Thursday XIII:8 American Paintings I Love

How many of these can you identify?

Wordless Wednesday #2 - Answer

Charles Willson Peale: Renaissance Man

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In 1801 Charles Willson Peale formed the first scientific expedition in American history when he supervised the excavation of the remains of a mastodon from a farm in upper New York State. Bringing the bones back to his museum, he restored them and then reassembled the skeleton. Exhuming the Mastodon 1801, one of the very first American genre paintings, represents the record of the exhumation. Peale painted it between 1806 and 1808 and portrayed himself as the one holding the sketch of a mastodon bone. This painting contains 75 figures and shows the great wheel used to lift the water from the marl pit where the bones were embedded, the plank room, and the army tent where the excavators slept. A sketch by his son (above), Titian Ramsey, shows the completed skeleton.

The Artist in His Museum (1822) shows him lifting a curtain to reveal his museum. A partial jaw and a large mastodon bone can be seen on the bottom right propped up against the green table cloth as well as a peek of the mastodon behind the curtain. An artist's palette sits on top of the table.


Peale had already established a museum in Philadelphia, which was known as Peale’s Museum, and was eventually moved to the second floor of Independence Hall. This museum contained portraits of famous Americans, a number of Native American relics, wax dummies, as well as specimens of natural history. He invented his own type of taxidermy and was the first to present animals in a natural setting. Additionally he created background paintings in dioramas to depict habitat; his mastery of trompe d'oeil gave a three dimensional quality to the scene. Charles Willson Peale was a century ahead of his time.

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Charles Willson Peale was born in Chester, Queen Anne’s County Maryland April 15, 1741 to Charles Peale and his wife Margaret. His father was called an adventurer who was transported to the colonies from England for forgery and embezzlement. Peale's father died when he was nine years old leaving him, his brother James, and their mother in dire financial straits. At this tender age, Peale became the head of his family trying to take care of both his younger brother and mother by entering into a series of opportunities to make money.

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At the age of 13 Peale was apprenticed to a saddler (a wholley unhappy experience). He eventually learned watchmaking and by the time he was 21 and married, added clockmaking and upholstery to his repertoire. He was to maintain an enduring and active interest in all things artistic and scientific. In short, Peale was a true son of the Age of Enlightenment and was fascinated by the world around him, seeking ways to understand and improve her.

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It was around the time of his marriage that he became interested in painting through a local amateur artist, Gustave Hessalius. He was forced to flee to Boston because of debts and ended up living with America's most famous portrait artist, John Singleton Copley. In 1766 some wealthy benefactors raised eighty-three pounds to send him to London to study with Benjamin West. He stayed in London for three years returning to Annapolis. In 1772 he painted the first portrait ever of George Washington (above) who was then a Colonel of the Virginia Militia. He was to paint 60 more portraits of Washington.

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Peale's family was growing; he was to have a total of 17 children (all named for famous artists and taught how to paint), by three wives, being widowed twice. His reputation as an artist brought enough money to warrant a business move to America's largest city, Philadelphia. Since he was an ardent Whig and radical, he became close friends with most of the founding fathers, and painted many of them. He and his brother both served in the Continental Army under Washington with distinction in Trenton and Princeton.

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He became more involved in government (served on several committees in Philadelphia and in the Philadelphia General Assembly), science, invention, and the diffusion of knowledge as he grew older. Peale developed a level of expertise in fields such as carpentry, dentistry, optometry, and shoemaking. He wrote several books on various subjects including engineering, hygiene, penmanship, and domestic happiness. He had several patents to his name and had even invented a rude motion picture technique. One invention, in particular, can still be seen at Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson: a polygraph used to make copies of letters. He also sketched several of the specimens (see horned lizard above) brought back by Lewis and Clark.

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In 1795 he established the Columbianum, America's first public exhibition of both modern paintings and Old Masters. Out of this he organized the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, which received its charter in 1806 and which stands today as the oldest art school in America.

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Peale was the consummate patriarch and the Peale home was a large and happy one as well as serving as a self-contained school. Several generations of the Peale family (including women) became artists and others became politicians. The family members (and extended members) are all well-documented with Peales painting Peales!

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He died in Philadelphia on February 22, 1827 and is buried in St. Peter's Episcopal Churchyard.

