Rocky Mountain Weekend

(May 20 - 23, 2021) – Denver, Colorado

Part 1 - The American Museum of Western Art

Stretching our pandemic weary legs, a bit more, Susan and I escaped to the Mile High City (no pun intended) for a weekend vacation for culture and dining out. Our first trip to Denver was on our short two-day honeymoon at Mr. Brown’s Palace a little more than fifty years ago.

Beyond stops to change planes, I last visited Denver on a political trip for George Bush ’41 in 1988, Today’s Denver is a renewed vibrant City teeming with young people, a revitalized downtown with many new buildings and residences. Though larger, perhaps Denver is the new Austin without the great music, but with Major League sports teams, a huge regional airport, and mass rail transit.

After a late arrival, on a super-sanitized United Airlines flight, we checked into the Indigo Hotel. The Indigo is a modern three-year-old high rise lodging across from the hip Union Station and Coors Field.

Beginning our first day, we settled for breakfast at Starbucks – glistening blueberry muffins with highly caffeinated beverages. Our first cultural adventure and the reason Denver was the selected destination was The American Museum of Western Art – The Anschutz Collection.

I had planned to see The Anschutz a year ago but was stopped by killer bug - 19. In keeping with health protocols, admittance was by prepaid reservation, socially distanced, and fully masked (as were all the cultural stops we made in Denver.) We arrived at our scheduled time and were greeted by name, a nice warm touch that made us feel welcome.

The museum is housed in the historic Navarre Building, immediately across Tremont Place from the Brown Palace. Constructed in 1880 the building was built as a school for girls but by 1889 converted into a gambling house and shortly thereafter included a brothel (Big Surprise!) In future iterations it became a white tablecloth restaurant and then jazz club.

In 1980 William Foxley purchased the Navarre to house his collection of western art, naming it, The American Museum of Western Art. During the 1990s oilman and entrepreneur, Philip Anschutz, purchased the building and Museum of Western Art (without Mr. Foxley’s art), then renovated, and restored the building to house his own extensive collection of Western art.

Phillip Anschutz’s collection is Spectacular!

My Mother Ship will always be the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. But in respect to quality and with consideration to The Carter’s wider scope of mission, The Anschutz Collection is on par with my Fort Worth darling.  

Specifically, to Western Art, Anschutz has pieces from the best artists of the many genres. Each object demonstrates the finest aspects of each artist.  

The Anschutz Collection includes some 600 pieces of which about 300 are on display. The display within each gallery is placed salon style, in large groupings rather than individually.  By design the galleries are laid out chronologically, by era, but within each period also topically.

Covid disrupted the normal chronological design of the exhibit. The permanent galleries are arranged to be seen from the bottom floor to the top floor. However, because of the museum’s Covid protocols viewing began on the top floor at the twentieth century and clawed through historical and artistic developments backwards to the early nineteenth century.

Exiting the elevator on the top floor, the first thing that grabbed my attention was a large painting (nine feet by five feet) “Staging in California.” The grand piece was painted by none other than South Dakota favorite John Gutzon Borglum. Given the magnitude of Borglum’s heroic South Dakota statue, “Mount Rushmore”, I should not have been shocked.

Borglum’s painting caused me to see California historically from a different perspective. The stagecoach, the intensity of the horses, and the landscape caused me to consider California as being the end of the trail and the end of a way of life on the open range.

The American Museum of Western Art has such a variety of great art and diversity of artists. Rembrandt Peale, Karl Bodmer, Thomas Moran, William Raney, Charles Schreyvogel. George de Forest Brush, Thomas Eakins, Ernest Blumenschein, Georgia O’Keefe, Chide Hassam, Thomas Hart Benton and so many more. During the three hours stay I studied extraordinary great art.

Certainly, the highlight was when I approached the gallery of twentieth century American Regionalist painters, I became so excited, I thought I might be having a stroke. There it was: Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, Kim Wiggins, and Edward Hopper!

https://anschutzcollection.org/american-regionalist-painters

Two portraits were my other high point of this venue: Mable Dodge Luhan by Nicolai Fechin and Miguel of Tesuque by Robert Henri.

This amazing collection is rightly a place where art meets history.

I left physically exhausted yet inspired. 

Get Away

 

(April 2, 2021) – Omaha, Nebraska

Pandemic!

Cooped up longer than ever. Twelve and one-half months hanging out (sometimes almost literally) at the hacienda or at the store/shop/office.

The routine monotonous. Other than seeing my doctors, I traveled from home to work to the post office to picking up groceries to getting gas and back home again with minimal human contact. Continually being inside the season made little difference.

