• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Wellesley Square
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Camp
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Business index
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Schools
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Kids
  • About us
  • Events
  • Natick Report
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Live government meetings
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Fire & police scanner
  • 2023 Town Election
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Wellesley College Davis Museum holds swanky Fall opening reception

September 22, 2018 by Deborah Brown 1 Comment

Art lovers, artists, the Wellesley College community, and residents from Wellesley and nearby towns gathered at the Davis Museum at Wellesley College for its Fall 2018 opening celebration. Wait staff greeted visitors with wine and small bites, while chatter and excitement filled the air. Printmaker Christiane Baumgartner was on hand at the Collins Cinema to give an artist’s talk that covered her exhibit, Another Country, on display in the expansive basement level of the museum. Note that tickets are required for entry to this special exhibition. Admission to the rest of the museum is free.

Wellesley College Davis Museum
Christiane Baumgartner’s exhibition, Another Country, features 55+ works including several of the magnificent monumental woodcuts—hand-carved blocks and hand-printed impressions—for which the German artist is best known. The exhibit is curated by museum Director Lisa Fischman.

 

Wellesley College Davis Museum
Several of Christiane Baumgartner’s works, on the basement level of the Davis Museum.

The Legend of John Brown

There are four additional special exhibits, and Jacob Lawrence: The Legend of John Brown is not to be missed. The artist is known for his series of history paintings in gouache, and in this exhibit, his fifth series, he covers the life of abolitionist  John Brown. No pacifist, Brown advocated for violent anti-slavery uprisings, gathering supporters where he could among like-minded fighters, both African-American and white. Abe Lincoln wasn’t impressed with his methods. Frederick Douglass was. Brown was hanged for his part in the 1859 raid at a federal armory at Harper’s Ferry, Virginia. He was trying to ransack the treasury there to  arm slaves and lead them to revolt. The representational paintings follow Brown’s life in a linear fashion. Start at painting number one and swing your way around the room to painting number 22. You can get a guide at the front desk.

Take the kids, already

If you’ve never taken the kids over to the Davis, I ask you, why not? You can give them so much art exposure without leaving town and it’s free, with the exception of the current special exhibit. And you can get a good eyeful of that by peering over the balcony.

What there is to see: an amazing silk Asante Kente cloth, a 5th century Roman mosaic floor, a portrait of George Washington by Adolf Ulrik Wertmüller; paintings by impressionist powerhouses John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, and Paul Cezanne; paintings, sculptures, textiles, and terra cotta figurines from the Renaissance; 17th century Dutch paintings; a Lee Kasner and a Jackson Pollack painting adjacent to one another, a nod to the famous abstract artists’ eleven-year marriage. (Pollack died in a car crash in 1956.)

There’s a gravity-defying upside down ceramic floral arrangement by Tony Matelli (remember when his Sleepwalker sculpture terrorized/fascinated all of Wellesley?), a William de Kooning sculpture, and a Brillo box by Andy Warhol.

Every time I go back to the Davis after they’ve taken their summer break, I hold my breath as I walk through the galleries, searching for my favorites. Will they be on display or will they have been loaned out or worse, banished to storage? The museum owns thousands of objects, and obviously they can’t show them all.

I walked through. Phew, Alice Neel’s painting, Wellesley Girls is there, and they’re still wearing their Pappagallo shoes (or maybe Guccis). One girl minds her posture and sits prim and proper while the other takes a more bohemian and relaxed pose, not much caring that that her knees are splayed and we can see right up her skirt, which frankly was short to begin with. A 1960s rebel, that one. Both girls ooze steady, ongoing confidence and privilege.

Wellesley Girls davis museum painting

What’s this? My second-favorite white girl painting at the Davis, the portrait of Miss Cornelia Lyman Warren, Trustee of Wellesley College, 1871, by Alexandre Cabanel, has been moved. Fretfully, I search for her, but I needn’t have worried about Miss Cornelia. She always finds a way to do just fine, and her new place in the gallery suits her far better, thank you very much. There she stands in the portrait, riding crop in hand, one of the privileged young ladies Wellesley College used to educate as efficiently as their fathers’ factories used to churn out textiles and steel and leather goods. In the background is a body of water. Miss Cornelia could be at the top of the stairway in the Hunnewell estate topiary garden, Lake Waban the still blue in the background.

In Miss Cornelia’s former place on the stairwell landing is an amazing new acquisition, Street Girl, by Columbus Knox. Somehow Knox shows us this young woman when she’s young and when she’s decades older, all in the same painting. Go see it for the brush strokes alone.

Street Girl, by Columbus Knox

Oh good, our family’s favorite, Laughing Fool, attributed to Jacob Cornelisz van Ootsanen, circa 1500, is still there in the Renaissance room. He’s creepy and hysterical all at once. How long can he keep the laughs going, we always wonder. What if he falls out of favor with the king? He doesn’t look entirely healthy. We worry about him a bit.

