Redwood Project: Caroline McGuckian's New Entry

Blog: Redwood Project Student Work: Caroline McGuckian

Caroline McGuckian’s entry for Duncan McFarlane’s Britannia—part of our collaboration with the Redwood library to catalog their collection—demonstrates the types of research skills students acquire in the Methodologies of Research course.  Blending together solid primary sources with modern scholarship, McGuckian was able to identify the vessel depicted in the painting, and this allowed her to examine more specifically the image’s content and significance.  This is a welcome addition to the catalog.

Duncan McFarlane, Britannia, 1854, oil on canvas
Gift of James T. Patten
Image copyright Redwood Libray

While the Dutch and English ruled the seas during the 17^th and 18^th centuries, America challenged these powers in the 19^th century.  Along with the struggle for dominance over the open seas, grew the popularity of Marine art within each country. After the War of 1812, which was rooted in England and America’s battle for the authority of Atlantic trade, America’s involvement sparked the curiosity within its people for marine art and the romanticized notion of exploring unknown territories.  During this time was also when America began its growth as a nation and westward expansion. Much like landscape painting in America during the nineteenth century, Marine painting showed the growing fascination of expansion and exploration.

The majority of Marine Art during the nineteenth century was produced on commission, in most cases by the owner of the ship.  Many American works resemble English examples, since many of the artists were Europeans or Americans working in the established English style of marine painting. Scottish-born artist Duncan McFarlane (c. 1818-1865) used the Liverpool Harbor as his backdrop and was able to make a substantial living as a skilled artist.  Liverpool was the perfect place to observe America’s ships, as the harbor served as the main source for America’s trade with England.  McFarlane typically included multiple views of a single ship in his compositions, and rigorously depicted ship’s flags and rigging details.  His paintings are characterized by their brightly lit blue skies and choppy green waters topped with white-capped waves.   The Britannia, 1854, signed on the reverse with, “D. McFarlane 1854,” depicts a clipper ship.  Known for their quick speed and majestic beauty, these ships were a popular subject for marine art in the nineteenth century. One detail that recurs in many of McFarlane’s paintings is the image of a seagull placed in the foreground of the painting.  The seagull is depicted flying above the choppy waves on the lower left side of the canvas. The ship Britannia is pictured gliding into Liverpool Harbor, distinguishable by the distant hill with topping lighthouse known as Point Lynas.

The ship Britannia was built in 1853 in Bath, Maine weighing 1194 tons.  The painting was most likely painted by McFarlane on commission from the Britannia’s owner George F. Patten of Bath, Maine.  Patten, a respectable citizen and businessman, established a successful shipbuilding company in the early 1800’s, producing multiple vessels including forty ships. As Duncan McFarlane never left Liverpool, there is no doubt that he painted the Britannia while the ship was docked at the Liverpool Harbor.  In July of 1859, the Britannia was documented upon its arrival in Liverpool to deliver a cargo of coal.  The Redwood Library was given the painting by James T. Patten, George F. Patten’s son.

Bibliography

1850 Federal Census, Bath, Maine.

A.S. Davidson, Marine Art & Liverpool Painters, Places, & Flag Codes 1760-1960, (Wolverhampton, England: Waine Research Publications, 1986).

Alan Granby, Flying the Colors: The Unseen Treasures of Nineteenth-Century American Marine Art (Manchester, Vermont: Hudson River Press LLC, 2009).

Michael E. Leek, The Art of Nautical Illustration: A Visual Tribute to the Achievements of the Classic Marine Illustrators, (London: Quatro Publishing Plc.,1991).

Marine Intelligence, New York Times, September 21, 1859, 8.

New York marine register: a standard of classification of American ports,1857, (New York: R.C. Root, Anthony & C, 1857)

Parker McCobb Reed, History of Bath and Environs, Sagahadoc County, Maine: 1607-1894, (Portland, Maine: Lakeside Press, 1894), 340.

John Wilmerding, American Marine Painting, (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1987).

Brief Mention: Student Seol Park's Article

An overdue note of congratulations is due to Seol Park, one of the program’s students who will graduate in March 2012, for her article “Northern Lights and the Postwar Period in Silver Production,” which appeared in the September-October issue of Silver Magazine.  Park’s work examines the contributions of the International Silver Company, in particular the designer Alfred Kintz, and traces his role in help shaping the recovery of the silverware industry after World War II.