My time at home was with Susan watching television, reading, streaming Netflix, Amazon Prime, and You Tube art history videos.  My kids and grandson, Aaron traveled twice to Sioux Falls for restorative reprieve visits at the pen. I saw my brother (who lives less than two miles away) infrequently at his shop or mine, zoomed meetings with the State Economic Advisors and my book club, had in person and ultra-spaced meetings with the Siouxland Libraries Board of Trustees, Wednesday art lessons with my art guru and had special Sunday coffee, with my pre Covid Sunday coffee partners super spaced at my office.

Vaccines done and after a month waiting period, on a nice Spring like day Susan and I took a Day escape to Omaha to the Joslyn Art Museum. The change in scenery was joyful, though slightly less than my first Pfizer shot.

Kudos to the Joslyn. Their public health precautions were exemplary, admission was limited and subsequently spaced by timed reservation, masks and distancing were required, and sanitizer widely available throughout the museum. The little more than two hours we were at the spacious galleries, I never sensed there were more than fifty persons in the entire site.

Returning to the Joslyn for the first time in three years I was excited to see my friends some old and some new; Karl Bodmer, George Catlin, Seth Eastman, Alfred Jacob Miller, Charles Marion Russell, Frederic Remington, Newell Conyers Wyeth, Marsden Hartley, Robert Henri, George Bellows, Thomas Hart Benton, and Grant Wood.

Seeing a Robert Henri work for the first time, I visually understood what the Art Spirit Henri expounded to his students. The painting is “Portrait of FI.” Exquisite!

Joslyn specializes in art of the Upper Missouri River and have the largest collection of Karl Bodmer and the third largest collection of Alfred Jacob Miller.

The marquis exhibition was Revisiting America – The Prints of Currier & Ives. Displayed were about sixty selections chosen from the Joslyn’s extensive collection of six hundred Currier & Ives’ prints. The massive collection was a gift to the museum in 2016 by Fortune 500 conglomerate Conagra Brands.

The exhibit was right in my wheelhouse, 19^th Century American Art meets American History!

Currier & Ives began in 1834 by Nathaniel Currier. In 1857 James Merritt Ives joined the publishing house as a partner. The company had an enormous influence on American culture. The many prints commissioned by the enterprise covered a broad range of subjects on American life during the 19^th Century.

Worth noting, Mr. Currier and Mr. Ives never physically traveled west to the frontier and their pieces consistently reflected their pro Union sympathy and beliefs in conservatism and American goodness.

The prints whether published in magazines or sold as prints covered wide reaching topics including, Sails Steam and Speed, The Sporting Life, The Frontier, America in War and Peace, Humor, and The Civil War and the American South.

Many subsets of the above topics were included. Particularly of interest to me were America as the land of opportunity, the conflicting contrast of Manifest Destiny and growth of the American City.

I particularly appreciated the subtle use of humorous detail in several of their prints.  Among the artists presented were Fannie Palmer, James Butterworth, Louis Maurer, Eastman Johnson, and Arthur Fitzwilliam Tate.

The prints I really liked were: “The Great Chicago Fire” (wonderful colorization), “The Great River Race, New Orleans to St Louis”, and “Arguing the Point”,

My favorite print, representing the settlement of the frontier, was “Across the Continent Westward the Course of Empire Takes its Way” by Fannie Palmer.

The exhibit “Revisiting America” aptly labeled my first escape from the pandemic.

Just Look at the Surface

(November 16, 2019) – Chicago, Illinois

Spending a pleasant late autumn weekend in Chicago with Jackie and family. I experienced an avalanche of culture.

Friday night we attended the historical (in manifold ways) colossal musical “Hamilton.” Wonderful lyrics, music, and stagecraft. The genius of Lin-Manual Miranda cannot be overemphasized. Spend a few Benjamins and get “Hamilton.” A true value for one of life’s memory makers.

Saturday, viewing elements of the phenomenon known as “Warhol” at the Art Institute of Chicago was equally enriching. Their current headliner is “Andy Warhol – From A to B and Back Again.” Seeing Warhol at the Art Institute was a retrospective for Jackie and me as well. We had seen the last extensive Warhol exhibit at the Chicago art palace on a family trip to the Windy City when she was a teenager in the mid-1980s.

Current consensus among art historians is the greatest artist of the first half of the twentieth century is Pablo Picasso and the greatest artist of the second half of the century is Andy Warhol.

Andrew Warhola was born and grew up in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Warhol’s Pittsburgh was a blue-collar working-class town standing in sharp contrast to New York City where Warhol would live out his professional, celebrated and celebrity life. 

Growing up, Andrew possessed a strong aptitude for art and was obsessed by Hollywood and movie celebrities. Graduating from public high school he attended Carnegie Institute of Technology where he received his degree in commercial illustration. Upon graduation he moved to New York City to find a job. 

self portrait 

On his second day in the City he was hired as a commercial artist. His first project was drawing depictions of women’s shoes for Glamour magazine. Commercialism became a strong influence on his art. His early work celebrated consumption.

