Roman Emperor Hadrian reigned from 117 until 138 CE, the last years of the Roman Peace (Pax Romana). One of the good emperors, Hadrian was the commander of the Eastern Army and a learned scholar and philosopher. He traveled throughout the Empire visiting every province from Britain to the Middle East. His purpose was to oversee and maintain the unified Roman empire. Historical documents say Hadrian was an intellectual with an unbounded curiosity about everything. Beyond rebuilding the Pantheon in Rome and building his tomb on the Tiber River, he built temples and triumphal arches in Lebanon, Turkey, Ephesus, and Athens, and the famous Hadrian’s Wall in Great Britain.

Hadrian was the chief architect of his Villa at Tivoli. He was inspired by the numerous architectural designs he saw in his travels. Construction began on the 300 square acres of land for the Villa in118 CE and continued until 133/34 CE.  Hadrian made the villa his primary residence in order to escape Rome. Mail and travel from Rome were made easy by well-developed Roman roads. Tivoli’s hillside location is splendid as a result of its altitude, cooler temperatures, and landscape with waterfalls. The villa comprised 100 buildings: a main palace, libraries, theaters, baths, dining halls, outdoor pavilions, grottos, and sculpture gardens. Hadrian lived there until his death in 138 CE.

Hadrian’s Villa at Tivoli (118-134 CE)

The original Villa covered 296 acres; what is visible today covers about 100 acres.  From the time it was rediscovered in 1461, its sculptures, mosaics, and other items have been looted and placed in Renaissance and Baroque collections. Most of the looted objects are now in museums all over the world. The first excavations were conducted by Pope Alexander VI Borgia (reigned 1492-1503) in order to find coins and sculptures. Cardinal Ippolito d’Este was the second to the loot Hadrian’s Villa of sculptures and marble for his nearby Villa d’Este.

“Canopus” (125-138 CE)

The “Canopus” (125-138 CE) is one of the remaining partial structures. Based on the concept of the Nile in Egypt, the pool was 393 feet long. It was surrounded by a Roman colonnade with Corinthian (leafy) capitals, arches, and Greek sculptures. The Romans knew a great work of art when they saw one. Original Greek sculptures were one-of-a-kind cast bronze statues. Most of these were melted down in the Middle Ages to make weapons. The only original marble sculptures are those that are part of a building. The Romans’ love of Classical Greek sculpture caused them to make hundreds of marble copies that survive today. The Roman copyists were skilled artists, but they were unable to balance standing figures without adding a strut, an additional sculpted support in the form of a tree trunk or vase that added a third support leg. 

“Canopus” (125-138 CE)

The long Canopus pool was surrounded with sculptures of Greek gods and goddesses, athletes, and mythological figures. A series of caryatids, draped female figures that act as the pillars to support the roof of Greek buildings, can be seen in this picture. The most famous caryatids are found on the Erechtheun (409-404 BCE), on the Acropolis in Athens. It was dedicated to Athena Polias, protector of the city-state of Athens. The six original caryatids were carved during the era of Pericles (461-429 BCE), also known as the “Golden Age.” It was the great Classical period of Greek art when Polycleitus, Phidias, and Myron discovered the proportions and posture of the human body–the perfect human body. The Caryatids were sculpted by the workshop of Alcamernes, student and colleague of Phidias. The figures stand in the perfect body position known as contrapposto; the weight of the body is shifted onto one leg as the other leg rests. The original marble caryatid figures also shift onto the appropriate leg, the fabric of their gowns bunched around the supporting leg like the flutes of a column. 

“Maritime Theatre” (begun 117 CE)

The “Maritime Theatre” is not a theater in the usual sense, it is in fact Hadrian’s private villa within the villa. Hadrian designed his island with wooden bridges he could pull up to prevent anyone from coming in. The island has a central open atrium, a small central garden, two bedrooms, a triclinium (dining room), hot and cold baths, and a latrine. Another room was Hadrian’s study, where he studied architecture and he painted. He enjoyed swimming in the marble-lined channel. The floors of the villa were decorated with opus sectile, marble cut to form pictures and patterns. The Greeks used white marble for their columns, but Hadrian also used grey and pink granite from Egypt and green cipollino marble from the Greek islands. 

“Gladiators in Chariots” (118-138 CE) (Maritime Theatre)

Pirro Ligorio, the designer of the gardens and fountains at the nearby Villa d’Este, named this structure the Maritime Theatre because of the colonnade in the atrium was decorated mainly with a frieze of sea images. “Gladiators in Chariots” (118-138 CE) (Maritime Theatre) (12’’ high), although not an image of the sea, was part of the frieze. The gladiators are chubby winged putti, and their chariots are driven by deer, lions, and goats. Since the frieze is incomplete, the only clearly defined animals are the lions. They closely resemble lion reliefs Hadrian would have seen on his travels in Persia and Mesopotamia. The putti figures are not well developed, suggesting the frieze was not Greek, but from somewhere in the Middle East.

“Temple of Venus of Cnidos” (121-135 CE)

 A “Venus of Cnidos” (c.400-300 BCE), by the great Classical sculptor Praxiteles, was found in the “Temple of Venus of Cnidos” (121-135 CE) in Hadrian’s Villa. Hadrian’s copy of the Praxiteles work, now in a museum, is considered to be one of the finest extant copies. The sculpture was placed in the center of a circular temple constructed in the early Greek Doric temple design. The columns are topped with a simple Doric pillow. Praxiteles’ “Venus of Cnidos” was the first nude female sculpture in the Greek world. At first it was thought to be scandalous and was rejected, but soon became popular in Athens and beyond. 

Hadrian was a connoisseur of the arts. He decorated his Villa with the finest art available. In addition to Greek sculptures, he amassed a collection of sculptures from Egypt, one of his favorite cultures. The walls and floors of the buildings were decorated entirely with marble floors and mosaics. The Villa’s design was a profound influence on Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and it influenced many 19th and 20th Century architects.  

