If you were born during the month of April, the daisy is your birth flower. Ancient Egyptians grew daisies for their medicinal value. Eating daisies was thought to relieve the pain of stomach ulcers and gout. King Henry VIII of England used them for that purpose. A Roman myth tells of Vertumnus, the god of seasons, gardens, and orchards, who saw Belides, the nymph protector of the forest, fell in love with her, and pursued her relentlessly.  In desperation, she turned herself into a daisy. The daisy’s scientific name Bellis was derived from this story. 

The daisy is a symbol of innocence, purity, and true love.  In “Girl and Daisies” (1878) (watercolor), by American artist Winslow Homer, a young woman sits among white daisies in a field on a sunny afternoon. Pensive, she reaches out to touch a daisy. No one is near, the day is calm, and her thoughts are her own. What is she thinking about? Homer invites the viewer to sit quietly with her among the flowers. The daisy is a composite flower, two flowers in one, in perfect harmony, representing true love. Perhaps that is what she ponders.  

Homer painted “Girl and Daisies” shortly after the end of the Civil War. His focus at the time was on farms, fields, flowers, children, and other simple things. Americans were nostalgic for the pre-Civil War life. Homer had been on the front lines from 1861 until 1865, covering War for Harper’s New Monthly Magazine.

“The Crown of Daisies” (1905-06) (29’’x22’’) was painted by French artist Maurice Denis (1870-1943), a member of the Nabi, a group of artists who wanted to make art in a style that combined both art and decoration. They were influenced by the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. “The Crown of Daisies” is a depiction of a young married woman and her child, a simple subject drawn from everyday life, but painted in a highly decorative style. He uses Seurat’s pointillist technique to create the dresses of the two women, and parts of the background wall, window, and the houses visible through the window. The large leaves outside the window are painted in silhouette, and the very distant landscape and sky are rendered without dots. By mixing the decorative devices, Denis has created a charming painting. 

In England, the daisy was called “day’s eye” because its petals close over the yellow center at night, and open as day beings. Young girls often wore crowns of daisies. Yellow daisies were symbols of joy, optimism, and friendship. Blue daisies represented loyalty, honesty, and trust. In Victorian flower symbolism the daisy could also mean “your secret is safe with me.” Daisies pop open in the sun: “Ups-a-daisy” was an expression said to children to encourage them to get up after they fell. “Oopsy daisy” and “whoops-a-daisy” were used when someone made a mistake, or tripped. 

Henri Matisse’s painting “Daisies” (1939) (36”x26”) presents a modern take on the daisy. The pose of the lady in red suggests innocence, although the color red traditionally conveys the opposite. The nude female’s position suggests physical love. The idea of innocence and true love, communicated by the white daisies, and the blue daisies message of loyalty and trust most likely were not on Matisse’s mind when he made the painting. The lemons on the table have two different interpretations; they represent longevity, purification, love, friendship, and have the power to foil negative energies and the evil eye. They also are symbolic of disappointment and bitterness. The green vase is a Greek amphora that was used to hold oil, wine, milk, or grain. Matisse’s “Daisies” is a sensuous painting.

“Daisies” was painted in 1939, months before the Nazi invasion of Paris. Paul Rosenberg, a prominent art dealer, was forced to flee France, leaving behind his large art collection. “Daisies” was among the paintings seized by the Nazis. Thanks to the United States Army, “Daisies” was recovered and returned to Rosenberg. He placed it in his new gallery in New York City.

If you were born between April 20 and May 20, your Native American totem animal is the beaver. “American Beaver” (1844) (21”x27”) was one of 150 lithographs by John James Audubon and his sons, published in Viviparous Quadrupeds of North America (1845-48). Beavers were observed to work hard, always in groups, to take care of the family, and to be determined to complete their work. For these reasons beavers were important animals in most Native American cultures for their persistence, perseverance, resourcefulness, and ability to adapt to situations. Several American Indian tribes had Beaver Clans, groups with matrilineal blood ties. Images of beavers were frequent on totem poles, masks, and on decorative objects worn on ceremonial occasions.

Audubon depicts two beavers communicating with each other by making sounds. They also communicated by slapping their tails. Audubon also has depicted the rich, thick fur coat that made the beaver a popular animal for trappers. 

“Beaver Totem Pole” (1976) (9 feet) (red cedar) was carved by Walter Harris (1931-2009). He was born in Kispiox, British Columbia. A wood carver, he attended the Gitanmaax School of Northwest Coast Indian Art in 1969, and he was a senior carving instructor at the school from 1972 until 1985. Harris’s image of the beaver follows the tradition of including large eyes, two very large front teeth, and both front legs raised with claws prominently displayed. In this work the claws hold pieces of wood. The beaver’s tail is decorated with a cross-hatch pattern. 

Harris is the hereditary Chief of the Village of Kispiox, where he carved and raised a totem pole sometime during 1970’s.  It was the first traditional totem pole raised in modern times.  He considers totem poles are the heart of Native American Culture: “They are our deeds to the land. They serve as witnesses to the encounter of our ancestors with the supernatural beings who control all the fish, animals, and plants in our world. They are our charter of rights from time immemorial.”

“Amik Beaver” (2017) (acrylic) was painted by Frank Polson (b.1952), a member of the Algonquin Long Point First Nations community. Polson remembers working with his father on his trap lines. He remembers drawing beaver and moose. He dropped out of art school several times, was incarcerated for five years in a federal prison, and finally found art again. He used house paint and old jeans and bedsheets for his canvas. Visitors started buying his art. Inspired by the lessons of the Native American elders, and his childhood memories, he has become a respected artist, and has created over 2,700 paintings.

Polson’s “Amik Beaver” falls into the category of “Woodland” style. Polson said, “I’ve adopted my artistic heritage in a way that my elders would have never imagined, expressing my aesthetic, political, and social views in a range of styles and media.” His use of color is dynamic, and his lines are forceful, similar to those found in ancient totem poles, masks, costumes, jewelry, and objects used in rituals. Polson has emphasized the beaver’s flat tail and its sharp claws. He chooses images of North-Western Quebec’s wildlife, and adds images from legends, rituals, and nature with the intent to “build a bridge between cultures.” 

The word amik in the Algonquin language means beaver. The beaver was the mascot of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal. 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Edward Hicks (1780-1849) was born in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. His father was a Loyalist who lost all his money in the American Revolution. Edward’s mother died when he was eighteen months old, and he was raised by his mother’s close friend, a Quaker. Hicks’s artistic training consisted of learning to paint decorations on coaches. In his memoirs Hicks described himself as “a weak, wayward young man…exceedingly fond of singing, dancing, vain amusements, and the company of young people, and too often profanely swearing.”

