see m stra nge to

on ce inte nd ed fo r a Stewa rt sh ould a t

us toda y that a h e ritage so opul e nt and eliti st could b e co nsid e red co mm on , but

last res t in th e h a nd s of a Stewa rt." 7 No obj ec t, h oweve r, was m ore obviously,

it was . A ce ntury ago weste rn de m oc ra ti c

or m ore powe rfull y, invested with h e r

id ea ls posited th e m oral eleva ti on of all

p e rso n ality th a n h e r portrait by John

citi ze ns to a shared ca n on of va lu es .

Sin ge r Sa rge nt (see p. 56; fi g. 4 ). 8 Long afte r we h ave fo rgotte n th e m a ny co n voluted reaso ns wh y Ga rdn e r beli eved a rt

Within th e space of th e pri va te mu se um , th ose id eals co uld b e imagin ati vely fulfill ed . E ve ry visito r beco m es fo r a bri e f mom e nt th e found e r of th e mu se um , th e mi stress or m as te r of th e h ouse . Wh e th e r thi s was a ludi c rous fant asy or a co nstru cti ve drea m re m ain s op e n to de bate. On th e walls of th e Ga rdn e r h a ng two

obj ec ts we re des tin ed fo r h e r by fa te, we still feel vividl y h ow Ga rdn e r h as in sc rib ed h e r id e ntity into h e r mu se um with thi s pa inting. Sa rge nt painted th e portra it in la te 1887 a nd ea rl y 1888. Ga rdn e r c h ose to

adorn ed with a ph oe nix ri sin g from th e

wea r a closely fittin g bl ack dress th a t exp osed th e th roa t a nd arms fo r whi ch sh e was fa m ous. Gardn e r liked pu bli c ity

ash es to immortality a nd e mbl azo n ed

a bout h e r ph ys ica l c h a rm s; sh e kept

plaqu es : on e ann oun ces th a t Fe n wa y Court is indee d a muse um ; th e oth e r is

n ewspap e r clippings reporting: " Sh e h as

th e way down to C rawfo rd 's Notch ."

a sup e rb n eck and a rm s," or "H as th e

T h ese stori es h ave b ee n rep ea ted by

h a nd so m est n eck, sh ould e rs and ar m s

Gardner's bi ograph e r Louise H all

in all Bos ton ." Wh e n th e p ortra it was

Th a rp . 11 In a 195 1 book titl ed The Lady

fir st exhibited in Bos ton soo n afte r its

and the Painter an d desc rib ed as a n "ex travaga n za based on in cid e nts in th e li ves of th e two prin c ipal ch a rac te rs," th e a uth o r E lea n or Pa lffy takes th e Sarge nt portra it as th e o ri gin , a nd visu al proof, 13 of Gardner's sexu al p ass ion for Sa rge nt. It do es n 't m atte r wh e th e r th ese stor ies a re fac tu all y tru e. T h ey a rti c ul ate a linge rin g perception, itse lf a kind of truth , th a t th e portrait expresses Gardn e r's mod e rn freedom , a fr ee dom whi ch was

co mpl etion, criti ca l reac ti on to h e r fe mi nin e b eau ty followed, partl y, in th e sa m e ton e : "th e id ea ll y b au tiful a rm s a nd h ands are modell ed in th e m ost exquisite fas hi on'.' Th e portrait, h owever, pi ctured so m ethin g rath e r diffe re nt th a n a traditi on all y fe minin e sex ual obj ect. Both Sargent a nd Gardn e r cla im ed res pon sibility for th e Re n aissa n ce textil e th a t co mm e nta tors all saw as a n a ureole aro und Ga rdn e r's h ea d . T h e reli giou s co nnota ti ons of th e h alo as well as of a

in its tim e co nsid e red illi cit. In h e r own life tim e, Gard n e r h e rself

hi e ra ti c pose, h oweve r, we re m odifi ed by th e effect of Gardn er's je wel s, worn

seem ed to wa nt to keep this freedom a sec ret. Although sh e always maintain ed

surpri sin gly aro und h e r wa ist and on h e r

that th e portrait was Sa rgent's best work,

slippers. Adorn ed with prec ious pea rl s and rubi es, thi s was n o fi gure of reli gious

sh e wou ld n ot loa n it for exhibiti on,

asce ti c abn ega ti on, but rath e r of co mm an ding a uth ority. Gardner, both ador-

requests. As sh e prepa red h e r muse um, one room rema in ed almost always closed . After sh e di ed in 1924, it was revealed.

e rs a nd detrac tors con clud ed , h ad cast h e rself as an id ol: "The America n Id ol," wrote th e n oveli st and c riti c Paul Bourget 9

(him self French ). Before th e exhibiti on had closed, Jack Ga rdn e r, Isa b ell a's hu sband , h ad with drawn this image from public displ ay, and sa id it wo uld neve r aga in be publi cly seen as long as h e li ved. 10 A fr iend rem e mbe red him saying: "It looks like hell , but it looks just like yo u ." 11 Rum ors h ad circ ul ated at th e tim e about a li aiso n between Isab ell a a nd Frank Marion C rawfo rd . Pla yin g on th e n a m e of a fas hi on abl e White Mounta in s reso rt, Bos tonians joked th at "Sa rge nt h ad pa inted Mrs. Ga rdn e r all

despite Sargent's repea ted and fri e ndly

Th e Gothic Room was organi zed around Sarge nt's portrait. Ga rdn er h ad reifi ed all th e 1888 criti cs' m etaphors. Hung in a corner of th e room wh ere Russ ian h oly icons are pl aced, surro unded by stained glass, statuary, wood ca rvings, and with a long, altar-like tabl e in front of it, Ga rdn er had ca nonized h erself as th e patron sa int of th e museum . Isa bell a h ad not disobeyed Jack- directl y. Th e Sargent portrait was still at h ome- in a sense (fi g. 2). Isa bella h ad m e rely proceeded, as H enry James described h er muse um project in 1907, "to displ ace a littl e th e lin e that separates private from publi c property."

Fig. 2. Th e Gothi c Room , looking to\\'ard John Singe r Sargent's 1888 portrait of Gardner.

Fig. 3. The Courtyard \\"ith th e eco nd-ce ntury Ro ma n mosa ic depicting l\ ledusa.

\Ve a re, of co urse , all th e more stru ck

H all wyll ska Mu see t direc tor wou ld

by Ga rdn e r's assertion of he r indi vidu al ity

alwa ys be a wo m a n-and one with a

b eca u se sh e wa s a wo man . Ind ee d , of

Ph .D . In Am e ri ca, Ga rdn e r po intedly

all Ga rdn e r's asse rti o n s of a uth o rity,

n a m ed h e r mu se um afte r h e rself alone:

h e r asse rtion th a t a wo m a n co uld wi eld

th e Isa bell a Ste wart Gardn e r Mu se um.

a uth o rity was th e most pion ee rin g. H e re

Gardn e r is probab ly th e most famou s of all pri va te muse um p e rsona liti es, male

I ca nn ot res ist repea tin g a point th a t Ca rolyn H eilbrun made in a devas ta t-

o r fe m ale . H e r own Boston ian co nte mpo-

in gly funn y talk sh e gave at th e Ga rdn e r

ra ri es deli ghted in spreading stor ies of

M use um. H eilbrun obse rved th a t th e

h e r pra nks. Bos ton n ewspape rs regularly

coll ec ti o n co nta in s a re m a rkabl e numbe r of im ages of stro ng wome n bes ides

co mm e nted o n h e r charm s and h e r pra nks, an d on e re porte r, almost always

h e rself, suc h as th e da nce r in Sargent's

cited in a ny story about Ga rdn e r, went

El Jaleo, a nd even ra th e r fri ghte nin g

so fa r as to cl a im that "All Boston is

wo m e n , su ch as M edusa a t th e very h ea rt of th e mu se um , in th e ce nte r of

di vid ed into two pa rts, of whic h o n e fo l-

th e co urtya rd m osa ic (fi g. 3). Ga rdn e r wa s not, h oweve r, alo n e

lows sc ie n ce, and th e other Mrs. Jack Gardn e r." 14 Ra th e r than just e n joy th e outrageou s ve rve of h e r b eh avior, h ow-

a mon g mu se um fo und e rs. On e of th e

eve r, I take th e ways Gardner mad e a

easiest ways to di pel th e la bel "ecce ntric"

sp ec tac le of h e rself as on ly th e most obvio usly fe minin e end of an exh ibition-

whi ch h as all too ofte n bee n a tt ac hed to

ist spec trum , at th e oth e r e nd of whi ch

Ga rdn er is to recogni ze how m any wo m en found ed pri va te muse um s. Ind eed , fu lly

was h e r muse um . All th e women wh o

half of all pri va te muse um s were found ed o r co-found ed by women , women l ike

found ed private mu se um s, I wo ul d argu e, fa shion ed simi lar spectra for th em-

Wilh elmina Van H all wyll in Swede n , Arab ell a Huntin gton , th e forc e beh ind

selves th a t stre tc h ed from th e gendered roles th eir social circ umstanc es ass igned th e m all th e way to th e pion eering pub-

th e scen es of th e Huntingto n Coll ec tion , or Mi ldred Bli ss, th e rea l found e r of Dumb arto n Oaks. B ca use th ey seem ed to be bo th hom es a nd in stitu tio ns, private a rt mu seum s all owed women to move fr om pr iva te towa rd publi c roles with o ut oppositi on. D e ni ed man y o th e r form s of selfexpress ion and soc ial powe r, wom e n ga ve sh ape to th e ir des ires through th e tra nsformation of femi nin e h om es into publ ic in stituti on s. In Swede n , Van H all wyll dec reed in h e r wi ll th a t th e

li c roles mu se um s all owed th em to play. So mu ch for th e effec ts of Gardner's c ultural authority. What abou t h e r means? I h ave onl y refe rred to th e m impli c itly. So le t m e now be expli cit. As I see it, Gardn e r u sed two k inds of sp ec ificall y visual m ea n s: one which involved in d ividu al a rt obj ec ts, and anoth e r whi c h in vo lved g roups of art ob jec ts in sta ll ed 1n spa ces. Gardn e r's coll ection occupied a crucia l positi o n in th e h isto ry of coll ec ting.

Sh e acquired art ob jects fo r reasons and in ways th at initi ated th e va lu es of art we call m od ern , an d whi ch we still accep t today. T hi s c hange in va lu es involved th e joint inte rests of coll ec tors, dea le rs, and art hi stor ians, wh o toge th e r consti tuted o ur m od e rn arti sti c va lu es . Ga rdn e r's relati onship with Be renso n prov id es a paradigm ati c case stud y. U nlike previous coll ectors, Am e ri cans in th e late nin etee nth and ea rl y twe nti eth

well beca use th ey egged each oth er on in a shared directi on th at was mutuall y be nefic ial. It h as too often bee n sa id th at G ardn er needed Berenson , or even th at h e is th e ge ni us beh ind th e museum . Bu t let us thin k fo r a minute about th e wa ys in 路whi ch Berenson need ed Ga rd ner. In a sim pl e sense, Berenson made h is fo rtu ne by charging co ll ectors co m mi ssions that see m to h ave h ove red aro u nd 10- 153

centuri es bought on wh at we wo uld call an open , publi c market. W ith th eir trem end ous assets in stocks and bo nds rath e r th an in land , th ey intenti onall y expl oited fin an cial li quidi ty to draw art obj ects out of church es , fam il y es tates, and oth er traditi onal con texts (whi ch we mi ght call pri va te) (fi g. 4). Most fund am entall y, Am eri can coll ec tors attach ed a m oney valu e to art ob jects of all sorts. T h e great turn -of-th e-ce n tury sociologist G eorg Simmel expla ined "th e phil osoph y of m oney" by "an an alogy with aesth eti c valu e," a valu e "in th e absence of any utili ty" h e trace d to Im manu el Kan t's phil osoph y of art. 15 M uch m ore m oney valu e was attac h ed to som e ob jec ts th an to oth ers. Of co urse som e obj ec ts had always bee n h a il ed above oth e rs. But Am erica n collectors, includin g G a rd ner, va lu ed pain tin gs co mparati vely mo re than pa intin gs eve r had bee n befo re, and moreove r th ey fa nn ed out th e va lu es asc ri bed to different paintin gs. 16 In thi s th ey coll abo rated -a nd I use th e wo rd coll aborate insistentl y-with art hi storians and later with dealers. Ga rdn er and Be renso n nee ded eac h oth er, and th ey worked toge ther

Fig. 4 . T he Lo ng Ga ll e ry, loo king down th e obj ec t-fi ll ed co rrid or toward th e c hape l with a n ear ly thirtee nth-ce ntu ry sta ined-glass wind ow fro m Soiss ons C ath ed ra l.

plus expenses per sale. Coll ec tin g fo r G a rdn er, m oreover, gave Berenson th e cach et that fa cilitated transac ti ons with oth er coll ecto rs. Mo re fund am entally, so m eo ne li ke Ga rdn er, m oti va ted by th e id ea of a muse um, prom oted th e

fin ancial va lu e th at matc hed and guaranteed th e kind of esth eti c valu e Berenso n was promotin g. Art h is tor ians, led by Berenso n , effec ted a tri age be tw ee n pa intin gs and all oth er kind s of art, and th en among paintings th emselves, pl ac in g artists in a hi era rchy and pron oun cin g on qu ality; Berenso n made hi s reputati on by asc ribin g ob jec ts to auth ors, by so rtin g out th e auth enti c from th e fa ke, th e inspired fr om th e ordin ary. But thi s wo uld all have bee n aca demi c, literall y, with out th e money va lu e th at coll ec tors provid ed, th e money va lu e th at is an intrinsic part of our mod rn co ncept of th e masterpi ece. T he obj ec ts in Ga rdn er's mu seum we re in ves ted with th e mutuall y depend ent auth oriti es ofkn owlecl ge and pri ce. On ce laun ch cl on thi s di alec ti call y dri ve n tra jec tory, arti sti c va lu e co uld onl y esca late. Co nsid er th e case of Gainsborough's 1770 Blue Boy. G ardn er coll ec ted ea rl y enough th at she could obtain paintin gs at what in retrospec t see m like co mparati vely low pri ce . Sh e was un abl e to get th e Blue Boy throu gh Berenso n in 1896 fo r ÂŁ30,000-a pri ce th at made her excl aim rath er gleefull y: "I shall have to Starve [s ic] and go naked for th e res t of my li fe." 17 But she did manage at th e sa me tim e to bu y Titian's 1562 Euro pa for ÂŁ20,00 0. In 1921 , Henry and Arabell a Huntin gton had to pa y more th an fi ve tim es as mu ch for th e Blue Boy as G ardn er had contemplated: $728,000 . Twenty-fi ve yea rs later, the market had evolved. Duvee n and professional dealers like him had clon e th eir work. Unlike Gardn er, th e Huntington s 88

did bu y throu gh dea lers, almost alwa ys Joseph Du vee n, som etim es call ed th e wo rld 's grea te t sa lesman. Duvee n reli ed heavil y on th e experti se of art hi storian s, notabl y Berenso n's, but Du vee n brokered th at auth ority, as well as insid e tips about ava il abili ty provid ed by a network of paid in fo rm ants. Duvee n also beli eved in a large profit margin for him self. Ga rdn er help ed lea d our mod ern reeva lu ati on of th e arti sti c masterpi ece, but she also did more. Sh e mad e arti stic va lu es fun cti on within a broad er social and politi cal wo rld . It is th e Gardn er Mu se um as a whol e th at mak es th e obj ec ts in its coll ec tion function ideolog icall y. All of th e effec ts of Gardn er's auth ority I've spoken about, nationalist, indi vidu ali st, and femini st, all were acco mpli shed onl y very partiall y by di screte obj ec ts. Those effects cou ld on ly be fu ll y acco mpli shed by th e ways in which Ga rdn er co mpound ed th eir meanings into what I call refrac ted images. M ea nin gs acc ru e to obj ects after their makin g and as th ey function , emphaticall y and visuall y so in an art muse um. Though a number of art hi storians have bee n sugge tin g that our tradi ti onal noti ons of th e ima ge, or ob ject, have bee n too limitecl , 18 and though man y art hi stori ans ha ve demon strated how the meanin gs of obj ec ts or images can be altered by th eir original spatial con text, 19 art history has ye t to explain how images become th e compon ents of subsequent vi sual contexts that modify original mea nin gs, or how, in other words, an image mutates into another image . (Whi ch is quite di stin ct from the propo-

sition th at on e image will be p e rce ived

th e mu se um . Alrea d y, by pl aci ng h e r

diffe re n tly by diffe re nt audiences at dif-

Re naissance textil e and h e r jewels within

fe rent mome nts in hi story.) H ere I pro-

h e r Sa rge nt p ortrait, G a rdn e r was refrac-

pose to e nlarge our concept of th e image

ti ng th eir m ea ning. Th e finish ed portrait

from wh at I ca ll "produ ced images" to

acc u mula ted ple n ty of m ea nings a t its

includ e what I ca ll " refra c ted ima ges."

first 1888 exhibiti on . But th e portrait's

Gardn e r orga ni ze d al l th e ite m s in

most powe rful and sub ve rsive m eanings

h e r co ll ec tion s with a purpose, co n-

were c rea ted by Gardn e r's refrac tion of

sc iou sly or un co n sc iou sly express in g

th e portrait with h e r Gothic Room.

h e r va lu es th rough art objects. Gardn e r's spatia l hi stori cal narrative, for insta nc e,

G a rdn e r kn ew h ow to a mpl ify a n object's vi su al poss ibiliti es th rough

Fig. 5. Th e Spa ni sh C loiste r, loo kin g toward E l

Fig. 6. Th e Titian Roo m , loo kin g towa rd

Jaleo, 1882, oil on ca nvas, by John Si nge r Sargent.