You can purchase back issues here.

Congratulation's Seol!

Newport Furniture Symposium at Christie's

If the first night of Christie’s Newport Furniture Symposium was any indication of what Americana week holds, there are great things in store for the week ahead and interest in American Decorative Arts continues to grow.  It was a brutally cold evening in New York, yet despite this, people showed up in droves to preview the sale and attend the lecture by Patricia Kane, Friends of American Arts Curator of Decorative from Yale University.  Kane, who has been the driving force behind Yale’s Rhode Island Furniture Archive, gave a talk titled: “Following in the Footsteps of Joseph Ott: Even More Notes on Rhode Island Furniture.”  Ott, who served as director of the Rhode Island Historical Society from 1971-74, was a scholar and collector of Rhode Island Furniture who added greatly to the field by identifying makers previously overlooked.  As Kane noted, in Ott’s short tenure, he expanded the field of known furniture makers by 20%, bringing the total number of named craftsmen to just under 400. 

Thanks to Kane’s continued efforts, Yale’s archive now lists about 1800 makers, and her talk focused on the state of the field.  Of particular interest is the work beginning to identify other centers of production besides Newport and starting to establish the regional trends of areas like Providence, Warwick, and Kingston.  If, at first glance, these seem to be narrow distinctions useful only to connoisseurs and collectors, a second and deeper look is warranted.  This changes the regional history of the area’s furniture making, and with that there will be distinct differences in how the social and economic histories of Rhode Island (in general) and Newport (in particular) need to be told.  These discoveries, provided there are those continuing to incorporate them into their research and teaching, will reshape the standard models of colonial production history and allow for a richer and more complex understanding of the field.

Even before the lecture began, however, John Hays—Deputy Director for Christie’s America—had a surprise in store for the audience.  He invited up Joseph Ott’s son, who announced that in honor of his father’s memory they would like to donate two carved legs to an Institution designed for the study of decorative arts.  Nobody seemed more surprised than Wendy Cooper of Winterthur, when they asked her to come up and accept the donation.  “This,” she told the crowd, “is totally unexpected.”  It was a very sweet gesture by the Ott family and one that demonstrates the generosity of American Decorative Arts collectors and the general support of education and research by the collecting community.

The previews this week at both auction houses this week are exceptional, with fully half (three of six-known) of the signed works by John Townsend available for viewing.  As Pat Kane pointed out in an aside in her lecture: “What’s happening this week in the auctions in New York has to be some sort of a landmark.”

It was a great event, and nice to see so many familiar faces out and about for Americana week.  A few of the people in attendance last night warrant mention because they are always generous with their time to our students, and to demonstrate how important the week is to collectors, scholars, curators, and those in the industry:

(in no particular order)

Carrie Barratt, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Morrie Heckscher, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brock Jobe, Winterthur

Nicholas Vincent, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brandy Culp, Historic Charleston

Alexandra Kirtley, Philadelphia Museum of Art

Tara Gleason Chicirda, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation

Dennis Carr, Museum of Fine Arts Boston

Ron Bourgeau, Northeast Auctions

Elle Shushan, premier dealer in portrait miniatures

John Hays and Andrew Holter (one of our American Arts Course Alums, no less) deserve a lot of credit and gratitude for hosting such a wonderful evening.

Even Blogs Take Holidays: News from NYC

It seems late to be posting the first post of the new year in mid-January, but the blog has been on break, taking a much-needed vacation while I finished writing a chapter for an upcoming exhibition on Frans Wildenhain, a Bauhaus-trained potter who came to the United States in the late 1940s.  The exhibition is the effort of Bruce Austin, who has put together an excellent website that you can view here.  My essay traces the development of American ceramics during Wildenhain's career and covers the major movements and figures.

Some other news:

I had the good fortune of attending the opening of the Met's "Duncan Phyfe: Master Cabinetmaker in New York," an impressive exhibition of Phyfe's work and the first retrospective to be held featuring him in 90 years.  I cannot recall seeing an opening for American furniture so well-attended, the galleries were packed and it was difficult to take it all in.  Luckily, the exhibit runs through May 6 and (for those unable to head East) there is an exceptional catalog of work.  Peter Kenny's long study of Phyfe has paid off and I am hopeful that this will introduce Phyfe and his work to a new audience.

