Glimpse
There’s so much to say about the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It’s comprehensive, expansive, and historic. But due to a limit of digital space and respect for your time (and perhaps even interest level), the focus will narrow on a particular collection—the “Art of the Americas”. Our approach, by no means adheres to a strict chronology, and it is far from all inclusive, rather, it encompasses a compilation of our musings about art and history, as well as the American mindset over the centuries, presented through a rich and dynamic platform of images…glimpses, really.
On a beautiful summer’s day we set out for the Boston Museum of Fine Arts from Emmanuel College, where our son works. He had procured for us free parking and 2 museum passes courtesy of the college saving us $75--ah, the perks!
As we made our way along the Fenway, we noticed an amazing sight emerging from the Emerald Necklace: a line of geese and their goslings at a traffic light walking along the cross walk! How they knew to do this remains a mystery, but, we were so impressed with their instincts that we couldn’t resist snapping a few shots of them and the chagrined Boston drivers who expressed their impatience with a few honks of their own!
A little history: the museum opened to the public on our nation’s Independence Day centennial, in a newly constructed building designed by John Sturgis and Charles Brigham, which sat on the current site of the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel. Prior to 1870, most of its collection had been housed and exhibited at the Boston Athenæum, one of the oldest (1807) and last remaining subscription libraries in the US.
Just 33 short years later, the collection and its visitors grew in such numbers that the museum relocated to another newly constructed building at 465 Huntington Ave., where it sits on a full city block. Designed by Guy Lowell, who would contribute designs to 3 of 6 its expansions (including the Museum School), the MFA houses one of the largest and most visited collections in the world, along with its sister museum in Nagoya, Japan.
Nagoya/Boston Museum of Fine Arts. (Photo: JapanGuides.net)
Each side of the building is an experience unto itself. As we approached along the Emerald Necklace, we began our tour on the Fenway side and were greeted by an impressive colonnade and a curious grouping of sculptures featuring 2 gigantic baby-head sculptures known as “Day” and “Night” flanking a Native American hunting vignette.
The Fenway entrance.
"Day", 2008, bronze, Antonio Lopez Garcia, (Spanish, born 1936).
"Night", 2008, bronze, Antonio Lopez Garcia, (Spanish, born 1936).
Moving counter clockwise to Museum Road, we discovered the I.M. Pei designed Linde Family Wing for Contemporary Art, that serves as the entrance for group admissions. Also of note is the “Garden of the Heart of Heaven”, a Japanese-inspired oasis added in 1988 and fully renovated this year.
Another view of the "Heaven" garden.
Continuing to the front and famous Huntington Avenue (Avenue of the Arts) entrance, its imposing neoclassical façade...
and bronze statue, “Appeal to the Great Spirit” by Cyrus Edwin Dallin, 1909, welcome you with grand fanfare.
Several sculptures are scattered around the perimeter of the campus.
"Untitled", 1997, bronze, Joel Shapiro (American, born in 1941)
The Forsyth Street side includes the latest addition, the “Art of the Americas” wing, which tantalizes the passerby with its tinted glass exterior, revealing artwork on its 4 floors. This, too, like the other 3 sides of the Museum incites curiosity and a mounting sense of anticipation as you wonder what marvels lay within its walls.
Returning to the main entrance on Huntington St., a group of American marbles harkens us back to the story of an early America in search of its own national identity. This sculpture has been greeting visitors at the museum's main entrance since its original doors opened in 1876. It launched Crawford's career. "Orpheus and Ceberus", 1843, marble, Italy (Rome), Thomas Crawford (American, about 1813-37).
These sculptures appear as though they were confiscated from the ruins of an ancient Greek or Roman city, and transplanted to America along with their respective, inherent trademark symbols of democratic and republican ideals, when in reality, they and this nation were young. "Jochebed" (mother of Moses), 1873, marble, Italy (Rome), Franklin Simmons (American, 1839-1913)
By virtue of adoption, America was claiming its inheritance, and pinning its hopes on a classical political structure. "Cleopatra", Italy (Florence), 1873, marble, Thomas Ridgeway Gould (American, 1818-1881)
Detail of "Cleopatra"
Beyond the lobby, a grand staircase rises up, leading you to a magnificent rotunda, adorned with 20 breathtaking murals and 18 bas-reliefs. In 1916, the museum hired famed portraitist, and Massachusetts born, John Singer Sargent, to adorn the ceilings, walls, galleries, and colonnades with allegorical and mythological scenes from antiquity. Scholars regard this body of work as Sargent’s crowing achievement, and, again, reflects the classical ideals that were so pervasive in the American 19th century psyche.
Long noted for its outstanding American art collection, the MFA opened the "Art of the Americas" Wing in 2010, which boasts 53 galleries that encompass art from the Pre-Columbian through the first 3 quarters of the 20th century. (Photo: with permission from Chuck Choi, Chuck Choi Architectural Photography)
Within the Americas galleries are masterpieces by artists who placed the nation among their elite European counterparts, and created, through visual art, a stunning record of how its inhabitants lived and who they were as America’s story unfolded. But even that’s not where it all begins…
Pre-Columbian, or indigenous cultures that existed within the Americas for millennia and prior to any European settlement in the New World, were long extinct even before Columbus arrived, but they left a footprint in the artifacts that remain, which indicate the hallmarks of a defined and complex society—architecture, science, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, theology, and, of course, the arts. Warrior, Mayan effigy, 600-750 CE
This era establishes the chronology between those cultures that existed in Mesoamerica, up through the European Colonial period, and into the nation that eventually became America.