“The written word has taught me to listen to the human voice, much as the great unchanging statues have taught me to appreciate bodily motions. On the other hand, but more slowly, life has thrown light for me on the meaning of books.” (Hadrian)

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

Jeppe Heim (b.1974, Copenhagen, Denmark) is an artist who believes viewers should touch the art. He was trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (1997-2003), and in 2009-10, he completed a residency at the Alexander Calder studio in Sache, France. Where ever his work is shown, in outdoor sculpture installations or inside on walls, his works invite viewers to participate in the art in a number of sensory ways. 

“Appearing Room” (2015) (Brooklyn Bridge Park)

“Please Touch the Art” (2015) consists of Heim’s three installations in Brooklyn Bridge Park, New York City, from May 2015 through April 2016. Brooklyn Park Bridge stretches 1.24 miles along the East River from Pier 1 to Pier 6. His installations began at Pier 1.  “Appearing Room” was a system of water jets with sensors that responded to the movement of people walking through the space. Seven-foot-high columns of water shot upward at staggered intervals. Participants could avoid getting wet if they wanted to, but why would anyone want to miss out on the fun. When Heim introduced “Appearing Room” at the 2003 Venice Biennale, it attracted the largest crowds of any of the Biennale exhibits. According to Heim, “If you’re creating a smile in yourself and also giving it to someone else, then you’ve started a dialogue. You also start to play.”

“Mirror Labyrinth” (2015) (Brooklyn Bridge Park)

Heim’s second installation “Mirror Labyrinth” was at Pier 3 on Greenway Terrace. Heim’s piece was designed to work with the natural landscape and the view of Lower Manhattan. Mirror-polished stainless-steel posts were installed in three arcs to create a labyrinth path through which viewers could walk. The labyrinth appears in Greek mythology. Daedalus built a labyrinth for King Minos of Crete to contain the dangerous Minotaur. Heim intended his “Mirror Labyrinth,” light and airy, to create a sense of wonder, of adventure, and happiness. He hoped the unexpected encounters with other visitors would encourage dialogue. The mirrors changed the viewers’ perspectives of the Manhattan skyline as it interacted with the green lawn. Heim commented on his use of mirrors: “…people reflect themselves in the work and [it] becomes a tool for communication and dialogue.”

Modified Social Benches” (2015) (Brooklyn Bridge Park)

“Modified Social Benches” (2015) (Brooklyn Bridge Park)

Sixteen different “Modified Social Benches,” painted in bright red, created unique places to sit and enjoy the scenery, the day, and people in Brooklyn Bridge Park. The benches encouraged children to climb and slide, and adults to rest, read, and talk.  

“A New End” (2016-2017)

Heim created “A New End” for the area known as World’s End, a 251-acre park in Hingham, Massachusetts, one hour south of Boston. The park consists of four spoon shaped hills that connect two islands with a man-made sandbar. Designed by the American architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1890, the park includes rolling hills, a rocky shoreline, open fields, and a tree-lined carriage path, all with a beautiful view of the Boston Harbor. In 1996, it became part of the Boston Islands National Recreation Area, including trails for walking and horseback riding, and cross-country skiing in winter. Heim said, “I had to find out what people used this place for…I was inspired by that.” He also talked about “A New End” as a title: “I think the name “World’s End” is really interesting. What is it? What is the world’s end? Where? I don’t believe in ends. I think that when something ends there’s something new starting. The name was to inspire people to not believe in ends…If it’s not good, it’s not the end.”

A New End” (2016-2017)

Heim was attracted not only to the beauty of the park and the recreation opportunities it provided, but also to the park’s stillness and seclusion. Heim practices yoga, and he believes that dialogue with oneself and with others is essential to a good life. He chose a mirror labyrinth to encourage contemplation and reflection. The new site-specific labyrinth was placed at the foot of a hill where the sandbar began. The stainless-steel columns were configured in three lines to create a spiral design. Starting with three-foot columns on the outside, the columns rise to nine feet at the center. From above, the design resembles a nautilus shell. The year-long instillation, allowed the numerous park visitors to view the labyrinth in all four seasons and at all times of day and night.

Heim wants his art to encourage interaction and conversation, and contemplation and reflection: “We’re in a society, I think, where everyone thinks it’s so cool to work, it’s so cool to be online, so cool to be super busy. I think it’s super cool not to be busy.”

“Changing Spaces” (2022)

Heim’s “Changing Spaces,” an “Appearing Rooms” installation he now calls “liquid architecture,” currently is in Rockefeller Center’s Central Plaza (30 Rock) in New York City through September 9, 2022. He says, “My artistic approach was to invite people to make use of the work, either as a space of seclusion and relaxation or the opposite, a place of pure joy and playfulness. The shape was meant to contrast the rectangular layout of New York embracing people in a circle of water.”

Heim’s outdoor sculptures have been commissioned by the cities of London, Los Angeles, Boston, Helsinki, Miami, Cadiz, and New York, among others.  “Appearing Rooms” are now permanently installed in both London and Zaragoza, Spain. His gallery exhibitions are as popular as his outdoor installations. Different from the large outdoor work, they often employ mirrors to encourage self-reflection, participation, and dialogue by viewers.

“We don’t understand each other. That’s why there are so many bad things happening… Not that I’m trying to save the world … but I try to do my part and if you can somehow engage with this art piece… If you’re creating a smile in yourself and also giving it to someone else, then you’ve started a dialogue active. I’m not politically active, but I’m saying [that] you can open up people’s understanding of themselves and others with play.”

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

“Front of the Falls” (1698)

Niagara Falls is one of nature’s wonders and one of America’s treasurers. Formed over 12,000 years ago from melting glaciers, it was first discovered by Native Americans of the region, and then written about by the Belgian explorer Father Louis Hennepin in December 1678. Hennepin’s “Front of the Falls” (1698) (print) was drawn according to his description of the Falls. There are several theories regarding the name Niagara, given to the Falls by the Indians who lived in the region. The Iroquois names in English were “point of land cut in two” and “noisy point of portage.” The Mohawk called it “the neck,” the portage and neck of land between Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. Hennepin’s description of the Falls brought it to the attention of Europe, and explorers from many European nations arrived to survey the land and witness this natural wonder.