Winter Antique Show:

NY's premier antiques event kicks off this week and once again the show is assisted by Interns from the American Fine and Decorative Arts Program at Sotheby's Institute of Art.  Throughout the course of two weeks, students learn aspects of the business that are impossible to tech in a classroom, like working with Show staff, vetting committees, dealers, and interacting directly with the press and public.  I am happy to say that this year we are sending 15 interns to the show and that they'll be working directly with two star Alumi: Mary Urban (who ran the American Art Fair this Fall) and Ashley Rettenmaier, Project Manager.  

Americana Week:

For those of you unfamiliar with the antiques trade, this is Americana week in New York, and in addition to the Phyfe Show, and the Winter Antiques Show, it means that the Auction houses put forward their best material, creating a critical mass of objects in the city throughout the week.  In addition, this year Christie's is hosting a symposium on Newport furniture, designed to coincide with their sale and also the opening of the American Wing at the Met's paintings galleries.   Both houses offer an exceptional chance to see and experience some of the finest pieces of Americana before their tucked away into private collections, or behind the ropes and glass of museums.  I should also mention that Leigh Keno has another impressive sale taking place this week.  It makes for a busy but rewarding week in the city.

Last, and certainly not least.

American Paintings?  In New York?  After a long absence the long awaited opening of the Met's galleries will finally happen.  After a bit of a rough spell for paintings in New York (Especially during the period that the NYHS and the Met were closed for renovation) things return to normal as the Met's galleries finally re-open this week.  Highlights are sure to include the recently cleaned and framed Washington Crossing the Delaware by Leutze, as well as Church's Heart of the Andes which has been reframed in a period frame.  Sargent's Madame X is also back her in frame, looking a bit more dignified than she did in the Luce Center, where her frame would not fit in the case and was removed.  In contrast to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston whose new American wing is more intimate in scale, richly colored with period wall coverings, and  feels (with the exception of the Native American Work) richly integrated in terms of different materials and media, the Met's wing is clean, austere, and grand.  The very different installations afford an interesting  comparison of visitor experience, the role of context in display, and in what sort of audiences each of the spaces speaks to.  This should certainly be the subject of another post. 

Arts and Crafts and the 20th Century Design Sales

The market for Arts and Crafts has been especially volatile in the past few years.  While it is easy to blame everything on the global economic crisis, and tempting to pretend as though a rebound towards stability and predictability is imminent, the recent New York sales show a market that refuses to be either stable or predictable.


For the most part, Christie's seems to have abandoned their interest in Arts and Crafts--their most recent sale (December 17th) only yielded 2 items:
1. a Stickley three door oak and glass cabinet that sold for 25,000, and
2. a pair of Thomas Jeckyl andirons  that went for 56,250


By contrast, Sotheby's offered many more arts and crafts lots, and priced them fairly aggressively.  Broadly speaking, 35 of the first 37 lots of the sale could be termed arts and crafts.  Excepting the Manship Vase and Augustus Saint Gaudens box, the selection was a standard who's who of the movement and offered Stickley furniture, Elizabeth Copeland's silver work, Grueby pottery, and Dirk Van Erp Lamps and metal pieces.  These are the types of things that always sell at arts and crafts auctions, and usually do well too.  If you needed to form a blue chip index for the movement, these are the names and the types of objects you would pick.


Unfortunately, as the economist and Philosopher Nassim Nicholas Taleb reminded readers in Fooled by Randomness, past performance is not a reliable predictor of the future, despite what market gurus and consultants believe.  Describing what he calls "a more severe aspect of naive empiricism," Taleb reminds readers that "[one] can use data to disprove a proposition, never to prove one.  [One] can use history to refute a statement, never to confirm it."(Taleb 119)  Thus, even though history might indicate to you that you can sell an Overbeck vase comfortably (or perhaps optimistically) for $80-120K,  or a Grueby Daffodil Vase for $50-70K, history sometimes makes little difference to the present moment.  In part, it seems as though the success of the movement at auction is part of the problem, since high prices now form a barrier for those looking to begin collecting.  Ironically, the high prices have been largely due to a few major collectors who, as their own collections grow, have less need for pieces, and higher standards for acquiring them.  How else does one explain why a Marblehead Potteries vase with roses fails to sell in 2011 even with an estimate of 30-50K, when just last fall David Rago sold a similar example (with better design) for $134,200?  Rago's estimate of 25-35K on that vase, combined with the stronger design, seemed to encourage competition in the bidding room.  If this indicates anything, the take away might be that the high end of the market remains strong but finicky, and that past performance needs to be treated with a bit more suspicion. 