Titian 's Europa.

de pe nd s on refrac tion . Obj ec ts onl y sig-

in stallation . As sh e did , sh e wove h e r

ni~' a pe riod by be ing juxtaposed with

own authority into th e a uth o rity with

each other and e mb edd ed in rooms. And

which a rt hi sto ry h ad alrea dy e nd owed

pe riod room s, in turn , onl y sig nify th e past by be in g pa ti all y join ed within a nd

h e r co ll ec ti on. Ra th e r th a n think of Ga rdn e r as omeone wh o co ll ec ted

as th e l\il use um . El Jaleo' fe m ale fi g ure ac hi eves its

pa intin gs a nd oth e r thin gs bes id es, we sh ou ld think of Ga rdn e r as a coll ec tor

fe m ale fi gures in th e mu se um (fig . 5).

whose dive r e ac qui siti ons obeyed th e logic of h e r O\\'n c rea ti,路e proj ec t, a pro-

Th e m o aic M edusa 's signi fi ca n ce \\'Ould be dimini sh ed if Gardner had not

jec t con tituted by th e e ntire muse um in stallation . Th e furnitu re, tex til es,

mad e h e r lite rall y the cen tral point of

ceram ics , stained glass, a utograph

tre ngth b ca use it reso na tes with oth e r

le tters, pl aster casts of famo us peopl e's

co uld also be attributed to h e r se n se of

hand s, and architectural fragm e nts fun c-

a di sc re pa n cy be twee n h e r own a uth o r-

ti on as integral parts of vis u al m ean in gs

ity a nd th e a uth o rity of th e profess io nal

Ga rdn e r h e rself c rea ted . Som e of Gard n e r's refracted im ages

a rt wo rld to whi ch , despite any su ch

a re eas ier to accept than o th e rs. Eve ryon e seem s to love th e central co urtya rd ,

b elon g. We sh o uldn 't n eed su ch a will to pre-

whi ch fram es paintin gs with a rc hitec-

se rve th e Ga rdne r's in stall ation s. I wou ld

tural fragments, th e m selves framed by

a rgu e th a t refrac ted visual m eanin gs are

painted wa ll s, plants, a nd classica l sc ulpture fragments, all se t o n th e visu al

ele m e nts of visu al c ulture, rath e r than

di sc repa n cy, sh e wish ed h er c rea tion to

th e o n es th a t m ake mu se um s ac tive

pedes tal of th e Medusa mosa ic . Less co nventi ona l a re install ati o ns like Gardner's juxtapos iti on of Titian 's Euro pa with a pi ece of silk that h ad o n ce been part of a skirt of h e rs, and th e place m e nt of both ob jec ts in th e a ngle of a room. Th e a rti sti c hi e ra rchi es we have bee n raised with h ave b ee n upse t: maste rpi ece paintin gs are n o t, co nventi ona ll y, co mpa red with sk irts and relega ted to co rn e rs (fi g. 6). Ga rdn e r so ofte n fl o uted su ch a rti sti c hi e rarc hi es, a nd so ofte n with th e signs of a parti c ul a ri zing femininity and dom esti city, th a t sh e see med to be pittin g th e a uthority sh e fas hi oned for h e rself aga in st th e uni ve rsa li zing, hi e ra rc hi ca l ,

Fig. 7. T he Littl e Salon .

and masc ulin e auth ority of a rt history

m e rely ine rt repositori es. Thi s is wh y it

(fi g. 7). Perh aps that vvas exactly h er inte nti o n , if o nl y sub-con sc iously. (We also n eed to reme mbe r, h owever, th a t Ga rdn e r wo rk ed at a tim e in whi c h th e

is so impo rta nt th at ori gin al muse um spaces like th e Gardner's b e prese rved. Th ese are the spaces through whi ch , at th e tim e th ey were m ade, art obj ects were

auth or ity of masterpi ece paintin gs wa s still in formation , whi c h is on e reaso n wh y Gardn e r co uld feel able to work so

m ade to fun cti on visuall y, and those visual fun c ti o ns are c rucial parts of any hi story of visual c ulture. We will always

fre ely.) Ga rdn e r's p ro tec ti o n of h e r install ati on s wi th h er n oto rious will

h ave diffi c ulty und e rstanding th e rol e a rt objects pl ayed in th e nin etee nth and twe nti e th ce nturi es unl ess we can und e r-

co uld b e attributed simpl y to ego m a nia . H e r insisten ce th at n othin g on di splay in th e Muse um b e permanently m oved

stand how th ey fun c ti oned as parts of muse um s. Spaces like th e Ga rdn e r's are

th e m selves hi storic al do c um e nts of th e high es t ord e r. Th ey a re one of th e most importa nt links, or rath e r, inte rfa ces , b e twee n th e m eanin gs lodged within a rt

5. V/arren Leo n's and Roy Rosenswig's coll ection History Mu seums in th e United States (Urba na: Uni ve rsity of Illin ois Press, 1989) shows how th is kind of representati on of history was ca rri ed out in history muse ums of th e sa me period .

obj ec ts and broad hi stori ca l issu es. Wh e n we lea rn to see a nd stud y refrac ted m ea nin gs lik e th e Gardn e r's, th e hi story of art will beco m e an integral co mpo ne nt of c ultural history, and , co nversely, visuali ty wil l ap pea r to b e a p e rvas ive a nd powe rful aspec t of hi sto ry. And , not incide ntall y, we ma y be abl e to reassess th e co ntributi on to c ultura l hi story of som eon e like Isa b ell a Stewa rt Gardn e r. Art obj ec ts in our mod e rn soc ie ty h ave visu al a uthority. It is th ose wh o m ake a rt obj ec ts fun c ti on wh o exe rcise c ultural lead e rship. Isa b ell a Stewa rt Gardn e r's a rt co ll ec tion gave h e r auth ority. T h e muse um sh e des ign ed mad e h e r a c ultural l ea d e r.

1. Morris Ca rter, Isabella Stewart Gardner an d Fenway Court 3rd ed. (Boston : Trustees of th e Isabell a Stewart Gard ner Museum , 1972), p. 15.

6. Rollin van N. Hadl ey, ed., Th e Letters of Bernard Berenson and Isabella Stewart Gardn er 1887- 1924 (Boston: North eastern Un ive rsity Press, 1987), p. 56. 7. Hadley, pp . 53-56. 8. Kath lee n Weil-Garris Brand t has written th e key essay on this portrait and Gardn er's identi ty, "Mrs. Ga rdn er's Renaissan ce." It was first published in th e 1990-91 iss ue of Fenway Court (Boston: Trustees of the Isa bell a Stewa rt Gardn er Museum , 1992 ), pp . 10-30. 9. Paul Bou rge t, Outre Mer: Impressions of America (New York: C harl es Scribn er's Sons, 1895 ), pp . 106- 109 . Also excerpted in Brandt, pp . 26- 28. 10. See Louise Hall Th arp, Mrs. Jack: A Biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner (Boston : Littl e Brown & Co ., 1965 ), p. 134; and Carter, pp . 104- 105 . 11 . Quoted by th e painter T heodo re Robinson in his di ary, Ju ne 24, 1892 (Ne w York: Fri ck Art Reference Library). 12. Tharp, pp . 131- 135.

2. George Harvey, Henry C lay Frick The Man 2nd ed. (privately printed, 1936), p. 336. 3. T. J. Jac kson Lears dea ls with this iss ue tangenti all y in his No Place of Grace: Antimodemism and th e Tran sformation of American Culture 1880- 1920 (C hi cago & London : Uni ve rsity of C hi cago Press, 198 1). 4. As paraphrased in R. W. B. Lewis, Edith Wh arton: A Biograph y 2nd eel (New York : Harper and Row, 1985), p. 406 .

13. Eleanor Pa l f~,, Th e Lady and th e Painter (New York: C owa rd-M cCa nn , 195 l ). 14. Hilliard T. Goldfarb , Isabella Stewart Gardn er: Th e Woman and the J\11. yth ex hibiti on cata logue (Boston : Trustees of th e Isa bell a Stewart Gardn er Muse um , 1994), p. 11. 15. Georg Simm el, Th e Ph iloso phy of Money (pub. 1907), trans. 1978, David Frisby, ed. (London and New York : Routl edge, 1990), pp. 73-75 .

16. La" rence \\'. Le' in e's Highbroid Lowbrow: Th e Em ergence of C ultural 11 ierarch)' in Am erica (Ca mbridge: 1larva rd ni ve r it) Press, 198 ) pro' ides a nin etee nth-centur} hi stori ca l co ntex t that ranges acros all th e arts but co nce ntrates on drama and music.

17. I ladl ey, p. 54. 18. For instance Donald Preziosi, "Th e Ques ti on of Art 11 istor},'' C ritical 1nquir)' 18, no. 2 ("inter 1992), pp . 36 3-386. 19. A rece nt chapter b) \ larcia Pointon , for instance, "Spaces of Portrayal," in 1-/ anging th e Head: Portraiture and ocial Formation in Eighteenth-Centur)' England (l\ ew 1laven: Published for th e Paul ~ l e llon Centre for tudi es in British Art by Yal e Unive rsity Press, 1993) compell ingly suggests how individual portraits signif)' in th e co ntex t of th e frames and rooms in "hi ch th ey \\ ere intend ed to hang.

THE SP EC I AL CONNECT I O ALBERT B AR

ES AND LI

COL

I VERSITY

Da vid L eve rin g L ew is Rut gers Un i ve r s it y

Acting pres id ent A. 0 . Grubb of Lin coln Unive rsity, th e sec ond old est Afri ca n

sh a red with Sch ack th e asto ni shin g refl ectio n th a t, " if th e re we re a nythin g in

Am e ri can coll eg iate in stituti o n , boastin g

th e poss ibility of Lin coln 's elec ti o n of a

Langston Hugh es a nd Thurgood M a r-

Ba rn es trustee," hi s own trustees wo uld

sh all amo n g its di stingui sh ed gradua tes,

h ave "lea ped at th e opportunity." Fortunately fo r Lin coln , Dr. G rubb's

was at a loss as to h ow to reply to Willi a m Scha ck's urgent le tte r of D ece mbe r 16, 1959. Art and Argyrol, Scliack's un a uthori zed biograph y of Albert Ba rn es, wa s almost ready to be se nt to th e publish e r. Schack had just h ea rd that, a short tim e

hi g hl y pl ausibl e assumpti o n was prem ature . But afte r th e co ntrove rsial departure in 195 7 of H o race Mann Bond , Lincoln 's first African Am e ri ca n pres id e nt, th e re was now no on e in th e administration who

b efore his death, Barnes re moved Lincoln

rem embe red th e deta ils of th e Ba rn es-

from the amen d ed ind e nture c rea tin g

Lin coln a rrangem e nt o r who co uld sug-

th e foundation b ea ring hi s n am e. Had

gest a rea dy way to recover th e m . With

Lincoln Unive rsity re tain ed th e powe r to appoint successors to th e original trustees of th e Barn es Foundation, Sc ha ck

th e passage of eac h yea r, th e school's admini stra to rs h ad found it in c reas in gly diffi c ult to com muni ca te with th e officers

wanted to know? Exp ress ing regre ts in

of th e Foundation , wh o were noto riously

late January, Dr. Grubb wrote th e biograph e r th at it wa s n ot "des irabl e at thi s

jea lous of th e ir pri vacy. To som e degree, th e University's dil e mm a was pa rtl y self-

tim e to go into th e Barn es Founda ti on matter a n y furth er." H e fea red that it

inflicted : a nge red by th e un ce re moni ous

might ve ry 1ikely " upset" th e officers of the Foundation were h e eve n to pla ce a telephon e call to on e of th e attorneys representing that impe n etrable institution. Th e perplexed acting pres id e nt

ha ste of hi s te rmin ati o n afte r twelve yea rs of se rvice, Pres id e nt Bond had left th e ca mpus with most of th e offi cial co rrespond e n ce ge n e ra ted during hi s te nure in office. Lin coln 's admini strators had good reason to fear th at th e co nte ntious

Barn es h ad ch a nged hi s m ind ab o ut th e worth in ess of a small , rath e r isola ted , hi stori ca ll y black, lib e ral arts m e n 's college of m odes t reso urc es to pres id e over th e destin y of one of th e wo rld 's fin es t a rt co ll ec ti ons. Befor e hi s d e p a rture, eve n Pres id e nt Bond had becom e prey to doubt, co nfiding to a tru stee that the re wa s only a "thou sa nd to o n e c h ance , or even greate r," that th e ind e nture h ad re main ed unchanged . It is only n ow, based on fu ll access to th e archi ves h oused at th e Barnes mansio n outsid e Philadelphi a and to th e presid e nti al papers at Lincoln , that th e full

Th e Trustees of Lincoln University shall elect the successo rs to the Trustees of the Barnes Foundation: provided, that no member of the Boa rd of Trustees, or of the Faculty, or of the Staff, or any of the following institutions may be so elected: The University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, Bryn Mawr Co llege, Ha verfo rd Co llege, or Swarthmore Co llege . Five month s later, th e ph a rm ace uti ca l tyc oon died in a n a utomo bil e c ras h. Seve ntee n ye a rs were to p ass b efore Lin coln would appoint its first tru stee

ship betwee n the sch ool and th e museum.

to th e Ba rn es Fo und ati o n . Alb e rt Coomb s Barn es built hi s

Alth ough th e history of th e Ba rn es Fou ndation 's relations with oth e r in stitution s

e m p i re on a ch e mi ca l poti o n dee m ed to b e so effecti ve in co mba ttin g infec tion s

wa s on e of courtships abo rted a nd reputa tion s b es mirc h ed, leavin g m u ch of th e

th at, in a few short yea rs, it achi eved in

Pe nn sylva n ia artisti c and acad e mi c establi shme nt smou ld e rin gly h ostil e ove r th e

profess ion a pote n cy ak in to h oly wate r.