The Boston MFA has long been synonymous with American Art—and this is where it shines, this panoply of colonial American life. That’s no surprise considering the epicenter of the American Revolution was located in and around Boston.
Icons of the War of American Independence, like Paul Revere, were immortalized on canvas by the leading artists of the day. Boston-born, John Singleton Copley (1738-1815), who was a self-taught portraitist, often lamented that there was no established artistic tradition in young America for which he could rely on for inspiration or instruction. "Paul Revere", 1768, oil on canvas, John Singleton Copley (American, 1738-1815)
Gallery: "The Ties that Bind"
To say that John Adams, our 2nd American President, was revolutionary would be an understatement. He was born on Oct. 30, 1735 in Quincy, MA (then called Braintree), a 6th generation direct descendant of the Puritans. He was admitted to the bar in 1758 after completing an AM degree from Harvard and reading the law under John Putnam, the leading lawyer in Worcester, MA. Early in his career, political discontent began to emerge in his writings as evidenced by his enthusiasm around criticism of the Writs of Assistance (the 1761 permit of general search warrants). Adams support for the cause of the American Colonies took shape over a number of British Parliamentary actions limiting the rights of British Americans, and by 1766 he had penned several notable essays and delivered speeches that increased his political reputation and influence. He became one of the leading voices inciting just insurrection against the British Crown. On March 5, 1770, the Boston Massacre erupted leaving 5 civilians dead in the street at the hands of British soldiers. No legal counsel would represent these soldiers until John Adams, concerned about the potential miscarriage of justice, placed his own political leanings aside, and staking his reputation against the cause, agreed to take their case. He argued that innocence was on trial, and if convicted by the passions and desires of its peers, then no person would be safe in society. All but 2 of the 8 men were acquitted, leaving reduced charges from murder to manslaughter for those who had fired into the crowd. Adams died on the Fourth of July, 1826, just hours after his longtime friend/rival, Thomas Jefferson, had died. Unaware of Jefferson’s passing, Adams last, delirious words: “Jefferson survives”—agitators to the end! "John Adams", 1823, oil on canvas, Gilbert Stuart (American, 1755-1828)
For his son, John Quincy Adams, our 6th American president, the political climate was a very different thing just 24 years after his father’s single term presidency (1797-1801) had ended, but there were many similarities between this father and son. John Quincy was born on July 11, 1776 in the same town as his father, and like his father, John Quincy was an intelligent and articulate writer, who began keeping a diary when he was 12, maintaining it for the remainder of his life. It encompasses 50 large volumes, and has been widely cited by critics for its extensive, first-hand accounts of the period. Once again, like his father, he obtained an AM degree from Harvard and passed the bar in 1791. He, too, had a stormy presidency, marked by high hostility from opposing political factions (leading to the establishment of the Democratic Party and our modern 2-Party system) that ended, also, in a single term (1825—1829). But after serving as President, John Quincy went on to serve in both the House of Representatives and US Senate, and later pursued an unsuccessful bid for Mayor of Boston—only 2 other former US Presidents have run for political office after having served as President. A supporter of the Anti-Slavery Movement, John Quincy, was presented with his own “case of a lifetime” opportunity when in 1841 he argued for the defense in “The Amistad Africans vs. The United States Supreme Court. In the summer of 1831, 53 native Africans were kidnapped in Sierra Leone by Spanish slavers, and forced aboard the Amistad for transport to Havana to be sold into slavery. During an on- board revolt, the ship’s captain and most of the crew were killed, with the surviving crew ordered by the Africans to return them to Africa. The ship was eventually seized off the coast of Long Island and brought to New London, CT, where the Africans were jailed to await trial for murder and face extradition to Cuba. During closing arguments, John Quincy spoke for several hours before the Court, and argued that the Africans had been illegally enslaved, and, therefore, justified in their mutiny, and innocent of the crime of murder. He hypothesized, from a position not unlike his father’s in the earlier British soldiers’ case, that freedom was on trial, and that if these free men could be handed over to be enslaved, then were any of us really assured of our own freedom? The Court decided in the defendants’ favor, and the 35 who remained after surviving the ordeal at sea and incarceration in New London were returned to Sierra Leone. The case caught the nation’s attention, with John Quincy’s speech affecting its collective conscience over the roiling pre-Civil War debate concerning the ownership of human beings—conflicting perceptions of its national identity. "John Quincy Adams", 1796, oil on canvas, John Singleton Copley (American,1738-1815)
Heading up to the 3rd floor, and through the glass doors, into the 19th century, it immediately became apparent we’d left behind an earlier era. Gone were the restrained portraits, and in their place were new faces with new attitudes. Note the loose brushwork. "Mrs. Fiske Warren and Her Daughter Rachel", 1903, oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent (American 1856-1925)
John Singer Sargent, who was born in Massachusetts, but spent most of his life in Europe, had the luxury of a personalized art education that included extended visits to all its major cities, and eventually, entry into the exclusive Ecole des Beaux- Art, in Paris. "Study for Boston Public Libary Lunette "Judgement", 1909-14, oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925)—please see refer to the Tankful Travels post, "Boston Public Library--"A Palace for the People" for additional information about this extraordinary series.
