BGuthrie Photos: VA -- Williamsburg -- Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum -- Masterworks

VA -- Williamsburg -- Dewitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum -- Masterworks:

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Description of Pictures: This is a nice gallery with a number of fine paintings, a beautiful silver collection, lots of guns (including some cut apart pieces showing you how they work), and a number of changing exhibits.

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Copyrights: All pictures were taken by amateur photographer Bruce Guthrie (me!) who retains copyright on them. Free for non-commercial use with attribution. See the [Creative Commons] definition of what this means. "Photos (c) Bruce Guthrie" is fine for attribution. (Commercial use folks including AI scrapers can of course contact me.) Feel free to use in publications and pages with attribution but you don't have permission to sell the photos themselves. A free copy of any printed publication using any photographs is requested. Descriptive text, if any, is from a mixture of sources, quite frequently from signs at the location or from official web sites; copyrights, if any, are retained by their original owners.

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[1] WILLDM_050930_001.JPG	[2] WILLDM_050930_006.JPG	[3] WILLDM_050930_011.JPG
[4] WILLDM_050930_016.JPG	[5] WILLDM_050930_020.JPG	[6] WILLDM_050930_026.JPG
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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. WILLDM_050930_016.JPG: This begins the exhibit called American Furniture: Virginia to Vermont which showcases the variety of furniture made during the colonial and early Federal period. Styles changed over time and were adapted to local tastes in each region. Highlights include objects made in Williamsburg and a section on painted furniture that explores decoration and current conservation.
2. WILLDM_050930_131.JPG: George Washington, Charles Willson Peale, Philadelphia, 1780, oil on canvas. For his grand, full-length portrait of the commander-in-chief at the scene of his triumphs in New Jersey (Princeton is shown in the background), Peale consciously chose a state portrait formula. The close similarity of Washington's pose to that of George III in his coronation portrait of twenty years earlier was at least as much an earnest -- as it was a satiric -- declamation on the part of the patriotic young artist that the New World also had its heroes and great figures. One of a number of the artist's replicas of the portrait originally commissioned by the Supreme Executive Council, the governing body of Pennsylvania, to honor the hero of the Philadelphia campaign, this version is distinguished by having hung at Shirley, the Carter family seat on the James River near Richmond, since at least the early nineteenth century.
3. WILLDM_050930_133.JPG: Portrait of a Man, artist unidentified, possibly London ca. 1790, oil on canvas. Dignity and credibility characterize this portrait of an elderly Native American man, making it a rare portrayal from an era when most Whites' attitudes towards the country's indigenous people were heavily biased. Scholars speculate that the subject was Iroquois or a member of one of several bands that occupied the southern Great Lakes region, but many aspects of his appearance were widely adopted, making it impossible to be specific. Commonly used articles include the sitter's matchcoat (the blanket over his arm), trade ("English" style) shirt, silver armband, and pipe or pipe tomahawk. Many Indian men also wore scalplocks like this subject's, plucking the hair over most of the head but allowing a patch on top to grow long. Face painting was a very individualistic aspect of self-presentation; as yet, no consistent regional or group usage has been documented. Other features are unexpected. Most Native Americans dressed in their finest attire to sit for a portrait, but this man wears a rather ordinary type of earring. The lock of hair in front of his ear is even more surprising. At the time the painting was created, most Indians plucked facial hair, so any such growth (but especially one in the form a "sideburn") was unusual. Atypical elements like these might be explained as simple personal preferences -- illustrating how much today's students still have to learn about the diversity of Native American appearance. The head in this painting seems complete, but for unknown reasons, the rest of the composition was left unfinished. Note the design change in the subject's hand. Originally, all four fingers were wrapped around the stem of the pipe or pipe tomahawk. Later, the artist extended the index finger (but failed to paint over the earlier version, thereby giving the subject an "extra" digit). Rather that diminishing the end result, the picture's unfinished passages capture qualities of spontaneity and immediacy that emphasize the artist's skill in rendering a believable, multi-faceted individual.
4. WILLDM_050930_153.JPG: Thomas Jefferson, Gilbert Stuart, Washington DC, 1805, oil on canvas. Gilbert Stuart (1755-1828) was known for his ability to capture remarkably lifelike images of his contemporaries, especially the illusion of human flesh. The surprising variety, economical application, and masterful placement of the pigments in the face of this portrait of Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826) persuade us that, indeed, blood courses beneath the subject's skin. The result is a compelling representation of the reality of human presence. Historians continue to debate which of Stuart's several portraits of America's third President was done from a life sitting that took place in Washington, D.C. in 1805. In any case, Colonial Williamsburg's version almost certainly was painted before Stuart left Washington in July of that year. On February 15, 1806, artist William Dunlap noted having seen the portrait in the possession of Dolley Madison, whose husband, James, had acquired it from Stuart.
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Wikipedia Description: DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum also known as the DeWitt Wallace Gallery is located in Williamsburg, Virginia and is one of Colonial Williamsburg's attractions. It is named for DeWitt Wallace (1889-1981), who was co founder of Reader's Digest magazine with his wife Lila (1889-1984). After enjoying the restored colonial capital for over 50 years as visitors, the Wallaces became major benefactors of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation late in their lives.

Collection and facilities:

The museum features an extensive collection of American and British antiques. Included are furniture, metals, ceramics, glass, paintings, prints, firearms,and textiles from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. The collections join other Williamsburg offerings of art and antiques displayed at dozens of historic buildings, as well as the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, and Bassett Hall.

At the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, the Hennage Auditorium is utilized to offer lectures and musical performances. The museum is located adjacent to the Public Hospital of 1773, which commemorates the first mental health facility in the Colony of Virginia, soon to become the United States. The work of the Public Hospital continues at the Commonwealth of Virginia's Eastern State Hospital, now located nearby in James City County just outside Williamsburg.

DeWitt and Lila Wallace:

In 1922, the Wallaces published the first issue of their Reader's Digest, largely a carefully selected compilation of magazine articles of many types. The concept was well-received and soon became one of the most widely circulated periodicals in the world.

For relaxation, the Wallaces had been regular visitors to Colonial Williamsburg for over 50 years when they became involved as major financial supporters late in their lives as part of their philanthropic efforts. Also from New York, their generosity closely followed the enormity of that of the Rockefeller family. After they passed away in 1981 and 1984, respectively, the new museum opened in 1985.
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