story ca n be told of th e evolvin g rela ti on-

yea rs, th e re markable truth wa s th a t th e te rm s of th e relation ship with Lin coln re m a in ed wh at th ey h ad b een wh e n Hora ce Bond had read th em for th e first tim e in Albert Barn es's 1ibrary on Ma rch 1, 195 1. "Wh en I ge t in proper sh ape , I wa nt yo u to come h e re and read wh at I h ave plann ed for Lincoln in th e distant futur e," Ba rn es had writte n Bond a t th e b eg innin g of th e yea r. But with ch a racter isti c cageyn ess, Ba rn es h ad seen hi s gu es t off without givin g him a co py of th e extraord in ary document. "As I rem em b er it," Bond informed L in co ln 's attorney, afte r an anxious inte rval without n ews from the Foundatio n , " thi s is wh a t it said :" 94

th e eyes of mu ch of th e world's m edi ca l Argyrol, th e secret an tisepti c so urce of hi s e normous wea lth , was developed by H e rman n H ill e, a brilli an t German ch e mi st with a doctorate fr om H eid elbe rg. Hill e a nd Barn es soo n beca m e sole own e rs and equal partn e rs in a hugely su ccessful Phil ad elphi a pha rmace uti ca l co mpany, located at 24 No rth 40th Stree t. Revenues from th e sa le of Argyrol, th eir unpa tented silve r nitrate compound , a nd Ovoferr in , an iron to ni c, roll ed in afte r 1902 in su ch waves th at by 1907 net p rofits reac h ed $ 186, 188.53. Dripp ed into th e eyes of milli ons of n ewborn Amer ica ns and lib e rall y appli ed to so re throats a nd running n oses of children and adults, Argyrol was th e eli xir of th e ea rl y twentieth century. "Our silver com-

pound should be va lu ab le in th e treatment of g nito-urin a ry di seases," th e company literatur boa t cl , althou gh wid ely accepted claims that it cured ve nerea l clisea e were ce rtainl y dubiou s. Barn es wa equ all y succ ss ful in approac hing memb ers of state leg i la tu res, wi th th e fe li citous res ult th at more th an a few enacted laws requi rin g hos pi ta ls to admin ister rgyrol to newborn s. s sa les continued to soa r, howeve r, th e partn er's relations hip soured , and in 1907 Barne and Hill e Manufa cturin g Chemi sts of Philad elphia , Lond on, and ycl ney was di ssolved. Hermann Hill e urrencle recl th e Argyro l formu la, to ok hi share of th e profits, and went to Chicago to start over. Barn es reo rga ni zed th e firm a A. C. Barn es Compan y. In 1922, he an noun c cl hi intention to rea t an arts foundation , and within two yea rs he wo uld move hi s art treas ures out of Lauraston, th e rath er nond esc ript hom estea d named after hi wife, Laura Leggett Barnes, into a stately structure co mmanding twe lve ac res of prim e ain Lin e gro und s an d ga rd ens. Lookin g back, it is cl ea r that hi s reputation as "th e terribl e-tempered Dr. Barn es" emerged slowly, rath er than , as it seemed to many Philacl elphians, alm ost overn ight. But non e co uld mistake th e reality that th e Barn es Fo un dation was othe r than th e ob jectifi ca ti on of Barn es's perso nali ty, whi ch was altern ately genero us and suspicious, intelli ge nt and prejudiced. During th e ea rl y yea rs of th e Foundation 's existence, its maste r did a fa ir job of co nstrainin g hi s demo ns. Ten yea rs later, howeve r, cold wa r had bee n dec lared on

th e a in Lin e and with the nati onal art es tabli hm ent. The Foundation's in creasin gly aloof attitude fostered wid esprea d kepti cism about prospec t for coll aboration on th e part of oth er arti ti c and academi c instituti ons. Th grow in g Ii t of di appointed mu eum s, co ll ges, and uni ve r iti es approac hed by th e mercurial tycoo n \\'ith the publi cly announ ced intention of an e\e ntu al donati on of hi s art co ll ec ti on afte r a tri al period of association ultimate ly ran from th e Philad elphi a ca cl emy to th e University of Penn sylvani a to Have rford , Swarthmore, and Well es ley. It wa hardl y urpri sin g, th erefo re, th at th e Phil adelphi a es tabli hm ent respond ed with an in creduli ty dege neratin g into bi go ted deri sion wh en rumors about Lin co ln 's sp cial relati onship emerged in th e early 1950s. ot eve n th e ca nt ankerou s Barnes co uld have bee n so perve rse a to deed a multimillion-doll ar art mu se um to a small bl ack coll ege in th e Pen nsylvan ia ba ckwater, it \\'as sa id . A goo d numb er of Ma in Lin e dwell ers wou ld have guffawed had th ey rea d Wi lli am Schack's letter to th e cli smi se cl Horace Bond co ncern in g an improbab le connection: "Dr. Barnes's relation ship to eg roes as indi vidua ls and as a gro up is a fa sc in ating and so far unresolve d subjec t to me." Yet, howeve r improbabl e in an era of legal segrega ti on in th e South and blatant di sc rimination in th e orth , "Dr. Barnes's relation ship to egroes was a deepl y emo tion al one that had a longstanding hi story. Hi s interest in African Americans began "when I was eight yea rs old," Barnes 95

was fond of recalling. Taken by his pare nts

"Pl ease re m e mb e r," h e told G uill a um e

to a ca mp-mee ting in Mech ani csvill e,

in la te 1922, "[ that] I inte nd to try to

New Je rsey, h e was so swe pt away by th e

h ave th e b es t pri va te coll ecti on of Negro

unbridl ed intens ity of th e exp e ri e n ce

sc ulpture in th e wo rld ." O n e wa rm afte rn oo n in 192 3-unfor-

th a t, as h e wo uld ofte n decl a re, " it h as influ e n ce d !llY whole li fe." Ba rn es's affecti on fo r a nd fasc in a ti on with th e

ge ttabl e fo r Ba rnes- h e ch a n ced upon

Negro race we re in voked too ofte n a nd

Afri ca n a rt with G uill a um e a t th e la tter's

too vividl y n ot to h ave bee n a uth e nti c,

gall ery. Fo r Ba rn es, G uill aume's c rammed

Roge r F ry in a nim a ted di sc uss ion about

and h e wo ul d elabo ra te ove r th e yea rs a

e mpo rium in th e Ru e de la Boeti e h ad

co mpreh ens ive phil oso ph y of a rtisti c producti on based on th e spec ial e n e rgies

acquired th e aura of a hol y pla ce, a shrine of wisdom a nd co mm e rce h e wou ld soon

a nd gifts of peopl es of Afri ca n desce nt.

christe n "Th e Templ e." That afternoon in

E m oti on al affinity was intell ec tu all y

Th e Templ e h e expe ri e nced an epiphany. "I li ste n ed fo r a whi l e," th e coll ec tor

rein fo rce d by Barnes 's rea dings in

reca ll ed , "a nd th e n took possess ion of

Fre udi a n a nd Ja m es ia n psych ology a nd in th e edu ca ti on al a nd phil osophi ca l

Roge r F ry and h ad a talk on Re noir and

writin gs ofJ ohn D ewey. F re ud 's expa ti a-

Ceza nn e, whi ch I sh all re m emb e r for

ti ons on th e irrational a nd un co n sc ious

th e res t of m y life ." Th e coll ec tor cam e

we re clea rl y releva nt, but Ba rn es e mbraced Ja m es and D ewey as pree mi -

back to Me ri on in a n exhilarated fram e

n e nt m entors. Both dee mph as ized a b-

of mind - de te rmin ed ye t aga in up on an oth e r a ttempt a t transform ing th e arts in Am e ri ca. If Ba rn es h ad "gon e primi-

strac t prin cipl es and stressed gro wth through expe ri me nt. Barn es doted on D ewey's grea t wo rk D emocracy and

M ariann a Torgovnik's sple ndid book,

Education (19 16), wa rmly embra cing its pre mi se th at m oral and psyc hi c evolu-

its m a nifesta ti ons we re to b e di stin c tl y m ore d e m oc ra ti c th a n eith e r F ry's or

ti on de pe nded up on ever-broade r sh a ring of expe ri en ce and a deep und e rsta ndin g of hu ma nkind 's roo ts in n a ture . Even as Ba rn es's celeb ra ti on of wh a t he had

extoll ed Afri ca n e ne rgies, but h ad m et few, if an y, n ati ve Afri ca n s. Th e Afri can Am e ri ca ns Ba rn es se t about c ultivatin g

always p e rce ive d as th e Negro 's spec ial gifts of na turaln ess n ow h ad fo rmid abl e backi ng, h e was di scover in g eve n m ore co mpelli ng justifi ca ti ons in th e ra d ica l n ew writin gs of th e E ngli shm e n C li ve Bell a ncl Roge r F ry, as well as in extraordin ary African masks and sc ulpture asse mbl ed by hi s n ew Pa ri s adviso r, age nt, an d fr iend, Pa ul G uill a um e.

ti ve," to b orrow th e evoca tive titl e of

G uill aum e's . Bell , Fry, and Gui ll aum e

h ad p ro babl y see n eve n fewe r Afri cans th a n th e E urop ea n aes th e ti cian s, but thi s was m e rely a de tail to a bu sin ess m a n wh o h ad turn ed a sil ve r compound into a uni ve rsa l c ure . It was his goo d fortun e th at at that ve ry m om e nt a sm all group of welleclu ca ted and strategicall y position ed m e n a nd wom e n of color was poi sed to

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k . a rti le a ln good many to Re no ir,

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alike of th e

egro in te rm s of hi s a rtisti c

e nd owm e n ts a nd c ultural co ntributi o n s,

th es is th a t th e n ew e ra in a rt de rived its in spira ti o n fro m th e " work of th e race for

past a nd p rospec ti ve ." In se tting th e

ce nturi es despi se d and cond e mn ed to a

goa ls fo r th eir a mbiti o us c ultural-c um -

se rvil e sta tu s." Th e unlikely rela tion ship be twee n

civil ri ghts m ove m e nt, m akin g phil an th ro pi c co nn ec tio n , r c ruitin g write rs,

th e Lin co ln U ni ve rsity and th e Barn es

arti sts, poe ts, and musicia ns, a nd stag in g grand inte rrac ial ban qu e ts whe re pri zes

Fo und a ti o n was undoubtedl y rooted in Ba rn es's Re na issa n ce expe ri e n ce . It

we re bes towed, th Tale nted Te nth Afri ca n Am e rica ns beli eve d th ey we re

bega n in a pp ro pri a tely c urious circ umsta n ces. O n e of Phil ade lphi a's most

p ro m o tin g co mity a nd und e rsta ndin g

di stingui sh ed Afri ca n Am e ri cans, th e

th a t wo uld bu ild into a n e w na ti o n al

ph ys icia n a nd Lin coln alumnus N a than

co nse nsu s abo ut race in Am e ri ca. Ba rn es wasted littl e tim e appl a udin g

F. M ossell , was la id to rest on th e morning

th e ir effo rts, proclaim ing in "Negro Art a nd Am e ri ca," o n e of th e m ost influ e n-

d eli ve red a fun e ral o ration di stin guish ed

ti al essays eve r to b ea r hi s n a m e, th a t " th e re n asce n ce of eg ro a rt is o n e of

M a nn Bond left Tindl ey Ave nu e A. M. E. C hurch , h e was po unced upon by Barnes

th e eve nts of o ur age whi c h n o seeke r

who wa ived th e Lin coln pres id ent's ap-

fo r bea uty ca n affo rd to ove rl ook ." Fo r

pointm e nts as id e, a nd h a ul ed him off to

m o re th a n a yea r, hi s p rese n ce in th e

M e ri on . So m e thin g abo ut Bond stru ck a sympath e ti c ch o rd in th e millionaire.

of O c to be r 31, 1946 . Lin coln 's pres id e nt bo th by e m o ti o n a nd conte nt. As Horac e

Re naissa n ce eme d to po rte nd a la rge, o ngo ing role co mpa rabl e to th a t soo n to be pl ayed by white m usic c riti c a nd n ov-

Afte r a lun c h of milk and c ra cke rs, Bond

eli st Ca rl Va n Vec hten . Th e foll ow ing sprin g saw co nsid erabl e Ba rn es ac ti vity

trea ted to a lec ture on aesth eti cs . Bond m ay well h ave told th e inqui itive Barnes

and spectac ul ar do in gs a t th e Fo undati on . "Neg ro Art a nd Am e ri ca" app ea red a th e first essay in Locke's ge rmin al vol-

so m e thin g abo ut him self: hi s doctoral

um e, Th e New Negro, released by Albe rt & C ha rl es Bo ni in la te Febru a ry 1926. Ba rn es labo rated th e re o n th e puta ti ve spec ial e nd owm e nts of Afri ca n peo pl es, asse rtin g th a t " th e white m an in th e

ship of Th e Edu cation of the Negro in the Ameri can So cial Order ( 19 34), alrea d y a cl ass ic; hi s d ee p inte res t in Afri ca. Ba rn es m ay h ave boa sted of th e tim e wh e n h e join ed with th e d ece ased

m ass ca nn o t com pete with th e Negro in spiritu al e nd owm e nt." Th e coll ec tor spoke to th e Wo m a n's Fac ulty C lub of Colu m bi a U ni ve rsity in M arch . Th e subj ec t was "Negro Art, Past and Present," in wh ich h e p ropo und ed th e till n ovel

Mossell a nd oth e r NAACP lead e rs in an

was take n o n a to ur of th e gall e ri es and

trainin g in soc iology at th e Unive rsity of C hi cago und e r Robe rt Park; hi s author-

atte mpt to preve nt Birth of a Nation fr o m b ein g shown in Philadelphia . Th e two m e n parted on cordial term s with Bond writing imm ediately to a Lin coln trustee that th e coll ector was "one

of th e m os t re m a rkabl e m e n " h e h ad

a bout th e F isk fest iva l. Once Pres id e nt

eve r m e t. If it was "a littl e pre m ature to

Bond pi cked a conven ient F rid ay fo r hi s

ask him for m on ey," Pres id e nt Bond se t

talk to th e sen iors, th e coll ec tor sa id h e

to wo rk pl a nning h ow to secu re a la rge

wo uld dri ve ove r fro m Me ri on in hi s

don ati on for th e coll ege. H e m ade und e r-

Packa rd converti ble. Wh at a "good om en,"

sta ndin g Ba rn es a pri ori ty, qui ckl y acc u-

on e of Ba rn es's few Mai n Lin e fri e nd s

mul a ting co nsid e ra bl e in fo rm ed a nd

sign aled Bon d, ad di ng superflu ously,

a n ecd otal background on th e coll ec to r's

"m a n y people cons ide r h im quite diffi -

"re putati on for irasc ibility" a nd frac ti ous

c ult to und erstand." O n Ja nu a ry 10th ,

dea lings with Pe nn , th e M use um , a nd

a Frid ay night, seven tee n se ni ors a nd

va ri ous coll eges. On e fac t b eca m e c rystal

fo reign stud e nts a rri ved at H o race a nd

clea r to Bond , tha t it was a fa tal mi stake,

Juli a Bond 's colonn ade d m a nsion pun c-

as one Barn es ac qua inta n ce wa rn ed, eve r

tu all y at 8 o'clock to h ea r th eir lege nd ary

"to ask Ba rn es for a nythin g." Wh at was

h ouse gu es t, th e m a n , Pres id e nt Bond

also clear, Bond asce rta in ed , was th a t th e

ann oun ce d, "wh o intro du ce d Afri ca n

coll ec tor h ad a long hi story of "sh ow ing

a rt to Am e ri ca." Th e ca pti ve a udi e n ce

inte rest a nd affec ti on fo r Negroes." H e

of Lin coln's best a nd b rightes t m e n h ad

qui ckl y di sc ove red th e coll ec to r's wa rm

a toni c effec t up on th e visitor, wh o was

ti es to th e Manu al Trainin g a nd Indu s-

espec iall y intri gu ed by two of th e West

tri al School for Colored Youth in Bord e n-

Afr ica n tud e nts. T h e coll ege boas ted a

town , New Je rsey. Bo nd wa ited alm os t

proud traditi on of edu ca tin g Afri ca ns,

a m onth afte r th eir first m ee tin g b efor e

numb e ring a m ong gradua tes su c h futur e

writin g to th e coll ec tor. In a le tte r ca lcu-

na ti on al lea d e rs as N n amdi Az iki we of

lated to draw in Ba rn es, Bond explain ed

ige ri a a nd Kwa m e

krum ah of G h an a .

th a t h e h ad bee n wa itin g to rece ive

But as Bond expl a in ed in co nside ra ble

p ictorial m a te ri als ab o ut a highl y su ccessful so uth e rn folk mu sic fes ti va l in

deta il , con veying hi s e norm ous pleasure a week la te r ove r receipt of Ba rn es's

whi c h Fisk Uni ve rsity mu sic professo r

c h eck for a thousa nd doll a rs, th e re was

John Work , a nd poets La ngs ton Hugh es

n o e nd to th e pa p e rwo rk a nd expe nse in vo lved in bringing Afri ca ns to Lin coln .

a nd Ste rling Brown pa rti c ip a ted. Kn owing Ba rn es's suspi cious a ttitud e towa rd aca d e mi c a rts, Bond waxed on a bit a bout th e imp orta nt role of high e r edu ca ti on in prepa ring a cl ass of pe rso ns "a bl e, n ot onl y to a pp rec ia te, but to prese rve th e grea t fo lk h e ritage of th e egro people." C ould h e n ot get th e coll ec tor to se t a date for a talk to Lin coln's se ni or cla ss? " How I sh ould lik e to h ave b ee n th e re !" repli ed th e d eli ghted Ba rn es

C ha rm ed by attrac ti ve, sophi sti ca ted Juli a e nj oyin g th e un affec ted wo rldlin ess of h e r hu sband , an d takin g wistful noti ce of th eir three scra ppy chil d re n durin g hi s overni gh t stay, th e ag ing coll ec tor bega n to cultiva te th e Bonds. T h e Bon ds h ad already la id ca refu l pla ns to c ul tiva te Ba rnes. T h a nking th eir h os t for a Fr id ay dinn er an d h is wife's first tour of th e ga ll eries, Bond expe rtly caressed

Barn es's la rge, vuln era bl e ego, telling him

sto ry to th e New York Tim es and

th a t "Mrs. Bond agrees with m e tha t yo u are a t heart and in pe rson a grea t teach e r."

Philadelphia Inquirer.

