The Clarion (Spring 1988) by American Folk Art Museum

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The Museum of American Folk Art New York City

CEAB E CAT 6' on Bar Siding, ly 20th C ntury. *

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KELTER-MALCE

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361 Bleecker St / New I•Q• York City 10014 U/ 212-989-6760 • E•S

STEVE MILLER â&#x20AC;˘ AMERICAN FOLK ART'

"From a select collection of Amish Quilts"

17 East 96th Street, New York, New York 10128.(212) 348-5219 Hours: 2 pm to 6 pm daily plus by appointment 1

"Lady of the Lake Variation," Connecticut, ca 1860, Pierced Border, 85" x 93"

susAt ii•ARRisti ANTIQUE QUILTS• FOLK ART • AMERICAN INDIAN ART

390 BLEECKER ST., NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK 10014 (212) 645-5020

One of the most exciting Weathervanes any collector could own.

St. Julien as driven by Orrin Hickok (Wild Bill's Brother) when he won his title in California. This magnificent Weathervane was copyrighted in 1881 by the J. W. Fiske Co. and was unquestionably the best piece of copppersmithing Fiske's workers had to offer.

KENNETH or IDA IvIANKO P.O. Box 20 Moody. Maine 0405'1 207-646-2595

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RICCO

ROGER

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FRANK

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MARESCA

AMERICAN

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Bird House. Wood with polychrome; tin rays. Eastern Pennsylvania.Ca. 1930-40. Dimensions: 101/2 diameter,41/2"deep.

We specialize in and wish to purchase outsider art, 18th, 19th and 20th century Primitive American art and objects ofuncommonlyfine design.We continue to be the exclusive representative ofthe work ofWilliam Hawkins. By appointment 212/505-1463, 212/673-1078.

A silk needlework picture of a young lady offashion standing in a landscape overlooking a town view. Northern Vermont, circa 1820. Sight size: height 141/27 length 17," in original frame.

ROBERT E

AINNAMA MAKERS B N C.

EAST HAMPTON, NEW YORK BY APPOINTMENT (516) 537-0779

MAILING ADDRESS: PO. 1014, WAINSCOT-I; NEW YORK 11975 5

.AMERICAN cANTIQUES tQUILTS 835 MADISON AVENUE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10021 TELEPHONE(212)988-2906

Mid-nineteenth century quilt. Sun, Moon and Stars. Vermont. 96 x 92 inches.

We are always interested in purchasing exceptional quilts and Americana, collections or individual pieces. Photographs returned promptly.

THE CLARION AMERICA'S FOLK ART MAGAZINE The Museum of American Folk Art New York City

Volume 13, No. 2

FEATURES

N.F. Karlins

AMERICAN FOLK ART IN CORPORATE COLLECTIONS

Arthur and Sybil Kern

PAINTED BY ROYALL B. SMITH

Gene Epstein

THE ART AND TIMES OF VICTOR JOSEPH GATTO

Elizabeth V. Warren

CYRIL I. NELSON

Spring 1988

A Special Museum Friend

DEPARTMENTS

MINIATURES

DIRECTOR'S LETTER

LETTERS

BOOK REVIEWS

MAJOR DONORS

NEW MEMBERSHIP

MUSEUM NEWS

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Cover: Detail ofRust and Beige Coverlet; Artist Unknown;Circa 1830-40; Wool;91 x 75"; Collection of the Museum of American Folk Art, Gift of Cyril I. Nelson in loving memory of his grandparents, Guerdon Stearns and Elinor Irwin Holden(1987.15.1).

The Clarion is published four times a year by the Museum of American Folk Art, 444 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10016; 212/481-3080. Annual subscription rate for members is included in membership dues. Copies are mailed to all members. Single copy $4.50. Published and copyright 1988 by the Museum of American Folk Art,444 Park Avenue South, NY, NY 10016. The cover and contents of The Clarion are fully protected by copyright and may not be reproduced in any manner without written consent. Opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those ofthe Museum of American Folk Art. Unsolicited manuscripts or photographs should be accompanied by return postage. The Clarion assumes no responsibility for the loss or damage ofsuch materials. Change of Address: please send both old and new addresses and allow five weeks for change. Advertising: The Clarion accepts advertisements only from advertisers whose reputation is recognized in the trade, but despite the care with which the advertising department screens photographs and texts submitted by its advertisers, it cannot guarantee the unquestionable authenticity of objects of quality or services advertised in its pages or offered for sale by its advertisers, nor can it accept responsibility for misunderstandings that may arise from the purchase or sale of objects or services advertised in its pages. The Museum is dedicated to the exhibition and interpretation of folk art and feels it is a violation of its principles to be involved in or to appear to be involved in the sale of works of art. For this reason, the Museum will not knowingly accept advertisements for The Clarion which illustrate or describe objects that have been exhibited at the Museum within one year of the placing of the advertisement.

THE CLARION Didi Barrett, Editor and Publisher Faye H. Eng, Anthony T. Yee, Art Directors Marilyn Brechner, Advertising Manager Willa S. Rosenberg, Assistant Editor Craftsmen Litho,Printers Nassau Typographers, Typesetters

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART

Center Diamond

Administration Dr. Robert Bishop, Director Gerard C. Wertkin, Assistant Director Cheryl Hoenemeyer, Controller Lillian Grossman, Assistant to the Director Christine Moss,Assistant to the Controller Mary Ziegler, Administrative Assistant Barry Gallo, Reception Jerry Torrens, Manager, Mailroom and Maintenance

Collections & Exhibitions Elizabeth Warren, Curator Michael McManus,Director ofExhibitions Ann-Marie Reilly, Registrar Dawn A. Giegerich, Assistant Registrar Stacy C. Hollander, Assistant Curator ofCollections Joyce Hill, Senior Research Curator Mary Black, Consulting Curator

First Edition Quilts Amish Quilts from Lancaster County

Departments

285 West Broadway New York, New York 013

Didi Barrett, Director ofPublications Beth Bergin, Membership Director Marie S. DiManno,Director ofMuseum Shops Susan Flamm, Public Relations Director Barbara W. Kaufman-Cate, Director ofEducation Johleen Nester, Director ofDevelopment Edith Wise, Director ofLibrary Services Janey Fire, Photographic Services

Programs Barbara W. Kaufman-Cate, Director, Folk Art Institute Phyllis A. Tepper, Registrar, Folk Art Institute Dr. Marilynn Karp, Director, New York University Master's and Ph.D. Program in Folk Art Studies Dr. Judith Reiter Weissman, Coordinator, New York University Program Karla Friedlich, Coordinator, Great American Quilt Festival 2 Irma J. Shore, Director, Access to Art Cecilia K. Toth, Kennetha R. Stewart, Co-Chairs, Friends Committee Jill Rigby, Exhibitions Previews Coordinator Susan Moore,Junior League Liaison

Tumbling Blocks

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Through our ties to the Amish in Lancaster County, we commission contemporary quilts in traditional designs. Call 212-966-1863 for an appointment.

Museum Shop Staff Caroline Hohenrath, Sally O'Day, Rita Pollitt, Managers Jeanne Carley, Elizabeth Cassidy, Florence Cohen, Rick Conant, Annette Ellis, Dorothy Gargiulo, Elli Gordon, Karen Johnson, Eleanor Katz, Sabine Krayenbuhl, Annette Levande, Victor Levant, Arlene Levey, Katie McAuliffe, Nancy Mayer, Theresa Naglack, Pat Pancer, Marie Peluso, Myra Shaskan, Rose Silece, Claire Spiezio, Doris Stack, Mary Walmsly, Maura Walsh, Gina Westby, Doris Wolfson. Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop 62 West 50th Street New York, NY 10112 212/247-5611 The Clarion

Painted blanket chest, Lehigh County, Pa., circa 1780.

Herrup ei?Wolfner 12 East 86th St., New York, NY 10028 (212)737-9051, By Appointment

PRIMITIVO AAAAâ&#x20AC;˘AAA AAAAA AA

CARMEN LOMAS GARZA

"Polvo y Pelo, El Pleito" 1987, Gouache on Paper,20"x 28"

2241 FILLMORE STREET SAN FRANCISCO CALIFORNIA 94115 415.563.0505

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DON WALTERS ART & ANTIQUES 2309 south main St. goshen,indiana 46526 tel:(219]533-9416

Rare Folk Toy/Sculpture Balancing Man. C. 1880 Wood and Metal Overall width, 17" Height of Figure (without base), 11"

specializing in american folk and decorative arts

Announcing the opening of the

DOUBLE

GALLERY

II AMERICAN FOLK ART/VINTAGE DESIGN II

MASONIC ALTAR C. 1880 NEW ENGLAND 62" x 34" x 16" (middle section lifts to reveal hidden key which opens a drawer, when pulled all the way out, there are 3 more hidden compartments inside)

formerly the

WHITELEY GALLERY 72801/2 FOUNTAIN AVENUE, WEST HOLLYWOOD,CA 90046 (213) 874-0248 BY APPOINTMENT ONLY

Ruth

Bigel

743 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10021 Telephone 212/734-3262

Antiques

Specializing in Canton Porcelain, Fine Painted American Country Furniture, Weathervanes. Monday through Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm

New Hampshire "Grain Painted Step Back Pewter Cupboard" Ca. 1790 Red and yellow grain painting with darker tiger striping on trim molding. 70V2x 54 x 17" Shown is part of Canton collection.

Charity, a naive schoolgirl watercolor, probably from the Portland, Maine area, c. 1820. The design is based on a Mezzotint published in London in 1802 by P. Stompa called "Charity."

SHEILA & EDWIN RIDEOUT 12 Summer Street, Wiscasset, Maine 04578

(207)-882-6420 12

QUILTS OF AMERICA, INC. 431 EAST 73RD STREET NEW YORK CITY 10021 212.535-1600

PHYLLIS HADERS ANTIQUE QUILTS

Appliqué crib top. 34 x 34. Pennsylvania, circa 1870.

Stonington, Connecticut 06378 By Appointment (203)535-2585

ELAINE GARFINKEL GALLERY•BY APPOINTMENT•(215)884-1047

IVIINIVIE AND GARLAND ADKINS "Daniel in The Lions Den" Sculpture Wood and Polychrome 23"x 21"x 20" Mailing Address 103 Tomlinson Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006

THE

AMES GALLERY AMERICAN

FOLK ART

2661 Cedar Street Berkeley, California 94708 415 845-4949

Phone or write for exhibit information, hours, or appointment.

Credit: Geoffry Johnson Photography

â&#x20AC;˘ Concurrent with the changing exhibits, our extensive collection of tramp art, quilts, cookware, folk painting and sculpture are always on view.

S'TELLA

RUp N

Quilts & Country Antiques 44. 12300 Glen Road Potomac, MD 20854 (Near Washington, D.C.) By appointment (301)948-4187

Indiana Mennonite Flower iorden Q.Circa 1870. Exhibiti

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Micah Williams: Portrait of a Young Boy. Sold January 1987 for $17,600.

Folk Art at Christie's Christie's specialists discovered this work of art. The owners discovered the advantages of being a Christie's folk art client. Every year, Christie's hold three major auctions of American furniture and folk art, attracting buyers from across the country. Record prices have been set for decoys, needlework pictures and primitive paintings. Let us put our knowledge and experience to work for you. For more information about buying and selling American folk art at auction, contact John Hays, Head of American Folk Art, at 502 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10022. Tel: 212/546-1181.

CHRISTIE'S NEW YORK 16

CONTEMPORARY FOLK ART

314 OCCIDENTAL AVE S TUES-SAT

98104 11-5:30

206/467-8283 SUNDAY 1-5

GALLERY '

untitled assemblage,Simon Sparrow

AMERICAN FOLK AND OUTSIDER ART BY APPOINTMENT 834 B WESTMOUNT DRIVE LOS ANGELES CA. 90069 213 . 657 . 6369

"AMARILLO" . DEVVEY BLOCKSMA . 1987

JESSE AARON J.R. ADKINS GAYLEEN AIKEN FELIPE ARCHULETA EDDIE ARNING STEVE ASHBY ANDREA BADAMI WILSON BIGAUD PETER CHARLIE BOCHERO HAWKINS BOLDEN RICHARD BURNSIDE DAVID BUTLER ARCHIE BYRON MILES CARPENTER RAYMOND COINS HENRY DARGER WILLIAM DAWSON SAM DOYLE WILLIAM EDMONDSON MINNIE EVANS JOSEPHUS FARMER LAFORTUNE FELIX HOWARD FINSTER TONY FITZPATRICK

FRANK FRANKLIN VICTOR JOSEPH SAITO KAMANTE GATURA WILLIAM 0. GOLDING BESSIE HARVEY WILLIAM HAWKINS LONNIE HOLLEY JESSE HOWARD HECTOR HYPPOLITE FRANK JONES S.L. JONES GUSTAV KLUMPP GEORGE LIAUTAUD JOE LIGHT CHARLIE LUCAS JUSTIN MCCARTHY HUB MILLER JULIO MIRAGLIA PETER MINCHELL LOUIS MONZA SISTER GERTRUDE MORGAN MOHAMMED MRABET J.B. MURRY INEZ NATHANIEL ELIJAH PIERCE

Outsider Art Cavin-Morris Inc. 100 Hudson Street, Mew York 10015 212 226 5768

JOHN PODHORSKY HORACE PIPPIN DANIEL PRESSLEY MARTIN RAMIREZ POPEYE REED NELLIE MAE ROWE TONY JOE SALVATORE JON SERL MATTHEW I. SMITH MARY T. SMITH HENRY SPELLER JAMES SON FORD THOMAS JIM TOBIN MOSE TOLLIVER EDGAR TOLSEN BILL TRAYLOR VALTON TYLER POSSOM TROT PIERRE JOSEPH VALCIN JIM WATKINSON P.M. WENENORTH PHILADELPHIA WIREMAN JOSEPH YOAKUM DAVID ZELDIS

Janet Fleisher Gallery 211 South 17th Street, Philadelphia, Pa. 19103 215•545•7562

Edgar Tolson, Expulsion from the Garden of Eden, ca. 1970s. 12" x 17" x 8"

WE ALSO REPRESENT: JESSE AARON FELIPE ARCHULETA EDDIE ARNING STEVE ASHBY PETER CHARLIE BOCHERO RICHARD BURNSIDE DAVID BUTLER MILES CARPENTER HENRY DARGER WILLIAM DAWSON SAM DOYLE WILLIAM EDMONDSON MINNIE EVANS REV. JOSEPHUS FARMER HOWARD FINSTER VICTOR JOSEPH GATTO KAMANTE GATURA

WILLIAM GOLDING BESSIE HARVEY WILLIAM HAWKINS LONNIE HOLLEY JESSE HOWARD FRANK JONES S.L. JONES GUSTAV KLUMPP GEORGE LIAUTAUD CHARLIE LUCAS JUSTIN MCCARTHY CARL MCKENZIE CHARLES MCKINNEY ALEX MALDONADO

JULIO MIRAGLIA LOUIS MONZA SISTER GERTRUDE MORGAN J.B. MURRY INEZ NATHANIEL ERNEST PATTON ELIJAH PIERCE JOHN PODHORSKY LESLIE PAYNE HORACE PIPPIN DANIEL PRESSLEY MARTIN RAMIREZ POPEYE REED NELLIE MAE ROWE

HENRY SPELLER MATTHEW I. SMITH MARY T. SMITH JAMES SON FORD THOMAS JIM TOBIN MOSE TOLLIVER BILL TRAYLOR EDGAR TOLSON DONNY TOLSON POSSUM TROT JIM WATKINSON PM. WENTWORTH GEORGE WILLIAMS

HUB MILLER PETER MINCHELL

ANTHONY JOSEPH SALVATORE JON SERL

JOSEPH YOAKUM DAVID ZELDIS

PHILADELPHIA WIREMAN

MINIATURES

Ifuiteigos Plieseweb As interest in things Shaker has increased dramatically in the last few years, so has the authentic preservation of their buildings. In New York and Maine, there are presently a Meeting House and Schoolhouse, respectively, that will soon be returned to the way they stood in the mid-1800's. The Shaker Heritage Society, in cooperation with Albany County, has begun a program to rehabilitate the 1848 Shaker Meeting House in Watervliet, New York. The repairs and renovation are necessary to preserve the structure, which, over the course of the years, has suffered internal damage by termites as well as external weathering. It is expected that the project — which includes removing the brick facing, pillared porch and projection booth added by the county, and refacing the exterior with clapboard siding to return it to its 1848 appearance — will continue over the course of five years. Albany County has agreed to contribute $50,000 a year towards the restoration. At the end of this time, it is expected that the county will manage the Meeting House which will house an educational program providing information about the Shakers and their life. In a concurrent, but unrelated project, the Shakers at Sabbathday Lake, Maine, are involved with the restoration of a century-old one-room Schoolhouse. Built in 1880 with the town of New Gloucester, Maine, it was an important part ofthe Sabbathday Lake community, the place where the Shaker schoolmistresses taught Shaker children, together with town children. In 1950, when New 20

View ofSabbathday Lake, Maine, Schoolhouse as it appeared in 1930. Sabbathday Lake Schoolhouse, Summer 1987, following renovation.

Photo: Jere DeWaters

Watervliet, New York, Meeting House as it appeared with brickfacing earlier in the century. Watervliet, New York, Meeting House, now on its way toward rehabilitation. Clapboard siding has replaced the brick and it is beginning to assume its 1848 appearance. Photos: Robert W. Thayer

Gloucester consolidated all its one-room schoolhouses, the building was sold by the town to a local farmer who moved it to his nearby property for use as an apple storehouse. The reclaimed and renovated small woodframe building will

be used as a library; a fireproof vault will be added to house the community's priceless research collection which includes 2,600 books written by or about Shakers, 8,000 original Shaker manuscripts and 20,000 photos depicting the history ofthe corn-

munity. The estimated cost is expected to be $200,000, which includes an endowment of $66,000. Within the next year, the community expects to complete their authentic restoration and open the doors to its special library. — Willa S. Rosenberg The Clarion

MINIATURES

/41,11

Pkitetey 1914-1981

On September 26, 1987, after a long debilitating fight with cancer, Larry Whiteley passed away at the age of 53. In his own words: "I've had a fun life, I really have. I didn't leave anything to do until I was 65. I did it all when I wanted to do it. I raced formula cars in Europe, I was on the Rams taxi squad for two years, I sold Porsches, I played professional rugby, and! tended bar. I loved every job I've ever had!'Perhaps his greatest love was the world of antiques and collectibles, more specifically folk art.

Beginning in the antique advertising market about 25 years ago,Larry quickly expanded his interests to include many areas. In 1973 he established the All American Collectors Show in Glendale, CA., which he later sold. Larry was selected in 1975 to appraise the mammoth toy collection of Jerry Smith which led to his passion for folk art and the opening in 1977 of the Whiteley Gallery, specializing in American folk art and architecturally inspired furniture. The gallery was a trendsetter in modern de-

Larry Whiteley andfriends

sign. Whiteley formed his own design group, LA Apocalypse, which held three showings to national acclaim. His memory lives on in the many lives he touched. As one

friend put it: "Everytime someone says,'I love this;! bought it from Larry Whiteley: his memory is assured!'

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The work of visionary artist Annie Hooper (1897-1986), of Cape Hatteras, NC, will be the subject of the exhibition "A Blessing from the Source,' and the springboard for a symposium, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh. The ex-

The Museum of American Folk Art will present the colorful diversity of New York's ethnic communities this summer in an exhibition to be held from June 6 through September 9,1988, at the PaineWebber Art Gallery, 1285 Avenue of the Americas, New York City. "New York Folk: Ethnic Traditions in the Metropolitan Area" will explore the city's ethnic heritage and the cultural traditions brought here from around the world. By presenting objects in various media within the context of four separate themes — Faith/Ritual; Work/ Craft; People/Memories; and Celebration/Performance — the exhibition will celebrate important life-cycle events, national and religious holidays and the immigrant experience. Planned to coincide with The First New York International Festival of the Arts,"New York Folk" will illustrate the international roots of New York life.

Annie Hooper andfriends

Spring 1988

hibition of six Bible scenes — composed ofsome 300 pieces — will run from April 23 to June 30, 1988 at the University Center Gallery. A one-day sym-

posium on April 23, from 9 a.m. to 7p.m. in the university's Stewart Theater, will feature an international panel of speakers including Genevieve Roulin, Curator of the Collection de l'Art Brut, Lausanne; Monika Kinley, Curator of the Outsider Archive, London; Dr. John Dixon, Jr., Professor Emeritus of Religion and Art, UNC-Chapel Hill; Tom Patterson, author of St. EOM in the Land of Pasaquan; Randall Morris, CavinMorris Gallery, New York;John M. MacGregor, Ph.D., San Francisco;Phyllis Kind,Phyllis Kind Gallery, New York; and Samuel Farber, Chairman of the Henry Darger Foundation, New York. There will be a $10 registration fee, which includes lunch. For further information contact Roger Manley, Guest Curator, Visual Arts Programs; 4110 University Student Center, Box 7306, Ra1eigh.4.,NC 276957306;or call,-(919)73.7-3503.

ANTIQUES AND ACCESSORIES FOR THE KITCHEN AND KEEPING ROOM from America,England and the Continent

PAT GUTHMAN ANTIQUES 281 PEQUOT AVENUE•SOUTHPORT • CT •06490 TEL • 203-259-5743 TUESDAY—SATURDAY: 10 AM-5 PM

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The 1988 Annual Conference and Meeting of the Association for Gravestone Studies will be held June 16-19, 1988 at Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, PA. Co-sponsor for the meeting is The Pennsylvania Folklore Society. The program includes guided tours of the historically significant burial grounds around Lancaster, slide presentations,lectures on gravestone subjects, exhibits, and a banquet. There will be limited space for exhibitions of photographs, rubbings, castings, books and other items related to gravestones. To submit an exhibit proposal, write Randall I. Snyder, Exhibits Chair, 1988 AGS Conference, Lancaster County Historical Society, 230 North President Avenue, Lancaster, PA 17603-4633. For further information contact

The Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in WinstonSalem, NC together with the University of North Carolina at Greensboro will sponsor the thirteenth annual graduate Summer Institute entitled "Early Southern History and Decorative Arts" from June 26

Thomas E. Graves, Conference Chair, 1988 AGS Conference, 110 Spruce Street, Minersville, PA 17954,(717)544-6705

Coestiguikl Imeitioss Two exhibitions at the Craft and Folk Art Museum in Los Angeles, 5814 Wilshire Blvd., focus on continuing traditions in American folk art. Contemporary New Mexican santos, carved and painted holy figures which have been produced in Hispanic communities since the eighteenth century, show that

this significant form of folk art is still vital today. And the applique tapestries of needleworker Arlette Gosieski, heir to America's applique quilt tradition, capture everyday scenes ofrural life in America from the turn-ofthe-century to World War II. Both exhibitions will run June 7 to July 31, 1988.

through July 22, 1988. Emphasis this year will be on the material culture of the Chesapeake Region, focusing on eastern Maryland, Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. Students with interest in material culture, history, American art, or museum studies, teachers in these fields, and museum professionals are encouraged to apply. Graduate credit in history will be awarded. Enrollment is limited to twenty participants, and partial fellowships will be available to a limited number of applicants. The deadline for applications is April 20, 1988. For further information and application forms, write to Sally Gant, Education Coordinator, Summer Institute, Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts, P.O. Box 10310, WinstonSalem, NC 27108 or call 919/722-6148. The Clarion

MARNA ANDERSON american folk art in new york city • by appointment • 212 945-8484

Harness maker's trade sign. Carved and constructed wood horse 44" x 42" Connecticut.

A FOLK ART MASTERPIECE TO INAUGURATE OUR NEW GALLERY

Mysterious, Unique and Without Peer, This carved and polychrorned pine panel from the Gardiner, Maine area dates to the third quarter of the 18th century. 15 x 14 inches.

Our New York City Gallery is located at the corner of Madison Avenue and 76th Street, across from the Carlyle Hotel and is open by appointment only.

DAVID

BCHORSCH

inevwfrki(a/e/ 1037 NORTH STREET, GREENWICH, CT 06831 203-869-8797 30 EAST 76TH STREET, NEW YORK, NY 10021 212-439-6100

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

Illustration: A. Lonsclale

DR. ROBERT BISHOP

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART %lir% *NO =MO

The Museum ofAmerican Folk Art's new branch museum to open this Winter at Two Lincoln Square.

