Newsstand Rate $2.00
August 14, 2020
Published by The Bee Publishing Company, Newtown, Connecticut
INDEXES ON PAGES 36 & 37
200 Years
Of Bucks County Art
Jeannetta Beauvais attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts between 1948 and 1951. Her subject here, Nelson Derry, worked for several decades in the nursery and greenhouse business owned by the Darlington Family in Doylestown. According to the 1940 census, Derry was still working nearly 60 hours a week at age 77. He died in the Bucks County Home in 1948. “Portrait of Nelson Derry (1864-1948)” by Jeannetta Beauvais (19281978), 1947. Watercolor on paper. Gift of the Zecca Family, 2015.
Daniel Garber presented this painting to the Bucks County Historical Society at one of the society’s meetings, held near the artist’s home in Solebury. Although Garber knew nothing of the history of the house featured in his work, a society member informed him that the Quaker poet John Greenleaf Whittier had summered there between 1838 and 1840. During those years, Whittier served as editor of the Pennsylvania Freeman, a leading abolitionist newspaper of the day, headquartered in Philadelphia. “October” by Daniel Garber (1880-1958), circa 1918. Oil on canvas. Gift of the artist, 1918.
A Revelation At The Mercer Museum In Doylestown BY KARLA KLEIN ALBERTSON
DOYLESTOWN, PENN. — The Mercer Museum and Fonthill Castle, that unique structure by its side, are operated by the Bucks County Historical Society. Depending on their collecting bent, past visitors may remember the distinctive tiles, the collection of historic tools and stove plates, or the fantastic architecture of the concrete castle. Even the museum website focuses on the objects of everyday life from the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries. But the new exhibition “200 Years of Bucks County Art” will expand that image as it reveals a multiplicity of major fine art works in the institution’s permanent collection. “Our audiences are often astonished by the extraordinary depth and breadth of the museum’s collections,” stated Cory Amsler, vice president of collections and interpretation, in a preshow press bulletin. “I believe ‘200 Years of Bucks County Art’ will surprise once again as visitors discover the many remarkable paintings, drawings and watercolors featured, and encounter the artists — both prominent and obscure — who produced them.” As the col-
loquial saying goes, “Who knew?” In an interview with Antiques and The Arts Weekly, Amsler expanded on the surprise element: “That’s always the first question — what’s the Bucks County Historical Society doing with this collection? The society was founded in 1880 and at that point there really were no other collecting museums or historical organizations in Bucks County. By default, the society would collect objects of cultural heritage and history generally. At that time, the major force in the society was founder William W.H. Davis (1820-1910) — he was very conscious of Bucks County history from the very beginning.” And fortunately for today’s researchers, he considered art as part of that history. On one wall of the show’s galleries, the role of Davis is explained in depth: “From the society’s founding in 1880 to his death in 1910, William Watts Hart Davis served as the society’s president and greatest driving force. During his long lifetime, Davis practiced law, fought in the Mexican War, served as District Attorney of New Mexico Territory, published and edited a local newspaper, commanded an infantry regiment in the Civil
War, and authored multiple historical volumes. Davis was ever conscious of history, especially when, at times, he was making it. “While serving as the society’s president, Davis accepted or commissioned a number of paintings for the collection. After his death, some works from his own collection entered the society’s holdings. His interest in local and military history, as well as his own personal history, profoundly shaped the Society’s early painting collections. In his view, Bucks County’s artistic heritage was a subset of its broader history.” Nearby, viewers can see a photograph of Davis in his office, circa 1905, as well as books written by him, and memorabilia, including his sword and scabbard and the inkwells he used when writing his History of Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Amsler continued, “He had his own art collection, and he had used art from people like Thomas Otter (1832-1890) in his publication on local history. So, between the art Davis collected and the art he was sponsoring ( continued on page 30 )