THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART: PRO BONO PUBLICO
A thesis submitted to the College of the Arts of Kent State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts
by
Ann Michelle McMaster
August, 2015
Thesis written by
Ann Michelle McMaster
B.A. Youngstown State University, 2007
M.A. Kent State University, 2015
Approved by
______O. Carol Salus, Ph.D., Advisor
______Christine Havice, Ph.D., Director, School of Art
______John R. Crawford, Ed.D., Dean, College of the Arts
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF FIGURES ...... v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ...... viii
INTRODUCTION ...... 1
CHAPTER I. THE ROLE OF THE MUSEUM IN THE UNITED STATES ...... 5 The Practice of Collecting ...... 5 The Early Development of the Art Museum ...... 6 Early Foundations in the United States ...... 7 Setting the Standard: The American Artist in Europe...... 11 The Early Museum Identifies Itself ...... 12 Styles of Architecture and the New American Neo-Classical Art Museum ...... 15
II. ART PROMOTION IN YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO BEFORE 1919 ...... 17 Early Activities toward an Art Museum in Youngstown, Ohio ...... 21 The Youngstown Museum of Art ...... 23 The Mahoning Institute of Art ...... 26 Growing Interest in American Art ...... 27 Museum Directors Support MIA ...... 28 The Evolving History of the MIA ...... 30 American Exhibitions Continue ...... 33 Formative Developments ...... 34 Butler’s Influence ...... 35 The End of the MIA ...... 36
III. JOSEPH G. BUTLER JR. AND HIS COLLECTION ...... 39 Beginning a Career in Steel ...... 40 Butler as Collector ...... 42 Early Publicity for Butler’s Collection...... 43 The Iconography of Early Twentieth-Century American Art ...... 49 The Fire ...... 53
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IV. THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART ...... 57 The Collection ...... 57 The Building ...... 63 The Opening ...... 66 The Gift ...... 68 Butler’s Museum Today ...... 69 Conclusion…………………………………………………………………..………………74
APPENDICES 1. Catalogue of American Paintings, Mahoning Institute of Art, May 4, 1915 ...... 112 2. Contract with McKim, Mead, and White ...... 117 3. Letter from McKim, Mead, and White to Butler ...... 120 4. Catalogue of the Butler Institute of Art Inaugural Exhibition ...... 121 5. Articles of Incorporation ...... 125
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……………………………………………………………………………...128
iv
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. Elbridge Ayer Burbank, Ah-all-tah-kone-ine; Umatilla (Nes Pilem, WA) half-male, the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 76
2. Elbridge Ayer Burbank, Ah-ge-pah; Navajo (Ganado, AZ) half-female, the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 77
3. Joseph Green Butler, Jr. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 78
4. Butler entrance foyer. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 79
5. Butler home third floor gallery. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 80
6. Butler home third floor gallery with skylights. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 81
7. Butler home Native American Gallery. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 82
8. Adolphe Bouguereau, L'Enfant Jésus et Saint Jean Baptiste,1878, “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901 ...... 83
9. Adolphe Bouguereau, La Vierge, l'Enfant Jésus et Saint Jean Baptiste, 1881. (accessed March 23, 2013) http://www.bouguereau.org/La-Vierge-LEnfant-Jesus-Et-Saint-Jean- Baptiste2.html...... 84
10. Charles Merlette, Combat in a Church, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901 ...... 85
11. A. Bryan Wall, A Chat by the Wayside, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901 ...... 86
12. Edmund H. Osthaus, Hunting Dogs, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901 ...... 87
13. Thomas Sully, Mrs. Jonathan Ingersoll, date unknown. Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901 ...... 88
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14. Caesare Detti, Jan de Boulognes, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909 .....89
15. Wilfred Constant Beauquesne, The Bugler is Spending His Last Breath to Sound a Charge, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909 ...... 90
16. Ridgeway Knight, Girl Drinking from a Jug in the Harvest Field, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909 ...... 91
17. Robert Henri, The Little Dancer, 1916-18. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 92
18. Ernest Lawson, Misty Day in March, 1917. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 93
19. Robert Henri, Bridget,date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909 ...... 94
20. Arthur B. Davies, Arethusa, 1901. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American ...... 95
21. Telegram informing Butler of fire that destroyed his home. Joseph G. Butler’s scrapbook. Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown, Ohio ...... 96
22. George Inness, Tragedy of the Sea, ca. 1864. (accessed June 28, 2013) Birmingham Museum of Art ...... 97
23. Adjusted image for better viewing of signature, A Tragedy at Sea ...... 98
24. Adjusted image for better viewing of signature, George Inness, New Jersey Landscape, 1882 ...... 98
25. William Merritt Chase Did You Speak to Me?, 1897. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 99
26. Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip, 1872. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 100
27. Robert Vonnoh, In Flanders Field-Where Soldiers Sleep and Poppies Grow, 1890. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 101
28. William McGregor Paxton, Sylvia, 1908. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 102
vi
29. Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Baldassare Peruzzi Palazzo Farnese a Caprarola, Caprarola, 1559-1573. (accessed August 10, 2013) http://www.poderesantapia.com/gardens/farnese.htm ...... 103
30. Dawson and Anderson of Toledo, Ohio., Detroit Museum of Art, 1885. (accessed March 13, 2015) http://www.historicdetroit.org/galleries/detroit-museum-of-art-old-photos/...... 104
31. McKim, Mead and White, Butler Institute of American Art, 1919. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 105
32. Portico of the Butler Institute of American Art. (accessed August 20, 2014) http://coolcleveland.com/blog/2013/09/art-the-butler-institute-of-american-art ...... 106
33. Tympanum over the entrance into the Butler Institute of American Art. Image provided by author ...... 106
34. Copy of signatures in the guest book from the opening of the Butler Institute of American Art, October 15, 1919. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 107
35. Interior of the Butler Institute of American Art, 1919. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 108
36. Interior of the Butler Institute of American Art, 1919. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 109
37. Norman Rockwell, Lincoln the Railsplitter, 1965. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art ...... 110
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I am humbled to thank the following for all of their support and guidance. I would like to thank Dr.Carol Salus for sharing her expertise in the field of American art. I have learned so much from her. Thank you to all of the faculty members in the Division of Art History at Kent State University especially Dr. Gus Medicus, Dr. Diane Scillia, and Dr. Fred Smith. My experience has been both educational and enjoyable. I must thank Dr. Lou Zona, director of the Butler Institute of American Art, for sharing his time and experience with me, and his staff, especially Pat McCormick, who so generously answered all of my questions and who went above and beyond in providing me with the information that I needed. To the staff of the Cleveland Museum of Art research library that graciously copied and emailed files to me, so that I would not have to drive to Cleveland in snowstorms. To the staff of The Mahoning Valley Historical Society, for carrying loads of boxes from the attic to the first floor so that I could look through Joseph Butler’s numerous scrapbooks and files in the hopes of finding reference to the museum. And thank you to my dear husband Scott and to my children, Michael, Danny, Scotty, and Shannon. They have been my biggest cheering section and have encouraged me throughout this entire process.
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1
INTRODUCTION
The Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio has welcomed visitors since its inaugural exhibition in October 1919. The museum was built by steel magnate Joseph Green
Butler, Jr. The BIAA’s greatest distinction is that it is the first building erected for the sole purpose of exclusively celebrating American art and American artists. Originally, the permanent collection began with artworks owned by Butler. Today, it has grown to include pieces from eighteenth century through twenty-first century America. Butler has been touted in numerous articles as one of Youngstown’s finest and most successful businessmen. He was a strong supporter of the arts, friend to U.S. presidents, and a generous philanthropist. Much has been written about his illustrious career however, a comprehensive history of the museum he built has never been fully documented. This study fills the gap and is comprised of newspaper articles, journal entries, Butler’s own memoirs, his scrapbooks, and numerous correspondences telling the story of how the first American art museum came to be in Northeast Ohio.
It was with great foresight that Butler built an art museum in the early twentieth century. This relatively new idea in the United States had not experienced enough longevity to have proven itself to be essential. Building The BIAA was a venture with a limited number of models.
Butler’s admiration for the recently opened Cleveland Museum of Art encouraged him to persevere. It took him many years of introducing art in a variety of ways to the people of
Youngstown before his vision of a public art museum became a reality. Butler’s collection did not begin as exclusively all American. He had collected renowned European artists’ work for a number of decades and opened his home to the public so they could view the pieces. However, a fire in 1917 in his home destroyed almost his entire collection and it was when he began rebuilding it that his focus turned to American works. Ultimately, through trial and error and
2
Butler’s generous patronage, The BIAA emerged as the paramount institution of American visual arts.
The demographics of Youngstown have changed dramatically since the opening of the museum. In 1919, seventy percent of the population was comprised of immigrants. It may have seemed that there would be little need to build a monument to American art and culture, yet
Butler chose the Latin phrase Pro Bono Publico, “for the public good,” to greet visitors who entered through the front doors of his art museum. As the phrase suggests, the museum was developed to not only house Butler’s art collection but to share it, allowing the community a chance to freely explore the world of American art.
