Date: Fri 12-Mar-1999

Publication: Ant

Author: CAROLL

Quick Words:

Hathaway

Full Text:

AA LEAD: American Folk Art In The Metropolitan Museum Of Art

NEW YORK CITY -- Paintings, watercolors, drawings, and portrait miniatures by

the greatest names in American folk art -- Rufus Hathaway, Edward Hicks,

Joshua Johnson, Ammi Phillips, and other artists working within naive and

provincial traditions in the United States during the Eighteenth and

Nineteenth Centuries -- are featured in "American Folk Art in The Metropolitan

Museum of Art," on view in The American Wing to January 2, 2000.

The more than 125 works from the Metropolitan Museum's distinguished

collection of American folk art cover the full range of subject matter

delineated by these artists -- portraiture, landscapes, mourning scenes, and

historical and religious themes -- and feature such canonical works as "Lady

with her Pets" (1790) by Rufus Hathaway; the portrait of Edward and Sarah

Rutter (circa 1805) by Joshua Johnson; "The Falls of Niagara" (1825) by Edward

Hicks; and "Mrs Mayer and Daughter" (1835-1840) by Ammi Phillips.

Long the subject of debate by art historians, critics, folklorists, and other

scholars, "folk art" is most often defined as art that is created by

individuals who were not academically trained (although they may have acquired

their skills through apprenticeship, observation, or informal learning) and

that adheres to the aesthetic standards of the small communities within which

or for which it was produced. Although they represent diverse backgrounds and

worked in a broad range of styles, all of the artists presented in "American

Folk Art in The Metropolitan Museum of Art" -- including nearly 60 named

artists -- meet these criteria.

The exhibition is arranged thematically, with sections devoted to portraits

(including portrait miniatures), ornamental or narrative sense, images of

children and families and seascapes and cityscapes. Among the works on paper

will be additional sections of mourning pictures and calligraphy.

The paintings will remain on view in the Erving and Joyce Wolf Gallery through

January 2, after which a selection will be shown at the New York State Museum

in Albany. The works on paper, because of their sensitivity to light, will

remain on view only through September 5, in The Henry R. Luce Center for the

Study of American Art.

Over a number of decades, the Metropolitan Museum amassed a fine and extensive

collection of folk art, acquired almost exclusively by gift or bequest. Among

the museum's principal benefactors were Colonel Edgar William and Bernice

Chrysler Garbisch, whose important collection included iconic works by the

greatest names in American folk painting. Through the generosity of the

Garbisches, the four examples provided below -- all of which will be on view

in the exhibition -- entered the museum's collection.

Rufus Hathaway (1770-1822) was only 20 years old when he painted "Lady with

her Pets (Molly Wales Fobes)," one of the best-known portraits by an American

country painter. There is no record of Hathaway having had any artistic

training and his work shows very little stylistic development over time.

Nonetheless, his oeuvre is memorable for its charm, a bold use of color, and

mastery of two-dimensional design. Paintings by Hathaway are rare after 1795,

when he forsook this occupation to become a doctor. In "Lady with her Pets" --

Hathaway's earliest known work -- the attitude of the sitter, her herisson (or

hedgehog-style coiffure), and the almost emblematic arrangement of her pets

mimic contemporary French trends in fashion and portraiture, which Hathaway

could have known through prints.

Orphaned at a very early age, Edward Hicks (1780-1849) was taken in by a

family that raised him in the Quaker tradition. He was apprenticed to a coach

maker and showed an early aptitude for painting, which led to employment as a

painter of decorations on coaches and of street, shop, and tavern signs. Upon

being accepted as a Quaker preacher -- contemporary accounts note his

extraordinary gifts in this regard -- he felt compelled to give up these

lucrative and worldly pursuits. He tried farming, but his debts mounted, his

health declined, and he still had a family to support.

Hicks resolved this dilemma by returning to painting, but focused solely on

subject matter of a religious nature. Hick's 1825 painting of "The Falls of

Niagara" shows the cataract from the Canadian side, along with the moose,

beaver, rattlesnake, and eagle that have traditionally been used as emblems of

North America. Inscribed around the border is an excerpt from Alexander

Wilson's poem, "The Foresters." The painting, a sort of visual sermon, can be

interpreted as a commemoration of Hicks's missionary work among Native

American tribes in upstate New York.

Joshua Johnson (active 1796-1824) is the earliest African-American painter in

the United States with a recognized body of work. Johnson (whose name is

sometimes spelled Johnston) was brought to Baltimore in the 1790s as a slave

for a family that was related to Charles Willson Peale, the celebrated

portrait painter. Within a decade Johnson became a "freeman of color" and was

earning his living as a portrait painter.

Although early works show Peale's influence, Johnson soon developed a more

personal and less academic style, in which facial features were idealized,

while details such as fine lace overlaying another fabric received a very

literal treatment. Johnson's affinity for bright, strong colors and precise

details can be seen in the portrait of "Edward and Sarah Rutter," whose air of

stillness gives it an unreal, almost magical feeling.

Ammi Phillips (1788-1865) was an itinerant portrait painter who settled in one

community and then another along the Massachusetts-Connecticut border before

moving on in search of commissions. In a career that spanned many years and

underwent several stages of evolution and response to the influence of various

artists, Phillips facilitated his work (by developing a formulaic approach to

portraiture) at the same time that he personalized it (by imaginatively

individualizing each one). The portrait of "Mrs Mayer and Daughter" shows

Phillip's combination of radically simple, elegant outlines with an assured

coloristic refinement that borders on the urbane.

Works of art by nearly five dozen other named artists, as well as numerous

pieces by unidentified makers, will also be on view. Highlights include 27

scenes of city life by the tinsmith William P. Chappel (circa 1800-1880), a

work commemorating the first naval battle of the War of 1812 by Thomas

Chambers (1808-after 1866), two religious paintings based on Biblical scenes

and a portrait by Erastus Salisbury Field (1805-1900), a patriotic image of

George Washington by Frederick Kemmelmeyer (circa 1755-1821), and a watercolor

portrait that was executed jointly by Ruth Whittier Shute (1803-?), who drew

the likeness, and her husband Samuel Addison Shute (1803-1836), who painted it

in.

The exhibition was organized by Carrie Rebora Barratt, associate curator of

American paintings and sculpture and manager of The Henry R. Luce Center for

the Study of American Art. Exhibition design is by Daniel B. Kershaw,

exhibition designer; graphic design is by Jill Hammarberg, graphic designer;

and lighting is by Zack Zanolli, lighting designer.

A variety of educational programs and resources are available in conjunction

with this exhibition, including lectures, gallery talks, films, and programs

and resources for teachers and families.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is at 82nd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York,

telephone 212/879-5500.