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After his death, his museum was sold to, and split by, showman P.T. Barnum and Moses Kimball

then sold to France, and now rests at Hessisches Landesmuseum in Darmstadt, Germany.

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In 2006, Peale's full length portrait of George Washington at Princeton brought 21.3 million at auction.

Further study:

Hudson River Valley Institute

The Academy of Natural Sciences

Reading List:

American Monster by Paul Semonim

For students:

The Great Unknown by Taylor Morrison

Music:

Kew. Rhone. by John Greaves & Peter Blegvad

Seven Scenes from the Painting "Exhuming the First American Mastodon"

WW #3 Answer : Kindred Spirits

Kindred Spirits

By
Asher Durand

1849

Going.

Going.

Gone!

For over $ 35 million dollars!

It was shocking and unsettling not only for the perceived lapse in trust and responsibility by the library towards it gifts, but there was a hue and cry from New York's citizens and cultural elite because The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the National Gallery of Art had been outbid!

However, Kindred Spirits is not leaving the country and will remain on public display.

The New York Public Library, Astor, Tilden, and Lenox Foundation sold one of their library's, and New York City's, most prized works of art (and other important works) to increase its endowment in order to acquire more items for research. As of this writing, their endowment is about $ 500 million.

This Hudson River School painting depicts the prominent painter Thomas Cole and the poet William Cullen Bryant standing on a table rock in the midst of the Catskills mountains of New York State. It had been commissioned by Jonathan Sturges, a dry-goods merchant, one of Durand's patrons and in turn, Sturges presented it to Bryant's daughter Julia. It was Julia who gave the painting to the New York Public Library.

The subject of the painting is bittersweet; Thomas Cole had just died at the age of 47 of pneumonia and this was a memorial to him as well as a tribute for the great friendship and love of the pristine environment these three men (Bryant, Cole, and Durand) shared.

The title of the painting comes from a Keats Sonnet to Solitude:

O SOLITUDE! if I must with thee dwell,
Let it not be among the jumbled heap
Of murky buildings; climb with me the steep,—
Nature’s observatory—whence the dell,
Its flowery slopes, its river’s crystal swell,	5
May seem a span; let me thy vigils keep
’Mongst boughs pavillion’d, where the deer’s swift leap
Startles the wild bee from the fox-glove bell.
But though I’ll gladly trace these scenes with thee,
Yet the sweet converse of an innocent mind,	10
Whose words are images of thoughts refin’d,
Is my soul’s pleasure; and it sure must be
Almost the highest bliss of human-kind,
When to thy haunts two kindred spirits flee.

I was personally shattered because I had stopped at this painting so many times throughout my youth whenever I visited the library for research (from sixth grade on), or was just wandering around this beaux-arts palace to knowledge taking in all the details of its interiors, and other works of art on display. Kindred Spirits was an old friend and I felt it was a family heirloom which hung in a rich uncle's home; indeed it was a family heirloom for New Yorkers. It became my oasis from the din and frenetic pace of one of the world's largest cities, and a reminder of the natural beauty further north in an almost mythical place called, New York State.

Where exactly was this untouched paradise? Who were these two men and what was the content of their conversation? Ah! A romantic enigma!

And who purchased this painting and where will it end up?

It has already left building that backs onto a park named for William Cullen Bryant and is currently on loan to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC until mid-march of this year. After that it will part of an exhibit on the Hudson River School at the Brooklyn Museum. From there it will travel to its permanent location at a new world-class museum being built in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Yes, It was bought by one of the richest women in the world, Ms. Alice Walton.

I have no doubt that the good people who live in and around the Ozarks will appreciate the unspoiled and idyllic setting of the Catskills and take the same interest in the two humans standing on the ledge conversing, but I cannot help but mourn the loss and resent the adjustment; my childhood friend has moved and I will be unable to visit with the same frequency.

Until then, I still have a bit of time to visit it the National Gallery of Art and will probably take at least one more peek at the Brooklyn Museum. (I have already bought a framed print.)

And watch for Kindred Spirits on a calendar at your local Walmart.

I haven't mastered the placement of photos, so the painter is Asher Durand, young William Cullen Bryant is looking left, Thomas Cole is looking right, and the black and white drawing is from a Dover coloring book.

