Delaware Museum of Art: Portraits of Colonial and Federal America

One of the truly lovely smaller Art Museum is in Wilmington, Delaware.  The Delaware Art Museum has a fine representational collection of American Art, with some truly amazing specific collections including American Illustration (mid-1800's to early-1900's), British Pre-Raphaelites, and perhaps the largest collection of paintings by John Sloan--although most of these are not generally on exhibit.  They also have a beautiful sculpture garden with a dozen or more modern and contemporary works by many iconic sculptors like Betty Gold, Joe Moss, Tom Otterness and Chakaia Booker.

I visited on a Sunday.  Sunday's are free admission.  I was wearing a T-shirt that a friend from Australia had given me last November during a visit to the states.  It's red with an amazing Aboriginal inspired design on it.  I had just walked through the doors of the North Entrance into the cavernous Fusco Grand Hall with it's multi-story floor to ceiling windows on either end and a relatively tiny round information desk midway in on the right.  Sitting behind the desk was a svelte, young Black man with a mid-height crew cut low fade who top was dyed blond.  He look up to see who was entering and before I could even make eye contact, he called out, "Oh My God!  I love your shirt!"  Clearly an amazing visit was now ordained.

Lets begin this visit in a small gallery just off the grand hall.  Gallery A is home to maybe 8-10 beautiful portraits by some of America's most celebrated 18th century artists like Benjamin West.  The first two that caught my attention (and I've seen them all a dozen times before) on this visit were by Bass Otis (1784-1861) of the married couple, Calvin and Priscilla Cobb-Smith.  They were painted in 1824.  The accompanying text describes the couple, who lived in the Mississippi territory/state, as being "plantation owners". 

Plantation Owners!  How innocuous such a declaration has been for a very long time.  The museum has owned the portraits since 1973.  They are really amazing works, but a very talented artist.  And yet...I am no longer looking at a benign couple from the early part of the 19th century who owned a plantation from which they derived great wealth that enabled them to travel and afford the luxury of the attentions and talents of a gifted artist; I am looking at two people who enslaved other human beings... 

"Priscilla Cobb Smith" 1824

Otis Bass (1784-1861)

"Calvin Smith" 1824

Otis Bass (1784-1861)

It is the only certain fact that can be ascertained from the paintings.  I so wanted to go back to the sweet young man at the information desk and engage him in a conversation about this--I wasn't brave enough.

"Absalom Jones" 1810

Raphaelle Peale (1774-1825)

In the same gallery on the opposite wall are another pair of paintings by members of the first and arguably greatest dynasty of American Arts; the Peale's.  The first is of the great Black clergyman, Absalom Jones by Raphaelle Peale. 

"George Washington" circa 1825-30

Rembrandt Peale (1778-1860) OR Charles Willson Peale (1741-1827)

The other is of George Washington and is attributed to either Rembrandt Peale OR the progenitor of the clan himself, Charles Willson Peale.  Charles was the founder of the first Museum in America in Philadelphia--a building that is today the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA).  Beginning in 1795, he painted many portraits of George Washington, and Rembrandt followed suit in what was for them both a cash cow of their art and trade.