To mark the opening of the new exhibition Joseph Holston, Color in Freedom: Journey along the Underground Railroad (on view through January 14, 2023), we hope that you enjoy this print in our collection. This work is currently on display in the Small Exhibits Gallery. Click here to learn more about Elizabeth Johns: https://arth.sas.upenn.edu/people/elizabeth-johns This WeekendArt is sponsored by Mrs. Theron K. Rinehart

Joseph Holston (American, b. 1944)
Rope-a-Dope, 2000
Etching
11 x 14 ¾ in.
Gift of the artist, A3833,03.0300

Joseph Holston (American, b. 1944) Rope-a-Dope, 2000 Etching 11 x 14 ¾ in. Gift of the artist, A3833,03.0300 In boxing, a rope-a-dope is a fighting technique of pretending to be trapped against the ropes and provoking an opponent into throw tiring, ineffective punches. Here, Holston creates an arresting, tense scene in which two fighters engage in a forceful bout. The man on the left dramatically leans against the ropes, gloves raised to deflect his rival’s blows. The boxers’ close proximity, their driving energy and motions, and the intensity of their exchange is heightened by the ring’s ropes (shown in rectangular bands of varying shades) that appear to envelop them. Like many of the prints on view in Joseph Holston, Color in Freedom: Journey along the Underground Railroad, this etching was produced as an alternative interpretation of an oil painting (see below). In contrast to the painting’s vibrant colors, this print explores numerous variations in light and dark (a technique often employed by Holston), and, due to the printing process, features an inverted figural arrangement. In creating both works, Holston was inspired by a lifelong interest in boxing, a sport in which he participated as a teenager and still follows. Influenced by Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000) and Pablo Picasso (1881–1973), Joseph Holston’s abstract style is grounded in bold colors and flat shapes that reduce subjects to their basic form. His themes are inspired by music, African American history and daily life, and cultural heritage. Born in Washington, D.C., Holston has enjoyed a forty-year career as both a painter and printmaker. He received training from the notable portraitist Marcos Blahove (1908–2012) and the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based painter Richard Vernon Goetz (1915–91). Holston also studied art at Howard University, Washington, and Montgomery College (Maryland). If you visit the museum, be sure to see the Color in Freedom exhibition, which explores the journeys and challenges of those who traveled along the Underground Railroad. To learn more about Holston and his art, click here: https://holstonart.com/ This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. & Mrs. Robert S. Strauch

Joseph Holston (American, b. 1944)
Rope-a-Dope, 2000
Etching
11 x 14 ¾ in.
Gift of the artist, A3833,03.0300

We hope that you enjoy this painting from the collection. If you visit the museum, we invite you to see the work, which is on view in the Kerstein Gallery installation, The Eight to Abstraction: Modernism and Innovation. Philip Guston (American, b. Canada, 1913–1980) Portrait of Shanah, 1941Oil on canvas35.25″h x 21.75″w Museum purchase, A0566,48.0001 This portrait of one of Philip Guston’s students presents her as an artist, surrounded by art materials in a studio. The sitter is Shanah Shatz, who attended the University of Iowa when Guston taught there. In the background of the portrait is a painting of a nude with a face that resembles Shanah’s own—perhaps a self-portrait inspired by Pablo Picasso’s classical-style of the 1920s. Shanah’s facial expression conveys a sense of both reflectiveness and melancholy. Interestingly, she visited the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in 1994 to see the painting after many years. As an aspiring artist, Guston studied the work of the Italian modernist Giorgio de Chirico, as well as that of Renaissance painters, paying attention to milestones in the history of art. During his early years, he painted Social Realist scenes, in tune with the portrayals of everyday life that dominated American art in the 1930s. Later, influenced by his friends Jackson Pollock, Reuben Kadish, and Mark Rothko, who pioneered Abstract Expressionism in the late 1940s and 50s, Guston changed his style radically. This early Guston differs considerably from later works, in which he developed a highly personal, symbolic imagery that was often critical of society. Under former Director John Richard Craft, the museum purchased this portrait in 1948 through the intermediation of the War Assets Administration (WAA), which was created to dispose of government-owned property used during World War II. Currently, Guston’s work is the subject of a major retrospective exhibition, Philip Guston Now, on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. & Mrs. Hugh J. Talton. Artwork of the Week: April 16, 2022 By Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator We hope that you enjoy this painting from the collection. If you visit the museum, we invite you to see the work, which is on view in the Kerstein Gallery installation, The Eight to Abstraction: Modernism and Innovation. Grace Hartigan (American, 1922–2008) Hake, 1980 Oil on canvas 36″ H x 29 7/8″ W Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Dr. Edward J. Hoffman, A2221,82.0011 Hake served as part of the final design for a large mural commission completed by Grace Hartigan for Lexington Market, Baltimore. In this work, Hartigan portrays two fishmongers selling hake, a fish that was typically available on the Baltimore docks. Through her use of broad, gestural brushstrokes of black, paired with tones of blue and light green, Hartigan conjured associations with marine life while alluding to the dampness and pungent odors that one experiences in a fish market. Hartigan was one of a small number of women associated with the Abstract Expressionist movement that blossomed in New York City during the late 1940s and early 1950s. An associate of Jackson Pollock, Willem and Elaine de Kooning, Larry Rivers, Helen Frankenthaler, and the poet Frank O’Hara, Hartigan played an essential role in the artistic and literary awakening that repositioned New York City as the center of the modern art world. A native of Newark, New Jersey, Hartigan moved to New York City after World War II. There, she saw an exhibition of Jackson Pollock’s work at the Betty Parsons Gallery, which influenced her shift to a strongly gestural, abstract style. Relocating to Baltimore in the 1960s, Hartigan became director of the Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), Baltimore. She established her studio in a former rag factory near the working waterfront.

We hope that you enjoy this manuscript page from the collection. Cesare Ripa (Italian, ca. 1560‒1622), iconographer and printmaker Distinction of Good and Evil, from Iconologia, Venice, 1669 Amplifications by Giovanni Zaratino Castellini (Italian, 1570‒1641), author Edition by Niccolo Pezzana (Italian, active ca. 1651‒1685), printer Woodcut and movable type Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Harold Maker, A0948,57.0952 As described in the Italian text, this page, Distinction of Good and Evil (Distintione del Bene et del Male) depicts a woman dressed in a gray cloak holding a sieve and a rake. With these sifting tools, she symbolizes maturity and the life stage in which an individual is supposed to be able to distinguish good from evil, bridle uncontrolled lust and passions, and exhibit proper intellect. Through the artist’s emphasis on simple yet decisively effective lines, he reduced the personification to its essentials, focusing our attention on her key attributes. Her direct gaze also serves to remind and encourage the viewer to follow her exemplary moral traits. Considered perhaps the most famous iconographical manual (collection of allegorical images and their associated meanings) of its time, Cesare Ripa’s Iconologia (first published in 1603) became a key reference for many artists, authors, scholars, and nobles of the 1600s and 1700s. Throughout Europe, The Iconologia was translated in many languages, expanded, and published in numerous illustrated editions. Building upon earlier emblem books by Renaissance humanists such as Andrea Alciato (Italian, 1492‒1550), Ripa’s text contains several hundred visual allegories (originally produced as woodcuts) that represent personifications of virtues, vices, passions, the liberal arts, and sciences, most of which were drawn from ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Roman imagery as well as textual sources. Intended for an elite audience of highly educated readers, each of these representations could be employed by painters, printmakers, and sculptors to celebrate the virtuous personal qualities of aristocratic patrons, their political achievements, and cultural philanthropy in a wide range of contexts. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. & Mrs. Robert S. Srauch.

We hope that you enjoy this manuscript page from the collection. Jan van Vianen (Dutch, ca. 1660‒1726), engraver David van Hoogstraten (Dutch, 1658‒1724), linguist and translator Page from Aesop’s Fables, François Halma (Dutch, 1653‒1722), printer, Amsterdam, 1701, with annotations from Phaedrus’ compendium Engraving and movable type Gift of Harold Maker, A0948,57.0952 The sheet shows the first page of “The Old Woman and the Wine Jar” from Fable I in Book V. In this story, a scene of which is depicted by Jan van Vianen in the circular image above the text with a Latin title (“Fab. 1, Anus ad Amphoram”), a traveling lady finds an amphora (ancient wine vessel) along the road but discovers that it is unfortunately empty. Nevertheless, the drops that remain give her an idea of how delicious the beverage once was. Thus, the moral of the tale is that the memory of a good deed remains long after it has been done. Originally credited to the ancient Greek storyteller-slave Aesop (ca. 620‒564 BCE), these beloved tales have been expanded upon and reinterpreted by many different authors over the centuries, most notably French poet Jean de la Fontaine (1621‒1695). The example shown below, accompanied by a Dutch translation of the text, is taken from Gaius Julius Phaedrus’ (fl. 1st century CE) Latin compendium of these fables. On this page from the François Halma edition, the woman is portrayed in a classical landscape amidst other figures (some seated in a carriage) and she stands in front of a temple with a large fluted column holding a wine jug. Though created in miniature, this engraving exhibits remarkable detail, particularly in the carefully rendered, picturesque plants in the foreground and that meander up the column, alluding to the power of nature over human existence and conveying nostalgia for a remote Greco-Roman past. Vianen and linguist David van Hoogstraten carefully organized the page into compact vertical columns in which each fable is begun by a summary illustration of the plot, its title is identified by capital letters, and the tale is recounted in clear Roman typefaces with annotations at the bottom. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Ms. Nanette N. Stevens & Mr. Karl J. Keller.