From time to time in these columns I have hinted at the imminent announcement of important news about the Museum's building plans. Those of you who have spoken with me or other members of the Museum's staff during the last year or so know that while much has been happening, most of this has been necessarily technical or preliminary in nature. It is, therefore, with the greatest of pleasure that I announce that Phase I of the Museum's building program is at last a reality! On February 17, 1988, the New York City Planning Commission voted unanimously to enable the Museum to build new branch exhibition facilities at Two Lincoln Square on Columbus Avenue between 65th and 66th Streets. This beautiful facility, which will consist of approximately 6,500 square feet of exhibition galleries, a Museum Shop of 1,200 square feet and administrative offices, should be ready for the Museum's occupancy by January 1989. Approval is also required from the City's Board of Estimate; however, by the time this issue of The Clarion Spring 1988

reaches you, this final step is expected to be completed. Construction is scheduled to begin in April. Construction of the branch museum at Two Lincoln Square has been made possible through the generosity of many friends and supporters of the institution. Two Lincoln Square Associates, the owners of the building in which the branch museum is to be constructed, have provided a significant construction budget and will supervise the building of this space. The General Partners of Two Lincoln Square Associates, Samuel J. Landau and Joel S. Banker, deserve the gratitude of all members of the Museum family for their support. Further funds required for the construction have been committed by our dear friend, Eva Feld. Mrs. Feld's prior gifts to the Museum have permitted the acquisition of many major works of art for the Permanent Collection. Her current contribution guarantees that large audiences will be able to admire not only the objects acquired through her generosity but the other important

works of art in the Museum's collection. In recognition of Mrs. Feld's special contribution to the Museum, I am pleased to announce that this new facility will be named the Museum of American Folk Art/Eva and Morris Feld Branch at Lincoln Square in honor of Mrs. Feld and her late husband. Based on our understanding with the City the Museum has acquired the space for ninety years, rent free, and will keep the branch museum at Two Lincoln Square open to the public seven days a week, twelve hours a day; no admission will be charged. Visitors wishing to support the exhibition programming there may, of course, make voluntary contributions. In order to provide a financial base for these programs, I will be announcing a special capital fund campaign in the next issue of The Clarion. Opportunities to endow individual galleries in the branch museum will be offered, as well as other ways to support our efforts. The branch museum at Two Lincoln Square represents Phase I of our Master Plan and its completion will have great 25

EPSTEIN/POWELL 22 Wooster St., New York,N.Y. 10013 By Appointment(212)226-7316 LA Jesse Aaron Steve Ashby Peter Charlie William Dawson Charlie Dieter Mr. Eddy Antonio Esteves Howard Finster Victor Joseph Gatto (Estate) Clementine Hunter S.L. Jones Justin McCarthy Sister Gertrude Morgan Emma Lee Moss Inez Nathaniel Old Ironsides Pry Nellie Mae Rowe Jack Savitsky Clarence Stringfield Mose Tolliver Luster Willis and others

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Justin McCarthy

Alice in Wonderland

(29" x 22", Pencil & Ink/Paper)

LETTER FROM THE DIRECTOR

significance for the Museum. Located adjacent to the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, the branch museum will relate naturally to the exciting cultural mix that marks that area. A wonderful schedule of programs has been planned in addition to a diverse and innovative exhibition schedule. Noontime concerts, docent tours, craft demonstrations and lecture series will provide visitors with entertaining as well as enriching educational experiences. The exhibition scheduled for the Grand Opening of the branch museum will feature many of the Museum's finest works of art, both longtime favorites and new acquisitions. Some of these objects have been traveling to 26

major museums in Europe, Canada and the United States under the sponsorship of United Technologies Corporation as part of "American Folk Art: Expressions of a New Spirit:' Marie DiManno, the Director of Museum Shops, is planning a very special book and gift shop adjacent to the new gallery. A wonderful selection of handcrafted items based on the American folk art tradition will be offered for sale together with an enhanced selection of books and posters. Current plans are for the shop to open in Autumn 1988 in time for Christmas shopping. While I have emphasized Phase I of our building program, the second and

third phases of our plans are also underway. These include an additional facility in lower Manhattan and the development of the Museum's properties on West 53rd Street. While negotiations covering these next phases are not completed, I believe I will have exciting news for you before long. Over the last several years, you, our members and friends, have stood by the Museum while we planned permanent facilities in New York to meet the needs of our expanding collection and programs. The first stage of these plans is finally a reality. Your own loyalty, friendship and generosity have made it possible for us to reach this important juncture. The Clarion

Length 50 Inches

Aarne Anton (212) 239-1345 Mon.-Fri. 10a.m.-5:30 p.m. or by appt. 242 West 30th St., N.Y., N.Y. 10001

AMERICAN PRIMITIVE GALLERY

Exceptional Indian and Deer weathervane

G71

LETTERS

BLACK TRADITIONAL ART Judy McWillie's article "Another Face ofthe Diamond"(Vol. 12, No. 4)is by far the best thing I've seen on the subject so fat However, my emphasis remains somewhat different. I have not had the time to put in the extensive reseach that McWillie must have done during the last five years. Perhaps if I had, I might see things a little differently. At this point, when I factor what scholarly material I have read against my instincts — based on getting to know individuals like David Butler, Bessie Harvey, J. B. Murry, Dilmus Hall and others — I still feel that the important qualities of this work are idiosyncratic; they are supported by cultural connections, but not displaced by them. This may be my white, Western conditioning, but even when I look at great old tribal work with sacrificial patina I see the hand and mind of the individual artist. And I see the spirit to which we all might lay claim. My lower middle class upbringing, not to mention numerous personal experiences, have instilled in me a strong distaste for society and the debilitating pressures culture can inflict on the creative individual. I suspect that this is at least partially true in all cultures, even the visionary ones of West Africa. I tend to cling to the thought that the real breaks and advancements in man's physical and spiritual evolution come from individual idiosyncratic mutation rather than conformity to cultural modes. I would hesitate to say that J.B. Murry's importance is primarily in his ties to 28

experiences "that are all within tradition!' Rather he should be seen within the framework of his own terms of vision, then set against the black culture, then compared to work that may share the same spirit — white or black. There are similarities — both stylistic and spiritual — between Murry's work and some European and American outsiders. No sense ignoring this. Andy Nasisse Department of Art The University of Georgia Athens, GA

CHOCOLATE SACRIFICE I have no business upgrading my membership — a Senior Citizen on a fixed income — but I receive so much pleasure from The Clarion that I'll give up Hershey bars for a year or something. Thank you. Anne Schelling Matthews, NC

PERSPECTIVE ON BASCOM Two independently published commentaries concerning Ruth Henshaw Bascom's portrait of Eliza Jane Fay have recently appeared: D'Ambrosio, Paul S. and Charlotte M. Emans, eds., Folk Art's Many Faces, N.Y. State Historical Association, Cooperstown, N.Y., 1987, pp. 35-36; and Avigad, Lois S., "Ruth Henshaw Bascom: A Youthful Viewpoint" in The Clarion, (Vol. 12, No. 4, pp. 35-41). So that the power of the printed word will not take pre-

cedence over the eye, I would like to call attention to a misleading description of this portrait which appears together with a full-page illustration of the profile in Folk Art's Many Faces. The description, says "... this portrait of Eliza Jane Fay is unusual for the artist as the subject's body is drawn in almost three-quarter view:' What can be regarded as unusual is that Eliza Jane's mourning pendant (depicting a monument whose plinth bears the inscription "In Mem Geo. Washingt") is skewed for the viewer's convenience, an artistic device which may, at a quick glance, result in the above-mentioned erroneous impression of a 3/4 view of the sitter herself. Such gravity-defying rendering of brooches and pendants is, interestingly, a "characteristic" way in which Ruth Bascom presented some jewelry in several of her paintings. My visual perception of Eliza Jane's figure clearly indicates she is presented in perfect profile. I also question or, perhaps, fail to understand the following quote from Folk Art's Many Faces, "During the Victorian era in America, women and young girls often wore mourning jewelry such as this piece commemorating the death in 1799 of the first president of the United States:' Is there any relationship between the George Washington pendant and Victorian mourning jewelry except that they both stemmed from the loss of a national hero? Queen Victoria had ascended the British throne in 1837, barely three years before the profile under discussion was made (1840), thus surely too early to qualify

this painting as being typical Victoriana. It was not until 1861, after the death of Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, that Victorian mourning jewelry, much of it made of black jet, and the only jewelry allowed during a lengthy Court bereavement, was popularized. Mourning jewelry had been used in America from early colonial times. In 1742 the Massachusetts General Court passed on ordinance against the ostentatious distribution of memento mori, which was probably a reaction to events such as the giving of 200 rings costing 1£ each at one Boston funeral in 1738. Nevertheless, some personalized mourning reminders continued to be made, and by the close of the eighteenth century assumed the then popular neo-classic revival style. In 1799 the death of America's beloved leader, George WashThe Clarion

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ington, evoked a great amount of Washington memorabilia — printed handkerchiefs, pottery, school girl needlework pictures and jewelry — whose popularity peaked by the second decade of the nineteenth century, and then was propagated through the 1830s and beyond via prints such as those of the Kellogg brothers and Nathan Currier. Indeed, Washington never lost his preeminence as a national hero, and is yet today the subject of artistic activity. However, Eliza Jane Fay's pendant is the only discernible piece of mourning jewelry to be seen in Ruth Bascom's extant paintings, and accordingly reveals something important about the sitter's own situation. I believe it was not a recently produced item she wore to express her sorrow for Washington's death four decades earlier, but was rather the symbolic notation via a family heirloom of Eliza Jane's saddened circumstances. The only child of Benjamin and Abigail (Ross) Fay, she had recently lost four close family members — a grandfather, the uncle with whom she lived, a maiden aunt who was her mother's only remaining sibling, and finally, her own young mother. Nor would it be unreasonable to venture that since Eliza Jane is the youngest of Mrs. Bascom's subjects to be portrayed with earrings, they may also have been similarly inherited. A significant quotation from a Ross genealogy regarding Eliza Jane Fay which reads, "She placed the Granite Chair on the Ross family lot in the West Burying Yard in Jaffrey:', indicates a continuing reSpring 1988

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membrance of her deceased family in later years. In general, I encourage more genealogical research on all sitters, as such material can yield a clearer insight into the artist's intent and thereby a more thorough analysis of a portrait.

LATIN AMERICAN & HAITIAN FOLK ART —

Lois S. Avigad New York, NY

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HOLYLAND In my article,"Environments in Crisis:' in the Winter 1988 issue (Vol. 13, No. 1), I was unable to mention two important people involved in the Holyland U.S.A. controversy because a press moratorium imposed by the Sisters of Fillipini prevented them from speaking for attribution. They are Sisters Josephine Valente and Lucy Vescera who have resided at the Holyland Convent since 1972 and are erstwhile supporters ofJohn Greco. They are the most knowledgeable and sympathetic sources on Greco and the site. They can be reached at Holyland U.S.A.,60 Slocum Street, Waterbury, CT 06706. The photo of Holyland was taken by Fred George.

Hand-thrown ceramic vessel; 13" r. x 17" h.; Dolores Porras; Atzompa, Oaxaca, Mexico

ARTISTS UNDER THE INFLUENCE. . . American Artists Inspired by Latin American & Haitian Folk Art Thursday, April 7 - Sunday, May 22

Dan Prince Stamford, CT

THE CLARION welcomes letters on all issues related to American folk art. Correspondence should be addressed to The Clarion, Museum of American Folk Art, 444 Park Avenue South, New York, New York 10016. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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AMERICAN FOLK ART IN CORPORATE COLLECTIONS by N.F Karlins

While corporate art holdings have been documented regularly, The Clarion is pleased to present this first national survey of American folk art in corporate collections. There is a certain irony, ofcourse, that folk art, often described as the unconventional side of American art, should hang in the halls of America's corporate establishments. Nonetheless, the following report shows a widespread acceptance and appreciation of folk art â&#x20AC;&#x201D; traditional arts, as well as idiosyncratic expression â&#x20AC;&#x201D; by corporations throughout the country. While few of these corporations view their art as investment, financial, as well as aesthetic, considerations probably played a part in their choice. Folk art, until recently, has been a relative bargain in the marketplace. Even today there are some areas which are comparatively undervalued. Author N.E Karlins has done an extraordinary job in contacting corporate curators and culling through piles of pictures and information to put this article together. Inevitably there are gaps. Several corporations, some with significant holdings in American folk art, declined to be interviewed for this survey. Their reasons ranged from security concerns to fear of stockholder disapproval. Others may simply have been missed. We hope in the future, when we update this report, to remedy these omissions. Until then,enjoy this first survey, and know that folk art is alive and well in corporate America. Didi Barrett, Editor

CHASE MANHATTAN BANK Legend a Sleepy Hollow Weathervane; Circa 1880; Metal;15 x 49/ 1 2x Ph". The Clarion

U111 United States corporations have been collecting art at least since 1903 when the Atchinson, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railroad Company(now a part of Santa Fe Industries)offered a free ride West to painters and illustrators in exchange for art works to be used in advertising campaigns. In 1939, IBM started the first corporate art collection not motivated by promotional considerations! Today, most of the approximately 1,200 public corporations that collect art follow IBM's lead: Emphasis is on enhancement of the workplace. They generally display their collections in company headquarters or other corporate facilities. In many cases, though, they are also concerned with public outreach. For some, that means involving local communities. For others, it entails making loans to museums and other institutions around the country. When the first piece of American folk art entered a corporate collection is unknown. There is no question, however, that a significant number of corporate collections have, over the years, either concentrated on American folk art, or included fine examples of folk art within broader holdings.

This article, the first survey of American folk art in corporate collections, was undertaken to discover what kind of material has been collected by corporations in this country and to illustrate some of the more interesting works The collections are presented roughly according to the number of folk pieces. For the purpose of narrowing the field of inquiry, traditional Native American art is not included? In general, quilts and three-dimensional objects outnumber paintings and drawings in corporate collections. The large wall spaces of institutional settings seem to lend themselves to bold and arresting pieces. Only in settings of a more human,or domestic, scale, such as the home used as a corporate retreat at Reader's Digest in Pleasantville, New York, can more intimate works, like a small nineteenth century charcoal of a Hudson River landscape, be found. Economics, of course, is a critical factor in what corporations buy. By one estimate, most purchases of corporate art cost from $1,000 to $5,000; indeed, many buyers spend even less per piece Given the escalating prices for all art today, folk art remains a relative bar-

THE SEAMAN'S BANK FOR SAVINGS

Photo: Robert Hoebermann

Cared hory ScrimshaN% Knife.

gain, and quilts, because of their size, appeal, and graphic quality offer the best "art value" for the money. It is not surprising, therefore, that quilts, which combine easily with contemporary art, turn out to be the single most collected form of American folk art. Whenever corporate art is discussed, one collection always stands out, that of Chase Manhattan Bank. Although similar to most corporate collections in their concentration of art from the twentieth century, the Chase collection, because of sheer size â&#x20AC;&#x201D; roughly 12,000 pieces â&#x20AC;&#x201D; belongs in a class by itself. Chase owns more art than all but a handful of the largest museums; and because of the careful nurturing from its inception in 1959, the collection is as impressive in quality as quantity. Chase, like many corporations, began to acquire art in conjuction with the construction of a new headquarters building, Chase Manhattan Plaza, in lower Manhattan. The program immediately met with approbation by the employees. Now under the management of Merrie Good, Vice President and Director of the Art Program, it continues to purchase art for Chase branches and offices all over the world. Folk art makes up only about 5 per cent of the bank's art holdings, however, in numbers that comes to about 600 works. The folk pieces include paintings, drawings, sculpture and about 100 quilts, dating from the eighteenth century through today. Nineteenth century portraits, landscapes, and calligraphic drawings are here along with works by twentieth century self-taught artists, such as Justin McCarthy, Joseph Yoakum, and Drossos Skyllas. Sculptural pieces include 28 weathervanes and whirligigs, 15 decoys, a birdhouse, a carousel figure, an Adam and Eve mechanical toy, a mannequin's head, gameboards, trade signs, and important works by twentieth century folk sculptors Elijah Pierce, Edgar Tolson, Rodney Rosebrook, and Felipe Archuleta. Anonymous utilitarian items of outstanding design make up an important subcollection. An umbrella stand of bottle caps, an elegant onion shovel, and an iron cresset for burning logs are examples. Both folk and non-folk pieces are The Clarion

rotated among Chase's public branches and private offices. Because of the collection's immense size and wide distribution, there is no fixed schedule, so that locating the folk art is not always easy. Another corporate collection with a substantial representation of American folk art is that of Goldman, Sachs & Co.,the New York investment bankers. In 1980, Goldman, Sachs hired Beatrice Medinger, head of Viart, Inc., art consultants, to build the collection. About 400 of the 3,000 works owned

by Goldman, Sachs can be classified as folk art. Most are quilts, followed by weathervanes, hooked rugs, and an eclectic collection of samplers, ship paintings, architectural elements, and gameboards. The collection as a whole is dominated by contemporary paintings and drawings along with a broad array of textiles. The art is rotated through corporate headquarters, but is not accessible to the general public. Works are loaned, however, to special exhibitions.

Some corporations have collections focused on a particular theme, often one related to the business or history of the country. One of the principal collections of The Seaman's Bank for Savings, in New York, is some 1,800 maritime artifacts, reflecting the bank's ties to maritime commerce since its founding in 1829. Nearly 400 folk pieces are among these: Figureheads, ship paintings by Antonio Jacobsen (1850-1912) and others, and wooden genre scenes in bottles. There is also a splendid grouping of

ART AT THE CHASE MANHATTAN BANK: A MATTER OF DOLLARS AND SENSE The Chase Manhattan Bank owns the largest corporate art collection in the country. As a point of reference, the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York has just under 10,000 pieces in its permanent collection while Chase has a little more than 12,000. The Chase collection, begun by David Rockefeller and vigorously supported by his successor, Chairman of the Board Willard C. Butcher, is also one of the most successful. Its primary purpose is to enhance the lives of Chase's employees and by most accounts it is a popular benefit. Works are labeled to educate and inform. Art is supplied on request to branches and offices within the company. And the only circumstance under which pieces from the collection are sold is when a senior executive wishes to take home a favorite piece on retirement. Price is determined by current appraised value. "People really approve of the art program. I think they are very proud of it'said Merrie Good,Vice President and Director of the Art Program."On the other hand,they don't like a lot ofthe things in it!' Indeed, many of the pieces are challenging works of contemporary art. Policy is to ask an employee who objects to live with a piece for a while; often they come to appreciate it in the end. In fact, said Good,"the more art we place, the more is wanted:' Art is acquired for the Chase collection on the basis of need, said Good. Her annual budget is determined by the number of new offices or branches being opened and the requirements of existing facilities. Chase now has 300 branches around the world in addition to the headquarters at Chase Manhattan Plaza in lower Manhattan. The largest part ofthe budget is for acquisition, which hit a high in 1984, the program's 25th anniversary. That year $1.89 million, slightly less than the $2 million alotted, was spent for 1,300 works. In contrast, the budget for 1980 was only $421,000. Interestingly, the average cost of a work of art has remained about $1,000 since the beginning of the art program. The second part of the art program budget covers expenses, which range from $300,000 to $700,000 a year. As the collection has grown, expenses have increased, largely in the areas of

Spring 1988

conservation and appraisal costs. Although the art is treated for accounting purposes as a non-depreciable fixed asset at cost,"the real reason for appraisals!' says Good, "is to have reasonable insurance coverage:' She cites, as an example, a Shouldes curlew decoy purchased for $125 in the early 1960s which was recently appraised at $6,000. Works of art to be considered for acquisition can be presented by outside consultants, art program staff, or members ofthe Chase Art Committee, which is a panel of Chase executives and outside experts. Current members are Willard Butcher, who serves as chairman of the committee; Suzanne Delehanty, Director of the Neuberger Museum in Purchase, New York; A. Wright Elliott, Executive Vice President of Chase; Robert C. Douglass, Vice Chairman of Chase;Richard Koshalek, Director ofthe Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Michael McCarthy, partner, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; David Rockefeller, former Chairman of the Board; and Robert Rosenblum, art critic and Professor of Art History at New York University. Each piece to be added to the collection must be reviewed by the staff and,if above $5,000in cost, by the Chase Art Committee. The only criteria is that pieces not be site specific, excessively fragile, or too small to get lost in an office setting. Management ofthe collection is done by Good with the help of a procedures manual several inches thick, her own computer system, and a dedicated staff of five. "There is very careful control!' she stressed, "which helps maintain quality!' The exact number of folk pieces in the collection is difficult to isolate, however, since the works are categorized in the computer as American painting or American sculpture â&#x20AC;&#x201D; not as American folk art. There are, Good estimates, about 600 works of folk art, traditional and contemporary. This year Good,in accordance with the banks projected needs, has budgeted $750,000 for acquisitions. If last year's spending figures are repeated by U.S. corporations this year, Chase won't even be in the lead. More than a few companies will spend in excess of$1 million on art.

713 about 200 pieces of scrimshaw. At least 100 are nineteenth century, while the remainder are contemporary; some were commissioned by the bank. One early example is a needle case of ivory, carved in the shape of a small pistol. More than 1,000 coin banks and toys, chiefly of metal, make up the bank's other main collection. Included are several nineteenth century redware banks, plus examples of stoneware birthday banks. Curator Shirley Dutton looks after the entire collection, which is installed in the bank's headquarters on Wall Street and twelve branches in the New York metropolitan area. Much of the art is displayed in public areas,

and visitors may call for banking hours and information about the art on view at each location. Another fine maritime collection can be found at the State Street Bank and Trust Company, which has been closely connected with the seaport of Boston since 1891. Considered one of the most important maritime collections in New England, it was started in 1911 by then-President Allan Forbes and now numbers more than 2,200 pieces. Its most important folk pieces are a group of fifty figureheads. Among the bank's treasures are a roughly-chiseled snarling bear figurehead from the barkentine Bear of

Oakland, which was carved in the mid-1930s by a member of Richard Byrd's Antarctic expedition; a twoheaded male figure from the ship Janus of Salem, built in 1804, believed to be the only one of its kind; and a rare, pre-1830, diminutive figure of a queen holding a crown in her hand, which has been attributed to Samuel Skillin, one of America's most famous ship carvers. In addition to its marine material, the Bank owns about 800 non-marine New England decorative objects â&#x20AC;&#x201D; some of which may be classified as folk art â&#x20AC;&#x201D;and a selection of contemporary art. Most of the figureheads and many of the maritime objects are regularly dis-

_, ESPRIT DE CORPS Amish Bars Quilt.

The Clarion

played in the Personal Trust Department on the third floor of the Bank's new building. Curator Rhoda L. Berchuk will arrange tours for interested parties. A few pieces of folk art can be seen in branch offices during banking hours. While the Bank has an art gallery in its corporate headquarters, folk art is usually not displayed there. The General Foods Corporation is another company with a theme collection. Their 1,500-item collection of food-related artifacts dating from the fifth century B. C. to the present is, like the company itself, international in scope. It contains several hundred pieces of American folk art, almost 100 Shaker works alone. To this must be added non-Shaker spice boxes, scrimshaw pie crimpers, tin cookie cutters, and decorative carved wooden utensils. A mini-museum with rotating shows pulled from the whole collection can be visited at corporate headquarters in Rye Brook, New York. General Foods also has an outstanding 90-piece quilt collection from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. They are displayed primarily in the public spaces of General Food's light and airy headquarters building, designed by Kevin Roche, John Dinkeloo and Associates and completed in 1983. Tended by curator, Nancy C. Campbell, the collection — with examples from England, France and Japan, as well as America — includes pieced, crazy and other quilts employing embroidery, stenciling, and trapunto work. The company provides tours upon request. The quilts of the Esprit de Corps clothing company form one of the most celebrated corporate collections. The more than 300 Amish quilts, which date from 1870 to 1950, are well-known and of museum quality. When an earlier grouping of about 65 quilts was destroyed in 1975 in a fire, along with the company's factory, co-founders Doug and Susie Tompkins, rebuilt the San Francisco-based business and the collection. Originally all types of quilts were collected, but the focus is now on Amish quilts. The quilts are spectacularly displayed in the open plan headquarters building that was formerly a winery. At Spring 1988

GILMAN PAPER COMPANY Left to right: Slip Plate With Coggled Edge; Probably Poughkeepsie;19th century;9/ 1 2"diameter; Large Mug;Pennsylvania;19th century;5" high;Ovoid Jug With Strap Handle;Pennsylvania; 19th century; 11" high.

least 200 quilts can be seen at any given day in the offices, warehouse, and workrooms. All were chosen by Doug Tompkins based primarily on design qualities rather than historic interest or technical virtuosity. They serve as an inspiration for the bright-colored and kicky clothes that Esprit produces, and are carefully tended and circulated by Julie Silber, the collection's curator. The quilts, representing the four basic Amish patterns — squares, diamonds, bars, and ninepatches — are hung according to increasing design complexity. A brochure with color photographs and a brief description of about 250 quilts was published in 1985; a lavish book on the collection was published in 1986, and another is in the planning stage. The quilts are accessible to the public; phone ahead during business hours for reservations. More than 2,000 visitors per week take the self-guided tour, respecting the request not to disturb the workers. Quilts, most of which are American and date from the nineteenth century to 1940, make up roughly one-half of the nearly 300 objects in the collection of the Tascosa National Bank in Amarillo, Texas. Alexandra Stoddard Inc., the design firm which created the

warm interior for this sweeping contemporary headquarters building, put together the collection which includes wooden utilitarian objects from many countries, as well as textiles, baskets, pottery, and architectural fragments. Outstanding in the quilt collection is an album quilt, made between 1840 and 1850,from Salisbury, Maryland, which was given as a wedding present to M. Berkley in 1887 and later discovered at the Berkley Plantation. The initials "MWB"and"1887" are embroidered in the center. The quilt exhibits a range of techniques — reverse, double, and triple appliques plus cut work devices. Visitors are invited to stroll through a garden atrium and enjoy all the objects in the public areas. Quilts are rotated every three months, but at least thirty quilts can be seen at any one time; docents are available for tours. One of the companies responsible for the creation of quilts is the Stearns Technical Textiles Company of Cincinnati, the first commercial producer of cotton batting, a product now handled by their Mountain Mist Consumer Products Division. During the 1920s and 1930s, the firm hired quilters to create original designs for them. They copyrighted 141 patterns and had them 37

G71

NESTLE FOOD CORPORATION Fisherman and Fish Lures; Minnesota; 1900-1920; Carved and painted wood.