In erecting this building and organizing The BIAA, I have sought to provide for the people of this city an opportunity to enjoy the best work of American artists and my hope is that it will tend to create a wider knowledge and love of art in this community…It should also promote American pride and loyalty for American ideals and help to encourage cultivation and development of artistic genius in the New World. We lead the world in genius for invention, efficiency and utility. There is no reason why we cannot eventually do so in the genius for art…I have provided that every effort possible be made by The Butler Art Institute to encourage artistic education and have at the same time limited the canvases permanently hung in its galleries to those by American painters.1
It took one hundred forty-three years after the birth of this nation to build a museum exclusively devoted to the work of its artists. Butler had a genuine appreciation for art and believed strongly in its ability to communicate and educate. By building his museum, he personally invested in the principle that art educates and improves society. Butler believed that the presence of an art museum in a community raised its moral fiber and standards. Furthermore, through his generous donation he hoped that Youngstown would become a paradigm for the modern city of the twentieth century.
1 Joseph Green Butler, Jr., Recollections of Men and Events (New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1927), 101.
3
The BIAA, which once stood isolated just north of the downtown area, is now surrounded by buildings belonging to Youngstown State University. The population of Youngstown has been reduced by more than half in the last forty years from its peak of roughly one hundred forty thousand residents in the 1920s. This is due to the closing of the city’s steel mills that employed the majority of the Youngstown’s population through their closing in the 1970’s. In spite of these changes the museum building continues to expand, the collection continues to grow, and nearly one hundred twenty-five thousand visitors and approximately thirty thousand area school children visit annually. Internationally known artists regularly exhibit there with attendance openings in the thousands.
Nearly one hundred years ago Joseph G. Butler, Jr. believed in the necessity to build a permanent residence for his artworks. In hindsight, his resolve to see an art museum in the city of
Youngstown was prophetic in that the major cities throughout the United States take pride in having art museums as part of their cultural landscape. It reveals that Butler’s vision for the city was to see it grow to be a thriving metropolis one day. Although this initial vision of
Youngstown never came to fruition, his museum has carried on his ambition for bringing culture to the people of the city.
In more recent years, The BIAA has seen expansion which includes a technological wing and the acquisition of an adjacent building, allowing for a more extensive display of both the permanent collection and temporary exhibits. A branch in nearby Howland, Ohio has expanded the museum’s reach into neighboring communities. Educational programs are regularly offered for the benefit of the public at both locations. The permanent collection continues to grow through funding from grants, donations, memberships, as well as patronage, ever increasing the extent of American styles and movements. The museum is a viable and contributing institution
4 within the community. Other museums have followed with similar commitments to the art of
America, most notably The Whitney Museum of American Art founded in 1931. Major museums such as The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, and The
Metropolitan Museum of Art established permanent galleries dedicated to American collections.
But it was Butler’s decision to build a museum dedicated to American artists and their work that helped to establish their credibility within the art world. As the first museum with this purpose it was not an obvious choice for Butler to limit the focus of the collection. Having no model to follow, Butler’s resolute commitment to the art of America was unique.
5
CHAPTER I
THE ROLE OF THE MUSEUM IN THE UNITED STATES
The Practice of Collecting
In major cities around the United States it is customary to find museums dedicated to collections of art, science, nature, or history. They are open to the public to serve and educate their communities and its visitors. Many early museums opened with collections that had belonged to private owners. The urge to collect is an inherent trait among people. This can present itself at an early age as children collect items from nature such as rocks, leaves, or insects. In later years collections may take on the form of decorative items, seashells, souvenirs, or other tchotchkes. Adults also participate in this practice, albeit pursuing more sophisticated interests and those with more discerning tastes may collect art, first edition literature, or rare artifacts of natural history. Amassing items significant to an aspect of culture provides physical security and creates a tangible representation of existence. For instance, a museum such as The
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. honors the victims of the
Holocaust while providing an educational experience for its visitors, ensuring that those who died will always be remembered. Collecting also can set cultures apart and create social distinction.2 According to William S. Hendon, former Professor of Economics and Urban Studies at the University of Akron, there are five categories of collectors. There are those who collect for economic benefit. This type supports the belief that owning a valuable collection indicates power, and items affiliated with historically important individuals or events empower the collector by association. Some collect for the social advantage they perceive they have earned
2 Edward P. Alexander, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums (Lanham: AltaMira Press, 2008), 19-20.
6 through their collection. There is no ultimate goal for the collector other than to possess with the belief that ownership is equated with importance or status. Thirdly, some items are desirable because of supposed magical powers. This type of collecting is no longer as prevalent as it once was during antiquity through the middle ages. Items associated with a specific past-time which indicates a social prestige indicates the fourth reason to collect. These items connect the collectors with each other as opposed to distinguishing them as individuals. Lastly, collections may be amassed for educational purposes. When shared, the items inspire further contemplation and examination.3
The Early Development of the Art Museum
The Louvre in Paris represents the archetype of an art museum. Housed in what was the
Palace of the Louvre, or Palais Royale, was the extensive royal art collection from 1692. It became public during the tumultuous period of the French Revolution. During the Revolution, various public monuments were destroyed due to their connection with the aristocracy and the monarchy. Some forward thinking leaders of the time argued that the nation’s art belonged to all of the people.4 Protection of the Louvre and its treasures proved the value the collection had to the nation, and ownership of this collection afforded the French with a sense of nationalism. This exemplifies the theory that the museum serves the public, not an elite few or a governing majority. This concept has helped form the foundation upon which museums all over the world function today.
3 William S. Hendon, Analyzing an Art Museum (New York, New York: Praeger Publishers, Praeger Special Studies, 1979), 19.
4 Alexander, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, 23-24.
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Early Foundations in the United States
The American Philosophical Society, or the APS, is considered to be the first learned society in the United States. Established in 1743 and founded by Benjamin Franklin, all manners of disciplines including philosophy, history, science, and art were equally valued by the society in those early colonial years. By the 1760s, the APS had earned an international reputation for its involvement in the advancement of astronomy. The APS, which was not publicly funded, served as an academy of science, a national library, a museum, and a patent office. Its function in the early United States was undeniably valuable because it served as a model for future societies and ultimately for museums. Its space was repurposed numerous times. It initially housed the
University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1740. From 1794 to 1811 it was converted into the museum of Charles Wilson Peale, and afterward served as Thomas Sully’s painting studio from
1812 to 1822.5 Regardless of the type of collection or discipline being purported, it is how these collections were shared that has become the concern of the modern museum in the United States.
The American Association of Museums defines a museum as “an organized and permanent non-profit institution, essentially educational or aesthetic in purpose, with professional staff, which owns and utilizes tangible objects, cares for them, and exhibits them to the public on some regular schedule.”6 According to this definition, the public is entitled to view the collection for the purpose of gaining knowledge through accessibility. J. Mordaunt Crook, in his Architectural
Study of the British Museum, states, “the modern museum is a product of Renaissance humanism, eighteenth century Enlightenment and nineteenth century democracy.”7 These basic
5 American Philosphical Society, American Philosphical Society. 2013. http://www.amphilsoc.org/ (accessed March 13, 2015).
6 Alexander, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, 8.
7 Ibid.
8 ideals help to clarify why the focus of today’s museum is on educating the public for their personal fulfillment regardless of social status.
The first museum in the United States, modeled after the APS, was founded in the late eighteenth century. In 1773, the Charleston Library Society of South Carolina voted to annex a museum, the earliest one in America. It held both science and art exhibits. Colonial museums were built around academic societies. This early effort began an era continuing into the early part of the nineteenth century which has been referred to as the Golden Age of collectors. During the nineteenth century, members of what was referred to as the consumer society began acquiring items at low prices, thereby generating the collections that would later be found in many
American museums.8
The earliest museums in the United States were typically dedicated to natural history and the sciences. Post-Revolutionary War historical societies encouraged the preservation of the history of the young country. The societies developed libraries because of the availability of greater funding from independent benefactors than did their counterparts who supported the early collections of artifacts. A number of these museums were affiliated with Universities, furthering their reputation as being spaces for education and not just pleasure.9
Charles Wilson Peale is the first American Museum director. Peale was born in 1741 and epitomized the ideal of a Renaissance man. He was a naturalist, a scientist, an artist, and a family man. He is credited with establishing the first model of the American museum initiating the idea of display for educational purposes. Beginning in 1786 Peale displayed his private collection in a
8 Germain Bazin, The Museum Age, Translated from French by Jane van Neus Cahill (New York: Universe Books, 1967), 241.
9 Edward P. Alexander, The Museum in America: Innovators and Pioneers (Walnut Creek: AltaMira Press, 1997), 19.
9 building next to his house. The collection encompassed items relating to both natural history and fine arts and was opened to the public. In 1794 it moved to the American Philosophical Society’s
Philosophical Hall in Philadelphia. In 1802 he moved it for the last time to what is now the
Philadelphia Museum. This early museum displayed installations in science, technology, and art.
Of importance to Peale was the absence of boundaries either real or implied that prohibited anyone from visiting his museum. He wanted it to be a place that appealed to the sensibilities of everyone and he intended to reach the broadest group of people possible. David Brigham, director of The Edna S. Tuttleman Museum at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in
Philadelphia states,
Not only did he create the first museum, but he created the first marketing campaigns, the first solicitations for gifts to his museum…He had certificates that donors received that said, ‘Of grains of sand are mountains made.’ The idea was that…this was not only Peale’s museum; it was the community’s museum. It was the nation’s museum, and he really believed that.10
Peale charged one dollar for an annual ticket, making it affordable for the general public to visit.
Peale’s vision pioneered the way for establishing similar institutions such as the Smithsonian
Museum, founded in 1846. The American Museum of Natural History in New York City was founded by Albert S. Bickmore and opened in 1869, and The Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, named for its donor Marshall Field, opened in 1893.