In celebration of Irish-American Heritage Month, we hope that you enjoy this painting from the collection. If you visit the museum, we invite you to see this work, which is on view in the Kerstein Gallery installation, The Eight to Abstraction: Modernism and Innovation. Robert Henri (American, 1865–1929) Michael, 1913 Oil on canvas 18″h x 14 1/8″w Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Museum purchase, A1562,69.0006 In this lively, spontaneous portrait, Henri depicts a young Irish boy, Michael “Red” Lavelle. Henri painted this work during his first trip to Achill Island, County Mayo, in western Ireland in June 1913. Michael was thirteen years old at the time and in later years remembered having worn a new, homemade sweater (a “yansey”) for the sitting. Henri was a popular teacher who taught his students that the faster they worked, the better. Holding true to his convictions, the artist painted this portrait in broad, heavy strokes, leaving thick traces of brushwork on the canvas (impasto) that underscore his commitment to the vitality of the working classes and everyday life.The energetic Henri, born in Cincinnati, had studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and earned his living as a newspaper illustrator before moving to New York. In search of ordinary people for his subjects, he traveled widely in American and European rural areas, especially in Maine, western Ireland, Brittany, and Spain. Painting in New York along with fellow artists John Sloan, George Luks, George Bellows, and others, Henri considered himself to be a “revolutionary” artist, working to challenge the old standards for realistic subjects. He and his colleagues rejected genteel subjects such as landscapes and garden scenes in favor of depictions of urban and working life. Henri was critical to the organization of the exhibition of The Eight at New York’s famed Macbeth Galleries in 1908, and he is considered the founder of the subsequent “Ashcan School,” a loosely affiliated group of artists committed to portraying contemporary urban life. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. James Schiro & Dr. Tara Rumbarger.

 Artwork of the Week: March 19, 2022 

By Audrey Scanlan-Teller, Ph.D., Independent Scholar & Art Historian Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator In celebration of Irish-American Heritage Month, we hope that you enjoy this painting from the collection. If you visit the museum, we invite you to see this work, which is on view in the Thieblot Gallery. James Hamilton (American, b. Ireland (1819–1878) USS Weehawken in a Gale off the Coast of Virginia, 1872 Oil on canvas 30 1/8″ H x 50 1/8″ W Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Museum purchase, A1184,62.0006 James Hamilton originally came from Etrien (near Belfast, Ireland) and immigrated to Philadelphia with his family in 1834. Primarily self-taught, he established a studio in 1840 and specialized in marine paintings. Commissioned by U.S. Senator A. G. Catell from New Jersey, this painting represents the technological innovation and seaworthy design of this New Jersey-built ironclad warship. In January 1863, bound for South Carolina as part of the Atlantic Blockade Squadron, the Weehawken was caught in a fierce storm. While the ships accompanying the ironclad had to break off to seek shelter, the Weehawken pressed onward and was able to ride out the rough sea with relative ease. Her captain reported, “the behavior of the vessel was easy, buoyant, and indicative of thorough safety.”Hamilton depicted the Weehawken cresting a great wave, full-steam ahead. In the distance, the sail and steam powered Iroquois struggles against the high seas and nature’s adversity. Judging by the dramatic parting clouds in the sky and the artist’s extensive use of turbulent atmospheric perspective, both vessels are either passing or headed into a storm. While this canvas alludes to the perils of sea travel and maritime combat, it also conveys a sense of triumph and optimism through the clearing in the sky.Like many other nineteenth-century landscape painters, Hamilton responded to the loose, emotional style of English Romantic, J.M.W. Turner, whose paintings he avidly studied from engravings. In fact, he became known as “The American Turner” because of his frequent use of vivid lighting effects in his paintings that closely recalled the technique and style of the British master. In addition, Hamilton both taught and mentored Edward and Thomas Moran, two significant American artists whose work is represented in the collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts.Interestingly, one of Hamilton’s pictures, What Are the Wild Waves Saying? (1868, Brooklyn Museum), was inspired by a scene from Charles Dicken’s novel, Dombey and Son (1847‒48). Hamilton gave this work to Dickens, who expressed much appreciation and later mentioned that it was the only gift he accepted during his both of his American tours (1842, 1867‒68). This WeekendArt is sponsored by Ms. Beth A. Rishel

Artwork of the Week: March 5 , 2022

By Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber Curator

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we hope that you enjoy this sculpture in the Museum’s collection. If you visit the museum, we invite you to see this work, which is on view in the Kerstein Gallery installation, The Eight to Abstraction: Modernism and Innovation. Louise Nevelson (American, b. Russia 1899–1988) Untitled, 1958 Painted wood 20″h x 12″w x 6 7/8″d Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Museum purchase, A2460,85.0408 2018.1.1 This modestly scaled work displays Louise Nevelson’s approach to constructing her work, through layering multiple cut pieces of wood and found objects in a shadow box, which was then usually painted black or white. During the mid- to late 1950s, the artist began to focus on shallow relief sculptures like this example, manipulating and contrasting organic elements with geometric forms that absorb or redirect light. Nevelson’s work paralleled the rise of Abstract Expressionism in painting, and reflects a similar concern for the emotional value of large, three-dimensional assemblage pieces. Louise Nevelson was one of the most important American sculptors of the 20th century. Working primarily with pieces of wood and found objects (e.g., milk boxes and lettuce crates), Nevelson earned fame for her often-monumental sculptures. Born to a Jewish family in Czarist Russia, Nevelson and her family emigrated to Rockland, Maine, in 1905. After her marriage, she moved to New York City where she began to study at the Art Students League and at the studio of famed Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hoffman, as well as with Chaim Gross. She had her first solo exhibition in 1941 but did not achieve widespread success until the 1950s. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. & Mrs. Dean Notabartolo Artwork of the Week: Feb. 26, 2022

We hope that you enjoy this dynamic sculpture in the Museum’s collection. If you visit the museum, we invite you to see the work, which is on view in the Kerstein Gallery installation, The Eight to Abstraction: Modernism and Innovation. Ralph Baney (American, b. Trinidad and Tobago, 1929–2014) The Bride, 1975 Walnut 78″H x 17 ½”W x 17″D Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Warner, A2566,87.0400The Bride is an elegant example of Ralph Baney’s wooden sculpture. In abstracting readily recognizable human forms, the artist reduced this figure to its essential elements (a head, arm, and torso) that sensually bend and curve in space, suggesting movement and activating the work’s relationship to its surroundings. As the artist remarked, “My method of work is to let the wood dictate what direction it should go; I respond to the natural torsions of the wood and cooperate with it rather than fight it. I try to get the ultimate in refinement of form and surface quality in order to bring out the inherent beauty of the material.” As a student in England, Baney especially admired the sculptures of Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, and Robert Clatworthy, influential British modernists.An artist of color, Baney was born in Trinidad and attended Naparima Teachers College (1951–53). He received a Government Art Scholarship to study at Brighton College of Art (now Brighton University, UK), where he earned NDD and A.T.C. degrees (1957–1962). After nine years as Art Officer in the Trinidad Ministry of Education and Culture, he embarked on graduate studies at the University of Maryland, College Park (1971–76), earning both masters and doctoral degrees. For many years, Baney taught art at Baltimore County Community College, Dundalk. In addition to working in wood, Baney employed bronze, ceramic, and stone. His wife, Vera, also was a sculptor and her work is represented in the museum’s collection.To learn more about the Baneys’ sculptures, visit: http://www.ralphandverabaney.com/

By Daniel Fulco, Ph.D., Agnita M. Stine Schreiber CuratorDuring Black History Month, we hope that you enjoy these portraits in the museum’s collection.

Joshua Johnson (American, ca. 1763–1824) Portrait of Susanna Amos Yoe and Mary Elizabeth Yoe; Portrait of Benjamin Franklin Yoe and Son Benjamin Franklin Yoe, Jr., 1809 Oil on canvas 35.5″h x 29″w; 35.75″h x 29″w Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, gifts of F. Sydney Cushwa, 1994, A2972,94.0012-0013 One of the first professional African American artists, Joshua Johnson was born around 1763 in Baltimore County, Maryland, likely somewhere within the Back River Upper Hundred, a district in the city’s northwest section. He was the son of a white man, George Johnson, and an unknown Black slave owned by a William Wheeler, Sr. After being freed in 1782, Joshua moved to Baltimore, where he completed an apprenticeship under blacksmith William Forepaugh and began to take up portrait painting. By the late 1790s, Johnson had established himself as one of the leading early Federal-era portraitists of upper middle-class Baltimoreans in the burgoening city, a distinction he held through the mid-1820s. Given his background and the era in which he lived, Johnson was impelled to overcome many racial and social hurdles in pursuing his profession and he persevered remarkably in that endeavor. In the portraits of the male Yoe family members, Benjamin, Sr. (ca. 1772–1832), posed in a Windsor chair, is joined by his son (1804–83), Benjamin, Jr., who places his left hand on his father’s hand and in his other holds a pink rose, a symbol of innocence and sweetness. In the second portrait, Susanna Amos Yoe (b. 1786), seated on a Federal-style sofa with a book on her lap, is near her daughter, Mary Elizabeth (b. 1806), who is dressed in white and holds pink roses, also symbolic of affection. In The Yoe family portraits, Johnson reinforced typical gender roles by depicting father and son together in one instance and mother and daughter in the other. Like her brother, Benjamin, Elizabeth holds out five pink roses as an expression of devotion to her mother as well as her graciousness and love. These subtle, tender interactions between figures signaled changes in European and American society and new trends in portraiture of the early 1800s, particularly the relaxation of more rigid portrait conventions. Often, artists like Johnson employed a gentler, relaxed approach in portraying their subjects whereby people appear less formal and display familial affection. The WCMFA’s portraits are nearly identical copies of the companion portraits (see below) in the collection of the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts (MESDA), Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In a common practice, Johnson painted two of each portrait so that both children would inherit a pair. The MESDA portraits differ from the Hagerstown examples in their brighter, cooler color palette, rendering of detail, and figural modeling. Benjamin Yoe operated a tailoring business in Baltimore, an occupation he took with him when he moved with his family to Hagerstown in 1810. Benjamin Yoe, Jr., became an attorney in the city and a member of the House of Delegates representing Washington County. In 1823, Mary Elizabeth married George Fechtig, a Hagerstown merchant. The paintings in the WCMFA collection were donated by the great-grandson of Mary Elizabeth, Washington County-based industrialist F. Sydney Cushwa (1902–96). Johnson’s work was the subject of the WCMFA’s recent landmark exhibition, Joshua Johnson: Portraitist of Early American Baltimore (2021‒22), which was the first monographic presentation of the artist’s work since 1988.

