A BIT OF HISTORY
©2021 SARAH BECKER
THE ART OF A NATION
“T
he art of a nation is one of its most refining influences, and is the highest expression of its civilization and culture,” The New York Times wrote in 1918. “Artistic endeavor must be preserved, for the history of a nation cannot be written without due regard to its artistic attainments: in many cases the art of a nation is the only thing that has come down to us.” August is Art Appreciation month and however cultural antiquities are defined—as art and or architecture—drawing, printmaking, painting, sculpture—monuments and or buildings—destruction is often associated with belligerent behavior. American history offers several examples of cultural destruction, including the British burning of Washington in 1814. Whether the loss is associated with the War of 1812, World Wars I&II, China’s Cultural Revolution, ISIS, or the January 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol the resulting devastation is undeniable. “Damage to the interior of the U.S. Capitol building was largely limited to shattered glass and broken furniture; the U.S. Capitol Rotunda doors; blue paint tracked through the hallways and graffiti,” The New York Times reported. “Statues including Virginia’s Thomas Jefferson, murals, and historic benches were damaged, as were several paintings. Chemical residue was found on two presidents portraits.” The events of January 6, 2021, were “difficult for the American people and extremely hard for all of us on campus to witness,” Architect of the Capitol J. Brett Blanton then said. Fortunately, “the eight monumental paintings in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda, including The Baptism of Pocahontas, were assessed by a professional conservator following the assault and no significant damage was found.” Alexandria-born artist John Gadsby Chapman’s 12’ by 18’ oil on canvas—The Baptism of Pocahontas—was installed in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on November 30, 1840, and Old Town Crier
(Top) Baptism of Pocahontas by John Gadsby Chapman (Left) John Gadsby Chapman remains on permanent display. “This painting depicts the ceremony in which Pocahontas, daughter of the influential Algonkian chief Powhatan, was baptized,” the Architect of the Capitol explained. “It took place…in the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English settlement on the North American continent. Pocahontas is thought to be the English colonies earliest native convert to Christianity.” “The figures of Pocahontas and the officiating minister are given prominence by their placement, their bright white clothing, and the light that shines upon them,” The Architect of the Capitol continued. “Pocahontas kneels on the top level of a stepped dais, her head bowed and her hands clasped before her. Reverend Alexander Whiteaker raises his eyes and his left hand, while his right hand rests on the baptismal font. John Rolfe, Pocahontas’s future husband, stands behind her.” An engraving of the painting appears on the 1863 and 1875 First Charter $20 National Bank Notes. Alexandria has fostered many accomplished artists: conceivably no one more talented than John Gadsby
Chapman [1808-1889]. The son of Charles T. Chapman and Sarah M. Gadsby, he was named for his maternal grandfather—Alexandria and District of Columbia tavern owner John Gadsby. An Alexandria Academy attendee, Chapman first pursued a career in law. Then, on the advice of artists George Cooke [history painter] and Charles Bird King [portraitist]—and with the financial help of friends—he enrolled in the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts. John Gadsby Chapman painted his first successful work in 1830, Hagar and Ishmael Fainting in the Wilderness. The biblical painting draws from Genesis. “And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and bore Abraham a son in his old age. And Abraham called his son Isaac.” In 1831 Chapman displayed his art in Alexandria. A traveling exhibit he also showed his work in Philadelphia, Boston and Richmond. Soon after Chapman toured the Commonwealth in search of new ideas: history paintings especially. Chapman visited James Madison’s Montpelier and sketched it. He painted George
Washington’s boyhood homes; Washington’s Mount Vernon bed chamber, and the family of Mrs. John Augustine Washington. His early Jamestown history paintings “The Crowning of Powhatan” and “The Warning of Powhatan” were later exhibited in New York’s National Academy of Design. In 1834, Chapman painted a full-length portrait of Tennessee Congressman Davy Crockett. Crockett, a compelling anti-Jacksonian, was elected to the 23rd Congress and completing his final term. The painting “showed the Colonel standing among three of his hounds, left arm crooked to accommodate his rifle.” The historical work was eventually purchased by the State of Texas and hung in the capitol at Austin: in memory of the 1836 Battle of the Alamo. Not yet satisfied with his success, Chapman left Alexandria and moved to New York to become an illustrator. As luck would have it, in 1835 Chapman illustrated James Kirke Paulding’s
Life of Washington. The work secured his place in the National Academy of Design. Commissions continued, including A Christmas Gift from Fairy Land (1838), The Poets of America as edited by John Keese (1840), and Harper’s Illuminated Bible (1843-1846). He produced 1,400 engravings for the latter. No commission captured John Gadsby Chapman’s interpretive interest like The Baptism of Pocahontas— his best-known work. He secured his 1837 Congressional commission in the same year Ralph Waldo Emerson delivered his American Scholar speech to Harvard University’s Phi Beta Kappa Society. “Perhaps the time is already come, when the sluggard intellect of this continent will look from under its iron lids, and fill the postponed expectation of the world with A BIT OF HISTORY > PAGE 12
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