By 1900, American museums were becoming centers of education and public enlightenment.11 Art museums of the nineteenth century developed more slowly than their natural history and science counterparts. It was the hope that the early art museum would become
10 Gemma Watters, Philadelphia Museum Shaped Early American Culture, npr.org. Edited by Jenni Bergal. July 13, 2008. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92388477 (accessed November 9, 2012).
11 Alexander, Museums in Motion: An Introduction to the History and Functions of Museums, 47-57.
10 an important contribution to the structure of the community and that they would align themselves with the civic boosters and the wealthy philanthropists.12
Prior to the American Civil War, there was no preordained conception of an aesthetic norm in art. Museum visitors were not able to discern high art from kitsch and both were popular at the time. The nouveau-riche of New York equated purchasing works of art, any art, with a notion of acquiring aristocratic distinction. Artists, therefore, were aiming to please an audience with indiscriminate tastes, leaving the task of establishing a stylistic norm to the art institution, and a handful of institutions were successful. They were Philadelphia’s Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts, founded in 1805, the Boston Athenaeum, founded 1807, and the New York National
Academy of Design, founded 1825. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts was governed by the elite members of Philadelphia society, and the Boston Athenaeum, run by a membership of writers who belonged to the Anthology society, later held annual exhibitions of collected works of art, leading to a permanent collection which eventually, in 1873, melded into the Boston
Museum of Fine Arts. The National Academy of Design was modeled after the Royal Academy in London which was directed by the artists themselves and was concerned mostly with exhibits and education. The foundation for the post-Civil War art museum was patterned after the example of these three institutions.13
12 Dillin Ripley, The Sacred Grove: Essays on Museums (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1969), 39-75. Another famous American who was a great collector of art was Thomas Jefferson. Often celebrated for the design of his Virginia home, Monticello, Jefferson is not often discussed as an art collector. As of 1803, he had one hundred twenty-six works of art at his home. He collected a variety of pieces but is said to have had a preference for sculpture. This taste could have been cultivated on his trip to Paris where he purchased seven busts by Jean-Antoine Houdon. (Sarudy 2011)
13 Allan Wallach, Exhibiting Contradiction: Essays on the Art Museum in the United States. (Amherst: University of Massachussetts Press, 1998), 14-15.
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Setting the Standard: The American Artist in Europe
Several individuals contributed to establishing the criteria that led American society to form a common style. With no standard influence, eighteenth-century artists were required to revisit the accepted canon based on the writings on aesthetics by British art critics. The study of these
European collections, discussed by British critics, wrote created a basis upon which American artists were to build their own standard of fine art. Also, in order to find acceptance in a world art market American artists desired to “bring American art out of its provincial backwardness into the mainstream of European culture.”14
Benjamin West, a major colonial American artist, settled in London. The lack of an available formal art school in America sent him abroad. He traveled to Italy in 1760 and then moved to
England in 1763 where he stayed. He became Historical Painter to the King in 1772 and twenty years later was appointed president of the Royal Academy. It is important to examine the role
West played in influencing American artists. Also, West’s attitude toward art reveals a preference for a specific aesthetic celebrated by the European academies.
West invited and hosted numerous American artists in England and taught such iconic
American artists as Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827), Samuel Morse (1791-1872), and Thomas
Sully (1783-1872). His reputation and prestige appealed to the serious American artist.
The art of painting has powers to dignify man by transmitting to posterity his noble actions, and his mental powers, to be viewed in those invaluable lessons of religion, love of country and morality: such subjects are worthy of the pencil, they are worthy of being placed in view as the most instructive records to a rising generation. Benjamin West15
14 Ben Bassham, "The Anglo Americans: American Painters in England and at Home 1800-1820." Thesis/dissertation (Ph.D) (Madison: University of Wisconson, 1972), 3.
15 Matthew Baigell, A Concise History of American Painting and Sculpture (Boulder: IconEditions Westview Press, 1984), 29.
12
It is evident that West thought of painting as an opportunity for artists to empower and improve society with their subject matter.
By choosing to live in England, he believed himself to be in the epicenter of the art world. He said as much in a letter to John Singleton Copley dated August 4, 1766. He wrote in regards to overhearing some remarks on a painting by Copley that “as I am here in the Midst of the Painting
[sic] world have the greater opportunity of hearing them.” In the same letter, he briefly alludes to what he believes a great painting must possess and that is when he advises Copley “don’t trust any resemblance of anything too fancy, except the disposition of the figures and the adjustments of Draperies,[sic] So as to make an agreeable whole. For in this consists the work of fancy and
Test [taste].” He further recommends that Copley’s next work
…be Painted in oil, and make it a rule to Paint [sic] in that way as much as Possible,for Oil Painting has the superiority over all other Painting. As I am from America, and know the little Opportunities [sic] is to be had there in the way of Painting, made the inducement the more in writing to you in this manner….if you Could make a visit to Europe for this Purpose for three or four years, you would find yourself then in Possession of what will be highly valuable.16
The simplicity in style that he preached and his preference for oil painting explains the prominence with which both are found in the works of early American artists.
The Early Museum Identifies Itself
As American artists studied to create work that met the European criteria of fine art, the intent to bring that work to the people through museum development increased. William J. Hoppin, editor of The Bulletin of the American Art-Union stated at the 1847 annual meeting, “It is the duty of this Association to use its influence to elevate and purify public taste, and to extend
16 John W. McCoubrey, American Art 1700-1960: Sources & Documents in the History of Art Series (Upper Saddle River: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1965), 12-13.
13 among the people, the knowledge and admiration of the productions of ‘high art’.”17 This attitude takes the aspirations of the American Philosophy Society of offering an atmosphere that encouraged education for the betterment of the people to a new level of idealism where the art on view should mold the very being of the viewers. This walks a dangerous line between educating and pontificating. It also sets the tone early on that art museums were of a certain level of importance, influence, and assumed a civic responsibility equated with government offices and houses of worship. This resulted in showcasing the art of the returning Americans from Europe who while there had learned to make art that incorporated academic style and moral subject matter. Sir Joshua Reynolds expresses the general consensus of the art world when he says the
“artists’ role is to reveal the moral good in man and to stimulate the rational powers of the viewer.”18
The early mind-set of what constituted high art helped to establish the parameters within which institutions began taking shape. Three precepts addressed the proper way of governing the early art museum. First, there should be elite entrepreneurship. Only the elite members of society could qualify to be trusted with control of the collection. The second stipulation regarded classification. There were to be defined boundaries separating art from entertainment.
Entertainment could incorporate numerous levels of pleasure where art was to be elevated to higher expectations. The third, and final specification, was that of framing as the idea of creating a new relationship between the art and the viewer.19 All three of these precepts focus on the role
17 Wallach, Exhibiting Contradiction: Essays on the Art Museum in the United States, 14.
18 .Bassham, "The Anglo Americans: American Painters in England and at Home 1800-1820." Thesis/dissertation (Ph.D), 12.
19 Wallach, Exhibiting Contradiction: Essays on the Art Museum in the United States, 10-11.
14 of the early museum as having the self-appointed moral obligation and responsibility to formulate the viewers’ opinions rather than to expose viewers to different expressions of art and allow them to respond individually. The intention was to create a better society, but the danger in their approach lies within the understanding that an organization or group of like-minded individuals can set the criteria for society. As artists were led to believe in a fixed standard of high art found in Europe, the early American museums felt justified supporting this model. Even once the standard for high art was established it was still another century and more before museums identified American artists separately from their European peers.
The early part of the nineteenth century was a time of great collecting, and it was in 1870 that
America boldly established a structure specifically for the purpose of housing fine art. Expanding on the efforts of the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art (1805) and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. (1869), The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was incorporated on April 13, 1870 and opened to the public on November 20, 1870. Six years later, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston opened on the centennial of the United States, July 4, 1876.
These two major museums set the standard for later American art museums including The Art
Institute of Chicago (1879), The Brooklyn Museum (1895), and the Cleveland Museum of Art
(1913). The United States was well on its way to making the art museum a bastion of the
American city. In doing so it was no longer necessary to look to the European museum as a model.
The charter of the Metropolitan Museum of Art states that it was created, “…for the purpose of establishing and maintaining in said city a museum and library of art, of encouraging and developing the study of the fine arts, and the application of arts to manufacture and practical life
15 of advancing the general knowledge of kindred subjects, and, to that end, of furnishing popular instruction and recreation.”20 Clearly, the founders of the Met aspired to share fine art in such a way that it could be enjoyed by the general populace. However, even though the founders agreed that the museum would serve the community, there was not much effort in creating an education program as per Peale’s vision.21 This did not diminish its purpose as a public institution. The
Museum of Fine Arts in Boston made a similar claim in their charter, “As all agree that such an art museum ought to be a popular institution, in the oldest sense of the term, it should be opened to the public without charge, on as many days of the week as a proper regard to its interests and to the obvious necessity of reserving certain hours for students will allow.”22 The intentions of erecting institutions for the prosperity of the public were undeniable and equally undeniable were the underlying tones of civic pride that accompanied the inclusion of art museums into communities. Although not overtly stated in the charters, the appearance of the art museums indicated each city’s evident declaration of self-importance.
Styles of Architecture and the New American Neo-Classical Art Museum
Significantly, the buildings of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Fine Arts Museum of Boston were designed in neo-classical style. Neo-classicism was popular in the United States because it referenced the grandeur and importance of the classical style from the Renaissance which itself recreated the High Classical period of fifth-century Greece. In alluding to these two
20 Theodore Lewis Low, Teachers College, Contributions to Education: The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Art Museums in the United States (New York: Columbia University, 1948), 10-11.