Unhappy, Hicks began to attend Quaker meetings, and he was accepted as a Quaker in 1803. He married Sarah Worstall, a Quaker. Hicks had become a minister by 1812, and an itinerant Quaker preacher in the Philadelphia area by 1813.  He turned to painting as a means of earning additional support for his family. A devout Quaker, whose religion considered painting a luxury and a worldly indulgence, Hicks made paintings that fell into the category of Folk Art, its subjects coming from deep cultural roots. He began painting the Peaceable Kingdom images in 1820 to show the Quaker belief that all people were equal and should live in peace. There are sixty-two extant works titled “Peaceable Kingdom.”

Hicks’s paintings on the theme of the peaceable kingdom often included quotes or thoughts about peace painted on the frame. “Peaceable Kingdom of the Branch” (1826-30) (29”x36”) illustrates Hicks’s style. His depiction of Jesus in this and other paintings shows he is more adept at painting animals than humans. However, the harmony between man and nature and the undeniable charm of the animals has made Hicks an American favorite. 

Jesus has one arm around the lion’s neck and holds out a branch in His hand. Although it may not look like an olive branch, the title of the work indicates the artist’s intent. He relied on the Bible for his subject matter. The Old Testament book of Genesis (8:11) tells of the dove having returned to Noah’s ark with an olive branch in its beak, the act of extending an olive branch as a symbol of peace. Olive trees need to be nurtured for at least three years until they are old enough to produce olives. In other words, they need a peaceful environment to produce their precious fruit. A lamb, ox, and goat are among the animals depicted. 

Hicks has included a small tableau of William Penn, a fellow Quaker, and the Lenape Indians, set beneath the magnificent Natural Bridge near Lexington, Virginia. Hicks admired Penn, who wanted to live peacefully with the Lenape’s. The Lenape believed that land was a gift from the creator and that everyone should share it equally. Penn’s treaty with the Lenape was signed in 1682 and became a frequently used subject in Hicks’s paintings, sometimes the main subject.  

Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom themes had several variations, but more similarities than differences. “A Peaceable Kingdom with Quakers Bearing Banners” (1829-30) (18”x24’’) is similar to “Peaceable Kingdon of the Branch” (1826-30). A small group of animals and a figure of Jesus in a pantaloon suit, popular children’s clothing at the time, are arranged at the right side of the canvas. Three clumps of olives are visible hanging from the branch.  William Penn, dressed in red, stands at the center of the group of Quakers holding a banner. On it is written “Mind the Light within. It is glad tidings of great joy. Peace on earth, goodwill to all men.” 

“Peaceable Kingdom” (1834) (30”x36’’) (National Gallery of Art) depicts the child Jesus, joined by two children, and a large group of animals. Isaiah (11:6) was the inspiration for all the Peaceable Kingdom paintings: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the suckling child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’s den.”  Clearly visible at the left side of the canvas, Penn is trading with and negotiating his treaty with the Indians.

 

When Hicks was not painting Peaceable Kingdoms, he occasionally tried his hand at other religious themes. “American Noah’s Ark” (1846) (27”x30’’), exemplifies the development of his painting skills with time and practice. The panoramic landscape includes water and mountains, and dark roiling clouds of the coming storm. To the lion, sheep, and goats of his earlier paintings, Hicks added horses, zebras, giraffes, camels, elephants, hippos, birds, and more. The two humans overseeing the peaceful loading of the ark are tucked behind the giraffes and camels at the far left of the scene.

Hicks painted “Cornell Farm” (1848) (37”x49’’) (National Gallery of Art) when he was sixty-nine years old. He signed the painting with a long inscription at the bottom: “An Indian summer view of the Farm & Stock OF JAMES C. CORNELL of Northampton Bucks County Pennsylvania. That took the Premium in the Agricultural Society, October 12, 1848, Painted by E. Hicks in the 69th year of his age.” The viewer can appreciate Hicks’s ability with perspective, creating the rolling green fields, the farmhouse and barn, and the slightly crooked rows of the planted fields in the distance. He placed a small number of figures throughout the landscape, their size decreasing size as they stand farther in the distance. And then there are the herds of horses, cows, and sheep parading across the foreground. They are an orderly group, delightful to see. Hicks made tried to make each animal three-dimensional by painting all four of its legs, but their bodies remain flat. Not to be missed are the overly large black pigs behind the animal parade. 

Near the end of his life, Hicks described himself as “a poor old worthless insignificant painter.” The joy he has brought to generations of viewers would indicate that Hicks was far too modest.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

American artist Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827) was born in Chester, Maryland. His father died when Charles was thirteen, and he was apprenticed to a saddle maker. He opened his own saddle shop, but it failed. He tried a career fixing clocks. That failed too. At last, he turned to painting, and he became one of America’s premier painters. 

Peale’s talent was recognized by artists John Singleton Copley and John Hesselius.  With their help and that of Peale’s friend John Beale Bordley, they raised the funds to send Peale to London to study with American artist Benjamin West from 1767 until 1769. The painting “John Beale Bordley” (1770) (80”x58’’) (National Gallery of Art) is one of several portraits Peale painted of the Bordley family. Both men were supporters of the Sons of Liberty. Bordley commissioned this portrait to show America’s strength and desire for equal treatment by the British. It was to be exhibited in London.

John Beale Bordley, the ancestor of the Bordley family whose store at the corner of High and Cross Streets in Chestertown that today houses the Historical Society of Kent County, owned a plantation on Wye Island. The peach tree at his right and the packhorses at the far left of the portrait were symbols of American abundance. The flock of sheep grazing beneath the peach tree demonstrated that America was not dependent on English sheep and British woolens. Bordley was a trained lawyer, judge, and member of the Governor’s Council. He stands with left arm resting on a law book and his right hand raised as if he were debating colonial rights under British law that often were ignored. The torn legal document at this his feet signifies his regard for British law. Completing the scene, a statue of British Liberty holds the scale of justice. At the base of the statue is American jimson weed, also known as Devil’s snare, a poisonous plant, to remind the British that the attack on American liberties could be deadly.