Sidebar – In a magazine story reviewing Andy’s work, there appeared a typographical error (typo) leaving the “a” off the end of his surname. Andy liked the shortened version and adopted Warhol.

The Art Institute’s exhibit of over four hundred pieces was extensive, collected and curated from many important worldwide sources.  

The exhibition defined Warhol’s career development into essentially two portions. While working in advertising he developed his technique and view of art as the celebration of consumption. As the “art world” began to recognize the unique work, he was able to establish his own studio he named The Factory. The mid 1950s and 1960s is recognized as his Factory period.

Most notably were the Campbell Soup Can and the Brillo Boxes. These major pieces were genre busting and game changers in the art world. Warhol’s art went beyond the Pop Art of Roy Lichtenstein and Jasper Johns. Warhol’s art called into question; What is art? What’s the difference between art and reality? Warhol was an astute observer who was fluent in the messaging of advertising.

Warhol was an incredible draftsman and developed tools helping him to duplicate, change, and enhance well known images that were generally silk screen on canvas or other varieties of cloth.

Following the huge success and the global following he obtained through his soup cans, Warhol used his art to enhance portrait images of the famous. Best known of Warhol’s portraits were the Marilyn’s (Monroe), the Elizabeth’s (Taylor), and the Mona Lisa’s. Other portraits I particularly liked in the exhibit included James Dean, Richard Nixon (under which Warhol emblazoned “Vote McGovern”), and a unique montage of Jacqueline Kennedy’s countenance relative to JFK’s assassination and funeral. 

Like the earlier Soup Cans, the portraits were constructed in multiple sizes and representations. Taken from his focus on commercialism many of the images were reproduced in small, medium, large, and extra-large sizes. The variety of sizes enabled him to increase the income from each image. 

The importance Warhol placed on wealth was a result of growing up among the working class, his working in commercial arts, and his desire for celebrity. One of his later famous works was the Dollar Sign ($).

The second period of Warhol’s work was his full realization of art as a business. Understanding he was an object of fascination Warhol capitalized on his success and celebrity.

During this second period Warhol began working in other media including film, television, magazines, and employment of oxidation techniques. In the later stages of his work emerged themes of religion. One of the most complex and interesting pieces was “Camouflage Last Supper.”

Andy Warhol’s art appears very straight forward but belies his complexity. Often overlooked, Andrew Warhola was a devout Catholic and attended church almost every day. Warhol said of himself; “If you want to know all about Andy Warhol just look at the surface of my paintings and my films, and me and there I am. There is nothing behind it.”

His art indeed explains his times. 

self portrait

Two Story Tellers

Part 2 - (May 22 – May 24, 2019) – Hannibal, Missouri, Springfield, Illinois

Mid-afternoon the Professor and I departed Hannibal over the Mark Twain Memorial Bridge on Interstate 72 into the heart of the Land of Lincoln. Aside George Washington, Abraham Lincoln (1809 – 1865) is the United States’ most revered and loved President. Just behind state government, Lincoln is Springfield’s economic juggernaut. If you are interested in American history there is much to see in Capitol of Illinois.

Springfield was not always Illinois’ Capitol. Illinois was admitted into the United States in 1818. What is not well known, the state was settled eastward from the Mississippi River. As Illinois population moved east, in order to have a more central location, the Capitol was moved several times. Springfield was settled on in 1837, a result of legislative compromise. Earlier Capitols were in Kaskaskia and Vandalia. For chronological perspective, the City of Chicago was not incorporated until 1837.

Our next two days were spent scouting out and studying. We began our first full day at the Lincoln Home National Historic Site. The site consists of about four blocks that have been acquired and restored to the period when Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln lived in Springfield with their sons. Touring the Lincoln home was informative and showed a glimpse into Lincoln’s love for his boys and the prosperous lifestyle the Lincoln’s enjoyed as a result of the Railsplitter’s success as a railroad lawyer and politician.

On one of the walls in the Lincoln home was a maxim that stirred me – “Love is the chain whereby to lock a child to its parent.” Post trip research indicates the quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln.

Our next stop was Springfield’s most popular attraction the Abraham Lincoln Museum. This 21^st century museum was constructed and is operated by the State of Illinois. The Museum tells the Lincoln story. The boy born in the Kentucky wilderness, orphaned, self-educated, and with character building and historic stops along his life’s highway to saving the Nation from itself (“a house divided against of itself cannot stand.”)