21 Henry Fairfield Osborn, Develops a Model Natural History Museum (Walnut Creek: Sage Publications, Inc., 1997), 25-29.
22 Low, Teachers College, Contributions to Education: The Educational Philosophy and Practice of Art Museums in the United States, 11.
16 specific moments in history, buildings created in this style suggested that within their walls one could feel assured that the institution had referenced the best of humanity and look forward to experiences of great importance. Many government buildings in major cities such as the
Courthouse of New York City, the White House, and the United States Capitol were also designed in this style. The Neo-classical style had been reserved for establishments of great significance, therefore the importance of the art museum was implied through adaptation of the same Neo-classical style. The visual association conferred its stature. This suggested that the art world was as estimable as the government and no less important.
Some critics suggest that the architecture creates an overwhelming sense of awe and not one of enjoyment.23 Insinuating that the public at large is intimidated by grand architecture, and that art museums should perhaps underplay their style, insults the competence of the public. The role of the architectural style reiterates the significance of the art collection within its walls. To act any differently would be to undermine the role of art itself. Providing a special and unique experience for the visitor of the art museum is essential, and Benjamin Franklin and Charles
Wilson Peale knew this. That is why they established such fine institutions in which to share collections and information with the public they both generously served. The stately fashions in which collections are housed indicate the public is entitled to a grand experience and to be a part of something larger than they are.
23 Ripley, The Sacred Grove: Essays on Museums, 39-75.
17
CHAPTER II
ART PROMOTION IN YOUNGSTOWN, OHIO BEFORE 1919
Documented evidence shows there was interest in art among various community members of the city of Youngstown, Ohio as early as 1906. As a growing industrial town at the turn of the twentieth century, Youngstown was fast becoming a viable city with numerous wealthy families who had amassed their fortunes from post-Industrial Revolution ventures primarily related to the growing steel industry. Situated between two major cities, Cleveland and Pittsburgh,
Youngstown was well on its way to becoming an equally metropolitan area during the late 1800s and into the early 1900s. This was a direct result of both the establishment of U.S. Steel in 1901 and later when the Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company became one of the nation’s main sources for steel. In addition to, or perhaps as a result of, being a strong industrial center, a program spearheaded through the local YMCA began offering classes in higher education in
1908. Those classes were the seeds that eventually grew into Youngstown State University, offering further proof that the city was providing for an anticipated growth in population and sophistication.
The demographics of Youngstown changed very quickly as a result of the booming steel industry and thousands of immigrants moved to the area in search of jobs. Initially, the immigrants hailed from Western Europe but during the early twentieth century they were coming from Middle-Eastern and Latin American countries as well. This created a large and diverse community. Like the prosperous echelon of their cosmopolitan counterparts, the industrialists of
Youngstown strove to make the city a well-rounded and well-educated community. This involved the inclusion of bringing the visual arts to the city.
18
On April 6, 1906, the Youngstown Vindicator, the city’s newspaper, announced the new organization of the Youngstown Federation of Women’s Club. This Club played an instrumental role in bringing exhibits of fine art to the city of Youngstown and by extension to the immediate surrounding communities commonly referred to as The Mahoning Valley. Committees focused on artistic interests formed within this organization and were mainly comprised of the wives of the area’s wealthy industrialists and upper middle-class citizens. Their efforts and various involvements in these committees showed their significant interest in art.
A brief announcement in the December 18, 1906 morning edition of the Youngstown
Vindicator announced an exhibition of Copley prints at the studio of photographer James W.
Porter.24 Porter’s studio was on Federal Street which bisects the city center and was certainly the most trafficked street in Youngstown. This indicated that the exhibit was given a prominent location suggesting an anticipation of high attendance. The simple advertisement read:
Copley Prints.
Exhibition of Copley prints at the
Porter-Jones Co., 118 East Federal.
The nature of this announcement addresses the presumed well-known reputation of American artist John Singleton Copley (1738-1815). The omitted first and middle name indicates that the known painter and printmaker would be easily recognized by just his last name. By this time, his work was internationally exhibited and his name was synonymous with creating the finest
American art. Also omitted from the advertisement were the dates and times when the prints
24 James W. Porter later becomes very involved with the Mahoning Institute of Art and served as the secretary for the Institute.
19 would be exhibited. The lack of this information, and the use of only the artist’s last name, beg the question for whom this ad was intended. In 1906, the population of Youngstown was between forty-five and eighty thousand people. According to the Ohio State Census Bureau, the majority of these were immigrants moving to the area for employment. Evidently, the intended audience for this advertisement would have been those already familiar with American art and the name Copley, as well as high society insiders where the information would have travelled through word of mouth, making it unnecessary to publish details in the newspaper. This early indication of interest in fine art represents the beginning of what would ultimately grow into a fully fledged movement to bring art and culture to the residents of the Mahoning Valley.
Joseph G. Butler Jr. was a prominent resident of Youngstown, Ohio and one of the city’s wealthiest industrialists. He had an enormous private art collection which included artworks from all over the world. By 1907 he had also amassed an impressive collection of 326 Native
American portraits. They were catalogued in 1907 and listed in the Youngstown Vindicator as being on free exhibition at the YMCA building of Youngstown, Ohio. The majority of the collection contained works by Eldridge Ayer Burbank and Joseph Henry Sharp. In the forward of the catalogue, these two men are described as having lived with various tribes and became acquainted with them and their traditions. This added to the authenticity of their work. The forward also describes how “Mr. Butler has been successful in accomplishing the purpose which he had in mind; namely, securing a complete collection of portraits of Indian chiefs and Indian types.”25 The portraits are remarkable in their subject matter and in their technique. Most are painted in oil and when displayed together make an extraordinary statement. (Fig. 1-2) The portraits provide an intimate presentation of the subjects that varies from either frontal view or
25 Vindicator Press. Catalogue of Indian portraits in the collection of Joseph G. Butler, Jr. (Youngstown: Vindicator Press, 1907), 4.
20 profile view. Both are found to be equally compelling with their authentic costumes and quiet dignity.
The forward of the catalogue also mentions how exceptional it is to have images of numerous chiefs who in 1907 were already deceased, thus immortalizing their images, and also to have documented a generation of a people involved in the tumultuous conflicts with white Americans who were determined to develop the West.26 It was ultimately left to the viewers of the collection to form their personal thoughts and observations regarding the portraits. The display at the
YMCA marked the largest art exhibition in Youngstown ever. The size of the collection of
Native American portraits is indicative of Mr. Butler’s commitment to creating a formidable collection and his willingness to display it in a public venue. As Butler’s involvement with the art community in Youngstown grew, his commitment to collecting and his readiness to share those collections with the community served as the foundation for future art-related endeavors.
A headline in the Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909, reads, “Fine Paintings in a
Youngstown Gallery.” What follows is a rather lengthy article which provides descriptions of numerous featured paintings. The first line states that “not many people know that here in
Youngstown is an art gallery containing splendid paintings.” Once again, the collection was the property of Joseph G. Butler Jr. and was comprised of fifty-plus paintings in addition to his
Native American portrait collection. At the time the article was written, Butler’s home gallery was touted as the only one in the state of Ohio and mention was made that Youngstown was only beginning to find value in the appreciation of art. The newspaper reported that money had been spent on a building for the library which was designed in a Greek revival style. The third floor
26 Ibid., 8.
21 was designated as a possible art gallery but due to lack of funding it did not at that time come to fruition, although it did go on to become the first home of an art institution in later years.27
Early Activities toward an Art Museum in Youngstown, Ohio
The 1909 article was written to stimulate appreciation for works of fine art. By promoting a global representation of artists combined with the Native American portraits from his private collection and making his collection available to the public, Butler exhibited the behavior of someone with the agenda of developing an institution. He was likely familiar with and encouraged by the newly established art museums of the nineteenth century. Considering that in
1909 The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City was only thirty-nine years old, the concept of public displays of art collections was still relatively new.
In 1912, the Youngstown Area Federation of Women’s Club also worked to further the community’s interest in art. They formed a committee which explored the idea of an exhibit but there is no evidence that such an event ever occurred. Although their efforts were not successful their intentions likely encouraged other community members to pursue the idea.28
On October 19, 1914 a small paragraph in the Youngstown Vindicator announced Art Association to be Formed Here During the Week. The meeting was for anyone interested in organizing a permanent art association. It read, “This may be accomplished at slight expense and will be of
27 “Fine Paintings in a Youngstown Gallery,” Youngstown Vindicator, June 13,1909.
28 News of Butler’s collection spread beyond the city of Youngstown. The Fine Arts Journal published and illustrated an article about Mr. Butler’s notable collection of Native American portraits. The article was in the October 1912 issue and was written by Marian A. White. The journal ran another article on Butler’s gallery in July. The author wrote,“ Not only has the American artist received recognition, but Mr. Butler, with all the enthusiasm of one whose heart is attune with everything savoring of love of country and its traditions in the truest, broadest sense, has set apart a gallery devoted to the works of artists who have thought it worth their while to make life on the vast and boundless prairies and amid the rocky fastnesses of the far West, together with the red man as a dominant feature, themes for brush and canvas.” This very clearly outlined that Butler had developed a strong affiliation for American-themed artworks.
22 inestimable value to the community.”29 This indicates a formal movement was being made toward the development of art promotion and that the belief was that having such an association added value to the community. Butler was mentioned as having been in attendance.