Ind eed, Ba rn es remind ed him of Robe rt

d e nt Bond still had littl e to show for his

Park, hi s own grea t teach e r "also train ed

c ulti va ti on of th e coll ec tor. "Pra ise th e

in G e rm a ny." Bond th ought th a t, of all

Lord for th e seve ntee n thousa nd bu cks!"

th e spl endid pa in tin gs a t M e ri o n , h e

Ba rn es ex ulted wh e n th e n ews reac h ed

m ost a pprec iated "th e sta ndin g fi gure of th e Ren oir" in th e m ain salon . By April

M e ri on in th e fa ll of 1949 th at N ige ri a's

194 7, th e Ba m es-Bond fri e ncl sh ip h ad suffi cientl y adva nced th at th e coll ector

edu ca ti on al subsidy eve r to Lin coln ;

bega n to co nfid e writte n acco unts of hi s

le tte r. But H orace Bond had in mind

Pe nn and Phil adelphi a M use um di sputes

a sc h e m e des ign ed to m an e uve r hi s

to Lin coln 's cl ea n of Arts a nd Scien ces,

milli on a ire fri e nd into a m eaningfully phil a nthropi c mo od. Off to West Africa

J. Newton

Hill. Th e pres id e nt h ad a few co nfid e n ces of hi s own to sha re with Ba rn es. H e told

Asid e from a sm all donation , Pres i-

cocoa fa rm e rs h ad re mitted th e largest but n o ch eck ca m e in Ba rn es's fri e ndl y

for fi ve month s to rec ruit stud e nts and nurture th e gen e rosity of wealth y Afri can

Barn es of hi s a ngry fru stra ti on ove r th e

don ors, Bond as tutely asked if Barnes

racial di sc rimin ati on aga in st Afri ca n

wa nted him to "pi ck up (or try to) any

Am e ri ca n teach e rs a nd stud e nts in th e

[a rt] obj ec ts for yo u th e re?" Th e coll ec-

publi c sch oo ls of n ea rb y O xfo rd Town-

tor's exc ite m e nt about th e trip wa s palpa-

ship , a nd of his refu sal to all ow fac ulty c hildre n to a tte nd th e m . D e te rmin ed to put a n e nd to th e poli cy, h e wrote of hi s

Opportuni ty b een about Afri ca n influ-

dec ision to run for elec ti on to th e boa rd of edu ca ti on, whi c h n ow m ade him "th e most unpopul a r m an in town ." Becau se of hi s fri end's longsta ndin g inte res t in peopl e of color, h e th ought Ba rn es just mi ght li ke to kn ow h ow "a solid , pa ti e nt counsell or of th e long view" co uld sudde nl y beco m e a "fea red a nd h a ted 'bad ni gge r."' Th e le tte r aroused th e coll ector's de m oc ra ti c ire. Bond was doin g wh a t few coll ege pres id e nts wo uld do , "comin g o ut fl a t-fo o ted for d e m oc racy as sta ted in th e Federal Co n stitution and Bill of Rights." He exhorted Bond , who h ad fil ed suit aga inst th e board of edu ca tion afte r losing th e elec ti on, to take hi s 100

bl e . H ad n o t hi s first se riou s writings in e n ces in E uropea n art? Afri ca evoked exhil a rating m emori es of tim e spe nt in Pa ri s with Guillaum e holding forth on aesth eti cs. H e wi sh ed h e cou ld go along to th e C ontin e nt, h e wrote excitedl y. It had bee n "on e of [hi s] dream s." Whil e Bond was away, Barn es was to plun ge into darkest humor about th e feckl ess n ess of th e Phi ladelphi a establi shm e nt. Ba rn es h ad offe red to fund an a rt course at th e Foundation for Penn stud e nts, but by Nove mb e r 1949, the coll ec to r dec id ed that th e University was n egotiatin g in bad faith , wanting only to se du ce him into giving awa y hi s creation . "Thi s offe nd s my intelli gence ," h e wrote Horace Ste rn , th e friend and

attorney se rvin g as inte rm edi a ry. The

th at th e venture was ex tre m ely ri sky an d

le tte r c losed with wh a t amoun te d to an

prob ably doomed to e ncl in "a viole nt

angui sh ed c ry. H e h ad wr itte n it, Ba rn es

fu ss of so m e ki ncl ."

sa id , with so rrow in hi s h eart, "b eca use

Lin coln's pres id e nt fina ll y sent th e col-

it is my swa n so ng." A copy of th e le tte r

lec tor hi s outlin e for th e Afri ca n Institute,

to Attorney Stern was on Bond 's d esk

along with a n in vitation for Ba rn es to

when h e re turn ed from Africa in la te

deli ve r one of th e first in stitute lec tures .

Ja nu a ry 1950. Kno win g that eve rything

T h e word from Merion was e ncourag ing.

to do with Ba rn es d epe nd ed on tac t a nd

Agree ing to give a lec ture on Afri ca n a rt,

timin g, Bo nd was still und ec id ed

Ba rn es in formed Bond that th e In stitute

whether or not this was th e propiti ous

was su c h a good id ea that he had bee n

mom e nt to pitc h hi s pi onee ring sch e m e

able to inte rest D ewey in it ove r dinn e r.

for an African studi es institute a t Lin coln

D ewey h ad th e ea r of n ati on al founda-

wh e n th e invitation to a La bor Day pa rty

ti on s. Bond ought to se nd him a copy

a t th e Fo und ation arrived.

of hi s outlin e. H ea rten ed by a strea m of

It see m s reaso n abl y clea r th a t th e

le tte rs fr om Merion , Bond d evelop ed

Bonds return ed fr om Labo r D ay a t

a nd refi ned his Institute concep t in ord e r

Merion with a p ro posa l for a n a rt in sti-

to h ave eva lu ations from Ba rn es a nd

tute at Lin coln , faculty to be sa la ri ed by

D ewey before submitting a $500, 000

th e Found ation a nd classes h eld th e re.

prop osa l to th e Fo rd Fo und a ti on . In gen-

As a rea li st, Pres id e nt Bond kn ew th a t a

e ral te rm s, th e prop osa l e nta il ed an a rray

gro und swell of inte res t in a rt classes by

of co urses in art, an th ropo logy, hi sto ry,

th e yo ung m e n of Lin co ln was ab out as

a nd sociology, with exte nd ed resea rch so-

likely as a boom in h ome eco nomi cs

journs in Africa ("learn ing about Afri cans

co urses . The co ll ege e th os was in spired

by li ving with th em," acco rdin g to Bond )

by footba ll a nd Greek le tter frate rniti es. On th e oth e r h a nd , h e was also a vision-

as its ce nte rpi ece . Meanwh il e, th e a rts program was

a ry wh o glimpsed a way to achi eve hi s African studi es in stitute in ta nd e m with

dee m ed a success, as a doze n or so Lin coln students was tra nsported to th e

th e Foundation a rra n ge m en t. Lincoln

Fo und a ti on twice weekly for a rt app rec i-

a nd th e Foundation formall y ratifi ed

ati on cla ss . T h e coll ec tor lec tured on

th eir n ew affili a ti on on Se ptember 22, 1950. Bond put a bold , fl atter in g face o n

occas ion, stress in g th e co nce pts of plastic fo rm and objectivi ty. Wh e n Bond

th e future, writing Barn es within a few weeks th at th e role of th e n ew a rt co urse

dro ve ove r to Me ri on on th e first da y of Marc h , a Thursday, h e fo und Barn es,

wou ld se rve as a " pearhead for refo rm-

firml y re olvecl to e ntru st th e Lin coln board of tru stees with ultimate gover-

ing th e e ntire instituti on along intellige nt edu cation al lin es." H e also took h ea rt from Ba rn es's substantial c h eck . Pri va tely, Bond conceded to a tru stee

nance of th e Foundation. It was on th is occas ion that the coll ec tor read to the astonished president the terms of th e 101

a m e nd ed ind e nture . If Bond co ntinu ed

m e nt, Pres id e nt Bond c rossed his fin ge rs

to pin ch him self durin g th e n ext few days,

a nd te mpo ri ze d . But lu ck ra n aga in st

hi s in c redulity must h ave b een grea tl y

him . Ralph Bun c h e could not arran ge

assa uged th e fo ll owin g T hursday wh e n Ba rn es wro te to say th at h e had "talked it

hi s sc h edul e to m eet Ba rn es and , afte r

all ove r with D ewey" wh o agreed th a t in

H e a nd D ewey we re co mmitted to a

th e Lin coln -Ba rn es Fo und a ti on alli a n ce

wo rk of tita ni c uplift, h e ra ge d to Bond .

"we h ave th e m ak in gs of a la ndm a rk in

Ca llin g th e Bun c h e evas ion "spina ch ,"

edu ca ti on ." H av in g se ttl ed th e futur e of

h e sound ed rea dy to write off th e expe ri-

hi s fo und ati on, Ba rn es sha red expa nsive

m e nt -"I say to h ell with it." Pres id e nt

id eas about fundin g fo r th e Afri ca n Insti-

Bond a nd D ea n Hill ass um ed it was onl y

tute, n ow bein g co nsid e red (a nd soo n

a m atte r of tim e b efore th ey we re excom-

re jec ted) by th e Fo rd Fo und a ti on . Th e

muni ca ted afte r Ba rn es was a no-show at

situ ati on ca ll ed for a blu e-ribbon boa rd of co nsulta nts ch aired by a di stingui sh ed

di spa tc h ed a ca r to deli ver th e honora ry

Afri ca n Am e ri ca n. H e a nd D ewey h ad

degree dipl om a and hood . Th e sil e n ce from M e rion was dea fen-

just th e right p erson fo r th e post - Ralph J. Bun ch e, U nited Nations offi c ial a nd th e 1950 obel Peace Pri ze Winn e r, wh o

two n ea r m isses, th e coll ec tor expl oded.

th e co mm e n ce m e nt. Undaunted, Bond

in g. F in ally, a n in vitati on ca m e. On Jul y 17, a Tu esday, th e Bonds, Hill s, and sev-

was uniqu ely po iti on ed "to do som e thing

e ral fac ulty m e mb e rs we re e nte rtain ed

for Lin coln and inte rrac ial relati on s," Barn es e nthu sed . H e, D ewey, a nd Bond h ad a winnin g sc h eme, but th e co ll ec tor

a t th e Fo und a ti on by Alb e rt a nd Laura Barn es . Pl ans for th e n ext yea r's art course

n eeded to m eet with Bun c h e to expl ain

felt tha t it h ad bee n "a ve ry good visit," a nd h e was deli ghted to see th e Lin coln

wh at h ad to be don e. Littl e wo nd e r th a t H o race Bond spoke of th ese days as b eing like "a plot n o n ovel co uld beat." H e dash ed off a ca ution ary le tter to hi s fri e nd Bunc h e ab out wh o Ba rn es was and wh a t was at stake for Lin coln. A few days late r, M arch 7th , Bond fo rm all y prop osed Ba rn es fo r a n h on ora ry degree. Th e coll ector atte nd ed lec tures at th e fl edgling Afri ca n In stitute in mid-May a nd went away more enthu siasti c th a n eve r. "A ce rtain co nte ntm ent" gripped him as soon as h e passed Lin coln 's ga tes, h e purred . With onl y a few weeks to go until th e end of th e sem este r a nd comme n ce102

a nd th e In stitute we re di sc ussed. Bond

dipl om a fra m ed and h angin g on th e wall in Ba rn es's offi ce. Th e followin g Tu esda y afternoon , Jul y 24th , 195 1, Albe rt Barnes's co n ve rtibl e Packard was fl atte n ed by a milk tru ck as it b arreled through a stop sign on th e Ph oe ni xvill e road n ear th e own e r's co untry re treat. Barnes died in sta ntl y, alon e exce pt for hi s littl e dog. In th e weeks th a t followed th e probation of th e coll ector's will , Lin coln anxiously waited for som e sign from th e Foundation tha t th e am e nd ed ind e nture shown to Bond in ea rl y March was still valid . Pond e ring hi s extraordinary relati onship with Alb e rt Coombs Barn es,

Horace Mann Bond put hi s th oughts on paper as th e fall se m este r of 195 1 wo und down. "I have th e fee ling th at I ca n onl y sit and wait and h ope and let th e drama unfold ," he refl ec ted . "If it turn s out to be th e miracle I wo uld like it to be, I will feel grea t sati sfa cti on ."

MIDW E ST E R N M E DIEVAL I SM:

THREE CHICAGO

COLL ECTO R S

Ne il H ar ris Th e U ni ve rs it y o f C hi cago

Most of th e treasures n ow h eld by Am e rica n a rt mu seu m s we re ga th e red by pri va te indi vidu als fo r va ri ed reaso n s a nd with dive rge nt a im s. T hi s a rt typi ca ll y res id es in com fo rta bl e an o nymity within th e n e utra l a nd d ec o ntextu ali zed spaces muse u m ge n e rall y offe r. Labels n o rm all y n o te its imm edi a te p rovena n ce . But ra rely in any na rra ti ve de pth .

ca rd ). All photograp hs in thi s essay a re fr om th e

Th e m o ti ves a nd stra teg ies whi ch stru ctured a coll ec ti o n's assem bl y, as well as

and a re ÂŠ 1996, T h e Art Institute of C hi cago.

Fig. 1. Th e Art Insti tu te, ca. 1909 (from a post-

Rye rso n Arc hi ves of th e Art Institute of C hi cago

th e ro utes obj ects trave rsed b efor e arri vin g a t th e ir fin al res tin g pl aces, m e rit

All Ri gh ts Rese rved .

atte nti on fo r m a ny reaso n s: aesth e ti c, eco n o mi c, soc ial, and intell ec tu al. At a minimum th ey pro pose patte rn s to in sti -

It is in th e inte rest of recovering th e am alga m of booste ri sm , altrui sm , egoti sm , and

tuti on al developm e nt, suggestin g just h ow coll ec to rs wo rked with (or aga in st)

hi sto ry of pa tron age, th a t I c rea te this

dea lers, expe rts, c ura to rs, a nd admini stra to rs. Foc usin g u po n on e mid wes te rn mu se um , T h e Art In stitute of C hi cago , and on e a re na of co ll ec ting- m edi eva l and Re na issa nce art - I h op e to reco nstru ct thi s hi sto ry by juxtapos ing three signifi ca nt coll ec to rs (fi g. 1). Th e ir li ves illumin ate th e co mpl ex links b etwee n coll ecto r id e nti ty and muse um fun cti o n .

civic lea de rship whi ch con stitute th e n arra ti ve . E nte ring today's Art In stitute, on ce past th e e ntry lo bby a visitor stand s a t a crossroa ds. F ront a nd ce nter is a grand sta ircase whi ch lea ds up to th e famou s paintin g coll ec ti o ns. Ju st b eyond , to th e left, a re passageways to prints and dra win gs a nd to Am e rindi an and Afri ca n arts; to th e ri ght, th e rece ntl y in stall ed Asian ga ll e ri es. And looming up ah ead , beyond

Fig. 2. T he Ari I n l il ulc, ovcrh ad 1·i " " 1925- 10. 11h c: n lh <.: ihrcc ollcclor~ ll'c rc all ac li vc. F ig. 3. T he

rt l nsl ilu le. ove rh ad l'iCll'. 19H.

a se t of gla cl r and a m de t gr up of steps, is a I ng narrow hall whicl ha spann ed th e Illin oi ntral tra k in cc its cons tru ction in 1916. Tt i Ji n cl with ex hibi tio n ca nter stan I gla vitrin s a1 cl v ral a rm r cl ficr u re T hi s i Cunsau lu H all , h o rn to the Art [nstitute' ea rl y • urop an le ra tiv arts. T he ca e on th right ar fill cl wiH1 small obj ect, man y f them ori ginall / of house hold or reli giou u e Ma j Ji a drug pots, pani h ea rth enware, ru ifixes . On the left hove r hunclr cl of wea pons: halb erd s, pikes, dagge rs, po leaxe , pistols, rifl es, ma ny of th em intri ca tely deco rated. And in th e cente r, along with the armor and elaborately emb ro id ered copes, is an extraordin ary Flore ntin e glazed terraco tta alt arpi ece, si ' f et high , th e Adorat ion of th e Shepherd Th e label declares this a gift of Ka te S. Bu ckin gh am fo r the L ucy Ma ud Buckingham Me morial Coll ec ti on T h ere are oth er Bu ckin gham gifts in th e cases on th e right, sma ll go thi c or Ja cobea n obj ec ts, alth ough fa r fewe r than th e glasswa re, enameled re liqu aries, and ea rth enwa re th at declare thei r origins to have bee n th e Marti n A. Rye rson Collec tion. T he wea pons on

th I ft and lhc arrn or, <1g· in label pv tell u , are from th e corgc F. Ha rdin g 11 cti on. l\' th ing in thi s hall ind i <i le ll'h Ry r n nd Bu ckingham 11•cr , alth ugl a pr int cl placa rd ident ifi • Har lin g. Jn ac tual fa t, am 1 g th m, Bu kinghan , I )'C r n an l Ha rdin g repre nt th mul tip le aim 1l'hi c h 1 ur lur cl thi instit uti n, ti c err r and f I tart a we ll a th ac hi c1· m nt . O tl e r notable cl nor a ided th mccl i va l colle tions p tt r Palm r, C harles D ring, Jul iu a1 cl f\ ugu ta Ro enwa ld, C haun c y t-,tlcCo rmick, name ti ed cl epl y to the city' mo t c I bratecl cs tab li hmentsbu t th ese three rema in spe ial. T h -ir co llec tin g amb iti ons illu min ate both th eir li fe hi stori es and th sh iftin g so urces of loca l lea dershi p (fi gs. 2-3 ). Of the three, I larti n . Rye rso n (fi g 4) stand s first. 1 La rge ly unsung outside C hi cago, h e was the rt Instit ute's sin gle grea test benefac tor, hi s gifts extendin g fa r beyo nd medi eval and Rena issa nce art. Among oth er things Rye rson collec ted ancient coin s, So uth Ameri ca n and As ian textil es, Nea r Eas tern glass, Japanese books, C hin ese porcelain , cl assical pottery, and Fre nch impress ion ist