made into quilts, which they continue to have reproduced in new fabrics. The result is a collection that combines both very traditional quilts and lively, modern interpretations of old designs. While many of its older quilts are too delicate to be shown, Stearns allows about fifty to sixty of its quilts to travel to trade shows and quilt festivals. Occasionally new quilts from among quilt contest entrants are added to the collection. In 1974, the Gilman Paper Company collected minimal and conceptual art to install in its New York offices. When Gilman's headquarters recently moved to Florida, that collection was sold. Still remaining, under the care of curator Pierre Apraxine, is their museum-quality collection of more than 4,000 photographs, spanning the entire history of the medium, and a smaller group of architectural drawings. Little known is the corporation's approximately seventy-five pieces of New England and Mid-Atlantic redware, notable for a variety offorms and beautiful earth-colored glazes. The redware cups, pitchers, bowls, creamers, plates, ink pots, storage vessels, bottles, molds, banks, and shaving mugs all date from the late 1770s to the late 1800s. Especially striking are a covered plum jar from Vermont with trailed slip and a tear-shaped jug from New Bedford in an apple-green glaze. The collection is displayed in office corridors 38

at the company's New York headquarters and in chairman Howard Gilman's office, out of public view. Another unsung grouping is Gilman Paper's decoy collection. About 50 pieces, including an exceptional snowy egret, are installed at White Oak Plantation, a company retreat, near Jacksonville, Florida. Loans from both the redware and decoy collection are occasionally made to museums. The First National Bank of Chicago began collecting art in 1969 with the intention of creating an encyclopedic collection. Now in the hands of full-time curator, Dr. John Neff, it numbers around 4,700 objects â&#x20AC;&#x201D; from antiquities to contemporary works. Tucked inside this immense corpus are nearly 100 antique American quilts, mostly Amish. Of these, about 15 are unusual Amish doll quilts, and several are thought to be African-American. A handful of other folk pieces include a scrimshaw swift and a homemade roulette wheel, circa 1900, fashioned from a bicyle wheel. The works are displayed in the bank's headquarters and in its fifty branches worldwide, many where customers and visitors alike can see them. The bank sponsors an art education program, and group tours are available. While Ellerton M. Jette was president and, from 1933 to 1960, owner of C.F. Hathaway Company of Waterville, Maine, he collected naive por-

traits, first for his own collection, and then for the company. Mr. Jette donated 95 paintings to Waterville's Colby College, but another 100 portraits, as well as 100 pieces of nineteenth century furniture, still belong to the Hathaway Company, now a division of New York's Warnaco, Inc. Most are halflength portraits of men by unknown artists. Hung as office decor at the factory offices in Waterville, and in sales offices around the United States, they are not accessible to the public. Americana is the theme of a developing corporate collection for Nestle Food Corporation's new U.S. headquarters in Purchase, N.Y. Gathered by Szoke Koo Associates, art consultants, the collection will include one quilt from each of the fifty states. About thirty quilts have already been selected, including a circa 1880 red, beige, and white diamond-quilted New York Beauty from New York State. Other forms of American folk art will make up a second part of the collection. Twenty-five pieces have been gathered, including a circa 1920 tufted throw used as a carriage blanket by the Pennsylvania Amish, a weathervane, a whirligig, carvings, mill weights and fish lures. American photographs and prints from the early twentieth century is the third component. BankAmerica Corporation in San Francisco has about fifty pieces of folk art, approximately forty quilts and ten weathervanes, amid its almost 5,000piece contemporary art collection. The quilts are predominantly Amish or Mennonite. One of the most beautiful is a Delectable Mountains design in pink, white and dark green from Berks County, Pennsylvania. Feather quilting runs along the border, while diamond quilting covers the center of the quilt. Among the bank's weathervanes is a striking, possibly unique, prancing horse of copper with paint and gold leaf. It was made in New England,circa 1870. The entire collection is rotated through corporate offices and the company's three public exhibition galleries by curator, Bonnie Earls-Solari. The Tosco Corporation,an oil company in Santa Monica, has a collection of about 50 American quilts, mostly geometric, from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Purchased The Clarion

vane, eagle architectural ornament, anonymous carved and polychromed Fence Bird from around 1910 and an oil by the New York-born Reverend Maceptaw Bogun, Sail On, Old Ironsides, painted in 1970 Curator Lillian Lambrechts oversees the collection which can be viewed, in part, in the public areas of the bank; a gallery with changing shows is open to everyone. In addition to the contemporary art

seen in its corporate offices throughout the world, IBM Corporation possesses another, older grouping of over 300 works called the IBM Collection. Begun in 1937, it initially concentrated on both international and American art. Over the years emphasis has shifted to American art. Folk art was not neglected; the company amassed a thirtyeight piece folk art collection. Most are nineteenth century paintings and draw-

Motu: M. Lee Fatherree

about 10 years ago as part of of a 200piece textile collection, the quilts enhance the working environment of Tosco's headquarters. There are no provisions for visits by the public, nor are loans made. The Bank of Boston has about 40 folk pieces among the 6,000 primarily contemporary regional works in its collection. Included are about twenty American quilts, a stemboard, weather-

BANKAMERICA CORPORATION Horse Weathervane; Circa 1870;Paint and gold leaf on copper; 15/ 1 2x 20/ 1 4".

Spring 1988

IBM CORPORATION Unknown Man from Dutchess County; Ammi Phillips; Circa 1830; Oil on canvas.

Ern ings with a few earlier examples of fraktur. Among the paintings are two children's portraits by William Matthew Prior, an elegant pair of Ammi Phillips Portraits â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a Man and Woman from Dutchess County, circa 1830 â&#x20AC;&#x201D; and several anonymous portraits. The works on paper include penmanship exercises, scherenschnitte, portraits, landscapes, a theorem, and the Parke Family Tree, a circa 1838 watercolor by William Richardson. Works from the IBM Collection are often loaned to galleries and museums for special exhibitions and to the Art in the Embassies program operated by the U.S. State Department and have been exhibited at the IBM Gallery of Science and Art on 57th Street in New York. Levi Strauss & Co.,once public but now a private concern, has collected art since 1968. It adorns the walls of its headquarters building in San Francisco and is available only to personnel and

clients of the company. Twenty-five quilts from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries are part of a collection of about 300 works, mainly by contemporary American artists. One dazzling Amish quilt, circa 1920, was once owned by Amish Bishop Aaronesh of Bird-in-Hand,Pennsylvania. It is in the Diamond-in-a-Square pattern, a common Amish design in which Christ is thought to be symbolized by the central diamond. Tressa Ruslander Miller is the curator of the Security Pacific art collection in Los Angeles. About twenty nineteenth and early twentieth century American quilts are to be found amid the collection's 9,000 twentieth century art objects. Parts of the collection are displayed in public areas, and loans to museums are sometimes made. The corporate offices of U.S. Tobacco may be in Greenwich, Connecticut, but its Museum ofTobacco Art and History is located in Nashville, Ten-

MUTUAL ASSURANCE COMPANY

U.S. TOBACCO

Hooked Rug; Circa 1930.

Punch; Attributed to James Campbell of Baltimore, who was associated at one time with the workshop ofSamuel A. Robb; Mid 19th century; 7' high.

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nessee. Here, under the care of curator David Wright, are meerschaum pipes, Chinese snuff bottles, and a host of other antiques and memorabilia associated with tobacco, including several outstanding pieces of American folk art. Besides tramp art, or chip-carved, boxes and a colorful cigar-ribbon quilt from around 1880, there are several cigar store figures: Two figures in cast metal by William Demult Company of New York, an Indian Squaw with Papoose and Captain Jack, an Indian scout, both circa 1875; polychromed wood figures include a six-foot tall Mohawk Indian warrior of wood believed to have been carved by John L. Cromwell of New York, circa 1855; a late nineteenth century Squaw, probably by Samuel Robb of New York, and Punch, possibly by James Campbell of Belleville, New Jersey, circa 1850.The Museum is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM, except major holidays. The Mutual Assurance Company of Philadelphia has extensive holdings related to fire-fighting, marine, and insurance related subjects, as well as a smaller collection of eighteenth and nineteenth century paintings. Among the approximately 1,000 pieces are a number offolk items, including painted fire buckets, hats, and a painted panel from an early fire engine. Especially charming are two early twentieth century hooked rugs. One shows a fireman looking up at a young lady in a burning building with a verse about how his glance sears as much as the flames. Another pictures a mustachioed fireman rescuing two girls clutching each other in a flaming window. The verse reads: "The mob below do stand & gape/ envelop us sir in your fireman's cape/ and for your own inscrutable stare/ on the ground we would rather be instead of up here!" Tours can be arranged by appointment with curator Carol Wojtowicz. For the Charles Hotel, an independent luxury hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, quilts function as both art collection and interior design scheme. Twelve late nineteenth century quilts greet visitors as they ascend the hotel's main staircase. All are predominately pieced, geometric, and blue and white, and are displayed to create one enorSpring 1988

PHILIP MORRIS raZii

Center Figure of Three Muses; Samuel Robb; Circa 1882; Carved pine; From Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus;49" high.

mous wall hanging. Other antique quilts are hung on the guest floors, and contemporary down quilts are on every bed. The hotel has American realist art and prints in its collection, too. Philip Morris, which recently became the parent corporation of General Foods, also has folk art in its corporate collection. It assembled its collection specifically for its new World Headquarters, completed in 1983, located near Grand Central Station in New York City. Amid the eclectic mix of more than 65 paintings, drawings, sculpture,

and textiles gathered by art advisor, Mary Lanier, are roughly a dozen pieces of folk art. Among the highlights are a Baltimore album quilt with that city's Seaman's Bethel Mission in the center; a friendship flag quilt; an eight-pointed star quilt made of black vests and neckties entered by Mrs. Lewis Rogers in a contest in Gorton, Texas, in 1949; a nineteenth century Adam and Eve needlework picture, almost four feet by four feet square; and the Three Muses from a Ringling Brothers, Barnum & 41

Folk Art Boat; James Scott;1983.

Bailey Circus wagon made by Samuel Robb of New York. All these works are circulated between corporate offices and corridors. While not available to the public, loans are sometimes made to museums. Not accessible to the general public is the thematic collection of the Culbro Corporation, owners of the General Cigar Company. Almost a dozen cigar store Indians — of metal and wood — are displayed in the firm's New York offices, along with smoking paraphernalia and prints and paintings of American Indians. The Atlantic Richfield Company, or Arco, a natural resources firm headquartered in Los Angeles, has a collection of more than 13,000 objects, which is cared for by curator Stephanie Jackson. Among them are several quilts and a boat of wood, tin, and paint by twentieth century folk sculptor, James Scott of New Orleans.' The collection is displayed throughout the public and private spaces of Arco's buildings and is not generally available to the public. Although its holdings are extremely diverse, the majority are contemporary American works. In Southfield, Michigan, near Detroit, Maccabees Mutual Life Insurance Company is assembling American art for a new headquarters with the assistance of art consultants, Mary Dennison and Richard H. Axsom. Of 42

Uncle Sam; Edgar Tolson; 1976; Carved and painted wood;59" high.

the more than 100 items already in the collection, ten are examples of folk art: Of note are three anonymous portraits — a father, mother, and two children; a ship painting by Antonio Jacobsen; the 1984 triptych Family Saga by Malcah Zeldis, a contemporary painter who was raised in Detroit; and a silk mourning picture of General George Washington and His Lady, circa 1850. The work of only one folk artist, Bill Traylor(1854-1947),can be found in the collection of the Southland Corporation, owners of7-11 stores. Born a slave in Alabama, Traylor produced a remarkable body of drawings over a three-year period shortly before his death. Traylor's pencil and paint images on scrap cardboard are part of an eclectic collection of some 1,600 works from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries installed in the company's Dallas headquarters. The collection is cared for by curator John J. Jasinski, and is not open to the public, although loans are made to museums. Citicorp/Citibank N.A. has been collecting art since 1946. Amid its more than 5,000 works, basically contemporary painting, sculpture, and photography, are a few pieces of American folk art. These include a circa 1876 flag quilt top from Kansas; a late nineteenth century checkerboard with "Sarah" painted on it; a monkey wrench pieced quilt; and a bait and tackle trade sign. The Clarion

Curator Suzanne Lemakis is in charge of installing the works at the bank's headquarters in New York and its offices worldwide. Thanks to the leadership of its late chairman, Robert E Hastings, the Detroit design firm of Smith, Hinchman & Grylls has a distinguished program of collecting and showing art of all types in its corporate offices. At present, there are more than 100 works, mostly contemporary,in the collection. Among the folk pieces are a Whirling Stars quilt, circa 1875, from Michigan; an armadillo by contemporary New Mexican carver, Felipe Archuleta;and a painted figure of Uncle Sam (1976) by the rural Kentucky carver, Edgar Tolson, who died in 1985. (Standing almost five feet tall it is thought to be Tolson's largest carving.) A.R.A. Services, a food services company, began an art program two years ago under the leadership of Barbara Glickman. Part of the program involves scholarship aid to local art students, and part involves the creation of an art collection for A.R.A.'s new corporate offices in Philadelphia. Currently, there are five pieces of American

folk art in the collection — a nine-patch variation Amish quilt from Holmes County, Ohio, circa 1920; geometric hooked rug from Ohio, circa 1930; wood sculpture Horse's Head by Jesse Aaron (1970), and two paintings by contemporary folk artist William Hawkins.'The majority of the other 70 works in the collection are figurative pieces by twentieth century artists from the greater Delaware Valley area. Plans for public access are being developed. An anonymous oil painting of West Point, a penmanship drawing of a leaping stag, and several quilts are among the few examples of American art in the Reader's Digest's collection of about 4,000 pieces. While tours are readily available, most of the works exhibited are from the Digest's prominent French Impressionist and Post-Impressionist holdings or the extensive collection of contemporary American art in the main headquarters building. A guest house holds the two-dimensional folk objects and access is possible by prior arrangement with curator Francis Chavez. While insurance is the business of The Liberty Corporation, their art collection is based on textiles, in tribute

to the importance of the textile industry to corporate hometown Greenville, South Carolina. Two nineteenth century American quilts, a cigar-ribbon pillow case, and a sampler by Elizabeth Hext from 1743 are among its holdings, which include both ancient and contemporary works — from Coptic and pre-Columbian textile fragments to Chinese costumes and Iranian rugs. Visitors can see examples from the collection of 500 pieces by making an appointment with Corporate Art Advisor, Lynn Nanney Roosevelt. The Prudential Insurance Company of America entrusts its art program to manager Helene Zucker Seeman who oversees more than 9,000 works, of which only four or five, including a weathervane and a quilt, are examples of American folk art. The collection is rotated through public and private areas at headquarters in Newark, New Jersey, and other facilities here and abroad. In Canada, however, Prudential has more than fifty pieces of Canadian folk art — weathervanes, quilts, carvings, hooked rugs — on display in its offices. Regina A. Trapp of Trapp Associ-

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Spring 1988

ates, Inc., assisted European-American Bank with the acquisition of art for its New York headquarters. Installed in offices and corridors, but not available to the public, are a carved eagle from Pennsylvania, circa 1876, and three quilts. Art consultant Carolyn d'Alfonso aided SmithKline Beckman Corpora-

tion, a Philadelphia pharmaceuticals company, in adding three pieces offolk art to its eclectic collection of approximately 200 pieces. SmithKline owns a weathervane and two quilts, a Mennonite and an Amish. The collection is installed at its corporate headquarters building, but is not accessible to the public.

Amid the 40 pieces in the contemporary art collection of Ore-Ida Foods, Inc., of Boise, Idaho, are two nineteenth century quilts, a crazy quilt and a patchwork album quilt of historical significance. The latter was created around 1870 by a Spokane Congregational Church group as a fund-raising project. The group managed to have

ORE-IDA FOODS,INC. Signature Crazy Quilt; Late 19th century; The Members of the Congregational Church in Spokane designed each square and included the signature of the governor or territorial governor of each state or territory in the Union. The national government is represented by the center squares where the signature of President and Mrs. Benjamin Harrison and the Presidential Cabinet members appear.

The Clarion

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AMERICAN EXPRESS The Statute of Liberty; William L. Hawkins; 1984; Paint and assemblage in enamel, plastic and metal on wood;48 x 96".

quilt blocks signed by President Benjamin Harrison, his wife, members of his cabinet, and state and territorial governors. The collection is supervised by curator Denis Ochi, and tours are available by request. The Rodale Press of Emmaus,Pennsylvania, publisher of Prevention magazine, has an art collection with about 850 pieces, some of which have been illustrated in Prevention. There are two traditional quilts; 43 contemporary art quilts; other examples of American and European textiles; and contemporary paintings, sculpture, prints, and photographs (many dealing with environmental issues), all situated within the company's fourteen headquarters buildings. Arrangements can be made to view the collection with Mr. Ardath Spring 1988

H. Rodale, Director of Environmental Resources. The following corporate collections are highlighted by a single piece of American folk art: The Main Bank of Chicago has a significant collection of the work of Chicago Imagist painters from the 1970s. Many of these painters were influenced by and collected folk and naive work. One painter brought to the bank's attention in the course of acquiring the Imagists' work was Chicago artist Albina Felski, whose The Rose Parade (1973) was subsequently added to the bank's holdings.' The bank exhibits its collection in the public and private areas of its building, so a visit may possibly yield a view of this painting.

American Express's art collection was begun in 1984 and consists of approximately 500 pieces of international art from 1850 to the present. Diane Bliss is director of the collection which includes only one stunning folk work, The Statue of Liberty (1984), a 48" by 96" assemblage of plastic and metal on wood by William L. Hawkins, a black artist who began painting when he was in his eighties. The American Express collection is not open to the public, but loans are made. Donaldson, Lufkin, and Jenrette, Inc., the New York investment firm, has collected art since 1963. They have amassed a 2,000-piece collection of Americana, dating from roughly 1800 to 1840; the curator is Margize Howell. A single folk painting, The 45

Whaler's Flag, was the first work to enter the collection. It is based on a print from a painting by American William Page, which was inspired by a whaler's sketch. This anonymous work, measuring 39" x 951 / 2", fills one wall of the corporate dining room. The collection is not available to the public, but loans are made to museums. The Valley National Bank of Phoenix, Arizona, has one folk painting in its 5,000-piece collection of Western and Southwestern American art, which is under the supervision of curator Judith B. Hudson. Pike's Peak is the backdrop for a nineteenth century Western genre scene signed with the initials "E.L.C." The collection can be viewed in the public areas of its branch offices, but loans are not made. Corporate art consultant and curator Paula Larkin supervises Westinghouse Electric Corporation's 1,500-piece

collection in Pittsburgh. Reflecting the company's international business, its art holdings are also international. One American alphabet sampler, nearly 5' high by l' wide, is included in about 50 works of folk art, primarily Latin American and Indian. The works are displayed in the headquarters building, and tours are given by prior reservation. New York art consultant, Judith Selkowitz, helped assemble the art collection of Cheseborough-Ponds, Inc., which is displayed at its corporate headquarters in Greenwich, Connecticut. A red, green, and white applique quilt in a North Carolina lily pattern, circa 1855, adorns a wall in one corridor. It can be viewed with the collection's approximately 50 pieces of contemporary art by appointment only. TRW, Inc., displays its contemporary collection throughout its headquarters in Lyndhurst, Ohio, near

Cleveland. Since 1984, approximately 300 works have been gathered. Among them is an optically stunning cotton Mennonite quilt which uses both the railroad crossing and double ninepatch motifs to achieve its effect. Dr. Robert D. Lundy, Corporate Art Advisor, will show the TRW collection by appointment. This survey of folk art in American corporate collections is the first to explore this expanding area of corporate art collecting. With artwork as striking in quality and diversity as the pieces described here, it is sure to mark only the initial foray into this exciting field.' N.F. Karlins has her doctorate from New York University. She is art critic for The Westsider and The Chelsea Clinton News, both New York City newspapers. She has written on nineteenth and twentieth century folk art and has been guest curator of several exhibitions for the Museum of American Folk Art.

CHESEBOROUGH-PONDS, INC. North Carolina Lily Quilt;1855;84 x 117".

The Clarion

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Railroad Crossing and Double Nine Patch Quilt; Mennonite. NOTES 1. Judith A. Jedlicka, "America's Eclectic Collector — Business!' Conference on Corporate Art Collecting, Chicago, Illinois, May 19, 1983. 2. "Corporate Collecting — a Statistical View!' Corporate ARTnews, May 1986: I. 3. This survey was conducted over a year's time and was conducted by sending letters directly and via journals to corporate curators, and by numerous telephone calls to corporate curators, dealers, restorers, collectors, and museum personnel. The author would like to thank all the people who contributed to it. 4. Jedlicka. 5. Bogun, born in 1917 to Polish immigrants, became a minister of the St. Andrews Spiritual Church. He saw an art exhibit, decided to paint himself, and called his work "spiritual art!' His description of this painting: "The islands represent the few territories the U.S.A. owns,the large clouds, war and peace, peace is trying to emerge. If the spirits offaithful seamen were called to battle today in defense of the nation's freedom or integrity, I do not think they would hesitate and use

Spring 1988

the 'bark' — Old Ironsides!, portrayed as a spirit or ghost ship sailing on small white clouds!' Bogun is quoted, and the painting illustrated in TwentiethCentury American Folk Art and Artists, Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr., and Julia Weissman(NY: E.P. Dutton & Co.,Inc., 1974) 193. 6. Scott was born in a small, black settlement not far from New Orleans in 1922, left school in the sixth grade to help his family make a living, and worked on oyster and shrimp boats until he and his father could afford a shrimp boat of their own. His life was on fishing boats until the 1970s when he took employment in a shrimp canning factory. Like many folk artists, Scott was able to devote himself to making art only after his retirement in the 1980s. 7. Hawkins,considered one of the leading folk painters working today, was born in rural Kentucky in 1895 but has lived in Columbus, Ohio, since he was 23. Part of his motivation to paint came from discovering cans of partially used enamel house paint. He scavenged discarded paper and boards and began to work. Hawkins often paints his name, birthplace, and

birthday at the bottom of his paintings instead of signing his name. 8. Felski was born in British Columbia but has been a Chicago resident for many years. She started painting in her mid-thirties while she held a job in a factory. Now around 60,she has produced few works because most take a year to complete. They are large, at least 4' by 4', meticulously detailed, and crammed with people and activities. 9. The author would appreciate hearing from corporate curators or others who have, or think they might have, American folk art in their corporate collections. This survey will be updated periodically, so please inform me of folk art acquisitions by private or public corporations in the United States or abroad. Please write care of the Museum.

In some cases descriptive information about objects supplied by corporate collectors to the author was incomplete. All available information has been included. — Ed.

PAINTED BY ROYALL B.SMITH BY ARTHUR AND SYBIL KERN

2"; Collection ofThe Newark Museum. Inscribed on thefront, upper 1 2x 26/ 1 "Becker" Woman;Attributed to Royall Brewster Smith;1830; Oil on canvas;30/ right is "BORN OCT.18th, 1796./PAINTED AUGst,1830'She shows all the typical stylisticfeatures and wears a lacy cap trimmed with a striped ribbon similar to that worn by many women oflater portraits. On her right cheek is a clearly depicted mole with a single curly hair. She wears a small hoop earring and holds a red book with the word "WATTS""printed on its spine. The subject is believed to be Betsey Hill Hanscom Baker who was born September 26,1795 in Gorham to John and Mary Hanscom!'She married Ira Baker October 23,1825, had two children and died April 3.1840 "Becker" Man;Attributed to Royall Brewster Smith;1830; Oil on canvas;30 x 2578"; Collection ofThe Newark Museum. This demonstrates the typical body positioning, bulbous hand, off-center nose, arm in poor perspective, heavy shadow along the line ofthe nose, tightly compressed narrow lips and grained sofa. Inscribed on thefront, upper left of center is "BORN DEC. 26th 1795/PAINTED AUG.st I830:' It is likely that the subject was actually Ira Baker!' born in Gorham. September 1796, the son ofDaniel and Betsy Clement Bakee On October 23 1825 he married Betsey Hill Hanscom'and died July 8,1861"

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noteworthy figure in the history of American folk art. He typifies the itinerant portrait painter who traveled from town to town, particularly in the

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In a 1963 publication on Maine and its role in American art', Nina Fletcher Little mentions a Royall Brewster Smith, referring to him as a relatively unknown artist who, in 1836, was employed by a neighbor, Arthur McArthur, to paint portraits of himself, his wife and three of their children. At the time of writing, Mrs. Little knew of only two other paintings thought to be by Smith. Except for the occasional illustration of a painting attributed to him, nothing significant appeared in the literature concerning Smith's work or life in the following 25 years. Despite his neglect by historians, Royall Brewster Smith, born in Buxton, Maine on August 7, 1801, is a

Painted by Royall B. Smith March 1831; Inscription in red paint on reverse ofthe portrait Unidentified Woman Holding a Fan.

first half of the nineteenth century, producing inexpensive portraits of those who desired to create a permanent record of themselves. In 1980, the authors of this article obtained a most interesting portrait, Older Woman with Bible, which was attributed by the dealer and former curator, Don Walters, to Royall Brewster Smith. At the time, we were familiar with only eight other works that had been attributed to him (see checklist numbers 18-25). However on the basis of stylistic similarity to Older Woman with Bible we were immediately able to attribute three more paintings with which we were familiar (see checklist numbers 1-3) to Royall The Clarion

Spring 1988

Photograph courtesy of Peter Tillou

Man Holding A Red Bible; Attributed to Royal! Brewster Smith; Circa 1830; Oil on canvas;3014 x 25/ 1 4";Private collection. The striking similarity between this portrait and that of the "Becker" man leads to dating it as of1830.

used over and over again. Thirty of the 36 paintings measure between 30" x 25" and 32" x 26"; the exceptions are those of the McArthurs, each of which measures 50" x 27" and the Full Length Standing Gentleman, which is 76" x 32". His subjects are all presented in three-quarter view, with the head turned in the same direction as the body. Adult males, with one exception, face toward their right, while adult females, with three exceptions, turn toward their left. The figure, generally of bust length, tends to fill most of the canvas. Lips are thin and compressed and, noses are noticeably off-center. In many, a diagonal line runs from eyebrow to nose.

