The Queen Is Ready
The newly expanded the Huntington Library’s Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art is proof that American art is world class and that women have a place in art history: Harriet Hosmer’s recently rediscovered marble statue, “Zenobia in Chains,” is holding court at the new galleries.
The expansion and re-design of the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries doubles the exhibition space for American art by the construction of the Lois and Robert F. Erburu Gallery that adjoins the Scott Gallery and opened to the public on May 30.
“Zenobia in Chains,” as if fitting for a queen, dominates a small room in the Erburu Gallery as the centerpiece. A cool and graceful beauty, so well sculpted that you’d swear she should breathe and that her skin should be warm to touch. Isn’t she just one of those living works of arts like they have in Laguna Beach? Hosmer created a controversy when she unveiled this stunning work in 1859 because during her lifetime (1830-1908) few people could believe that a woman could actually create something that didn’t belong in the home or kitchen. For the first time in nearly a century, this artwork is on view. At her sides are two more sculptures by Hosmer, including “Puck.”
Of course the Huntington Library is famous for Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy” and Thomas Lawrence’s “Pinkie,” but those were British painters and European works are housed in the Huntington Art Gallery.
American artist also painted portraits, some as stately as Gainsborough such as John Singleton Copley’s 1765 oil painting of “Sarah Jackson” in the 17th and 18th century Colonial period section of the Steele Scott Gallery. The sheen of her dress suggests wealth and luxury and her bearing and gaze, the confidence and self-possession of the sitter. Less formal is Mary Cassatt’s 1897 “Breakfast in Bed” where a mother with her head on her pillow watches her curly-haired child who is sitting up. The mother has one arm protectively around her child. Painting with predominately whites, Cassatt shows how many variations one can achieve and how these subtleties can express both innocence and a crisp, cool setting. Cassatt’s painting is one of the highlights in the new Erburu Gallery in the room devoted to 19th century: Guided Age works.
The recently acquired “Free Floating Clouds,” a 1980 painting by abstract expressionist Samuel L. Francis (1923-1994), is a 10 feet tall and 21 feet wide gift of the Sam Francis Foundation to the Huntington. The acquisition was only announced this February and the acrylic painting is now on display in the room devoted to mid-20th century Abstraction art. The painting is significant because it shows the artist’s progression from his earlier interest in grid-like structure to his later style which was looser and more gestural.
The collection isn’t limited to sculpture and paintings. It also includes some fine examples of silversmithing, American glass and furniture. This area—San Marino and Pasadena, is, after all, the place where brothers Greene and Greene made their mark as noted in the Dorothy Collins Brown wing where a full dining room set has been on display. Examples of Allan Adler silver and the ceramics are on display in the same room as Francis’ painting in the new gallery space. In an adjoining room is a 1904 “Cabinet with Tulip Poplar Panels” from the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony made of polychromed poplar with brass hardware, showing the influence of Japanese art on American design.
Not all the art on display is part of the permanent collection. Until Sept. 28, Karen Halverson’s photographs of the Colorado River, “Downstream,” are on display in the Susan and Stephen Chandler Wing of the Virginia Steele Scott Galleries. The photographs are the result of a two-year experience where Halverson photographed the river, meeting and linking explorers, scientists, writers, artists and thrill seekers. Unlike the 1970s group of photographers who used their images to criticize the urban sprawl and the effects the growing urbanization of the west had on this river, Halverson’s images acts more as an impartial witness, even during this time of drought. Lawn chairs and beach chairs are juxtaposed against majestic time carved red walls, people in large cars party at Lake Mead, rows of RVs dominate a desert and even just nature being stunningly beautiful.
Take time to welcome the Zenobia and celebrate women artists casting off the chains of gender politics or just reconnect with the beauty of American art.
Downstream continues until Sept. 28 at The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Exhibit included in price of admission. For more information, call (626) 405-2100 or visit www.huntington.org.