In stitute for twe n ty-three. Chi ldless, h e

a nd post-impress ioni st a rt; h e was devoted to Mon e t, visiting him a t Give rn y,

a nd hi s wife occ upi ed th e ve ry ce nte r of

a nd dona tin g a se ri es of hi s ca n vasses,

C hi cago's soc ial a nd finan c ial elite .

along with wo rks by Pi ssa rro, Re n oir, and

Qui e t, self-effacing, c ultivated , and

Ceza nn e, to th e Art In stitute. Prese nt

sc h ola rl y in appea ra n ce as well as taste,

day C hi cagoa ns, wh e n th ey recogni ze

Rye rson left few clu es to hi s p e rsona l

Rye rso n 's na m e at all , assoc ia te it with

feelin gs. We h ave on ly som e speech es,

th e city's pa ss io n for French impress io n-

seve ral le tte rs, a nd a hi ghl y spec ifi c and

ism. But durin g hi s li fet im e Rye rso n was be tte r known for hi s pi o n ee rin g pursuit

un op ini onated se t of journal e ntri es .

of Fre n ch , Fl e mi sh , a nd Itali a n painte rs of th e four tee nth a nd fiftee nth centuri es, primiti ves th ey were call ed th en , an interest th at bega n in th e 1890s and exte nd ed to a va ri ety of art objects of th e late mid2

dl e ages a nd ea rl y Re na issa n ce . Rye rso n typifi ed a definin g mom e nt in th e city's hi story, a ge n e ra ti o n of civic philanthropists co min g of age in th e 188 0s a nd 1890s who pres id ed ove r a gold en age of givin g a nd in stituti o n makin g. Bo rn in Mic hi ga n in th e mid-1 85 0s, th e so n of a timb er m ag nate , h e grew up in C hi cago , studi ed in Pari s and G e n eva, an d on returnin g h ome e nte red H a rva rd Law Sch ool; h e graduated in 1878. Afte r marriage an d a brief legal ca ree r h e e nte red th e famil y lumb e r bu sin ess, takin g ove r th e firm in 1887 upo n hi s fath e r's dea th. By th e ea rl y 1890s, h oweve r, h av in g ad ded to th e co nsid e rable famil y fortun e h e inh e rited, barely into hi s forti es, Rye rso n retired from busin ess to dedica te himself to loca l phi lanthropi es . Hi s three fa vo rites we re th e Columbian , la ter th e Fi eld Muse um , th e Unive rsity of C hi cago, an d th e Art In stitute. H e se rve d each as an officer; he was pres ide nt of th e Uni versity Board for thirty yea rs, and vice-Ch a irma n of th e Art io6

Fig. 4 . Marti n A. Rye rson .

No a uto bi ograph y or ca ndid re marks a mplify th ese do c um e nts. His valu es we re evid e n ced by hi s ac tions. D esp ite, or b eca u se of, Rye rson 's fai lure to leave a revea ling wr itte n rec ord , h e has fa sc inated a t leas t h alf a do zen scholars who , in o n e wa y o r another, have tr ied to acco unt for both his collecting and his philanthropi es. On e art hi storian ha s sugges ted th e influen ce of Charles E liot No rton , teaching a t Harvard and spreading hi s e nthusiasm for th e Italian Rena issanc e durin g th e yea rs th at Rye rson was a t th e Law Schoo l. 3 Norton , moreove r, ac tually visited th e Col umbian Exposi-

ti on of l 93 wh r h mi ght have nco unter I Ry r on. ac tu al vid en upp rts thi s nn tion , h "' ,. r. th r have pointed to hi wid r a lin g and th influ enc f fi gure lik J hn J u kin and Matth ew rn I J. 4 Ry r n \\'a a book co ll ctor him If, but cv n rn r ignifi ca ntly, ncl owed th e Arl In l"itut own library and helped Lum it into a major enter (fi g. 5).' her \\'Cr oth r poss ibl e ource of in pi rat ion in p op l Rye r on kn ew and admir ed. Family hi tory might have pl ayed a part; hi parents, for xa mp le, who de id cl t nd him to boarding ch ol in Pari in th e 1860 , an unu ual c ur e for a hi cago fam il y. f-li wif ' role ma y \\'ell have bee n ign ificant. But again , barrin g th appeara nce of m r dir e t vid n e, on must work from th art it If and th paltern of hi life's work. Rye r on was, in om way , th id ea l philan thropi st: well du ca ted, ulti va ted, and with ti me and mon e)' to pour into hi s favor ite causes. a beli eve r in in tituti ons, he willingly subm erged de ire for personal celebrity benea th a co mm itm ent to th eir long-term welfare. He met needs as th ey appeared. Thus hi fund s for th e library came in res ponse to an ap pea l for support. At th e Un ive rsity of Ch icago he co ntributed th e ph ys ics building th at housed th e work of Amer ica's first No bel Laureate in science, AJbert A. M ichelson. Rye rso n admired sc holarship for itself, but hi s generosity was channeled to meet specifi c demand s. In simi lar circumstances he helped th e Art Institute ac quire its first gro up of hi gh-qu ality paintings . During its first

ten y ar , until I 9, a cordin g to Elli atcrh u , ti c mu e um boug ht onl y n lei ma ler, an I th at by a rath er b ur arti l. Thu in l 90 wh nth Ry r ons and ti ir in paral I Friend , lh c harl I lulc hin on , fo und th en s Ives ir Par i atl ndin g an art al , th ey cl tcrmin cl lo do so mething b 路 purcha loz n pa inting 11 ma c from oil ti n f Prin e I mi cl off. Th e D 11 id ff had b en clling pi lur for cl cadc , I ul C\' n aft r arli er al th

\ 1

Fig. 5. Th e lib rary of th e Rye r on home, I

Os.

wo rks a ail abl e in 1890, by Fran z Hals, Rubens, Rembrandt, and Van Dyck, were exc ptional. 5 Rye r on and hi assoc iate prese nted s ve ra l to th e rt In titute almo t at once, and got other C hi cago coll ec tors to pa y off and donate oth er Demidoff items. Aga in , in 1906, Rye rso n helped organ ize a gro up to purchase El G reco's Assumption of the Virgin, for a tim e th e Art In stitute' signature paintin g. It took ye ars fo r thi s debt to be pa id back.

From on e p e rspec t ive, th e n , Rye rson was a n accommoda ti o ni st, ste pping in

h a ndl e ea rl y Italian a rt, but Rye rson pl aced a se ri es of sp ec ifi c bids wi th him and th e d ea le r co mpli ed wi th hi s wi sh es.

wh e re oth e rs, from egoti sm o r lack of co nfid e n ce, mi gh t h ave h es ita ted. Hi s

Th e amo unts Rye rso n sp ecifi ed were

positi o n was in va ri abl y supp orti ve ra th e r

co n se rva ti ve; ind eed, h e lost some

th a n c riti cal. But Rye rso n also h ad tastes

imp ortant thin gs a t thi s sale b eca u se h e

of hi s own , a nd in deed h eld off givin g

was unwi llin g to go ve ry hi gh. 6 But h e kn ew wh at h e wanted. H eavil y

th e muse um fund s for its own bu yin g. Afte r hi s dea th in 1932 th e Art In stitute

in volved with trustee responsibiliti es at

rece ived one third of a six mi lli on doll a r

seve ral in stituti o n s, h e did not buy quan-

es tate, but durin g hi s life tim e, Rye rso n 's

titi es of ea rl y a rt during th e 1890s. H e

cas h gifts total ed on ly $250,000, a nd mu ch of thi s we nt into th e libra ry. H e preferred to ch oose him self wh a t wou ld

acquired oth e r work from th e Eh ri ch

h ang on th e muse um wa ll s, in stea d of relyin g upon c urators and co mmittees. Ce rtainl y, Rye rso n's tas te for primitive paintin gs se rve d a n institutiona l n eed beca use th e Art In stitute h ad littl e re prese ntin g th e Re na issa n ce o r Midd le Ages. No Isa bell a Gardn e r or H e nry Walte rs o r John G. John on or J. P. Mo rga n li ved in C hi cago. Inte rest in ea rl y reli gio us a rt was li ght. But Ryerso n did n ot n ee d th e Fig. 6. Marti n A. Ryerso n's home on Drexel

suppo rt of a circle of fell ow coll ectors; alth o ugh h e patroni zed m a jo r dea le rs danglin g impress ive a uth e nti ca ti o n s,

Bo ul eva rd .

h e m ade hi s o路wn decision s. Rye rson started coll ec tin g whil e a

Gall e ry, but it wa s not until 19 10 or so th a t Rye rso n , with twe nty yea rs of insti-

tee nage r, durin g his stud e nt days in Paris. But se riou s inte rest develop ed onl y in th e 1890s, afte r his fat h e r's dea th. Hi s first m a jo r ea rl y purch ases ca m e through Dura nd-Ru el from th e 189 2 sale of th e Ea rl of Dudl ey's coll ec tion. Th ese includ ed four Pe rugin o pred ell a pa n els that rema in tod ay a m o ng th e prized possess ions of th e mu se um , and , simil a rl y, a Pontormo portrait of Alessa ndro de' Med ici. Durand-Ru el did n ot n o rm all y

tuti o nal expe ri e n ce, d eale r co ntact, and exte nsive view in g, resum ed his ea rl y collec tin g in force, sustain ing it for th e n ext

108

fiftee n or so yea rs with dea le rs like Kle inb e rge r, Kno edl e r, Sco tt & Fowl es, H o race Morison in Boston , Langton Douglas in E ngland, ac quiring doze ns of signifi ca nt works by French , Itali an , a nd F lemi sh maste rs, all of co urse, besid es hi s modern paintings.7 With impecca bl e prove nan ce, man y came from th e

F ig. 7. Th e Rye rson home interio r, be twee n 1924 a nd 1927.

m ost celebrated coll ec ti ons in E urope, acqu ired at fab led sa les, both before and after World War I: the Marczell de Nem es coll ec tion , ori ginall y in Budapest, sold in Pari s in 19 12; th e Rod olph e Kahn coll ection , h andl ed by Duveen; th e D owdeswell coll ec tion in England ; th e E dwa rd Web er coll ec tion in H amburg; th e de Som zee co ll ec tion in Bru ssels; th e th e Em il e Gavet, Jea n D ollfu s, Roth an and Arago sales, a nd so on . Thi s was opera tin g on th e high est, m ost sophi stica ted leve l of art ga th e rin g. Th e pa inters acquired in clud ed Rog ie r va n d e r Weyd e n , Ge rard D avid , Rid olfo G hirland aio , Spin ell o Aretino , Tadd eo di Bartolo, G iovanni di Paolo, along with m an y d ec orati ve a rt obj ec ts. Martha Wolff, curator at th e Art In stitute, argues that Rye rso n's tas te, whi ch beca m e m ore ambi ti ous and co nsiste nt in th e post-War period , concentrated up on pa intin gs th at

we re, in h e r wo rd s, "com pl ex, fin ely wro ught, and perso nal -ofte n intim ate - in th e ir co mmu n ica ti on ." 8 H e prefe rred th e relati vely austere U mbrian and Tusca n pa inters to th e more se nsuous Veneti an sc h ool. 9 Spendin g large sums on his coll ec ting, Rye rson, imm edi ately after purch asin g th em , put m an y of th e pi ctures on di spla y in th e ga ll eri es of th e Art In stitute. But h e also kept man y favo rites at his h om e on South Drexel Boul eva rd , not far from the U ni vers ity of C hi cago (fi g. 6). Hi s h ouse, still standin g, was large and elegant, but not an extraordi na ry sh owpl ace. Th e pi ctures and obj ec ts we re ca refull y arranged an d privately enj oyed, but th ey were lent out frequently to th e Art Institute, to a point wh e re things h e still owned we re listed in th e Art Institute ca talogue. During th e tee ns and twenti es. as th e ea rli er paintin gs beca m e

be tte r known to sp ec iali sts, Rye rso n 's

to acknowl edge hi s ge n eros ity; hi s gifts

hom e was visited by a strea m of noted

are sca tte red with no attempt to e mpha-

art histor ia ns and c riti cs, profu se in th e ir

size th e ir o ri gin . A few attr ibutions have

tributes to hi s tas te as well as hi s h ospi-

ch anged in th e co urse of time, but al-

ta lity (fi g. 7). Th ey in clud ed Fra nk Jewe tt M a th e r of Prin ceton , Lion ello

most n othing in th e Rye rso n coll ections

Ve nturi of Turin , Ri c h ard Offn e r, Paul

o r fa lse. Hi s judgm e nts h ave stood up

Sa ch s, Ra im ond van Marie, Be rn a rd 10 Be re nso n , a nd Wi lli am Vale ntin e r. Rye rso n 's hi ghl y p e rso n al a nd fo c used

well , fo r rela ti vely l ittl e has bee n deaccess io n ecl. 13As be n efactor and coll ec tor

ta stes, well inform ed by co nte mporary

hi s re puta ti o n to th e in stitution and th e

sch ola rship , were backed by a fortun e th a t pe rmitted him to pa y hi gh pri ces for

city, following n o obvious fa shi on in

ackn owledged m aste rs and ga in th e a id of recogni zed expe rts. The sp ec ialist a nd futur e direc tor of th e D e troi t Institute

h as b ee n found to b e m ediocre, forged ,

h e stands in a class ic civic lin e, linking

ta ste, a nd appa re ntly un concern ed abou t posthumous fame. H e kn ew what he was ge ttin g and m ade few mi stakes. H oldin g a simil a r socia l rank in

of Arts, William Vale ntin e r, was look ing

C hi cago, an d , as n ea r as one can dete r-

for thin gs th a t Rye rson mi ght lik e in Euro pe; h e c rea ted the coll ec tor's ca ta-

anoth e r Art In stitute be n efac tor. W h il e

min e, just as wea lth y as Ryerson , was

logue, n eve r publi h eel a nd n ot quite ch olarl y e no ugh for Rye rson's tas te. 11

h e r prese n ce in th e muse um toda y is

Th e Rye rso n a rt, moreover, was sprea d th ro ugh th e Art In stitute, subj ec t to no

appli ed to h e r in l ife. Kate Sturgis Bu ckin gh am was dri ve n by diffe rent

res tri cti ons. Wh e n h e di ed, Rye rso n left

goa ls (fig. 8) . Th e granddaughte r of an Ohio pi onee r, sh e was born two yea rs

everythin g to th e mu se um , except for thin gs re maining in th e h ou se, a nd those came six years late r on th e dea th of hi s wid ow. The total in clud ed almost e ighty nin etee nth- and twe nti eth-ce ntury E uropea n paintings, thirty-seve n Italia n primiti ves, twenty-five Fre n c h a nd F le m ish primiti ves, Japa n ese tex til es a nd o bj ec ts, forty America n paintin gs, thirtyseven e igh teenth-ce ntury Dutch , Fren ch , Spanish , and Fl e mi sh oil s, m a ny watercolors and prints, and a host of ap plied obj ec ts of man y kind s, in cluding th e m edi eva l pi eces on displa y in Gunsa u lus Hall. 12 Whil e gall e ri es in th e Art In stitute bea r Rye rso n's name, th ey a re th e re 110

subdu ed , this adj ec tive co uld not be

afte r Ryerso n , in Zan esvi ll e, Ohio, in 1858. 14 And it was h e r fami ly and th e pl aces th ey li ve d-Zan esvill e and C hi cago-th a t aro used Kate Buck ingh am's deep es t loya lti es. Brought up on C hi cago's stree t of milli ona ires, Prair ie Avenu e, sh e e njoyed th e wealth crea ted by h er banker fath er, Ebeneezer Buckingh a m , a powe rful fi gure in the city in th e yea rs just befor e and afte r th e Great Fire of 187 1, much involved in gra in elevators, street ra ilways, and bank ing. Kate Buckingham moved through a li fe of pr ivilege -wintering in Arizona, su mm e ring in wes te rn Massachusetts, in

Am e ri ca n ta ste for Japan ese art. But five yea rs later, in 1913 , C lare n ce Bu ck in gh am di ed sudd enl y, one year after hi s fath e r. Th e four tee n hundred prints in hi s co ll ec ti on we re moved to th e Art In stitute and Freder ick Gookin bec am e th eir first c urato r. Kate Buck ingh am now h ad h er broth er's m e m ory to promote, and ind eed, mu ch of h er next twenty-fi ve years was d evoted to keeping th e fam il y's nam e Fig. 8. Kate Buckingham.