Photograph by Custom Photography by Brenda

Brewster Smith. With this nucleus of 12 portraits as a starting point, we decided to investigate the life and work of this man from Maine. The result of our research, which has brought together a sizeable number of portraits attributable to him plus an interesting personal story that reflects life in Maine during the first half of the nineteenth century, is the basis of this article, the first to be published on Royall Brewster Smith. Thirty-six oil on canvas portraits, painted between 1830 and 1837, have now been attributed by the authors to him. The name of the subject is known for 23 of these. Significantly, all were residents of a small area in Maine, which included the towns of Gorham, Limington, Newfield, Saco, Sebago and Standish, none of which is more than 25 miles from another. Apparently his commissions were obtained largely through marital connections and word of mouth recommendations: Many of the 23 subjects were related by marriage to each other or to members of Royall's family, and several, such as the McArthurs and Stockins, resided in Limington where Smith lived between 1821 and 1825. Only eight of Royall Brewster Smith's paintings are signed, the 1831 portrait Unidentified Woman Holding a Fan, the five 1836 portraits of the McArthurs and the 1837 portraits of Nathaniel Marshall Richardson and Miriam McDonald. It is primarily on the basis of stylistic similarity to these that attribution to Royall Brewster Smith can be made for the unsigned ones. Attribution for the group of portraits at the Baxter House Museum in Gorham, as well as Boy Holding a Red Book and GirlHolding a Rose, the three members of the Stockin family, Full Length Standing Gentleman, the portraits of John G. Read and Eliza R. Read, Gentleman Seated in a Stenciled Chair, Gentleman With Books on Navigation and Agriculture, the portrait of Miriam Small and Lady With a Pink Bow had already been suggested by various people. For the other unsigned works, attribution was made by the authors. On studying the portraits, certain characteristic features become evident and it is apparent that Smith found a formula which he liked and which he

Very distinctive is Smith's treatment of hands. Despite his difficulty in painting this part of the anatomy, hands are invariably shown, often with one hanging down over the back of a sofa or chair. Large, bulbous, seemingly lacking bone structure, they are, nevertheless, frequently holding some object. In most of Smith's works one arm is presented in poor perspective. The subject often sits on a sofa which is heavily grained and/or patterned, with large-headed upholstery tacks running horizontally across its upper portion. Occasionally the subject sits on a stenciled chair. Smith's frequent depiction of graining and stenciling suggests that he also may have been a furniture

Mary Ann Edwards Harding; Attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; Circa 1830; Oil on canvas; 30 x 25/ 1 4"; Collection of the Baxter House Museum. Even more striking than the similarity between the portraits ofColonel Harding and the "Becker" man is that between Mrs. Harding and the "Becker" woman. Both wear a lace collar and headpiece with striped ribbon; each sits on a heavily grained sofa while holding a hymnar

painter. His use of prominent, wellexecuted inscriptions and printed titles on books in his paintings suggests that sign painting was probably an additional source of income, as well. Smith's known portraits were painted over a period of only eight years. Although he continued to employ the same stylistic characteristics described above, a certain degree of change is apparent. His earlier works are flatter, with shadowing more prominent along the line of the nose, while the later ones demonstrate a greater facility in the depiction of form and structure. There is nothing to indicate that Royall Brewster Smith had any formal training in the arts. Since he lived in and around Buxton, Maine for a number of years he probably was familiar with the work of the well-known painter, John Brewster who painted many portraits in Buxton and nearby towns. John Brewster lived for a time in Buxton with his brother Dr. Royal Brewster, family physician to the Smiths and after whom the younger artist was likely named. Therefore it is even possible that he knew John Brewster, although the latter was 35 years his senior.' However, there is nothing to suggest any influence from the older painter. On the other hand, Royall Brewster Smith apparently had a very strong influence on another Maine limner, Jona Treadwell. Treadwell's seven known portraits, painted between 1838 50

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Miriam Small; Attributed to Royal! Brewster Smith; Circa 1830; Oil on canvas; 32 x 25"; Private collection. Pencil inscription on stretcher: "MISS SMALL, FROM STANDISH MAINE/ PAINTED 1830' Ink inscription on paper label attached to stretcher; MISS SMALLI STANDISH MAINEI PAINTED 1830' Both inscriptions are said to have been made by a previous owner, the noted artist, Robert Laurent. In contrast to most ofSmith's adultfemales, this subject turns toward her right. She has a heavy shadow along the line ofher nose, has a bulbous hand which holds aflower, wears a hoop earring, as does the "Becker" woman whom she resembles, sits on a sofa with large-headed upholstery nails and there is a drape in the upper right corner. Although the sofa is not grained, the large comb perched on top ofher head is.f8

and 1851 in Buxton, North Wayne, Readfield and Fairfield, demonstrate the same type of body positioning, bulbous hands and off-center nose with heavy shadowing along its line. In addition to portraits, Smith also made family records. The first, probably executed in late 1826 or early 1827, was for the family of Robert and Mary Davis of South Limington. Five separate sheets recorded, respectively, the births of the parents, their first four children, the next five children, the last four children and, finally, the deaths of Robert Davis and his youngest child, Dorcas. Attribution of this family record to Royall Brewster Smith is based on the first sheet for the group which bears the large printed initials "R.B.S." The fact that Robert Davis was first cousin of the Mary Davis who married Royall's older brother, Alexander' supports this conclusion. A second record for his own family째 includes the names, dates and places of birth of his parents, their marriage date and the dates of birth of their children. Royall Brewster Smith was the 11th of 14 children of John McCurdy and Elizabeth McLellan Smith.' He and his sister, Margaret, were baptized December 14, 1801 in Buxton's Church of Christ.' In September 1817, the sheriff successfully brought legal action to obtain the farm owned by the Smiths. Two years later the property was taken over'; where the destitute family then lived is not known. John McCurdy

Smith had served in the Continental Army from June 4, 1778 to March 6, 1779 and in his 1818 application for a pension he stated "...am in reduced circumstances in life and in need of a pension from my country for support... Real estate, none, personal estate, none, no income, no money due me, am supported by charity:' The application lists his wife and six of his children as residing with him; Royall, who was then 17 years of age, is not included.' In September 1820 the selectmen of Buxton declared that "in their judgement John Smith of said Buxton does by excessive drinking and idleness so spend, waste and lessen his estate as thereby to expose himself and family to want and suffering circumstances; and does also thereby endanger and expose the said town of Buxton to a charge or expense for his and their maintenance and support:" One month later the Court of Probate appointed Theodore Elwell guardian of"John Smith of said Buxton a spendthrift:"째 Elwell's subsequent report of expenses incurred as Smith's guardian includes the item of April 9, 1821 for twenty dollars paid to T.& T.S. Robie for goods delivered to Mrs. Edwards who was boarding Smith for ten weeks at two dollars per week." In May 1821, Elizabeth McLellan Smith left her husband and moved with her younger children, including Royall, from Buxton to Limington" where her son Alexander had apparently found employment. A report of expenses by Benjamin Leavitt, then the elder Smith's guardian," includes the following interesting item of October 11, 1821 "Dr. Royal Brewster's bill for doctering (sic) the said Smith's family... $54.37:'' Also on October 11 is the record of payment of thirty dollars to Eunice Edwards for John Smith's board. Eunice Edwards, undoubtedly the Mrs. Edwards with whom he boarded earlier that year, was his oldest child, who had married John Edwards." A final entry on this same date is the record of payment of seventeen dollars to Alexander Smith for boarding his younger brother, Royall,"a sick boy child of the said J. Smith:"째 At this time Royall was twenty years of age. Leavitt's second report to the Probate Court of expenses incurred as John Smith's The Clarion

Photograph by Richard Merrill

GrM Unidentified Woman Holding A Fan and Husband of Unidentified Woman Holding A Fan; Royall Brewster Smith;1831;Oil on canvas;each 30 x 25"; Private collection. The portrait of the woman is one ofthefew that is signed, the reverse of the canvas bearing, in red paint, the inscription "Painted by Royal! B. Smithl March 183E' These paintings demonstrate most of the typical features of Smith's portraits and make possible the attribution to him of many of the unsigned ones.

guardian includes, for January 1823, two bills from Alexander for "boarding and taking care of Brewster Smith a sick boy son to the said John Smith:'"6 These bills from Alexander indicate that, at least from 1821 to 1823, Royall was not in good health. By October 1825, he had recovered sufficiently to leave Alexander's home; at that time he moved back to Buxton.' Four letters sent to Royall from Bangor, Maine by his brother, George, suggest that following his return to Buxton in 1825 he traveled to nearby communities as an itinerant. The first, dated December 25, 1831, was mailed to Gorham, the second and third, dated August 13, 1832, and May 12, 1833, respectively, were sent to Gorham Corner and the fourth, of November 22, 1834, went to Saccarappa (now Westbrook), Maine." Gorham is about five miles from both Buxton and Westbrook. In the letter of August 13 George wrote," I think you had better come down soon as you can. I think this is as good a place for your trade as you can find anywhere. I think you had better not engage any more work at painting until we can find a shop that will suit you:' Royall did not take his brother's advice. On April 11, 1838 he paid $330 for an option to purchase a parcel of land with buildings in Gorham from John Harmon.'8 Of interest is the fact that the property had been purchased by Harmon from William B. Harding, whose portrait had previously been Spring 1988

painted by Smith. Six months later, for the sum of one thousand dollars, the land and buildings were conveyed to Smith with the stipulation that he pay up the $400 mortgage on the premises which had been given to Harding by the firm of T. & T.S. Rol:4e," father and uncle of Francis Brown Robie, also the subject of a Smith portrait. Royall's involvement in town affairs is evident from his signing of a Temperance Petition in January 1839." On November 15, 1840 he filed his intention of marriage with the town clerk of Gorham:"Mr. Royall B. Smith of Gorham entered his name and purpose of marriage with Miss Roxana

Gowen of Shapleigh:'" Genealogic records"report the marriage of Royal(sic) B. Smith on November 30, 1840 to Roxanna (sic), born October 19, 1818 to John Gowen of Sanford and Martha Emery of Shapleigh, Maine. The Smiths moved from Gorham to Bangor, Maine" sometime between their wedding and early 1843, since we find Royall listed in the 1843 Bangor directory as a carpenter residing on Garland Street. In 1843 he purchased a parcel of land on Essex Street." He apparently later built a house there, for the 1846 directory records his residence as being on Essex Street; at this time his occupation is given as painter working

Eliza R. Read; Attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; 1833; Oil on canvas; 31/ 1 4 x 25/ 1 2"; National Gallery ofArt, Collection ofEdgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Printed on the front ofthe canvas, right sidejust above center, is "ELIZA R. READ! BORN FEBy 19, 18111 PAINTED OCTr I833:' This shows the typical grained sofa with large-headed upholstery nails, bulbous hand, off-center nose, left arm in poor perspective and prominent printed lettering:39

Arthur McArthur; Royal! Brewster Smith; 1836;Oilon canvas;50 x 27";Private collection. Inscribed on a narrow blue band at the bottom of the canvas is "ARTHUR McARTHUR ESQ. BORN JANUARY 14TH 1790 PAINTED JUNE 1836, BY ROYALL B. SMITH' One of the few portraits to include a column, as well as corner drape and tassel, lawyer McArthurr who sits in a grained chair, appears calm and distinguished despite his off-center nose and poorly depicted hand and arm.

on Harlow Street. Of significance is the fact that in the 1851 directory Simon Pierce Bradbury, husband of Roxana Smith's sister, Mary, is entered as a sculptor with a working address on Harlow Street and residence on Essex Street. It is likely that the Smith's moved to Bangor to be closer to their relatives — Mary Gowen Bradbury, Roxana's sister, and George Smith, Royall's younger brother who, from 1831 to 1834, had written letters urging this move. Smith is listed as painter in the Bangor directories between 1846 and

Photograph by Pfaender Photographic

Abner Chase Stockin; Attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; Circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 32 x 25";Private collection. Attribution is based on similarity to the signed portraits of the McArthur children; specifically regarding treatment offace, hair and clothing and depiction of the same type ofpatternedfloor. The portraits of his parents are also attributed to Royall Brewster Smite

1855. However, there are no known portraits by him after 1837 — one year before his purchase of land in Gorham, three years before his marriage, six years before his first listing in the Bangor directory and 18 years before his death." His obituary in the December 7,1855 issue of the Bangor Daily Whig and Courier reports, among other things, that he"was one ofour most industrious and reliable mechanics:' Had he been active as a portrait painter, this would undoubtedly have been mentioned. Use of the descriptive term "mechanic"

along with his listing in the directories as "painter" — and his use of lettering and grained furniture in many of his portraits — suggest that his work in Bangor included painting signs, furniture, fire buckets, coaches and houses. His estate at probate"'" consisted of $1,500 in real estate, $285 in goods and chattels and $1301 in rights and credits. The inventory of goods owned included $123.75 in silverware, books, etc. and a shop and tools valued at $161; unfortunately, the nature of his shop and tools is not specified. The obituary also mentions that he left a wife and two daughters. His will bequeathed one third of the estate to his wife and one third to each of the daughters." One of the daughters, Mary Cornelia, had married James D. Lockwood, a physician of Brewer, a town adjacent to Bangor. The second daughter was Maria F,a Bangor school teacher and assistant principal, who also operated an apothecary shop in Brewer with her mother, Roxana, from 1873 through 1876. This same shop was operated by the widow, Mary Cornelia Smith Lockwood, following the death of Roxana Gowen Smith in 1887." It appears that Maria F. never married and Mary Cornelia's one child, Simeon D.S. Lockwood died in 1881 at the age of 15.30 Royall is buried on lot 368 C.G. in Bangor's Mount Hope Cemetery, his tombstone bearing the simple inscription "ROYAL (sic) B. SMITH/Aug. 7, 1801./Dec. 5, 1855:' With him are buried his wife, daughter Mary Cornelia Smith Lockwood and grandson. Although the line of Royall Brewster Smith ended with the early death of his grandson, Simeon, he will, nevertheless, be remembered for his distinctive early nineteenth century portraits of residents of a small area of south central Maine. Arthur and Sybil Kern are collectors,researchers, lecturers, and writers in the field of early American folk art. Among their previous publications are articles in The Clarion on Jane Anthony Davis, Benjamin Greenleaf, Thomas Ware and William Murray. Other studies include Almira Edson, Joseph Stone and Warren Nixon and Joseph Partridge. The authors wish to thank Helen Kellogg for sharing material from a preliminary investigation of some of the portraits by Royal! Brewster Smith. A special thank you also to Robert L. Taylor for his invaluable assistance and suggestions in the genealogic research.

The Clarion

CHRONOLOGICAL CHECKLIST OF THE PORTRAITS OF ROYALL BREWSTER SMITH

I. "Becker" Man (Thought to be Ira Baker); 1831:â&#x20AC;?` 2. "Becker" Woman (Thought to be Betsey Hill Hanscom Baker); 18301' 3. Man Holding a Red Bible; circa 1830 4. Mary Ann Edwards Harding, circa 183& 5. Colonel William B. Harding; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1830; Oil on canvas; 30 x 251 / 4"; Collection of the Baxter House Museum!' 6. Woman Wearing Green Head Piece; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1830; Oil on canvas; 30 x 25"; Collection of Nancy Lee Snow. The subject has all the characteristics of Mary Ann Edwards Harding and the "Becker" Woman and sits on a sofa with a grained wooden frame, largeheaded upholstery nails and patterned upholstery. 7. Husband of Woman Wearing Green Headpiece; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1830; Oil on canvas; 30 x 25"; Collection of Nancy Lee Snow. Similar to many of the others, his arm is in poor perspective, and a large bulbous hand is draped over the back of a stenciled chair. 8. Woman With Large Lace Collar; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith;circa 1830;Collection of the Baxter House Museum. This painting is known only through its photograph which accompanies the portraits of the Hardings. The subject wears a bonnet with striped ribbons similar to that worn by Mrs. Harding, sits on an identical sofa and appears to hold the same book. Her very strong resemblance to Mrs. Harding suggests that she may have been one of her four sisters. 9. Francis Brown Robie; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1830; Oil on canvas: 30 x 251 / 2": Collection of the Baxter House Museumt6 10. Miriam Small; circa 18301' 11. Unidentified Woman Holding a Fan, 1831 12. Husband of Unidentified Woman Holding A Fan, 1831! , 13. Theophilus Dame; attributed to Royal] Brewster Smith; circa 1832; Oil on canvas; 30 x 281 / 4"; Collection of the Baxter House Museum. Evident is the off-center nose, large bulbous hand and arm in poor perspective. As do many other subjects he sits on a stenciled chair." 14. Mary Ann Baker Dame; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1832; Oil on canvas; 30 x 281 / 4"; Collection of the Baxter House Museum" 15. Eliza R. Read, 1833t, 16. John G. Read; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; 1833; Oil on canvas; 313 / 4 x 25W; National Gallery of Art, Collection of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Printed in block letters on the front left of center is"JOHN G. READ / BORN NOVr 1, 1799 / PAINTED OCTr 18337 Prominent lettering is also evident on the spine of the book,"Useful Knowledge" which he holds in Spring 1988

his right hand." 17. Rev. John Perrin; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; 1835; Oil on canvas; 311 / 4x 261 / 2"; Collection of Old Sturbridge Village. The last sentence of the letter he has written reads,"With no other weapon than the gospel the Missionaries of the cross have caused the habitations of savage cruelty to be clothed with the ... of the lamb. John Perrin/Dec 1835:' This format is very similar to that in the 1837 portrait of Joseph Brown. The spines of books in the background display in clear block print the titles and names of their authors." 18. Arthur McArthur, 1836 19. Sarah Prince Miltimore McArthur; Royall Brewster Smith; 1836; Oil on canvas; 50 x 27"; Private collection. Inscribed on a narrow blue band along the bottom of the canvas is "SARAH PRINCE M. McARTHUR BORN FEBRUARY 13TH, 1805. PAINTED JUNE 1836 BY ROYALL B. SMITH!' The corner drapes and tassels seen in some of the earlier portraits are again evident and she sits on a stenciled chair." 20. Arthur McArthur 2d; Royall Brewster Smith; 1836; Oil on canvas; 50 x 27";Private collection, Printed on a narrow blue band at the bottom of the canvas is "ARTHUR McARTHUR 2D, BORN SEPTEMBER 15TH, 1830 PAINTED JUNE 1836 BY ROYALL B.SMITH!'He holds a book in one hand, a flower in the other, stands on the same patterned floor as do his brother and sister, and drapes hang in both corners with tassel on the right." 21. William M. McArthur; Royall Brewster Smith; 1836;Oil on canvas;50 x 27"; Private collection. Printed on a narrow blue band

across the bottom of the canvas is "WILLIAM MILTIMORE McARTHUR, BORN JULY 7TH, 1832 PAINTED JUNE 1836 BY ROYALL B. SMITH:' He holds a whip, stands on a patterned floor and a drape and tassel are present in the right upper corner." 22. Catharine McArthur; Royall Brewster Smith; 1836; Oil on canvas;50 x 27"; Private collection. Inscribed on a narrow blue band along the bottom of the canvas is "CATHARINE McARTHUR BORN JANUARY 29TH 1834 PAINTED JUNE 1836 BY ROYALL B. SMITH!'In her right hand she holds a bouquet of flowers, in her left hand what appears to be a fan. She stands on the same patterned floor as do her brothers, with a tassel above her head and a drape in the right upper corner.' 23. Boy Holding a Red Book; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 30 x 26"; Private collection. Attribution is made on the basis of similarity to the portraits of the McArthur children, particularly the rounded face, hair style, stiff threequarter pose, held book and type of clothing. In addition there is the grained sofa and overhead drapes. 24. Girl Holding a Rose; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 30 x 26"; Private collection. Possibly the sister of Boy Holding a Red Book, she presents identical stylistic qualities. 25. Full-Length Standing Gentleman; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 76 x 32"; Private collection. This is the largest known portrait attributable to Royall Brewster Smith. The envelope which he holds in his left hand is

Nathaniel Marshall Richardson; Royall Brewster Smith;1837; Oil on canvas;30 x 25/ 1 2"; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Smith. Painted in block letters on the front upper left corner is "NATHANIEL MARSHALL RICHARDSON! BORN IN THE TOWN OF STANDISH, JUNE!28TH 1814, PAINTED APRIL 18377 The reverse of the canvas bears the inscription "By Royall B. Smith7 Stylistically very similar to the earlier works, except for a greater degree of facial modeling and absence of the heavy line along the nose, the subject, who sits in a stenciled chair, has the same hair treatment as observed in the portraits of Abner Chase Stockin and the McArthur children. Richardson married Miriam McDonald, also the subject ofa Smith portrait, one year after the paintings were done:'

Joseph Brown; Attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; 1837; Oil on canvas; 30 x 26"; Private collection. Printed in block letters in the upper left corner is "JOSEPH BROWN,BORN BALDWIN MAINE/ APRIL 23d 1805 PAINTED 1837:' Like the 1835 portrait ofRev. Perrin, it portrays a legible message on note paper visible in the left lower corner, while in both and the 1836 signed portrait ofArthur McArthur a quill pen is held in the right hand. The text ofJoseph Brown's letter identifies the presumed date and place of execution ofthe portrait as April15, 1837, Sebago, the name ofthe artist andforty dollars as his pricefor the commissionV Photo atfar right is a close-up ofleft lower corner of this portrait which shows the message written on the note paper there: "Sebago April15th 18371 promise to pay Royalle (sic)! order the sum of forty/ demand (illegible):'

addressed "Mr. Mose ... Rock ..." and resembles that held by William B. Harding. In his right hand he holds a quill pen like that held by many other subjects. His facial features very strongly resemble those of Arthur McArthur and it is believed that he may be a member of the McArthur family. 26. Gentleman Seated in a Stenciled Chair; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 30 x 253/4"; Private collection. Like many of the earlier portraits this includes corner drapes and a tassel as well as a column like that in the portrait of Arthur McArthur. He sits on a stenciled chair identical to the one in Husband of Woman Wearing Green Headpiece. 27. Abner Chase Stockin, circa 1836:' 28. Thomas Blossom Stockin; attributed to Royal! Brewster Smith; circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 30 x 24"; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Carlos D. De Mottos." 29. Lydia Ann Chase Stockin; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1836; Oil on canvas; 30 x 24"; Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Carlos D. De Mattos." 30. Nathaniel Marshall Richardson, 1837 31. Miriam McDonald;Royall Brewster Smith; / 2"; Collection 1837; Oil on canvas; 30 x 251 of Mr. and Mrs. Donald C. Smith. Painted in block letters in the left upper corner is "MIRIAM McDONALD, BORN IN / THE TOWN OF STANDISH, SEPTE- / MBER 5TH 1812. PAINTED APRIL / 1837:' Inscribed on the reverse is "By Royall B. Smith:'" 32. Older Woman With Bible; attributed to Royall Brewster Smith; circa 1837; Oil on canvas; 31 x 26"; Collection of the authors. One of the few adult female subjects who are turned toward their right, she demonstrates all the other typical features. Like the 1837 portraits of Nathaniel Marshall Richardson and Miriam McDonald, there is a moderate amount of facial modeling while the background is barren, lacking drape, tassel or column. The obvious facial similarity between this subject and Nathaniel Marshall Richardson suggests that she is probably his 54

mother, Anna Tyler Richardson." 33. Gentleman With Books On Navigation and Agriculture; attributed to Royal! Brewster Smith; circa 1837; Oil on canvas; / 2"; Collection of Lucius D. Battle. 31 x 261 This is very similar to the earlier portrait of Theophilus Dame. 34. Lady With Pink Bow; attributed to Royal' Brewster Smith; circa 1837; Oil on canvas; 30 x 26"; Collection of Stephen Score, Inc.

NOTES 1. Nina Fletcher Little, in Maine and Its Role in American Art 1740-1963, Gertrud Mellon and Elizabeth E Wilder,Editors(New York 1963), p. 42. 2. Nina Fletcher Little, in American Folk Painters of Three Centuries, Jean Lipman and Tom Armstrong, Editors(New York 1980), p. 25. 3. Walter G. Davis, The Ancestry ofNicholas Davis of Limington, Maine(Portland 1956), pp. 29-39. 4. Claude Weigers, a descendant of Royall's brother, George, in a personal communication states, "In 1932 my mother visited her cousins in Bangor and vicinity. One of the cousins had the original Smith family record by Royal (sic). She made a copy of it and that is what I have. Those cousins are all gone now and I have lost contact with the Bangor ones:' The whereabouts of the original record is still unknown. 5. Town of Buxton Family Records, Vol. 4, 1748-1891, p. 6. 6. Rev. Paul Coffin, The Records of the Church of Christ in Buxton, Me. (Cambridge, Mass. 1868), p. 74. 7. Record of Deeds, County of York, Book 98. 8. Claude R. Weigers and Rosalie Trail Fuller, Andrew M. and O.S. Smith, Sons of Maine and Nebraska Homesteaders (Lincoln, Nebraska 1797), pp. 9-11. 9. Probate Records, County of York, 1819-1820, Vol. 20, p. 138. 10. Ibid. p. 139. 11. Probate Records, County of York, 1823-1824, Vol. 32, p. 332. 12. Limington Town Papers. This information was obtained by Robert L. Taylor prior to the destruction of the town papers. 13. Probate Records, County of York, 1820-1821, Vol. 29, p. 30. 14. Probate Records, County of York, 1821-1822, Vol. 30, pp. 553, 554.