The Lincoln story is well told. The exhibits are educational and while simple are crisp. The use of technology is marvelous and presented at about an eighth-grade level, perfect for the many school field trips that travel to Springfield. Anchoring the extensive exhibits are two theatres, one showing a biopic, the other presenting an impressive electronic / holographic production.

Among the many well-known topics and Lincoln accomplishments covered chronologically in the exhibits (this is a long list!) are losing his mother, the role his step mother, Sarah Johnston, played in his life, his being largely self-educated, his early travels, becoming an Illinois State Representative, the decision to become a lawyer, his marriage to Mary Todd, becoming a United States Representative, the Lincoln Douglas debates, his Cooper Union Speech, his politically complex Presidential election, Commander and Chief during the Civil War, the Emancipation Proclamation, his Gettysburg Address, passing the Thirteenth Amendment, his Second Inaugural Address, the early death of two of his four sons, the assassination that made him a martyr, and predictably the focus on his return and burial in Springfield.

I especially found interesting the relationships Mary Todd and Abraham had with statesman Henry Clay. Mary was a native of Lexington, Kentucky also the home of Clay. The Todd and Clay families were closely associated in Lexington. Lincoln often sought advice and was mentored by Clay, particularly when he served in the U. S. House and Clay was in the U. S. Senate.

Historical note – Besides being in the U S Senate for thirteen years, Henry Clay served as Secretary of State four years in the John Quincy Adams administration, was elected to the U S Congress seven times, serving six terms as Speaker of the House (he was elected Speaker as a Freshman!), and served as a Commissioner to peace talks with the British to end the War of 1812 resulting in the Treaty of Ghent.

After the Lincoln Museum visit, we headed kitty-corner across the street to the Old State Capitol. The capitol now is solely a historical tourist attraction. The Old Capitol was vacated when the new Capitol building was completed in 1877. 

The Old State Capitol was the most engaging site we visited.The Old State Capitol sits on a mammoth square block. Unlike Iowa’s Old State Capitol in Iowa City that is pristine; Illinois “Old State” while adequately maintained begs for restoration. Given Illinois’ current state of finance, restoration though necessary is not likely soon.

The simple function of the building impressed me. On the first floor is the Governor’s Office, Secretary of State’s Office, Treasurer’s Office, and Legislator’s Library that appeared might have served as the Legislative Lobby. The fantastic tour guide pointed out a chess board that sat aside the broad reading table in the Library giving her the cue to tell us State Representative Lincoln was an avid chess player. The second floor contained the Supreme Courtroom, and individual legislative chambers for the Illinois House of Representatives, and the Illinois Senate.

 

Behind the Speaker of the House’s Chair is a copy of the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington that now resides in the East Room at the White House in Washington, D. C. This important painting was taken and saved by First Lady Dolly Madison when escaping the burning White House torched by the British in 1814. While the Stuart in Springfield is a copy, it is important because it is the copy that overlooked Lincoln when he lied in State in that very room. More interesting is the Matthew Harris Jouett portrait of Marquis de Lafayette behind the presiding officer’s chair in the Senate chamber. I found it meaningful Illinois honored Lafayette. I failed to determine if the Marquis was a copy or the original.

The best of the best in Capitol the Elder was the life-sized sculpture of the “Little Giant”, Stephen A Douglas. The sculpture highlighted Douglas was physically a small man, five foot four inches in height. However, the sculptor portrayed him like a bear, tough and determined! Douglas was The Political Force in Illinois during his day. He served briefly as Illinois Secretary of State. Then served for two years as a Justice on the Illinois Supreme Court, four years as U S Representative, and fourteen years as U S Senator from Illinois. Douglas was the Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860.

Lincoln and Douglas had a history for almost three decades. During most of that time Douglas held the upper hand. Their history extending from when Lincoln served in the Illinois State House while Douglas was Secretary of State, Lincoln arguing more than two hundred and fifty cases before Associate Justice Douglas in the Illinois Supreme Court, Lincoln serving the Seventh Congressional District in the U. S. House while Douglas was the U S Senator from Illinois, and notably when Lincoln opposed Douglas for his Senate seat in 1858 resulting in the Lincoln-Douglas debates taking place. The debates were closely followed nationwide and fueled the flames of the national firestorm consuming the United States on the slavery question. Lincoln lost the election.

Historical note – Lincoln met Mary Todd when she had moved to Springfield to live with her sister. Mary had also been courted by Stephen Douglas.

The master Illinois Statesmen faced off again politically in the 1860 Presidential where Lincoln the Republican nominee (180 electoral votes) John C. Breckenridge the Southern Democratic nominee (72 electoral votes), John Bell the Constitution Union nominee (39 electoral votes), and Douglas the Democratic nominee (12 electoral votes.) contested for the White House. Lincoln advocated for Union, Douglas self-determination. Lincoln won the election.

