Framing a Legacy: Gifts from Ann and James Rawley

Framing a Legacy Gifts from Ann and James Rawley August–December 2021 Learning Guide

Framing a Legacy Gifts from Ann and James Rawley August–December 2021 Ann and James Rawley shared a penchant for collecting small-scale works on paper, paintings, and sculpture. Their efforts were guided by particular affinities for delicate handling of line and energetic brushstrokes and knowledge of different printmaking techniques— etching, drypoint, lithography, and aquatint, among others—as practiced by various American and European artists. Framing a Legacy highlights some of the forty-seven works given to the museum by the Rawleys over the course of three decades.

Ann Rawley (1923–2019), who served on the Sheldon Art Association Board of Trustees at various times, was an avid theater-goer, needle pointer, painter, knitter, and philanthropist. She is best remembered by many for her meticulous framing practice, which she honed in an apprenticeship at the encouragement of former Sheldon director Norman Geske. Some of the works in this installation are presented in frames built

by Ann; their labels bear a rectangular symbol.

James Rawley (1916–2005) was the Carl Adolph Happold professor emeritus of history at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where he taught courses and published books in his fields of specialization: the American Civil War, Abraham Lincoln, and the Atlantic slave trade. His significant contributions to the study of American history are recognized by the James A. Rawley Prize (OAH), which is given in his memory by the Organization of American Historians for the best book on race relations, and the James A. Rawley Prize (AHA), given by the American Historical Association for the best book in Atlantic history.

Exhibition support is provided by Nebraska Arts Council, Nebraska Cultural Endowment, and Sheldon Art Association.

Framing a Legacy Gifts from Ann and James Rawley August–December 2021

Objects framed by Ann Rawley are denoted by this icon.

Rembrandt van Rijn

Bruce Williams

The Raising of Lazarus: The Larger Plate

Woman Getting Out of Bed

Published by Currier & Ives

John Sloan Prone Nude

Summer Fruits

Raphael Soyer Robert Havell Jr. after John James Audubon

The Model

Least Stormy Petrel, plate CCCXL from The Birds of America

Milton Avery Beach Birds

Harry Orlyk Woman Sleeping

Marsden Hartley Fruit Basket

James McNeill Whistler Venus

Framing a Legacy Gifts from Ann and James Rawley August–December 2021

Mary Cassatt

Alexander Calder

Sara Smiling

Poisson pas ancré [Unanchored Fish]

Henry Moore Three Grazing Sheep

Peggy Bacon Penguin Island

Beatrice Keyser Rock Pool

Henri Matisse

Ernest Wise Keyser

La Persane [The Persian]

The Lady of the Lotus

William Trost Richards Childe Hassam

Off Conanicut

The Service Flag

Rockwell Kent Sermilik Fjord

Carl Sprinchorn

Rudy O. Pozzatti

Untitled (Female figure)

Porsenna of Camars

Framing a Legacy Gifts from Ann and James Rawley August–December 2021

Homer Dodge Martin James McNeill Whistler

James McNeill Whistler Barges, Dordrecht

James McNeill Whistler The Long Balcony

James McNeill Whistler Little Evelyn

James McNeill Whistler Smith’s Yard

James McNeill Whistler Chelsea

James McNeill Whistler Eagle Wharf

James McNeill Whistler La Mère Malade [Mother and Daughter]

Rembrandt van Rijn

Leyden, Netherlands 1606–Amsterdam, Netherlands 1669 The Raising of Lazarus: The Larger Plate circa 1632 Etching University of Nebraska–Lincoln Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley U-4547.1993

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Published by Currier & Ives Active in New York, NY, 1834–1907 Summer Fruits 1867 Hand-colored lithograph Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1125.2020

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Robert Havell Jr. after John James Audubon Reading, England 1793–Tarrytown, NY 1878

Least Stormy Petrel, plate CCCXL from The Birds of America 1836 Engraving with hand coloring and aquatint Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-875.2012

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The three sheets on view here are significant in the presentation of the history of printmaking. While the works span great temporal and geographical distance, each print represents innovations that shaped the course of the medium.

• Rembrandt was among the earliest seventeenth-century Dutch artists to master the art of etching. He experimented with making prints that showed great range in contrasts and tones, which he accomplished by varying how and to what extent he wiped the etching plate prior to printing.

Rembrandt van Rijn

• Working in America during the second half of

The Raising of Lazarus: The Larger Plate

the nineteenth century, Currier & Ives was one of the first printmaking enterprises to produce affordable lithographs, such as Summer Fruits, altering what the American public used to decorate their homes and businesses.

• The sheet featuring a pair of least stormpetrels made by Robert Havell, after John James Audubon’s watercolor of these birds, speaks to the naturalist’s entrepreneurial spirit. Prints such as this were sold on a

Published by Currier & Ives Summer Fruits

Robert Havell Jr. after John James Audubon Least Stormy Petrel, plate CCCXL from The Birds of America

subscription model to fund publication of Audubon’s Birds of America.