Take for example Lot 14 an "important and rare landscape motto plaque" made by Marblehead Potteries which was estimated at $60-80K and sold for 68.5K (with the buyers premium).  Just 5 years ago Sotheby's offered a similar example, estimated at 25-35K which sold for $90K.  More buyers?  Better estimates?  Who knows?  The lesson, if there is one in this, is that one shouldn't rely upon past performances to craft high reserves and estimates in a market that appears to be unpredictable.


Was there good news in any of these sales?  Of course.  The market for Tiffany remains strong, as evident in both the major sales this past month.  Sotheby's did $4.6 million on 53 lots, Christies total was slightly higher (4.8 million) but keep in mind that sale had more than 3 times the lots that Sotheby's offered.  There were some surprises in modern design as well.  The star of the auction season was Francois-Xavier Lalanne (1927-2008) whose group of 10 sheep at Christies went for more than 12 times the low estimate of 600,000 to reach a staggering sum of $7,474,500 when the bidding had finished.  An elegant and rare teapot by Naum Slutzky breezed easily past its estimate of 60-80K at Sotheby's to reach a final price of $374,500.


Late 19th and 20th Century design gets a break for a while, as the season shifts (as it does every January) to the Americana sales.  With nice offerings by both major houses, it should be a good indicator of the overall health of the market as we roll into the new year.

Auction Roundup: A Rough Weekend for Rookwood, and other notes

I could look at Rookwood pottery for days on end.  I like the company's history of innovation, the quirky designs of pieces from almost all eras, and I think the company did a great job of navigating the tricky space between an industrial concern and the artistry people expected in the late Victorian era into the arts and crafts.  The market for Rookwood, however, is changing as evident by recent sales results.  


The annual sale (or two) of Rookwood has been something of a tradition, certainly in Cincinnati and for a long time the Cincinnati Art Galleries did well by this sale.  But changing tastes, a general drop in the Arts and Crafts market mid-level wares, and an economy in flux seem to have conspired against this past weekend's sale at Humler and Nolan.  The offering--465 lots of (mostly Rookwood) on Sunday, December 4th--was an ambitious array of Rookwood, but one has to wonder whether this type of monolithic sale makes sense in a market that is changing.    


First, the good news:


232 of the 465 lots offered for sale either met or exceeded their pre-auction estimate.  


The strongest sales, not surprisingly, were among the rarest pieces, and Amelia Sprague's Aerial Blue vase of 1895 led the sale, going for $14,000, or comfortably within the 12-15K estimate.  William Hentschel's carved mat vase went for slightly less ($12,000), but this figure doubled the low estimate.  Matthew Daly's exceptional Indian portrait vase met its estimate selling for $8,250, but this seems a far cry from the prices these pieces were commanding at the height of their popularity.

  


Less welcoming news was that 233 lots fell below their pre-auction estimates or failed to sell.  


Buyers were particularly unenthusiastic about Rookwood's standard ware, with pieces that less than a decade ago would have been quickly snapped up failing meet estimates, or even sell.  The general mood of the sale (at least if one is to believe the numbers reported by LiveAuctioneers) was one where astute buyers were able to snap up good deals, but where big money sales failed to materialize.  Particularly disappointing were the failure of lots 1152 and 1178 to sell, since these two pieces had estimates in the 20-30K dollar range.  

A rare electroplated vase decorated with bats and carved poppies that was exhibited at the Paris Exposition in 1900 failed to sell.  While there was some wear on the unusual plating (gold over copper), the provenance of the piece alone might have attracted bidders in the past.  Lot 1178, photo from Live Auctioneers.   

A similar fate befell the rare tiger eye vase decorated by Mary Taylor (lot 1342) which apparently did not attract enough interest to meet its reserve, as well a sweet little silver overlay teapot made in 1892.    

The news from Treadway's sale (as far as Rookwood is concerned), was equally mixed.  The top selling lot, a large scenic vellum plaque, went for $17,000, but this was well under the 20-25K estimate.  

Lot 258, photo from Live Auctioneers.  This large scenic landscape plaque fell below it's estimate.  By comparison, a similar sized plaque done in the same year by the same artist sold at David Rago's in March 2004 for $50,000. 