“Niagara Falls” (1818)

Boston artist Louisa David Minot traveled to see the Falls in 1815, and she wrote an essay in the North American Review that same year in which she described the Falls: “The roar deepened, the rock shook over my head, the earth trembled. It was some time before I could command my pencil.” Minot’s “Niagara Falls” (1818) is one of two paintings she made, and they are the only known works by the artist. Minot’s view from Table Rock clearly reflects her words. Two tiny humans perch on Table Rock, witnessing the immense power of the rushing water and the dramatic sky.

The Erie Canal opened on October 25, 1825. It was 365 miles long and connected Lake Erie and the other Great Lakes with the Hudson River. The trip from Albany to Buffalo took only five days, rather than two weeks over land. Because of its link to the Canal, New York became America’s major port city. The Erie Canal promoted the great western expansion, and a great number of businesses created to enhance sightseeing at Niagara Falls.

“Distant View of Niagara Falls” (1830)

Thomas Cole (1801-1848) immigrated with his parents from England to the United States in 1818.  Cole was determined to be a painter. His first sketching trip in 1825 took him up the Hudson River into the Catskills. The result was three landscape paintings he exhibited in a bookseller’s window in Philadelphia. They were purchased by three prominent Pennsylvania Academy of Art members. The following year, these three artists and others formed the National Academy of Design (1826). The purpose of the group was to establish an art that would define the American experience. Landscape painting was considered a third-rate genre, but when Cole was elected to the Academy as a landscape painter, landscapes were elevated officially to equal status with history paintings and portraits. Cole’s landscapes were the beginning of the Hudson River School.

Cole first visited Niagara Falls in May 1829. Returning home to New York City, he began to paint the Falls. “Distant View of Niagara Falls” (1830) (19” x 24’’) (Art Institute of Chicago) depicts Cole’s view of America and its vast landscape as both epic and romantic. Set in autumn, when nature blazes with reds, oranges, and yellows, the scene shows the immense power of the Falls. Cole provides a panoramic view from Table Rock of forest, Falls, and mountains, against a cloudy sky. Typical of Cole landscapes, the factories, scenic overlooks, and hotels that were by then a part of this popular tourist attraction were omitted. 

Cole’s paintings reflect his view of America, the grandeur of untrammeled nature. He was concerned about the environment and what industry was destroying. The two solitary Native Americans on Table Rock are meant to express this sense of loss. Cole wrote poetry, and his writing expresses his opinion: “The landscape belonged to every American. It is his own land; its beauty, its magnificence, its sublimity – all are his; and how underserving of such a birthright, if he can turn towards it an unobserving eye, and unaffected heart!”

“Horseshoe Falls” (1857)

Thomas Cole’s first pupil was Frederick Edwin Church (1826-1900). Cole passed on to Church his unbounded appreciation of nature, and of Niagara Falls in particular. Church studied the Falls intensely, making dozens of oil and pencil sketches. Church made a fifth visit to the Falls in 1856, before he painted “Horseshoe Falls” (1857) (40” x 90.5”) (National Gallery of Art). Church’s panoramic view is seen from the Canadian side. The viewer does not stand on the shore, but hovers over the rocks and the rushing water. In the lower left, the branch of a tree rises precariously above the water. Whether it is caught in a crevice of a rock or being swept over the Falls, viewers are reminded of their insignificance in relationship to nature. Mists and sprays of the water in the flickering sunlight cause the rainbow effect.Terrapin Tower (upper left) is revealed in the distant landscape beyond the Falls. Built in 1829, it was the first tower erected to provide a view of the Falls.

Church’s painting was exhibited in a Manhattan gallery from May 1 until May 29, 1857. Tens of thousands of people paid 25 cents to view it. A chromolithograph was made of the painting, and over a thousand subscriptions were sold; an artist’s proof cost $30.00, and a print $15. “Horseshoe Falls” was then exhibited in England and Scotland in the summer of 1857 to great acclaim. When the painting was returned to New York, the Cosmopolitan Art Journal echoed the praise heaped upon it by the European press: “The reputation of this work has greatly increased by its English tour. It is now regarded as the finest painting ever executed by any American artist.”

Church began the Free Niagara movement in 1856. He was joined by such notable Americans as Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Central Park in New York City; Henry Hobson Richardson, designer of the New York State Capitol in Albany; and writers Henry James, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Their objective was to preserve the natural beauty of the Falls on both sides of the border. In 1883, Grover Cleveland, then governor of New York, signed legislation establishing the Niagara Falls State Park. Queen Victoria Park was established in 1888 on the Ontario side.

Note:  American Independence Day is celebrated on July 4.  Canada Day is celebrated on July 1.

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

June is Gay Pride Month.  President Clinton declared June “Gay and Lesbian Pride Month” in 1999 and 2000. President Obama declared June “LGBT Pride Month” during his term in office from 2009 until 2016. President Biden revived the celebration, and he declared June “LGBTQ+ Pride Month” in 2021. Several of the recognized “old masters,” including Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, were gay, as are some well-known contemporary artists. In her work, Mickalene Thomas, a gay African-American woman artist, celebrates and challenges the classical canons of style and creates a new contemporary canon depicting African-American women.   

Born in 1971 in Camden, New Jersey, Mickalene Thomas grew up in Hillside and East Orange, New Jersey. She and her brother were mostly raised by their mother, Sandra “Mama Bush,” a striking 6’1’’ tall model active in the 1970’s. Mama Bush enrolled Mickalene and her brother in after-school programs at the Newark Museum and the Henry Street Settlement. Thomas moved to Portland, Oregon, to study pre-law and theater. Her friends were musicians and artists, and her interests changed. When a friend took her to the Portland Art Museum in 1994 to see the work of Carrie Mae Weems, Thomas was overwhelmed: “It was probably the first time I ever saw myself in art. Those photographs really hit the core. I felt, that’s what you can do with art? Wow. One day after I went to see the show on my own, I didn’t even think about it, I just walked to the art-supply store.” She completed a BFA in 2000 at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and an MFA in painting at Yale in 2002.

“Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires” (2010) (photograph)

Thomas is a multimedia artist specializing in photography and mixed media painting. An excellent example of her art is “Le dejeuner sur l’herbe: Les trois Femmes Noires” (2010) (48’’ x 60’’) (photograph) in the Baltimore Museum of Art. This piece is the first stage in her process. Her chosen subject was and continues to be African-American women wearing bright and eclectic patterned clothing that she designs. In this instance, the photograph was for a larger work commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York for its restaurant. Thomas used the sculpture garden on the roof of MoMA for the setting. The women are placed in front of one of Matisse’s “Backs,” a series of four female nude bronze relief sculptures. Her choice of these sculptures was a tribute to Matisse, one of her several influences. Thomas’s photographs are considered by the art world as separate but equal to her paintings as works of art.

“Le dejeuner sur l’herbe” (Manet) (1865)

Thomas frequently selects famous works of the “masters” and updates them. For the large MoMA restaurant window, Thomas selected Manet’s famous and, at the time, scandalous painting “Le dejeuner sur l’herbe” (1865). The subject seems tame today, but in 1865, the idea of a nude woman seated with clothed men casually picnicking in a public park in Paris was shocking. The public and the critics responded negatively. The woman boldly and unashamedly gazes at the viewer, her straw hat and blue dress scattered on the ground at the left, along with the empty bottles, rolls, and fruit. Another woman in the background appears to be about to undress.

“Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires” (2010)

Thomas’s completed commission, “Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires” (2010) (10 feet tall by 24 feet wide) (mixed media collage and painting), was displayed in the 53rd Street window of the MoMA restaurant The Modern. Thomas has changed the dynamic of the composition to include only three African-American woman. Fully dressed, they wear elaborate make-up and large Afro’s. All three look confidently at the viewer, inviting the viewer’s gaze. Art historians long have commented on the concept of “the gaze,” referring to white males looking at women in paintings, male artists looking at their models, and male audiences looking at paintings of women in museums. Thomas has given African-American women a major presence in all of her art, and she has created a new legacy for “the gaze.” The painting has traveled to several locations across North America including the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Seattle Art Museum. Catherina Manchanda, curator of the Seattle Art Museum commented, “These women are so grounded and perfectly comfortable in their own space… While we might be looking at them, they are also sizing us up.” 

To create the forest background, Thomas uses collaged wood panels, painted a blue sky, painted stylized trees, and placed Matisse’s bronze sculpture on a yellow wall between two of the women. The picnic still-life is created from several floral fabrics juxtaposed with well-placed but random flat color pieces. The influence of her artist muses, Jacob Lawrence, Romare Bearden, and Faith Ringgold, to mention a few, can be seen in her tendency to include flat panels of color and interspersed lines that do not outline images, but enliven the work.

Le Dejeuner sur l’Herbe” (right corner detail)

Essential to Thomas’s work is her lavish embellishment with rhinestones and sequins. When she was working on her master’s degree at Yale, Thomas commented, “I always felt my hand needed more. It wasn’t physical enough form. Visually, I felt the paint needed more texture, and I couldn’t figure out how to do that with oils. So, I went back to materials I had fun with.” Remembering the pointillism of Seurat and Australian aboriginal dot painting, she tried it out: “It just felt so good and right. And [these portraits] were crazy. And they were ugly and they were beautiful.” The “Dejeuner” was the largest work that Thomas had done, and it gave her the opportunity to spread her wings. She has never looked back: ”I’d embarked on this new endeavor of understanding the presence of this black body on that scale…It was always a political statement: people need to come in contact with this body, be face to face with it. It’s the ultimate sense of validation and the claiming of space.”

“Primavera” by Botticelli (1477-1482)

Thomas’s “Three Graces: Les trois Femmes Noires” (2011) is based on the poses of Botticelli’s three graces in “Primavera” (1477-82) (80’’ x 124’’). Although Botticelli’s three graces are clothed in sheer garments that hide nothing, he was soon to paint “The Birth of Venus” (1485-1486), that introduces the nude female to the canon of artistic images. Thomas’s works often includes African-American nude females, following such notable masters as Titian, Rubens, and Ingres. 

“Three Graces: Les trois Femmes Noires” (2011)

““Three Graces: Les trois Femmes Noires” (2011) (9 feet tall x 12 feet wide) (North Carolina Museum of Art) illustrates all of the elements of Thomas’s unique style. The three graces are buffed, fluffed, and dressed to the nines. Proud, strong, and totally comfortable, they are ready to party and do not care who sees them. The dresses and hair, heavily decorated with rhinestones and sequins, add to their joyful mood. The size of the figures and the viewer are on par, and the women take over the space. 

Thomas’s unusual fabric choices are also a significant part of her work. She remembers her grandmother using second-hand clothes to patch worn furniture. Her choice of fabrics come from old house dresses she finds in thrift stores: “I love house dresses — the pattern, the history, knowing that a particular woman wore this, like your grandma.” She believes the juxtaposition of the various fabrics is an “amalgamation of all of the different things we are as Americans.”

Thomas has made numerous portraits of famous African-American women, including Oprah Winfrey, Eartha Kitt, Whitney Houston, and Condoleezza Rice. Thomas’s silkscreen of “Michele O” (2008) (25’’ x 19.5’’), without the usual embellishments, was the first individual portrait of the First Lady. More recently, she had a solo exhibition Mentors, Muses and Celebrities (2017) at the Contemporary Art Museum of St. Louis.  The Gordon Levy Gallery opened in 2021 Thomas exhibitions in its four locations: New York, London, Paris, and Hong Kong. 

“Could a man have made these images? No, not my images.” (Mickalene Thomas)

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

This weekend, Juneteenth will be celebrated in Chestertown and across the country. On June 19,1865, General Gordon Granger entered Galveston, Texas, with 2000 troops, and he read to the people General Order No.3. It was two years after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, but Texans were unaware that all slaves had been freed. This announcement affected more than 250,000 enslaved people in Texas. The first annual Jubilee Day was celebrated in Texas on June 19, 1866. Thus, the national celebration of Juneteenth was born. From that date until 2021, the number of grass roots festivals celebrating Jubilee Day, Freedom Day, Emancipation Day, or Juneteenth has increased. Juneteenth became an official state holiday in Texas in 1979. On June 19, 2014, Congressman Al Green submitted recognition of the holiday into the Congressional Record. President Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law on June 17, 2021.