Our last stop of the day was Lincoln’s Tomb at Oak Ridge Cemetery north and west of City Center. The tomb was built with private donations and is extensive. This historic site is operated by the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency. Lincoln is laid to rest beneath the tomb covered by ten feet of concrete a result of grave robbers attempting to unearth his remains in 1876. Also residing within the tomb are Mary Todd, and sons Tad, Willie, and Eddie. Son, Robert, is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

Side bar – Robert Lincoln served as Secretary of War under President’s Garfield and Arthur and United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom under President’s Benjamin Harrison, and Cleveland.

On the night Lincoln was assassinated, Robert declined his Father and Mother’s invitation to accompany them to Ford’s Theatre, however when called, he arrived at his Father’s death bed. In an oddity of history Robert was present at both the assassination of President James Garfield and President William McKinley.

Inside the tomb are entrance and exit passageways to Lincoln’s headstone are statues of Lincoln. The gigantic headstone is surrounded by important National and State flags that define Abraham Lincoln. Behind and above the grave site emblazoned in gold is the quotation by Edwin M Stanton, “Now he belongs to the ages.”

The tomb’s exterior is capped by an obelisk 117 feet high and in front of the tomb is a mounted bust of Lincoln copied from the Gutzon Borglum statue of Lincoln in the U. S. Capitol.

Our second and last day in Springfield began with a tour of the Dana Thomas House. This twelve thousand five hundred square foot Frank Lloyd Wright house was constructed between 1902 and 1904. I particularly liked the profusion of windows, the library, and the entertainment gallery. It was the first home in Springfield with electricity. In many respects the Dana Thomas home is like other Wright homes, however what captured me was how easily the home blended nature and architecture.

Leaving the Dana Thomas House, we traveled twenty miles north to the Lincoln New Salem Historic Site. New Salem is the village where Lincoln lived from 1831 to 1837. The village was essentially abandoned in 1840, but the site was purchased in 1906 by William Randolph Hearst. Hearst later gifted New Salem to a local historical group. During the 1930’s the State of Illinois took ownership of the real estate and with assistance from the Civilian Conservation Corps restored the grounds to how it appeared when Lincoln was there.

The re-creation gives understanding to Lincoln’s personal development. While living in New Salem, Lincoln worked as a boatman, railsplitter, soldier, surveyor, postmaster, and general store owner. History records the store failed. Failed perhaps because Honest Abe spent too much of his time entertaining his customers, telling them stories, or talking politics. However, these diversions served him well. He developed thoughtfulness and empathy during this time. He enhanced his communication skills. Beyond being likeable and telling a good story he learned to be very effective in his use of parables to make legal and political arguments. Lincoln’s thoughtfulness and personality enabled his election to the State Legislature in 1834 and would lead to his uniting a divided nation. 

The historic village contains some twenty something farmsteads, homes, and commercial buildings. The buildings rest in a heavily wooded area; particularly on the day we visited the woods were ripe with ticks and mosquitos. 

Accompanying the village is an excellent visitor center that details Lincoln’s time in New Salem. The center’s content is more detailed and geared to students of history than the glamourous museum in Springfield.

Back in the Capitol City our last stop was at the Illinois State Museum. Frankly a disappointment. The Illinois history presented was modest at best and does not compare to the other rather less than great State museums I recently visited in Texas and New Mexico. If your interest is geology (mine isn’t), the Illinois State Museum does place emphasis on it. The museum does contain some interesting folk art.

Touring really isn’t touring without food. We interspersed our sightseeing and study time with quality meals at Saputo Italian Food, Obed & Isaac’s Microbrewery, and Mangia Bene. All are worthy. We capped each night off with a stop at Cold Stone Creamery, and lodged very comfortably, where else - The President Abraham Lincoln Hotel (Double Tree - Hilton ***).

When the Professor and I previously traveled to the Presidential Museums in Abilene, Kansas (Eisenhower) and Independence, Missouri (Truman) I recognized a strong character connection formed by their geographic proximity and commanding leadership skills (General of the Army and The Buck Stops Here!)

Spending this holiday weekend studying the history and lives of Samuel Clemens and Abraham Lincoln, I felt a similar connection. Undoubtedly their connection is a product of their shared geography, but more on the commonality of their wit,  shared personality traits, and their excellent communication skills.

Both Twain and Lincoln were self-made men. They both suffered the multiple losses of young children, and both were historically and notably great story tellers. History may judge it as an open question but living on the edge of the frontier and making personal connections has something to do with their story telling.

Throw in traveling with a great friend and seeing America's heartland, it was a great journey. 

Two Story Tellers

Part 1 - (May 22 – May 24, 2019) – Hannibal, Missouri, Springfield, Illinois

On the Memorial Day weekend, I escaped with my exceptional friend, Professor Mydland, to America’s Heartland.