Noticeably missing from the announcement was the location of the meeting. Different conclusions may be deduced from this omission. This may have been because this was an announcement and not an open invitation to the readers at large. Those involved may not have wanted any input from others. They may have believed that there was not any outside interest to inspire involvement. Perhaps there was an elitist attitude toward the understanding and appreciation of art. Eight years earlier, details of the availability of the Copley exhibit had not been mentioned in the newspaper, suggesting that public art exhibits were held solely at the pleasure of Youngstown’s inner circle –its most influential members. Perhaps it spoke to the benevolent nature of those interested in the formation of the association as well as to their understanding that if they were going to compete with other major cosmopolitan cities, and be taken seriously as one themselves, they needed to develop a cultural atmosphere as well. By then, the population in the city of Youngstown was somewhere between eighty and one hundred thirty thousand according to the U.S. census bureau.
Four days after the Art Association article appeared, another announcement was made of a meeting of the Ladies of the Modern Art Club. In attendance were sixteen members and four guests. It alludes to bi-weekly meetings and named the location of the next meeting.
Accompanying the article was a picture of the Toledo Museum of Art (1901). The museum was described as one of the country’s six most beautiful structures and that a similar aesthetic would be appropriate for a museum in Youngstown. The guest speaker at the meeting was Mrs. George
29 “Art Association to be Formed Here During the Week,” Youngstown Vindicator, October 19, 1914.
23
(Nina) Stevens, director of the Toledo Museum of Art, and her purpose was to reiterate the appeal an art museum would have to the citizens of Youngstown. One of the facts brought up at the meeting and mentioned in the article was that two thousand-plus visitors attended an exhibition of Ohio painters put on by the Federation of Women’s clubs. Mrs. Stevens went on to advise that the Toledo museum was built without bequests, endowments, or a maintenance fund but that twenty thousand people donated ten dollars each. She then stated that attendance at the museum was greater per capita than the Metropolitan Museum in New York City.30
The Youngstown Museum of Art
The above October 19 article regarding the formation of an art association may have been the announcement for the formation of the Youngstown Museum of Art. In October 1914 plans were made to incorporate an organization to bring “to Youngstown collections of paintings and other objects of art” as stated in a letter from J. G. Butler Jr. to Mrs. William J. Hitchcock.31 Articles of
Incorporation were signed by Joseph G. Butler, Jr. Charles F. Owsley, James W. Porter, Sara O.
Baker, and Mellicent R. Wick and published in the Youngstown Vindicator on November 9,
1914. These five were listed in the October 19 article and ultimately became charter members of the board of trustees who were elected on November 23. It is unclear why Mrs. Percy Young
Mrs. L. Cahn, Miss Edith Kauffman, and Myron I. Arms, four of the initial attendees at the meeting held on October 23, were not part of the board of the Youngstown Museum of Art.
Perhaps they were listed as members, although no such list is on file with other information pertaining to this newly formed museum.
30 “Meeting of the Ladies of the Modern Art Club,” Youngstown Vindicator, October 23, 1914.
31 Butler to Hitchcock, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
24
The president of the Youngstown Museum of art was Joseph G. Butler, Jr. who had already presented himself as the most knowledgeable art collector in the area. Membership had a fee of five dollars annually, or a life-time membership could be purchased for one hundred dollars.32
This was the most organized attempt at creating a fixed art museum. It confirmed the enthusiasm of the wealthy citizens of Youngstown to accomplish their goal of building up the city to include noteworthy cultural institutions. In November, Butler wrote to the Carnegie Institute in
Pittsburgh and tried to obtain foreign paintings that had been transported to the Carnegie
Museum of Art for safe-keeping until the end of the war. Unfortunately, due to previous contractual agreements and lack of permission from their owners, it was not possible to acquire them for a show.33 Butler probably felt very comfortable making the request of Andrew
Carnegie, who was a fellow industrialist with whom he enjoyed an intimate business relationship. It can also be surmised that Butler was mirroring the efforts of Carnegie, who helped turn the steel town of Pittsburgh into a cultural center.
Local Art Museum
Citizens have learned with interest and satisfaction of the incorporation of the Youngstown Museum of Art effected for developing here deeper interest in art, sculpture and photography and ultimately obtaining a suitable structure for the housing of such pieces of art as may be purchased by the association or received by it as bequests. …The art museum movement was given impetus at the recent convention of the Ohio Federation of Women’s clubs when scores of paintings by Ohio artists were exhibited. Become identified with the Art Museum. Take substantial -$5 or $25- stock in it. Now is the time to subscribe.34
32 Butler to Nina Stevens, March 23, 1914. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
33 Butler to Carnegie Museum of Art, November 1914. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
34 “Local Art Museum,” Youngtown Vindicator, November 10, 1914.
25
This enthusiastic announcement of November 10, 1914, not only intended to generate interest for the new museum, but also mentioned the art show put on by the Federation of Women’s
Clubs of Ohio artists. Art shows were becoming more frequent and the local newspaper was more than willing to follow the progress of the various committees devoted to organizing them.
It is evident that there was sufficient support from people with the means to implement a permanent museum and that the effort to do so was underway.
As with any organization, disagreements and differences of opinion are apt to occur. In
December 1914, a letter was written by Mr. Butler to Charles F. Owsley, the acting corresponding secretary for the museum, asking for his resignation. The only indication as to why his resignation was requested can be found in a letter written by Butler to Nina Stevens, director of the Toledo Museum of Art, alluding to the fact that Mr. Owsley and James Porter, acting recording secretary, were not able to get along with one another. Mr. Butler wrote, “Mr.
Owsley is of an arrogant, dictatorial temperament accustomed to having his own way, like a spoiled child.”35 As much as this reveals about the turbulence among the board members of the newly formed Youngstown Museum of Art, it also indicates that Mr. Butler had a friendly relationship with Stevens. This relationship will prove to be very rewarding for Butler in the future.
As a direct result of the dissension between Owsley and Porter, the members and trustees voted to dissolve the corporation on March 18, 1915. The papers for dissolution were filed on
March 23, and Butler corresponded with Stevens on March 27 verifying the dissolution of the
Youngstown Museum of Art. The dissolution was a formality to remove certain members from the board, namely Owsley, so that a new organization could be formed.
35 Butler to Stevens May 2, 1915. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
26
The Mahoning Institute of Art
It is documented that as early as February 22, 1915, Butler was actively moving forward with arrangements for an art association under a different name. Articles of Corporation were drawn up on that day for the incorporation of what would be known as the Mahoning Institute of Art. A not-for profit certificate had been issued February 27, 1915, roughly three weeks before the
Youngstown Museum of Art was formally dissolved.36 According to the Charter, the incorporators were Joseph G. Butler, Jr., Edward L. Ford, Jas. W. Porter, former recording secretary for the Youngstown Museum of Art, Robert Bentley, and Henry K. Wick. Notably missing is Mr. Owsley. The third article of incorporation states the purpose of the Mahoning
Institute of Art.
The purpose for which this corporation is formed is to receive gifts, devises and trust funds; provide the means and therewith erect necessary buildings; establish and maintain an academy for the advancement and improvement of all the arts, processes and methods of photography, music, sculpture and painting; to furnish instruction therein by lectures, and otherwise, and by giving exhibitions of art in all its branches.37
The board had high hopes of creating a permanent and impressive building or buildings in which to celebrate not only the visual arts but music as well. The inclusion of the plural form of buildings may signify that the trustees were providing for the future possibility of expansion.
Education was mentioned as well, indicating that celebration of the arts was to encourage community involvement. The idea of an institution exclusively representing American art had not yet been publicly explored. An exhibit of American Paintings was scheduled to be held early in May on the third floor of the Reuben McMillan Library in Youngstown, Ohio. It was decided
36 The Youngstown Museum of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
37 The Mahoning Institute of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
27 that a catalogue would be assembled and sold for twenty-five cents.38 A letter from Nina Stevens to Butler informed him that she would be unable to attend the art opening of the MIA, but she sent congratulations to the MIA from the Toledo Museum of Art.
Growing Interest in American Art
The Mahoning Institute of Art held their first major exhibition in the third floor assembly room of the Reuben McMillan Free Library from May 4 through May 31, 1915.39 (Appendix 1)
This was the first exhibition held in Youngstown devoted solely to American artists. It is unclear why this particular denotation was made. Nevertheless, it did reflect a desire of the committee to promote the advancement of American art. At this time, The Metropolitan Museum of Art was displaying their American pieces throughout the museum. It was not until 1924 that the museum built a separate wing to house their American art collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art was also dedicated to collecting American art. Founded in 1913 and opened in 1916, their first purchase was Copley’s Portrait of Catherine Greene, 1769. The Toledo Museum of Art opened its American gallery in 1912. The encouragement the MIA received from Toledo, Nina Stevens specifically, for choosing to promote American artists proves they are gaining respect in the art world.
Relatively new to the art scene, American artists were being celebrated by their inclusion into major museums of art around the country and some enjoyed international success. Normally, however, this recognition was in relation to or in comparison with their Western European counterparts. The display of American artists as an entity unto themselves was rare, yet in doing
38 Ibid.
39 "A Catalogue of American Paintings," Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown. Box 65.11.1, May 4-31, 1915.
