A woman's place
The Huntington’s Virginia Steele Scott Galleries provide a home for some of America’s most important female artists
By Jana J. Monji 07/02/2009
Harriet Hosmer’s recently rediscovered marble statue, “Zenobia in Chains,” now on display at the newly expanded Huntington Library’s Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art, proves that women hold an important place in history.
The expansion and redesign of the Scott Galleries doubles the library’s exhibition space for American art, now that construction of the Lois and Robert F. Erburu Gallery, adjoining the Scott Gallery, has opened.
“Zenobia in Chains” dominates as the centerpiece in a small room of the Erburu Gallery. Cool and graceful, the statue is so well sculpted that one would swear her skin would be warm to touch. Hosmer created a controversy when she unveiled this stunning work in 1859. During her lifetime (1830-1908), few believed that a woman could actually create something that didn’t belong in the home or kitchen. Now, for the first time in nearly a century, Hosmer’s work is on public view.
Of course the Huntington is famous for Thomas Gainsborough’s “The Blue Boy” and Thomas Lawrence’s “Pinkie,” but those were British painters. American artists also painted portraits, some as stately as Gainsborough’s, such as John Singleton Copley’s 1765 oil painting of “Sarah Jackson,” on display in the 17th and 18th century Colonial period section of the Scott Gallery.
Less formal is Mary Cassatt’s 1897 “Breakfast in Bed,” in which a mother with her head on a pillow watches her curly-haired child sit up. Painting predominantly with whites, Cassatt shows how many variations can be achieved and how these subtleties can express innocence in a crisp, cool setting.
The recently acquired “Free Floating Clouds,” a 1980 painting by abstract expressionist Samuel L. Francis (1923-1994), a 10-foot tall and 21-foot wide gift of the Sam Francis Foundation to the Huntington, is now on display in the room devoted to mid-20th century Abstraction art. The painting is a significant milestone in the artist’s progression from his earlier interest in grid-like structure to a later looser, more gestural style.
The collection isn’t limited to sculpture and paintings, but includes some fine examples of silversmithing, American glasswork and furniture making. This area — San Marino and Pasadena — is, after all, the place where Charles and Henry Greene made their mark, as illustrated in the Dorothy Collins Brown wing, where a full dining room set created by Greene & Greene has been on display.
In an adjoining room is a 1904 “Cabinet with Tulip Poplar Panels” from the Byrdcliffe Arts Colony. Made of polychromed poplar with brass hardware, “Cabinet” shows 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 Scott Galleries. The photographs are the result of a two-year experience in which Halverson photographed the river, meeting up with explorers, scientists, writers, artists and thrill-seekers. Unlike the 1970s group of photographers who used their images to criticize urban sprawl and the effects the growing urbanization of the West had on the river, Halverson’s images act more as an impartial witness. Lawn chairs and beach chairs are juxtaposed against majestic time-carved red walls and people in large cars party at Lake Mead as rows of RVs dominate a desert landscape.“Downstream” continues until Sept. 28.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens is at 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino. Exhibit included in price of admission. For more information, call (626) 405-2100
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Your readers might like to see this blog post about the woman who created 'Zenobia in Chains', Harriet Hosmer: <a href= "http://judithweingarten.blogspot.com/2008/03/zenobia-is-back-in-america.html">Zenobia is Back in America</a>