After overnighting in Iowa City, Iowa, our first stop was Hannibal, Missouri, the hometown of Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910). Clemens is known by his pen name, Mark Twain. Twain is considered the greatest author, humorist, and social commentator of 19^th Century America.

We arrived at the Twain Interpretive Center and purchased our tickets allowing us to explore the historic properties. The Center was welcoming and included an overview and orientation of Hannibal’s favorite son. Included in the historic properties, we toured were the Mark Twain Boyhood Home, Becky Thatcher House, J M Clemens Justice of the Peace Office, and the Museum Gallery. Somehow, we missed the Huckleberry Finn House. The presentations were informative but not quite worthy of Twain’s greatness. The Museum however was impressive.

The first floor of the extremely clean and modern museum was focused on the stories and characters of five of Twain’s most popular books, Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, A Connecticut Yankee, Roughing It, and Innocents Abroad. The second floor was a catchall of various collectibles the Museum has acquired. Among them, I was attracted by the original Norman Rockwell paintings and a unique humorous photograph of Twain in cap and gown when he received his honorary Doctor of Letters degree from Oxford.

The Rockwell paintings were completed for a commission as illustrations for special editions published of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. Rockwell’s artistic interpretations of Twain’s stories are wonderful.

Downtown riverside Hannibal looks like many other throwback tourist towns. Exposed underneath the 19^th Century, small town taffy shop façade, is the foundation of Mark Twain along with a few peeks at his soul. The Hannibal young Sam grew up in was typical of small-town America at the time. Hannibal then had a population of about one thousand.

The considerable difference between Hannibal and other small towns was that American superhighway, the Mississippi River. The personalities and stories of the river boat travelers coming through Hannibal strongly influenced Twain. These characters and their stories on the edge of America’s frontier in 1850 captivated Twain’s soul and created his wanderlust. Absorbing the River would be his education. Foremost the River fostered his imagination!

Clemens’ father died when he was twelve and as a result, he formed a strong bond with his mother. His mother taught him compassion and he gained her sense of humor. A year later to help support the family he became a printer’s apprentice. At the age of fifteen he became a typesetter at his brother’s newspaper office where he also began writing articles for the paper. Remarkably typesetting gave him a unique perspective of words and their power.

Twain would go on to be a riverboat pilot, very briefly a member of the Confederate Army, a newspaperman, author, publisher, entrepreneur, and lecturer. He is best known as an author. William Faulkner, called him, “the Father of American Literature." Unknown by many was Twain’s love of science and technology.

Twain with his wife. Olivia, settled in Hartford, Connecticut. His personal life was often tragic with the loss of children and occasional financial failures. A result of his life’s tragedy, when employing his humor and wit, Twain never laughed.

Many of Twain’s works were biographical including “Roughing It”, “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”, “Life on the Mississippi”, and “Innocents Abroad.” The great humorist also penned many other Classics including “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court”, and “The Prince and the Pauper.” Twain claimed his personal favorite was his biography of Joan of Arc. “Joan of Arc” took him eight years of research and writing to complete

. 

“If you want to look at America’s 19^th century soul, Hannibal is without question, worth beholding.

March Madness

(March 22, 2019) – Figge Art Museum,  Davenport, Iowa

Gratefully, I scored tickets to first weekend sessions of hoops to the Big Dance in Des Moines. The first day’s elven-hour four game marathon was on Thursday. Qualifying for the Sweet Sixteen on Saturday were Michigan behemoths Michigan and Michigan State.

Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Events center was a comfortable venue with good sight lines, spacious, and with exceedingly efficient operations. Kudos to the Polk County Sheriff’s Department and the Des Moines Police for spectacular traffic control.

On the intervening Friday tournament day off, I trekked the one hundred seventy-five miles across Interstate 80 from Des Moines to Davenport, Iowa intent on checking out American artist and native Iowan, Grant Wood. My destination was Davenport’s Figge Art Museum the world’s largest repository of Wood’s art and his papers. They were a gift of Wood’s sister, Nan, who was the female subject in Wood’s Goliath masterpiece. and an icon of American art, “American Gothic.” Notably, “American Gothic” resides at the Art Institute in Chicago.

Recently, I have been studying American Regionalism and Wood’s works and have been looking forward to an opportunity to get to Davenport. Planning my visit, I read about Wood specifically and the current exhibits at the Figge museum. Even though I had viewed the museum’s website multiple times, I never focused on the museum’s building or its history.