Touring Information:

New York State Map of Hudson River School sites and collections

William Cullen Bryant's pristine home and grounds in Cummington is open to visitation: ,The Homestead

Cedar Grove, the home of Thomas Cole and can be visited in upstate New York, within a comfortable drive from New York City. Cedar Grove administers and is one of the sights that make up the Hudson River School Trail.

March 15, 2007 is the last day to see Kindred Spirits at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. After that it will travel to the Brooklyn Museum to be part of a exhibition devoted to Durand Kindred Spirits: Asher B. Durand and the American Landscape, but it is unclear whether or not it will continue to tour with this exhibit to the Smithsonian American Art Museum (at the Renwick Gallery, near the White House), Washington, D.C., September 14, 2007–January 6, 2008; and the San Diego Museum of Art, February 2–June 1, 2008.

It's ultimate home will be the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas slated to open in 2009.

MUSEUM MONDAY #2 - Salem, MA: Peabody Essex Museum

There's More to Salem than Witches!

Throughout my career, I've been extraordinarily dissatisfied with the way Salem, MA has been presented to students.

It has become a commercial, 'witchy' place, where tall, wide-brimmed witches' hats, brooms, black cats, Jack-o-Lanterns, glaring hags, and pagan symbols dominate all the gift shops and displays. Everyday is Halloween and I'm uncomfortable in this milieu; it sends the wrong message. While all this may be quite profitable, it cheapens a charming, hospitable, and historic town.

There is an extremely popular sight and sound presentation in a redundant church reminiscent of the Haunted House at Disney. Very nice people own and operate it; but in my opinion, it’s more sensational than instructive.

There are two other 'witch' venues which are truer to the trials, but they're still a bit, 'over-the-top' in delivery.

I don't want, Blair Witch Project, I want, The Crucible!

So I looked beyond the witchy stuff to explore the other Salem; the Salem of merchants, trade, ships, art, and literature.

I personally enjoy visiting the House of the Seven Gables and the tour is well-run, but in the score of years I have been conducting student tours in this area, incredibly, not one student had ever read the book or had known who Hawthorne was! (I'm not exaggerating! This has been a sad commentary on California curriculum, where most of my schools are from, and the teachers in charge of planning the ETP.) It generally fell to me to introduce Nathaniel Hawthorne and his work in order to prepare them for the tour of the house! Gosh! It must be frustrating for the house guides to deal with students sans background or reference points because almost every student from New England studies Hawthorne, but my West Coast groups are clueless! The guides, bless their hearts, have a cheerful disposition and take this in stride.

Before visiting a literary site, the students ought to be prepared by reading the work or having some background on the author!

Directly across the street from the House of the Seven Gables is, Ye Olde Pepper Companie, America's oldest candy store, that sells shopmade, old-fashioned candy from bygone days. And this is what the students remember!

There is also the Salem Maritime National Historic Site (where Hawthorne was a surveyor at the Customs House) which is part of the National Park Service. At this writing, there is a new Park Superintendent who is starting a re-examination of the site for content and future growth. (I certainly hope that improves their programs and services.) The Friendship will be going into drydock in May to have some work on her keel.. Unfortunately, I think the site is understaffed due to drastic federal budget cuts affecting the entire NPS. They do have self-guided walking tours.

But the real gem of Salem is the Peabody Essex Museum

Salem's Peabody Essex Museum was founded 1799/

I want to wax lyrical concerning this gorgeous museum complex, but I haven't enough space. The collection is spead amongst thirty galleries and historic properties and they have over 2.4 million items (not counting all the special exhibits they host).

The Ying Tu Tang Chinese merchants house is well worth the visit. I always add it in for my groups so they can see the difference of lifestyles between the Yankee merchants and their counterparts in China. This house reflects three hundred years of habitation and one can even find remnants of Mao and the Cultural Revolution!

There are wonderful educational programs for school groups concerning art, maritime history, and the history of Salem. I personally like, Days of Judgment which is a curriculum/standards-based program on, well, the witchy stuff!

In addition. the Peabody Essex Museum is part of ECHO , Education Through Cultural and Historical Organization, a federally-funded educational and cultural enrichment initiative which also includes the New Bedford Whaling Museum in New Bedford, MA.

Plan at least four hours for proper visit and educational program, but I guarantee, you and your students will want more!