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Milton Avery

Altmar, NY 1885–New York, NY 1965 Beach Birds 1954 Woodcut Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1121.2020

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Marsden Hartley

Lewiston, ME 1877–Ellsworth, ME 1943 Fruit Basket 1923 Lithograph Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-846.2007

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These prints expand the museum’s ability to represent the careers and printmaking endeavors of Milton Avery and Marsden Hartley, two important American modernist artists.

• In Beach Birds, one of his frequently

depicted subjects, Avery cut away minimal areas of the woodblock to make

Milton Avery

the print. He removed only thin slivers of

Beach Birds

wood in order to articulate the outlines of four birds and then inked the block in a vibrant blue to evoke their environment by the sea.

• Hartley’s Fruit Basket demonstrates his

signature handling of the lithographic crayon. He combined parallel hatching with more delicate shading to depict this still life, one of the eight lithographs of vfruit that he made in 1923.

Marsden Hartley Fruit Basket

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Bruce Williams

born San Antonio, TX 1940 Woman Getting Out of Bed Acrylic on paper, before 1966 Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1137.2020

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John Sloan

Lock Haven, PA 1871–Hanover, NH 1951 Prone Nude 1913 Etching Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1134.2020

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Raphael Soyer

Borisoglebsk, Russia 1899–New York, NY 1987 The Model 1944 Lithograph Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-845.2007

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Harry Orlyk

born Troy, NY 1947

Woman Sleeping 1983 Oil on canvas Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1129.2020

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 Venus 1859 Etching and drypoint Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-707.1988

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James McNeill Whistler Venus

Bruce Williams Woman Getting Out of Bed

Harry Orlyk Woman Sleeping

John Sloan Prone Nude

The study of the human form is a cornerstone of many artists’ training. Here, examples by five different artists reveal distinctive approaches to the selection of media and to fundamental skills of depicting the female figure.

James McNeill Whistler’s etching and drypoint emphasizes his subject’s contours through the use of bold and deeply inked outlines, while John Sloan and Raphael Soyer deployed ample crosshatching to denote shadows in their respective etching and

Raphael Soyer The Model

lithograph. Bruce Williams and Harry Orlyk, on the other hand, painted their subjects with broad brushstrokes, obscuring detail in their compositions.

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Mary Cassatt

Allegheny, PA 1844–Paris, France 1926 Sara Smiling circa 1904, republished 1923 Drypoint with color Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-847.2007

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Peggy Bacon

Ridgefield, CT 1895–Kennebunk, ME 1987 Penguin Island 1925 Drypoint Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-692.1988

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In these prints by Mary Cassatt and Peggy Bacon, each used the technique of drypoint, drawing her composition directly on the matrix, or printing plate. Cassatt exploited the delicate shading that drypoint can create to tenderly represent the wry smile of Sara, who sits in a blue armchair with her hands folded in her lap. Bacon, instead, worked her matrix more extensively, using parallel and cross hatching to create areas of deeper shadow and to reinforce the outlines of certain figures, most notably the woman with the elaborate hat in the foreground.

Mary Cassatt Sara Smiling

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Henri Matisse

Le Cateau-Cambreses, France 1869–Nice, France 1954 La Persane [The Persian] 1914 Drypoint with etching and chine collé Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. Rawley in memory of her parents Ernest W. and Beatrice O. Keyser N-721.1991

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Childe Hassam

Dorchester, MA 1859–East Hampton, NY 1935 The Service Flag 1915, published 1918 Lithograph Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1124.2020

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Carl Sprinchorn

Broby, Sweden 1887–Albany, NY 1971 Untitled (Female figure) circa 1915 Watercolor on paper Sheldon Art Association A gift in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Sheldon Museum of Art S-886.2013

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Alexander Calder

Lawnton, PA 1898–New York, NY 1976 Poisson pas ancré [Unanchored Fish] 1964 Color lithograph Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1122.2020

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Featuring a simplified red fish and a schematic rendering of an anchor, Alexander Calder based Poisson pas ancré on elements of gouache paintings, mobiles, and sculptures he made during the 1960s. The whimsy seen in Calder’s use of bold primary colors and, especially, in the fish’s toothy grin speaks to a great sense of humor, a trait for which Ann Rawley was also known.

Alexander Calder Poisson pas ancré [Unanchored Fish]

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Henry Moore

Castleford, England 1898–Much Hadham, England 1986 Three Grazing Sheep 1974, published 1979 Lithograph Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1128.2020

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In his lithograph of three sheep grazing in a field, Henry Moore sensitively rendered a subject he depicted frequently in the late stage of his career. Working in Much Hadham, forty miles north of London, Moore observed these sheep from his studio, making countless drawings and lithographs of them, including a sketchbook of sheep drawings that he gave to

Henry Moore

his daughter Mary in 1972.

