TheMuseNewsletter of the Slater Memorial MuseumSummer 2011

Abraham Lincoln Portrayedby Vivian F. Zoë

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Portraits of Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th President of the United States, have become a topic of considerable attention in recent months. Since 1861, his image has grown to be as ubiquitous as any individual’s in American iconography. The Slater

Memorial Museum holds in its collection several images of the revered figure, some contemporary to the post-Civil War era, some much later, in a variety of media.

In the Slater’s collection is a small but compelling portrait of Lincoln by Thomas Casilear Cole, “after Brady.” Abraham Lincoln, successfully led his country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union while promoting economic and financial modernization. Credited with ending slavery, the first Republican president had been a self-taught attorney, an Illinois State Legislator and a member of Congress.

During his presidential campaign, Lincoln spoke at Norwich City Hall on March 9, 1860, and befriended and supported in his campaigns, former Norwich Mayor and Connecticut Governor William C. Buckingham. The latter became known as a “War Governor” for supplying the Union effort with Norwich-made guns, cannons, uniforms and, most importantly, troops. Buckingham sent more men into battle for the effort than nearly any other Northern Governor. For this, he was rewarded with Lincoln’s support for his re-election.

After deftly opposing the expansion of slavery in the United States in his campaign debates

Abraham Lincoln after Brady by Thomas Casilear Cole, 1941

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A Message from the Director

The Muse is published up to four times yearly for the members of The Friends of the Slater Memorial Museum. The museum is located at 108 Crescent Street, Norwich, CT 06360. It is part of The Norwich Free Academy, 305 Broadway, Norwich, CT 06360. Museum main telephone number: (860) 887-2506. Visit us on the web at www.slatermuseum.org.Museum Director – Vivian F. ZoëNewsletter editor – Geoff SerraContributing authors: Vivian Zoë, Leigh Thomas and Patricia FlahivePhotographers: Leigh Thomas, Vivian Zoë

The president of the Friends of the Slater Memorial Museum: Patricia Flahive

The Norwich Free Academy Board of Trustees:Steven L. Bokoff ’72, Jeremy D. Booty ‘74Glenn T. CarberryRichard DesRoches *Lee-Ann Gomes ‘82, TreasurerThomas M. Griffin ‘70, SecretaryThomas Hammond ‘75Theodore N. Phillips ’74 Vice ChairRobert A. Staley ’68David A. Whitehead ’78, ChairSarette Williams ‘78*Museum collections committee

The Norwich Free Academy does not discriminate in its educational programs, services or employment on the basis of race, religion, gender, national origin, color, handicapping condition, age, marital status or sexual orientation. This is in accordance with Title VI, Title VII, Title IX and other civil rights or discrimination issues; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 as amended and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1991.

As a brisk wet spring eases into a sultry summer, our work intensifies. The new Atrium has taken shape to the point of resembling the architects’ renderings. Every gallery in the museum has been affected by the construction in some way. The bad news is that we’ve had to physically re-install nearly every object to which you’ve all become so fond and comfortable. The good news is that refreshed and re-installed, the Slater will make you fall in love with it all over again. The galleries will have a familiar yet innovative appearance and interpretation that will tell your story as has not been possible for decades. Our plan is to have a soft opening shortly after Labor Day in September. This will be followed by a multiple-event celebration beginning November 4,2011.

If you wish to be a part of this, either as a spectator, volunteer or leader, please do let me know. It’s bound to be an event to remember!

UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS, PROGRAMS AND EVENTS

November, 2011

Please join us to help celebrate the the Grand Re-opening of the Slater Museum!Explore fresh exhibitions, shop in our expanded museum store and tour the new atrium

which will offer universal access to the Slater’s exciting galleries!

The opening celebration will include evening events, special tours and the opening of the NFA Alumni Exhibition. Free general admission for opening weekend. Details will

be posted at www.slatermuseum.org as they become available.