By Audrey Scanlan-Teller, Ph.D., Independent Scholar & Art Historian During Black History Month, we hope that you enjoy this painting on loan to the museum from the David C. Driskell Center at the University of Maryland, College Park. If you visit WCMFA, we encourage you to view this work, which is displayed in the Smith Gallery.   Charles Ethan Porter (American, 1847–1923) Still Life with Mums, ca. 1880 Oil in canvas 11.75″h x 19.5″w Lent by the David C. Driskell Center, University of Maryland, College Park, permanent loan from the Collection of David C. Driskell, L2019-2-1 Charles Ethan Porter was a gifted African American artist from Connecticut who had to fight racial prejudice to become a painter and sell his canvases. Working in New York City and Hartford, Connecticut, in the decades following the Civil War, he specialized in still-life painting, in which fruits, vegetables, or flowers were arranged on a table or floor and were painted from life. In the late nineteenth century, wealthy and upper middle-class patrons favored tranquil still-life paintings to decorate their homes. Still-Life with Mums features quick, textured brush strokes that make the petals seem to burst from the canvas, yet the mums are naturally rendered with soft, pastel colors. Porter’s masterful technique conveys a remarkable sense of immediacy and his use of warm, bright light accentuates the work’s optimism and liveliness. Porter was one of the first African Americans to study at the National Academy of Design, NY, from 1871‒73. He trained in France at the École Nationale Supérior des Arts Décoratifs from 1881‒83 with a letter of introduction from the American writer Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens), who recognized Porter’s talent and purchased his paintings. In 2008, Porter’s work was the subject of a significant exhibition, Charles Ethan Porter: African-American Master of Still Life, organized by the New Britain Museum of Art, Connecticut, and curated by Dr. Hildegard Cummings. The David C. Driskell Center for the Study of the Visual Arts and Culture of African Americans and the African Diaspora honors the legacy of David C. Driskell (1931‒2020) —distinguished university professor emeritus of art, artist, art historian, collector, curator and philanthropist— by preserving the rich heritage of African American visual art and culture. From 2019‒20, the Driskell Center, in conjunction with the University of Maryland Global Campus (UMGC) Arts Program, was a key lender to the landmark exhibition, The Blues and the Abstract: Voices of African American Art. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Mr. & Mrs. David O. McCain, III

Edwin Willard Deming (American, 1860–1942) Departure of the Hunters, ca. 1887–1900 Oil on canvas 12.25″h x 18″w Anonymous gift, 2018.7.186In Departure of the Hunters, Edwin Willard Deming created a tranquil, contemplative representation of three Native Americans preparing to depart from a riverbank in a canoe. Judging by the subdued light, its reflection on the water, and the color palette of pastel and earth tones, the artist suggested that this scene unfolds either at dawn or dusk. Deming spent a considerable amount of time living with Native Americans and was a sympathetic eyewitness in portraying their daily lives and cultural practices. This poetic, atmospheric painting conveys Deming’s admiration for these people’s traditional way of life and close relationship to nature. The style of Departure of the Hunters demonstrates the influence of Impressionism and Tonalism on Deming’s work, particularly in his use of thick, broad brush strokes and focus on the fleeting, spontaneous qualities of nature.Born in Ashland, Ohio, Deming was an illustrator and painter of the American West. As a child, he grew up with members of the Sac, Fox, and Winnebago nations in western Illinois. He later studied at the Art Students League, New York, and then the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris with the academic painters Gustave Boulanger and Jules Joseph Lefebvre. Beginning in 1887, Deming traveled west with fellow artists DeCost Smith and Frederic Remington to complete illustrations of the Sioux and Crow (Upper Plains) tribes for Outing magazine. Subsequently, Deming spent three decades living with members of the Apache, Pueblo (Southwest), and Umatilla (Oregon) nations. During these years, he also made occasional trips to New York, where he married artist Therese Osterheld; they eventually raised six children in the West. Interestingly, the Blackfeet peoples (Montana) adopted the entire family and gave Deming the name of “Eight Bears.”This WeekendArt is sponsored by Ms. Susan KemnitzerArtwork of the Week: Jan. 22, 2022William Henry Singer, Jr. (American, 1868–1943) Olden River in Winter, ca. 1920s Oil on canvas 42.5″h x 39.5″w    Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Anna Brugh Singer, A0585,49.0035    William Singer knew this river, which was located near his home in Olden, a village nestled in the countryside of western Norway. He painted the waterway in different seasons and moods, similar to the way many artists associated with the Impressionist movement liked to study place and atmosphere. Here, the awe-inspiring harshness of a Norwegian winter is captured in all its majesty. The icy, freezing river carves it way through the snowy mountains. The viewer can almost feel the bracing cold. Singer’s animated brushstrokes lend a sense of force to the water, and his limited, wintry color palette conveys the sculptural grandeur of the lofty peaks.William and his wife, Hagerstown native, Anna Brugh Singer, founded the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in 1928. Having received $4,000,000 from his father in 1907, Singer was able to enjoy a life of comfort, pursuing what he loved best and to support Anna in her passion for art collecting. On a trip to Norway in 1903, William discovered that the mountainous landscape captivated him. Throughout his career, he captured the spirit and magnificence of the country’s natural beauty, giving titles to his paintings that suggested nature’s roots in religious faith, such as Nature as God Made It, Rock of Ages, and Peace Divine.Artwork of the Week: Jan. 15, 2022William Partridge Burpee (American, 1846‒1940) Near the Close of a Winter’s Day, ca. 1902‒03 Oil on canvas 10″H x 11.125″W Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Anonymous gift, 2018.7.116   In this wistful, enigmatic landscape, William Partridge Burpee juxtaposed a snow-covered field with the trees and farmhouse in the background. The artist achieved this remarkable effect by contrasting the fading, reddish-brown sunlight and the shaded landscape in the foreground. A lone figure in the middle ground can be seen making his or her way back toward the house. While Near the Close of a Winter’s Day conveys a sense of remoteness and austerity, it also expresses the artist’s fascination with the serenity and solace afforded by the countryside, themes to which he returned over the course of his career.Born in Rockland, Maine, Burpee studied with William Bradford (1823–1892), who was renowned for his twilight landscapes of Canada and the Arctic. Later in life, Burpee developed an Impressionistic style characterized by loose brushwork and ethereal atmospheric perspective. Among his favorite subjects were marine scenes of the Massachusetts coastline in which he depicted families at play, netmenders, fishermen, and clamdiggers. After a trip to Europe in 1897, the painter exhibited his work at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, and the American Watercolor Society, New York. Burpee also was awarded a bronze medal at the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904This WeekendArt is sponsored by the Jamison Door CompanyArtwork of the Week: Jan. 8, 2022Robert Bogle (American, 1817‒1860) Portrait of Ada (the Artist’s Daughter), 1856 Oil on canvas 24″H x 18″W Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Mr. & Mrs. George M. Durrett, A2139,81.0008In this portrait, Robert Bogle depicted his daughter, Ada (1846/7‒1917), seated on a hill near Anacostia with a vista of the city of Washington in the background. Also visible are the Potomac and Anacostia Rivers that converge with one another. In the lower left appear the Tidal Basin and the Washington Monument, the pinnacle of which had not yet been completed at the time. Judging by the artist’s inclusion of fresh flowers, verdant vegetation, and his daughter’s white dress and straw hat, it is likely that this scene unfolds in spring or summer. Following closely in the tradition of European portraiture in which sitters were often placed in an elevated position above the landscape, Bogle lovingly captured Ada’s expression which conveys both tenderness and confidence.The son of a doctor, Bogle was born in Georgetown, South Carolina. Both Robert and his twin brother, James, pursued careers as professional artists and shared a studio together in Charleston during the 1840s. A portraitist by training, he worked in New Orleans, Baltimore, and Charleston. By 1860, he was living in Washington, D.C., and he returned to the South prior to the outbreak of the Civil War.This WeekendArt is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. James N. Holzapfel Artwork of the Week: Jan. 1, 2022

Jean-Charles Cazin (French, 1841‒1901)
A Rural Farmhouse at Dusk, ca. 1880‒85
Oil on canvas, 22″H x 18 1/4″W
Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts
Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Albert R. Miller, Jr., A2683,91.0013

