The Huntington Part 2: American Art

Of all the times I've visited the Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens, this was my first visit to the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art.

While Henry E. Huntington envisioned a collection of American art as early as 1919, his vision was not fully realized until 60 years later. In 1979, the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation made a major gift to The Huntington in memory of Virginia Steele Scott, an art collector, patron, and philanthropist. The gift included a group of 50 American paintings, funds to construct a gallery to display the collection, and an endowment for its professional management.

This gallery opened to the public in 1984, inaugurating American art as a significant part of The Huntington’s collections. Since then, the collection has grown dramatically, utilizing more than 21,500 square feet, and being one of the largest presentations in California of American art from the Colonial period through the mid-20th century. The Huntington’s American art holdings now number about 245 paintings, 60 works of sculpture, 990 decorative art objects, 8,500 prints and drawings, and 1,800 photographs. There was no hope of seeing it all but we sincerely tried!

"The Huntington is home to 31 galleries, ranging from the early Colonial period to the present and representing painting, sculpture, photography, film, decorative arts, architecture, and textiles." I'm sharing some of my favorite works which either surprised, impressed, or intrigued me. I need to return to see more of the galleries with possibly a map and a check list, in hand.

I had never heard of the art of painted furniture and boxes. This technique became immensely popular in America in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Decoration was initially used to simulate the appearance of fine dark woods such as mahogany, rosewood, and walnut- woods that would otherwise have been unaffordable. However, over time, these designs, in the hands of accomplished decorative painters, took on a life of their own to become lively forms of abstract embellishment or what one modern writer has referred to as "all the stops pulled out, paint-for-paint's sake!"

Boxes of all sizes and shapes were embellished with colorful painted surfaces or covered in printed materials. So fun!

I love quilts though I could never be a quilter. I so appreciate the skill involved. Typically used as bedcovers and produced in a wide variety of patterns and designs, hand-stitched quilts added vivid color to American households in the late 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries. They also offered women a rare opportunity for creative expression, as they demonstrated the quilter's skills, imagination, and inventiveness. Quilts usually comprise three layers of fabric, joined together by intricately patterned needlework.

The complex stitches seen in early American quilts create subtle linear patterns that often form a dynamic contrast to the quilt's bold overall design. The middle layer of the quilt, called "batting" or "wadding," lends bulk and, more practically, a layer of insulation for greater warmth.

The selection here were made between 1850 and 1900 and includes a wide variety of styles and patterns. Notable among them are the complex Lone Star Quilt of 1850 (pictured), the vibrant Album Quilt made around 1850, and the boldly graphic Diamond Amish Quilt, made around 1896.

There was something about this Yarn Rack (ca. 1850) that I really liked.

"The most common type of seating furniture in the early 17th- century American home was a joined or "joint stool," named for its mortise-and-tenon construction. By the mid-17th century, high-back side chairs and armchairs had become more prevalent. By 17th- and early 18th-century standards, most of the chairs seen here would have been considered stylish and refined. Such chairs were reserved for the eldest member of the family, the head of the household, or an honored guest."

All pieces displayed here are from 1825-1851. It was amazing to see how pristine everything was in this collection.

I loved this 18-century schrank, the German word for cabinet or closet. The centerpiece of the family home, it added a colorful compliment to the main room of a small house. The schrank is an attractive example of an everyday item of the early American settlers known as the Pennsylvania Germans.

One of the more unique features of the schrank is that it comes apart into nine pieces. Unlike other wardrobes from this time, a schrank was intended to be easy to transport. Note the elaborate hand painted finish. Very, very cool.

George Washington after 1779 is a rather unique take on our first president. Charles Willson Peale depicted General George Washington, commander in chief of the Continental Army, after the Battle of Princeton, New Jersey, a decisive victory over the British that took place on January 3, 1777. Peale portrayed the general as relaxed, but with a commanding presence and attentive stare. At Washington's feet are flags of the forces he defeated, symbolic of his skills as a military leader. In the background, a line of prisoners parades in front of Princeton University's Nassau Hall. Peale created many replicas of this painting for patrons in the United States and Europe. The Huntington's version is probably a copy based on Peale's work, perhaps by a French artist.

Peale was in a unique position to paint Washington at Princeton because he had himself fought in the battle as a lieutenant in the Philadelphia militia. In his diary entry from the day of the engagement, the artist reported firing on British troops while the enemy's bullets "whistled their thousand different notes around our heads."

In Thomas Sully's commanding portrait, Paul Beck Jr. engages the viewer directly, with the self-assuredness of a successful man at middle age. Beck was a wealthy Philadelphia wine merchant known for his philanthropy, which included cofounding the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Beck holds in his hands the gold snuffbox that is on view nearby (photo below).

The interior of the snuffbox bears the inscription: "To Paul Beck Jun,r Esq.r This small memorial of esteem is presented by his sincere friend W. Jackson, May 15th, 1812"

William Jackson, who gave the box to Beck, was an important political figure around the time of the Revolution, serving as secretary of war, secretary to the Constitutional Convention, and personal secretary to President George Washington. Beck was seen with the snuffbox often and used it until his death. What I find mindboggling is that this snuffbox is the exact one, depicted in the painting. How can that possibly be? Wow.

