In celebration of the United States’ semiquincentennial, the Mattatuck Museum presents About Face: 250 Years of American Portraits, an exhibition that explores America’s history and the diverse realities of its populace through the art of portraiture. On view April 26 through August 16, the exhibition showcases roughly 60 works, including paintings, drawings, sculpture, objects and photography drawn from the Mattatuck Museum’s permanent collection with select institutional loans.
Bob Burns, the museum’s executive director, explains the significance of such an exhibition. “While landscapes capture the setting, portraiture captures the soul and social hierarchy of an era,” he says. “A 250-year survey allows us to track the evolution of the American identity itself, moving from exclusive images of the elite to a more inclusive, democratic representation of the diverse people who define the country today.”
Hiram Powers (1805-1873), America, ca. 1850. Marble, 27½ x 21½ x 15 ½ in. Mattatuck Museum, MM 91.11.2.
Among the earliest works in the show is Ralph Earl’s Unknown Man, from circa 1788-1792; and an 1801-2 portrait of Miss Martha Pike by artist William Jennys (1774-1859), rendered in the traditional, formal style of early American portraiture. On the contemporary end of the spectrum is a print of Nicholas Galanin’s (Tlingít/ Unangax̂) 2012 digital photograph Things are Looking Native, Native’s Looking Whiter. The piece juxtaposes a 1906 photograph of a Hopi-Tewa woman by Edward S. Curtis with a 1977 image of Carrie Fisher playing the character Princess Leia from Star Wars. “The work asks the audience to consider the ‘story’ behind both images and to literally compare the women, questioning the ideals of femininity and beauty,” Burns explains.
Elsie Whitmore Southwick Clark (1881-1959), Portrait of Jane Peterson, ca. 1914. Oil on canvas, 39¼ x 29¼ in. Mattatuck Museum, MM 2017.15.
Other important historic works in the exhibition include a marble bust by Hiram Powers (1805-1873). Powers created the bust in 1850 after completing a full-length version meant to “embody the political creed of the country.” The woman depicted in America wears a crown with 13 stars referring to the original American colonies. The bust was among Powers’ most popular and profitable. He created at least 28 editions.
Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), Billie Holiday, 1944. Gouache on paper, 15½ x 12 in. Mattatuck Museum, MM 2017.21.
Also of note is a 1914 portrait of artist Jane Peterson (1876-1965) by Elsie Whitmore Southwick Clark. Petersen was a prominent American impressionist and expressionist who saw success during her lifetime (in 1925, The New York Times declared her “one of the foremost women painters” in the city) and whose work is still highly sought after today.
Other featured works include a 1944 drawing of Billie Holiday by Reginald Marsh (1898-1954), and an oil of Julia Haring White, 1897, by Jeanette Shepherd Harrison Loop (1840-1909).
Nicholas Galanin (Tlingít/ Unanga), Things are Looking Native, Native’s Looking Whiter, 2012. Mixed media. Mattatuck Museum, MM 2020.26.1.
“The works [in the exhibition] capture the prevailing aesthetics and social norms of their time, but they complicate them by revealing who was allowed to be ‘seen,’” explains Burns. “By placing a 19th-century formal bust near a modern photograph of a marginalized individual, we challenge the viewer to see how power dynamics have shifted (and where they persist)…[Our] vision was to celebrate the United States’ semiquincentennial not just as a timeline of events, but as a visual biography of its people. We wanted to create a ‘shared understanding of the past’ by inviting visitors to see their own stories reflected in the gallery. We hope visitors realize that their history matters. By seeing whose stories were preserved and whose were left out, we want them to leave with a deeper understanding of how portraiture continues to shape, and be shaped by, the American experience.”
The museum will offer reduced admission on April 26 for the opening celebration which includes a talk at 1 p.m. —
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