While Jean-Charles Cazin began his career painting biblical and historical subjects, he is best remembered today for his poetic, delicate landscapes of the French countryside around Grez-sur-Loing, France (near Fontainebleau Forest). Influenced by Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot, Jean-François Millet, and other Barbizon artists, Cazin practiced a method of painting from memory (which he originally learned from his teacher, Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran) that emphasized visual and color retention, the capturing of solar and lunar effects, and the careful application of atmospheric perspective. In A Rural Farmhouse at Dusk, the artist depicted a lone dwelling illuminated by a faint light. Cazin employed luminous, gentle tonalities and somber hues of gray, orange, and brown in the sky and deftly contrasted them with the green and tan field in the foreground. A contemplative and wistful scene, the painter created an image that embodied the ephemerality of twilight. As he poignantly described, “Now fades the glimmering landscape on the sight, and all the air a solemn stillness holds”. Born in Samer, Pas-de-Calais, in northern France, Cazin first studied at the School of Decorative Art in Paris with Horace Lecoq de Boisbaudran, who also taught Henri Fantin-Latour, Jules Dalou, and Alphonse Legros, artists whose work is represented in the collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts. In 1868, Cazin became Director of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Tours and curator of the museum there. From 1869 to 1875, he traveled to Italy and Holland where he studied landscapes in the tradition of the Old Masters. Upon returning to France, Cazin gradually earned critical acclaim. In 1889, he received a Gold Medal at the Paris Universal Exposition and in 1898, he was commissioned to complete Pierre Puvis de Chavanne’s unfinished mural cycle in the Panthéon and Sorbonne University in Paris. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. & Mrs. George Manger   Artwork of the Week: Dec. 25, 2021 Frederick Stuart Church (American, 1842‒1924) Cold Sauce with Christmas Pudding, 1894 Originally published in W. Lewis Fraser, “Our Christmas Pictures”, The Century Magazine, vol. 49 (1894‒95), p. 317 Oil on board 23 3/8″ H x 15 5/8″ W Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Museum purchase, A1258,63.0007    In this lighthearted, whimsical subject, a young woman holding a knife gazes out at the viewer. Next to her, the bear presents to her a pot of cold sauce to spread on the Christmas pudding held up by four rabbits. On the lower left, two of them have already begun to savor some of this delectable treat. The lady’s and rabbits’ amusing, somewhat mischievous gaze and smiles invite the viewer to partake in their enjoyment and merriment. Created at a time when color illustrations and chromolithography were still time-consuming and costly, Frederick Stuart Church painted this scene en grisaille (French, “in black and white”) so that it could be more effectively photographed and reproduced in The Century Magazine (see below). Trained as a professional illustrator, Church (unrelated to the famous Hudson River School painter, Frederic Edwin Church), studied in New York at the National Academy of Design and the Art Students League. He became famous for his animated, fanciful depictions of animals, as well as his illustrations for Aesop’s Fables (1882), which were among his most celebrated works. Church also illustrated numerous periodicals, including Harper’s Weekly, Harper’s Bazaar, and Ladies’ Home Journal. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Ms. Nanette N. Stevens & Mr. Karl J. Keller   Artwork of the Week: Dec. 18, 2021 Régis François Gignoux (French, 1816‒1882) Winter Scene (Winter Sketch), 1850 Oil on canvas 21 7/8″h x 30 5/8″w Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Museum purchase, A1305,63.0027 This painting depicts cattle, a farmhouse, and a frozen pond on a cold winter’s day. Judging by the dramatic parting clouds in the sky and the artist’s extensive use of misty and glistening atmospheric perspective, a storm has just passed through the area. Winter Scene (Winter Sketch) embodies the essence of the season and conveys both a sense of foreboding and optimism through the clearing of the clouds above. Known for his rural snow scenes of New Jersey and New England, Régis François Gignoux specialized in winter landscapes which closely paralleled those of his contemporaries George Henry Durrie (1820‒1863) and Louis-Rémy Mignot (1831‒1870). Born in Lyon, France, Gignoux studied there at the Académie St. Pierre and at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, under the renowned academic painter Paul Delaroche (1797‒1856). While Gignoux worked in America for much of his career, he returned to France at the end of his life. He was elected to the National Academy, New York, served as the first President of the Brooklyn Academy, and was both a teacher and close friend of George Inness (1825‒1894), whose work is also represented in the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts’ collection. In 1850, Gignoux exhibited this painting at the American Art Union, New York. This WeekendArt is sponsored by Dr. James Schiro & Dr. Tara Rumbarger   Artwork of the Week: Dec. 11, 2021 Franklin Dullin Briscoe (American, 1844–1903) Hauling in the Nets, 1878 Oil on canvas 24″h x 42″w Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Museum purchase, A1309,64.0002   Over the course of his career, Franklin Dullin Briscoe traveled to Europe frequently and spent a considerable amount of time at sea where he observed its majestic qualities firsthand. Responding to the tradition of Dutch and English fishing subjects, he paid particular attention to atmospheric effects such as the play of light and shadow in the clouds and the shifting conditions of the surf in the foreground.  Hauling in the Nets portrays a group of French fishermen pulling in their catch for the day, a subject which the artist painted on several occasions from the 1860s through the 1890s (see French Fisherman, 1892, shown below). This scene is particularly noteworthy because of its large scale and inclusion of several different types of boats.  With Briscoe’s emphasis on the overcast, wind-swept weather and the considerable effort exerted by the mariners to achieve their task, the viewer gains a sense of both the excitement and perils of seafaring life in the late nineteenth century. From 2009‒2015, this painting was on loan to the State of Maryland and was displayed at the State House in Annapolis. Born in Baltimore, Briscoe moved with his family to Philadelphia in 1848 and studied with the renowned marine artist, Edward Moran (1829–1901), in 1860, who was the younger brother of famed American landscapist Thomas Moran (1837–1926). By the age of twenty-five, Briscoe had established his reputation as a painter of seascapes, though he also produced landscapes, orientalist scenes, and history paintings. One of his most famous commissions was The Battle of Gettysburg (1885, now lost), a ten-panel mural that he exhibited widely throughout the United States. Franklin Dullin Briscoe French Fisherman, 1892 Oil on canvas 13 x 21 in. Formerly Grogan & Co. Boston, MA This WeekendArt is sponsored by Ms. Beth A. Rishel   Artwork of the Week: Dec. 4, 2021

First Week of November Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669) Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, 1634 Etching 3 ½ x 4 ½ in. Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of an anonymous donor, 2018   Rembrandt van Rijn, a painter, printmaker, and draftsman was one of the most significant Dutch artists of his generation. He exerted a major impact on the history of art through his tremendous versatility in multiple media and mastery of a diverse range of subjects including history and literature, biblical themes, portraiture, landscape, and genre scenes. This etching depicts a biblical story from Genesis, in which the wife of the Egyptian officer, Potiphar, attempts to seduce Joseph. While he resists her advances, she nevertheless seeks to lure him into bed and grabs onto his coat. As he leaves the room, she retains his garment and later uses it as evidence to falsely accuse him of assault, a charge which ultimately leads to his imprisonment. In this highly erotic image, Rembrandt captured the emotional tension and energy between the two figures. Interestingly, Italian painter and engraver Antonio Tempesta (1555-1630), created an earlier, comparable rendition of this scene which might have inspired Rembrandt’s composition.   Renowned for his use of sharp chiaroscuro that betrays the influence of Italian Baroque artist Caravaggio (1571–1610), Rembrandt became a master at using this technique in his prints.  Chiaroscuro involves dramatic contrasts of light and dark often employed in seventeenth-century art and it is typically associated with the work of Caravaggio and his followers. In this composition the contrast is achieved through cross-hatching and his masterful skills in inking the copper plate from which he made this print. Over the course of his career, Rembrandt produced a total of about three hundred etchings from the 1620s –1660s. He documented his own image through a remarkable series of self-portraits and often used family members as models in many of his prints. Often, the artist produced his etchings as alternate versions of the same subject in various “states” which were collected widely throughout Europe and helped establish his international reputation in subsequent centuries. Rembrandt van Rijn  Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, 1634 Copper etching plate 3 ½ x 4 ½ in. Private collection, on loan to Rembrandthuis, Amsterdam Antonio Tempesta (Italian, 1555-1630) Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife, ca. 1590s Etching 2 x 2 ½ in.   Collection of Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest

Third Week of October

Second Week of October

First Week of  October   Utagawa Yoshikazu (Japanese active 1848-70) The Great Battle of Mount Ishibashi, 1849 Woodblock print, ink, and color on paper               14 ¾  x 29 in.      Collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts              Gift of Mrs. Jefferson Patterson, 1985 Ukiyo–e (Japanese: “pictures of the floating world”) are among the most renowned forms of Japanese art. Originating in the early part of the Edo Period (1606–1868), these works were often produced as woodblock prints and they became very popular in Japanese society. Enjoyed by aristocrats and common people alike, prevalent subjects included scenes from daily life, literature, history, theater, and nature. Today, ukiyo–e are still produced and sold on the art market. As pictured in the examples below, artists often portrayed subjects from earlier periods of Japanese history. In this case, Utagawa Yoshikazu, a student of the renowned artist Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798–1861), chose to represent an event that occurred during the late Heian Period (794–1185). Yoshikazu was born in Edo (Tokyo) and he became a significant printmaker of yokohama–e, a term used to describe prints that depicted foreigners from the West. These works provided interesting, somewhat exotic subjects for the many Japanese who were largely unexposed to western imagery prior to the forced opening of Japan’s ports through the Kanagawa Treaty (1854) with the United States. This print (a vertical oban triptych) visualizes a moment in the Battle of Mount Ishibashi (September 14, 1180), which was fought between the opposing Minamoto and Taira clans during the Genpei War (1180–1185). This scene unfolds along a rocky coastline in which military officers and their samurai engage in dramatic combat. Yoshikazu heightened the excitement, fervor, and dynamism of the episode by representing the Taira cavalry and infantry charging from the right of the composition toward an outnumbered group of Minamoto warriors on the left. Despite his bravery and zeal, one Minamoto samurai in the middle foreground has been struck and falls from his horse to the ground. In the center, a Taira officer brandishing a large lance turns his head to gaze down toward his slain opponent. In the background, a fire has broken out behind the tree and the encroaching flames allude to the looming Taira victory. Unlike his mentor Kuniyoshi’s rendition of the Battle of Mount Ishibashi (see below), Yoshikazu’s print condenses the figural groups, makes use of a palette of pastel colors, and focuses the viewer’s attention on the spectacle of the skirmish itself. By contrast, Kuniyoshi concentrated on the red and earth-tone details of the landscape, staged the event closer to the shoreline, and separated the clashing warriors into small, loosely connected confrontations. The Genpei War ultimately led to the collapse of the Taira regime, the establishment of the Kamakura Shogunate (1185–1333) by the Minamoto, and the inauguration of feudal Japan (1185–1868), a period in which rival clans led by shoguns (warlords) vied to consolidate their political power and control of territory with the assistance of samurai (warriors). During the Battle of Mount Ishibashi, Minamoto no Yoritomo (1147–1199) was defeated after clashing with the army of his rival, Taira no Kiyomori (1118–1181), in the southwest of present-day Odawara (Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan), near Yoritomo’s headquarters at Kamakura. Utagawa Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1797-1861 Late Edo Period) Combat between Sanda and Matano at The Great Battle of Mount Ishibashi in the Genpei War on the Night of the Twenty-Second Day of the Eighth Month, 1180, 1843 Woodcut 14 x 28 1/8 in. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston William Sturgis Bigelow Collection