This portrait resembles that of Mary Ann Baker Dame in regard to facial features, dress, stenciled chair, drape and tassel. Her bow is like that worn by Miriam McDonald, while in her hand she holds a book with the word "Hymns" clearly printed on its spine. 35. Joseph Brown, 1837 36. Mary Elizabeth Hunt Brown, 1837 *See photo captionsforfurther information.

15. Weigers and Fuller, p. 8. 16. Probate Records, County of York, 1822-1823, Vol. 31, p. 477. 17. Weigers and Fuller, pp. 16-19. 18. Record of Deeds, Cumberland County, Book 157, p. 567. 19. !bid, Book 162, p. 254. 20. Gorham Town Records, January 1839. 21. Gorham Marriage Records, p. 15. 22. Rufus Emery, Genealogic Records of Descendants ofJohn and Anthony Emery(Salem, Mass. 1890), p. 412. 23. Smith's move to Bangor was discovered in the course of investigating his place of death. From the unpublished Gowen genealogy being prepared by Yvonne Gowen of Surrey, British Columbia, it was learned that his father-in-law was buried in Bangor's Mount Hope Cemetery. An inquiry ofthe director of the cemetery led to the reply that Royall Brewster Smith was also buried there. 24. Penobscot County Records, 1843, Vol. 142, p. 4.41. 25. Several publications have reported that Smith died in Buxton in 1849. In "Recollections of Old Buxton, Maine" by Alice C. Cousens and Olive W. Hannaford (Farmington, Maine 1972), p. 145 it is stated that he and his family are buried in the churchyard at Groveville, beside the Congregational Church. In the cemetery there is a monument that bears the names of Royal B. Smith, date of death September 29, 1849,age 35 years, his wife, Mary N.,and sons, James Henry and Nathaniel M.This Royal B.Smith, born November 8, 1814, was not the painter but was his nephew, the son of John Smith, the painter's brother. 26. Probate Records, Penobscot County, 1856, Vol. 20, pp. 335, 336. 27. Probate Records, Penobscot County, 1856, Vol. 31, p. 61. 28. Probate Records, Penobscot County, 1855, Vol. 21,

The Clarion

Spring 1988

in 1826 and died in 1859 at Gorham. 46. Francis Brown, the son of Toppan and Lydia Brown Robie, was born in Gorham August 19, 1809. After graduation from Bowdoin College in 1829 he studied medicine. In the course of an experiment, while on vacation in 1833, an explosion occurred which resulted in his total loss of vision. He was forced to give up his medical studies, worked as an agent in the sale of books, married Martha L. Prince in 1838, had three children and died in 1876. 47. Theophilus, the son of Richard and Abigail Reed Dame, was born April 12, 1800 in Rochester, New Hampshire and arrived in West Gorham about 1811. A fanner, he married Mary Ann Baker and died in 1875. 48. Mary Ann, daughter of Moses and Sarah Thomas Baker, was born August 15, 1804 in Somersworth, New Hampshire and later moved to Gorham where she married Theophilus Dame. She was a first cousin of Ira Baker ("Becker" man). She had two children and died at West Gorham in 1875. 49. John G. Read was born in Saco November 1, 1799 and was married there to Elisabeth Osbum King in 1827. She died about three years later and shortly thereafter he and Elizabeth Roberts Deering of Waterborough, Maine filed their intentions of marriage in Saco. 50. John, the son of Greenfield and Sally Ashcraft Perrin, was born March 8, 1803 in Royalton, Vermont. Married twice with no children, he was a Methodist minister who preached in Maine towns between 1828 and 1839. In 1835 he was in Newfield, about 25 miles from Gorham. His whereabouts between 1840 and 1858, when he returned to Maine, are unknown. In 1862 he was without appointment, the following year he withdrew from the ministry and he died in 1893. 51. Sarah Prince, the daughter of Rev. William and Eliza Miltimore of Falmouth, Maine, was born February 13, 1805 and died in Limington in 1881 where she is buried in the Village Cemetery. 52. Arthur, the son of Arthur and Sarah Prince Miltimore McArthur, was born in Limington September IS, 1830, graduated from Bowdoin College, settled in Louisiana, was a Major in the Confederate Army and was killed at Winchester, Virginia in May 1862. 53. William M., son of Arthur and Sarah P.M. McArthur, was born in Limington July 7, 1832, graduated from Bowdoin College and was admitted to the bar. He served in the 8th Maine Volunteers during the Civil War, was severely wounded in 1864 and was promoted to Brigadier General. Later active

Photograph courtesy of James E. Campbell

p. 58. 29. Directories of the City of Bangor and Brewer, 1869-1894. 30. Communication from the director of the Mount Hope Cemetery. 31. This, and its companion, "Portrait of a Becker Woman: were donated to The Newark Museum in 1950 identified only as the"Beckers:'The following support the hypothesis that the male subject was actually Ira Baker: I) the closeness of sound of Becker and Baker, 2)the dates of birth as presented on the portraits are close to those in the town records for the Bakers, 3)Royal] was related by marriage to Betsey Hanscom Baker,Ira's wife, and 4)Ira Baker's cousin, Mary Ann Baker, married Theophilus Dame of Gorham, also the subject for a Smith portrait. 32. Gorham Town Records, Vol. I, p. 184. 33. !bid, Vol. 2, p. 98. 34. Hugh D. McLellan, History of Gorham, Me. (Portland 1903), pp. 391, 392. 35. Isaac Watts (1674-1748), author of "Psalms of David" and other works. 36. Gorham Town Records, Vol. 1, p. 91. 37. Mary Ann, the daughter of Samuel and Martha McLellan Edwards, was born December 8, 1807 in Gorham. Her mother was the sister of Elizabeth McLellan Smith, Royall's mother. On December 21, 1826 Mary Ann Edwards married William B. Harding, later had three children and died December 1, 1881. 38. Only one Small family, that of Ivory Small, lived in Standish in 1830. Miriam Small, Ivory's sister, was born February 13, 1812, the daughter of John and Hannah Small of Limington and later lived in Standish where she married Frederick Rounds of Buxton. They lived in Buxton, had 10 children between 1834 and 1854, and she died there in 1890. 39. Eliza, the daughter, of Jonathan and Betsey Roberts, was born in Waterborough, Maine in 1811. On December 23, 1830 she married John Gilman Read as his second wife, had four children between 1831 and 1839, and died in Biddeford, Maine in 1849. 40. The son of John and Mary Miller McArthur, Arthur was born in Limington January 14, 1790. He attended Fryburg Academy and Bowdoin College and was admitted to the bar in 1815. Three years later he commenced a legal practice in Limington that continued for about 50 years. He married Sarah Prince Miltimore in 1829 and was buried in the Limington Village Cemetery. 41. Abner, the son of Thomas and Lydia Ann Chase Stockin, was born August 30, 1831 in Limington. He graduated from Bowdoin College in 1857, then taught school and, among other things, was a member of the Maine House of Representatives. In 1869 he moved to Boston where he was general agent for book selling firms, married Helen M. Towle of Monmouth, had three children and died in Watertown. Massachusetts in 1901. 42. Nathaniel Marshall, the son of David and Anna Tyler Richardson, was born in Standish in 1814. He later lived in Sebago and then again in Standish and was known as a buyer and driver of cattle to the Brighton market. In 1838 he married Miriam McDonald,died April II, 1890 in Standish and is buried in the Limington Village Cemetery. 43. Joseph, the son of Ephraim and Huldah Richardson Brown, was born in Baldwin, Maine, married Mary Elizabeth Hunt November II, 1829, had a son, Edward Flint Brown, born in Sebago in September 1839, and he died in New Haven, Connecticut in 1866. 44. Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Samuel and Rebecca Flint Hunt, was born June 21, 1811 in Concord, Massachusetts. She died September 2, 1874 in New York City. 45. William B., the sixth of nine children of Nicholas and Miriam Bacon Harding, was born in Gorham July 23, 1802. He was a contractor and builder, served as town clerk and held the rank of colonel in the militia. He married Mary Ann Edwards Harding

in state politics, he died in 1917 and is buried in the Limington Village Cemetery. 54. Catharine, daughter of Arthur and Sarah P.M. McArthur, was born January 29, 1834 in Limington, graduated from Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary,died unmarried in 1864 and is buried in the Limington Village Cemetery. 55. Thomas Blossom, son of Thomas and Lucretia Blossom Stockin, was born January I, 1805 in Monmouth. Maine, married Lydia Ann Chase in 1830 and resided in Monmouth, and in Limington where he was a cloth-dresser and wool carder. In Limington he lived only a few houses distant from that of Alexander, Royall Brewster Smith's brother. 56. Lydia Ann Chase, daughter of Abner and Elizabeth Hight Chase, was born in Limington October 10, 1811. She married Thomas Blossom Stockin, had two sons and died at Watertown. Massachusetts in 1890. 57. Miriam, daughter of Benjamin and Hannah Emery McDonald, was born September 5, 1812, in Standish, married Nathaniel Marshall Richardson in 1838 and soon after moved to Sebago where the first of her seven children was born in 1839. She was reported to be insane in 1876,died in Standish due to drowning in 1893 and is buried in the Limington Village Cemetery. 58. Anna Tyler Richardson, daughter of Captain Joseph and Jane March Tyler, was born November 2, 1788 in Limington. She married David Richardson of Limington where they lived until 1812, when they moved to Standish, returning to Limington in 1815. She bore two children in Limington in 1806 and 1811, two in Standish in 1812 and 1814 and five in Limington between 1816 and 1822. In 1822 their home was destroyed by fire, father and son, Isaac, perishing in the flames. The widow, Anna, married Theophilus Waterhouse of Standish, as his fourth wife, in 1825 and was living in Standish in 1837 when her portrait was probably painted. 59. Anna Tyler Richardson, daughter of Captain Joseph and Jane March Tyler, was born November 2, 1788 in Limington. She married David Richardson of Limington where they lived until 1812, when they moved to Standish, returning to Limington in 1815. She bore two children in Limington in 1806 and 1811, two in Standish in 1812 and 1814 and five in Limington between 1816 and 1822. In 1822 their home was destroyed by fire, father and son, Isaac, perishing in the flames. The widow, Anna, married Theophilus Waterhouse of Standish, as his fourth wife, in 1825 and was living in Standish in 1837 when her portrait was probably painted:

Mary E.H. Brown; Attributed to Royal! Brewster Smith; 1837; Oil on canvas; 30 x 26"; Private collection. Printed in block letters on the front left upper corner is: "MARY E.H. BROWN, BORN CONCORD MASSI JUNE 21st 1811' The subject shows the characteristics seen in most of Smith's portraits, including the grained comb observed in the 1830 portrait ofMiriam Small'

r-72

The Art and Times of 11% Victor Joseph Gatto by Gene Epstein At right, photo ofGatto taken in 1947. Below, Georgia; Circa 1944; Oil on canvas;24 x 29"; Courtesy Epstein Powell Gallery. Gatto traveled via Greyhound to Florida in the days when black citizens wereforced to sit in the back ofthe bus.

Flic Clarion

Some men, to their disadvantage, think of art as the province of women. It is the mother, the wife, who decorates, who cares about what hangs on the living room wall. Real men don't bother with such matters. Joe Gatto, certainly, appeared to be this kind of man. When, at age fortyfive, he first began to paint, he seemed to have brought almost nothing artistic with him from an earlier life. He was a New Yorker, a South Village hangerabout, a solitary who entertained himself with pulp westerns and B movies — a broken-nosed, Jimmy Durantevoiced ex-boxer with a dishonorable World War I discharge from the Navy and a prison record from the Twenties. His personality was sometimes sweet, sometimes cantankerous, at times unmanageable. Then he discovered that he could be an artist. The story goes that he got to talking with some exhibitors at the semi-annual Greenwich Village art show in 1938. He was informed that a man could make as much as $600from a single painting. Gatto, who had incurred a "herny" while working as a steamfitter's helper, and had time on his hands, decided to become an exhibitor himself. This made sense. Teddy Roosevelt had once visited eight-year-old Joe Gatto's classroom and had seen one of his drawings on the blackboard. His comment, as Gatto remembered it, was, "You're the best drawer in the whole school:' A compliment like this can last a lifetime. Now, almost forty years later, the moment had arrived for Joe Gatto to become Victor Joseph Gatto, American primitive painter. He was born in 1893 at 41 Thompson Street in the kind of New York City tenement that is in the backyard of another tenement. In a letter, he claimed to have remembered his actual birth. In the neighborhood, there are still old men who recall Joe Gatto — not as a painter but as a not-too-bad featherweight fighter who had taken the count only once. They tell you that because one of his brothers, John, was a mobster, Joe was sent to prison for a Spring 1988

robbery in which he was not involved. They also intimate illegal doings in which he was involved. Joe was known as the kind of guy who did things that were hard to do. Once, for instance, he walked from New York City to Niagara Falls. It took him six weeks, and later, from memory, he painted an indelible portrait of the Falls. Gatto had no illusions about his life, or where he was from. "I was always a hard luck guy;' is the way he described himself, and he had his reasons. His mother died when he was four, and his father, a laborer, had to put him and his four brothers into an orphanage. Until a beloved stepmother (to whom he remained deeply attached until she died in 1944)appeared, he had four motherless and miserable years. He was raised as a religious Catholic. His ability to read and write remained on a fifth-grade level, which was when he left school to earn a living. He became a professional boxer in 1913, had more than thirty fights in six years, and took some savage beatings. There were the years

Hand-lettered Sign; Oil on board; 8 x 10"; Collection of Beverly Bernson, courtesy of Jay Johnson Gallery. Here, Gatto has reversed his first and middle names.

in Dannemora prison — a notoriously bleak institution in the northern reaches of New York State — from which, reportedly, he twice tried to escape. The jobs be subsequently was able to hold were unskilled and low paying. To him, work was what you tried to avoid. Yet, from his place in this heavily disadvantaged world, Gatto managed to create on canvas a romantic and splendid view of life. All the images that he had seen — in magazines and movies, in neighborhood churches, glimpsed from bus windows, in solitary dreams — all were to coalesce into his unique viewpoint. He began to work with tiny brushes, without knowing how to mix colors or prepare a canvas. He tried to create form not by painterly illusion but by piling on paint. He persisted, and by the early Forties a body of work had emerged, a reputation. There were paintings of both the inner and outer eye, open windows to his soul. These were paintings that turned aquariums into oceans deep, Florida Everglades into primeval jungles, outer space into planets on which more comprehensible civilizations than his own could exist. "I guess I'm a kind of hermit:'he told Winthrop Sargeant, of Life magazine. His paintings are full of loneliness.

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They were done by a soul forever apart, who mourned a lost paradise, who feared an infernal darkness, who bemoaned the lost years, who yearned for companionship, yet who was full of living. Painting after painting celebrates the evening skies, the distant horizons, the waving grass and stormy sea. They depict the events of war and peace in which others, not oneself, participate. Above all, these are paintings that tell us, in their own fashion, what Joe Gatto, an unlettered outsider in contemporary America, saw and, with dime store brushes, turned into art. By 1940, he had been discovered by collectors of modern primitives, a genre of art categorized only three decades earlier by those who recognized and took seriously the untutored genius of Henri Rousseau. In 1943, the Charles Barzansky Gallery, on Madison Avenue, gave him his first one-man show. It was a triumph. "True personal fantasy:' said the New York Times. The World-Telegram said, "As good as Utrillo at his early best:' Gregoire Tarnopol, the well-known Parisian collector of Picasso, Matisse and Renoir, said, "Gatto is the only Amen -

can in my collection. I like him better than Rousseau:' Gatto netted $2200 from the show. With this, he bought some art supplies, E treated his friends and acquaintances to 2. restaurant meals and, apparently, spent most of the rest to finance a bus trip to Florida. (There is a painting from this time, before the civil rights clashes in Birmingham and Selma, of an ancient Greyhound parked in rural Georgia; the well-dressed black passengers are shown standing in the rear). He also bought a tombstone for his parents' grave. He was the subject of laudatory feature articles in Esquire and Colliers, and, in 1948, a Life photo essay. Town and Country used his paintings for two of its covers (its editor was a Gatto collector), and columnists of the day regularly found him a source of copy. Town and Country commissioned Gatto to do There are even reports that he was the their Fourth ofJuly racing cover in 1946. Jr was subject of one in a series of short films one oftwo covers by Gattofor the magazine that year. on American artists produced in those years by Time, Inc. His work was bought and exhibited Jehovah; Circa 1948; Oil on board; 18 x 24"; by major museums, including the MuCourtesy Epstein/Powell Gallery. "You can't seum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan paint this way unless you believe in what you're Museum of Art, the Whitney Museum painting:' said Garb. of American Art, the Museum of the City of New York, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Detroit Institute of Arts. He was collected by, among others, Alfred Bloomingdale, Syrie (Mrs. Somerset) Maugham, Clare Booth Luce, Lorelle Hearst, Rosalind Russell, Phyllis Warburg, John Steinbeck, Alastair Martin (the Metropolitan Museum's Guennol Collection), Herman Shumlin and Laurance Rockefeller. Recognition on this scale should mean, ordinarily, that an artist could thereafter work in reasonably wellfunded comfort. There should be continuing sales and increasing prices. Such a fortunate artist might even think of buying a home, an automobile, living a regular life. But almost nothing like this came to Gatto, nor did he know how to pursue g

The Clarion

it. Perhaps he had started out too far behind. Solvency escaped him while he continued to live the life of a New York City knockabout. At the height of his career, his time was spent in Greenwich

Village furnished rooms — a scrawny figure painting in his shirtsleeves, a chair as his easel, a plate (or his fingernails) as a palette. Winters, he took the bus to Florida, where he stayed in the

less expensive Miami Beach hotels — preferably those that could offer him an unskilled job. Many of his barely literate letters are on hotel stationery: Biscayne Plaza Hotel, overlooking Bay-

SPEAKING OF GATTO... "Art can flourish in any hovel. It flourishes in a dank little threeroom walkup on the fringe of the Village. Joe Gatto lives there with his 87-year-old mother...He uses the back of a chair for his easel and an overturned plate for his palette. He has little learning and less knowledge, but he can paint silent poetry with the natural gift that the sun colors a flower:' Sidney Fields, Columnist, The New York Daily Mirror, June 11, 1942 "Someday, a bronze plaque may adorn the doorjamb at 114 West 11th Street, in New York City. It may read, here lived Victor Joseph Gatto, the great American primitive painter.... Gatto paints in a dark room six feet by nine feet with a single 40 watt bulb overhead. He bought an old desk with a sloping front. Outside the window are acres of short chimneys sticking up from roofs like red asparagus and, in the distance, a faded church and the new women's prison. He doesn't mind it because, when he looks out of the window, he sees the things that are really there — the crouching Bengal tigers, the guttural lions, and the bottle-green grasses of the jungle:' Jim Bishop, Collier's, July 8, 1944

the word: he wrote. 'They say, "Primitive people;' or "He looks primitive!' The big dictionary says an artist paints with models, form and object, and the primitive no models, form or objects. Primitive first of all means tops, original. There is no primitive people or nation:" Sidney Fields, The Daily Mirror, July 7, 1960 "Unlike some primitive artists who change their approach and subject matter with recognition, Mr. Gatto stuck to his solitary ways. [In 1948, Howard] Devree reviewed another exhibit and wrote: Gatto's imagination and a highly individual gift of observation set him apart from most of the current primitives in a niche of his own!' Obituary, The New York Times, May 27,1965

"The woods are full of primitives, but Gatto has shown staying power. In the fall of 1945 he had his third one-man exhibition and is continuing to attract a widening circle of admirers and customers. The most promising indication of his success is the vogue which his paintings are building up among non-primitive artists": Harry Salpeter, Esquire, May,1946 "Joe Gatto belongs to what is probably the art world's most exclusive caste. He is a genuine contemporary American primitive. There are only a score or so of artists like him. One ofthem is Grandma Moses, the old lady from upstate New York who paints farm scenes... Still another was the late Morris Hirshfield of Brooklyn, a retired cloak-and-suit manufacturer who liked to paint nudes and lions with manes that look strangely like fur collars:' Winthrop Sargeant, Life, Nov. 8,1948 "Joe is the only living artist included among the 53 famous painters in [Alastair Martin's] Guennol Collection, which describes him as a dedicated, genuine, and often brilliant primitive. In one of his letters, Joe explained primitive.'The people cheapen

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Life magazine's photo essay included this portrait in the November 8,1948 issue.

PAINTER ON PAINTER by Sterling Strauser Sterling Strauser is an American artist who is an authority on twentieth centuryfolk artists, many of whom he discovered. Here, he discusses the work of his long-time friend, Victor Joseph Gatto, who spent many summers with him and his wife, Dorothy, in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. For years,critics regarded self-taught painters the way doctors regard faith healers. But Joe Gatto proved to me that a naive painter's work can be profound. His painting of God creating man is a great example of this. No other artist that I know of has done this subject with quite the same concept. No matter what your religion, you get his message. Gatto believed absolutely in the story of Genesis. You can't paint this way unless you believe in what you're painting. He was a natural. He didn't know any of the academic rules, but he made his paintings work. Take his use of perspective, for instance. Some naive painters, once they learn a little about it, use perspective to punch holes in their canvases. They ruin the plane oftheir picture this way. But Gatto never did this. When you look at a horizon in a Gatto painting, it belongs there, but for no apparent reason. There is not the usual academic change of values from foreground to middle ground to distance, so that an atmospheric haze is depicted. He seems to have willed the horizon into place. His command ofthe medium was amazing. He could work with a small brush in fine detail, or with a large brush and cover the canvas quickly. He could go from an eight by ten inch canvas to one three by four feet. And his handling of paint on either size would be masterful. There would be the same pizzaz, the same elan. His courage and his belief in himself allowed him to tackle any subject. When he first came to visit us in 1942, he asked me what I wanted him to paint. I asked for a dark jungle with some animals. He sat down and did one with a lion and a giraffe. It was a revelation. He worked with a large brush, swiping across the canvas in great streaks. He was exerting himself, breathing hard, giving it everything he had. He was capable ofsuch sustained effort. He'd work all night long if you kept the coffee pot going. I've always had the feeling that he was a true genius. I've known many talented folk artists, but he was more than talented. Something gave him an inner eye that was more intense than most. The French critic Tarnapol, who was also a great collector of French art, said he was one of the ten Americans whose work would live. Other critics have compared him to Rousseau, but in my opinion there's a vast difference between them. Rousseau paints an idealized world, while Gatto's paintings have an infernal intensity running through them. They're the work of a man who knows the law ofthe jungle. You don't sense this in Rousseau's snake charmers and sleeping gypsies. He was so determined not to be considered what he called a set-up artist â&#x20AC;&#x201D; someone who painted from photos or models. He insisted on doing it from his own inner vision. This same insistence seemed to carry over into his everyday personality. It was blood, sweat and tears when you had him for the summer. He wanted all your time. When I couldn't quite give this to him, he would go up and down Main Street calling me all kinds of names â&#x20AC;&#x201D; phoney, chiseler, punk. Then, by next summer, I would be his best friend again. He would shadowbox during dinner at our house and knock over the silverware. No wonder my daughter said that when she got old enough to have a boyfriend she hoped it would be someone interested in anything except art.

front Park and Biscayne Bay. Not that there weren't those who helped him, or tried to. He could always count on a meal and conversation at the tiny Greenwich Village walkup of his friends, Lou and Lillian Codina. Fellow-painter Sterling Strauser, an early admirer, and his wife, Dorothy, residents of East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, did their best to make Gatto comfortable during various summers in the country near the Delaware Water Gap. In the mid-Fifties, Ivan Black, the publicist with a fine arts degree from Harvard, who had first brought Gatto to the attention of the Barzansky Gallery, boarded him for a year at his Woodstock, New York home. Gatto even found occasional residence in the Pennsylvania home of John, the brother he accused offraming him, whom he professed to hate ("for all the things he done to me"), and whose housekeeper was at one time madam of one of John's brothels. Invariably, these visits ended in disharmony. No matter what the sacrifices made or inconveniences suffered by his hosts, Gatto would leave in anger, convinced that because things weren't going entirely his way he was somehow being taken advantage of. Eventually, when he needed to, he would return, just as if nothing had happened. He was suspicious of almost everyone. His first dealers, Charles and Bess Barzansky, who advanced him money when they couldn't afford to, and readily gave him exhibitions when he sent them sufficient paintings, had to contend with his third-party complaints, delivered with scarcely-bridled antiSemitism, about their alleged stinginess and chicanery. Friends and admirers like Sterling Strauser and Ivan Black were also complained of. He was,if you gave credence to his claims, continually cheated, abused, insulted, taken for a fool. And there were those on whom he, even in his fifties, would use an ex-pugilist's still deadly fists. Among those who knew him, agreement is general that Gatto was his own worst ambassador. The Clarion