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and speeches, Lincoln secured the Republican nomination. Following declarations of secession by southern slave states, war began in April 1861, during which Lincoln concentrated on military and political dimensions of the war effort, seeking to reunify the nation. He vigorously exercised unprecedented war powers, including the arrest and detention without trial of thousands of suspected secessionists. He successfully blocked British recognition of the Confederacy, issued his Emancipation Proclamation in1863 and promoted the passage of the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery.

Lincoln closely supervised the war effort, especially the selection of top generals, including the commanding general and future president, Ulysses S. Grant He coerced factions within his party to cooperate. Under his leadership, the Union took control of the border slave states and finally recruited Grant who succeeded in 1865 in seizing the strategically and symbolically important Richmond. Lincoln successfully managed his own re-election in 1864, partly by reaching out to Democrats.

As a moderate Republican, Lincoln came under attack from all sides. He successfully fought back with patronage; by pitting his opponents against each other; and by appealing to the American people with his powers of oratory. His Gettysburg Address of 1863 became one of the most quoted speeches in American history. It was an iconic statement of America’s dedication to the principles of nationalism, equal rights, liberty, and democracy. Lincoln was shot and killed by John Wilkes Booth, Confederate sympathizer, just six days after the surrender of Confederate commanding general Robert E. Lee. It was the first assassination of a U.S. president. Lincoln has frequently been ranked by a majority of scholars as the greatest U.S. president. Lincoln’s untimely death by assassination made him a martyr and he remains an American icon to this day.

Thomas Casilear Cole (1888-1976), not to be confused with, the renowned landscape painter and founder of the Hudson River School Thomas Cole (1801-1848), earned his living as

a portrait painter his entire life. Cole taught at the Traphagen School of Art, the School of Fine and the Industrial Arts in New York City, and the Phoenix Art Institute, NYC. He worked as a WPA artist, illustrator and served in United States Navy from 1917 to 1919.

Cole attended the Riverview Military Academy in New York and Harvard University in 1905. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Edmund Charles Tarbell, and others. In 1912 Cole studied in Paris with Jean Paul Laurens (1838-1921) at the Académie Julian in Paris and Atelier Baschet. Coles’ numerous exhibitions include the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA), 1911; the Boston Art Club (BAC), 1911; the National Academy of Design (NAD), 1911; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1913; the Paris Salon, 1923; the City Club, NY, 1924; the Rockport Art Association, 1930; the Veterans Society of Artists, 1942; the Ogunquit Art Center, 1945-55; the National Arts Club (NAC), NYC, 1945; Portraits Inc., 1970s; the Parson’s School of Design, 1970; and New York City WPA Art. Cole’s work is held in the collections of the San Francisco Museum of Fine Art; the New York

Thomas Casilear Cole, 1846

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Bar Association; the Brooklyn Public Library; the Newton Theological Seminary; and Trinity College, Hartford. His commissioned works include the Federal Courthouse, NYC (portrait of Judge Alfred C. Cox, 1920); the Vermont State Capitol, Montpelier (portrait of Governor Stickney, 1921; the Massachusetts Supreme Court, Boston (portrait of Judge Edward P. Pierce. 1930); the Hood Museum of Art Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH (portrait of Curtis H. Page, 1928); and a portrait of President James K. Polk, commissioned by the State of Tennessee and presented to the United States Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, 1945.

The Slater’s catalogue refers to Cole’s having been influenced by or studied, a photograph of Lincoln by Matthew Brady. In the early 1840’s, photography came available to the general public as primarily a portrait medium in the form of Ambrotypes, Daguerreotypes and Albumen images on metal. These images presented stilted representations of people seated within painted scenery and rooms. They looked stiff because the technology required that they remain completely

still, otherwise the image would be blurred. In some cases, the photographer even used a head clamp to ensure a clear view of at least the face. Before the Civil War, photographic equipment was too cumbersome and exposure times too slow to be used on the battlefield. Within a couple of decades and by the time the Civil War had begun in earnest, photographic technology had improved to the point where outdoor scenes were not only possible, but common. Add to this the ability to capture a fraction of a second of a body in motion, and the possibility of battle photography is a reality. Certainly, many scenes were of encampments or officers posing on horseback or with their men. Some were still because they showed the aftermath of battle rather than the process. Never before had the horrors of armed conflict been brought so visibly before the public eye. It would be unfair for me to remove the label of “artist” from these amazing people.