Third Week of September   Marius Alexander Jacques Bauer (Dutch, 1867–1932) Palitana, ca. 1897–98 Watercolor on paper 22 ½  x 32 ½ in. Collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Mr. and Mrs. William H. Singer, Jr., 1931 In this atmospheric painting, Marius Bauer exquisitely captured both the beauty and enigma of Palitana, a city located in the province of Gujarat, India.  Palitana is renowned as a major pilgrimage site for Jains (Jainism is an ancient Indian religion) and it is the second major vegetarian city in the world. This work likely depicts a view of the Shatrunjaya Hills, upon which many of Palitana’s most famous temples stand. A group of men on the lower right of the scene, possibly soldiers since some of them carry spears and shields, have stopped to rest on the roof of a fortress. They observe the dramatic view of domes in the foreground and towers in the distance. Cast in a grayish-white haze, Bauer’s depiction of this city’s architecture and its peoples conveys an ethereal, dreamy quality through its extensive use of loose brushstrokes and atmospheric perspective. Shortly after arriving in India in 1897, Bauer fell under the country’s spell. He wrote: “Why that perpetual idolisation of ditches and ponds and windmills, when one can revel in the lines and colours of tropical forests and temples.[sic.]” After the artist returned home to the Netherlands in 1898, he remarked: “Now comes the second pleasure, that of recollecting, even finer than the reality. The less lovely and the western aftertaste vanishes, leaving a wonderland of palaces and temples, populated by measureless files of brightly clothed orientals, richly decked-out horse processions, camels and throngs of elephants. Recollecting softens the shadows and the light, throws a transparent veil over reality and transforms this into a vision in which the colours will never fade.” Although the artist’s statements reinforce European Orientalist stereotypes and biased attitudes about non-western peoples, they also express his immersion in his travels abroad, his interest in Indian history and culture, and his desire to escape reality by painting his recollections of past journeys. Bauer worked as a painter, lithographer, and an etcher who specialized in Orientalist scenes influenced by Impressionism. Many of his works were based on photographs he bought during his travels to India, Egypt, Algeria, Persia and Turkey (1888–1898; 1902–1911), including examples by photographers such as Félix Bonfils (1831–1885). Bauer also produced illustrations for several publications, most notably the 1001 Arabian Nights. From 1878–85, Bauer studied at the Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, and he soon thereafter came into contact with WCMFA founders Anna and William Singer while painting with some of the Laren School artists. Later, the Singers purchased numerous paintings and drawings by him from the art dealer Frans Buffa. Today, Bauer’s works are owned by the Rijksmuseum, The British Museum, and the Singer Laren, the WCMFA’s sister museum founded by Anna Singer in The Netherlands.

Washington County Officials at the WCMFA dedication, Septemeber 15, 1931

Second Week of September

Yun Bing (Nan Lan Ling Nu Shi) (Chinese, Qing Dynasty, active late 17^th–early 18^th century) Chrysanthemums, autumn 1688 Handscroll with India ink on silk 78 x 17 ¾ x 2 ½ in. Collection of Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift of Richard Driscoll, 2000 Yun Bing was the daughter of Yun Shouping (1633–1690, Nantian), a renowned Qing Dynasty flower painter and one of the “Six Masters” along with the Four Wangs and Wu Li (ca. 1632–1718). Her alias, Nan Lan Ling Nu Sh, literally means “intellectual woman of South Lanling” (southern Shandong Province, China). Like her father, Bing was a remarkably sensitive observer of nature and painted not only flowers but also insects and birds in their natural habitat. During her lifetime, the governor–general of Liang–Jiang (eastern China) presented one her paintings to the Empress Dowager Xiao Sheng Xian (1693–1777) and the Qianlong Emperor (Hongli, 1711–1799). He admired it so much that he inscribed a dedicatory poem on the work, thereby helping to establish Bing’s reputation at court. In Chrysanthemums, Bing embodied the spirit of longing and wistfulness from the verses of a poem described below. Specifically, she centered our attention on the fleeting beauty and fine textural details of the flower petals, leaves, and rocky outcroppings whose colors are subtly juxtaposed. While the poet himself, the fence, and mountains are not present in the composition, the viewer is invited to imagine their existence in the past. The characters in this painting contain a poem by Tao Yuanming (ca. 365–427 CE), who was a renowned poet of the Jin (265–420 CE) and Liu Song (420–479 CE) Dynasties and also was a great enthusiast of chrysanthemums: Although we cannot be intoxicated (in the love for chrysanthemums) together with Tao, The hearts blossomed facing the East Fence at one time.  According to historical sources, it is believed that Yuanming planted his own chrysanthemums at the east fence of his residence, in reference to his famous line in another poem: “While plucking chrysanthemums under the east fence, I observed leisurely the south mountain.” Both the artist and her intended audience of aristocratic literati, most of whom were well versed in ancient Chinese poetry, would have recognized the significance of both the fences and flowers in each of Yuanming’s poems.

First Week of September   Attributed to Dorothy Loretto Trujillo (American, 1932–1999) Native American, Laguna–Jemez-Cochiti, New Mexico Storyteller Doll, ca. 1978-1983 Ceramic and pigment 10 ¾ x 11 ¾  x 12 ⅝ in. Collection of the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts Gift from the Estate of Phyllis Emmert, 2009 Storyteller dolls are made by members of the Pueblo people of the Southwestern United States and they play a significant role in preserving indigenous oral traditions. These figures (also called Pueblo Storytellers) are created with clay and depict a man or a woman surrounded by children. Most often, the main figure’s mouth is open to demonstrate that he or she is telling a story to youngsters. The concept of creating these works derives from the Pueblo tradition of “Singing Mother” figures that are typically accompanied by children as well. In 1964, the first storyteller doll was made by Helen Cordero (1915–1994) to honor her grandfather, Santiago Quintana. Several renowned storyteller doll ceramists include Stella Teller (b. 1929), Carol Lucero Gachupin (b. 1958), Mary Lucero, and Linda Fragua. This example is attributed to Dorothy Loretto Trujillo, a member of the Laguna/Jemez culture (residing near Albuquerque, New Mexico) who married into the Cochiti Pueblo and made Cochiti-style pottery during the second half of the 1900s. This doll represents a male storyteller holding a pot on his head while eight children sit on his legs. The ceramic sculpture’s combination of black, red, and white exemplifies Trujillo’s use of contrasting color schemes. In addition to creating storyteller dolls, her pottery repertoire is comprised of polychrome jars, bowls, and nativity figures.

Fourth Week of August Burnis Calvin Day (American, b. 1932) Pastime Sports, 1976 Acrylic on canvas 30 x 39 in. Collection of Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County Gift of the artist, 1996 In this colorful painting, Day created a lively image of young people playing different sports and engaging in other forms of seasonal recreation. Working in an abstract style with geometric forms and broad planes of color, this African American artist portrayed groups of figures playing basketball, tennis, and baseball in the center and foreground. At the top of the work, individuals are depicted ice- and roller skating. Originally, Day developed the theme of this painting for a mural competition sponsored by the Detroit Parks and Recreation Department in 1976. When the mural design was not accepted as the winning entry, Day developed his work into a smaller painting, which he later donated to the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County. Eventually, his mural design based upon Pastime Sports was accepted for another competition and reproduced as a 13- x 16-foot mural (completed from 1996–97) at the Maheras-Gentry Recreation Center, Detroit (closed 1999). In relation to the composition’s intended communal setting, its subject conveys a sense of optimism and interracial cooperation. Day was born in Hepzibah, West Virginia, and he studied at the College for Creative Studies, Detroit, the Famous Artists School (formerly Westport, Connecticut), and Oakland Community College, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Day received exhibitions at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the New Mexico Arts League, Albuquerque, and the New England Art Institute (formerly Brookline, Massachusetts). After first teaching at Pittman’s Gallery, Inc., in 1973, Day later served as an instructor in drawing, painting, and mixed media at different arts institutions throughout Michigan. His work also is represented in the collections of the Detroit Institute of Arts and the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, Salt Lake City. To learn more about Day’s creative process, you are invited to view this interview with him and his Detroit-based contemporaries: Through the Artist Eyes (1981), © Detroit Educational Television Foundation, 1981.