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Bess Barzansky, has spoken of the time in the Fifties when members of the Rockefeller family were buying Gatto's work. "But then they stopped coming it-17 she said, "and I could never figure out why. It wasn't until years later that I learned that my big mistake was to tell Joe that a Rockefeller had bought one of his paintings. When he found out, he wrote them a letter. It must have been the kind of letter that made their security people think it might not be such a good idea to continue knowing this man. Maybe they saw it as a threat. I never saw it, but I do know he was a terrible speller, and they probably misunderstood him:' In Sidney Janis's seminal They Taught Themselves, published by Dial Press in 1942(just before Gatto became widely known), other great primitives â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Hirshfield, Moses, Pippin, Kane, Sullivan, Lebduska â&#x20AC;&#x201D; had their work represented in plates. Gatto was almost an afterthought, mentioned as one of a number of worthy self-taught painters omitted because of space limitations. Of that list, only Gatto's name now looms large. Sterling Strauser recalls

Spring 1988

that when Janis was queried about his omission by one of Gatto's admirers, his reply was,"I probably would have included him if he hadn't come into my gallery and told me how lousy all my artists were and how great he was:' In his book, Janis wrote of the artists he had included: "Although convinced that they have made a photographic representation of the world of reality, they have actually transmuted it into a new pictorial reality. For whether painting reality, fantasy, allegory, or any of the endless types of art upon which a self-taught artist focuses, he functions with the utmost freedom. Forever finding himself in fresh and untried fields, he must forever invent, create and discover:' These words could have been written with Gatto in mind. That they weren't is also part ofthe story. Gatto continued to have little sense of the business end of art, or how his words and behavior affected other people. He had no idea Leaping Tiger; Circa 1946; Oil on board; 32 x 48"; Courtesy Epstein/Powell Gallery. The jungle in this painting is deepest Florida.

that those who revered Henri Rousseau as the first and greatest of all modern primitives might be irritated by a lessacclaimed latter-day primitive who,in a newspaper column, was quoted as saying, "I went to look at that Rousseau they're talking about. The guy's been stealin' my stuff for years:' Or who, interviewed in a radio talk show in the Fifties, says,"Rousseau only uses five kinds of green. I use seventy:' It was as if he regarded the creation of art as similar to battling a ring opponent. You had to outpaint the competition and, if you could, intimidate others with your greater reputation. He was polite about the work of Grandma Moses, perhaps because she was a woman and,thus, not a contender in his eyes. Yet, despite his abrasiveness, his personality had a sweet, open, sincerely generous side. "He would give half his hamburger to a hungry doe remarked Dorothy Strauser. Said Sterling Strauser, "He was always ready to give money to people who were down on their luck, and he expected nothing in return:'

bling lions (Gatto means cat in Italian), tigers and elephants in the midst of tropical foliage. Now, there were wild horses galloping in the moonlight, a beach at Fire Island where watery fingers from an ominous Atlantic reached out toward tranquil sunbathers on the sand. You saw the shipyard in Kearny where he voluntarily went off Ivan Black's payroll and onto a wartime job. There was "Guadalcanal;' a haunting island on which dead Japanese in ghostly white uniforms were strewn on the beach under the gaze of the Marines who killed them. You saw a portrait of God, molding man from clay. The years that followed were a monument to what an underdeveloped intellect can do with a solid ego, a great talent, and a determination to succeed. By the late Forties and early Fifties, he had reached a point of confidence in himself where he was willing and able

The Bathers; Circa 1950; Oil on canvas; 14 x 18"; Collection of Richard and Debbie Sears.

to attempt anything on canvas. Yet, much of his best work went unsold, even at prices suitable to Washington Square, where it all began. He could not make a living from his art. He continued to move from place to place, trying the patience of friends. In Florida, poor as ever, he worked rather than vacationed. But he was, as the late author and columnist Jim Bishop put it, "rich in weather!' He liked to remind friends up north how unfortunate they were, compared to him:"It must be very cold up the North. That's why I came down to Miami, to duck cold weather:' But, as his letters reflect, there was trouble in this paradise: "I caught a water moccasin that nip my flesh, was sore for a few weeks. Where I work at the lumber (yard) has lizards, snakes and scorpions hidden under them. I will be going to a different job tomorrow. Still, pitching dirt with a shovel, it some real hard labor, little pay. I wouldn't forget the tight pinch I was in, the way you help. Best wishes to you, your wife and daughter. Wishing you all the best of health and luck. Your friend, Victor

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As is characteristic of painters in his genre, Gatto attained his permanent level of skill early on. It was his subject matter that evolved. Ivan Black felt he has something to do with this evolution, and wrote: "My bid for immortality is that! got him out of the jungle. I bought several of his Congo pictures, then suggested that he paint familiar scenes around New York City â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Washington Square, Coney Island, Columbus Circle and the like. I commissioned him to do this. In fact, he was on my payroll for almost a year, to paint or not paint, as he wished:' Whatever the effect of this suggestion on Gatto's imagination, there was little doubt that Black's subsidy of $25 per week opened the door to Gatto's eagerness to produce. No artist could ever have worked harder on a grant. He is known to have worked on a painting for as long as twenty-six hours at a stretch. Even so, some paintings took months to complete. But it was his expansion of subject that amazed his admirers. In his first one man exhibit, in the fall of 1943, he had moved away from his self-resem-

The Clarion

told her he was a famous painter who could make $300 for two hours work. As the years went by, his ability to work at any kind of job diminished. There were incessant quarrels with hotel housekeepers and deskmen who, he wrote, underpaid and overworked him. There were illnesses and operations. Sales of his paintings grew ever more sporadic. It became hard for him to afford the art supplies he needed, to find a place to work, even when he had energy. By 1960, his health was failing. He worried about his eyes, his lungs, his heart:"Things get bad when you get old:' He informed his friends that he was finished. There was still some time, however, left to him. He went to Mexico to see whether he could live on his $56 Social Security checks in that less-expensive country, but decided he didn't like it there. "Too dirty!' he wrote. "The people aren't like us. You should see what they do with their

animals!' He illustrated the bullfights that repelled him in his frequent and detailed letters, showing exactly what he meant in case his correspondent couldn't follow his handwriting or spelling. In those days he did strange and charming pen and ink drawings on typing paper, many of them erotic. These took less effort and less investment in time and materials than oil paintings. The figures in the drawings were more graceful, more revealing of himself. Age did not stale his art. There was, finally, at seventy-one, his death in Miami on May 27, 1965. He received a good-sized obituary in the New York Times ("Gatto's imagination and a highly individual gift of observation set him apart from most of the current primitives in a niche of his own:'). The widowed Bess Barzansky paid for his burial. He was survived by his brother, John.

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, 1911; Circa 1950; Oil on canvas, 19 x 28"; Collection ofMuseum ofthe City ofNew York.

Gene Epstein is a writer and editor and partner in the Epstein/Powell Gallery,Inc. All letters quoted above were made available to the author by Bess Barzansky, Sterling Strauser, Ivan Black and Lillian Codina.

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Joseph Gatto, General Delivery, Miami, Fla:' His great desire was to have enough money to play his system at a Miami dog track, and he wrote detailed letters to possible backers to show how well he could have done if he had laid down actual bets. Posterity is left with his version of the track he liked to visit. By 1956, Florida had lost its charm. The weather was cold. He wrote, "... enough is enough. I quit now. I haven't the spirit anymore to paint. I lost my gift. They all say paint, but why? Make others rich someday ... Yes, I play the dogs. Poor dogs,they want their meals!' He thought, though, that he had found a woman, "Little Mary!' who worked at the same hotel as he and wanted him to quit painting and get a steady job. "I better marry her!' he wrote to a friend. "She Irish, redhead, my style, 38 years old:' But it didn't last. Three days later, he wrote that he had found Little Mary drunk, that the housekeeper thinks she is a wino. They both quit, and she was no longer mentioned. Instead, he wrote how sorry the housekeeper was that he quit after he

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Spring 1988

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Cyril I. Nelson A Special Museum Friend

Cy Nelson, a longtimefriend and Trustee of the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art, gave the Museum this most recent gift, a coverlet collection, in loving memory of his grandparents Guerdon Stearns and Elinor Irwin Holden. 64

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by Elizabeth V. Warren

It takes only a brief survey of the Museum of American Folk Art's textile collection to realize the great contribution made by Museum friend and Trustee Cyril I. Nelson. Over the years, many of the most important and bestloved gifts to the collection — the "Pieties" quilt, the "Harlequin" and "Star" linsey-woolseys, a magnificent whitework candlewick spread, and others — have been donations from Cy Nelson. His generosity continued in 1987 with a gift of two handsome twentieth century quilts, and a collection of 13 handwoven nineteenth century coverlets, the first half of a major gift to the Museum that will be completed in coming years. We have taken the occasion of this most recent gift to talk to Nelson about the collection he is donating to the museum, and about his personal interest in textiles and folk art. As an editor for almost 40 years at E.P. Dutton Publishers — and most especially as the compiler each year of the Quilt Engagement Calendar — he has been in a position to see — and often publish — The Clarion

Right, Orange and Green Coverlet; Artist unknown; Circa 1830-40; Wool; 67 x 77"(1987.18.5). Below, Red and Deep Blue Plaid Coverlet (detail); Artist unknown; Circa 1830-40; Wool;88 x 82"(1987.15.6).

many of the most important examples of American folk art to have surfaced in the past years. Nelson's interest in art and antiques can be traced to his childhood. He credits his mother, herself an artist, with awakening and nurturing the family's aesthetic side. Both their house in New Jersey and their summer home in Maine were filled with antiques, some of which his mother purchased from her friend David Rubinstein, the wellknown Rockland, Maine, dealer. Members of Nelson's family were also among the founders of the Cleveland Museum of Art, so an awareness and love of art was"an inescapable thing â&#x20AC;&#x201D; something that was part of my blood:' he notes. The seed of his affection for folk art can also be traced back to a family legacy â&#x20AC;&#x201D; a watercolor painting that came from his grandmother's birthplace in Deerfield, New Hampshire, and probably depicts family members. In the mid-1960s, Nelson recalls, he became curious about the painting and began researching to discover who the Spring 1988

artist might be. His inquiries led him to Mary Black, then Director of the Museum of American Folk Art, who attributed the portrait to J. Evans, also of Deerfield. In 1968, when he began editing American Painted Furniture by Dean Fales and Robert Bishop, Nelson's love of folk art truly blossomed. It was then that he "started collecting with some intensity," he recalls, acquiring his "few pieces of painted furniture!' Work on the book, which was published in 1972, introduced him to such wellknown collectors and researchers as Nina Fletcher Little and Jean Lipman. Both have since become authors for whom he has published books as well as close personal friends. Nelson's fascination with quilts and coverlets came soon after. His eyes, like many others, were opened to that field by the 1971 exhibition at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Abstract Design in American Quilts, which presented pieced quilts as works of art for the first time in a major museum show. "I had been vaguely

aware of quilts before that:' Nelson comments, but "it was that exhibition which Jonathan Holstein and his wife, Gail van der Hoof, put on that led to the book and my intense appreciation ofthe field:' The "book" is America's Quilts and Coverlets by Carleton Safford and Robert Bishop, originally published in 1972 and still considered a leading reference work in the field. At Carleton Safford's urging, a major portion of the extensive book was devoted to coverlets. Nelson's work on this section first introduced him to the beauty in handwoven coverlets, but it wasn't long before he began collecting coverlets along with quilts, purchasing some of those that now belong to the Museum. Nelson's involvement with the Museum began with equal enthusiasm. "It was literally a call out of the blue from Barbara Johnson:' he recalls, that led to the association. Johnson, aware of Nelson's interest in publishing books on folk art, called to invite him to join the Museum's Board of Trustees, specifically to help with Museum publica65

Left, Assorted Colors Coverlet;Artist unknown;Circa 1835; Wool;92x73" (1987.18.7). Below, Beige and Blue Reversible (detail); Artist unknown; Circa 1830-40; Wool; 91 x 75"(/987.15.2).

â&#x20AC;˘ tions. The first book to bear the imprint "Published by E.P. Dutton in Association with the Museum of American Folk Art" was A Gallery of American Samplers, the 1978 catalogue of the exhibition of the Theodore Kapnek Collection, written by Glee Krueger. In the past ten years, eight more books have come of this association, including the most recent, American Needlework Treasures by Betty Ring. This compendium of samplers and silk embroideries from Mrs. Ring's collection serves as a companion to an exhibition that will be held at the Museum in 1990. In addition, three more books, also based on scheduled Museum exhibitions, will be published in the next two years. Of all his publishing ventures, however, Nelson is probably best known to the quilt and coverlet world as the originator and yearly compiler of the enormously popular Quilt Engagement Calendar, published annually since 1975. He spends considerable time scouting and photographing quilts, but also depends on contributors. "Both 66

current quiltmakers and collectors of old quilts write:' he says, and, of course, he is kept apprised of the best objects handled by top dealers all around the country. "I receive magnificent things:' he says, but not only the finest examples are selected for publication. "I try to show as broad a field as I can in the calendar. That's why I have felt strongly about including not only the wonderful antique things, but also the less antique things and then the very modern quilts. It seems to me, especially now, when so many people are quilting, both in the antique tradition and in terms of fabric paintings, that it behooves me to represent as broad a spectrum as possible:' Is he running out of great quilts to show in the calendar? "Absolutely not. The '89 calendar will have one of the greatest quilts I've ever seen:' Nelson replies. And, indeed, the nineteenth century quilt depicting Noah's ark in ink and applique is so distinctive that it will be the first quilt to command two pages. Obviously, years of selecting textiles

for publication has had an effect on Nelson's own collecting habits. "I'm attracted by color and design:' he mentions. "I'm also attracted by fine needlework; as a result I have a particular fondness for what is known as 'whitework' of various kinds, not only the stuffed work, but also candlewicking:' He ties this interest to his family, as well: "Perhaps it is a development within myself that is a result of the several women in my family who were very fine needleworkers:' He responds to the "incredible creativity" and the "finest execution" one finds in whitework spreads, many of which were made as bridal bedcovers. "Many people think there is no color in a pure white piece, but if you look at it carefully, there's all kinds of color and fascination in it:' Another guiding force in Nelson's own textile collecting is his appreciation for things made by hand, as opposed to those worked on a machine. The coverlets given to the Museum are all early, handwoven examples, rather than those made with a jacquard attachThe Clarion

Right, Blue and White Coverlet; Artist unknown; Circa 1830-40; Wool;78 x 84" (1987.18.2). Below, Red, Green and Blue Blanket (detail); Artist unknown; Circa 1830-40; Wool; 77x 76"(1987.15.3).

ment. In putting together the collection, Nelson notes that he was "fascinated by color, texture, design — everything that makes an individual piece interesting and everything that makes a collection of them interesting. When I consider a new piece, I say to myself, 'does this add anything to the collection as a whole that is not now represented.'"As a result of this philosophy, the Museum now has a coverlet collection that features a number of unusual and unique pieces. This includes a reversible coverlet of a type Nelson says he "has never seen before or since;' and a red and blue example with a three-dimensional texture that is "unique in my experience;' he notes. Fortunately for the Museum, Nelson has no second thoughts about donating objects to the permanent collection. "I have been very lucky," he says. "I have lived with the things for some time and I have enjoyed them. And, again, perhaps because of my family background, something in me makes me say 'Now, this is the time for other people to enjoy them.' Once they're out of my house, Spring 1988

it's as if I never owned them. It's a curious thing and I thank God for it because I've never had the slightest pang afterward:' In advising other collectors, Nelson believes that it is "still possible to buy handsome quilts at relatively small prices — as long as you stay away from Baltimore album quilts!" There are "absolutely," he says, good things to buy and cites a crazy quilt recently sold at Sotheby's as "certainly one of the best crazies I've ever seen. You just have to keep your eyes open!' He recommends that collectors always buy the finest they can afford, something they want to live with. "Don't ever buy because you think you're going to get your money back;' he cautions. One of his own favorite quilts, however, is still one of the first he ever bought, and that has turned out to be a relative bargain. A turn-of-the-century example made from men's shirting, it cost $145 in 1971. While he is not specifically collecting contemporary quilts, Nelson does own two — a crib—size "fabric painting"

and a full-size depiction of a Matisse cut out by fabric artist Fran Soika. In these modern examples, he is also attracted by "color, texture, design — the whole thing!' Nelson's commitment to the contemporary quilt world is further demonstrated by the books he has published, including this spring's Contemporary Quiltsfrom Traditional Designs, and his position as a judge for the upcoming "Memories of Childhood" crib quilt contest organized by the Museum of American Folk Art. Nelson hopes that the coverlet collection, when complete, might become a traveling exhibition for the Museum of American Folk Art. It could be sent to small museums and historical societies across the country, perhaps with a weaver to demonstrate how the different patterns were done. It is the Museum's goal to find the resources to fully research the coverlets, prepare them for touring, and make our donor's hope a reality. Elizabeth V. Warren is Curator of the Museum of American Folk Art. 67

American Folk Art Sidney Gecker 226 West 21st Street New York, N. Y 10011

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HISPANIC ART IN THE UNITED STATES: THIRTY CONTEMPORARY PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS by John Beardsley and Jane Livingston, with an essay by Octavio Paz Published by Abbeville Press, New York 260 pages, black and white and color photographs $45.00 hardcover This impressive volume accompanies an exhibition of the same name currently touring this country and Mexico through 1989. The authors, John Beardsley and Jane Livingston, who were co-curators of the exhibition for the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Texas, collaborated previously on Black Folk Art In America 1930-1980, an exhibition and catalogue prepared for the Corcoran Gallery of Art. In the earlier project, Beardsley and Livingston brought to light fascinating work by self-taught black artists many of whom were known previously only to folk art enthusiasts or to the artists' closest regional neighbors. Now, after four years of research and travel, the team presents thirty Hispanic artists selected, as stated in the book's preface, for "the strength of an artists work, not conformity to some preconceived notion of what constitutes a Hispanic style or school!' To those familiar with Black Folk Art in America, it comes as no surprise that Beardsley and Livingston have prominently featured the work of an extreme "outsider" artist, Martin Ramirez, in their survey. Ramirez was a Mexican immigrant who began to draw in 1945 after being diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and institutionalized in California. Twelve of his hypnotic drawings — executed in pencil and crayon on collaged brown paper — are reproduced, and his significance is discussed by Octavio Paz as well as the two principal authors. Paz, in his complex and rich discourse entitled "Art and Identity: Hispanics in the United States'offers a theoretical history of the migration of Mexican, Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other Hispanic people to this country and their ongoing struggle to form a distinct identity within this nation. He positions Martin Ramirez as a symbol of "separation and participation!' Ramirez stopped speaking 45 years before his death in a mental institution and many would classify him a casualty of this struggle Spring 1988

Madonna by Martin Ramirezfrom Hispanic Art in the United States: Thirty Contemporary Painters and Sculptors. compared to the university educated artists whose relatively slick paintings and sculptures are herein paired with his. However, this dualism is common to all Hispanics as they search for a place within the dominant culture of the United States. Carrying forward this theme of separation and participation, John Beardsley follows Octavio Paz with "And/Or: Hispanic Art, American Culture!' Beardsley relates the extent to which artists "have reconciled their particular ethnic heritage with their desire to participate in the larger life of American Art!' As part of this essay, Beardsley discusses the fight for aesthetic identity which evolved from El Movimiento — the Chicano rights movement of the 1960's. During these notorious years, many Hispanic artists rediscovered their root cultures and celebrated their heritage through community based public forms of art such as posters, theatrical performances,

and murals. Although several of the artists chosen for this presentation were participants in El Movimiento,all ofthese have,as Beardsley states, moved "... beyond the group solidarity ... instrumental in providing Chicano artists with the self-confidence to commence their careers:' As a result, overt political statements and collaborative art forms are absent from this study. This decision by Beardsley and Livingston to concentrate on artists who have moved "beyond" the community and the political activism implied has fueled an already lively controversy among Hispanic artists and scholars. Another understandable point of contention from any perspective is the inclusion of only three women among the thirty painters and sculptors, a proportion not representative of this artistic community. Add to this the fact that the New York Times labeled this project "the most ambitious treatment ofHispanic art yet;'and one can imagine the significance this book has to those artists passed over by the coauthors' selection. In spite of this criticism, Jane Livingston's essay does manage to provide a thoughtful stylistic analysis of the thirty artists she did select. She states that these artists are united not only by their Hispanic heritage but by a common "language of images" and "gestures mined from their culture!' Livingston applies this argument to justify the extremes of the survey — the selftaught artists Ramirez, Felipe Archuleta, and Gregorio Marzan, on the one hand, and established mainstream sculptors Manuel Neri and Robert Graham, on the other. She goes on to discuss these extremes and the artists which fall into the categories between — traditional woodcarvers (Felix Lopez), narrative painters (Carmen Lomas Garza), urban artists (John Valadez, Gilbert Lujan, Gronk), rural "outlaws" (Luis Jimenez), modernists (Carlos Alfonzo), and the largest category "International New Expressionism" (Arnaldo Roche, Luis Cruz Azaceta, Carlos Almaraz). Livingston then moves beyond these categories to suggest the complexities and ambiguities endemic to contemporary American art in general and Hispanic art in particular. On the whole, Hispanic Art in the United States is a visually satisfying presentation of artworks most of which fit the authors' criteria — mature, individual expressions linked by common imagery and sensibility. 71

B00K REVIEWS

However, one cannot ignore the effect this book will have on the sensitive issues which already exist within the Hispanic art community, not to mention the power of the book to perpetuate the co-authors' subjective viewpoints with regard to the specific artists chosen. Nevertheless, Beardsley and Livingston have presented, in the words of Octavio Paz, "an excellent opportunity to hear what (at least thirty) Hispanic artists are saying:' —Georgianna Lagoria Georgianna Lagoria is Director of the Palo Alto Cultural Center in California. She has been a curator and a writer specializing in contemporary art for 10 years. FROM HARDANGER TO HARLEYS: A SURVEY OF WISCONSIN FOLK ART Exhibition catalogue with essays, one by Robert T. Teske and one by James P. Leary and Janet C. Gilmore 124 pages, 14 color plates and 43 black and white illustrations Published by John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin, 1987 $22.50 softcover The cover of this catalogue displays a Harley Davidson motorcycle against a background of Hardanger needlework. The meaning is clear: folk art is not a closed list of object-types; it comes from many different communities, it is defined by process not by product, and it has the power to startle us. Harleys and hardanger have something in common, something to do with the connections between creativity and community, dynamism and conservatism, sign and meaning. The authors-curators of this exhibit, Robert T. Teske, Janet C. Gilmore, and James P. Leary, communicate their excitement and respect not only in the provocative cover photograph and title but also in the selection of objects, essays, captions, photographs, and artists' biographies. This survey of Wisconsin folk art is shaped by folklorists' conventional ideas about folk art and contains many types of objects which are familiar to those who have seen other state folk art exhibitions and catalogues. One folklorist, reviewing a state folk art catalogue, expressed the idea that it is not sufficient for such catalogues to be excellent surveys. According to his argu72

ment, authors have a responsibility to create new understandings of folk art. While this reviewer's point should be considered seriously, it still misses the purpose and value of such exhibitions and catalogues in two ways. First, the intended audience for the Wisconsin catalogue, like the Iowa, Oregon, Vermont, and other state folk art exhibitions, is the people of the state — not academe or folk art collectors. Thus the purpose of these catalogues is to bring current insights about folk art to a general audience. Second, in the tradition of the best scholarship, catalogues like From Hardanger to Harleys add to our knowledge of American folk art in a solid, incremental way. Breakthrough theoretical statements do not come every day, but catalogues like this one help build the data base which allows us to perceive American folk art. Indeed, one of the strengths of the Wisconsin catalogue and exhibit is its size — 270 objects by 75 artists — making it one of the largest of the recent series of state folk art exhibits. These numbers make it possible to represent more of Wisconsin's folk art without any decline in quality while giving the authors-curators the opportunity to illustrate key ideas. Over 50 examples of Easter eggs (pysanky, pisanica, and straw-decorated Slovak Easter eggs) by six different artists from three different Eastern European cultures allow the authors-curators to demonstrate the traditionalism of an art by implying its broad distribution and localized modification. Thirty-nine, rather than a few fishing flies, eight duck decoys by two carvers, and eighteen woodcarvings,from a life's work of over 2,400 pieces by Adolph

Detail of needle lace by Elizabeth Keosian of Milwaukeefrom From Hardanger to Harleys: A Survey of Wisconsin Folk Art.