both cases on famil y es tates. Littl e is known, beyond occasiona l anecdotes conce rning her penchant for good works, abo ut h er ea rl y yea rs. Sh e, and h er two siblings, C larence and Lu cy Maud, neve r married, and in some ways her life wou ld be dominated by th eir needs and interests. In fa ct, it wa s h er old er broth er, C larence , wh o beca m e th e fam il y's first collector. Like other C hi cagoans Buckingham found hi s life changed by th e World 's Columbi an Exposition in th e summer of 1893 . Captivated by th e Japanese di spla y on th e fa ir's Wood ed Island , with in a short time h e em e rged as an enthu siastic coll ec tor of Japanese wood blo ck prints. In thi s h e wa s co mpl e m e nted by a loca l architec t named Frank Ll oyd Wright, soo n simultaneo usly co ll ec tor and dealer. In 1908, Wright, Buck ingham , and a bank employee and coll ector nam ed Fred eri ck Gookin orga ni ze d a showin g of more than six hundred Japan ese prints at th e Art In stitute , wh e re C larence Buckingham erved as a tru stee. 15 Th e in stallation proved a triumph for Wright and th e show a landm ark in em ergin g

visibl e within th e city. Sh e provid ed fund s to in crease th e coll ec tion - tod ay more than te n tim es th e size of th e group Bu ckingham left-a nd deeded all th e prints, and an endowm ent, to th e Art In stitute in 1925 . Two years late r, sh e pe rp etuated h e r broth e r's na m e with an eve n more extravaga nt gesture, a $7 50,000 fountain in Grant Park wh ich re main s on e of th e city's most popular and recogni za bl e landma rks seventy years late r. By th en Kate Bu ck in gha m h ad gotten into h er own coll ec ting, although it was again in the famil y interest. H er sister, Lu cy Maud Buckingham, was in va li ded . According to lege nd , Kate Buckin gham co mm enced coll ec ting to amuse h er sister in th e yea rs after h er broth er's dea th. Starting abo ut 19 15 she bega n to acq uire C hin ese porc elain s, snuff bottl es, and oth er "c uri os." Pres um abl y h er broth er's inte rest in As ian art had se rve d a so m ething of a spur, along with an existin g coll ection of Chinese obj ec ts give n th e Art In stitute by anoth er Chicagoan , Samuel Nickerson. With h e r broth e r's fortun e add ed to h er own, th ere th en ca m e h er sister' inh er itan ce, after Lu cy 111

Maud Bu ckin g ha m 's dea th in 1920. Kate Bu ckin gha m was n ow o n e of th e wea lthi es t wom e n in C hi cago. Durin g th 1920s sh e moved fr o m th e Pra iri e Ave nu e h o m e h e r fat h e r h ad built into a coop e ra ti ve apa rtm e nt o n th e No rth S id e, in co rp o ra tin g within it so m e room s of th e old e r h o use, whi c h sh e th e n ra zed . Fa mil y pi e ty was a stron g po int with Ka te Bu ckin g h am. And it was to m em o ri ali ze h e r siste r th a t sh e beca m e in volved with th e a rts of th e M iddl e Ages . But h e re sh e de mon strated th e sh ortco mings of e nthusiasm in suffi cie ntl y ch ecked by expe rti se. Ka te Bu ckingh a m 's Ori e ntal coll ec tion s we re g uid ed by so m e of th e co untry's most knowledgeabl e c urators as well as h e r own taste .

Fig. 9. Lucy Maud Buckin gham's Gothi c Room

Sh e bought from impo rta nt coll ec ti on s in an area th at th e Art In stitute wa s al-

( 1924).

rea dy well establi sh ed ; th e muse um h ou sed an exte nsive se t of exp e rts, ac tu-

ma y have bee n moved by th e a rc hitec-

all y m ore th a n fo r We te rn a rts, suppl em ented by o th e r spec iali sts like Be rthold

th ose from go thi c E urop e, that dominated th e Art In stitute in its ea rl y yea rs,

La ufer of th e Fi eld Mu se um . 16 T h e re we re impo rta nt local d ea le rs. H e r pe r-

or sh e m ay have wanted to fi ll in coll ec -

so nal deli ght in th e C hin ese bron zes that sh e prese nted th e mu se um vva s palpable, eve n if h e mi g ht h ave b ee n nud ge d to wa rd th ese purc h ases b y mu se um c ura tors. 1But in de te rminin g to c rea te a go thi c m e m o ri al to h e r siste r sh e stumbl ed badl y, spe ndin g la rge sum s of mon ey on obj ects th at o nl y a co upl e of d ecades late r e mbarrassed th e obj ec t of h e r ge n eros ity. Wh y Kate Bu ckin gh am dec id ed upon a go thi c se ttin g as a n appropri ate m e mori al to h e r sist r is un clea r. Sh e 112

tural a nd sc ulptural cas ts, pa rti c ul a rl y

ti on ga ps. But in seeking evoca ti on as a goa l she wa s moving down a road wh ic h doze ns of Ame ri ca n art muse um s we re takin g during th e 1920s. Pe riod rooms we re a c ra ze of th e decad e- in Brookl yn , Phil ad elphi a, New York , and Boston as well as in Ch icago-some of th e m actual reco nstru c ti o ns of spec ifi c se ttings, more often co mposites des ign ed to projec t a n alm ost cin ema ti c feel for th e pe riod and a co mfortab le settin g for th e art. 18 "To e nte r th e Goth ic Room is to step into anoth e r world," gush ed th e Art In titute's Bulletin .19

Th e Lu cy Maud Buckin gh a m M e m-

li cit)' pa rti c ul a rl y co n ce rnin g h e r e nte r-

oria l Gothic Ro om, as it was ca ll ed , was

ta inin g a nd trave l h ab its, Ka te Bu cking-

th e larges t of th e se ri es of pe riod rooms

h am clicl n ot req uire publi c adul a ti on for

th a t wou ld be es tabli sh ed in th e Art

h e r gifts. At on e point sh e h ad thought of

Institute, alth ough n ot th e first (fi g. 9).

se ttin g up h e r own ga ll e ry, but cl ec icl ecl

Th ree yea rs ea rli e r h ad co m e th e

in stea d to place eve rything with in th e

Jaco bean Room , give n by Ka te Bu cking-

Art In stitute itself. For he r de pa rted rela-

h a m in m e mory of h e r pare nts.20 But thi s

ti ves, h owever, recogni ti on was ce ntral.

portrait-li n ed room from Wales wa s ove r-

But so m e thing we nt wro ng with h e r

sh aclowecl , in sca le a nd exp e n se, by th e

E urop ea n coll ec tin g a nd M iss Bu ckin g-

Gothic Ro om th at op e n ed in 1924,

h am apparently rea li zed it. Wh e n th e

atte mptin g to bring toge th e r sc u lpture,

m use um 's registra r, G . E. Kalte nbach ,

tapes tri es, arch itec tural de ta il s, a nd th e

wro te h e r in 1933 th a t a Swiss tapes try

minor a rts in th e inte rest of establi shin g

spec iali st h a cl elated on e of h e r gifts to

a unity of express ion . Ka te Buckingh a m

th e Gothi c Room as being wove n no

purc h ased for it furniture a nd h ouseh old

la te r th a n 1400 (a nd a sup e rb exa mpl e

obj ec ts des ign ed to evoke an e ra set

of its kind ) sh e a nswe red almost imm edi -

som ewh e re b e twee n A.D. 800 a nd 1500,

a tely. It was "a n ove l!:)' to find a nything

a c ulture, th e Art In stitute C urator of

I h ave g ive n to th e Art In stitute that is

D eco rati ve Arts, M eyri c Rogers, wrote a

n ot 'qu es tio nab le,"' sh e obse rved ace r-

bit late r in hi s guid e to th e coll ec ti o n,

bi ca ll y. And th e n sh e co mpl ain ed abo ut

"as for eign to us as th e c ultures of th e

th e task of findin g suita ble ob jec ts for

pre-cl ass ica l world and th e Ori e nt. " 21 In

a n in stitution th a t re main ed skepti ca l

th e inte rest of suggesting this exoti c pas t,

of h e r b es t efforts. "I ha ve tri ed so ha rel

a nd e mph as izin g co ntinuiti es b etwee n th e reli gious a nd sec ul a r wo rlds, Kate

to n eve r offer th e m a n ything th a t h as n ot b een passed upon by th e best 'expe rts'

Bu ck in gham sp e nt m ore th a n $ 300,000

I co uld sec ure," sh e expl a in ed. "Afte r

on th e stain ed glass , ca nd elabra , mantl es, go thi c d oors a nd furnitur e, sc ulp-

pa yin g all th eir expe nses" to a nd fr om New York, " in order to ge t th e VERY

ture, pa intin gs, a nd oth e r thin gs that

BEST," a nd afte r a pp a re ntl y acce ptin g

fill ed th e room . Sh e bought fr om d ea le rs like Jacqu es Seli gm ann , Loui s Co rnillon ,

th eir judgm e nts, locals re m ain ed un co nvin ced . Fru strated a nd p e rh aps a l ittl e

Kl einb e rge r, P. W . Fre n ch , M itc h ell

a mu se d , Mi ss Bu ck in gh a m th a nk ed

Samuels, Kelekian , Josep h Brumm e r, D e Motte, And e rso n G all e ri es, a nd oth -

Ka lte nb ac h for hi s kindne ss in co mpli-

e rs of well establi sh ed reputation . In thi s

back to h e r purc h as in g n In fact, h e r wo rst fears wo uld b e rea l-

room , a nd th e Jacobean Room as well ,

m e nt in g h e r, and res ign edl y turn ed

sh e wanted h er own nam e in visibl e. These we re fam il y m e mori als a nd ,

ize d . Two yea rs after h e r dea th in 1938,

despite a pe n c h a nt for mi schi evo us pub-

tor, iss u ed a co nfid e nti al a nd depress in g

D a ni el Catton Ri ch , the mu seum direc-

report to th e Board ofTrustees. Relyin g upon a de ta il ed analys is of th e d ec ora-

c urator declared th at th e M emori al was "far fr om an y acceptabl e muse um stan-

tive arts coll ec ti ons by Professor Ulri ch M iddl edorf of Th e Uni ve rsity of C hi cago,

dard and is by no m ea ns worthy of th e ge ne rou s intent of th e donor." H e urged an imm edi ate removal of forge ri es . But

th e c urator, and a Briti sh expe rt, Ri ch co nclud ed th at th e Jaco bea n and Go thi c h all s stood in n eed of imm edi ate ac ti on. T h e Gothi c Room, in stall ed at a cos t of alm ost $ 100,000 had co nsum ed , alon g with its obj ec ts, so m e $ 500,000. Th e res ults were, to say th e leas t, disa pp ointing. Th e 1940 Report on th e Buckingham Coll ec ti ons wa s m arked "Co nfid enti al" with a note attac h ed , "D o no t co mmuni ca te to an vo ne except o n express requ es t from th e Direc tor (th at m eans eve rybod y)." Th e eva lu ati on of indi vid ual obj ec ts wa s dominated b y comm ents li ke "Strongly suspec t - largely m ade up ," "Poor style-probabl y mad e up ," "Mostl y, if not all , mod e rn ," "Forge ry," "Qu es ti onabl e," "Doubtful." Some objec ts ea rn ed the hi gh co mm endation of "Poss ibly genuin e- poor" o r "Ge nuin e but m edi oc re." Th e obj ec ts in clud ed ch airs, ni c hes, portals, cassoni , pa intings, statuary, and th e amo unts pa id ran from $7 5 to $3 1,000 fo r a Spani sh Madonn a desc rib ed as "Probabl y genuin e- third qu ali ty," and $ 11 0,000 for th e Mill e Fle urs tapes try, whi ch did , afte r all , p rove to be ge nuin e. Expe rts declared th at it wo uld be useless to reco nstitute th e Memo ri al. "Th e room is a poo r forge ry an d sh ould be repla ced by a ge nuin e example .... " Th e rec ommend ati on was to set asid e $ 16,000 to completely reestabli sh th e room , with th e ass istan ce of a rec ogni ze d expert. Presentin g th e report to hi s direc tor, th e

acknowledging th e rarity of genuin e medieva l mate ri al, h e h ad no sense of what to do abo ut th e large r gro up of objects. There is no Gothic Room in today's Art In stitute, nor an y Jacobean Room eith er. Th e Buckingh am Fund co ntinues to all ow th e Art In stitute to purchase individu al obj ec ts of importance; several As ian coll ecti ons and th e Buckingham prints ex ist as th ey do largely beca use of Kate Buckingham's ben evolence. And , in G un sa ulu s H all , signifi ca nt individual pi eces co ntinu e to mark he r ea rli er intenti ons. But as se ttings th e Bu ckingh am M emorial rooms are go ne. Kate Buckingham had broad interests; she supp orted doze ns of aspiring musical a rtists; as id e from th e founta in sh e left on e m illi on doll ars to m emorialize Alexa nd er H amilton in a public statue , to h er mind th e greatest Am erican politi ca l lea d er of th e Revo lutionary yea rs. And h er be n efaction s to th e Art In stitute, in obj ec ts and cash , totaled million s of doll ars. But as a coll ector of m edi eva l obj ec ts sh e d emonstrated th e pitfalls co nfrontin g wea lth y amateurs wh e n th ey bought with greater enthu sias m th an di sce rnm e nt, or wh en a powe rful and knowledgea bl e curator was un abl e to provide grea te r direction. H er co ll ec tion s also demon strated h ow un even tas te could be within a sin gle coll ec tor. For th e As ian materials, cull ed though th ey ma y be, are among

th rt Institute' mot ignifica nt obj cts. It was in trying to assemble th e go thic and Jacobea n object that th e coll ec tor fa ltered. In the encl , Kate Buckingham wa a boos ter-of th e city, of her fam il y, of th e Art Institute, of her politi cal views. Irreve rent, unpredi ctabl e, witty, and ho til e to sham and pretension - in her old age she once held a dinn er party to hon or a new wig- he was also dee pl y co mmitted to her ro le as a co ll ec tor-patron. "Wh en I wa s a girl ," she was quoted in later yea rs, "Chicagoa ns had to travel fa r and wide to see thin gs of bea uty. I am glad I have li ved to see th e cla y when peopl e come from far and wide to ee thin gs of beauty in C hi cago."' 4 Drawn to coll ec tin g in her fifti es, fir t as a devi ce to amuse an ill sister and th en to memoriali ze her broth er and her parents, to pi ety and boosteri sm she added, undoubtedl y, special affec tion for man y of th e things she bought. But un li ke Rye rson her co nn oisse urship was li mited and she beca me prey to ove rl y enthu siastic, ill informed, or loosely prin cipl ed dea lers. Th e Bu ck in gham story is both impress ive and ca uti onary. Whil e her fin ancial end owme nts and Asian art interes ts have bee n cru cial to th e growth of th e mu se um 's coll ec tion s, th e moni es expend ed on th e memorial room s, were, if not th rown away, damagin g to both institutional ambiti ons and th e goa ls of memori ali za ti on. Co uld curators have stee red Kate Buckin gham away from more obv ious frauds? Would h e have permitted th em to do thi s? Were curato rs less influenti al in shaping coll ec ting goa ls and method s in the ea rl y twenti eth

c ntury th an dealers? urv1v1ng materials do not explain why, amid th e skepticism of local expert , Kate Bu ckingham co ntinu ed to pre ent the mu se um with dubi ous or unimpressive pi eces. But thi s may we ll have been a more charac teri sti c patron pattern th an th e mas terl y reputati ons of figures like Ryerso n, J abell a tewa rt Gardner, John G. John on, and oth r of that era. A a m di e,路ali st, Kate Bu ckin gham's ro le in th e rt Institute wa parall eled un expec tedl y by a third coll ec tor, George Franklin Hardin g, who , we re he ali ve now, wou ld be bitterl y di appointed by hi institution al fate and margin al tatu s (fi g 10). fi gure of promin ence sixty yea rs ago, h has practica ll y vanished from popul ar co n ciousnes , exce pt for occas iona l press arti cles th at reca ll hi surpn s1ng ca reer. Harding was born in Chicago in 1868, twelve yea rs after Rye rso n and ten after Buckin gham. 21 Sent to Phillips Exeter caclemy, Hard ing gra duated from Harvard Coll ege and, following hi s fa th er, Harva rd Law School. Like hi broth ers he was a star athl ete-boxer, oarsman, and football player. Thi s may have prepared him for entry into C hi cago politi cs, a more pl aus ibl e sce nario for a Republi ca n nin ety yea rs ago th an it i tod ay. At a particularl y colorful point in th e city's hi story, in 1903, he was elec ted alderman of th e second ward , and after seve ra l term went on to th e Illin oi Senate. successful realtor - he was known as th e M illi ona ire Ald erm an-he became a major adviser to th e city' Republi ca n mayor, th e fa bl ed "Big Bill" Thompson. 26 In 1919

stron g h old o n hi s im ag in a ti o n , as sh own by th e g rea t h all wh e re hi s arm o r-cl ad kni ghts h old sway .... " 27 Hi s prin cipal ri vals in a rm o r ga th e rin g we re milli o naires like Willi a m Rand olph H ea rst and C la re n ce M ackay, o r sp ec iali sts like Bas hford D ea n , c ura to r of th e M e tro polita n Muse um 's coll ec ti o n , Ste ph e n V. G ra n csay, hi s su ccesso r, a nd C. Otto vo n Ki e nbusc h , wh o wo u ld give hi s a rm o r to th e Phil adelphi a Mu se um of Art. H ardin g co mpe ted on th e wo rld Fig. 10. George F. Harding.