Third Week of August Pieter Janssens Elinga or Workshop (Dutch, 1623–1682) Seated Painter, ca. 1650–82 Oil on canvas 15 x 12 ½ in. Collection of Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County Gift of Mr. Chester D. Tripp, 1955 Pieter Janssens Elinga was best known for his Dutch interiors painted in the style of Pieter de Hooch (1629–1684). Seated Painter represents an artist in his studio (possibly Elinga or one of his contemporaries) who is absorbed in the preparation of his paint. His actions are indicated by the mortar and pestle which would be used to grind raw materials for pigments. The inclusion of the glass stopper and small containers on the table also suggests that the man might be about to store the paint in a glass jar or vessel that is hidden by his body. The artist interestingly depicted the sitter with his back to the viewer and he obscured the entirety of his activities, thereby inviting us to ponder the exact nature of his working process. The presence of the landscape painting, palette, and tassel hanging on the wall allude to the artist’s profession. In the background, the portrait leaning against the wall depicts the French military officer Jacques de Mauvissière, Marquis of Castelnau (1620–1658), which might refer to a recently completed commission for that individual. This portrait is likely based upon Robert Nanteuil’s (1623–1678) engraving of the Marquis (see image below). Castelnau enjoyed a distinguished career in the King’s Army as Lieutenant General (1651) and briefly as Marshall of France (1658). In 1648, he was appointed Governor of Brest (Brittany) and he served in many battles during the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648) and Franco-Spanish War (1635–1659). This painting was the subject of an FBI investigation and lawsuit over its ownership. In 1989, descendants of the Schloss family (NYC) claimed that the WCMFA unlawfully held this painting, which they believed had been confiscated from their family (then living in France) by the Nazis in 1943. This claim was ultimately invalidated because the stolen painting that the family sought was in fact the first version of the same subject (see image below), the location of which remains unknown. The WCMFA was vindicated of any unlawful ownership of the work of art in question when it was proven that Museum’s painting was an alternate version of the same subject with its own distinct composition, execution, and style. Interestingly, the Schloss family had once owned the WCMFA painting but it sold the work prior to World War II. Subsequently, it entered the United States in 1935 and was offered for sale on the American art market. The most notable differences between the Schloss picture and the WCMFA example are the highlights on the curtain, the number of repaired window panes, the painter’s anatomical proportions, and the sharpness of de Castelnau’s facial expression and eyes. Pieter Janssens Elinga (Dutch, 1623–1682) Seated Painter, ca. 1650–82 Oil on canvas Formerly Schloss Collection, Paris, Current location unknown Robert Nanteuil (French, 1623–1678) Jacques de Mauvissière, Marquis von Castelnau, 1658 Engraving Image courtesy of Princeton Digital Collections, Robert Nanteuil Collection

Second Week of August Hugh Ralph Micklem (British, 1918–2009) Two Grenadines, 1993 Oil on wood panel Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Micklem, in Memory of Mrs. Helen Miller Mathias, 2002 In Two Grenadines, Micklem portrayed two pomegranates that are carefully arranged on a table. In order to achieve a contrast between the fruits and their surroundings, the artist juxtaposed their orange and red surface textures with the drapery of the yellow tablecloth against which they rest. Micklem’s painting betrays the influence of French Post-Impressionist painter Paul Cézanne (1839–1906) and it responds to trends in mid-20th-century British abstract art through its extensive use of impasto (raised, thick paint application), a subdued palette, compacted pictorial space, and subtle highlights on the pomegranates’ surface. Micklem also employed subtle, angular compositional forms and created the illusion that the fruits are projecting forward into the viewer’s space. Traditionally, pomegranates have symbolized fertility, regeneration, immortality, and beauty. Born in Hendon, United Kingdom, Micklem studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, London, from 1935–1939 with British modernists Bernard Meninsky (1891–1950) and William Roberts (1895–1980, English cubist and member of the Vorticist movement). From 1937–1939, he also trained under Mark Gertler (1891-1939) and George Emslie Owen (1899-1964) at the Westminster School of Art. During World War II, Micklem served with the British Army in France, India, and Burma. In 1949, he received a National Diploma in Design. Over the course of his career, Micklem exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Oil Painters, and the Royal Society of Portrait Painters. In addition to still lifes, the artist also painted portraits and many landscapes near his home on the southeast coast of Spain. Micklem and his wife, Joan, were good friends of long-time Museum member Mrs. Helen Miller Mathias (1907–1994), who often visited the couple in southern Spain.

First Week of August Teapot Creamer Sugar bowl Wedgwood (British, founded 1759) Basaltware Teapot, Creamer and Sugar Bowl, 1813 Stoneware Gift of Dr. & Mrs. W. Lehman Guyton, 1991 Wedgwood is an English pottery company that was founded by Josiah Wedgwood (1730–1795) in 1759. This tea set is made of black vitreous stoneware, used by Wedgwood as early as 1766. The pieces are decorated to commemorate the Battle of Vitoria (June 21, 1813) in Spain, fought between the Allied forces of Britain, Portugal, and Spain and the French under Napoleon I Bonaparte during the Peninsular War (1807–1814). The scene on the teapot and creamer memorializes General Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington (1769–1852), who led the British to victory, the imagery depicts a laurel wreath being placed on a bust of Wellesley by two classical figures. The spouts of the teapot and creamer are crafted to resemble lions while the other portions of both vessels are decorated with floral and vegetal motifs. All of the works bear the inscription “India, Portugal, and Spain/ Vittoria 21st June, 1813.” The Latin motto, “Viresque acquirit eundo,” translates as “And he gains might by going,” and it celebrates Wellington’s strategic triumph that eventually led to the Allied victory over Napoleon’s forces in the Peninsular War. The inclusion of India in the dedication refers to Wellington’s military campaigns to extend the British East India Company’s rule from 1797 to 1805. Wedgwood ceramics like these examples were made during the Industrial Revolution, an era in which decorative artworks were produced on a large scale for domestic display and use by an emerging consumer society. The intricate botanical designs and figural motifs on these pieces convey the significant influence of Neoclassicism, an artistic and architectural movement that revived ancient Greek and Roman forms and ideas.

Fourth Week of July F. Graham Cootes (American, 1879–1960) Portrait of W. E. B. Du Bois, ca. 1940–early 1950s Pastel on paper Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Fidlow, 2002 In this captivating work, F. Graham Cootes deftly depicted the renowned African American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, and author, W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963). The artist employed striking highlights on his sitter’s forehead, hair, and tie that subtly reference his age, wisdom, distinction, and determination. Between the 1940s and early 1950s, Cootes and Du Bois met when they were both living in New York. While the exact origin of the portrait remains unclear, it is likely that Cootes’ fame as a portraitist of notable personalities attracted Du Bois’ initial attention and that he possibly commissioned it from the artist. Du Bois was born in Barrington, Massachusetts, in 1868. He descended from French Huguenot, Dutch, and African ancestors. Throughout his career, he advocated vigorously for equal rights among African Americans and strove to combat racism in America and abroad. Du Bois was one of the most influential Black protest leaders of the world, as well as a major voice for social justice. Among his many accomplishments, Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University (1896), he authored numerous books, including his seminal work Black Reconstruction in America (1935), and was one of the founding members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). For the majority of his career, he also held the position of Professor of History, Sociology, and Economics at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University). Staunton, Virginia native Cootes attended Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, and the University of Virginia (Charlottesville), where he received his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees. In 1902, Cootes studied with Robert Henri at the New York Art School (now Parsons School of Design l The New School, NY). Early in his career, he was involved in advertising and was known for his illustrations in Scribner’s magazine, McClure’s Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, and the Saturday Evening Post. While working in New York, Cootes painted the portraits of many prominent Americans, including President Woodrow Wilson and Helen Taft, daughter of former President Howard Taft. The Woodrow Wilson 7-cent stamp issued in 1956 was based on Cootes’ official portrait of this President.

Third Week of July Unknown (Chinese) Tomb Figure, Tang Dynasty, ca. early-mid 8th century Glazed terracotta with colored pigments 22 3/4″h x 8 1/4″w x 6 1/8″d Gift of Mr. Alan Laster, 1956 Sacred sculptures similar to this tomb figure (Chinese: mingqui) were widely produced in Tang Dynasty China (618-906 CE). For centuries, Chinese artists excelled at making ceramic works, including glazed terracotta and porcelain wares. The figures are made of molded earthenware with a three-color glaze technique (Chinese: sancai) applied to most of the figure’s surface, with the exception of the head and face in most cases. During the first half of the 8th century CE, figures such as this one were created by Chinese ceramists for ritualistic purposes and placement in burial sites. It was believed that the persons represented by each statue would be able to accompany and assist the deceased in their afterlives. Typically, the figures portray servants, soldiers, political officials, courtesans, dancers, traders, and musicians. This example likely depicts an attendant based upon his simple clothing and lack of accessories. The use of brown and white glazes and the inclusion of realistic physical features are characteristic of this Tang sculptural type. As a means of connecting to the condition of contemporary worshipers, the artist added physiognomic details to the man’s head, most notably the exaggerated eyebrows and red lips as well as the mustache and beard, a fashion that was prevalent at the time.