Peale returned from London in 1769 and settled in Annapolis. He moved to Philadelphia in 1775 and set up a painting studio.  He painted John Hancock, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton, and Benjamin Franklin, among others. Peale painted Washington from life as early 1772, when Washington was a British Colonel. A member of the Sons of Liberty since 1764, Peale served in the Pennsylvania Militia holding the rank of captain by1776. He recruited for the army and participated in several battles. During the Revolutionary War, he made miniature portraits of many of the officers. After the war, he painted their portraits when he was able to return to painting full-time.

“Washington, Lafayette, and Tilghman at Yorktown” (1784) (93’’x64’’) (Maryland State House) was commissioned by the Maryland Legislature in 1783. This 1784 portrait is similar to the 1779 of Washington at the victories of Princeton and Trenton. Peale added the Marquis de Lafayette and Lieutenant Colonel Tench Tilghman, born in Maryland. Tilghman served as Washington’s aide de camp from the Battle of Trenton to the Siege at Yorktown. Tilghman holds the rolled document announcing Cornwallis’s surrender at Yorktown. Washington entrusted Tilghman to deliver the news to the Continental Congress in Philadelphia. Tilghman wears his ceremonial sword that now is on display at the Maryland State House. In the distance, soldiers carry the American and Bourbon French flag. Tilghman married and returned to his mercantile business in Baltimore after the war. On Tilghman’s  death, Washington wrote to Tilghman’s father, “I can assure you Sir, with much truth, that after I had opportunities of becoming well acquainted with his worth, no man enjoyed a greater share of my esteem, affection and confidence than Colo. Tilghman…” 

 

 

Peale was commissioned to paint over 60 portraits of Washington, seven from life, and he painted over 1100 portraits, some of them of his family. “The Staircase Group’’ (1795) (90”x40”) (Philadelphia Museum of Fine Art) depicts two of his sons, Raphealle and Titian Ramsey. Employing the artistic device known as trompe-l’œil  (French for fool the eye), Peale depicts the two young men climbing a circular staircase, the stairsteps starting at the floor of the Museum.  A trompe-l’œil colonial dollar, crumpled on the first painted step, lies ready for someone to pick up.

Peale married three times. His first wife Rachel bore him ten children, and his second wife Elizabeth bore him six, his third wife Hannah helped raise them. Peale’s love of art is evident; he named most of his children after famous artists or famous persons: his sons after famous painters Raphaelle, Rembrandt, Rubens, and Titian; his daughters after famous painters Angelica Kauffmann, Sophonisba Anguissola, Rosalba Carriera, and Sibylla Miriam. His sons Benjamin Franklin and Charles Lennaeus Peale were named for the scientists.  Some of Peale’s children were successful painters. Peale’s sons Rembrandt and Rubens founded the Peale Museum in Baltimore in 1813. Peale’s sister-in-law Elizabeth Emerson Callister-Peale taught miniature painting at the Kent County Free School. She and Sarah Callister were hired in 1873 by Washington College in Chestertown to teach painting and drawing. They were the first women to be hired as teachers by an American college or university. Elizabeth designed the Great Seal of Washington College. 

 

 

Peale shared with both Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin a deep interest in natural phenomena. A friend sent him an 1801 news clipping about large bones found on a farm near Montgomery, New York. Jefferson tried to secure the find, but he was not successful. Peale acquired the rights to the excavation from land owner John Marsten for $200, new gowns for his wife and daughters, a gun for his son, and an additional $100. Peale arrived with 35 paid workers who carefully excavated the bones from the water-logged pit. He devised a pulley system to remove the water. He took great care to preserve the bones, developing methods that were not used before. In the painting, Peale wears yellow trousers, a white shirt, and a black coat. He stands with members of his family at the right side of the painting. He and his son Rembrandt hold a large drawing of one of the bones. In his diary, Peale told Marston, “…compleating the skeleton was an object of vast magnitude with me…” The exhumed mastodon was reported to be the world’s first fully articulated skeleton. 

 Peale founded the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1805. It was one of America’s first museums, housing hundreds of portraits, thousands of artifacts, fossils, life-sized wax statues, and archaeological objects. In “The Artist in His Museum” (1822) (104’’x80”) (Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts), Peale proudly displays the long gallery, then on the 2nd floor of Independence Hall. The skeleton of the mastodon is set behind the red velvet drape; several large bones and a turkey fill the foreground space. His palette and brushes are placed on a green cloth on the table. Mounted birds can be seen on row of shelves, an American eagle at the top.  

“What more pleasing prospect can be opened to our view than the boundless field of nature? Not only comprehending the inhabitants of earth, sea, and air; but earth, sea, and air themselves—representing an inexhaustible fund for amusing and useful enquiry. (C.W. Peale, lecture, University of Pennsylvania, November 16, 1799) 

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

The Christian observance of the Last Supper is on Maundy Thursday this year, on March 28. Jesus and his disciples celebrated Jewish Pesach (Passover), the eve of the Israelite exodus from Egypt. The tradition was soon established by the early Christians who, before they had buildings for worship, observed the Last Supper weekly in their homes.

One of the earliest representations of the Last Supper was found in the Catacomb of Priscilla in a square chamber known as the Greek Chapel. “Breaking of the bread” (2nd century CE) (fresco) was painted on an of arch over an altar-tomb where the sacrament was performed. The images of the fresco are faint. However, experts have described the scene of seven people reclining on banqueting couches in the manner of the Romans. The Roman Catholic church holds that six men and one woman are present. The figure at the left, slightly separated from the group, is breaking bread. A two-handled cup is set on the table in front of him, along with two large platters containing two fish and five loaves. At either side of the table are baskets filled with loaves of bread.

Early Christians believed in burial of the dead, as opposed to the Roman practice of cremation. The catacombs, along roads outside the city of Rome, contain examples of Early Christian art. The people were poor, and they could not afford artists of high quality. Therefore, the images were primitive. The frescoes were underground, lit only by candle or torch. The atmosphere was unpleasant because of the odor of new burials. 

“Last Supper” (6th Century) (mosaic) (Basilica of St Apollinaire Nuovo, Ravenna, Italy) illustrates the continued development of Christian art. By the 6th Century, Christianity had become the dominant religion of Italy. Ravenna was the second major capital of the Christian world after Constantinople, in what was then Greece. St Apollinare Nuovo was reconstructed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. “Last Supper” is one of 13 mosaics telling the story of the of the passion through the resurrection. Christ was depicted wearing a robe of royal purple, a dye that was very rare and costly. Royal purple was forbidden to all but royalty. Christ also wears a gold trinity halo with three large green emeralds. The twelve disciples recline in Roman style around the table. The anatomical depiction was slightly improved over the earlier fresco, but three-dimensional space was several hundred years in the future. Peter, with the white hair and beard, has been established as being beside Christ. The twelfth figure, barely visible beside Peter, is Judas. Two fish on a plate and seven triangular loaves of bread are set on the white tablecloth. The scene, as in almost all Byzantine mosaics, is placed in front of a solid gold wall. The table is placed on a green lawn.