Mathew B. Brady’s (1822-1896) legacy is synonymous with the photographic legacy of the Civil War. His work was often used as the basis for illustrations and paintings created by Winslow Homer, Thomas Nast and others. Brady did not

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Abraham Lincoln, photograph by Mathew Brady

Matthew B. Brady c. 1875

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Several grates still available!

Many years ago, the wood floor of the museum’s cast gallery had iron grates at regular inter-vals to allow cold air to return to the auditorium below. These were removed before carpet was laid in the 1960’s. No one presently involved with the museum remembers precisely why this action was taken, but it could have had something to do with a (then) new heating system or the desire to prevent noise from transferring from one floor to another.

When the old carpet was removed, 27” square plywood plugs were revealed where the ornamental and functional iron grates had been. Because fabricating new grates in unfeasible, the museum staff came up with the idea to create a stencil design based upon the original grates. These then can be customized to include a message of brief, but meaningful length. To date several have been “sold” to support the museum’s floor refinishing project at $1,000 per square. Two blocks are being held for the principal source of support for the floor refinishing … The Friends of Slater Museum. If you are interested in memorializing a loved one or proclaiming your personal devotion to the museum, please call Vivian at 860-425-5560, and thank you for your support.

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Stencil design based upon the original grates.

We Need Your Help!

Equipment and materialsIf you find yourself with one computer printer too many, we’d be delighted to provide you with a tax deduction! At the moment, we are in need of a fairly recent color printer. We are always in need of old sheets and blankets to protect collections and our new collections stor-age facility could use a microscope. A hand truck in clean and good working condition would be a big help for our big move when collections come back to campus from Sachem Street storage. Thank you for thinking of us!

VolunteersWe are seeking new and veteran volunteers to work in our Visitor’s Services department. An informational meeting and training session will be scheduled before our September, 2011 opening. Please email Leigh Thomas at thomasl@norwichfreeacademy.com or call 860-425-5561 to be added to our volunteer list.

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take every photograph of the war himself, instead, he left it to the many photographers he employed, including the prolific George N. Barnard and Timothy O’Sullivan. Yet, Brady is regarded as the conflict’s master chronicler.

Born to poor Irish parents in Warren County, New York, in 1823. Brady was 15 years old when he met William Page, the American portrait painter, in Saratoga Springs. Page instructed him in portraiture and in 1841 brought him to New York City to study with Samuel F.B. Morse, painter and scientist/inventor, at the National Academy of Design. It was there that Brady was introduced to the early photographic process of daguerreotypy, and within several years he had opened his own studio on Broadway.

In 1850, Brady produced The Gallery of Illustrious Americans, a portrait collection of prominent contemporary figures. The album, which featured noteworthy images like an elderly Andrew Jackson at the Hermitage, was not financially rewarding but invited increased attention to Brady’s work and artistry.

It was Brady’s name that came to be attached to the era’s heavy specialized end tables which were factoru-made specifically for use by portrait photographers. Such a “Brady stand” of the mid-19th century typically had a weighty cast iron base for stability, plus an adjustable-height single-column pipe leg for dual use as either a

portrait model’s armrest or (when fully extended and fitted with a brace attachment rather than the usual tabletop) as a neckrest.

By the start of the war, Brady was established as one of the most prestigious photographers in America and felt his position gave him a certain responsibility to document the war; he recalled, “a spirit in me said ‘go’ and I went.” Even so, every photograph taken by one of his staff was marked “Photo by Brady” and garnered him widespread renown. The expensive photographic processes and the rugged nature of camp life severely drained his fortune and left him nearly bankrupt at war’s end. The U.S. government purchased many of his plates in an auction and in 1875, Congress paid Brady $25,000 for full title to his Civil War images.

To get his most iconic image of Abraham Lincoln, Brady pursued his quarry: a letter beseeched:

A kidney condition finally forced Brady’s hospitalization in 1895, and on January 15th of the following year, he died alone and largely forgotten. He was, however, buried at Arlington Cemetery, in an effort to honor him among the Civil War heroes he had photographed.