The Educational Tour Marm

Wordless Wednesday #1 - What Seems to be Missing?

Who is the artist and where does this portrait hang?

(Sorry about the delay, Blogspot seemed to be having some difficulty today and I was unable to post.)

Postcard from Washington, DC #1

GREETINGS FROM DC!

Almost everyone rhapsodizes about Leonardo Da Vinci's Mona Lisa; some of you even remember the song sung so beautifully by the late, great Nat King Cole. But most of you know it as a iconic work of art that is both admired and parodied.

However, Mona Lisa is no comparison to her older, lovlier, and more mysterious 'sister', Ginevra de'Benci who holds court at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

Da Vinci painted only three portraits of women that we know of; the third portrait is in Kracow, Poland.

There is a wonderful documentary, narrated by Meryl Streep, concerning the painting and the voyage to the NGA. It is available through the usual sources or by contacting the NGA directly.

Why not introduce your students to Da Vinci through Ginevra the next time you visit the nation's capital? (The National Gallery of Art is across the National Mall from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Air and Space.)
And while you're there, take a highlights or themed tour of some of the other great works of art through the auspices of the the NGA's Educational Department and be sure to enjoy a gelato downstairs while you sing Donovan's, Jennifer Juniper!

The Tour Marm

Do you know where the original painting is?

CALLING ALL

ART HISTORIANS AND DETECTIVES!!

This just in from:

http://historyiselementary.blogspot.com/index.html
"History Is Elementary" - 1 new article
An Internet Challenge...Your Help Is Needed

So, I'm wondering...I'm wondering how powerful the Internet can be. I'm wondering if it's possible through the power of the Internet to locate the whereabouts of a historic painting that could be worth well over a million dollars. I'm wondering if the power of blogging and emails could locate a painting that has not been documented or seen since 1976. This all started when I was attempting to come up with an idea for a post at American Presidents. I try to post there at least every eight to ten days. As I was looking through the official White House site I stumbled upon the official White House Christmas card and an idea for a post was born. I posted Have You Received Your White House Christmas Card? While I was looking at different cards I came across the Nixon card for 1971 and was simply awestruck by it. The image for the 1971 cards was different. It was a colonial design showing what appreared to be George Washington with a White House under construction. I'd never seen a painting like so I quickly researched it and decided to post the image as my Wordless Wednesday and asked commenters to guess about the picture. Then I would later post about the image and how it was used for an official Christmas card. You can see my postings here and here where I explain more about this unique painting. Firefly over at Bioluminescence left a comment that really intrigued me. She found an article from the year 2,000 which explained how the White House and others were attempting to locate the original painting for this image. It all started in 1930 when the Pennsylvania Roadroad, the largest company in the United States until World War I, commissioned the artist, N.C. Wyeth, to complete a series of images for a poster series titled 'Building the Nation. There were supposed to be twelve images but only four were ever known to be completed. Pennsylvania Railroad later became Penn Central and in 1976 was taken over by Conrail. The White House would love to know the whereabouts of the painting as it is a rare image of George Washington with a scaffolded White House. Wyeth is the only known artist to have painted the White House under construction. Estimates state the painting could be worth well over $1 million dollars. Posters of the image do exist, however, the original painting the posters were taken from has been lost. The last time the painting was documented in in an Appendix dated 1976 for the Pennsylvania Railroad listing items that were to be turned over to Conrail. The painting was listed as having minor surface damage. Perhaps someone took the painting home, not realizing what they had, or perhaps it was given as a present at a retirement dinner. While some believe the painting is gone I don't think so. It's in an office closet underneath things someone thinks is a bunch of junk. It's under someone's bed with all of 'Granddad's stuff' he had when he worked for the railroad. Maybe it's hanging unceremoniously in someone's attic. I need your help to get the word out. Copy this post and put it in an email and send to as many people as you can and ask them to do the same. Place a post on your blog or website. Perhaps one of your readers knows someone who worked for Pennsylvania Railroad or Conrail and knows several other people who did as well. Wouldn't it be fantastic to tell people you helped to locate a painting that had historical significance plus it was worth over $1 million dollars? Will YOU join in with this national scavenger hunt? Information can be obtained through this blog and emails can be sent to historyiselementary@yahoo.com

Please help!

The Tour Marm