In 15th Century Italy, Renaissance artists developed a complete knowledge of anatomy and perspective to create realistic images. “Last Supper” (1486) (fresco) (Refectory wall of San Marco, Florence) (160”x320”) was painted by the Florentine master Dominico Ghirlandaio (1448-1494). Applying linear perspective, first realized c.1415 by Florentine painter and architect Filippo Brunelleschi, Ghirlandaio painted the twelve disciples and Christ seated, uncrowded, and together, at a long table. The table is set with wine glasses, loaves of bread, plates, and other food items. The disciples’ feet are visible under the edge of the elaborate woven tablecloth. The tradition of placing Judas at the opposite side of the table had been established. Rather than sharing the bread and wine, Jesus has just announced that one of the disciples would betray Him. The disciples, realistically represented as individuals, react to the pronouncement. At Christ’s right side, Peter holds his dinner knife in his fist, and the youngest disciple John is asleep.

Ghirlandaio sets the scene in a room of an Italian Renaissance villa, under an arched roof with a view to the outdoor garden. Four trees are orange trees, the oranges recognized as the Medici family emblem.  The six cypress trees were, and remain, a symbol of Tuscany. Tall and stately, the cypress trees can live for as many as 2000 years, and are the symbol of immortality. Their pleasant sent was thought to ward off evil and aid in the passage to the after-life. Another symbol of immortality is the peacock. One is perched in the window at the right. The peacock’s body did not seem to decay, and was considered a symbol of immortality. Peacocks were represented in Early Christian catacombs. Ghirlandaio painted several versions of the Last Supper, but only this one has a cat. It sits on the floor behind Judas and looks out at the viewer. Placed behind Judas, the cat was thought to represent Satan.

“Some Living American Women Artists” (1972) (collage) (28.25’’x42”) (MoMA) is by Mary Beth Edelson (1922-2021), an active participant in the women’s movement. Using Leonardo’s iconic “Last Supper” as a guide, she placed twelve photographs of contemporary women artists in the place of the disciples. She placed Georgia O’Keeffe in the position of Christ, but she did not designate any of the women as Judas. The twelve, starting from the left, are Lynda Benglis, Helen Frankenthaler, June Wayne, Alma Thomas, Lee Krasner, and Nancy Graves. Continuing beyond O’Keeffe are Elaine de Kooning, Louise Nevelson, M.C. Richards, Louise Bourgeois, Lila Katzen. and Yoko Ono. Photographs of 69 more contemporary women artists are placed in the border.  

Women artists are still working to achieve equality with men in the art market. This work by Edelson’s was a criticism of the politics of the art world, but it also was a great tribute to her contemporary women artists. The original piece was then produced as a poster, and it can be found in the collections of many museums. It has become iconic in its own right.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

 

 

 

It should be no surprise that the daffodil is the March birth flower. They are popping out all over the place. The daffodil is a symbol of rebirth and new beginnings since its bright yellow flower is the first flower to bloom in the Spring. The first day of Spring this year was March 19.  The daffodils also are a symbol of creativity, energy, resilience, vitality, good luck, and hope. The daffodil bulb has been known to flower every year for as many as 100 years. Daffodils are classified under the botanical name narcissus, as are jonquils.

Daffodils have been abundant in Europe and North Africa for centuries. The flower was very popular in London in the 17th Century.  Shakespeare, in his play The Winter’s Tale (1623), reminds the reader, “When daffodils begin to peer […] Why then, comes the sweet o’ the year.” The “Daffodil Tile” (1900) (earthenware) (Pilkington Tile and Pottery) was created by English artist Walter Crane (1845-1915), and it was part of a series of six tiles called Flora’s Train or Flora’s Retinue. Ten years earlier, Crane designed over 50 plates for the popular book Flora’s Feast: A Masque of Flowers (1899). The tile series was inspired by the book, and the six-tile design was the same image. The dancing lady among the yellow daffodils may have been inspired by William Wordsworth’s famous poem: “I wandered lonely as a cloud/ That floats on high o’er vales and hills, / When all at one I saw a crowd, / A host of golden daffodils; / Beside the lake, beneath the trees, / Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.” The UK remains the largest grower of daffodils today.

 “Black Vase with Daffodils” (1980) (oil) (66”x50’’) was painted by American artist Janet Fish (b.1938). She is well-known for her realistic still-life paintings featuring flowers and fruit arranged with a wide variety of reflective objects. This painting is an excellent example of the work that has made her so popular. Not only are the glass and silver items well rendered, Fish paid close attention to the specific details of daffodils. Daffodils have a very light scent and usually one flower per stem. The trumpet has six petals with pointed foliage. 

“Do remember they can’t cancel the spring” (March 23, 2020) is by English artist David Hockney (b.1937). He produced the image on his iPad, and   shared it with the world while he, along with everyone else, was isolating at home during Covid.  Four yellow daffodils spring from the fresh green earth to send a message that nature and we are resilient.

The Native American Totem Animal for those born between March 21 and April 19 is the falcon. Falcons have a history starting in Egypt’s Old Kingdom (c. 2686 BCE.). The god Horus is represented by the falcon, and the falcon represents swiftness, loyalty, fierceness, fearlessness, truth, and knowledge. Horus is the god of the sky. The Egyptian sculpture “Horus/Falcon” (663 BCE) depicts the falcon wearing the double crown of Egypt that represents the uniting of upper and lower kingdoms. When depicted with a human body, Horus has a falcon head. Horus is the protector of the Pharoah, and as the falcon he is frequently depicted standing behind the behind the Pharoah, his wings embracing the Pharoah’s head, as his protector. The falcon image commonly appeared on jeweled amulets worn as additional protection. In another representation, the Horus falcon was frequently represented by a single eye, because Horus’s right eye was the sun, representing power, and his left eye was the moon, representing healing. 

Falcons are smaller and have longer wings than do hawks, with which they are often confused. They were observed to fly very fast, having been tracked at 242 mph. Their eyesight is greater than humans, observable by their ability to see and catch prey that humans cannot see. By the 8th Century, falcons were used for hunting in Syria by the royal courts. “Ferocious Falcon” (18th Century) (Punjab Hills, India) (13”x9”) (watercolor) is one of many images of falcons used in the hunt. Falconry spread across the Islamic world to China, and eventually to Europe. The falcon wears a red leather hood decorated with a bead. It is perched on a block and tied with red leather jesses. Its sharp black beak can sever an animal’s neck. The sharp black claws can easily capture and hold prey.  The falcon seen in Egypt and Asia is a Lanner falcon.

