Anchorage Public Library >> Picturing America >> Art
"Picturing America" - February 2009 at Anchorage Public Library...
The following images were featured at Z. J. Loussac and Muldoon Branch Libraries during the month of February, 2009. Click on the "resources" link for each image to locate books and websites about American history and other related topics that connect with these works of art.
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Emanuel Leutzer, Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851
Using a dramatic style, Emanuel Leutze portrays George Washington's resolve and courage while crossing the Delaware River on Christmas of 1776. The thirteen colonies are not only represented in the flag but by the thirteen men in Washington's boat. An abolitionist, Leutze included an African American as the third boatman from the front.
How were George Washington and the flag emphasized in this painting?
The white horse is in the boat behind George Washington. The flag and Washington are surrounded by white light like a halo.
Emanuel Leutze (American: 1816–1868), Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851, Oil on canvas; 149 x 255 in. (378.5 x 647.7 cm): The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of John Stewart Kennedy, 1897 (97.34) Photograph © 1992 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
James Karales, Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965, 1965
In James Karales' photograph, the people face human and natural obstacles on their march from Selma, Alabama, to the capital at Montgomery fifty-four miles away. The four figures in the front appear to be marching in defiance of the coming storm. Invisible hands carry the American flag, a symbol of individual freedom and constitutional rights. The photograph Selma to Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965 shows the strength and conviction of hundreds of Americans seeking equal rights and a shared heritage for freedom.
Where was the photographer when this photo was taken, and how does the viewpoint add drama to the scene? How does the photo suggest that there were many people in this march?
The photographer was below the marchers looking up. The viewpoint tilts the camera up, making the marchers look large, and the lighting silhouettes them against the sky. We can not see the end of the line as it continues over the hill so the number of people in the march has an infinite appearance.
James Karales (1930–2002), Selma-to-Montgomery March for Voting Rights in 1965, 1965. Photographic print. Located in the James Karales Collection, Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special Collections Library, Duke University. Photograph © Estate of James Karales.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial, 1884-1897
Commissioned by a group of Bostonians, the Robert Gould Shaw and the Fifty-fourth Regiment Memorial was one of the first memorials dedicated to a group of soldiers. Led by Colonel Robert Shaw, the Fifty-fourth Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was the first African American unit in the Union Army. They fought a valiant battle against the Confederate troops at Fort Wagner, South Carolina. Shaw and 280 of his troops were killed, but their valor inspired other African Americans to join the Union army. Augustus Saint-Gaudens used forty African American models to realistically sculpt the sixteen soldiers portrayed. The ragged clothes were not to downgrade the soldiers but to show the conditions the men had on their march to Fort Wagner. The winged figure hovering over the soldiers carries poppies, symbolizing death and remembrance, and the olive branch of victory and peace
How did the artist create rhythm in his sculpture? What do the soldiers carry?
The slanting bodies of the soldiers and their legs have a regular interval and even the legs of the horse matches the foot soldiers. The soldiers’ rifles also have a repeated pattern. The soldiers carry canteens, packs, bedrolls and rifles.
Augustus Saint-Gaudens (1848–1907), Robert Gould Shaw and the 54th Regiment Memorial, Beacon and Park Streets, Boston, MA, 1884–1897. Bronze, 11 x 14 ft. (3.35 x 4.27 m.). Photograph courtesy of Carol M. Highsmith.
Alexander Gardner, Abraham Lincoln, Pres., U.S., 1809-1865, April 10, 1865
Abraham Lincoln was the first president to be photographed for political purposes. President Lincoln credited photography for his victorious presidential bid. This photograph by Alexander Gardner was from a group of pictures taken so the busy President would not have to sit for a formal portrait. This photo does not hide President Lincoln's haggard and worn features that show his fight to preserve the Union.
Abraham Lincoln's tie is crooked. What might this tell us? Which has sharper focus, Lincoln's hand or face? How does this picture compare to the portrait on a penny?
The crooked tie shows that Abraham Lincoln was not perfect. The hands are blurry, Lincoln probably moved his hands during the three minutes it took to take the picture. The penny has Lincoln in profile and with a fuller beard.
Alexander Gardner (1821–1882), Abraham Lincoln, Pres., U.S., 1809-1865. April 10, 1865. Photographic print. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Jacob Lawrence, The Migration of the Negro Panel no. 57, 1940–1941
The sixty panels of the Migration Series were painted with a single hue at one time. Jacob Lawrence painted over small boards coated with white gesso that shows through as tiny white dots. Lawrence portrays the early 1900's migration of African Americans to the northern states. All of the panels told a narrative Lawrence remembered from his family's stories and from research on the migration. The laundress is thrust toward the viewer by her bright white smock. The vertical washing stick and head bent in concentration create a visual metaphor for her strength and determination.
What is the woman in the painting doing? What shapes are in the painting and what do they represent? Where are colors repeated?
The woman is washing clothes with an orange "dolly" or washing stick. The shapes are rectangles and irregular round objects. The rectangles are drying clothes and the irregular shapes are washing clothes. Black, green-blue, yellow and orange are the repeated colors.
Jacob Lawrence (1917–2000), The Migration of the Negro Panel no. 57, 1940–1941. Casein tempera on hardboard, 18 x 12 in. (45.72 x 30.48 cm.). Acquired 1942. The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C. Art © 2008 The Jacob and Gwendolyn Lawrence Foundation, Seattle / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
Gilbert Stuart, George Washington (the Lansdowne portrait), 1796
Using the grand European style that depicts nobility, Gilbert Stuart adds American details to the painting. Washington wears his formal black velvet suit; the table holds the Federalist and the Journal of Congress, and the medallion on the chair's back depicts a part of the Great Seal of the United States. Stuart liked to catch the inner character of his subject and believed in the theory of physiognomy, in which a person's character is reflected in their features. Stuart portrayed George Wahington as a man of great passion.
How old was George Washington when this painting was made? Can you find the rainbow, medallion, inkstand with quill, books and sword?
George Washington was in his sixties when Mr. Stuart did this painting. The rainbow is top right; the medallion is on the chair; the inkstand with quill is on the table; the books are on and below the table; and the saber is in Washington's hand.
Gilbert Stuart (1755–1828), George Washington (the Lansdowne portrait), 1796. Oil on canvas, 97 1/2 x 62 1/2 in. (247.6 x 158.7 cm.). National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; acquired as a gift to the nation through the generosity of the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. © 2008 Smithsonian Institution, Courtesy, National Portrait Gallery.