Likewise, I’ve never paid attention to the Quad Cities (Davenport and Bettendorf, Iowa and Rock Island and Moline, Illinois) either. When traveling on I-80, I always marveled at the big river but never made a pit stop to check out the Cities south of the super highway. I am enamored by Mississippi River towns and without research was expecting a small-town museum that lucked into Wood’s significant art trove. I envisioned likely a restored mansion along the river. Something like the Children’s Museum on Summit Avenue in Fort Worth when I was young.

My Garmin delivered me to the museum, and I was astonished! Indeed March Madness.

The Figge Art Museum is imposing. It is fronted by a plaza with parking. while sitting on the backside is the mammoth Mississippi riverscape. Figge is large and modern. The museum designed by British architect, David Chipperfield, opened in 2005. This gorgeous structure is a key element of Davenport’s River Renaissance, revitalization. 

As a result of the new building, the former Davenport Art Museum was renamed the Figge Art Museum. Its moniker “The Figge.” The renaming was to honor Mr. and Mrs. V.O. Figge. The new building’s fundamental contribution for construction was from the V.O. and Elizabeth Kahl Figge Foundation. Mr. Figge had been a prominent Davenport banker.

My biggest surprise wasn’t the building but were the treasures inside.

I was ready for current exhibits described on the museum’s website, Animals in the Museum, Louis Comfort Tiffany: Treasures from the Driehaus Collection, but not the permanent collection. Among the galleries of the permanent collection were Haitian Art, Visions of the American West, The American Scene Regional Realism, and Frank Lloyd Wright.

The shocker are the gems exhibited in the Stanley Collection Gallery, “Legacies of Iowa.” These included works by Chagall, Picasso, Matisse, Marsden Hartley, Thomas Hart Benton among other masters.

Totally in my wheelhouse, was learning about the history of the Stanley Collection of such great Art. In the early 1960s the University of Iowa Museum of Art (UIMA) was established at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. The foundation of their collection were the many significant pieces of great art contributed by benevolent Hawkeyes and others.

In 2008 flooding overran the banks of the Iowa River that streams through The University of Iowa campus. In harm’s way was the UIMA. Almost the entire collection was successfully evacuated to Chicago for storage before the museum was compromised. Until the Stanley can be suitably rebuilt, under special agreement part of UIMA’s collection has been on permanent loan to the Figge; A silver lining for my visit.

There is much more I could say about the Figge but following are a few highlights.

The display of Grant Wood works and papers I traveled to see was limited.  Only four of Wood’s works were on display. The most dramatic was “Return from Bohemia”. The crayon, gouache, and pencil drawing include his lesser known self-portrait. “Return from Bohemia”, was intended to be the book cover for his never completed auto biography

The Realistic Regionalism gallery included works by American Regional Masters including Thomas Hart Benton and John Steuart Curry. Including Wood this triumvirate depicted the Midwest as prosperous, with rolling hills, rivers, and large fields with abundant crops. Several of the pieces had loose brush strokes associated with Impressionism, the foundation of early 20^th century American Realism. Accompanying the featured Midwesterners in this galley were Illinois artist John Bloom, and American folk artist Grandma Moses.

The Figge’s headliner was the Louis Comfort Tiffany exhibit. Foremost I was impressed with the Davenport museum’s curatorial effort and the scope of this exhibit. The glass windows, lamps, and vases are exquisite. Tiffany is the gold standard in design and manufacture. The museum staff did a wonderful job in their display and conveying Tiffany’s history and methods. Fascinating!

Most Unique Painting, I Liked – A Fishing Harbor, 1683, by Matthais Withoos, Netherlands, 1627-1703. The first minute I saw this unique painting I was bewitched. A still life within a landscape.

The food - Worth mentioning was a quick stop at Whitey’s, the Quad Cities’ ice cream emporium, for a memorable turtle sundae – great salted pecans. On the return trip to Des Moines, there was supper in Iowa City near the Hawkeye campus. Near perfect rueben sandwich and a vodka tonic at St. Burch Tavern. $$

Overall a great March day in eastern Iowa on the River.

Newberry Library

(January 25, 2019) Chicago, Illinois

Last Thursday, I traveled on the Air Wisconsin commuter from Sioux Falls Joe Foss Field to "Butch" O'Hare International for a planned weekend with Jackie K., husband Jay, Will, Sara, and Aaron. If you are the least bit curious about World War II Flying Aces, check out the connection between, Foss and O'Hare. Both are Medal of Honor recipients though Foss was an American original. Joe wasn’t Teddy Roosevelt but does own one of the more public, diverse, and accomplished biographies of the twentieth century. 

My literally winter holiday to the Windy City was planned with free time on Friday to attack the Chicago Art Institute’s self-proclaimed top ten must see works. Surprisingly the top ten got side railed by a qunikydink of the federal government shutdown.