The falcon species best known by Native Americans is the Peregrine falcon. The falcon is the first spirit animal in the Native American zodiac, and it represents the Spring Solstice. A symbol of great strength, it was thought to bring good luck and victory in warfare. Falcon costumes and masks were worn as preparation for a hunt or war. Shamans also wore falcon masks and costumes as part of their rituals.  “Falcon” (200 BCE to 500 CE) (Hopewell, Ohio) is identified as a peregrine falcon. It was found in Hopewell, Ohio, where 25 man-made mounds cover an area larger than 10 football fields. The first excavation took place in 1920-21, followed by excavations in the 1960s and 1970s.

“Falcon” was made by pounding copper nuggets to form the desired shape. The Hopewell Indians had not developed the technique of smelting ore. Copper was a sacred metal to Native Americans and it was used exclusively for ceremonial objects. The copper used to fashion “Falcon” came from Lake Superior, some 800 miles away. American Indian tribes believed copper had special powers. The copper falcon was considered a living thing, and was given a ceremonial burial.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

 

 

Rachael Breen is a Minnesotan artist of Jewish descent. After receiving a BA from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington, she became a community organizer and a social justice advocate. This work took her to New York City, where she attended classes at Parsons School of Design. She had not previously pursued a career in art. When she returned to Minnesota, she enrolled in art classes at Sabes Jewish Community Center. She received an MFA from the University of Minnesota at age 42. Her commitment to social justice and art gave her the incentive “to grow my artistic voice and skills.” 

Breen’s interest in the role of women throughout history led her to buy a $3 sewing machine for something to do before she started graduate school. Her 2011 series Historic Treasures was about biodiversity and sustainability. “Spinach” (2011), in addition to the subject vegetable, includes millet, corn, heirloom seeds, and ancient containers in which seeds were placed for transport. Fresh spinach leaves, simply drawn, surround an elaborate blue vase, perhaps emphasizing the importance of the seeds. At the left, seeds are placed on a gold scale. In 2014 she created the series Common Milkweed to raise awareness of habitat destruction of the milkweed plant, the common diet of Monarch butterflies, contributing to the significant decline of the Monarch population. She said, “That sent me on a path to research and it’s what my work has been about ever since.”

Breen was a late comer to making art, but her artistic vision coalesced in 2013 when the Rana Plaza Factory in Bangladesh collapsed, killing 1,129 garment workers, and injuring over 2,500 more. Breen recalled the 1911 Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York that killed 146 young Jewish and Italian immigrant female garment workers: “Part of being Jewish is being an activist and working for social change.” With a grant from the Minnesota Jewish Arts Council, Breen and writer/poet Alison Morse traveled to Bangladesh. 

The trip to Bangladesh generated several series, including Evidence (2016).  Breen and Morse visited the site of the Rana Plaza factory and found burned and shredded pieces of fabric. Breen turned these items into individual works of art, sewing scraps together to create a reminder of the event. She describes the purpose of the series as “an effort to repair. The work is made in tribute to those who survive a disaster. I believe the act of remembering can be an act of resistance.” The Rana Plaza disaster led to the formation of the Alliance for Bangladesh Workers Society organized by American brands such as GAP, Walmart, and Target.

A second series, Supply Chain Maps (2016), was developed by researching factors relating to the disaster: lack of transparency, the enormous disparity between income of workers and those of wealthy shareholders, and the supply chain of the global economy. Included in the series was “4” (2016) The full title is “4, In just four days a CEO earns a garment worker’s lifetime pay.” The work is abstract and composed of fabric scraps from Bangladesh and machine sewn lines that reference the complicated system that provides clothing to the western buyer. She recalled, “When we were there, it dawned on me that women working in incredibly unsafe conditions with unfair pay would never wear the same clothes that we wear…In some ways it’s quite tedious. Part of the idea is to emphasize that this is an incredibly tedious and repetitive task that women are doing.”

Breen began in 2017 hands-on programs such as Behind the Seams in which visitors to pop-up garment factories see workers at their sewing machines, sewing re-purposed T-shirts from dawn to dusk. This interactive program enabled visitors to learn how a simple T-shirt was made, and to understand the process: raw cotton from field, to factory, to mall. Visitors could pledge to help make a change in the garment industry and to purchase one of the repurposed T-shirt for $3. 

 

“Shroud” (2018) is composed of 1,281 white shirts hanging from the ceiling. They represent the 1,281 dead workers, mostly women, from the Bangladesh and Triangle Shirtwaist disasters. The 1,129 corpses in Bangladesh were wrapped in white shrouds, also practiced in the Jewish faith. Breen hung the shirts from the ceiling with the arms hanging down. They seem to reach down to the visitors who walk beneath.

Breen added another level of meaning by purchasing the shirts from a Goodwill Outlet. Her research found that Goodwill Outlets were the last stop in the supply chain before the shirts became part of a landfill, or were placed in containers and sent to buyers in the global south. Breen priced a new white oxford shirt at Walmart at $15, and from two other stores up to $69.50. The salary women are paid to make one shirt was about 20 cents.  

In

Breen explored various aspects of the garment-making process. One is piece work, the process for making various parts of shirts: sleeves, pockets, collars, button holes, and plackets. Her 2020 exhibition The Labor We Wear included several piece-work compositions, some covering an entire wall of the exhibition space. ‘’The Bottom Line” (2018) is composed of shirt plackets, where buttons are fastened. Black, white, gray, and blue plackets are arranged in a vertical composition. Breen described her process: “I played with those plackets in so many different ways and in so many different colors and arrangements…I was like, Oh my God, it makes sense. The people who wear these shirts are making decisions that impact the working conditions of the people who make them. Seeing the plackets creating a graph of the ups and downs of the stock market . . . the irony of it really hit me.”

 

Instead of making the shirts, Breen deconstructed them, a process that any women who has needed to alter a garment can understand; it is tedious and painstaking. Seeing a wall of shirt collars, viewers are reminded of tediousness, repetitive, twelve-hour days spent making shirts. 