Three Grazing Sheep

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Beatrice Keyser

Selma, Alabama 1886–Rome, Italy 1960 Rock Pool 1922 Oil on panel Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1127.2020

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Ernest Wise Keyser

Baltimore, MD 1876–Rome, Italy 1959 The Lady of the Lotus 1926 Bronze Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1138.2020

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Ann Rawley’s long-standing love of the arts can be traced to her parents, who were both artists. Here a painting by her mother, Beatrice Keyser, is accompanied by one of her father’s bronze sculptures. The sweeping curvilinear lines seen in Ernest Keyser’s work reveal his knowledge of trends in Parisian decorative arts and architecture, which he would have known from his time studying with sculptor

Beatrice Keyser Rock Pool

Denys Peuch at the Académie Julian at the start of the twentieth century.

Ernest Wise Keyser The Lady of the Lotus

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William Trost Richards

Philadelphia, PA 1833–Newport, RI 1905 Off Conanicut 1890s Oil on panel Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1132.2020

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Rockwell Kent

Tarrytown Heights, NY 1882–Plattsburgh, NY 1971 Sermilik Fjord 1931 Lithograph Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-874.2020

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Rudy O. Pozzatti born Telluride, CO 1925

Porsenna of Camars 1964 Etching and aquatint Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1131.2020

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Homer Dodge Martin

Albany, NY 1836–St. Paul, MN 1897 James McNeill Whistler 1876 Black chalk on paper Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-691.1988

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 Little Evelyn 1896 Lithograph Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-706.1988

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 Chelsea 1878/79 Etching and drypoint Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-713.1988,

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 Eagle Wharf 1859 Etching Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-709.1988

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 La Mère Malade [Mother and Daughter] circa 1893–94 Lithograph Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-704.1988

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 Barges, Dordrecht 1886 Etching Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-712.1988

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 The Long Balcony 1894 Lithograph Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-719.1988

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James McNeill Whistler

Lowell, MA 1834–London, England 1903 Smith’s Yard 1895 Lithograph Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-717.1988

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The Rawleys had a special fondness for etchings and lithographs by James McNeill Whistler, one of the most innovative printmakers working during the nineteenth century. Whistler revolutionized the medium by not simply reproducing existing paintings, but instead making novel compositions as prints. He also took wax-coated copper etching plates and sheets of lithographic transfer paper to work en plein air, as seen in the different views of London included in this group.

These sheets were among the first gifts from the Rawleys to the museum; their donations of Whistler prints now make up nearly half of Sheldon’s holdings of works by the artist. Their interest in his career also extended to their acquisition of a portrait of Whistler made by fellow American artist Homer Dodge Martin during the artists’ first meeting in London in 1876.

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Gifts from Ann and James Rawley not on view Arthur B. Davies Contemplation 1915 Drypoint Image 2 3/4 x 6 1/4 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-728.1992 Arthur William Heintzelman Portrait of an Old Man in Beret with a Book date unknown Etching and drypoint Image 8 3/4 x 6 7/8 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-693.1988 Terry St. John San Francisco Bay, Sunset 1983 Oil on Masonite Object 11 x 14 inches Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1133.2020 Joseph Raffael Lily Pond Glistening 1979 Color lithograph Sheet 17 x 13 1/2 inches Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1139.2020

Francisco Souto Mont Blanc #3 2012 Graphite on panel Object 24 x 7 15/16 x 2 inches Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1135.2020

James McNeill Whistler Billingsgate 1859 Etching Image 5 13/16 x 8 7/8 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-705.1988 James McNeill Whistler The Unsafe Tenement 1862 Etching Image 6 1/4 x 8 7/8 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-708.1988 James McNeill Whistler Amsterdam, from the Tolhuis 1863 Etching and drypoint Object/Image 5 5/8 x 8 5/16 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-710.1988

James McNeill Whistler Sketch after Cecil Lawson’s “Swan and Iris” 1882 Etching and drypoint Image 5 3/8 x 3 1/4 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-711.1988

James McNeill Whistler A Street in Saverne 1858 Etching Image 8 x 6 3/16 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-714.1988

James McNeill Whistler Chelsea Embankment 1886 Etching Image 1 3/4 x 5 3/8 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-715.1988 James McNeill Whistler Savoy Pigeons 1896 Lithograph Image 7 7/8 x 5 1/2 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-716.1988

James McNeill Whistler Smith’s Yard 1895 Lithograph Image 7 1/4 x 6 1/4 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-717.1988

James McNeill Whistler The Doctor 1895 Lithograph Image 7 x 5 1/8 inches Nebraska Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley N-718.1988

Carl Sprinchorn Still Life, Flowers 1928 Watercolor Sheet 18 x 14 inches Sheldon Art Association Gift of Ann K. and James A. Rawley S-1136.2020

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