28 so, American artists could demonstrate their distinct abilities. As with other exhibitions of
Butler’s collection, the works of art in the show were more in tune with the realists, and the iconography of selected works was aimed toward simple and understandable subject matter. The
European academic aesthetic was once again prominently represented. On May 5, the day following the exhibition opening, Stevens wrote to Butler saying that she liked the idea of starting with great examples of American painters.40 As director of a major museum, her support would have been greatly appreciated.
Encouraged by the success of the opening exhibition of the MIA, the board of directors prepared for the growth of the organization. They agreed to increase the number of trustees by five members and it was established that a major campaign to increase membership would be underway.41 Permanence of the Institute in the city of Youngstown was regularly discussed amongst the trustees. There was a strong commitment to insure that art and culture remain in the city.
Museum Directors Support MIA
In promoting the Mahoning Institute of Art, Butler sent catalogues to certain members of the art community outside of Youngstown, among them N. H. Carpenter of the Art Institute of
Chicago: J. H. Gest, director of the Cincinnati Museum Association which supported the
Cincinnati Museum of Art (1886): and Nina Stevens.42 This rapport with Carpenter implied a
40 Stevens to Butler, May 5, 1915. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
41 The Mahoning Institute of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art. Member Henry H. Stambaugh suggested that a painting should be selected and purchased by the Institute and that a future home should be selected. (Minutes from the meeting of the board of the Mahoning Institute of Art, May, 12, 1915.) Mahoning Valley Historical Society. (MIA file).
42 The Director of the Art Institute of Chicago, N. H. Carpenter acknowledged the exhibit and complimented Mr. Butler on the catalogue which had been sent to him. N.H. Carpenter to Joseph G. Butler, Jr. May 24, 1914. Mahoning Valley Historical Society. (MIA file).
29 certain familiarity if not friendship. Butler, in his relationship with Stevens and now Carpenter, was cultivating a network of contacts within the Midwestern art community that would only benefit any endeavor made by members of Youngstown’s own art associations. With Butler’s developing connections, Youngstown had gained the acceptance and inclusion it needed for successfully establishing an art museum.43
On June 2, 1915, Butler received a letter from Gest. He too thanked Butler for the catalogue and he expounded the benefits of art exhibits. He wrote:
It seems to me you have an excellent collection and that it should impress itself strongly upon your people. In giving prominence to the work of our own American painters you are following the course we have successfully pursued here and which we believe to be a wise one for American art institutions to follow, because after all the main problem in this country is in one way or another, to connect art with everyday life so that our people shall feel that they must necessarily have a share in it.44
Mr. Gest addressed quite a few points. By congratulating Butler on the show of American painters, he reaffirmed the desire of the MIA’s trustees to support American art. His choice to include his own experience with the same endeavor resounded with a sense of inclusion of the
MIA as an institution to be taken seriously. Interestingly, Gest also addressed the concern of connecting fine art with “our people,” which reads the people of the community, so as to make them feel that they “have a share in it.” This idea of connection, engagement, and shared participation with the general populace had been a point of focus since the inception of the museum.
43 Rounding out the month as a promotional drive the trustees were asked to collectively to solicit nine hundred people offering lifetime memberships for one hundred dollars or a five-year membership for twenty-five dollars. (Minutes from the meeting of the board of the Mahoning Institute of Art, October, 1914) Mahoning Valley Historical Society. (Youngstown Museum of Art) .
44 Gest to Butler, June 2, 1915. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
30
The Evolving History of the MIA
As the directors arranged for the development of the MIA, the community was kept informed through frequent newsfeeds published in the Youngstown Vindicator. The new location for the
Institute would be the previously used third floor of the Reuben McMillan Free Library as it was currently available. As president of the MIA, Butler promised to match all donations for the purchase of a painting. The Toledo Museum of Art was held as a model, noting that for ten years their collection was kept in an ordinary dwelling until they were able to purchase a permanent site. The exceptional attendance of the MIA’s May exhibition was also publicized.45 Joseph G.
Butler, Jr. repeatedly proved to be the driving force behind the efforts of the Mahoning Institute of Art, much as he had been for the Youngstown Art Association. His philanthropy and generosity as well as his numerous connections were allowing for the success of the organization. It is also apparent that the MIA showed considerable interest in the Toledo
Museum of Art and its development.
The year 1916 was not as kind to the Mahoning Institute of Art as the previous year had been.
There is much documented evidence showing that the Institute struggled through the year. The tones of the correspondence were not as hopeful and enthusiastic, nor were the press releases as plentiful. The Mahoning Institute of Art held a winter exhibition in January at the library featuring various local artists. This was the first time a collection like that had been put on view for the public. The subject matter of most works was realistic representations of sites found throughout Mill Creek Park, a forty-four hundred acre park in the center of the city of
Youngstown. A painting by Miss Ruth L. Osborn was of the Republic mills located in
Youngstown, and would have been of great interest to most residents of any economic situation,
45 The number of visitors to the show was listed at fifteen thousand and the MIA stood at 152 charter members. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
31 as the mills were either owned by or employed the majority of Youngstown residents. The
Mahoning Institute of Art had decided to begin the year with an exhibition to please but more importantly engage with the local residents. After the Winter Exhibition the Institute followed with a one-man show of William Merritt Chase’s work, also displayed at the library.46 Thirty- nine paintings were on display by one of America’s leaders in Impressionism. This was a decidedly different exhibit than the Winter Exhibition and it indicated a desire by the Institute to provide a variety of experiences for their visitors. Chase died in October later that year.47
A letter written by Butler and addressed to Carpenter reflected a tone different from the enthusiastic and hopeful correspondences previously noted. In the letter Butler stated “We are struggling along here with our Institute and hope sometime to make something of it.” This isolated sentence surprisingly was written after a seemingly very successful opening year for the
Institute. With attendance at fifteen thousand for the first exhibition, considerable coverage from the media, and having restructured to eliminate Board conflict, the Mahoning Institute of Art seemed to be off to an exceptionally good start. The letter began as a thank you for a bulletin which Carpenter had sent to Butler. He then promised to send catalogues from their shows. The sentence may have been no more than a self-depreciating comment to an already well- established museum that had been founded in 1879. Perhaps it reveals a moment of despondency. Whichever it was, it proves that for Butler the Mahoning Institute of Art was something he earnestly wished to see succeed. 48
46 “William Merritt Chase on Display at the Library,” Youngstown Vindicator, January, 1916.
47 The Mahoning Institute of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
48 Butler to Carpenter, February, 1916. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
32
In the first report of the trustees, submitted February 22, 1916, Butler reiterated his claim that
“no better collection of American paintings was ever gotten together in the United States” during the first exhibition held by the Institute. He also included an article that appeared in the February
19, 1916 edition of The American Art News. This was a significant achievement on behalf of the
Institute. It meant national recognition, and the MIA was gaining respect as a creditable organization.49 Butler also announced in his report that two more exhibitions were in place for later the same year. The first mentioned was set for the beginning of March and was referred to as the Macbeth exhibit in reference to paintings from the New York gallery owned by William
Macbeth, well-known American art dealer. Following that, a show of the paintings of Birge
Harrison slotted for later in March was mentioned.50 There was significant interest shown for further sponsorship of American art and artists. This was substantiated with the announcement that two lecturers, American artist William Merritt Chase and F. Allen Whiting, Director of the
Cleveland Museum of Art, had spoken at the Institute earlier that year. Butler referred to the task
Whiting was facing in building up a great museum in Cleveland and indicated that by 1916 the museum was still a work in progress. Whiting planned to present a talk on “What an Art
Museum Means to Youngstown.”51
Butler made an impassioned statement regarding his hopes for the future of art in
Youngstown. “It is the earnest wish and belief that in due time Youngstown will become noted as an Art center just as the Mahoning Valley is now celebrated as a great producer of steel. The
49 The Mahoning Institute of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
50 Butler went on to mention that there was interest in closing their season with another all-American show but it had yet to be decided. (Joseph G. Butler, Mahoning Institute of Art Report of the President to the trustees 1916). Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
51 The Mahoning Institute of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
33 growth will be slow but I feel that it will be sure.”52 He went on to thank numerous individuals for their contributions and then ended with “It is my earnest desire and to some extent belief, that
Youngstown will someday have an Art Museum of its own properly equipped and endowed.”53
These two statements indicate Butler’s sincere and optimistic desire for art to become a permanent part of the culture of Youngstown.
American Exhibitions Continue
The following month, The Youngstown Vindicator reported Fourth Art Exhibit at Public
Library: Thirty Leading artists Represented in Display which arouses enthusiasm at opening
Wednesday night-Will remain Two Weeks: ONE OF THE LARGER CANVASSES AT EXHIBIT.
The headline created a sense of anticipation and promoted excitement for the upcoming show. It was very different from some of the more monotone headlines and a far cry from the blurb mentioning the Copley prints. A growing familiarity with upcoming art shows could be detected in the introduction to the article. Instead of selling the show to its readership, the article read as if the reporter was boasting the success of the opening night. Also mentioned was the wonderful attendance despite other organized events occurring at the same time in the city. The review noted the lengthy visits paid by visitors and the attention given to the work once the visitors had arrived. It was introduced enthusiastically as a success.54
This was the show lent by the MacBeth Gallery of New York City and the accompanying catalogue praised the American artists. The anonymous author wrote that American art had
52Ibid.
53 Ibid.
54 “Fourth Art Exhibit at Public Library: Thirty Leading artists Represented in Display which arouses enthusiasm at opening Wednesday night-Will remain Two Weeks: ONE OF THE LARGER CANVASSES AT EXHIBIT,” Youngstown Vindicator, March, 1916.