Breen was the inaugural recipient of the Jerome Hill Artists Foundation Fellowship in 2019. The Jerome Hill Fellowship was founded by New York and Minnesota artists to recognize other artists who “embrace their roles as part of a larger community of artists and citizens, and consciously work with a sense of service, whether aesthetic, social or both.” She was awarded a Fullbright Scholarship in 2022. In 2023, there were at least nine exhibitions of her work, and she was invited to give a number of lectures. Breen exhibitions number at least 50, and she continues to work. For over 25 years, she has served as a Professor of Fine Art at Anoka Ramsy Community College in Minnasota, and she teaches sewing classes on the side.

Breen’s last exhibition in 2023, At the Root: Materials and Power, ran from October to December at St John’s University in Minnasota. Having recently completed her research at the International Ladies Garments Workers Union archives, she was drawn to the huge banners produced at the start of the ILGWU in 1900. The banners were bright, colorful, and some decorated with tassels. “Banner for Solidarity, No. 1” (2023), a colorful piece-work creation is just one of Breen’s banners that pay homage to the first ILGWU members.

“While rooted in research about the garment industry, my work also refers to the scale of many crises caused by capitalism—climate change, racism, and labor abuse. It makes visible numbers and systems that are hard to comprehend, in an effort to remind us of the human labor present in the clothes we wear and our relationship to these workers. My interest in labor rights stems from histories of Jewish activism in the garment industry and also my own family history as immigrants and activist.” (Rachel Breen)

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

Edward Mitchell Bannister (1828-1901) was born in New Brunswick, Canada. His parents were Edward Bannister of Barbados and Hannah Alexander of Canada.  After their deaths, Edward and his younger brother lived on the Ontario farm of the wealthy lawyer and merchant Henry Hatch. Bannister attended an integrated school in Canada. His interest in art was stimulated by copying art in the Hatch home. He and his brother emigrated to American and settled in Boston in 1840. They worked on ships as mates and cooks. By 1850 they were working as barbers, giving them status as middle-class professionals.

Bannister desired to be an artist, but his mixed-race status prevented him from attending art school. He was self-taught: “Whatever may be my success as an artist is due more to inherited potential than to instruction…All I would do I cannot…simply for the want of proper training.” Nevertheless, his talent was recognized; he received his first commission in 1854 from the African-American Dr. John V. DeGrasse “Rhode Island Seashore” (1856) (17.5’’x22’’) is one of the earliest extant Bannister paintings. His love for the sea coast and Rhode Island landscapes was his constant subject, and it proved very popular. The panoramic view of the seashore includes sand, sea, waves, rocks, green lawn, a dock, two people walking at the edge of the waves, and several holuses nestled among trees under a light filled sky. He was influenced by the French Barbizon landscape painters. The canvas shows his mastery of the media and the subject matter.

Bannister married Christina Carteaux (1819-1902), of African and Native American descent. She was a well-known hairdresser and wig maker. Christina was an entrepreneur who owned several hairdressing establishments. Her substantial income allowed Bannister to become a full-time painter by 1870. They settled in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1869. Bannister credited her with much of his success: “I would have made out very poorly had it not been for her, and my greatest successes have come through her, either through her criticisms of my pictures, or the advice she would give me in the matter of placing them in public.” Bannister received national recognition when “Under the Oaks’’ (1876) (location unknown) won first prize at the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition.

“Oak Tree” (1876) (34’’x60’’) (Smithsonian American Art Museum) is thought to be similar to his first-class prize winner, and it is the standard comparison used today. Bannister landscapes evoked the things he loved about the New England countryside. The male figure with the fishing pole, walks down the path toward the row boat. Bannister often depicts cows grazing in a field. The entire panorama pays attention to local flowers, distinct types of trees, and an interesting distant landscape.

The award for “Under the Oaks” caused controversy. Bannister submitted the painting anonymously as “Number 45,” with only a signature. Banister wrote, “I was and am proud to know that the jury of award did not know anything about me, my antecedents, color or race. There was no sentimental sympathy leading to the award of the medal.” He described the experience when he entered the exhibition hall to claim his prize: “As I jostled among them, many resented my presence, some actually commenting within my hearing in the most petulant manner: What is that colored person in here for?” At the judge table, he was ignored until he told them who he was. “[A]n explosion could not have made a more marked impression. Without hesitation he apologized to me, and soon everyone in the room was bowing and scraping to me.” Some wanted the award to be rescinded, but they were overruled.

Bannister purchased the sloop yacht Fanchon in the 1880’s, and spent his summers painting and sailing from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, to Bar Harbor, Maine.

“Moonlight Marine” (1885) (22”x30’’) is an example of Bannister’s continued love of the sea and the various moods of nature. The prosperous shipping industry along the coast gave him ample opportunity to paint dramatic seascapes in daylight, or as in this case, at night. The moon, surrounded by hazy clouds, provides just enough light to see the silhouette of the distant ship and to light the breakers that crash against the rocks in the foreground.

From 1876 onward, Bannister received many commissions, won medals, and exhibited widely. He was one of the co-founders of the Providence Art Club (1880), the third oldest art club in America. It was the first to admit women. The Club remains active today.

Bannister did not submit work to the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in1893. The paintings would be pre-judged before they were sent to Chicago. From his experience with an1885 exhibition at the New Orleans Cottom Exhibition, Bannister knew his work would be segregated, and ignored. Bannister and his wife were extremely active in the abolitionist movement. Although they were well known for participating in many abolitionist projects, he did not carry this theme into his paintings. “Hay Gatherers” (1893) (18”x24’’) is an exception. The figures in this landscape are African-American field workers. Art historians speculate that the setting could be the South Country Plantation, Rhode Island’s largest plantation, and where Bannister’s wife was born. Regardless of the location, the painting depicts his later style which trended toward Impressionism. The brush strokes are more suggestive than realistic, the atmosphere is moist. The day is hot and long.

Bannister suffered a heart attack on January 9, 1901, during an evening prayer meeting at his church, the Free Baptist Church. His wife and their extensive circle of friends, black, white, and members of the Providence Art Club, held a memorial exhibition in 1901. “His gentle disposition, his urbanity of manner, and his generous appreciation of the work of others, made him a welcome guest in all artistic circles…He painted with profound feeling, not for pecuniary results, but to leave upon the canvas his impression of natural scenery, and to express his delight in the wondrous beauty of land and sea and sky.” (Exhibition pamphlet)

The Civil Rights movement of the 1960s generated new interest in Bannister’s work, in both his painting and his role in the abolitionist movement. Several exhibitions of his work have been held, and his work can be found in several museums. Many of his paintings are now in the Smithsonian American Art Museum collection in Washington. DC. Magee Street in Providence, originally named after a Rhode Island slave trader, officially was changed to Bannister Street in 2017 to honor Edward and Christina Bannister. The bronze sculpture “Edward Mitchell Bannister” (2023) (Gage Prentiss, sculptor) was placed in Providence’s Market Square in September 2023.