m a rke t for thi s a rm o r, was advi sed by D ea n a nd Ki e nbusc h , a nd re m ain ed in

Ha rdin g was elec ted co mptroll e r of th e C ity of C hi cago, and in 19 26 Treasure r

co n sta nt to u c h with th e m . H e visited E urop e a t leas t on ce eac h yea r, co n-

of Cook Co unty. Thi s was h is las t publi c

tac ted d ea le rs throughout th e world ,

offi ce. Promin ent e n o ugh to be in vited to lun c h a t th e White H o use with Pres id e nt

a nd e n gage d in co mp lex and ofte n

H oove r, in 1936 h e beca m e Republ ica n

a rm o r o ut fr o m und e r gove rnm e ntal

ati onal Committee m a n for Illi no is, a

a uth o riti es in Spain a nd Au stri a. H ow a nd wh y did thi s co ll ec tin g

m a jo r pa rti c ipa nt in th e di sastrous ca m-

expe n sive ga mbits to move prec iou s

paign of Alf La nd o n . Three yea rs la te r, in 19 39, h e di ed . H ad th is bee n all th e re

begin ? Inte rviewed in hi s late r yea rs,

was to H a rdin g's ca ree r it wo u ld h ave

rea ll y just thin gs h e a nd hi s fath e r l iked -go t sta rted durin g hi s fath e r's life tim e.

b ee n inte res tin g if unre m a rkable. H oweve r, fo r th e las t twenty yea rs

H a rding decla red th at th e coll ec tion -

Whil e se ttling hi s fath e r's es tate, h e

of hi s Iife H ardin g was also an ac ti ve, impass io n ed , a nd a mbiti o us coll ec to r.

expl a in ed to reporte rs, h e got drawn in him self.2 8 Hi s co ll ec tin g ac ti vity was

H e am assed a n extrao rdin a ry a rray of item s, a m ong th e m canes, poste rs, musica l in stru men ts, paintin gs, sc ulpture,

co nfin ed la rgely to th e 1920s and 1930s, wh e n h e also m ove d to a large h o use o n

ship mo dels, fi g ur e h ea ds, ru gs, a nd wea th er va n es . But h e was best kn own as o n e of th e fo ur or fi ve m os t pro min e nt Ame ri ca n accumul a to rs of medi eva l and Renaissance a rmor a nd assoc ia ted weapons. Despite h is ca th oli city of taste, one magaz ine writer noted in 1932, " it is certain that the middle ages h ave take n a

116

th e so uth sid e of th e c ity, not far from Th e U ni ve rsity of C hi cago, a nd th e re, alo ngs id e th e tracks of th e Illin ois Central, h e c rea ted a la rge additi on , pa rt Fre n c h c h a tea u , pa rt fo rtress, th a t beca m e for seve ral deca d es o n e of th e sights of th e city (fi g. 11 ). H e re, a mid spec tac ul a r if crowd ed inte ri o rs, H a rdin g sh owe d off his rem arka bl e assembly of obj ects, in clud-

ing sixty-four suits of a rm or, two-hun dred-a nd-fifty nin e tee nth-ce ntury pa intin gs, a n imp orta nt gro up of F rede ri ck Re min gtons, C h opin 's pi a n o, in strum e nts used b y Beeth ove n a nd Li szt to co mpose up on , a nd oth e r signifi ca nt assoc ia ti on pi eces in cl udi ng a b ed slep t in by Na poleo n, a hu ge rug on ce own ed by th e G ra nd Duke Alex is of Ru ss ia, a suit of a rm o r prese n te d b y Qu ee n Vi cto ri a to th e ten-yea r-old Crown Prin ce Fri edrich Wilh elm of Ge rm a ny, a nd a c h a ise loun ge on whi c h Abrah a m Lin coln h ad on ce stre tch ed (fi gs. 12-14). H e form ed th e H a rdin g M use um as a non-profit co rporati on in 1930; admi ssion was free, a nd th e mu se um wa s ope n, in non-summ e r m onth s, fi ve days a week. Th e re a re n o fi gures on atte nd a n ce, but lo ca l res id e nts, high sch ool and uni versity

Fig. 11. Hardi ng's Castl e.

stude nts, b oy sco uts, clubs a nd soc ie ti es, a nd visiting n otabl es m ade fr equ e nt

rece nt painte rs with th e ac quisiti on of

visits. "H e re is th e a rti st too , th e n, wh o

th e a ntiqu es,'' spo uted on e visitor. 29 Th e H a rdin g M use u m , in sh ort, was a

coll ects for sh ee r love of a rt, a nd is not afraid to min gle a patro n age of th e m ore

m od e rn wu nderkammer, a ca bin e t of c uri os iti es on whi c h H a rdin g cl a imed to h ave spe nt milli ons of doll a rs in th e two deca des h e coll ec ted . As a p rofess ional politi cia n , H a rdin g va lu ed publi c ity a nd proved to be a n in vete ra te self-p ro m ote r. H e acc umul a ted for ty volum es of press clippin gs, rep orts cro pped wh e n eve r hi s na m e, or th e na m e of a ny fa mil y m e mbe r, app ea red in print, no m a tte r h ow min or th e refe re n ce. F ro m tim e to tim e H a rdin g decl a red hi s in te nti on to give

Fig. 12 . Th e Ma in Room at th e Harding

th e coll ec ti on to th e peop le of C hi cago.

Museum .

O ccas ion all y h e indi ca ted th e Art In stitute mi ght be hi s rec ipi en t. 10 T h e p ro bl e m h e re wa s H a rding's in siste n ce

that eve rythin g b e kep t toge th e r. Alth o ugh obj ec ts fr om th e H a rdin g collec ti o n we re ind eed sh own a t th e Art Institute fro m tim e to tim e, and Director Rob e rt H a rsh e appa ren tly e njoyed goo d rela ti on s with H ardin g, offe rin g ad vice o n ce rta in purch ases, clea rl y mu c h of th e di spl ay was co nside red in appropri ate, in te rm s of subj ec t, m edium , qua l ity, and /o r auth e nti city. But H a rdin g, appa re ntl y, in sisted o n all or no thin g, a nd th e public ges tures to th e Art In stitute ca m e to n au ght. Why H arding bought, beyond his armor and weap ons coll ec ti o n , is uncl ea r. H e so ught out fin e a rm o r with th e aid of recogni zed expe rts, and paid hi gh pri ces . But th e oth er thin gs were matte rs of whim and oppo rtunity. W h a teve r was c uri o u s, in expe n sive , a nd ap pea lin g, a nd wo uld add to th e atm osph ere of hi s castl e, se rved hi s taste . Th e ra nge of dea le rs H a rdin g dealt with was mu ch b roa d e r th a n th ose se rvin g e ith e r Rye rso n o r Bu ckin gham ; th ey in clud ed seve ral wh o m ade extrava ga nt a nd in supp o rtable claim s, and whose cli ents-a nd bu siness m e thod scou ld be equ ally sh ad y. H a rdin g was h ospitable as well as fl amb oya nt, op e nin g hi s h o use for spec ial gro ups, e n co uragin g stud e nts to atte nd , a nd m a inta in ing, simulta n eo u sly, a bu sy poli ti ca l sch edul e . At hi s dea th , in 1939, th e n on-profit

F ig. 13. T h e inte ri o r of th e Ha rdin g Muse um

corpora ti on h e h ad establish ed took ove r,

with a rm o r.

and for seve ral deca des th e H a rd ing Muse um rem ain ed open .

F ig. 14. T h e H ardin g Mu se um , mu sical

But its loca ti on proved its undoin g.

in strum e nts.

Wh e n , in th e 1950s, th e n e ighborhood und erwe nt radi cal urba n re n ewal, th e

F ig. 15. Th e H ardin g Co ll ec ti on in th e C rerar

H ardin g compl ex was doo m ed . Befor e

Libra ry buildin g.

118

th e buildings were razed all th e furni shings and so m e of th e exhibiti on obj ec ts were au ction ed off. Th e trustees decid ed to rent space on seve ral fl oo rs of th e old John Crera r Library. On th e co rn er of Randolph a nd Mi chi ga n , on e block fr om M a rshall Fi eld's, th e d owntown site h eld p ro mi se, but th at p ro mi se went unfulfill ed. Th e di spl ay was n ow quite diffe re nt. Th e bl ank white wa ll s co uld n ot suppl y th e th ea tri ca l, eve n m en acin g atm os-

uted to releva nt d epartm ents to be used for ac qui siti onsn Eve n with so drasti c a redu cti on, th e Art ln stitute's arm or probabl y co nstitutes one of th e three or fo ur best asse m bli es in th e co untry. H e re H ardin g's kn owledge and advice p roved equal to th e task, but th e array of objec ts whi ch made hi s cas tl e so m emo rable have now bee n sca tte red and hi s name has prac ti ca ll y va nish ed from th e local sce ne . Th e three stori es I have summ ari zed

sc raper. Th e tru stees of th e H a rdin g Mu se um confin ed th e m selves to wa rehousing th e obj ects, sending out selections to Midweste rn ve nu es, a nd pay ing

co ntain both obvious parall els and arres ting contrasts. All three patrons li ved about th e sa m e tim e, were born to wealth in promin ent fa mili es, we re well traveled and , in two cases at leas t, well edu ca ted, possessed va ri ed interes ts, and we re c ivic loya li sts. Th eir m edi eva li sm , whil e onl y

th em se lves la rge sa la ri es . Indeed, it is h ere th at th e story ass um es its most dram ati c character. Eve r sin ce H arding's d ea th his estate had bee n involved in litigation , and wh en it was di scovered th at portions of th e coll ection were bein g sold to m eet expenses, in vestiga tions began . 32 Ultimately, state legislation was produ ced, definin g more cl ea rl y th e fidu ciary responsibiliti es h eld by trustees of n on-profitabl e in stitution s. As part of a co mpl ex settl em ent, th e Art Institute was g ive n its ch oice of th e rem aining H ardin g m ateri als, by th en in a N ew York wareh ouse. From th em it selec ted large porti ons of th e arm or and wea pons, and do ze ns of oth er pi eces Remington paintings , m edi eva l sc ulpture and occas ional pan els, a nd so m e small er obj ec ts. Th e vast m a jori ty of things were sold , and th e m oni es di strib-

on e coll ec tin g e nthusiasm of many, typifi ed th eir appro ac hes to art m ore ge nerall y. Rye rson's pri va te, inte nsely pe rsonal response to art's em otive co ntents was a source of co mmuni on with semi-religious valu es, parti cul arl y at hom e. Kate Buckingh am 's m edi eva li sm was a mem oriali zing instrum ent, evoking h er sister and asse rtin g th e fa mil y line through a shrin e-like dom esti c se tting. For H ardin g it was co mbat - bu cca n ee rin g, h eroi c, co nfrontati onal, and bombas ti c- th at und erl ay hi s m edi eva l enthusias ms. Priva te d evo ti on, fa mil y co mm em orati on, and wa rfare: not an improbabl e tri ad to abstrac t from th e Middl e Ages. Today, howeve r, each coll ec tor is represe nted n ot by th em es or interests but by indi vidual pieces ea rning th eir pl aces at th e tabl e onl y after p rofess ionals have appli ed th eir stand ards of co nn oisseur-

ph e re of H a rding's cas tl e (fi g. 15). And thi s buildin g itself wo uld soo n com e down , to be repl aced by an offi ce sky-

ship an d auth enti city. In stituti onal

a rm o r: cash co unts most. But th ese

sh ape rs h ave beco m e in stitution all y shap ed . In thi s sense Ka te Buckingham 's

conclu sions are qui ck fi xes to more

most lasting contribution s were h e r cas h

complex issu es. Strong institution s absorb a nd eve n

e ndowm ents, pe rmittin g th e Art Institute,

efface strong individuals. Today's Art

parti c ularl y in th e 1940s, to bu y m edieval

In stitute- in layout, scope, a nd displ ay

objec ts of grea te r qu ality than a n y sh e purch ased. Rye rso n , on th e oth e r h a nd ,

logic- de parts strikin gly from th e pla ce

th ough h e left more mon ey to th e Art In stitute than Ka te Buckin gh am did , wa s

simult a n eo usly more in clu sive and

so abl e a selec tor th at ve ry littl e a rt of th e

fo c used. Its h eart, howeve r, re m ain s th e

qua li ty h e him self ga th e red co uld be ga r-

gifts it h as received ra th e r than th e art

ne red with th e in com e h e provid ed . Harding was in many ways th e mo st sin-

it h as purc ha sed . For all its professional

gul a r of th ese fi gures, th e most de te rmin ed to protect hi s drea m of what a

n ess of fri e nds a nd , in Hardin g's case, of

mu se um sh ould look like and hi s hi ghl y

patron s kn ew seven ty yea rs ago. It is more selec ti ve , less evocative but more

ind epen d e n ce it h as reli ed on th e kindri vals. Th e comprehensive mu seum of a rt ho sts a dialogue between th e shaping

persona l approach to coll ectin g. But th e course of events h as eclipsed him more

a mbiti ons of c urators and directors and

full y th an eith e r of th e oth e rs: hi s dramatic and sentim e ntal vision of art, war-

prese nt, in most of th ese in stitution s, a

far e, a nd hum an hi story n ow subdu ed by th e Art ln stitute's ve ry diffe re nt appro ach to cla ss ifi ca ti on an d di splay. H arding's vision ma y yet obta in more atte nti ve nurture by th e Art In stitute, but for th e mom ent hi s grand amb iti ons are bound ed by sh ares in a single exhibition h all. Are th e re lesso ns fr om all thi s? Morali sts mi ght note th at th e m ost mod es t of th e three coll ectors, Martin A. Rye rson , ha s achi eved th e grea test p osthumous reputation: ni ce guys fini sh first. Professional s mi ght conclud e th at wh e n dono rs seek curatori al h elp-Mrs. Buckingham an d h e r Asia n coll ec tions- th ey ga in most su ccess : exp e rts h ave som e thing to contr ibute. Cyni cs might argu e th at th e Art Institute still has n o m edi eva l ga lle ri es as su ch nor a full-tim e c urator of 120

th e m oti ves and taste of its donors. At profess ionali zed id eal appears to have triumph ed; mu se um a rrange m e nts and ex hibition program s refl ect thi s vision. Prove n ance, institutional hi story, coll ector inten tion , all a re downplayed in philosophies of display, in favor of strict c rite ri a for a uth e nti city, segregation by m ed ia or p e riod , and occasional con troll ed syste m s of evoca tion. But thi s may not be a pe rman ent d estin a tion. As audiences shift and ways of dramati z in g th e mu se um broad e n , pe rsonalized vi sion s m ay swell to dominan ce in th e futur e, or at least muse um s ma y d ec id e to exploit their hi stories more aggress ively. Many gal le ry spaces h ave already ch an ged th eir fun ctions a nd ch a ra cte r more than once . And som e notab le coll ectors outs id e C hi cago -Robert Lehm an , Benjamin Altm an ,

Walte r Ann nb erg, and John G . Johnso n among th em - have had th eir dema nd s for perm anent id entity met, at least fo r th e moment. Th e history of our grea tes t mu eums is dynami c, more dynami c p rhap th an Rye r on, Bu ckin gham, and Harding mi ght have guessed, and mor dynami c al o th an contemp ora ry pl anners mi ght suspect. In th e e urpri ses, as hi tori ans a well as citi ze ns, we may take som e pl easure as well a alarm .