During the war’s early years, images for publication had to be hand drawn and engraved by a skilled artist. The technology did not exist to transfer a photograph to a printing plate since this was well before the advent of the halftone printing process needed for a photographic image. Photography,

“Brady Gallery 352 Penna Ave & Wash. Mr. Pres- Dear sir- I have repeated calls every hour in the day for your photograph and would regard it as a great favour if you could give me a sitting today so that I may be able to exhibit a large picture on the 4th. If you cannot, call today. Please call at your earliest convenience Yours Truly, M. B. Brady”

A photographer uses a “Brady stand” to pose his subject in 1893

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particularly journalistic photography, came of age during the Civil War and influenced artists who used the photographs to create drawings, engravings and paintings. It was impossible at the time to transfer a photograph to a mass print medium like newspaper. Instead, to disseminate images of the war and propaganda about the life and death of the Commander in Chief, the skills of an artist were required. From the photograph, a new image was engraved into a metal plate to mass-produce publications like Harper’s Weekly, The Journal of Civilization.

The Slater’s collection includes engravings representing Abraham Lincoln. From a photograph by Matthew Brady, a copy of an engraving (1864) by John Chester Buttre (1821-1893) shows a healthy, relatively worry-free bust length image of Lincoln. The portrait is surrounded by an elaborate border, added by William Momberger (1829-1888), that includes in the upper right corner a group of, presumably, emancipated slaves. In the upper left, one sees the criminal act of a highwayman and at the lower

right, Columbia presiding over a prosperous farm and factory town. In the lower left, the Union is slaying the dragon of rebellion.

Born in Germany, William Momberger was a landscape painter and lithographer, who became especially noted for his book and newspaper illustrations and as a banknote designer. He arrived in the United States in 1848, and worked in New York City as a lithographer with John Caughey, wood engraver. He also did illustrations for the Cyclopedia of American Literature by Duyckinck and the Gallery of American Landscape Artists. In 1865, he traveled into Midwestern states and shortly after, opened a studio in Morrisania, New York, where he was until 1888, possibly later. He is documented to that time, but his death date is unknown.

Published by Moore & Co., 111 Nassau St., New York, this lovely work captures the president, Mary Todd Lincoln, and their two boys, Robert and Tad in the sitting room of the White House. Lincoln is reading to Tad, while Robert stands sentry over his mother. A framed portrait of Willie hangs on the wall behind the family. Willie had passed away in February, 1862, so this engraving dates from some time afterwards. The frame is chipped in several places. There is scattered evidence of foxing around the border of the engraving, but overall, this piece is in very good

Abraham Lincoln by John Chester Butte, engraving, 1864

Detail of emancipated slaves from Abraham Lin-coln by John Chester Butte,

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condition, and a would be a handsome edition to any Lincoln collection.

Engraved by Augustus Robin is an image after an un-attributed photograph, possibly by Matthew Brady. Interestingly, an internet search finds the exact image, also engraved from a photograph, but exactly reversed, by a different artist/engraver. It appears that either the photograph was inadvertently printed from the negative backwards in one original, or one engraver attempted to distinguish his work from the other and avoid a copyright infringement battle. These images were framed in walnut oval or round frames, adorned with composition appliqués of flowers and raised border, making them appropriate decorative additions to any 19th c. parlor.

Also in the Slater’s collection is a “Rogers group” entitled and representing Lincoln’s Council of War, depicting a seated Lincoln flanked by Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton and General Ulysses S. Grant. Rogers Groups vary in height

and weight from about eight to forty six inches high and ten to fifty pounds. The pieces are signed John Rogers New York with a date (if patented) and titled on the front of their base. They were often heavily patinaed, mostly to look like bronze. At a time when it was in vogue to have parlor statuary in one’s home, Rogers provided appealing high quality durable plaster statuary which was well within the financial reach of many for whom marble or bronze statuary was not. The John Rogers (1829-1904) pieces made from 1859 to 1892 were so ubiquitous in late 19th c. American homes that Rogers has been referred to as the Norman Rockwell of the 1800’s. Abraham Lincoln owned a Rogers Group. John Rogers portrayed ordinary, everyday, urban and rural people doing ordinary, everyday things. Through his Rogers Groups he created an unrivaled document of the manners, sports, amusements, social customs, domestic interests, costumes, and even styles of home furnishing of the period. John Rogers made statues of Civil War soldiers, family groups, literary topics, theater scenes and historical figures. Rogers was born in Salem, Massachusetts and showed early