In the studio he learned new applications from modern masters, as older, traditional methods were being abandoned. Through his studio connections he met such contemporary luminaries as Monet, Degas, Rodin and Whistler, and together, with their influence, a new and major artistic movement, Impressionism, was beginning to emerge, and it would sweep across both sides of the Atlantic. "Helen Sears", 1895, oil on canvas, John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925)
This style negated the set rules of painting, and, in turn, provided a fresh approach and immediacy unlike anything witnessed in American art. Early approval from most critics was not instantaneous, but, over time, society came to embrace this and other movements with great enthusiasm, and what once confounded became intrinsic. Detail "Helen Sears"
Frank Benson was born and died in Salem, MA, and throughout his career the theme of water is prominent in his paintings, along with his children, who appear in many of them, like this one. He was also an instructor at the Museum's school and became the head of the painting department in 1890. "Calm Morning", 1904, oil on canvas, Frank Benson (American, 1862-1951)
A perennial favorite of the museum's collection, "At Dusk" remains a timeless atmospheric piece, especially if you've ever visited Boston Common in the winter. "At Dusk (Boston Common at Twilight)", 1885-1886, oil on canvas, Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935)
In the Salon, a large gallery filled with paintings grouped above and below one another, are images showcasing the vast American landscape; a celebration of our own natural monuments and grand scenic views. "Blue Niagara", 1884, oil on canvas, George Inness (American, 1825-194)
That these works are displayed alongside American interpretations of Europe’s vistas is no mistake; the point being that America has its own magnificent wonders that could stand-toe-to toe with its European counterparts—a proud identity. "The Temple of Segesta with the Artist Sketching", around 1842, oil on canvas, Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848)
“Live at home like a traveler”.~Henry David Thoreau, New England writer and philosopher. Most Americans would never see such wonders if not conjured by the artist.
"View of the Round-Top in the Catskill Mountains", 1827, oil on panel, Thomas Cole (American, 1801-1848)
Detail of the Salon gallery.
Detail of the Salon gallery.
Who hasn't had that moment when you make a connection that spans even centuries? "Museum Epiphany III", 2012, oil on canvas, Warren Prosperi (American, born in 1949), By collaborator Lucia Prosperi (American, born in 1951)
"Nadia, the Blind Girl of Pompeii", 1856, Marble, Italy (Rome), Randolph Rogers (American, 1825-1892)
Other movements followed including the Aesthetic Movement (1870-1900), whose philosophy of “Art for art’s sake”, celebrated beauty unattached to any social or political statement, a portent to the Twentieth Century. Inspired by poetry, symbolism, and theatrical affectation, Alexander created this macabre scene of a heartbroken Isabella embracing the pot of basil which contains her murdered lover's head. "Isabella and the Pot of Basil", 1897, oil on canvas, John White Alexander (American, 1856-1915)
Ascending to the 4th and final level of the Americas Wing you realize immediately that something perplexing looms. It’s bright, it’s white, and it’s shocking—not unlike the 20th century itself. This entire century was a capacious and radical experiment, with inventions, discoveries and events that changed and challenged the way we existed like no other prior century. This model was cast as a study for the bronze sculpture installed at Pennsylvania Station in Philadelphia, and commemorates the 1,300 employees of the Pennsylvania Railroad who served and perished in WWII. The artist was one of the "Monuments Men" who reclaimed European art confiscated by the Nazis during the war. Hancock was an established artist and instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts before he was drafted into the medical corps in 1942. "Scale-model for Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial", 1949–52, painted plaster, Walter Hancock (American, 1901-1998)
Detail "Scale-model for Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial".
Detail "Scale-model for Pennsylvania Railroad War Memorial".
The 1st and 2nd World Wars disrupted the foundations of European life. This, combined with the development and use of the Atomic Bomb, America became a dynamistic power, shifting the world's attention towards the US, and, revealing, once again, another new identity. "El Fuego", 1938, oil on canvas, Jose Clemente Orozco (Mexican, 1883-1949)
In light of this fact, many artists, by mid-century had abandoned representational art altogether, considering it insignificant; basic instinct was adopted as the creative vehicle. The horrors of both wars along with the introduction of lifesaving vaccines revealed the sobering and incongruous realization that humanity now possessed the power to concurrently destroy and save lives on a global scale, forever changing the narrative. And, art, would never be the same... "Probst I", 1960, oil on canvas, Fanz Kline (American, 1910-9-1962)
About the images: the photos herein are credited to Tankful Travels unless otherwise noted. Tankful Travels makes every effort to adhere to identification, citation and attribution best practices for the images that appear in our posts. If you find discrepancies or broader information than we have provided please contact us via email.