Second Week of July Kenyon Cox, Studies after Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart’s etching, Goya’s Daughter-in-Law (1873), pages from Sketchbook of Kenyon Cox. Figure studies, pages from Sketchbook of Kenyon Cox. Studies of figures in 18th-century French costume, pages from Sketchbook of Kenyon Cox. Male figure study, pages from Sketchbook of Kenyon Cox. Kenyon Cox (American, 1856-1919) Sketchbook of Kenyon Cox, ca. 1877 Pencil drawings Collection of Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County, Gift of the National Academy of Design and the children of the artist, 1961 Cox was born in Warren, Ohio, the son of Union General Jacob Cox who fought at the Battle of Antietam (1862). The artist studied in Cincinnati and at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (Philadelphia), before leaving for France, in 1877, where he received instruction from Carolus-Duran and Jean-Léon Gérôme. Later, he studied under Alexandre Cabanel at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris. In 1882, Cox returned to America and settled in New York City, where he became an influential early instructor at the Art Students League. His experience in Europe cultivated in him a passion for careful drawing, technical proficiency, and classical idealism based on the art of the Italian Renaissance. Cox was renowned as an illustrator, art critic, a writer, and one of America’s most celebrated mural painters. At the 1893 Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, his paintings decorated the Liberal Arts Building. During the 1890s and early 1900s, he completed large-scale decorative commissions for the capitol buildings in Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin as well as court houses in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Today, Cox is perhaps most famous for his mural cycle (1896-97) in the rotunda of the Library of Congress’ Main Reading Room (Washington, D.C.), which depicts monumental allegories of the liberal arts and sciences. The works in this sketchbook date from the period when Cox was studying in France. These pages are filled with an eclectic combination of introspective and spontaneous drawings that provide insights into the artist’s working process and technique. The subjects range from studies that Cox made after European paintings, prints, and sculptures to sketches of studio models, personal observations of daily life, and figures dressed in historical costumes. In two compositions, Cox deftly executed a study based upon Jules-Ferdinand Jacquemart’s etching (1873), Goya’s Daughter-in-Law, which was completed after Spanish artist Francisco Goya’s original oil painting (1805). For images of these related works, see the following websites: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1982-U-1280 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gumersinda_Goicoechea,_Francisco_de_Goya.jpg It also should be noted that the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County owns Cox’s oil painting, Thistledown (1882), which is on display in the Bowman Gallery.

First Week of July Frederick Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935) The Gathering for the Festivities, 1906 Gouache and watercolor on paper Bequest of Betty and Hal Demuth, Winchester, Virginia, 2013 While it is not certain which gathering Hassam represented in this watercolor, he possibly depicted a town scene from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, or Maine because he was working and traveling in New England at this time. Judging by the prominence of the American flag and the large crowd of spectators gathered on the street and the porches of the houses, it is likely that the work portrays a commemorative parade or a celebratory gathering. Through his careful use of a grisaille (gray) palette, Hassam deftly captured the contrast between sunlight and shade throughout the composition. The two figures in the foreground look eagerly toward the events unfolding to the right, though their exact nature remain ambiguous. Hassam was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, the son of a wealthy Boston merchant. His formal art training began in Boston under German-American painter Ignaz Gaugengigl. After working as a wood engraver and illustrator, he continued his studies at the Académie Julian in Paris under Gustave Boulanger and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre. During his stay in France, Hassam adopted a style inspired by French Impressionism. After his studies, Hassam settled in Boston and then in New York, painting with artists throughout New England in the summers. The coastal town of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was one of his favorite haunts. Upon returning from Europe in 1889, Hassam settled in New York and continued to work both as a painter and an illustrator, doing most of his work in the New England area. In 1898, Hassam became a founding member of the independent group of artists known as the Ten. He was appointed a member of the National Academy of Design in 1902 and was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1920. Throughout his career, Hassam and his colleagues worked to promote and disseminate American Impressionism as a key artistic style and movement. At the Old Lyme artists’ colony in Connecticut, Hassam met MFA-WC founders Anna and William Singer, Jr. in the early 1900s. Later, Hassam gave the Singers his oil painting, White House, Gloucester (1895) as a token of their friendship. It was one of the first works (on view in the Singer Gallery) acquired specifically for the Museum’s collection.

Fourth Week of June Augustus Vincent Tack (American, 1870-1949) Portrait of Helen Keller, 1945 Collection of Museum of Fine Arts- Washington County (MFA-WC) Gift of Solton Engel, 1945 In this half-length portrait of Helen Keller, Augustus Vincent Tack depicted his sitter toward the end of her life. Using a complementary color palette of green and blue, he deftly captured her personality and dignified demeanor. Tack accurately rendered her physical features and emphasized her sober, focused expression which conveys resolve and composure. Tack painted this work after a larger, full-length portrait of Keller held by the Fogg Museum (Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, MA). At nineteen months old, Keller suffered a severe illness that caused her to lose her sight and hearing. With the assistance of her life-long companion and teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller persevered and pursued an ambitious career as an author, lecturer, social activist, and advocate for people with disabilities. Keller’s and Sullivan’s story is recounted in the renowned autobiography, The Story of My Life (1903). Among her many achievements, Keller was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964 by Lyndon B. Johnson and she was elected into the National Women’s Hall of Fame at the New York World’s Fair in 1965. Tack is renowned for his portraits and avant-garde abstract paintings. His chief patron was Duncan Phillips, founder of the Phillips Collection (Washington, DC), an institution which remains the chief repository for the artist’s work. From November to December 1938, the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County held a retrospective exhibition of Tack’s work that included his portraits, drawings, and paintings of abstract and religious subjects. Tack studied and taught at the Arts Students League in New York, became involved with the Deerfield Artist Colony (Massachusetts), and is renowned for his portraits of Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. The artist was first introduced to the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County by Hagerstown engineer, John B. Ferguson, Sr., after he visited the artist’s New York studio during the 1930s. Subsequently, Ferguson helped organize Tack’s 1938 exhibition with former MFA-WC Director Richard Carl Medford, facilitated the artist’s association with the Hagerstown community, and worked with the Museum’s Board to appoint him as an Honorary Trustee in the 1940s. Subsequently, Tack befriended Mrs. William T. Hamilton, Jr., former President of the Board of Trustees, who fondly recalled the artist in a letter: “Mr. Tack was a valued fried of our museum and of mine. I knew his whole family…the museum [MFA-WC] has a head and bust of Helen Keller taken from the magnificent large portrait of her which is owned by the Fogg Museum. Mr. Tack very graciously painted this of Miss Keller and contributed it to us, and she and I frequently met in his Washington studio.” (Mrs. William T. Hamilton, Jr., to Nathaniel M. Sims, Ms. Letter, undated, American Studies Group, 1967, Deerfield Academy, quoted and cited in Augustus Vincent Tack, 1870-1949, Deerfield, MA: Deerfield Academy, 1968).

Third Week of June Detail, The Battle of Eylau (1807) The Battle of Friedland (1807) opposite side of statue Unknown (French), Equestrian Statue of Napoleon, with Paintings on Base, 1810 Ivory inlay over wood, bronze Collection of Museum of Fine Arts—Washington County Gift of Dr. & Mrs. Harry Bowman, 1971 Although he was a ruthless and oppressive dictator, Napoleon I Bonaparte is nevertheless recognized as a highly capable military commander and strategist who significantly altered the course of European and American history. Rising through the ranks of the French military in the wake of the French Revolution (1789-1799), Napoleon I became Emperor of France in 1804, engaged in series of wars (1803-1815), and eventually controlled a vast Empire that stretched from Spain to Russia. This equestrian statue of Napoleon depicts him in his standard and recognizable dress featuring an overcoat, riding boots, and a bicorne hat. The buttons of his coat are embellished with green and red gemstones while the horse’s saddle and other tack is bronze. The statue was created using ivory inlay over wood and the base is decorated with floral motifs and Napoleon’s crest on each end. Both sides of the base also display a small painting of a battle scene. On one side of the statue is a painting depicting the Battle of Eylau, which took place in modern day Russia in February 1807. The harsh winter conditions of this battle and its many French casualties are embodied by the snowy landscape and the wounded soldiers scattered in the foreground. This battle brought Napoleon’s string of successes over the past year to a halt. On the other side of the statue is a painting depicting the Battle of Friedland (June 1807). This event was a decisive victory for Napoleon, forcing Emperor Alexander I of Russia to sign the Treaties of Tilsit, which left Napoleon as the ruler of western and central Europe.

Second Week of June Unknown (Spanish Colonial, New Mexico) Santo, ca. 1830-40 Carved wood and paint Collection of Museum of Fine Arts—Washington County Gift of Cinda Perry in memory of Spence Perry, 2018 Santo, from the Spanish word meaning “saint,” is a traditional type of Spanish colonial religious sculpture. Santos are usually wooden and ivory carvings that portray saints, angels, or other sacred figures. Examples like this sculpture were employed by ecclesiastical authorities to convert indigenous peoples to Roman Catholicism, which constituted an integral part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. This santo’s gesture of clasped hands relates to its function as an object of worship while its modest size and decoration suggest that it was made for private use in a home. Long distances and limited transportation between settlements in New Spain often restricted the supply of large-scale, official commissions of religious art from Spain to local parish churches. Therefore, a particular demand arose in colonial New Mexico for santos, which combine features found in Spanish baroque statues with influences from native artistic forms, materials, and techniques. Santos became popular devotional objects that were displayed in both churches and domestic shrines. The practice of santo carving has been especially preserved in in the northern New Mexican village of Cordova, which is renowned for this tradition.