34 recently enjoyed a reputation as work that was purposeful and also mentioned that American art could be divided into three categories. They were: the painters of light, the designs-painters who were seeking decorative effect, and the technicians-painters concerning themselves with method.55 The first description referred to the style of art which followed the Impressionists.
Introduced in 1874 in Paris, Impressionism was making its way into the United States as an accepted art movement and was influencing a number of American artists. In a city like
Youngstown in 1916 there had not been an abundance of opportunities to become acquainted with Impressionism and it was still considered to be avant-garde.
Two artists listed in the article, under the category labeled “painters of light,” were Childe
Hassam and Friederick Frieseke. Their work was identified with the school of Impressionism in both technique and subject matter. Under the label of the design, artists Ian Olinsky, a portraitist, and William Gedney Bunce, a painter of seascapes, were named as examples of aestheticism.
This style might have appealed to a broader range of viewers with its universal standard. The last group, the technicians, was represented by landscape artists Hayley Lever, Edward Willis
Redfield, and William Heine. Their work serves as a reminder of the continued interest in scientific exploration with intense concentration on the natural world. Their paintings are often site specific and include wonderful examples of identifiable flora.
Formative Developments
As part of the Institute’s spring agenda, F. A. Whiting was invited to speak and the topic of his presentation focused on the benefits an art museum offers to a community. Whiting urged the people of Youngstown to consider developing their own permanent museum. During a presentation of slides, he showed museum exteriors and interiors from Maine, Wisconsin, Texas,
55 Ibid.
35 and California. Whiting also ensured the audience that museums had been developed in towns with populations as low as twenty-four thousand people. The museum was “the most inspiring factor in the life of the people…It is the most simple and direct way to bring light into a community.” Large museums were also showcased boasting thirty to forty thousand visitors a day. He reported a statistic stating that attendance at the most recent art exhibit in Youngstown was double that of the previous two exhibits held there, thus emphasizing an interest in art.56
The Youngstown community was a model of the American working class, growing and becoming economically sound, and thus they would understandably be drawn to American works of art.
Butler’s Influence
International works were also exhibited by the MIA through the influence of Butler. The
Panama-Pacific Exposition was held in San Francisco to celebrate the completion of the Panama
Canal. The exhibit was to travel to Pittsburgh, and due to its close proximity, Butler thought it reasonable that the exhibit could visit Youngstown before continuing on to its scheduled destination. The exhibit consisted of three hundred twenty-nine paintings and sculptures.57 This was quite a coup for the Mahoning Institute of Art. It was the Institute’s ninth exhibit and had previously been to towns with no less than five hundred thousand people. One of the stipulations was that the work submitted must have been completed within fifteen years making this truly a twentieth-century show.58
56 Ibid.
57 A conversation between Butler and French Ambassador Myron T. Herrick took place and it was then decided that the exhibition could make a stop in Youngstown. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
58 “Exposition Art Will be Shown in Youngstown: Butler Scores Ten Strike by Getting Contemporary French Exhibit,” Youngstown Vindicator, July 1, 1916.
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It is exciting to read the list of artists represented in the show, which included some of the most influential painters and sculptors of the times. They included Émile-René Ménard, Jules
Adler, Henri Martin, and Jacques-Émile Blanche, and probably one of the most recognizable names in the show was that of Auguste Rodin. He had three sculptures titled, “The Awakening,”
“Alphonse Legros,” and “Eugène Guillaume.”59 This show lent a different level of sophistication to the Mahoning Institute of Art’s reputation. It was hard won through the tireless efforts of the board led by Joseph G. Butler, Jr.
The End of the MIA
The Mahoning Institute of Art rounded out 1916 with two more minor exhibitions at the library. Both were held for the benefit of showcasing local artist groups and enjoyed moderate successes. Listings for exhibitions of the MIA in 1917 reveal a noticeable reduction in the number of shows held. January offered an exhibit of American Paintings curated by the
Provincetown Art Association and a show in March was again of American painters. The interest in American art and American artists continued.60
No other reported exhibitions took place that year and a letter to the board of trustees from
Mr. Butler suggested that the dues for the fiscal year be reduced to one dollar from five dollars.
The Institute seemed to be faltering. A ledger balance sheet showed that membership costs were being cut and all accounts were being closed. Thriving organizations would not normally reduce their membership costs unless interest had waned.
59 Catalogue of an Exhibtion of French and Belgian Art from the Panama-Pacific International Exposition. Detroit Museum of Art, October 1916. http://www.dalnet.lib.mi.us/dia/collections/dma_exhibitions/1916-9.pdf (accessed May 13, 2015).
60 The Mahoning Institute of Art, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
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The Mahoning Art Institute provided two exhibits in the following year. In January, there was a display by the American Water Color Society’s Rotary and a show of oil paintings being circuited by the American Federation of the Arts was held in February. Both were reported in the
Youngstown Vindicator with moderate coverage. Whether it was the result of a lack of initiative on the part of the Vindicator or a lack of urgency for publicity on the part of the Institute is unclear. The scarcity of documentation and published materials about the Mahoning Institute of
Art confirmed that the activity of the organization had come to a stop. The fact that this seemingly well received and active institution did not succeed raises numerous questions.
For twelve years, members of the community of Youngstown made valiant efforts to bring art to the people, beginning with a committee from the Youngstown Federation of Women’s Clubs, to the inception of the Youngstown Museum of Art, and ultimately with the development of the
Mahoning Institute of Art. The community showed a strong desire to organize and bring exhibits of the finest art available to the area. A strong focus on the achievements of local artists showed good faith in the support of local endeavors. Bringing in shows of international artists and works that included some of the more modern schools indicated changing attitudes and a desire to embrace movements not necessarily understood by the general populace. This willingness to learn more about what was being done on a global platform showed a modern attitude was evolving within the Institute. It was the amount of attention paid to the work of American artists that is the most telling in the interests of the various committees generally led by Joseph G.
Butler, Jr. Time and time again American exhibits were sought out and brought to Youngstown.
Through the numerous exhibitions and attempts at establishing a museum for the visual arts,
Butler was striving to cultivate a society that included both economic and cultural success, modeled after the European custom where art was an equally appreciated part of culture. He
38 generously shared his private collection and diligently worked toward bringing world art to the citizens of his community. At a time when artists believed their work could improve the moral fiber of society, Butler carefully considered the role art could play in the city of Youngstown and what it could mean for a museum to be located there. He took his role as benefactor seriously as he tirelessly made connections in the hopes of seeing his vision fulfilled. Fortunately, the end of the Mahoning Institute of Art was not the end of art in Youngstown. On February 16, 1917, a contract was signed by Butler with the architectural firm of McKim, Mead and White for the building of an art gallery in Youngstown, Ohio, indicating that the MIA ended because plans were being laid for the building of The Butler Institute of American Art. (Appendix 2)
39
CHAPTER III
JOSEPH G. BUTLER, JR. AND HIS COLLECTION
On December 21, 1840, Joseph Green Butler and Temperance (Orwig) Butler welcomed the birth of their son, and third of their ten children, Joseph Green Butler, Jr in Mercer County
Pennsylvania. The Butler family’s ancestors came to the United States in 1759 from near Dublin,
Ireland and settled in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. They fought in the Revolutionary War, were some of the original members of the Society of the Cincinnati, of which General George
Washington was a member during the Native-American struggles, and also fought in the
Civil War. Through this familial history of military service Butler developed a strong sense of connection to United States history and certainly a sense of duty in civil service as well. (Fig. 3)
In Pennsylvania, Joseph G. Butler, Jr.’s grandfather was part owner of a blast furnace used for iron making, and his son Joseph G. Butler senior was part owner of several small furnaces in
Central Pennsylvania.61 The family moved to Niles, Ohio located twelve miles northwest of
Youngstown. The only industry in the city of Niles at that time was a grist mill. Otherwise, it was a sparsely populated rural area. Butler recollects fondly his time in Niles, particularly his time in an old white school house where he became very friendly with his classmate William
McKinley, future twenty-fifth president of the United States.62
In 1853, the family left Niles for New Wilmington, Pa., where Joseph Butler, Sr. took a position as manager of the Tremont Furnace. He assumed this position upon the retirement of
William McKinley, Sr. father of the future president. For the one year that the family stayed in
61 Butler, Recollections of Men and Events,4-5, 32. The family left the area in 1838 due to the lack of resources needed to keep the furnaces profitable.
62 Ibid., 10. Mr. Butler would eventually honor President McKinley with a memorial built in Niles, Ohio. In building the memorial Butler hired architects McKim, Meade and White. He was so pleased with their work that he hired them again to design The Butler Institute of American Art.