“Absolute Equality” (2021)

Until 2021, art celebrating Juneteenth consisted of posters from across the country announcing events to celebrate the holiday. Art by “the old masters” does not yet exist, but art works by contemporary artists are increasing in number. Reginald Adams (b.1972, Cheyenne, Wyoming) traveled through much of America during his youth. Adams moved to Houston in 1990, and he was introduced to the celebration of Juneteenth. For the last 20 years he and his team of artists, The Creatives, have produced more than 350 public art projects. Adams was commissioned to paint “Absolute Equality” (2021) (126 feet long by 40 feet tall) by historian Samuel Collins III. Collins, a descendent of one of the slaves freed in 1865, served as Co-Chair of the Juneteenth Legacy Project.

The mural “Absolute Equality” is painted on the wall of the Old Galveston Square Building. It once served as Union headquarters, and it was the same location where General Granger had read General Order No. 3. Adams worked with other artists, students, and community members to understand fully the meaning of Juneteenth for Texans. Adams commented, “One of the elements that we want to do is see that this mural is beyond just a beautification of a downtown building in Galveston, but also an actual story wall, where, through some new augmented reality technology, a user can take their phone and, through this application, uncover everything. We’re making history about history.”

Adams tells the story with what he calls windows to the past, nine white circles surrounding specific events and people. The circle at the lower left corner contains a painted image of a sculpted head from the Olmec (Inca) civilization (Gulf Coast of Mexico, 1200-400 BCE). It recognizes the original inhabitants of Galveston. At the top left, the white circle encloses a map of Africa and South America with red arrows that identify the shipping routes used to bring slaves to Mexico and South America.

“Absolute Equality” (left side detail)

The mural reads from left to right. The first large full circle depicts the enslaved Moorish navigator Estevanico, who was shipwrecked off the coast of Galveston in 1528. Below the circle, five young African boys, arms in shackles, walk forward along the sea coast. They are led and directed by an African man. Above them, in the third circle, is the image of Harriet Tubman of Dorchester County, Maryland. She holds a beacon lantern and beckons slaves to follow her to freedom. It is not known if Tubman ever worked in Texas, but the Underground Railroad was active there. Adams has placed her next to President Lincoln, against aa scene of black soldiers wearing Union uniforms. They are members of the 54th Massachusetts regiment, the first African-American regiment to serve in the American Civil War.

The next circle depicts President Lincoln holding the Emancipation Proclamation in his right hand and a pair of iron shackles in his left. Behind him, the Great Seal of the United States is set against a background of waving red, white and blue stripes. Five white doves are messengers of peace and freedom. At the bottom, a number of raised and shackled fists salute Lincoln.

“Absolute Freedom” (center)

As the American flag unfurls, three more doves and a circle of white stars lead the viewer to the next circle. Seated at a desk, General Gordon Granger signs the General Order No.1. Several of his African-American troops are present to see that the order is properly and efficiently carried out. General Granger read General Order #3 to several different groups of the Galveston population on June 17, although he did not sign that order. On discovering that General Granger had not signed General Order #3, for historical accuracy, Adams painted out the number 3 and replaced it with the number 1, a similar order that Granger had signed.

Farther to the right, and into more modern time, in the lowest circle, white doves fly over the Hotel Galvez and the seawall built to protect Galveston from flooding. Later in Galveston history, the Hotel Galvez served as a temporary White House for President Roosevelt and as a Coast Guard facility during World War II. In the uppermost circle, an astronaut stands before a golden sunset and looks toward the future of all Americans. Although the race of the astronaut is not identified, NASA has sent more than fifteen African-American astronauts, including African-American woman, on missions to space.

In the last circle, Adams depicts in silhouette contemporary African-American citizens of all ages, including the disabled, walking forward into the future. General Order #3 is written in white letters set against a black line along the bottom of the mural. The title “Absolute Equality” stands out in large letters on the wall. At the lower right corner of the wall, an American eagle, its head turned toward to future, wings spread, clasps in its beak a banner containing the date 1865. “Absolute Equality” was unveiled to the Galveston public on June 19, 2021.

Adams hoped his work would lead to conversations about contemporary social issues arising from slavery and years of inequality: “Projects like this are important to tell American history in a more accurate way. These types of projects also open up new doorways for social dialogue regarding social justice and racial equity. The magnitude, scale, and beauty of the mural make it a lot easier for people with differing opinions or attitudes around racial issues to have a more open and transparent conversation. The mural helps place a sweetness around the harsh and bitter taste of racism and social inequities.”

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

Jean Honore Fragonard (1732-1806) became one of the most popular painters of the French Rococo style. The courts of King Louis XV (1715-1774) and Louis XVI (1754-1793) were known for their luxury and excess. Although it was the age of Enlightenment, with Voltaire wanting religious toleration and Diderot publishing the first encyclopedia, Fragonard’s patrons wanted scenes of festivals, mythological lovers, and entertainments, often with sensual implications.

“Blind Man’s Bluff” (1775-76)

Fragonard’s patrons often requested series of paintings in groups of four or five. The National Gallery of Art (Washington, D.C.) contains four of these paintings. “Blind Man’s Bluff” (1775-76) (85’’ x 73’’) depicts a large garden of a French estate. Under a blue sky with fluffy white clouds, two fountains, formal flower beds, a variety of tall trees, marble colonnades, and a well-groomed lawn provide a romantic and breath-taking setting. At the right, members of the party enjoy a luncheon buffet while they watch a game of blind man’s bluff. Closer in, a couple enjoys sitting on the grass as they too look on.

The marble fountain at the left spurts high into the air. The female figures that form the base of the fountain may represent the Vestal Virgins, Roman maidens who served the goddess of the Hearth, Vesta. Their job was to see that the sacred fire of the hearth never went out. To be a Vestal Virgin, a young girl was required to take a vow of chastity. Another statue of a woman can be seen on a hilltop at the right. Too small to identify, it is likely a statue of the goddess Vesta, or possibly Athena, who frequently is depicted wearing a helmet because she is both the goddess of wisdom and war. 