Lincoln en Famille by Augustus Robin, engraving.Black ink on period paper, measuring 10” wide at the horizontal axis x 12” at the vertical axis.

Council of War by John Rogers.

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evidence of artistic talent for drawing. After education at Boston English High School, his parents, rejecting the artist’s life, placed him at work in a dry-goods store in Boston. Rogers felt certain he was not suited for mercantile work, and instead in 1848 went to Manchester, New Hampshire to learn the machining trade. During this period, Rogers devoted himself to his art with particular attention to sculpture. He began to model in clay in his leisure hours. In 1858 Rogers traveled to Rome and Paris to continue his formal education in sculpting. On his return in 1859 he went to Chicago, where he modeled, for a charity event, The Checker Players, a group in clay, which attracted much attention and marked the beginning of an unusual career.

From 1860 to 1893 John Rogers’ studio cast and distributed 80,000 copies of 85 patented plaster figures in the U. S. and abroad. His New York factory employed 25 people. Despite their modest prices, averaging $14, Rogers sold over a $1M worth of sculpture, the equivalent of nearly $4M today. The release of a new John Rogers group was a major event covered by reporters from across the U.S. Even Abraham Lincoln owned a John Rogers Group.

John Rogers’ sculpture The Slave Auction, exhibited in New York in 1860, brought him to the notice of the general public and began his well-known Civil War series which included, among others, the Council of War (1867) showing Lincoln seated, surrounded by Ulysses S. Grant and Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton.

After the Civil War, John Rogers’ created genre scenes on social subjects, and those illustrating passages from literature, such as Washington Irving’s Rip van Winkle (1871), Miles Standish (1885) and from Shakespeare’s As You Like It.

Rogers was also considered a serious sculptor, commissioned to execute a monumental sculptures, including that of General John F. Reynolds (1881-1883), which stands before the Philadelphia City Hall. In 1887 he exhibited Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman, a huge bronze group.

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The popularity of Rogers’ figurines was already declining when poor health forced his retirement in 1893 or 1894 and had passed entirely by the time of his death in 1904. His studio at the New Canaan Historical Society in Connecticut is now known as the John Rogers Studio, was designated a U. S. National Historic Landmark in 1965.

Finally, the Museum’s collection holds a bronze Lincoln Birth Centennial Medal (1909), the work of Joseph K. Davison’s Sons, Philadelphia. Then one of the nation’s most prominent medallic firms, it was noted for Presidential Inaugural Medals. The obverse shows a bearded civil bust of Lincoln facing left. Also on the front, are the words “with malice toward none with charity for all 1809-1909.” On its reverse is a wreath with the words “This medal was struck for the Grand Army of the Republic in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln.” After its demise, many of the Davison’s dies were found in the possession of August C. Frank and Co. of Philadelphia, which went out of business in the 1960’s.

Lincoln Birth Centennial Medal by Joseph K. Da-vidson’s Sons, bronze, 1909.

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

NFA ALUMNI EXHIBITIONNOVEMBER 6, 2011 THROUGH JANUARY 20, 2012.

A Curator’s Choice show featuring the works of professional, working artists who are alumni of the Norwich Free Academy to celebrate the grand re-

opening of the Slater Memorial Museum.

Opening Reception

Due to our current renovation project, the date for the opening reception has not been finalized. Please visit our

website for the most up-to-date details.

CALLING ALL NFA ALUMNI ARTISTS!Digital submissions will be accepted until July 15, 2011.

Please visit www. slatermuseum. org to download the exhibition prospectus and entry form.

Network by Melody Leary, NFA Class of ‘68