Material Friction: Americana and American Art

Material Friction: Americana and American Art
Highlights from the Jonathan and Karin Fielding Collection
June 12–December 14, 2014
Williams College Museum of Art
Inspired by history as told through objects, Jonathan (’64) and
Karin Fielding have assembled an extraordinary collection of
paintings, furniture, decorative arts, and housewares made
primarily in New England from 1680 to 1850.
Looking closely at the objects—their structure,
construction, and the way people used them—
provides entry into activities of daily life in the
rural Northeast two and three centuries ago. We
can imagine members of the Devotion family in
eighteenth-century Connecticut sorting correspon-
Most of their collection fits within traditional definitions of folk or vernacular art because the artists and
dence, financial records, and other papers using
craftspeople who created them had little or no academic training. Although strong in American art generally,
myriad compartments in their early desk just as we
WCMA has few works in the folk category. Eighty objects on loan from the Fieldings have been installed
might use virtual folders on computer “desktops.”
alongside WCMA’s permanent collection to facilitate exploration of points where folk art and fine art
We admire twelve–year old Martha Bradley’s skill
converge but also produce frictions—visually, functionally, technically, and culturally.
through the precision of the stitches in her sampler,
Jonathan and Karin have been drawn to the material because they “are fascinated by the stories early
understanding the time, patience, and dexterity
American art and antiques tell us about life in America.” Portraits commemorated life and celebrated
required to produce it in 1786. Fourteen–year old
achievement; needlework samplers stitched by young girls demonstrated education; furniture ordered and
Celia Latimer Hurlburn carefully composed a pic-
adapted domestic spaces; small boxes made by Native Americans helped organize lives and represent
turesque view of her Connecticut town in watercolor
exchange across cultures; corset busks served as tokens of affection and altered the shape of a woman’s
and pencil around 1820, most likely by diligently
body; and memorials and family records connected the present to the past.
modeling a printed illustration.
These predominately utilitarian objects are also linked, formally and
where folk art is isolated in period rooms, but they are also juxtaposed with WCMA’s collection. In the 2014
thematically, to other forms of American art. For example, grain-painted
fall semester Williams students will work with the objects in a seminar on American folk art and museum
blanket chests, including the pine chest with exuberant decoration
associated with Thomas Matteson of Vermont, can provide material
context for mid-nineteenth-century landscape painting. Hudson River
practice, ultimately curating their own interpretation of these highlights from the Fieldings’ collection.
–Kevin M. Murphy, Eugénie Prendergast Curator of American Art
School artists such as John Frederick Kensett portrayed American
wilderness as both symbol and resource, depicting the taming of forested land as an indicator of manifest destiny. The blanket chests, made
from local timber, are products of this process, which is emphasized by the
painted grain patterns. The Fieldings’ log scale provides a different lens
through which to examine other ways contemporary viewers might have understood romanticized landscape paintings —as filled, for example, with commodities to be measured, harvested, and sold.
The exhibition of highlights from the Fieldings’ collection at WCMA demonstrates their wide–ranging
interests in Americana and American life as well as their assiduous process of researching acquisitions, the
result of which is a collection that includes superb examples of their type. Material Friction also delves into
different approaches for thinking about the place of folk material in museums and in art history. The objects
are arranged together to reference a domestic setting, similar to the strategy employed at many museums
Opposite: Unknown (American, 18th century), Mirrored Sconce, not dated, glass and tin. Above: Winthrop Chandler (American, 1747–1790),
Overmantel, not dated, oil on panel.
Many of the images in this
brochure show how the Fieldings
have installed works from their
collection in their Los Angeles
home. Objects included in
Material Friction are labeled.