Vandertie, to name another kind ofexample, demonstrate the personal variation in the work of single artists. The biographical notes, containing several paragraphs about each artist, are an innovative feature for state folk art catalogues. They steer us in the right direction — toward regarding folk artists equally with other artists; they also urge us to dispel the vagueness and romanticism that anonymity as a defining feature of folk art once encouraged. These biographies and ethnographic captions allow the reader to begin to participate in the meaning of objects:"Ed Henkelman's stuffed squirrel musicians and dancers demonstrate his skills as hunter, taxidermist, and traditional storyteller. Henkelman notes that the animals are mounted in the poses they held when he first encountered them in the woods!' This caption conveys the matter-of-fact, teasing style of many tall-tale tellers. The objects are tall tales, but we might not realize this without the caption, which echoes Henkelman's voice. Because of my own interest in Jewish folklore, I was pleased to find an example of Jewish folk art, a ketubah, an illuminated, calligraphed marriage contract. In this case, however, the curators missed a further example of their theme of personal vision and innovation. The ketubah's Hebrew text is quoted as citing the famous words of Hillel, "If I am not for myself, who will be for me? But iflam only for myself, then what am!? And if not now, when?" What Simcha Prombaum, the calligrapher, has actually written substitutes the first person plural for the first person singular, still clearly echoing Hillel's proverbial statement: "If we are not for ourselves, who will be for us? But if we are only for ourselves, who will be for us? But if we are only for ourselves, who are we?" Prombaum has calligraphed an innovation which is contextually appropriate for marriage based upon Hillel's traditional words. This ketubah exemplifies the folk artist's adaptation of tradition to immediate context, of meaningful innovation within strictly defined confines. Values persist as much through the creative use of a tradition's resonance as through the replication of its explicit words and meanings. Robert T. Teske, Janet C. Gilmore, and James P. Leary have produced a survey of Wisconsin folk art which is a gift not only to the people ofthat state, but to everyone who The Clarion

BOOK REVIEWS

sees their catalogue. From Hardanger to Harleys adds to the concrete knowledge of American folk art in the enduring way only careful documentation can. Furthermore, the essays in this volume provide a condensed gloss of the folklore discipline's perspective on folk art, answering the questions non-specialists ask most often in clear, artful prose and meaningful photos and juxtapositions — like hardanger and Harleys. If you want to know where folk art is today, there's no better place to go to find out than Wisconsin, the Wisconsin catalogue, or — your own neighborhood. —Steve Siporin Steve Siporin is an Assistant Professor of English and History in the Folklore Program at Utah State University. He was curator of the exhibition Folk ArtofIdaho which toured in Idaho and the Middle East from 1984 to 1988.

LABORS OF LOVE: AMERICA'S TEXTILES AND NEEDLEWORK, 1650-1930 by Judith Reiter Weissman and Wendy Lavitt 286 pages illustrated Published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., New York, 1987 $50.00 hardcover Labors ofLove is a beautiful picture book. Co-authors Judith Reiter Weissman and Wendy Lavitt have assembled for our viewing pleasure an enormous assortment of American textiles and needleworks. Altogether the collection gives the reader a sense ofthe great range ofobjects created by Americans between 1650 and 1930. There are pictures of homespun materials, quilts and other bed covers, samplers, mid-Victorian fancy work, handmade rugs, needlework tools, printed cotton handkerchiefs and Native American textile crafts. Weissman and Lavitt searched diligently for examples that have not been previously published. The objects are well photographed and nicely arranged in an attractively designed book. Unfortunately, the accompanying text does not deserve the same high praise. The choice of artifacts and subjects covered is clearly affected by current collecting trends. Many of the works illustrated are found in private collections. Others are currently held by textile and folk art dealers. Spring 1988

The reader gets the sense that the authors chose their illustrations first, and then wrote a text around the pictures. As a result certain areas receive undue attention. One fifth of the book,for example, is devoted to various bed coverings, objects which are of great interest to today's collectors. Yes, quilts and coverlets are important in the history of American textiles and needlework, but they form only a portion of the full story. If some chapters are too long, others seem out of place altogether. In a book about America's textiles and needlework there is no reason to devote three full chapters to the work of Native Americans. The authors almost suggest as much in their own introduction, which never mentions the subject. I personally find Native American culture fascinating, and I enjoyed reading the three chapters, yet in this volume they appear as a postscript, completely unrelated to the rest of the text. I also found the tone to be slightly condescending; why, for example, do the authors use the term "American Indian" in their chapter titles? Furthermore, the discussion of the monetary value of Navajo rugs emphasizes the authors' preoccupation with the folk art market. Weissman and Lavitt's history is also limited by the problem ofextant material. It would be very nice to have a volume that covers textiles and needlework from 1650 to 1930. This book does not. Consider, for example, the chapter entitled "Early Needlework, 1650-1830:' There are no illustrations of works which predate 1750, and the information about the era is limited to a handful of solid facts drawn from other secondary works. True, few pre-1750 textiles survive and reliable information for the early years is difficult to find. But there are many primary sources at the authors' disposal that they felt no need to consult. Weissman and Lavitt's failure to produce new primary material is not limited to the years 1650 to 1750. A major disappointment of the text is that the information and the ideas are seldom original. Although they went to considerable trouble to photograph little known works, the authors are content to rely on the research ofother scholars. The text is at first deceiving, since it is liberally sprinkled with relevant quotations from primary material. However, the footnotes reveal that most quotations have been culled from earlier histories of textiles and needlework; and although many of the works

cited are perfectly reliable, some, such as the works of Alice Morse Earle and other antiquarians should be used with extreme caution. Inclusion of secondary material is not in itself a flaw. Yet the authors missed a perfect opportunity to discuss and reassess the questionable ideas in the earlier books. For example, Weissman and Lavitt seem to accept without question the myth of the happy pre-industrial woman. By choosing the title "Labors of Love7 they apparently agree with the concept that women enjoyed every stitch and every throw of the shuttle. Yes, some women probably did take pleasure in making these pretty yet functional objects. But many,no doubt,saw their work merely as a required chore. Some scholars in the field of folk art are admitting that it is time to debunk the myth. Weissman and Lavitt need to at least consider the possibility that not every object pictured in their book was a "labor of love:' Nor was every object pictured made by a woman in her home, hence another inconsistency. In the first paragraph of their introduction, Weissman and Lavin express their interest in objects which were made in a domestic context."The needle, unlike the pen' they say, "has always been thought a woman's instrument. Without it, women would have been unable to fulfill their wifely duties ... With it, they were able to express themselves in a socially acceptable form, and make beautiful objects for themselves, their families and homes:' The bias is clear. However, many of the textiles and needleworks pictured and discussed in the book were of professional manufacture and some were made by men. Such an inconsistency weakens the entire book. All of the problems with the text relate to its wide scope. By using the subtitle "America's Textiles and Needlework, 1650-19307 Weissman and Lavitt gave themselves an almost impossible task. Although a vast array of material works extremely well for the visual component ofthe book, such a lack of focus severely hinders the text. With limited space (and probably limited preparation time) the authors are forced to ignore many important subjects. In the chapter on cloth, for example, Weissman and Lavitt end a section entitled "Silk" by stating bluntly, "Although sporadic attempts were made throughout the country during the nineteenth century, the 73

GYM

BOOK REVIEWS

silk industry as a viable manufacturing presence never really took hold!' It may be true that silk fibers were rarely cultivated in this country, but many towns owed their existence and their success to the silk spinning and weaving industry. Furthermore, the popularity of late nineteenth century needle crafts like crazy patchwork and art embroidery relied heavily on the manufacture of American silk fabrics and yarns. Given the subtitle of the book, such information should not be so quickly dismissed. Had the authors limited the scope of the book, they might have provided a more even, complete and original account. In its present form, the book makes enjoyable reading and will no doubt be useful to collectors and non-professionals. If it makes no advances, at least it does encapsulate the historiography of American textiles and needlework. Serious readers will want to keep one eye on the footnotes and the extensive bibliography and consult the works on which Labors ofLove is based. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Margaret Vincent Margaret Vincent is the Kate Fowler Merle-Smith Textile Curator at the Allentown Art Museum. She is currently preparing a major exhibition of domestic needlework in nineteenth century America.

THE SONG OF THE LOOM:NEW TRADITIONS IN NAVAJO WEAVING by Frederick J. Dockstader 130 Pages, illustrated Hudson Hills Press, New York in association with the Montclair Art Museum, 1987 $35 hardcover Frederick J. Dockstader, the author of this catalogue and curator of "The Song of the Loom:' has culled a superb sampling of Navajo weavings from an anonymous collection formed over the past 25 years. The exhibition, organized by the Montclair Art Museum in association with the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C., has three goals: To demonstrate the continum of Navajo weaving, to make visable the variable color and design in Navajo religious art, and to exhibit the fine weaving of today. All of these goals are achieved in a manner more than acceptable to the layman. As we know, it is the art of a society that 74

tells us about its creators, that is if it has survived. When the artists pass down their skills to their youngers, a tradition evolves. Often, though, the tradition is weakened with age. The works in this book serve to prove that today's works of Navajo weaving are as good as yesteryear's. To arrive at and understand the top ranked aesthetic and technical weaving skills of today, we are first given a brief history of Navajo weaving, one that points out the influence of the white traders. For it was these traders who preserved and strengthened Navajo weaving by requesting and buying rugs, which for the most part were an item never used by the Indians. The 83 textiles by 55 weavers (known and anonymous) comprise the best of today's Navajo weaving. Though some pieces are from the nineteenth century, this is not an historical work. Many styles of current Navajo textiles are included but the emphasis is on those with religious designs. Ofthese,"chant"designs are highlighted because they are generally less known, show a range of design and technique, are an example of a sociological "triumph" and have that necessary visual quality. "Chant weave" is "a term popularly applied to a textile whose design relates to a religious ceremony. The word 'weave' is objectional in that the reference is to a design, not a weave; it would be more accurate to call this a Chant Style:' Based on sand paintings which follow a standard narrative pattern, these chant works are relatively accurate reproductions of the originals. The paintings themselves are used in religious ceremonies as the place where the invisable gods gather to drive out evil and sickness. Because they are considered holy it was many years before these designers were reproduced in wool. This fear of committing a sacrilege diminished by the second decade of the twentieth century. Even today, though, the weaver always makes a change however minute from the real sand painting. Because no chant weave is made for Navajo use, it is the collector who benefits from the creative effort. The best of these weavings sell from $10,000 to $20,000, though the average weaver receives only a minimal income when the time factor is considered. This fact has led to a decline in the number of women working in this field. The number of collectors, on the other

hand, has increased, leading to influential commissions for some weavers, as well as familiarity with museums, collectors, and publications. The illustrations in this catalogue are supported with useful information: The weaver, her location, the date, style, function, the materials used, the measurements, and yarn count are given when known. Dates range from 1860 to 1985; sizes vary from 251 / 4 x 15" to 120" x 69"; functions include wearing blankets, fancy saddle pads, floor rugs and wall hangings. For those counting, the per inch yarn count climbs as high as 24 x 146 with the average count being 15 x 60. Hand-spun yarn, Germantown yarn, commercial yarn, and vegetable dyed yarns make up the materials. The various styles are also listed. In addition a brief paragraph tells about each piece. A fine glossary defines Navajo terms, weaving terms and various Navajo locations. The accompanying Biographical Notes, though only available for twenty of the weavers, point out the economic dependancy on the collector, the weaver's lack of formal education, and the continuing plight of the American Indian. For those interested in further information on Indian weaving a four page bibliography lists works dating from the late nineteenth century to the present. Frederick Dockstader's The Song Of The Loom:New Traditions In Navajo Weaving is a tantalizing introduction to this field. It gives the reader enough information for an appreciation while at the same time whets the whistle for more information. â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Michael McManus Michael McManus is Director of Exhibitions of The Museum of American Folk Art.

AMERICAN NEEDLEWORK TREASURES:SAMPLERS AND SILK EMBROIDERIES FROM THE COLLECTION OF BETTY RING by Betty Ring 112 pages, color illustrations Published by E.P. Dutton in association with the Museum of American Folk Art, New York, 1987 $29.95 hardcover American Needlework Treasures achieves the high standards of scholarship we have The Clarion

THE TARTT GALLERY American Folk Art •GEORGIA BLIZZARD

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044 tititt* America n Festival Cafe at Rockefeller Plaza An Ever-Changing Celebration of American Cooking. 20 West 50th Street. Reservations:(212)246-6699. 75

BOOK REVIEWS

come to expect of the author and collector, Betty Ring. For the past twenty years, Ring has focused on schoolgirl needlework. Her work in the field is well known and her thorough research and findings on the needlework traditions of Rhode Island, the Abby Wright School in South Hadley, Massachusetts and Mrs. Saunders' and Miss Beech's Academy in Dorchester, Massachusetts have been exemplary. This slender volume features more than two hundred pieces from Betty Ring's own needlework collection. Well organized, the book is divided into two parts, one on samplers and the other, silk embroideries. Colorful illustrated examples in each section are arranged by state. The organization helps one locate and identify regional styles, one of the author's primary interests. Needlework from the states of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are best represented because those states had the largest number of private schools for girls, major sources of the needlework. In her preface, Mrs. Ring explains her motivation for collecting. For silk embroideries, it was a "dearth of sound information which was intriguing;" for samplers, "their appealing naivete and comforting authenticity:' Samplers are hand-stitched pieces of needlework embroidered in various stitches, featuring alphabets, family names, dates, design motifs, mottos and pictorial elements,to demonstrate skill. As important as letters or diaries, these material cultural objects — at one time reference examples of stitches important in teaching girls how to mark precious household linens — became didactic schoolgirl pieces that demonstrated female accomplishments. Making samplers and later, silk embroideries, was part of the school curriculum during the period 1725 to 1825, which saw the emergence of the vital, developing middle class in America. The short essays preceding each section of the book summarize the history and significance of samplers and silk embroideries — "The epitome of needlework accomplishment" — and highlight the importance of the schoolmistresses who expressed their own creativity "through the hands of children:' These teachers, the author contends, have not received the recognition they deserve for their contribution to education of women of the time. The proliferation of mourning embroid76

eries during the early nineteenth century, reaching a peak after George Washington's death, was, according to Ring, a decorative fad rather than an expression of actual grief. She dispels a popular notion that memorials with uninscribed monuments anticipated the embroiderer's own death. The book is deceptively simple. What appears at first glance to be an attractive picture book with little text, turns out to be an excellent research source of stylistic and geneologic information. Important caption material pulls together names of stitchers, their families when known, framers, print sources and related examples. The handsome illustrations are of good size and clearly printed. Color distortion appears minimal. Occassional closeups of details make it possible to study the stitchcry and to examine the fibers of the ground material. My only criticism of this small treasure is the lack of a complete illustrated appendix for all the related works cited in the text. I hope that the author will, in the future, be able to illustrate all of the work she cites. Textiles are fragile and often not easily available for examination by researchers and the general public. More complete visuals and identified data would serve a very useful function. Though primarily copywork, these samplers and silk embroideries sometimes rise above mere schoolgirl exercise. By their spontaneous expression and use of abstract design and exuberant color, some schoolgirl needlework seems closely related to folk art. Frequently in their conceptualization, children present linear, stylized drawing with disproportionate scale relationships and multiple points of view. These characteristics add a naive, human touch we associate with the art of the people. Ring does not, however, address the relationship between schoolgirl needlework and folk art. Whether or not one believes that children's art is related to or can be considered folk art, Betty Ring's book is a visual delight and a must for anyone interested in studying or collecting American textiles or in understanding American social history. — Lee Kogan Lee Kogan is a student in the Museum of American Folk Art/New York University Masters and Ph.D. program in Folk Art Studies. She has also completed the certificate program at the Museum's Folk Art Institute.

POTTERS AND POTTERIES OF NEW YORK STATE,1650-1900, Second Edition by William C. Ketchum, Jr. 626 pages, black and white illustrations Published by Syracuse University Press, Syracuse, New York, 1987 $29.95 papercover, $49.95 hardcover Collectors of antique American stoneware have waited 17 years for the second edition of Ketchum's Potters and Potteries of New York State. The wait was well worth it. It is most unusual for a second edition to contain more new information than its predecessor, but that is exactly what this greatly expanded volume provides. The total pages have more than doubled, the number of illustrations has increased from 19 to 113, and the list of known potters, their different marks and years of manufacture has been significantly expanded and revised. If the first edition was truly "a beginning in a quest" into the history of the redware and stoneware industry in New York State, the journey has reached a triumphant conclusion with the publication of the present text. The potting history of New York is logically told by dividing the State into natural boundaries brought about by population growth and settlement, the all-important clay deposits, natural geography, and the development of man-made transportation channels. The history starts in the New York City/Long Island region, travels up the Hudson River, and then spreads west as new areas are populated and the great canal system of New York is completed. The text is clearly written and documented with extensive references grouped by chapters and placed at the end so as not to interrupt the flow of the prose. A welcome addition to the new edition is a list of all forms made by New York potters, grouped by stoneware, redware, and Rockingham. Unfortunately, the forms are not alphabetical, forcing one to scan the entire list of 16 pages to find the desired form. Where in the first edition, there wasjust a sentence mentioning a village where stoneware was produced or a rumor of the existence of a pottery, there is now an entire detailed chapter (as with Lansingburgh), and the substantiated presence of not only the pottery but a list of heretofore unknown potters' marks with documented years of manufacture (as with the Wandells of West The Clarion

BOOK REVIEWS

Troy). These are but two examples of the increased information occurring throughout the book. The use of contemporary newspaper advertisements, old pricelists of stoneware from selected manufacturers, and vintage photographs of the potters and potteries enriches the text and supplements our understanding of life and the history ofthe potting industry. Photographs of the various forms of ware and the vast variations of decorations drawn upon them complement the historical illustrations. As with any text, more pictures would have been welcome, especially depicting the more standard floral and bird decorations collected today. The main goal, however, was to produce an historical, not picture, book, and this has been achieved. Ketchum provides much more than dry

historical facts. He breathes life into the potters' lives with vignettes about their families, who they married, their children, and how they died. He explains where and why they moved their pot-works. The difficulties of obtaining clay and sufficient wood to fill and fire a kiln, and then to successfully market the wares are discussed. Lastly, how the traditional utilitarian potters coped with and ultimately succumbed to increased mechanization, a shrinking market, and the demand for alternative products is handled realistically but with a sadness only an author with a deep love for his subject can achieve. Scholars and collectors alike will benefit greatly from the alphabetical list of over 1,400 redware and stoneware potters and pottery owners who worked in New York State. The helpful key beside each entry

tells at a glance what type of ware the potter produced, years of production, location, other potting relatives, and whether the pieces were marked. The checklist of known potters' marks and the list of potters are in and of themselves worth the price of the book. Potters and Potteries of New York State will take its place in my bookcase right next to the first edition. It will not remain there for long, however, as I will be constantly referring to it. The first reading was for pleasure. Subsequent readings will be for researching old pots and gaining new insights into the potting history of New York â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Steven B. Leder State. Steven B. Leder, Ph.D.,is editor and publisher of the Stoneware Collectors' Journal and a collector of antique American stoneware.

FOLK ART QUILTS * FURNITURE MARINE ARTIFACTS DECOYS

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4.4- ......... Kathy Schoemer American Antiques and Decorations Route 116 at Keeler Lane North Salem,New York 10560 914/669-8464 Wednesday thru Sunday,12 to 5

19th Century Black Stable Boy Holding Cigarette. 26" H.

Spring 1988

EIM

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Executive Committee Ralph Esmerian President Frances Sirota Martinson Esq. Executive Vice President Lucy C. Danziger Vice President Karen S. Schuster Secretary George E Shaskan, Jr. Treasurer Karen D. Cohen Judith A. Jedlicka Theodore L. Kesselman Susan Klein Kathryn Steinberg

Members Mabel H. Brandon Florence Brody Daniel Cowin Barbara Johnson, Esq. Margery G. Kahn Alice M. Kaplan William I. Leffler George H. Meyer Cyril I. Nelson

Cynthia V.A. Schaffner Ronald K. Shelp Bonnie Strauss Maureen Taylor Robert N. Wilson Trustees Emeritus Adele Earnest Cordelia Hamilton Herbert W. Hemphill, Jr. Louis C. Jones Jean Lipman

NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

Frances S. Martinson Chairman Mary Black Gray Boone David Davies

Howard M. Graff Lewis 1. Haber Phyllis Haders Barbara Kaufman-Cate Robert Meltzer

Paul Oppenheimer Alfred R. Shands, III Randy Siegel Hume R. Steyer

CURRENT MAJOR DONORS

The Museum of American Folk Art thanks its current major donors for their generous support: $20,000 and above *American Express Company Judi Boisson Mr. & Mrs. Frederick M. Danziger Mrs. Eva Feld Estate of Morris Feld Foundation Krikor Foundation Tarex *IBM Corporation Jean and Howard Lipman 78

National Endowment for the Arts New York State Council on the Arts *PaineWebber Group Inc. *Philip Morris Companies Herbert and Nell Singer Foundation, Inc. *United Technologies Corporation Estate of Jeannette B. Virgin Mrs. Dixon Wecter *The Xerox Foundation

$10,000-$19,999 Amicus Foundation *Bankers Trust Company Coats & Clark, Inc.

Mr. & Mrs. Peter Cohen The Joyce & Daniel Cowin Foundation Inc. Craftsmen Litho Adele Earnest Fairfield Processing Corporation/Poly-filo Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Joseph Martinson Memorial Fund The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation *Restaurant Associates Industries, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. George F. Shaskan, Jr. Ronald K. Shelp Peter and Linda Solomon Foundation Springs Industries Mr. & Mrs. Robert Steinberg Barbara and Thomas W. Strauss Fund

The Clarion

UtLI CURRENT MAJOR DONORS

$4,000-$9,999 The Bernhill Fund *Bristol-Myers Fund Mrs. Martin Brody *Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A. Christie's The Clokeys Inc. The Cowles Charitable Trust Mt & Mrs. Edgar M. Cullman F.A.O. Schwarz Edward A. Fox, Student Loan Marketing Association Colonel Alexander W. Gentleman Richard Goodyear *Hoechst Celanese Corporation Barbara Johnson, Esq. Kallir, Philips, Ross, Inc. Raymond Kane Mr. & Mrs. Robert Klein George Meyer *The Salomon Foundation The L.J. Skaggs and Mary C. Skaggs Foundation Sotheby's Squibb Corporation Norman & Rosita Winston Foundation

$2,000-$3,999 *Chemical Bank *The Coach Dairy Goat Farm Country Home *Exxon Corporation Janey Fire Morris Greenberg Neil Greenberg Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Greenberg Justus Heijmans Foundation International Paper Company Foundation *Manufacturers Hanover Trust *Marsh & McLennan Companies *McGraw-Hill, Inc. *Metropolitan Life Foundation *Morgan Stanley & Co., Incorporated New York City Department of Cultural Affairs *New York Telephone Company *Ortho Pharmaceutical Corporation *J.C. Penney Company,Inc. *The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. *The Rockefeller Group, Inc. Robert T. & Cynthia V.A. Schaffner *Schlumberger Foundation, Inc. Mrs. Richard T. Taylor *Time Inc. Vista International Hotel Robert N.& Anne Wright Wilson

$1,000-$1999 *The Bank of New York *Bill Blass, Ltd. *Bloomingdale's Spring 1988

*Chesebrough-Pond's Inc. *Con Edison *Culbro Corporation Joseph F. Cullman 3rd *Daily News Mr. & Mrs. Richard Danziger Mr. & Mrs. Alvin Deutsch *Echo Foundation Virginia S. Esmerian John L. Ernst Mr. & Mrs. Thomas Ferguson Mr. & Mrs. Walter B. Ford II *Gannett Foundation Emanuel Gerard Renee Graubert Judith A. Jedlicka Theodore L. Kesselman Susan Kudlow *Macy's New York Robert & Betty Marcus Foundation, Inc. Marstrand Foundation Christopher & Linda Mayer Helen R. & Harold C. Mayer Foundation Meryl & Robert Meltzer Steven Michaan *National Westminster Bank USA *Nestle Foods Corporation New York Council for the Humanities *The New York Times Company Foundation, Inc. Mattie Lou O'Kelley Mrs. John D. Rockefeller III Rev. & Mrs. Alfred R. Shands III Ruben and Harriet Shohet Mrs. Vera W.Simmons Philip & Mildred Simon Mrs. A. Simone Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Tananbaum H. van Ameringen Foundation Tony & Anne Vanderwarker David & Jane Walentas *Wertheim Schroder & Co.

