ARTH 325:
Lecture 6
The Early Colonial Period – V
New England – II
Emergence of Colonial Painting,
Graphic Arts, and Sculpture
 Early colonists concerned with shelter and sustenance;
by late 17th century, enough wealth and leisure to
enjoy luxury goods
 In painting & graphic arts, portraits predominate
 Little sculpture, excepting gravestones
 Leading role of New England
Trends in Early Colonial Painting and
Graphic Arts
 Numerous examples commissioned in New England
by members of merchant class
 Middle-class preference for flat, linear portrait style,
late medieval in character
 By century’s end, an aristocratic, Baroque portrait style
develops
 Mostly anonymous, itinerant limners
 1st printing press set up in Boston in 1639
A Comparison of Rival Trends in
English Art, c. 1600
 Left: Anonymous English Artist, Cholmondeley
Sisters, c. 1615
 Right: Peter Paul Rubens, Madonna and Child,
c. 1616
Full Views
Anon., Elizabeth Eggington,
1664
 Death portrait of
daughter of New
England sea captain
 Abstract portrayal of
figure with little
knowledge of
anatomy
 Elaborately detailed
clothing & accessories
 Fan, ring, miniature
Full View
Anon., Henry Gibbs,
1670
 Abstract portrayal of
young boy
 Some attempt at
chiaroscuro,
perspective
 Detailed portrayal of
clothing
 Bird symbolic of soul
Full View
Anon., Margaret Gibbs,
1670
 Pendant and portrait
of boy’s sister
 Same abstract
treatment of figure,
chiaroscuro and
perspective devices
 Detailed clothing
and accessories
 Fan, silver necklace
Full View
The Gibbs Siblings
Anon., John Freake, c.
1671-1674
 Portrait of New
England lawyer and
merchant
 Intricately detailed
clothing
 Use of hair length,
clothing, jewelry to
denote status
Full View
John Freake as Compared
to William Randolph
Anon., Elizabeth and Mary
Freake, c. 1671-1674
 Pendant and double
portrait of wife and
daughter
 More animated and
colorful presentation
of figures seated in
chair
 Same attention to
small details
Full View
The Freake Family
Anon., Elizabeth Paddy Wensley,
c. 1680
 Elaborate portrait of
merchant’s wife
 More naturalistic
treatment of face;
elongation of body
 Detailed costume and
accessories
 Use of flowers,
background landscape
Full View
Thomas Smith?, SelfPortrait, c. 1690
 Complex portrait
thought to be of
Boston sea-captain
 More assured
handling of
chiaroscuro, facial
anatomy, landscape
 Subject ponders his
mortality
Full View
Detail
 “Why why should I the
world be minding/therein
a World of Evils, Finding/
Then Farwell World: Farwell thy Jarres/thy Joies
thy Toies thy Wiles thy
Warrs/Truth Sounds Retreat; I am not Sorye./
The Eternall Drawes to
him my heart/By Faith
(which can thy Force
Subvert)/To Crowne me
(after Grace) with Glory.”
TS
John Foster, Rev. Richard
Mather, 1670
 Early example of
woodcut illustration
by known graphic
artist
 Abstract, linear
portrayal
 Possibly used as
illustration for
subject’s biography
Full View
John Foster?, Gravestone
of John Foster, d. 1681
 Stone sculpture was
confined principally to
headstone carving
 Motifs derived from
European folklore
 Father Time struggles
with Death over
candle
 May have been
designed by Foster
Full View
Detail
Gravestone detail Compared to Early
Renaissance Woodcut
Joseph Lamson, attr., Gravestone of
Timothy Cutler, d. 1694
 More typical example
possibly by wellknown carver
 Winged death head
fills arch; heads &
flowers fill sides
 Imps carry coffin,
flanked by hourglass
& crossed bones
Full View
Progression of Gravestone Motifs
in New England
 Death’s head yields to
cherub’s head; both
are supplanted by urn
and willow motif
 Reflective of more
positive outlook on
Christian resurrection
and afterlife
Full View
Next Time:
 The Later Colonial Period