Blind Man’s Bluff” (detail)l

The main attraction is the blind-folded young woman in a white gown, who turns awkwardly around trying to find one of her friends. Others in the party dodge to stay out of her reach. The game is fun, but its depiction is intended to suggest the difficulty of finding a suitable partner. Or, given the presence of the Vestal Virgins, perhaps the message would be it is better to remain unmarried. In the distance others enjoy this pleasant park.

The Swing” (1775-76)

“The Swing” (1775-76) (85” x 73”) is the companion to “Blind Man’s Bluff.” The viewer can see the matching trellis of pink and red flowers at the lower left and right corners of the two paintings when they are hung side by side. The foliage of the trees also presents a continuous view across the paintings. A young woman, dressed in pink and gold, sits on the swing. She raises her left hand to greet her friends. The swing is pulled with a rope by a gentleman who stands between the two fountains, the water flowing from the mouths of the lions. At the left corner, a gentleman in green and a woman in red play with their child in the lion fountain. Her friends watch from the lawn and talk with one another.

At the right corner of the painting, a woman in red and her companion sit on a marble platform. She is looking through a telescope. Too close to be using the telescope to look at her friend, she appears to look off into the distance. What is she looking at? Or more interesting, what is she looking for? 

Is this Fragonard work just another lovely scene of people having fun, or could there be another interpretation? Paired with the blind-folded woman seeking a mate, the back- and-forth movement of the swing and the pulling on the rope suggest the culmination of the act of love. Although these suggestions were slight, other of Fragonard’s paintings, for instance his “Swing” of 1766, leave no doubt about the intention of the artist with regard to the desires of his patrons.

“A Game of Horse and Rider” (1775-80)

“A Game of Horse and Rider” (1775-80) (45.5” x34.5”) again depicts a scene set in a large garden. However, this garden is natural, not formal, as is the subject matter. The informal garden does not have not well-designed flower beds, or carefully organized marble walls. The trunks of the tall birches at the left side crisscross each other, reaching high into the sky, with their, leaves fanning out. At the right side an old gnarled tree, missing most of its leaves, is silhouetted against the sky. There are no paths, and the grass meets a winding stream, where in the distance a gondola pulls up to the shore to let off passengers who have come to enjoy the day. 

The figures in the foreground also provide contrast. The adults at the left of the scene lounge quietly on the grass, engaged in conversation. Beyond them a young boy runs, feet flying and arms raised in anticipation of jumping into the game. The rowdy game of horse and rider takes place under to the old tree. 

“A Game of Horse and Rider” (detail)

The game of horse and rider is made up of two teams. The multi legged horse team braces itself against the tree. The riders race in and jump onto the horse. It is then the job of the horse to try to shake off all of the riders. This accomplished, the teams trade places. It is a rough and tumble game for boys. Meanwhile, the young man and woman may be discussing a later “tussle” of their own.

A Game of Hot Cockles” (1775-80)

“A Game of Hot Cockles” (1775-80) (45.5” x 34.5”) is the companion piece to “A Game of Horse and Rider.” There is evidence that these paintings were cut down to make them shorter. However, the dates and subject matter suggest they were a part of the same series, or of a very similar series by Fragonard. He created many of these painted series. Both paintings depict a couple lounging on the grass and engaging in private conversation. The gardens contrast the natural with the formal, and have paths at the center that lead into the distance. The “Hot Cockles” garden is formal, with designed beds, steps leading to a path, and sculptures. A young couple sits on a stone bench at the left. 

“A Game of Hot Cockles” (detail)

A game of hot cockles is being played by a lively group of young people at the right side of the painting. The game of hot cockles, has nothing to do with cockles and muscles, but was a sensuous treat. The “penitent,” the man dressed in gold, kneels before a young woman, placing his head on her lap. How often would this have occurred? His hand placed on his back, he endures other players taking turns slapping his hand, or his bum. It is his job to decide who has slapped him. In this instance, he appears to point at either the lady in blue or the other woman who huddles with her. Of course, the “penitent” can misidentify who has slapped him in order to continue to bury his face in the woman’s lap.

Two sculptures are placed in the garden. The figure of a woman at the left is most likely a goddess, but not so identified. At the right, on top of the pedestal is the well-known sculpture titled “Menacing Cupid” by Etienne Maurice Falconet. Cupid holds his finger to his lips, and he watches the naughty game.

Fragonard’s travels to Italy, including several visits to its beautiful parks, gardens, and fountains, left an indelible mark on his imagination. Although the four paintings in the National Gallery were not painted in Italy, they reflect Fragonard’s enthusiasm for his subject. He painted with a fluid brush stroke well suited to the charm of his figures and their settings. He is described by art historians as a virtuoso. 

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

Francisco Jose de Goya y Lucientes (1746-1828) is known best for his paintings and prints. He began the study of art at age fourteen (1760), he was and so talented that he was able to set up his own studio in 1763. Goya was mentored by Ramon Bayeu y Subias, then at the Royal Tapestry Factory in Madrid to design tapestries for the El Escorial and El Prado palaces of King Charles III. The King’s painter Raphael Mengs invited Goya to become a principal designer at the Royal Tapestry works in 1774. He received the much sought-after position of principal designer in 1776. Goya was just 30 years old. His first commission was to complete the series Bayeu y Subias that had begun a few years earlier. Goya worked at the Royal Tapestry Factory from 1775 until 1792, and produced 63 cartoons. Cartoons were painted as guides for the weaving of tapestries.