A number of lots passed, and many went for under their pre-auction estimate.  The Treadway sale was buoyed, in part, by a more diverse offering of wares and strong performances by two Dirk Van Erp Lamps.  The modern offering performed more unevenly, and by the day's end there were a number of larger lots that failed to sell.  Notable in this regard were lot 809 (Nakashima table, est. 18-24K); and lots 592-3, two works by Sam Gilliam.


On the horizon, there's a particularly nice selection of ceramics and good arts and crafts coming up for sale at Sotheby's December 15 Important 20th Century Design Sale.  Sotheby's and Christies seem to have adapted to the shifting market by offering less wares, but presenting a bit more of a highly curated (and cultivated) selection.  Both sales kick off with a set of similarly designed Thomas Jeckyl Andirons, Christies' pair is in iron, the Sotheby's pair in brass.  

Redwood Catalog Entry: Alfred Hart's Portrait of Berkeley after Smibert, by Jennifer Lee

Jennifer Lee's entry on Alfred Hart's portrait of Berkeley blends a solid understanding of the historical aspects of this image with contemporary references that help place why the desire for this copy would have been especially appealing for the Redwood Library collection.

  

Alfred A. Hart, Reverend George Berkeley (after Smibert), ca. 1858, oil on canvas, 30 x 25 (76.2 x 63.5 cm)

Gift of Charles H. Olmsted

RLC.PA.033 (1858)

Painted in 1858, Alfred A. Hart’s Bishop George Berkeley is a testament to the continued importance of Berkley’s legacy to Newport as an economic and cultural center in Colonial America.  Born in Killerin, Ireland, writer and philosopher George Berkeley (1685-1753) gained considerable notoriety for his An Essay Toward a New Theory of Vision (1709), A Treatise Concerning the Principles of Human Knowledge (1710), and Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous (1713). By the 1720s—and fearful the England was falling to ruin—Berkeley had begun formulating plans to start a Christian community outside of England where he could establish a college.  He chose the colony of Bermuda due to its agreeable climate and abundance of resources; a royal charter was granted in 1725 and Berkeley and his entourage sailed in 1728.  Determined to create an area of study where he could educate the “savages” on Christianity, but lacking the necessary funding to begin, Berkeley and his shipmates—including the painter John Smibert—remained in Newport from 1729-1731. 

            Although Berkeley’s residence made Newport an intellectual and artistic center, it was Smibert’s painting that announced this forcefully and heralded the arrival of the fine arts to a colonial culture largely devoid of trained painters.  During Berkeley’s brief tenure he introduced the fine arts to America and helped found the Newport Philosophical Society, the forerunner of the Redwood Library. Alfred Hart’s painting, which used Smibert’s depiction of Berkeley from The Bermuda Group (1729-1731) as its model, demonstrates the painting’s popularity and importance even to a nineteenth century audience. Hart would have seen The Bermuda Group on display at the Yale College where it had been since 1808. More than just simply a record of Berkeley’s visit, the painting came to stand for the beginning of the fine arts in America and secured Newport’s importance as a colonial port.  

            Smibert’s reputation, both in the United States and England, was indebted to his travels with Berkeley and The Bermuda Group and the painting was revered as a singular contribution to the evolution of the arts in America.  As early as 1762, in his Anecdotes of Painting in England, Horace Walpole remarked on Smibert’s time with Berkeley’s “uncertain but amusing  scheme.”  By 1818, antiquarian Gulian Verplanck noted that while the painting was “not one of Smibert’s best” he presumed “it is the first painting of more than a single figure ever painted in the United States.” By 1855, just around the time that Hart executed his copy, the critic and historian Henry Tuckerman informed readers that “The visit of Smibert and associates Berkeley’s name with the dawn of art in America.” Berkeley’s importance to Newport’s legacy and The Bermuda Group’s stature as a painting would have resonated with audiences and made this a particularly fitting image for the library’s collection.           

Selected Bibliography

Annals of the Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport, R.I.: Redwood Library, 1891.

Berkeley, George. The Works of George Berkeley Part One. Whitefish: Kessinger Publishing, 2004.

Gaustad, Edwin S. “George Berkeley and New World Community.” Church History 48 (March 1979).

Tuckerman, Henry T. “Berkeley’s Visit to America.”  Home Journal 2 (January 1855).