The same is true for the hair comb worn in the Portrait of Betsy Brownell Gilbert by Ammi Phillips (1820). From 1809 to the 1860s, Ammi Phillips painted portraits of well-to-do farmers, merchants, clergy, and officials in Connecticut, western Massachusetts, and upstate New York. While he moved from village to village seeking com missions, he seems always to have had a steady flow of work. His style changed considerably over the decades, but its constants were a sure line, strong coloring, and a plain background. Betsy Brownell Gilbert (1796-1825) lived in Columbia County, New York. Her Empire-style dress suggests a date for her portrait of about 1820. The fashionable comb Betsy wears in her hair was probably made from the shell of a hawksbill tortoise from the Caribbean. What a collection!

Zenobia in Chains by Harriet Goodhue Hosmer (1830-1908) was spectacular. Zenobia, the third- century queen of Palmyra (in present-day Syria) was captured after leading a rebellion against the occupying Roman empire. Although defeated, the queen possesses a stoic bearing and wears elaborate court dress. Only the chain and the slight tilt of her head betray her status. According to legend, when Emperor Aurelian saw Zenobia's dignity and beauty while shackled, he freed her.

Like the ancient queen she sculpted, Hosmer's life was defined by rebellion. In her twenties, she moved to Rome to become a professional sculptor, finding support within a circle of creative expatriate women that included sculptor Edmonia Lewis and actor Charlotte Cushman. These women broke nineteenth- century social expectations by living alone and pursuing artistic careers. When Zenobia was exhibited in the Great London Exposition of 1862, male critics wrote that a woman could not have had the skill or strength to execute such a monumental work. Nonetheless, Hosmer became one of the most successful American sculptors-male or female of her era.

George Luks was part of the Ashcan School of American art which is generally known for grimy, but nonetheless uplifting, depictions of turn-of-the century urban life. However, The Breaker Boys (ca. 1925), is a bleak picture of unremitting toil. These Boys were children who removed debris and sorted chunks of coal according to size and grade. They were poorly paid for their dangerous labor and suffered injuries or even death from falling down coal chutes. Who knew?

The artist who created this Ideal Head (1908), Elie Nadelman, was born in Poland and moved to Paris early in his career, where he met Pablo Picasso and studied ancient sculpture at the Louvre. This work, one of a series of idealized heads he made in this period, shows these various influences. Its format and material recall ancient classical statuary, while the simplified repeated curve in the brow, and hair, reflect Nadelman's interest in abstract beauty: "all that is logical is beautiful," he once proclaimed.

William Glackens painted Château-Thierry (1906), a vibrant tableau of life along the Marne River, from the memories of his recent honeymoon.

The artist is the man in the blue swimsuit and that is his bride to his right. Fun.

The Inner Studio, Tenth Street (1882) was a peek into 19th century creativity.

Gleefully, I got another glimpse into the talents of Frank Lloyd Wright. This dining room set was crafted in 1899. The man was so ahead of his time.

His Reclining Chair for the Francis Little House, Peoria, Illinois was created four years later.

Okay, how cool is this? Believing that women possessed a more acute color sense than men, Louis Comfort Tiffany often hired women artists to work in the lamp, window, and enameling departments of Tiffany Studios. Mrs. Emarel Freshel, a socialite and early animal rights activist, was not employed by Tiffany, but designed and commissioned the lily lamp from him— probably around the time she hired him to decorate her home in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Boston (1905). She combined stylized forms of leaves and blossoms from two different lilies- field lilies in the golden, iridescent, blown-glass shades and water lilies in the richly patinated bronze base. The initial version of the lamp won a gold medal when shown at a major international exhibition of decorative arts in Turin, Italy in 1902.

I would totally own this silver service set from Clemens Friedell (1936).

The detail in After the Hunt (1883) was like a photograph. William Michael Harnett used oil paint on canvas to imitate a range of materials: a weathered wooden door, rusted metal hardware, worn leather, puffed duck feathers, and the gleaming metal of a horn. What talent!

Could A Ellis' Portrait of Albert G. Gilman (1831) be an accurate one? The written description calls him an unrepentant dandy based on his yellow waistcoat. Hmmm.

Portrait of Susan Ames (1849) by Asa Ames is unique. With the exception of figureheads on ships' bows, carved full-length portraits in wood were extremely unusual. The artist paid careful attention to such details as ears, eyelids, and hair texture- perhaps a nod to the period's obsession with physiognomy (Physiognomy or Face Reading is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face). Wild.

This portrait by Sturtevant Hamlin (1845) could have been commissioned by me for two of my grandchildren! I love it.

The Portraits of Samuel and Elvira Fish have the best artist's name attributed to it- Artist unknown (possibly the "Puffy Sleeve Artist"). Hysterical.

What would an American Art collection be without an Andy Warhol or two? "Andy Warhol’s Brillo Boxes are precise copies of commercial packaging. While they fulfill the idea that art should imitate life, they also raise questions about how we identify and value something as art. If Warhol transformed a mundane commercial product into a work of art, how did that transformation happen? Considering Warhol made numerous Brillo Boxes and sold them to art collectors and museums, his can also be considered mass-produced consumer goods." Interesting.

I learned something about Mr. Warhol. His Campbell's Soup Cans transformed him into an overnight sensation when they were first exhibited in Los Angeles in 1962 (being that this was the year I was born, I missed the fan club membership). Wild.

The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens is one of those places that when departed from, leaves the guest eager to return to see all that was missed. I am eager for next time!

"I think a museum is the grandest thing in the world.

I should like to live in one."

-Archer Huntington, Henry's nephew and stepson

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HAERR TRIPPIN'

The Huntington Part 2: American Art

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