Sampler far left:
Martha Bradley
(American, born 1774)
Needlework Sampler, 1786
silk thread on linen
Landscape second from right:
Celia Latimer Hurlburn
(American, born 1806)
Tariffville, Simsbury,
Connecticut, ca. 1820
watercolor and pencil
Desk:
Unknown
(American, 18th century)
Devotion Family
Slant-Front Desk, ca. 1700–40
maple and brass
Portrait silhouettes on desk:
Attributed to the
Puffy Sleeve Artist
(American, 19th century)
Elvira and Samuel Fish, ca. 1810
watercolor, ink, and appliqué
on paper
Over fireplace:
Unknown
(American, 19th century)
Fireboard with a Trumpeting
Angel, not dated
oil on panel
Unknown
(American, 19th century)
Stenciled Drawing of
Two Puppies, not dated
watercolor and ink on paper
Paintings:
Ammi Phillips
(American, 1788–1865)
Two Members of the Van
Keuren Family, ca. 1825–1830
oil on canvases
Painting:
Ammi Phillips
(American, 1788–1865)
Portrait of Betsy Brownell
Gilbert, ca. 1820
oil on canvas
Sconces:
Unknown
(American, 18th century)
Pair of Mirrored Sconces,
not dated
glass and tin
Painting far left:
Attributed to Asahel Lynde
or Amanda Powers
(American, 1813–1843 and
dates unknown)
Portrait of Rollin Richmond
of Barnard Vermont, 1831
oil on panel
Paintings:
Unknown
(American, 19th century)
Young Couple with Trees,
ca. 1830
oil on panels
Jonathan and Karin Fielding discussed the history of their
collection, its scope, and their interest in the stories the
objects communicate about American life with Kevin Murphy.
we thought why not furnish an old house with old
KM: Jonathan, did your experience as a student at Williams influence your collecting?
KM: What were some of the things you first
JF: Yes, I took the art history survey course and was excited both by the art and stories behind the pieces.
collected?
And I was a frequent visitor to the Clark Art Institute and was mesmerized by some of the masterpieces
J&KF: Our first acquisitions were pieces of furniture
there. When I went to medical school in Boston, I frequented the galleries on Newbury Street. I had the
found at estate sales, small local auctions, and
urge to collect but not the means. To satisfy my attraction to art, I started an art gallery with a much more
antique stores in Maine and New Hampshire.
experienced partner who had been in the business. We did it on a shoestring and specialized in twentieth-
That led us to an interest in folk painters, decora-
century prints. I still have some of the lithographs, linoleum prints, and etchings from that venture.
tive arts, and utilitarian objects. As our collection
furniture? We started with at best a thimbleful of
knowledge about New England antiques, so we
were off on a journey of discovery.
grew, we decided we wanted to live with the
KM: How did you start your present collection of American art, decorative arts, and utilitarian objects?
collection year-round, and started bringing some
J&KF: We both always liked antiques and we collected quilts for a short time when we lived on the East
of the more sophisticated pieces out to our home
Coast in the 1970s. In the mid-1990s, although living in Los Angeles, we missed New England and bought
in Los Angeles.
a saltwater farm in Maine with an antique cape-style house built in 1768. When it came time to furnish it,
Attributed to Sheldon Peck (American, 1797–1868), Girl in a Windsor
Arm Chair, ca. 1827–1832, oil on panel.
KM: Are any of those first objects still in the collection? How have you refined your process over time?
Then we carefully research each piece by talking with dealers and other experts, consulting books in our
J&KF: Some are. We made a few beginner’s mistakes, and over time our acquisition criteria became tougher, so
growing library on antiques, and carefully looking into provenance and condition.
some of the early purchases are no longer in the collection. But some remain perennial favorites, including
an old, gray jelly cupboard purchased at an estate sale. It is a true country piece and is where it belongs—in
KM: Your collection is wide ranging, from textiles to paintings and everything in between. How did you
rural Maine.
come to decide to collect in such breadth?
J&KF: The broadness of our collection has to do with our interest in history and the stories the objects tell.
KM: Have your interests changed since you started collecting?