“I have been sustained by an inborn love of art and accomplished all I have undertaken through the severest struggles.” (Edward Mitchell Bannister)

Note: During the Civil War, Bannister painted a portrait of Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the African-American 54^th infantry regiment. Bannister and his wife organized a fair to raise funds to pay the Massachusetts African-American 54^th, 55^th, and 5^th calvary regiments, who chose to go without pay for 18 months, rather than take less than white soldiers. Among other causes, Christina Carteaux Bannister founded a home for Aged Colored Women in Providence for house servants who became too old to work, and who often died alone and in poverty.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

The violet is the flower for those born in the month of February. The violet is a symbol of modesty, faith, loyalty, love, and devotion. It was mentioned in a Greek text in 400 BCE. The symbol of Athens, violets were grown in special nurseries. Violets play a role in several Greek and Roman myths, including tales of Aphrodite, Apollo, and Persephone.  Although the violet is small, its scent is sweet and powerful, and it was used as a perfume. Pliny and Horace wrote about the sweet scent of violets. Made into a tincture, violets helped with headaches, insomnia, fevers, sore throat, and many infections. The violet was used to make wine, salads, and cosmetics.  The violet first became significant in Europe during the middle-ages.   

“Violet Bouquet” (1505), a watercolor by the famous German artist Albrecht Durer, is one of several detailed studies he made of things he found interesting in nature. The heart-shaped and veined leaves encircle a small bouquet of the five-petaled purple flower. As a result of the small size of the flower, artists have chosen to paint them in a cluster. Leonardo da Vinci, also known for his intense interest in the study nature, made drawings of violets and other flowers.

Violets were often illustrated in early medieval Books of Hours, personal devotional guides commissioned by the wealthy. The books, often dedicated to the Virgin Mary, included flower illustrations, because many flowers were symbolic of Mary’s many virtues. Violets were symbols of Mary’s humility as a result of their small size and because they were purple, the color of royalty. St Bernard (1090-1153) wrote of Mary as “the violet of humility, the lily of chastity, the rose of charity, the Balm of Gilead, and the golden gillyflower of heaven.” 

The painted manuscript page (c.1585) by Jacques Moyne de Morgues is part of Paintings of Flowers, Butterflies, and Insects. De Morgues (1533-1588) was a French artist who in later life moved to England and became a well-regarded botanical artist. The five violets are symbols of Mary and the number of wounds Christ received on the cross. The butterfly is a symbol of Christ’s resurrection.

“Bouquet of Violets’’ (1863) (9.5’’x7.25’’) (watercolor) is by French painter Leon Bonvin (1834-1866). Bonvin was not well known during his short life, but he was appreciated by a prestigious, but small group of connoisseurs and collectors. A bouquet of white and purple violets is placed in a simple glass vase. The white violets, like most white flowers are symbols of innocence and purity.  For Bonvin, a product of the Victorian era, the simplicity of the setting, the small size of the work, and the small bunch of violets, does much to show the humility but respect for the flower. The painting was commissioned by William T. Walters, the father of Henry Walters, founder of the Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. The works collected by William Walters were placed in deluxe leather-bound albums. He purchased Bonvin’s paintings between 1862 and1891. The Bonvin collection includes 56 watercolors and one oil painting, the largest collection of Bonvin’s work known today. 

“Black Hat with Bouquet of Violets” (1872) is a portrait of Berthe Morisot, painted by Manet. In Victorian France and England, violets were one of the favorite flowers to paint in portraits of young women. Berthe Morisot and her sister were Manet’s students, and he featured her in several of his paintings.  The bouquet of violets is pinned to her jacket, and its simplicity adds a touch of innocence and modesty. Morisot became an important Impressionist artist. As painted by Manet, Morisot is no “shrinking violet.” She confidently confronts the viewer head on.  Portraits by other well-known French artists such as Chasseriau and Tissot, and the American Lily Cabot Perry, include violets as the only accessory.

For those born between February 19 and March 20, the Native American totem animal is the wolf. Throughout history, the wolf has been recognized as a symbol of both good and evil. Native American tribes associate the wolf with loyalty to family, courage, strength, and success, especially as a hunter. The wolf is regarded with respect and reverence, and songs, stories, and dances include wolf medicine. Wolves also are thought to have supernatural powers. 

“Tlingit Wolf Helmet and Collar” (18th Century) (wood, seashells, and mane) was worn when hunting wolves. The fierceness of the image was a tribute to the courage, power, and cunning of the wolf during the hunt. The Tlingit set traps and pitfalls to capture the wolves. After the hunt, they prayed over the dead bodies to ask the wolf spirit to forgive them. Praying to the spirit of the animal to be hunted to give itself to the hunter, or praying after the hunt, was a Native American tradition. 

The story of the founding of Rome begins with the two brothers Romulus and Remus (753 BCE), sons of Mars, the god of war and Rhea Silvia, a vestal virgin. Ordered to be killed by the reigning king, the twins were put in a basket and set adrift on the Tiber River. Tiberinus, god of the Tiber, rescued them, and a she-wolf suckled them. Later, they were raised by a shepherd and his wife. “She Wolf” (5th Century Etruscan) (30” x 45”) (bronze) (Capitoline Museum, Rome) celebrates this story and the wolf who saved Romulus and Remus. The city of Rome was built where they were found. The image of the watchful wolf is a larger-than-life 5th Century Etruscan work. The statue became the iconic symbol of Rome and was placed in a prominent location, duplicated on coins, and continues today to represent Rome.  Romulus and Remus were added by the Italian Renaissance artist Pollaiuolo in the 15th Century. 

With the development of animal husbandry and the raising of flocks, wolf hunts became a necessity. Because wolfs travel in packs, they presented a greater danger to animals. The Roman poet Virgil (70-19 BCE) wrote in the Georgics that a wolf’s howl caused terror and that the frightened bleating of lambs would only encourage wolves. Wolves were cast as evil, cunning, and lacking any moral restraint in the New Testament.  The Book of Matthew 7:15 warns, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” “St Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio” (1437-1444) (fresco) refers to an interesting tale. The Italian city of Gubbio was under siege from a savage wolf who had turned from killing sheep to killing humans. No weapon could kill it. Francis made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to stop its attacks. The wolf came up to Francis, lay at his feet, and put its head in his hand. Francis made a pact with the wolf to end the battle with the town, and the wolf agreed. To the people of the town with the tame wolf, Francis said, “How much we ought to dread the jaws of hell, if the jaws of so small an animal as a wolf can make a whole city tremble through fear?” The “miracle” held, and the wolf and the people lived peacefully together. 