“The Parasol” (1777)

 Goya’s first commission came from the Prince and Princess of Asturias, later King Charles IV and Queen Maria Luisa de Parma, for the dining room at El Escorial Palace. They wanted bright and colorful tapestries of everyday life in Spain.  Goya presented the idea for “The Parasol” in 1775, the year he arrived at the Factory. He first presented small sketches and then a full-scale cartoon. “The Parasol” (1777) (41” x 60”) (oil on linen) is the final design for the weavers. A fashionably dressed woman, in a blue, yellow, and white silk gown in the latest French style, is relaxing on the ground. Wearing red flowers in her hair, she holds a fan. Her black dog rests comfortably in her lap. Behind her, a Majo (poor person of the period) holds a green parasol to provide shade. Standing with his hand on his hip, he seems slightly discontent. It is a sunny day, but gray clouds are on the horizon. A tree blows in the wind. Goya’s painting anticipates a storm might be brewing. 

“The Dance of the Majas on the Banks of the Manzanares” (1777)

The Majas were the lower class of Spanish society, particularly in Madrid.  They defied the popular French style of clothing worn by the rich, and instead wore traditional Spanish garb that they elevated with elaborate decoration. They were well known for their shameless behavior and their flirtatious manner. They Majas were one of Goya’s favorite subjects. “The Dance of the Majas on the Banks of the Manzanares” (1777) (8.9’ x 9.67’) (oil on linen) depicts the Sequidillas, a popular country dance accompanied by a guitar. They laugh and talk, and generally enjoy themselves on the river bank. The Majas’ (females) dresses are decorated with Spanish lace and embroidery, and their hair is covered with netting. The Majos (males), wearing bright colored and decorated jackets, knee britches, and hair nets, exuberantly point their toes in the dance. Across the river at the right is a country house, and in the distant background are the towers of buildings in Madrid. Goya has again placed a wind-blown tree against a cloudy blue sky. He was quite familiar with this setting since it was not far from La Quinta de Sorto, a house and land he purchased in 1819.

“Boy on a Ram” (1786-87)

During his tenure as principal designer, Goya developed seven series of cartoons on themes including the seasons, hunting, and the ages of man. Each finished cartoon was the same size as the tapestry. “The Parasol” (3’5’’ x 5’) was placed over a window in the dining room. The size of “The Dance of the Majas on the Banks of the Manzanares” (8.9’ x 9.67’), indicates it was to be hung on a wall. “Boy on a Ram” (1786-87) (50’’ x 40’’) was a smaller panel that would hang above a door. This cartoon was part of a series Goya created about the ages of man, or the passage of time. The young boy wears the fashionable skeleton suit, a high waisted and tight-fitting jacket buttoned to high-waisted trousers. Made of a festive orange and black striped fabric, the suit is decorated with a white lace color and cuffs, and complemented by a wide orange sash. 

The boy rides on a ram, the sign of Aries, recognized as the beginning of the first months of spring, March and April. The tapestry represents both youth and the coming of spring. The sky is blue and the trees are leafing out in a variety of greens. 

“The Straw Manikin” (1791-92)

“The Straw Manikin” (1791-92) (8.75’ x 5.25’) is from the seventh and last suite of Goya cartoons, and it was the last cartoon Goya designed. Four colorfully dressed Majas playfully toss a manikin high into the air. The rosy-cheeked Majas smile and enjoy their game in a fresh green landscape of lawn and trees. The life-sized male manikin is totally helpless, its arms and legs hang twisted in impossible positions. Goya calls the viewer’s attention to the manikin’s facial expression by accentuating his very round rosy pink cheeks. The yellow blanket, placed at a diagonal, draws the viewer into the composition and contrasts with the deep black shadow it casts on the ground. A mass of dark gray clouds cut diagonally across the blue sky, signaling a storm is coming. 

Goya had experienced 18 years at the Spanish court beginning with the enlightened and kindly King Charles III, who reigned from 1759 until 1788. The reign of King Charles IV, from 1788 until 1808, brought corruption and disaster. All Europe witnessed the success of the American revolution of 1776, and France was in the middle its Revolution of 1789. Goya became Painter to the King in 1786 and court painter in 1789, providing him intimate knowledge of the unscrupulous behavior of the Spanish court. His royal portraits frequently depicted subtle hints of decay. His series of prints contain sarcastic and ironic images. The dark clouds and the hapless male manikin at the very least record Goya’s observations of what strong-minded women could do to weak men. Many of his royal portraits depict Queen Marie Luisa, a determined and arrogant woman who dominated her hapless husband Charles IV. 

Blanket tossing was often thought of as a harmless game, often played at carnivals in Europe. However, in Cervantes’ book Don Quixote de La Mancha, published in 1605 and 1615, Sancho Panza is roughly tossed in a blanket by thugs. They are doing it to make fun of him and to torment him. Sancho is incensed at this treatment, a carnival game usually played with dogs.

Goya’s cartoons were carefully stored in the basement of the Royal Tapestry Factory. Most of the cartoons were moved in 1858 to the basement of El Escorial. They were rediscovered in 1870 and taken to El Prado. A catalog was published in 1876. Throughout his life, Goya remained a consummate observer of human nature and produced a body of work that viewers today can enjoy. His work depicts the pleasure and beauty of the world, also its dark and destructive side.

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

Renoir at Chatou        

August Renoir (1841-1919) and other artists began to develop a new style of painting in the late 1870’s that was later called Impressionism. They experimented and painting along the Seine in the villages of Argenteuil and Chatou, accessible by train 9 miles west of Paris. Both Renoir and Monet painted in plein air along the river. Monet was interested in the landscape. Renoir found his subject matter in the new young Bourgeoise who came in the summer to sail, row, and enjoy new cafes and entertainments that were springing up in the two towns.

“Oarsmen at Chatou” (1875-79)

Renoir’s “Oarsmen at Chatou” (1875-79) (32” x39.5”) (National Gallery of Art) is an excellent example of his favorite subject matter: the joys of rowing on the Seine. On a beautiful sunny day, two prospective customers stand casually by the river as a boatman pulls up to the shore and offers them a ride. The well-dressed young lady, in a navy skirt and orange jacket with white ruffles, shows off her flowered hat. She holds her blue skirt up, out of the wet grass, allowing her white ruffled petticoat to show. Her gentleman friend stands in a casual pose. He is dressed in the summer fashion of blue trousers, white jacket, and straw hat. A rowboat, sailboat, and barge are on the river. The white ruffles of the young lady’s dress, the white shirts of the near and far boaters, the white cabin of the barge, and the white side of a house on the distant shore move the viewer’s eye through the composition. Several houses of Chatou are visible.