First Week of June Unknown (Yoruba, primarily Nigeria, West Africa) Ibeji (Twin Figures, Male and Female), 20th century Wood Collection of Museum of Fine Arts—Washington County Gift of Dr. Russell Wade, 1986 These devotional sculptures embody the creative spirit of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. In their culture, twins (Ibeji) are special children whose birth can bless their parents with good fortune. The Yoruba have one of the highest rates of twin births in the world, and the loss of twins is therefore considered a great misfortune. If a twin dies, a mother commissions a memorial figure and the soul of the dead twin is transferred to it. Typically, she dresses the statuette in cloth, adorns it with jewelry, and keeps it near her bed. A mother also offers the sculpture food and prayers weekly and performs more elaborate rituals on the occasion of birthdays and annual festivals. West African notions of beauty tend to emphasize formal, abstract expressions and poses rather than realistic and detailed portrayals to convey concepts and meanings to viewers. These sculptures conform to Yoruba aesthetics of physical proportion whereby the head is one third the size of the body, for the head is associated with a person’s destiny or “inner head,” which determines success and failure in life. Other key aesthetic qualities include relative straightness, good composition, youthful appearance, and clarity of line.

Fifth Week of May Thomas Worthington Whittredge (American, 1820–1910) Landscape, ca. 1890s Oil on canvas Museum purchase, 1968 Thomas Worthington Whittredge’s Landscape depicts a woodland interior in which the trees are traversed by a winding stream that slows to a sand-edged pool in the foreground. Light filters through the forest canopy, illuminates the rushing water and leaves, and subtly silhouettes a fallen tree trunk. It is possible that the painting portrays a scene in New York’s Catskill Mountains or a view near Summit, New Jersey, where the artist lived from 1880 onward. While the Hudson River School painter’s early to mid-career works exhibit precise details that betray the influence of Andreas Achenbach, Asher B. Durand, and Thomas Cole, his late paintings are characterized by loose, sketchy brush-strokes and subdued colors. This scene’s setting and style recall motifs found in landscapes of French Barbizon artists such as Narcisse Díaz de la Peña. A self-made painter originally from Springfield, Ohio, Whittredge began his studies in Germany under Emmanuel Gottlieb Leutze at the Düsseldorf Art Academy in 1849. While there, he befriended Albert Bierstadt and posed for Leutze as George Washington and a steersman in Washington Crossing the Delaware (1849-51). Later, Whittredge also traveled to Switzerland and Italy. Not long after returning from his trip to Europe, he settled in New York in 1859. In that year, Whittredge reflected upon his personal experiences and offered insights onto his creative expression: …It was impossible for me to shut out from my eyes the works of the great landscape painters which I had so recently seen in Europe, while I knew well enough that if I was to succeed I must produce something new and which might claim to be inspired by my home surroundings. I was in despair. Sure, however, that if I turned to nature, I should find a friend, I seized my sketch box and went to the first available outdoor place I could find. I hid myself for months in the recesses of the Catskills. But how different was the scene before me from anything I had been looking at for many years! The forest was a mass of decaying logs and tangled brush wood, no peasants to pick up every vestige of fallen sticks to burn in their miserable huts, no well ordered forests, nothing but the primitive woods with their solemn silence reigning everywhere… [sic.]. (Excerpt from The Autobiography of Worthington Whittredge, 1820-1910, John I. H. Baur, ed. (New York: Brooklyn Museum Press, 1942), p. 42.

Fourth week of May Unknown (Iran, Qajar Dynasty) Lacquered Papier–Mâché Box, ca. mid-late 19th century Painted on paper over wood Gift of John Buchholz, 1992 From 1789 to 1925, Shahs of the ruling Qajar Dynasty in Iran witnessed an era of political and social reform, modernization, and industrialization that was shaped by diplomatic encounters with European nations. During this time, decorative objects and paintings were influenced by western techniques and forms, most notably the introduction of European perspective, volume, and recession. This elaborately decorated lacquer box contains lively scenes of court life on the top and inside of its lid. Works like this example were typically commissioned by aristocrats for display in their homes. While various courtiers (likely an aristocratic couple) sit in a garden pavilion of a palace on the cover’s top, men on horseback are portrayed hunting deer, game, and other wild animals on its inside. Each of the scenes idyllically represents the pastimes of noble society in Qajar Iran in which vegetation, food, and mirth abound. These themes are accentuated by the intricate floral and vegetal patterns that adorn the entire work. This casket was made from a base of papier-mâché to which a thinly coated layer of a fine plaster or gesso was applied to its surface. Thereafter, painters executed designs in miniature technique and applied a transparent lacquer or varnish to the whole piece that protected the paintings while enriching and softening their colors.

Third week of May Click image to enlarge. Unknown (Chinese) Guanyin and her Attendant Qing Dynasty, ca. 18th century, after Tang Dynasty original by Wu Daozi (d. 792) Ink and pigments on silk Collection of Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Augustus Vincent Tack, 1946 This tranquil, contemplative painting by an unknown Chinese artist depicts Guanyin (Sanskrit: Avalokiteśvara), the bodhisattva of infinite compassion who is among the most popular figures of Buddhism. She floats on a cloud-shaped rock and crosses her hands in a gesture of devotion. In the Buddhist faith, bodhisattvas (Sanskrit: awakening beings) are divine entities on the path to becoming Buddhas and who assist living beings in attaining nirvana (enlightenment). Guanyin, portrayed as a life-size figure, is dressed in a graceful, flowing blue robe that is embellished with gold folds and black embroideries along its edges. According to Chinese Buddhist tradition, her acolyte, the boy Shancai (lower left), came to visit her while she was meditating on Mount Putuo, a sacred island located near Hangzhou Bay. Shancai is shown standing atop a lotus petal (a sacred flower in Buddhism) while a white dove gracefully carries a rosary used for supplication (Sanskrit: Japamala or prayer beads). Both figures are adorned with elaborate blue and gold halos that accentuate their holy status. Scroll paintings like this example were often hung in Buddhist temples and used to assist worshipers during rituals and prayer. Guanyin and her Attendant was once displayed in a Buddhist temple in the city of Chengde (Hebei, Province, China), to which it was presented by the Qianlong Emperor (1711-1799). As indicated by the Chinese characters on the plaque to the lower right, the original composition for this Qing Dynasty painting was created by Wu Daozi (d. 792 CE), a renowned Tang Dynasty painter. In the 8th century CE, Wu executed an engraved stele of Guanyin (now lost) that was greatly admired. In subsequent centuries, Chinese and Japanese artists created engravings on paper and scroll paintings like Guanyin and her Attendant that were based upon the Tang master’s work. In 1946, American painter Augustus Vincent Tack and his wife, Agnes Gordon Fuller, donated this painting to the Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County in order to help expand its holdings of Asian art. Tack is renowned for his portraits and avant-garde abstract paintings. His chief patron was Duncan Phillips, founder of the Phillips Collection (Washington, DC).

Second week of May Click images to enlarge. Unknown (French, ca. mid-15th century) Leaf from a Book of Hours, ca. 1440 Psalm 109 with antiphons and responses Pigments, ink, and gold leaf on vellum Collection of Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County Gift of William T. Hassett, Jr., 1957 Highly prized by noble patrons who commissioned such volumes, books of hours were an integral part of private devotion in the late Middle Ages and Renaissance. Typically, they included psalms, prayers, offices of the Virgin and other saints, calendars of feast days, and prayers for the dead. Essentially, they provided worshipers with an extensive sacred compendium that could aid them in performing their daily prayers and engaging in most forms of pious practice. This leaf displays an outstanding level of detail and artistry on the part of the scribe and illuminator who collaborated to produce it. Of particular note are the Latin texts completed in black and red ink as well as paint which display antiphons (a short sung refrain or chant) and responses. On the verso, a large initial D is painted in blue and white against a red and gilded outline frame with foliate interlace. The whole of its margin is bordered by fine vegetal scrolls embellished with black ink stems, multicolor gilt leaves, and flowers that emerge above from the upper serif of the D.

First week of May

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Yue Yang (Chinese, active ca. late 18th-early 19th century) Landscape with Mountains and Valley, Qing Dynasty, December 1774 (December in the First Year of the Horse, Chinese lunar calendar) India ink on silk, Collection of Museum of Fine Arts-Washington County Gift of Dr. James R. Duke, 2000 Drawing extensively upon a tradition of painting that dates back to the Song Dynasty (960-1279), Yue Yang emulated the methods and style of a specific painter whose work he admired, that of Wang Hui (Shigu, 1632-1717). A pivotal figure in the art of the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), Wang was one of the four members of his family who dominated the genre of landscape, exerted a considerable impact on this type of painting’s development, and strongly encouraged the copying of earlier masterworks. Yang paid tribute to his predecessor by incorporating an array of his techniques into his work, most notably the use of atmospheric perspective rising above the mountains and water, cascades, craggy rocks, and gnarled trees. In this ambitious, poetic panorama, Yang employed a broad, horizontal composition and focused on the vastness and expansiveness of the valley, mountains, rolling hills, and rugged terrain, all of which are executed in black ink and juxtaposed with the simple background. Like other images of this type, Landscape with Mountains and Valley represents several episodes or recollections of the artist at one time. On the upper left, a boat with three travelers is approaching a gate to a house nestled on a hill. Meanwhile, on the right, two figures gather in a pavilion adjoining a stream and waterfall and are dwarfed by their surroundings. This image exudes a simultaneous sense of nostalgia, grandeur, and passion for nature in its dreamy and expansive composition. The Chinese characters written on this painting provide insight into its contents and contain a date, poem, and dedication authored by the artist: Inspired to have a daytrip to explore the quiet nature, Climbed the difficult path to ridges, Waded across valley streams, Observed the forest ‘midst clouds and thousands of miles of mountains. December, First Year of Horse, Sketched using Shigu’s Method, For my dear friend Mozhai, By Yang Yue (Yin Tang).