 | "Comfort Starr Mygatt and Lucy Mygatt," an oil painting created by John Brewster Jr. in 1799, is among the 39 works of art in "Made for Love." The artist conveyed the affection between father and daughter by depicting them touching hands. |
Art objects that contain or depict expressions of affection -- such as a golden watchcase holding miniature family portraits that a sea captain carried on his ocean voyages -- will be on view in the Yale University Art Gallery's newest exhibition, "Made for Love: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana," which opens on Tuesday, Feb. 13.
The exhibition, which will run through Aug. 27, features 39 folk or decorative art objects from the 18th and 19th centuries that showcase the material symbols Americans used to express bonds of affection. The works on view include carvings, watercolors, paintings, portrait miniatures, needlework, cooking utensils, furniture and children's toys. Some of the objects were created by professional artists or craftsmen, while others were handmade presents. All of the works in the Katcher Collection were created in New England, Pennsylvania and Virginia.
Among the items on view are a doll's quilt inscribed with a lullaby, an ivory trinket carved by a sailor far from home and John Brewster Jr.'s painting of Comfort Starr Mygatt and Mygatt's daughter, Lucy. The latter is one of four portraits the family commissioned from the artist in 1799. In the portrait, the strong bond between father and daughter is conveyed by their touching hands.
The exhibition also features furniture and toys created for children, helping to protect them from and prepare them for the hazards of life in the adult world. Paintings and watercolors of children holding books and artwork produced by young girls at school speak to the care that parents put into the education of their children, particularly in the years after the American Revolution, when raising the first generation of truly "American" children was of great concern to the young republic, notes Erin E. Eisenbarth, the Marcia Brady Tucker Curatorial Fellow at the gallery, who organized the exhibit. The friendships made at school were often lasting ones for young women, whose stays at school were crucial to the formation of their identities and were often their only period of independence before they married, she adds. The importance of these relationships can been seen in the numerous friendship albums and tokens on display in "Made for Love." Many of these feature hair, treasured as a lasting reminder of a loved family member or friend.
"Made for Love" is supported by an endowment made possible by a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and by the Friends of American Arts at Yale Exhibition and Publication Fund. The objects in the exhibition are featured in the book "Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence: Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana," published by Marquand Books in association with the Yale University Press. Edited by Jane Katcher, David A. Schorsch and Ruth Wolfe, the publication features essays by a team of distinguished scholars.
A lecture and symposium organized in conjunction with the exhibition will be held March 30 and 31, respectively. The keynote lecture at the symposium will be delivered by Steven Mintz, author of the prize-winning "Huck's Raft: A History of American Childhood." The symposium will feature a series of presentations on the ways in which decorative objects serve as physical representations of relationships, and the associations that collectors and curators have with these objects. For more information and to register, call the Department of American Decorative Arts at (203) 432-0615.
The Yale University Art Gallery, 1111 Chapel St., is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (Thursday until 8 p.m. September-June), and Sunday, 1-6 p.m. Admission is free. The gallery is closed Mondays and major holidays.
T H I S
'Made for Love' explores ways
affection was depicted in art
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