$500-$999 American Stock Exchange Louis Bachman The Bachmann Foundation, Inc. Mr. & Mrs. Frank Barsalona David C. Batten Beaulieu Vineyard Edward J. Brown Colgate-Palmolive Company Codorniu U.S.A., Inc. Judy Angelo Cowen The Dammann Fund, Inc. David Davies Andre & Sarah de Coizart Mr. & Mrs. James DeSilva, Jr. Marion & Ben Duffy Foundation Mr. & Mrs. Alvin H. Einbender Richard C. & Susan B. Ernst Foundation Jacqueline Fowler

Cordelia Hamilton The Charles U. Harris Living Trust Denison H. Hatch Cathy M. Kaplan Mary Kettaneh Jana K. Klauer Mr. & Mrs. Ronald Lauder Wendy & Mel Lavitt William & Susan Leffler Helen E.& Robert B. Luchars Hemline Mariaux Robin & William Mayer Gad Mendelsohn Leo & Dorothy Rabkin Joanna S. Rose Jon cgt. Sue Rotenstreich Foundation Richard Sabino Mrs. Joel Simon Smith Gallery Robert C.& Patricia A. Stempel Mrs. Anne Utescher Marcia & John Zweig

The Museum is grateful to the Co. Chairwomen of its Special Events Committee for the significant support received through the Museum's major fund raising events chaired by them. Cynthia V.A. Schaffner Karen S. Schuster

The Museum also thanks the following donors for their recent gifts to the Permanent Collection and Library: Robert Bishop Mary Bromham Daniel & Jessie Lie Farber Laura Fisher Friends Committee Hirschl & Adler Folk Jean Lipman (Promised Gift) J.C. Penney Melvin Simon & Associates Peter Socolof Foster E. Vogel

*Corporate Member 79

OUR INCREASED MEMBERSHIP CONTRIBUTIONS NOVEMBER 1987-JANUARY 1988

We wish to thank the following members for their increased membership contributions and for their expression of confidence in the Museum:

Louis A. Goodman, Newtonville, MA Mr. & Mrs. Baron J. Gordon, Williamsburg, VA Mary T. Greason, Forest Hills, NY Mr. & Mrs. Dan M. Guy, New York, NY

Joan Agran, Wyncote, PA Mrs. Eldridge Arnold, Greenwich, CT Mrs. S.C. Austell, Columbus, NC

Mr. & Mrs. Brian C. Harris, West Orange, NJ Mrs. Terry B. Heled, New York, NY Leon Henry, Jr., Scarsdale, NY Mr. Raymond E. Holland, Allentown,PA Sharon W. Joel, Jacksonville, FL

Vicki L. Bagley, New York, NY Marian E. Bestor, Oronoco, MN Sharon Blaustein, New York, NY Rosemary B. Brady, Vergennes, VT Mary Lu Brooke, Naples, FL Elaine Brosseau, Houston,TX Meredith M. Brown, New York, NY Glenn A. Bucher, DVM,Chesapeake, VA Judith Boies & Robert Christman, New York, NY Logan & Kay Clarke, East Haddam, CT R.A. Dubin, New York, NY Marilyn Martin Ellis, New York, NY Lorraine Engelhardt, New York, NY Frances K. Faile, Bethlehem, PA Brenda & Kenneth Fritz, Los Angeles, CA Marianne Gerschel, New York, NY

Joseph Kastner, Grandview, NY Diane S. Kelly, Fairfield, CT Mrs. Arthur Knorr, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. William Koster, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. E.P. Krulewitch, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. James M. Landis, Tampa, FL Janet Langlois, New York, NY C.M. Levie, New York, NY Lesley M. Litzenberger, Haverford, PA Mrs. Patti Macleod, Santa Monica, CA Lindsey N. Mcauliffe, Washington, DC Bonnie McCabe, Miami, FL Mrs. Ruth McCauley, Grand Island, NE Roger McLane, Columbus, OH Mr. Amos Melamede, New York, NY Bill Mercia, Hinesburg, VT Dr. Edward Micone, Summit, NJ Mrs. David Milton, Middleburg, VA

Mr. & Mrs. Robert F. Nation, Elizabeth, PA Susan & Barry Nova, Greenwich, CT Frederick Nystrom III, Naples, FL Mrs. Doris D. Pitou, Staten Island, NY Merrilee J. Possner, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Daniel F. Reagan, Naples, FL Diane Rigo, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Stanley M. Riker, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. John B. Rusch, New York, NY Mrs. Rosalie K. Schwartz, Riverdale, NY Linda Soga, Portland, OR Concetta Solazzi, Union, NJ Ann St. Clair, Columbus,OH Sandra Stern, West Orange, NJ Mrs. Bill lassos, San Antonio, TX Betsy Tegtmeyer, Woodstock, GA Phyllis A. Tepper, Valley Stream, NY Hildegard 0. Vetter, New York, NY Carolyn Walsh, Nantucket, MA Lynne Weaver, Wenham, MA John D. Weeden, Red Bank, NJ Jean Williams, Rochester, NY Mr. & Mrs. James Wyeth, Wilmington, DE Mr. & Mrs. John R. Young, Old Greenwich, Cl

OUR GROWING MEMBERSHIP NOVEMBER 1987-JANUARY 1988

The Museum trustees and staff extend a special welcome to these new members:

Susan Airey, Westerville, OH Sheila S. Allen, Highland, MD Arnold R. Altshuler, Bethesda, MD Gregory Amenoff, New York, NY Julia Ardery, Smithville, TX Christine Auletti, Bellport, NY

Mary M. Bader, Portland, OR Mrs. William Bagley, Columbus,OH 80

Murrell Baker, Fishkill, NY Deborah Barrett, New York, NY Beth Bates, Dallas, TX Ann Bauer, Palos Verdes Estates, CA Maria Becena, New York, NY Rosemary Beck, Morristown, NJ Amy Bergin, Rochester, NY Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Berner, New York, NY Sybil Bernhard, Pittsford, NY Robert Biniaz, Los Angeles, CA Boise State U. Library, Boise, ID Milton Bond, Stratford, CT Linda Bosniak, W. Long Branch, NJ TheoAnn Brandel, Rockford, IL

Susan Brock, New York, NY Broward Co. Library, Ft. Lauderdale, FL Carol Burns, Bloomsburg, PA

Mrs. Irving Camlot, Montreal, Canada Joe P. Carr, Santa Fe, NM Mrs. Ronald Can New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Jim Cate, Newport Beach, CA Chalmers Mem. Library, Gambier, OH Christa Chencinski, Jamaica, NY Margaret Chess, Mohegan Lake, NY Judith K. Claire, Washington, DC Mrs. G.W. Clough, Blacksburg, VA The Clarion

Utl

OUR GROWING MEMBERSHIP

Mrs. Bernice Cohen, Flushing, NY Mrs. Kenneth Coles, Holicong, PA Joan Collett, Great Neck, NY Charles W. Cook Jr., Monmouth Beach, NJ Florence Corn, New York, NY Michael Council, Columbus, OH Terese S. Cronauer, Oyster Bay, NY

Ed & Pauline Hollinger, New London, NH Patricia Horgan, Northboro, MA Edward Hosken, Palos Verdes Estates, CA

Barbara F. Phillips, Quitman, MS Barbara Pitt, Carlisle, PA Mrs. Harold W. Pote, Philadelphia, PA

Kazuaki Idehara, Van Nuys, CA Barbara Ingber, New York, NY

Mrs. Bradley Davis, Barrington Hills, IL Judith H. Day, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. Andre De Coizart, Carefree, AZ John Delph, Jacksonville, FL Ms. Beth Densmore, Dallas, TX Denver Public Library, Denver, CO Anne DeSalvo, New York, NY Philip A. Diehl, Raeford, NC Bill Doherty, Jersey City, NJ Karon Doherty, New Bedford, MA Phyllis Dreyspool, New York, NY Signe Durnin, Madison, WI

Susan Jakoplic, Highland Park, NJ

James A. Randall, Brooklyn, NY Marlene Rankin, Pittsburgh, PA Marge Reddington, Dayton, OH Ronald A. Riccio, West Islip, NY Maureen Romani, San Jose, CA Nancy A. Roskos, Lancaster, PA Eileen Lally Ross, New York, NY Jacqueline Ross, Chicago, IL Vicki S. Russell, Fulton, MO

Heidi England, Kingwood, TX Mr. & Mrs. Henry J. Everett, New York, NY

Don Farlow, Chesapeake, VA Belinda G. Feldman, New York, NY Gary Fretheim, Wayzata, MN Frank Gaglio & Kathleen Molnar, Wurtsboro, NY Anne Gaines, New York, NY Mrs. Janie Gallop, Wills Point, TX Toni B. Gary,Inverness, MS Dan Gates, New York, NY Kathleen Gelb,Pomona, NY Jennifer D. Gerlach, Lawrenceville, NJ Elizabeth F. Gilkey, Cleveland Heights, OH Mark Goldman, New York, NY Judith Goodlet, Milwaukee, WI Mr. Howard Gordon, Wantagh, NY Renee Graubart, New York, NY Christa Grauer, New York, NY Lisa Greene, Westbury, NY Wendy Greenfield, Santa Monica, CA Marion R. Griffith, Princeton, NJ Marina Gutierrez, Brooklyn, NY

Petra D. Haas, Oley,PA James Hager, Rockford,IL Bob Hamilton, Jr., Ephrata, PA Jan Hannigan, OaIcton, VA Mary-Alice Hasscud, Decatur, GA John A. Hays, New York, NY Georgia L. Heacock, Ormond Beach,FL Mari-Louise Hedlund, New York, NY Mr. David M. Helpern, New York, NY Mr. & Mrs. John A. Herdeg, Mendenhall, PA E. Geoffrey High, Rockville Centre, NY C.L. Hislop, Deerfield, IL Leslie B. Hobbs, Elmhurst, NY Spring 1988

Herbert M. Katz, New York, NY Aviva Kempner, Washington, DC Charlotte B. Kennedy, New York, NY Harold L. Klawans M.D., Chicago,IL Ruth & Don Koerber, Warren, MI Raymond Konopasek, Mt. Kisco, NY Mr. & Mrs. Gregory Krizic, Crete,IL

Gwen Lato, Fort Lee, NJ Karen Elizabeth Lee, Austin, TX Patricia F. Lehman, Wilmington, DE David C. Lentz, Lake Charles, LA John & Patricia Lewis, Mountain Lakes, NJ Judith Lind, Livingston, NJ Dana Loft, New York, NY Dr. Lewis Long, Oklahoma City, OK Jean Lynn, Palos Verdes Estates, CA

David L. Mallory, Akron, OH Joan Markell, Studio City, CA Arthur & Carol Maslow, New York, NY Erica H. Mawer, Rutherford, NJ Miwako McDonough, Walnut Creek, CA Robin McMillin, New York, NY Dana & Jennifer Mead, Peterborough, NH Carol Lally Metz, Hyde Park, NY Frank J. Miele, New York, NY Mille Pond Farm,Isle LaMotte, VT Jeff Miller, Ruxton, MD William H. Moennig, Philadelphia, PA Ethel Wright Mohamed, Belzoni, MS Gordon Mott, Media, PA

San Francisco Craft & Folk Art Museum,San Francisco, CA George Schweitzer, Larchmont, NY Betsy Seamans, Pittsburgh, PA Marilyn Seranian, Farmington, MI Martin Shack, Bellmore, NY Judith R. Shamp, Indianapolis, IN Judith A. Shapiro, New York, NY John Segal & Sharon Gitelle, New York, NY Ms. Sandra Doane Sherman, Worthington, OH Miss Wendy Sherman, New York, NY Ms. Panama Smith, New York, NY Keith J. Snider, Metamora, MI Mr. & Mrs. Ellie Soussa & Family, Richmond,VA Mary Jo Spina, Grosse Pointe, MI Suzanne Stallings, Hoboken, NJ Steve Steckbeck, Fort Wayne, IN Mrs. Sandra R. Strong, Windsor, CT Adair R. Sutherland, San Antonio, TX

Leon Thomas Waverly, NY Janet D. Thorpe, Stamford, CT Toledo-Lucas Co. Public Library, Toledo, OH Erin Tower, New York, NY Jeffrey C. Tweedy, Bedford, NY

Stuart Upson, Darien, CT Oliva M. Vacalis, Alpharetta, GA Illy Valyi, Riverdale, NY M.E. Visser, Cape Town, South Africa

Brian Nash, New York, NY Don G. Noyes, Glenford, OH

Kathleen M. O'Brien, Germantown,TN Suzanne Obletz, Buffalo, NY

Mrs. Dorene Paoluccio, Modesto, CA Dominique Patel, New York, NY Else H. Pedersen, Birmingham, MI Margaret Pellegrino, New York, NY Sandra Peterson, Sturgeon Bay, WI C. Thomas Phillips, New York, NY

Jutta R. Walter, Upper Montclair, NJ Norma Wangel, Potomac, MD Robert W. Wescott, Atlanta, GA Colette Whitehill, Sea Cliff, NY Mindy Wallis Wilson, Cincinnati, OH Bradley S. Wittman, East Lansing, MI David L. Wolper, Los Angeles, CA

Bruce H. Yaffe, New York, NY Sheldon L. Zink, Berwyn,PA Deborah Zoullas, New York, NY 81

MUSEUM NEWS

PERMANENT COLLECTION NEWS

FOLK ART INSTITUTE FELLOWSHIP

The Museum has initiated a cataloguing project, funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, to make the rich variety and resources of the collection available to the folk art community at large. The goal of this project is to expand awareness and understanding of the Museum's growing collection through accurate and thorough documentation. Museums, historical societies and individuals all over the country have been enlisted in this effort, as well as students in the Folk Art Institute and the Museum's graduate program at New York University. Stacy C. Hollander, Assistant Curator of Collections,is coordinating the project. Of particular note has been the attribution of the Baltimore Album quilt top, the gift of Mr. and Mrs. James 0. Keene, which graced the Museum gallery on 55th Street and has more recently been traveling in the exhibition, "Young America: A Folk Art History'? The quilt top is thought to be one of a dozen or so made entirely by Mary Evans, whose needlework skills and sophisticated eye were responsible for the most successful blocks in the body of Baltimore Album Quilts produced by the ladies of the local Methodist Churches. She was a professional quiltmalcer who supported herself by selling these exquisite blocks which combine exceptional stitchery and an unerring use of rainbow and ombre fabrics to create a sensation of depth and shading. This quilt top utilizes many of the motifs for which Mary Evans is known:cornucopias, abundant bouquets and wreaths with white flowers, triple bow-knots, a hunting scene, an eagle, an inscribed book, and imported "fondu" fabrics. The design source of one block unique to this quilt, featuring a steepled building overlooking a body of water, (see illustration) has not yet been identified and suggestions are welcome. In 1985, the Museum acquired a signed William Matthew Prior reverse painting on glass of Abraham Lincoln. It is now known that Prior painted at least nineteen such portraits, all based on a

The Museum is pleased to announce the appointment of Lee Kogan as Shaskan Research Fellow for the year 1988. This newly established annual fellowship has been created to honor Myra and George F. Shaskan, Jr. Mr. Shaskan is a member of the Executive Committee ofthe Board of Trustees and Mrs. Shaskan is a longtime Museum volunteer. The fellowship has been funded by Evelyn W. Frank of Los Angeles. Mrs. Kogan, a recent graduate of the Folk Art Institute, will engage in special research on twentieth century artists for the Museum during her tenure. Barbara W. Cate, Director of the Folk Art Institute, invites others interested in establishing a named research fellowship to contact her at 212/481-3080.

FOLK ART EXPLORER'S CLUB NEWS

Recognize this building? This blockfrom the Baltimore Album Quilt Top in the Museum's permanent collection is under study aspart of the Museum's current cataloguing program.

photograph of Lincoln taken by Anthony Berger during the February 9, 1864 session that yielded the famous photograph of Lincoln in the "Brady Chair!' A widely dispersed chromolithograph printed by Elijah C. Middleton in December 1865 was also based on the Berger photograph. Research has shown that Prior incorporated elements of both these sources in the Museum's painting. After Lincoln's assassination, images of the President acquired great popular appeal, perhaps accounting for its inclusion in Prior's repertoire of "famous faces!' Updates will be presented from time to time as new information is discovered about works in the Museum's permanent collection.

Reservations are being accepted for upcoming Explorer's Club trips to Massachusetts, Georgia and Nantucket. The Massachusetts Tour, May 3-5, 1988, will include special guided tours of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Fruitlands Museum and Sturbridge Village as well as visits to private collections. Ben Apfelbaum, guest curator of the Museum's recent exhibition entitled "Tobacco Roads" will lead a unique Explorer's Club Tour to Georgia. Visits to the creative work places of contemporary Georgia folk artists will be the highlight of this trip on June 3-5, 1988. Museum members can enjoy the pleasures of Nantucket Island September 16-18, 1988. Visits to private homes, a special tour planned by the Nantucket Historical Society, a lobster cookout on the beach and time to explore Nantucket's beaches and antique shops will all be part of this tour. Call the Membership Office at 212/481-3080 for further information about Explorer's Club trips.

The Clarion

MUSEUM NEWS

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLK ART WISH LIST Many exciting projects are currently under way at the Museum which require special support. Although the costs of entirely funding a particular project may range from $5,000 upwards, you, as a member and friend of the Museum, can make a significant contribution by helping with a small, but important, portion ofthe expense. Listed below are a number of much-needed items which would be greatly appreciated by the Museum's staff. To make a donation, please contact the Development Office at 212/481-3080. We look forward to publicly thanking a long list of generous donors in the next issue of The Clarion! To complete a cataloguing/storage project of a collection of 600 cased photographic images (daguerreotypes, ambrotypes, tintypes) which were recently donated to the Museum: $256 each 4 two-drawer filing systems $74 each 2 filing system caster bases $1.89 each 240 packages of acid-free archival storage boxes

For the Registrar: A portable electric typewriter for the storage facility

8185

Planning of the Museum of American Folk Art Film Festival has prompted the Library to request funds for the purchase of several important films for its archives: "Possum Trot: The Life and Work of Calvin Black' $390 Light-Saraf Films "Grandma's Bottle Village: The Art of Tressa Prisbey" $390 Light-Saraf Films $450 'Quilts in Women's Lives Ferrero Films/New Day Films For the Development Office: One-year membership in the Associates Program of The Foundation Center, a telephone reference service in touch with the nation's most comprehensive library on private foundations. Membership will reduce research time by half and will keep staff abreast of weekly changes in funding patterns.

$350

For The New York Quilt Project, a research program designed to locate, identify, and record quilts made in the state between 1776 and 1940: 4 portable quilt display racks which will be used at "Quilt Days" $230 each throughout the state for the duration of the project

Acquisition for the Permanent Collection in celebration of The Great American Quilt Festival 2(April 26-30, 1989): An historic crib quilt which will be used as the symbol of the 'Memories of Childhood" contest and displayed at the Festival. The donor will also be acknowledged every time the crib quilt is displayed in the future. $3,500

For the Folk Art Explorer's Club, a special membership benefit which provides participants with the opportunity to visit important museum and private collections: $40 Rand McNally Atlas of the United States Rand McNally Cosmopolitan World Atlas (to better plan $55 trips abroad!)

"Access to Art" a comprehensive national program designed to make all forms of art accessible to blind and visually impaired persons, will present, as its inaugural tactile exhibition, a selection of folk art from the Museum's Education Collection: Acoustiguide tour of exhibition $7,500 Combination large-print/braille gallery guides $2,500

APRIL SEMINAR WITH MARY BLACK: RECENT RESEARCH ON COLONIAL ARTISTS

Spring 1988

Photo: Courtesy of the Albany Institute of History and Art

Mary Black, Consulting Curator of the Museum of American Folk Art, plans a one evening master class lecture Wednesday, April 20, 1988, to share the fruits of her recent research on colonial artists of New England, New York and Tidewater, Virginia. Focus will be on the works of Nehemiah Partridge, members of the Duyckinck family of New York, John Watson, Pieter Vanderlyn and John Heaten. Former Director of the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center and the Museum of American Folk Art and former curator of the New York Historical Society, Mary Black was curator of the painting section of Remembrance of Patria at the Albany Institute of History and Art in the summer of 1986.

The seminar will be held in the Auditorium of the Jewish Guild for the Blind, 15 West 65th Street, New York City, from 7 to 9:30 P.M. Admission is free as the program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In May, Joyce Hill, Consulting Research Curator, will conduct a coordinating tour to Albany to view the work of the Hudson River Valley artists. Reservations are suggested. For further information, phone the Institute at 212/481-3080.

Abraham Wendell, attributed to Nehemiah Partridge, will be among the works discussed by Mary Black.

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MUSEUM NEWS

SLIDE PACKETS AVAILABLE Photographic Services is pleased to announce three different packets of slides available for sale at the Museum of American Folk Art Book and Gift Shop or by mail through this department. Designed to extend the outreach ofthe Museum to scholars and teachers, as well as the general public, these packets are comprised of themed selections of slides of objects in the permanent collection accompanied by introductory text and descriptive information. The three packets are just the first in a series projected to cover the whole range of the Museum's permanent collection. A brief description of these three slide packets is as follows: 1. A selection of 12 crib quilts from the permanent collection. $14.00 2. A selection of 36 Amish quilts from the permanent collection. $30.00 This packet is made possible by a generous gift from David Pottinger.

3. A selection of 36 objects from "American Folk Art: Expressions of a New Spirit;' an exhibition and book representing highlights of the Museum's permanent collection. $30.00 This packet is made possible by a generous grant from United Technologies Corporation, who sponsored the original exhibition and book. Orders of these slide packets will be shipped prepaid. Per packet price includes postage and handling. Please make checks payable to Museum of American Folk Art. Please send all mail orders to: Photographic Services Museum of American Folk Art 444 Park Avenue South New York, N.Y. 10016-7321

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The Clarion

The Museum of American Folk Art is pleased to announce slide sets of objects from the permanent collection.

Amish Quilts From the Permanent Collection — A set of36 slides plus a 12-page,4-color reprintfrom the magazine Antiques on "Amish Quilts in the Museum's Collection" by Curator, Elizabeth Warren. This packet was made possible by a gift from David Pottinger. Price:$30

The first 4/ three sets, complete with introductory text and descriptive material for each slide, may be ordered from the Museum's Photographic Services Department. Prices of each slide set include prepaid postage and handling.Just mail the order form and your check payable to the Museum ofAmerican Folk Art.

American Folk Art: Expressions ofa New Spirit — A set of 36 slides highlighting the museum's permanent collection. This packet,as well as the original exhibition and book,has been sponsored by United Technologies Corporation. Price:$30 Crib Quilts From the Permanent Collection —A set of 12 slides. Price:$14

Order by Mail Slide Sets

Price

Amount

QtY•

(Please Print)

36 Amish Quilts

$30.00

Name

36 Folk Art Objects

$30.00

Address

12 Crib Quilts

$14.00 City

Applicable Sales Tax(NY Residents Only) No CODs

Total:

Mail to:

Photographic Services, Museum of American Folk Art 444 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-7321

State

Zip

Telephone

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLKART 85

ENTER "Memories of Childhood" Crib Quilt Contest Sponsored by Fairfield Processing Corporation / Poly-FP Springs Industries, and Coats & Clark, Inc. Dual Duty Plus速 Quilting Thread Deadline: September 1, 1988

COME CELEBRATE America's Greatest Textile Tradition at The Great American Quilt Festival 2 "Memories of Childhood" Exhibition of Prize-Winning Crib Quilts, Antique and Contemporary Quilts, Lectures and Demonstrations, Quilts, Quilting Supplies, and Books on Sale

Presented by the Museum of American Folk Art, New York City, in association with Sanford L. Smith & Associates, Ltd. April 26-30, 1989 New York Exhibition Pier #92, New York, NY

For further information contact the office of The Great American Quilt Festival 2 Museum of American Folk Art, 444 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-7321, 212/481-3080

GALERIE BONHEUR

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Eddie Mandoggio, Canada

MUSEUM OF AMERICAN FOLKART BOOK AND GIFT SHOP 62 West 50th Street 247-5611 Monday-Saturday 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m.

Across from Radio City Music Hall

INTERNATIONAL FOLK ART FOLK, PRIMITIVE, NAIVE ART AND CRAFTS FROM ALL AROUND THE WORLD Monday through Saturday from 10-5 LAURIE CARMODY,DIRECTOR

106 MASON STREET GREENWICH, CT 06830 ( 2 0 3 ) 6 29 - 8 8 3 9

MAKERS OF COLONIAL AND EARLY AMERICAN LIGHTING FIXTURES

AUTHENTIC DESIGNS 17 The Mill Road, West Rupert, Vermont 05776 (802) 394-7713

SOUTHWEST FURNITURE & ART OBJECIS 153 MERCER (BTWN. HOUSTON & PRINCE) 212/941-0025

Catalogue $3.00

"CHRISTIAN DOOR" by Stephen Huneek 1985

38 x 35 inches

JAY JOHNSON America's Folk Heritage Gallery JAY JOHNSON

RUBENS TELFS

1044 Madison Avenue,New York, N.Y. 10021 Tuesday-Sunday,11 a.m.-6p.m.(closed Monday) (212)628-7280

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS

Americana By the Seashore American Festival Cafe American Primitive Gallery Ames Gallery of American Folk Art Authentic Designs Cynthia Beneduce Antiques Ruth Bigel Antiques Robert Cargo Folk Art Gallery Cavin-Morris, Inc. Christies Double K Gallery Epstein/Powell Fine Arts of Ancient Lands, Inc. First Edition Quilts Laura Fisher Janet Fleisher Gallery Galerie Bonheur Pie Galinat Elaine Garfinkel Gallery 88

77 75 27 15 87 30 12 75 18 16 11 26 32 8 31 19 87 70 14

69 Gasperi Folk Art Gallery 68 Sidney Gecker American Folk Art 29 The Grass Roots Gallery 86 The Great American Quilt Festival 2 22 Pat Guthman Antiques 14 Phyllis Haders 9 Herrup & Wolfner Inside Back Cover Hirschl & Adler Folk 88 Jay Johnson Inside Front Cover Kelter-Malce 5 R.E. Kinnaman/B.A. Ramaekers 84 Shows, Inc. Don Mackey 69 Main Street Antiques & Art 3 Ken & Ida Manko 4 Frank Maresca/Roger Ricco 17 Mia Gallery 1 Steve Miller Museum of American Folk Art 85 Slide Sets

Robert E Nichols Ohio Gallery Origin Outside-In Susan Parrish Primitivo Quilts of America, Inc. Sheila & Edwin Rideout RONA Gallery Stella Rubin John Keith Russell Antiques, Inc. Brigitte Schluger Gallery Kathy Schoemer David A. Schorsch South Bay Auctions The Tam Gallery Don Walters Art & Antiques Thos. K. Woodard

31 32 87 17 2 10 13 12 68 15 Back Cover 30 77 24 70 75 10 6 The Clarion

851 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10021 (212) 988-FOLK

JOHN IcEITH ItUSSELL ANTIQVES,

SPRING STREET,SOUTH SALEM, WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY. 10590 (914)763-8144 • TUESDAY-SUNDAY 10:00-5:30