We did not want to confine ourselves to just furniture or just paintings because there is so much beauty in
J&KF: Yes, our interests have definitely changed over time. At first we didn’t know much about preferred
things like a piece of needlework or a beautifully carved foot warmer. We do have a specific focus on New
forms, condition, and surface. By spending hours talking with dealers and other experts, reading books and
England from 1680 to 1850, although a few objects from New York and Pennsylvania have crept in.
examining furniture and paintings ourselves, we learned what makes an early piece special. We learned
about the boldness of turnings on a chair, the charm of a well-preserved piece of needlework, the appeal
KM: What kind of discoveries have you made about the histories of works in your collection?
of a portrait by an itinerant naïve painter. Along the way, we also developed a strong interest in utilitarian
J&KF: We are fascinated by the stories early American art and antiques tell us about life in early America. A
items such as beautifully carved busks, innovative lighting devices, baskets, and kitchen items.
good example is the embroidered domestic scene by nine-year-old Eunice Hooper from Marblehead that
is in this exhibition. Our research found that her wedding dress is in the collection of the Boston Museum
KM: What kind of research do you do to evaluate acquisitions?
of Fine Arts. There are also letters from Eunice’s father to the headmistress at her school regarding her
J&KF: We now do most of our buying directly from dealers or at auction. We browse the auction catalogs to
progress in school (including her needlework). These additional perspectives make the sampler more than
identify things that have visual and/or tactile appeal and that can complement other pieces in our collection.
something to hang on a wall to admire. It shares a history with real people and their social environment.
KM: What draws you to objects made predominantly by and for rural populations?
KM: Are there objects included in the WCMA exhibition that are
J&KF: In early New England most of the population was rural and life was hard. Despite this, people took
particular favorites?
the time to make beautiful things. For example, we found a simple wash stick used to wash clothes that had
J&KF: The full-length portrait of Cynthia Mary Osborn by Samuel
beautiful carving on the handle. Why would someone turn such a simple implement into a thing of beauty?
Miller is a special favorite of ours. In this painting, Miller used bold
It’s hard to know, of course, but we can imagine a man going to his workshop in the barn and making it for
colors and a flat delineation of the young girl in a frontal pose with
his wife to use in her work. A gift of beauty and love.
meticulously rendered costume detail. The addition of the outsized
gate in the background and the birds in a nest with their mother
KM: How did you become interested in everyday household tools and furnishings—lighting, pottery,
feeding them provides wonderful detail. The more we look at this
baskets, kitchen implements, boxes?
painting, the more it appeals.
J&KF: All of these items were found in early homes and were used in everyday life. They help us understand
In terms of furniture, the Matteson pine blanket chest from Ver-
important facets of people’s lives. For example, lighting was important in early New England. We have
mont is an outstanding example of vibrantly painted furniture that
a variety of lighting devices including various types of candlesticks, early reed lighting, candle sconces,
became known as rural “high style.” The chest’s faux grain painting
lanterns, whale oil lamps, and lamps that used camphene for fuel. We were under the impression that can-
resembles mahogany, an imported wood that would have been
dlelight was an easy and inexpensive form of lighting. But we learned that candles were actually very costly,
too expensive to use in a simple blanket chest. But it is more than
their manufacture time-consuming and difficult. They were used sparingly. Until electricity became widely
faux painting, with an exuberance that shows the artist was using
available, there was a constant search for a better form of interior light.
mahogany as a starting point for a more personal style of swirls
and flourishes.
Samuel Miller (American, 1807–1853),
Portrait of Cynthia Mary Osborn, ca. 1840,
oil on canvas.
15 Lawrence Hall Dr.
Williamstown, MA 01267
413 597 2429
wcma.williams.edu
Acknowledgements:
David Sledge, M.A. ’14, contributed essential research and
object labels to the exhibition. Graduate student intern
Emma Limon, M.A. ’15, provided research support at a
critical stage of the project.
Brochure design by David Edge
Photographs of the Fieldings’ home in Los Angeles
courtesy of Tim Street–Porter.