In every country where there were wolves, there also were legends of the wolf’s courage, strength, and loyalty to the wolf pack or family.  Fairly or unfairly, the reputation of the wolf as vicious predator has endured throughout the centuries. Ovid’s Metamorphoses (8 CE) tells of the King of Lycaon, a cruel and blood thirsty ruler who challenged Zeus and was turned into a wolf, thus the first werewolf. 

“A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing” is a woodcut by Francis Barlow, published in Aesop’s Fables (1687). A wolf found a sheep skin and dressed in it to better kill the sheep. When it was captured, it was hung on a tree for all to see and celebrate. 

In 1973, Congress placed the gray wolf on the endangered species list. As of February 10, 2022, gray wolves in 48 states and Mexico are protected under the Endangered Species Act. The International Wolf Center tracks wolf attacks on humans world-wide. The likelihood of a wolf attacking a human is not zero, but too small to calculate. Wolves in some areas of Europe have been extinct for over a century. The World Wildlife Federation and other organizations have been working to bring wolves back from extinction because they are a necessary part of the biosphere.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.

 

 

Jean Honore Fragonard (1732-1806) was one of the most popular painters of the French Rococo. The court of Louis XV sought painting that depicted a fantasy world of pleasure. Wealthy private patrons commissioned large paintings that depicted lush formal gardens such as those at the Palace of Versailles, inhabited by beautiful, richly dressed people or gods and goddesses enjoying every earthly pleasure. Paintings were in pastel colors that evoked a world seen through rose-colored glasses. The stories ranged from the playful to the delightfully erotic.

The Progress of Love was commissioned by the Comtesse du Barry (1743-1793), the last mistress of Louis XV, for the pavilion at her Chateau in Louveciennes. The first of four canvases is “The Pursuit” (1770-72) (10 feet x 7 feet). Three comely young ladies in light colored silk dresses are enjoying an afternoon in a lavish park. A handsome young man suddenly appears   from behind the pillar supporting a profusion of roses and topped by a large urn with palm branches. With proper courtly grace, he sweeps off his hat and bows, offering the young woman a single pink rose, the symbol of first love. Raising her arms in a moment of surprise, she tries to run away. Her two companions awkwardly try to support her. A fountain at the top right corner of the painting sports two cupids sitting on a dolphin and watching the event. Their positions echo the awkward arrangement of the young woman’s two companions.

The second canvas in The Progress of Love is “The Meeting.” The beautiful young girl, alone in another part of the garden, awaits her new lover for a secret meeting. She looks cautiously to her left to make sure no one is near as her lover climbs over the wall. They are surrounded by clusters of roses, the flowers of love, growing in gardens and pots. A large marble statue of Venus and Cupid stands above them. Venus’s pose suggests she is also on watch, making sure their meeting is not interrupted.

All is well in the third scene. In another part of the garden, the two lovers have spent the afternoon together. The presence of a tambourine and sheet music suggests a musical interlude. The young woman has made a crown of roses, and she is about to place it on her lover’s head. No need for secrecy, their love is an open book. An artist has accompanied them to the garden and is busy making a drawing of the young couple. The pedestal behind them holds the sculpture of a sleeping cupid; his job has been well done.

The final scene depicts the couple happily together. She sits on the base of a large stone column, and he stands comfortably next to her. For the first time they touch, his arms encircling her waist and his head resting on her shoulder. They read love letters. They have settled into a happy state of togetherness. Domesticity and marriage are suggested by the white and tan King Charles Spaniel lying comfortably at their feet. In the three previous canvases, foliage and flowers were set behind the figures. In scene four the figures are set in a sunny area between the trees.

The clothed statue of a goddess, possibly Hera, goddess of marriage and childbirth, looks down on the couple. In the same joyful position as in scene two, Cupid perhaps celebrates a child on the way.

Madame du Barry decided to return the paintings, in effect rejecting them, and ordered a set from Joseph Marie Vien (1716-1809). Her actions have puzzled art historians ever since. Vien painted in the newly popular style of Neoclassicism. Fragonard’s Rococo style was going out of favor. Did the figure in red climbing over the wall in the second scene look too much like Louis XV? The chateau at Louveciennes was Louis’s first gift to Madame du Barry. She was his sixth mistress following the very popular Madame de Pompadour, who recently had died in 1764. Du Barry came from humble origins, but she had become the trend setter for the French court. She was known to meddle notoriously in the details of every work she commissioned, and frequently changing her mind.

Whatever the reason, Fragonard’s The Progress of Love series was rejected.  He was paid in full, but he took the paintings with him. Fragonard painted an additional two large paintings: “Love Triumphant” and “Reverie” and several smaller paintings of cupids. In 1792 Fragonard installed the paintings for the first time in his godfather’s Villa Maubert, in Grasse, France.

J. Pierpont Morgan purchased the paintings in Grasse and hung them in his London house. On his Morgan’s death in 1914, Henry Clay Frick purchased and installed them in a specially designed room in his home in New York City. “Love Pursuing a Dove,” hung over the door at the left of the room, and “Love the Avenger” were included in the installation. Two other Fragonard cupids from the group, “Love as Folly” and “Love the Sentinel,” are hung in the National Gallery in Washington, DC,

Fragonard’s paintings are filled with cupids and flowers, particularly roses. Roses are the flowers of love, but they also have thorns. After the death of Louis XV, du Barry was exiled from the court, and she retired to her chateau at Louveciennes with her companion the Duke of Brissac.  She was caught in the grasp of the 1779 revolution and was sent to the guillotine for treason in 1793. Her last words were, “De grâce, monsieur le bourreau, encore un petit moment!”  “One more moment, Mr. Executioner, I beg you!”

Note: The Frick Museum is currently being renovated, and the crown of the collection, The Progress of Love, will have a prominent place in the collection.

Beverly Hall Smith was a professor of art history for 40 years.  Since retiring with her husband Kurt to Chestertown in 2014, she has taught art history classes at WC-ALL. She is also an artist whose work is sometimes in exhibitions at Chestertown RiverArts and she paints sets for the Garfield Center for the Arts.