Laughing Fool, circa 1500, is attributed to Jacob Cornelisz van Oostanen. An all-time family favorite of ours, the Fool doesn’t wear that red and yellow hooded suit with donkey ears because he’s shy. The bells allow him to amp up the cacophony of foolishness should he feel apathy settling in among those he is entertaining.

It’s just good family fun to pick your favorites at the Davis and pop in to visit them every now and then. If that sculpture the kids especially love gets moved, the search is on. If the painting you all practically fall into every time you see it goes out on loan, oh well, there are others to discover. Also opportunities abound for you to look at a work of art and snort, “So that’s what passes for art these days,” or, “You kids could definitely do better than that.” And if those as-yet undiscovered art prodigy kids of yours get suddenly rambunctious, no big deal. You can just leave and go home, literally right down the street. So much better than sighing over the admission fee you just paid in Boston (the Davis is free) as you battle Route 9 traffic home.

Wellesley's Thom Carter
Wellesley’s own Thom Carter, Director of Art for K – 12 schools, was there to enjoy the exhibits.
print

Filed Under: Art, Entertainment, Wellesley College

Comments

  1. Keith Scriven says

    June 10, 2019 at 11:08 am

    Dear Deborah – I was so proud and astonished when I stumbled across this article you wrote about the Sept. 2018 Opening at the Davis Museum at Wellesley. I can not believe I found “Street Girl”. I am the former owner of “Street Girl”by Columbus Knox (over 20 years). I represented Columbus and Collected a majority of his work prior to his untimely death in 1999. Today, I have been collaborating with others, as I aspire to educate and present Columbus Knox as an Iconic Master of Fine Art. He would be so proud to know “She” made it into your Collection at Wellesley, becoming part of a great home. Strong women were a major influence in His life, as depicted in his work. Thank You! Keith Scriven.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Riverbend, Natick

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

 

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Beacon Hill Athletic Club, Wellesley
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Mature Caregivers
Admit Fit, Wellesley
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Most Read Posts

  • Letters-to-the-editor day in Wellesley—important election-time updates
  • Wellesley business buzz: Board business liaison phased out; Help ID top business leaders of color; Hospital taps new president
  • Business buzz: Nantucket wine bar to boast Wasik's cheeses; Needham Bank has new Wellesley branch manager; Thanks to new sponsor Beacon Hill Athletic Clubs
  • Wellesley Veterans Parade will be one big wonderful Tea Party
  • Does Wellesley need a new traffic light? Slow down before you drive to any conclusions

Upcoming Events

Jan 31
9:00 am - 11:00 am Recurring

Coffee and Conversation with the Wetlands Administrator and Staff

Jan 31
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Families Eat Together online presentation

Feb 1
11:59 pm

Deadline for Wellesley Hills Junior Women’s Club grants application

Feb 3
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

Feb 4
10:00 am - 6:00 pm

Sara Campbell winter warehouse sale

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • David B on Does Wellesley need a new traffic light? Slow down before you drive to any conclusions
  • LADY WELLESLEY on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Peggy Heffernan on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Beth Dublin on Wellesley police officer injured in crash at intersection of Grove and Benvenue
  • Erika on Where to buy the Wellesleyest stuff in Wellesley

Links we like

  • Danny's Place
  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • 2023 Town Election (2)
  • Animals (428)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (592)
  • Beyond Wellesley (52)
  • Books (376)
  • Business (1,557)
  • Camp (10)
  • Careers/jobs (53)
  • Churches (82)
  • Clubs (236)
  • Construction (300)
  • Dump (130)
  • Education (3,189)
    • Babson College (252)
    • Bates Elementary School (18)
    • Dana Hall School (36)
    • Fiske Elementary School (11)
    • Hardy Elementary School (47)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (46)
    • MassBay (57)
    • Schofield Elementary School (26)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (613)
    • Wellesley High School (996)
    • Wellesley Middle School (204)
  • Embracing diversity (84)
  • Entertainment (814)
  • Environment (772)
  • Fashion (144)
  • Finance (15)
  • Fire (173)
  • Food (358)
  • Fundraising (641)
  • Gardens (164)
  • Government (604)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (15)
  • Health (866)
    • COVID-19 (203)
  • Hikes (6)
  • History (400)
  • Holidays (440)
  • Houses (162)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (867)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (10)
  • Letters to the Editor (71)
  • Media (72)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (13)
  • Morses Pond (109)
  • Music (580)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (280)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (86)
  • Outdoors (655)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (778)
    • Crime (395)
  • Politics (554)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (6)
  • Real estate (344)
  • Religion (138)
  • Restaurants (340)
  • Safety (155)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (127)
  • Shopping (163)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (1,012)
    • Athlete of the Week (12)
  • STEM (108)
  • Technology (165)
  • Theatre (397)
  • Town Meeting (23)
  • Transportation (240)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,244)
  • Volunteering (350)
  • Weather (179)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (280)
  • Wellesley Holiday Gift Guide (2)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (20)

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login