I. Rye rson's signi fi cance as a benefa ctor was treated in th e Bulletin of the Art Institute of C hicago 27 (Ja nu ary 1933), in what amoun ted to a me mori al iss ue, with seve ral bri ef essays devo ted to him by va ri ous curators, and ex trac ts fr om a memorial add ress by Di rec tor Robert Harshe. The extent of Rye rson 's infl uence was shown by th e fa ct th at se parate arti cles eva luated his gifts of paintings, ori ental obj ects, class ical obj ects, prints, decora tive arts, and books. o bi ograph y of Rye rson has bee n written bu t he has bee n treated by a nu mber of sc holars. A brief summ ary of hi life is provided in Dum as Malone, ed., Dictionary of American Biograph y (New York : Sc ribn er's, 194 3), vol. 16, pp . 272-273 . A chapte r is devoted to his caree r in Alin e B. Saa rin en, Th e Proud Possessors ( ew York : Rand om House, 195 8). Helen Lefk owitz Horowitz, C ulture 6 The City. Cu ltura l Ph ilanthropy in C hicago from the 1880s to 1917 (Lex ington: Uni versity Press of Kentu cky, l 976) exa mines Ryerson's acti viti es within th e context of C hi cago phil anth ropy. A sti mul atin g interpretati on of Ryerson's coll ec tin g is offered by Stefa n Ge rm er, "Traditi ons and Trends: Taste Patterns in C hi cago Co llectin g," Sue Ann Prin ce, ed., The Old G uard and the Ava nt-Ga rde. M odern ism in C hicago, 1910- 1940 (C hi cago and Lond on: Uni ve rsity of C hi cago Press, 1990), pp . 17 1- 19 1.

And, more rece ntl y still, 1lartha Wolff has analyzed Rye rso n's tas te in C hri stoph er Ll oyd et al. , Ita li an Paintings before 1600 in Th e Art Institute of C hicago. A Ca talog ue of th e Co llection ( hi cago: rt In titute of hi cago, 1993 ), " In trodu cti on," pp . xi-xvi. 2. Evide nce fo r this ca n be fo und in th e Rye rso n Papers, rt Institute of C hi cago, notably letters of inquiry and co ngratu lation sent to Rye rson whic h largely co nce rn ed th ese ea rli er wo rks.

3. See Helen Horowitz, Cu lture 6 Th e City , p. 73. Th e orton influ ence is sugges ted also in Ellis Waterh ouse, "Ea rli er Paintings in th e Earli er Yea rs of th e rt Institute: Th e Role of th e Pri va te Co llectors," luseum Studies I 0 ( 1983 ), pp . 79-9 1. 4. For th e in fl uence of Ru skin and m old more ge ne ra ll y on C hi cago civic phi lanthropists see Horowitz, C ulture 6 Th e C ity, chapter 4, pp . 70-92.

5. T he purchase of th ese pi ctures from the Demid off coll ecti on has bee n desc ribed in many places. For more on th e Demid off fam il y and th eir ea rl ier coll ecting see Fra ncis Has kell , " natole Demidoff and th e Wall ace oll ection," Anatole Demidoff Pri nce of Sa n Donato (1812- 1870) (Lond on: Wallace Coll ec ti on, 1994), pp. 9-3 1. 6. Ma rth a Wo lff, "Introdu ction," pp. x1-x11 , desc ribes th e D ura nd- Ruel purchases. 7. Bills and letters refl ecting th e e purchases and Rye rson's contac ts with specific dealers ca n be fo un d in th e Rye r on Papers. 8. Wolff, "Intro du cti on," p. xiv. nd see th e appreciati on of Rye rso n's pionee rin g taste and an ambiti ous effort to c hara cterize it in Dani el Ca tton Ri ch's essay, "T he Pa intings of Martin A. Rye rson," Bulletin of th e Art Institute of Chicago 27 (J anu ary 1933), pp . 3-14.

121

9. Ri c h co mm e nted that Rye rso n probab ly e njoyed hi s F lorentin e pa intings eve n more than th e Si enese; "he was neve r mi sled by th e extre m e mann e ri sm of her (Siena ] pa inte rs; nothing was furth e r fr om hi s pre fe ren ce th an so m e of h er swooning Madonnas." Ri c h, "T h e Pa intin gs o f Martin A. Ryerso n," p. 12.

12. Rye rso n's gifts we re reviewed in th e Bulletin of the Art Institute of C hicago 27 (Janua ry 193 3) iss ue co mm e morat ing hi s ac hi eve me nts; anoth er iss ue of th e Bulletin 32 (January 1938), ap pea rin g afte r th e dea th of M rs. Rye rson , furth er reviewed th e g ifts, and desc rib ed th e ex hibiti on that bega n in Janu a ry, 1938, showin g th e ran ge of Ryerso n's ge neros ity.

10. Frank Jewe tt Math er, Jr., th e art c riti c an d Prin ceto n art hi stori an , thanked Rye rson fo r hi s hospitali ty in a le tte r of Janu a ry 24, 1920, Rye rson Pape rs, decla ring that for Frenc h primiti ves onl y th e John G . John so n coll ec ti on in Phil adelphi a was equa l to th e Ryerson asse mb ly. Pa ul Sac hs, impressed on see ing Rye rson's thin gs at the Art Institute in 19 15, "pi ctures of sup e rl ati ve qu ali ty," he wrote at th e tim e, thanked Rye rson te n years late r for in viting him to hi s h ome for more pi cture viewin g (Paul J. Sa chs to Ryerson , March 22 , 19 15, a nd Jan uary 13, 1925, Ryerso n Pape rs). In hi s first lette r, Sachs wrote, "I trust you wi ll not take it am iss if as a strange r I write all thi s and co ngra tul ate yo u on yo ur remarkab le achi eve me nt. May I also express m y admirati on for th e li be ral spirit whi c h prompts you to m ake ava il able to th e publi c so great a collec tion ." Even strange rs expressed th eir gratitud e. In 1922 an a nonymou s out of towne r who visited C hi cago eac h summ e r partl y to see Rye rso n's a rt, co mm end ed hi m for hi s breadth and taste, and th anked him for th e joy of seein g th e paintings. "Wh at I write,'' th e co rrespo nd e nt co nclud ed , " is onl y a part of what I fe el abo ut th ose loa ns of yours; I am onl y one of hundreds who, like myse lf for yea rs pas t, keep sil e nce." (Anonym ous to Rye rso n , Augu st I , 1922, Rye rso n Pape rs). 11 . Rye rso n was also co nce rn ed abo ut th e cost es tim ates Val e ntin e r was getting. See W. R. Vale ntin e r to Rye rson, Janu ary 11, 1930, Rye rso n Papers. Rye rso n , und e r instru c ti ons from G. E. Kalte nbac h, th e Art Institute Registra r, used a spec ial ca ble code for Val entin e r, who was finding thin gs for th e Art Institute in th e ea rl y 1920s. Patrons like Rye rso n and Kate Buckingham we re bu ying lite rall y for th emselves but actua ll y for th e muse um . This co mpli ca ted th e ta sks of th e staff in innum erabl e ways.

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13. Rye rson's conscientiousness about attributi on was noted by Da ni e l Catton Ri c h in hi s 1933 essay. "Too ofte n a gro up of pi ctures co me into th e pe rm ane nt tru st of a mu se um , ove rl aid with wron g attributi ons, puffed up with fa lse reputation s. Bu t Mr. Rye rson ca red littl e for such things; h e was always ready to c ha nge a grea ter na me for a small e r, if th e small e r see med more just." Ri c h, "Th e Paintings of M artin A. Rye rso n," p. 6.

14 . Biograp hi ca l inform ation on Kate Buc kin gham is take n fr om ob itu a ri es, includin g th e one in th e C hicago Tribune, Dece mbe r 15, 1937, a nd a re mini sce nce, February 4, I 93 8, occasio nal recoll ec ti ons, a nd a co upl e of bri ef ske tc hes in c lud ing on e with occasiona l in acc uracies in Patricia Ere ns, Ma sterpieces. Famous Chicagoans and Their Paintings (C hi cago: C hi cago Review Press, 1979), pp . 77-99. 15. For th e history of Asian co ll ec ti ons at th e Art Institute see E linor L. Pea rl stein a nd Jam es T. Ulak, Asian Art in th e Art Institute of C hicago (C hi cago: Art Institute of C hi cago, 1993 ). Marga re t Ge n tl es, "C larence Buckingh am : Coll ector of Japa nese Prints," Apollo 84 (Se pte mb er 1966), pp . 208-2 15, offers a brief summ ary of Bu ckin gham's enthu siasm . Hi s siste rs appa re ntl y atte nd ed th e "print parti es" Buckin gham h osted in his ho me for other fri end s of Japan ese a rt.

16. Thus in 1926 th e sta ff of th e Art Institute co nta ined four peo pl e co nce rn ed with Oriental art: Charles Fabens Ke ll ey, th e Curator of Ori enta l rt; Do ri s K. W ilso n, th e Assistant urator; He le n Gun sa u lus, Ke e pe r of Japanese Prints; and Frede ri ck W. Gookin , ura tor of th e Buc kingha m Prin ts. In add ition Be rth old Laufe r, ura tor of siatic E th no logy a t th e Fi e ld Mu se um of atura l Hi story and an advisor to Kate Bu ck in gham , had bee n se rvi ng, since 1920, as Ho nora ry C urato r o f C h inese Ant iqui ties. At th e time the lnstitute's to tal c urato ria l staff numbe red onl y seve n. 17. T he Bucki ngham Chinese bron zes grew in n umber , sa id Curator Kell ey in an obituary n otice, beca use Kate Bu ckingha m "had a n insti nctive reac tion to a bron ze of up e rl ati ve qua li ty and found it diffic ult to res ist adding it to he r coll ection." Charles Fabe n Ke lley, "Th e Buckingham C h in ese Co ll ec tion ," Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 33 (April/May 1939), p. 52. So me of the Chinese a rt she bou ght wa late r reass ign e d to an ea rlie r date. But "a ttributions did no t inte rest he r partic ula rl y, and she wou ld neve r have d rea med of adva ncin g an op ini on of any so rt about th e tec hni ca l qu es tions invo lved ." T he co ll ection wa s kn own officia ll y as the Lu cy Maud Buckingh am Col lec tion , in memo ry of her siste r. For more on Kate Buck ingham's Ch in ese art inte rests see Elinor Pea rlste in , "T he C h inese Col lections at Th e Art Institute of C hi cago: Foundations of Sc holarly Tas te," Orientations 24 (June 1993 ), pp . 36-47

18. Fo r m o re on th e period room c ra ze see Dia nn e H . Pi lgrim , " In he ri ted from the Past: The Am e ri ca n Per iod Room," American Art Journa l 10 (Ma y 1978), pp. 4-23 ; and O smund O ve rby, "Th e Sa int Loui s Art Mu seum : An Archi tectu ra l H is tory," Saint Louis Art Museum Bulletin 18 (fa ll 1987), pp . 18-22 . 19. Bulleti n of the Art Institute of Chicago 18 (May 1924), p . 54.

20 . See Bulletin of th e Art Institu te of C hicago 15 (January 192 1), p. 122 for a d esc ription . A pi cture of th e Jacobea n room ca n be found in th e Bulletin 15 (M a rc h 193 1), p. 131.

21. M eyri c R. Roge rs a nd O swa ld Goetz, Handbo ok to the Lucy Maud Buckingham 1edieva l Co llection (C hi cago: Art Institute of C hi cago, 1945), p. 74. 22. Ka te Bu c king ham to . E. Kalte nbach , love mbe r 1, 1933, Kate Buck ingham Correspondence, rt Institute of C hi cago. Ka lte nbac h's lette r was dated October 30, 1933. Th e Swiss specia list was C. B. Gans .

23. The comme nts a nd quotations a re take n from a re port of th e direc tor to th e pres id e nt a nd me mbe rs of th e Buc kingham Committee , dated Ma y 15, 1940 , a nd fro m th e study th at prec ipitated it. It ca n be found in Box 2, fil e 4 of th e Buc kingham Pa pe rs at th e Art Institute. The bas is of Ri c h's re po rt was an exam in ation und e rtake n by c urator M eyri c Roge rs a nd Ulrich Middledo rf, a long with an outsid e pec ia li t from tuart and Turner Ltd . T he curato r a rgued th a t whi le furth e r ex pe rti se shou ld be so ught, the ve rdi cts o ffe red "will in the main be co nfirm ed."

24. Th ese lines are quoted , without attribution, in Erens, Ma sterpieces, pp . 91-92. Th ey are a lso quoted, a long with he r prid e in her midweste rn origins, by Chauncey M cCo rmi ck and Wa lte r B. Sm ith in th e "Bu ckin gham M e mo ri al otice,'' Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago 33 (Ap ril /May 1939), pp. 50-5 1.

25. Deta il s of 1-Jardin g's life are take n fr om Paul T. G ilbert and C harl es Lee Bryso n, C hicago and Its Makers (C hicago: Feli x Mend elso hn , 1929), p. 963; Albert Nelso n Marqu is, ed., Who 's Who In Chicago and Vi cinity (C hi cago: A. N. Marquis, 1936); th e ob itu ary in th e Chicago Tribun e, Apri l 3, 1939, p. P3; and fr om th e volumin ous Hardin g Scra pbooks, dozens of volum es now in th e arc hi ves of th e Art Ins titute of C hi cago. An analys is of Hardin g's coll ectin g is provid ed by \1\Ta lter J. Karches ki , Jr. , Arms an d Armor in Th e Art Institute of Chicago (Bos ton, New York, Toronto, London : Art Institute of C hi cago and Little, Brown, 1995 ), whi ch appea red after this essay was co mpleted. I-l e ca me fr om a remarkable fami ly. 1-lis grand father had moved to Monm outh , lll in ois, in th e 1830s, served in the legislature, becam e an anti-slavery leader and C ivil War ge neral, and acquired a fo rtun e through rea l es tate and railroad development. 1-lis so n, Geo rge F. Hardin g, attend ed Kn ox Coll ege in !llinois, and in lES l took his law degree from Harva rd, th e first []\in oi grad uate of th e Uni vers ity. He practi ced fo r a tim e in Peo ri a with anoth er aspiring Ill in ois attorn ey, Abra ham Lin coln , and wo uld attend Lin coln dur ing his 1858 debates with Steph en A. Douglas. Young Hardin g, with his fath er, helped crea te what wo uld become th e C hi cago, Burlingto n & Quincy Rail road , and , with both ac quired an d inh erited wealth , beca me ac ti ve in politics an d publi c interes t law. Among oth er thin gs he helped pass legislati on limiting railroad far es, and led th e bitter fi ght against C hi cago's street ca r trust. Immensely successful in real es tate he had seven children, in cluding three so ns who attend ed Harva rd . On e of th em was Geo rge Franklin Hard ing. 26. Hardin g was va lued for his ab ili ty to "deli ve r" th ousands of Afr ica n America n votes to th e Thompso n machin e, vo ters in hi s own and in neighboring wards. See, for exam pl e, Ll oyd Wendt and Herm an Kogan, Big Bill of Chicago 路 (lndi anapo lis and ew York: Bobbs-Merrill , 1953 ), pa ssim. 27. Ruth G. Bergman , "Treas ure-A n Explorati on of th e Castl e on the I. C. ," Chicagoan (Ap ril 1932 ), p. 25.

28. See, for example, C harl e Newton, "G. F. Hardin g's Coll ecti on of Art Enviabl e," Chicago Hera ld and Exami ner, l ovember 26, 1933. This arti cle, whi ch is in th e I-larding Scrapbooks, vo l. 24, also co ntains an extensive desc ripti on of th e coll ecti on. 29. Beth Goode, "Th e Hon. Geo rge F. Hardin g," Th e Woman Athletic (January 193 1), p. 10. 30. Among th ose who th ought this wo uld be th e des tin ati on of Harding's ar mor was his fell ow coll ector, Stephen V. G rancsay, who wro te hilll frolll th e Metropoli tan Muse ulll of Art, Jun e 2, 193 1, " I ca n appreciate what a wo nd erful thing it will be to ha ve yo ur coll ecti on installed th ere [T he Art Institute of C hi cago) perlll anentl y." Harding Papers, Art lnstitute of Chicago. I-J arding had left two dozen objects fr olll his coll ection to th e Metropol itan for a SUllllll er ex hibiti on. I-lardin g and G rancsay co rresponded regularl y about possibl e purchases frolll va ri ous coll ecti ons. 31. Th e clip ping books co ntain a se ri es of newspaper and lll agazi ne reports desc ribin g Harding's offers. Art World durin g J932 or 1933 reported th at unl ess th e Art Institute accepted th e entire collecti on, oth er plans wo uld be forlllu lated. 32. A sumlll ary of th e I-lardin g case is provided by Jane All en and l\tl ichae l Verm eulen, New Art Examiner (March 1977). 33. Bulletin of the Art In stitute of C hicago 76 (J ul y/August 1982), p. 11 , ann oun ced th at ow nerhip of th e a rills and art work fr olll th e Hardin g Museulll had bee n transferred to th e Art Institute, and prolllised a special ex hibiti on to be mounted within a yea r. This followed upon negotiations betwee n th e [-Jardin g Muse ulll directors and va ri ous loca l instituti ons. The Chicago Tribun e ran arti cles and colulllnS on th e tra nsfer of th e co ll ecti on to th e Art Institute in May and Jun e, I 982. Th e in vestigation by th e Illin ois Attorney Genera l had begun in 1976; an Interna l Revenue Service probe had also bee n undertaken.

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