The painting is composed mainly of the complementary colors, orange and blue. The woman’s orange jacket, the orange boats, and the orange roofs of the distant houses   are wrapped around by the blues of the water and sky. Renoir made the water shimmer in the sunlight with his swift touches of orange and pink. The grass on the shore is dark green with touches of red, yellow, and purple. The water and clothing of the figures are dappled with sunlight.  Renoir captures the fleeting movement of water and wind.

“The Rowers Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise” (1879)

Renoir’s “The Rowers Lunch at the Restaurant Fournaise (1879) (25.5”x 26”) (Art Institute of Chicago) depicts one of his favorite places in Chatou: the Maison Fournaise, a restaurant overlooking the Seine. Three figures are seated at a small table shaded from the sun by iron trellises covered with green plants. Flowers on the bank of the river are painted with dots of red that echo the red of the wine cork. Remnants of bread, cheese, and fruit, and empty wine bottles show that lunch is over. Seated with her back to the viewer, the young woman wears a navy-blue flannel dress popular with female boaters. Her gentlemen friends are dressed in white jackets, T-shirts, and trousers. Smoking a cigarette, the figure at the left casually leans back in his chair. The young woman apparently has said something interesting as the man to her left smiles at her. A single rower glides by, and a team of boatmen pull together on their oars.  

Renoir continued the use of the colors of sunlight to create the light and shadow in this composition. Of particular note is his handling of the T-shirt and trousers of the man with the cigarette. His white clothing, in the shade of the trellis, contains a large amount of blue to create the shadows with small dashes of orange and yellow for the highlights. The white outfit contains very little white paint. If placed next to the traditional style of painting shadow on white, this white will appear brighter and whiter.

“Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1881)

“Luncheon of the Boating Party” (1881) (4.3” x 5.8”) (Phillips Collection) is one of Renoir’s larger canvases, and it signals the end of his adherence to some of the tenants of Impressionism. His close friends are gathered together on a balcony of the Restaurant Fournaise. The viewer looks on, but does not intrude in their enjoyment of each other’s company. Renoir’s friends are depicted in this painting.  However, they were painted in his studio, in small groups or individually. The still life also was assembled and painted in the studio. Only the background landscape was painted in situ (in place). Renoir moved away from Impressionism between 1878 and 1881. He commented, “Theories don’t make good pictures. For the most part they only serve to mask the shortcomings of the artist. Theories are worked out afterwards in any case.” 

The composition is tightly organized with the table, the railing, and the iron bars of the awning placed on the diagonal. These diagonals are complemented by the opposite diagonal placement of the people. Use of diagonals lends the movement and energy experienced by the viewer. Renoir added the awning later to provide the needed shadow. The fluttering of the awning suggests the breeze that flows over the scene. A railroad bridge is barely noticeable under the stripes of the awning. Two vertical iron poles, the vertical poles of the railing, and the verticals of the wine bottles and glasses add stability to the composition. Impressionist colors depict the light and shadow underneath the awning.  Renoir’s repeated blues, oranges, yellows, purples, reds, and greens draw the viewer’s eye from one group of figures to the other.

One of the delights for viewers of “The Luncheon of the Boating Party” is imagining the various conversations that take place in the scene. All the figures are Renoir’s close friends. At the left, Aline Victorine Chariot is engaged in a conversation with her small dog. She was a seamstress, like Renoir’s mother, and would become Renoir’s wife in 1890. She was 20 years younger than Renoir and bore him his three sons. 

Leaning on the railing behind Aline is Alphonse Fournaise, Jr., son of the owner. He wears a singlet, a new fashion statement invented by an Australian athlete who tore the sleeves off his T-shirt because they were too binding. Across from Aline and at the right is the artist Gustave Caillebotte, also wearing a singlet. Both men wear the newest fashion in hats: the straw boater, fashioned after the canotier straw hats worn by gondoliers in Venice.  The charming young woman leaning on the railing beyond Fournaise is Alphonsine Fournaise, the owner’s daughter. She too wears a boater hat. She is talking with Baron Raoul Barbier, the former mayor of colonial Saigon who then lived in Paris. He was well-known as a ‘bon vivant’ (“one who lives well”). Just beyond Barbier, the young woman having a drink is actress Ellen Andree.

Leaning over the table with Caillebotte is the Visconti Adrien Maggiolo, a journalist for Le Triboulet newspaper. The handsome Maggiolo leans over to talk with Angele Legault, an opera singer at the Opera-Comique. At the top right are Eugene Pierre Lestreingez, an actor and screenwriter who would write several scripts for Renoir’s son Jean Renoir, well-known for his silent films. The other is artist Paul Lhote. The men appear to have said something risqué; the actress Jeanne Samar puts her hands up to cover her ears. Samar performed at Paris’s premier theatre Comedie-Francaise. 

The gentleman in the top hat is Charles Ephrussi, art collector, historian, and founder and editor of the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, the major arts magazine in France. Talking with him and wearing the brown jacket and hat is Jules Laforgue, personal secretary to Ephrussi and a symbolist poet. What a fascinating group of people and what interesting topics may be under discussion among Renoir’s close friend.

Maison (Restaurant) Fournaise

The Maison Fournaise was opened in 1867 and closed in 1906. It was left abandoned until1990, when citizens of Chatou, assisted by American private funds from Friends of French art, restored and reopened it. 

“The Luncheon of the Boating Party” is the last of what Renoir considered his Impressionist painting. It continues to be considered by critics and the public alike as one of his best. It was exhibited in the 7th Impressionist Exhibition, and at least three critics considered it the best work in the show. Renoir sold the painting to Paul Durant-Ruel, a very influential art dealer and gallery owner. His son, sold the painting in 1923 to Duncan Phillips for $125,000. It remains one of the prize possessions and most popular works in the Philips Collection (Washington, D.C.).

“To my mind, a picture should be something pleasant, cheerful, and pretty, yes pretty! There are too many unpleasant things in life as it is without creating still more of them.”  (Renoir)

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