Two weeks prior to my holiday, my art mentor, Dr. Edward Welch suggested we investigate the portraiture of George Healy. Suggesting Healy resulted from seeing in the news, Healy’s well-known Lincoln portrait gazing over President Trump and the fast food feast he was serving to the National Champion Clemson Tiger football team on their White House visit.

George Healy (1813 – 1894) was a native Bostonian. At the age of eighteen he became a portrait artist. His art expressed his interest in human beings and “their” story whether they were beggars or kings. As a youth Healy was inspired by Marquis de-Lafayette whom he saw as a young child at the laying of the cornerstone for the Bunker Hill Monument on the 50^th Anniversary of the Revolutionary War in 1825. In 1836 Healy travelled to Europe to study and work. After sixteen years he returned to America settling in Chicago.

A by-product of our study of George P. A. Healy was my discovery that the largest collection of Healy’s portraits lives at the Newberry Library in Chicago. The Newberry Library, a privately funded public access library hosts over forty Healy portraits including a similar arm chair portrait of Honest Abe, like the one at the White House. The Newberry Library is nestled on Chicago’s Gold Coast just west of Michigan Avenue.

The primary endowment of the library was from the estate of Walter Loomis Newberry. Walter became a Chicago resident in 1833, the year the town was organized. Newberry was a business partner of Lewis Cass (Secretary of War in the Andrew Jackson administration) and William Waldorf Astor (son of John Jacob Astor). The partnership were early investors in real estate in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Green Bay. Newberry was the first President of the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, the first railroad in Chicago. The library was established as a research library. At the time of Newberry’s death Chicago already had a well-established public lending library.  

Any adult over the age of fourteen can obtain a library card by application and showing photo identification. The library card admits you to the reading rooms and research materials.

The library is stately and the furnishings, lighting, and quiet inspire study. The staff were helpful and extremely knowledgeable. To compliment my study of the artwork, I requested the biography of George Peter Alexander Healy, written by Marie De Mare, Healy’s granddaughter. The title “G.P.A. Healy, American Artist” was published in 1954. The introduction was penned by Eleanor Roosevelt.

The grand first floor includes, a welcome center (registration), coffee area, book shop, security checkpoints, and exhibit space. In the exhibit space are a set of display fixtures designated “From the Stacks” which contain diverse selections from the permanent collection. These exhibits are rotated frequently. There is a larger space consisting of three galleries for special exhibits that the library produces. Currently on display was “Melville Finding America at Sea.”

Topically Newberry’s collection includes, Medieval, Renaissance and Early Modern Studies; Maps, Travel and Exploration; Modern Manuscripts and Archives; Chicago and the Midwest; American Indian and Indigenous Studies; American History and Culture; Genealogy and Local History; History of the Book; Religion; Postcards; Performing Arts.

Lining the walls of the reading rooms and bookcases are various paintings, maps, and other presentations of cultural or historical nature. None of the works are presented in any way that draws special attention to them. Among the works on the three floors of reading rooms and offices are many of the Healy’s. The majority of the Healy’s were a gift to the library by the artist.

George Healy painted many famous people of his day including every President from John Quincy Adams to Ulysses S. Grant. Noted among the several Healy’s on display were wonderful portraits of Franz Litz, Walter Newberry, Otto Van Bismarck, Chester A. Arthur, and William Tecumseh Sherman among others. The two significant paintings of Lincoln and U. S. Grant were in an almost out of the way room near the end of the third-floor reading room above some bookcases.

The Lincoln portrait at the Newberry Library appears extremely similar to the White House painting though the White House painting is larger. Lincoln only sat for an hour for Healy one time about six months before he was assassinated. Healy completed the painting from his sketches as he did subsequent portraits of Lincoln.

Healy had always wanted to do a historical painting and he decided that his historical depiction would be the War Council of President Lincoln and his Generals, U. S. Grant, William T, Sherman, and Admiral David Dixon Porter on the steamship River Queen at City Point, Virginia about two weeks before the end of the Civil War. That meeting was the only time Lincoln met together with both Grant and Sherman. This famous painting is known as “The Peacemakers.” Today the painting hangs at the Defense Department at the Pentagon.

All of Healy’s portraits of Lincoln, Grant, Sherman, and Porter served as studies for “The Peacemakers.” When Healy conceived the idea of the "The Peacemakers," he had to arrange for a special sitting with Porter, whom he had not previously painted.

In 1869 Congress commissioned a painting of Lincoln for the White House. Healy sent his Lincoln portrait for selection, but President Grant turned it down. The Healy Lincoln was then purchased by Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd Lincoln, whose widow bequeathed it to their daughter who later gave it to the White House. The White House received it in 1939.

On a bitter zero- degree day by the Lakeshore in Chicago I found refuge at The Newberry Library. It was a fun little discovery and I had a great time.