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New Wilmington, Joseph Jr. spent a lot of time at the furnace yard with his father driving carts that hauled slag to the dump in addition to various other duties. The family returned to Niles where they remained throughout Joseph Jr.’s childhood.63
Beginning a Career in Steel
Joseph Butler Jr. moved to Chicago, IL after the financial collapse of the Ward Co. and went to work for the Hale and Ayer Co. as a purchasing agent in 1863. They were negotiating to purchase an iron mill in the Mahoning Valley in Ohio. Butler was sent to Youngstown, which at the time had become a growing city of iron production. After working for Hale and Ayer Co. for two years in 1865, he was approached by Ohio Governor Tod to become partners in the purchase of a blast furnace. Butler invested all of his savings, twenty-five thousand dollars, and thus began the beginning of a long and illustrious career. It was also the beginning of Butler’s residency in the city of Youngstown, Ohio
That same year, Butler met Harriet Voorhees Ingersoll, who was visiting family in
Youngstown, Ohio. Her family background included an impressive amount of well-connected and important members of both the military and the judicial systems. She was described as well educated and very charming. The two were married January 10, 1866 and they became parents to three children, Blanche, Grace and Henry. In 1891, the family purchased a home at 525 Wick
Ave. in Youngstown, Ohio, where Mr. and Mrs. Butler lived the remainder of their lives.64
As one of Youngstown, Ohio’s most prominent citizens, Joseph G. Butler, Jr. dedicated both time and money for the betterment of his community. He became well known outside of
Youngstown as a successful businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry. In traveling
63 Ibid., 28.
64 Ibid., 61.
41 for business, Butler visited major international cities and indulged in his passion for collecting both European and American artworks. His taste in art was cultivated during these travels, and spanning the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, he purchased art that was influenced heavily by the European academies in both style and subject matter. As a result, Butler found pleasure in collecting oil paintings which typically embodied a classical aesthetic. He appreciated the serene landscapes and military scenes so often represented at that time. He found pleasure in bucolic pastorals and in portraits. He became friendly with the directors of art museums and admired their institutions. He saw the potential benefit in building a museum in the city of Youngstown and worked toward making that a reality for most of the early 1900s.
Butler is credited with founding some of the world’s largest and most profitable steel mills which defined Youngstown, Ohio as the steel capital of the world. Beginning in 1893, Butler was involved with The Ohio Steel Works, The Youngstown Sheet and Tube Company, and Briar Hill
Iron Company as either a major stockholder or more personally as part of the management of these three enormously successful companies.65 Having so much invested in the city on a professional level, it is no wonder that Mr. Butler was inclined to work so diligently at cultivating Youngstown’s cultural development. With his family’s past involvement in every military campaign since the earliest days of the country’s founding it follows that he would have a vested interest as well as a sense of duty in improving society to the best of his ability. He said as much himself in his autobiography Recollections of Men and Events.
In addition to providing for his descendants, every man of wealth owes something to the community in which he had lived, as well as to his country and society at large. Recognition of this obligation was the motive for the two enterprises mentioned in the
65 Ibid., 119-127. The demand for iron and steel in the early twentieth century was increased because of the start of WWI in 1914 and expanded Butler’s wealth tremendously.
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title to this chapter, upon which I have spent a good deal of money as well as much labor and time.66
Butler as Collector
Mr. Butler’s interest in the cultural arts and his generosity of both time and money played an integral role in putting the visual arts prominently on display in the mill town. He had been interested in collecting culturally important items for many years. His collections included first edition books often signed by the authors, signatures of such famous persons as Abraham
Lincoln, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and members of the entertainment community. According to his grandson James G. Butler, it was during a trip to the city of Chicago in 1863 that Butler developed an interest in art. He sought out an artist who would paint his portrait. During his sitting for the painting, the artist’s enthusiasm stimulated Butler’s interest and it was then that he began collecting art in earnest.67 It was not unusual for the wealthy to build up collections. He would be one of an elite circle of industrial magnates, which includes J. Paul Getty and Andrew
Carnegie, who built art collections. It was as much of a status symbol as it was a hobby. Butler was in good company according to his grandson.68
The elder Butler does chronicle in his autobiography that he made his first trip abroad in 1908 and while there he visited major monuments such as St. Paul’s Cathedral in London and
Stonehenge in Wiltshire. His memoirs serve more as a journal of where he had been and what he had seen. He fails to offer any personal opinions or observations about these two major sites that
66 Ibid., 88.
67 James G. Butler, interview by Paul Bick. Youngstown State University Oral History Program: Butler Art Insitute , Youngstown State University Oral History Program, (December 10, 1975).
68 He associated with a great many of the prominent people in the iron and steel business, such as Frick, Carnegie, and Schwab. All of those men were interested in art. Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh, Frick Museum in New York and Charlie Schwab had a big private collection. He started collecting a group of paintings of various sorts, various artists of various nationalities in his house, which then stood directly across the street on Wick Avenue from the present location of the museum.
43 might suggest by visiting them his awareness and appreciation of major art monuments was established.
Private art collections were frequently made public through national publications such as The
American Art Journal and the American Magazine. Also, in society sections of newspapers across the country, reporters would periodically discuss the collections of its wealthy citizens. As a result of the publicity, readers could experience works of art from private collectors while at the same time realize the cultivated tastes of the wealthy. This, in turn, persuaded the taste of those who otherwise would not be exposed to high art.
Early Publicity for Butler’s Collection
Butler had been collecting art prior to his European trip. He originally began acquiring works of art in the late 1800s and by 1901 had assembled a rather impressive collection of paintings.
His collection was well publicized in both local and national periodicals. An article titled Gems from Private Galleries in the Fine Arts Journal, July, 1901, discusses in detail many paintings in
Butler’s collection. The collection included both European and American artists, four of whom were specifically mentioned in the1909 article in the Youngstown Vindicator publicizing Butler’s private home gallery: Charles Merlette, Constant Troyon, Caesare Detti, and Hendrik Willam
Mesdag.
The purpose of the article, Gems from Private Galleries, was to showcase Mr. and Mrs.
Butler as private collectors. Furthermore, they made provisions for sharing their art with their community and discussed specific pieces from their collection. The introduction makes it possible to imagine how visitors would have viewed their paintings as Ms. White describes the gallery space. This also offers clues as to which works were more highly revered by the Butlers
44 because of the description of the hierarchy of placement.69 The gallery referred to was on the third floor of the Butler mansion and was designed for the purpose of displaying art. The artworks were displayed gallery style under the skylights meant to illuminate the paintings. A comfortable seating arrangement was included for guests to sit and admire the works at their leisure. There was also a separate room designated to house Butler’s extensive Native American collection. (Fig. 4-7)
The works mentioned in the article were by both American and European artists. None of them exist today as they were burned later in a fire at Butler’s home in 1917. The only known images of these works are found in the original 1909 article and in a 1916 article in the
Youngstown Vindicator which discusses Butler as a great art collector. A sketch by renowned nineteenth-century French artist William Adolphe Bouguereau, The Infant Christ and St. John,
1878 is the first piece illustrated in the article. (Fig. 8) Academic in style and subject, it is an indication that Butler’s artistic tastes were more traditional. The sketch is a study for
Bouguereau’s well known painting Madonna, l'Enfant Jésus et Saint Jean Baptiste. (Fig. 9)
Another French artist highlighted in the article was Charles Merlette. His painting, Combat in a Church, date unknown, had first been exhibited in the 1887 Salon in Paris. (Fig. 10) The subject is a scene from the Franco-Prussian War of 1871. It shows a very different subject matter from the previous work and proves diversity in Butler’s taste. The remainder of the 1909 article features four paintings, one of which focused on the serenity of the country landscape complete with domestic farm animals. There are three portraits and one landscape. The American artists named are A Bryan Wall, Edmund H. Osterhaus, and Thomas Sully. Wall’s painting; A Chat by
69 “While the larger and more important paintings are placed in a gallery effectively lighted by means of a skylight roof, there are rare gems of art scattered throughout the rooms.” Gems from Private Galleries in the Fine Arts Journal, July, 1901.
45 the Wayside includes the ever prominent sheep often found in his works (Fig. 11). A man and woman halt their activities to share a conversation. They, however, seem to be of secondary importance because of their placement in the composition despite the title of the piece. Osterhaus is well known for his paintings of hunting dogs and Butler’s painting Hunting Dogs is a typical example of his work. (Fig. 12) The dogs, large and centered, are represented as being very muscular and alert. Their intent focus directed outside the parameter of the composition lends a sense of animation and energy to the work. Thomas Sully’s portrait, Mrs. Jonathan Ingersoll, had personal meaning to the Butler family. (Fig. 13) Mrs. Ingersoll was the paternal grandmother of Mrs. Butler. Portraiture has always been a popular genre because of its documentation qualities. Osterhaus, Wall, and Sully are all represented in the current permanent collection at the
Butler Institute of American Art.
Butler’s collection was next publicized in Youngstown’s local newspaper, the Youngstown
Vindicator, on June 13, 1909. The article seemed to focus more on subject matter than on style.
It admired the collection for its diversity by describing battle scenes, domestic scenes, landscape and oceanic themes, and works that included both rural and urban settings. There was brief mention of the inclusion of some paintings of the Impressionist school preceded by a remark that there were pictures “for widely different tastes so that though all may not appeal to any one man, there is something in it for everyone…”70 This shows that most people were not yet comfortable with art that broke away from the academic standard. The images of works reproduced for the article were of a very distinct and similar style of realism and were presented as if they were the more pleasing of the collection, indicating a bias of the author toward these types of paintings.
70 “Fine Paintings in a Youngstown Gallery,” Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
46
The choice of images insinuates that the majority of the newspaper’s readers held a realistic style with easily recognizable subject matter in the highest esteem. Unfortunately, these paintings were all destroyed in the fire at Butler’s residence as well. The only existing images of the works featured in the article are found within the article itself, which is copied onto microfiche.
Additional French artists mentioned were Beauquesne, Cachou, Perrault, Merlotte, and the
Barbizon painter Troyon, along with Mesdag of the Dutch school and Detti, an Italian artist. The
Vindicator article features different pieces from the collection. The portrait Jan de Boulognes by
Caesare Detti is mentioned in both articles. This may be an indication that Mr. Butler favored this piece and wanted it to be publicized. (Fig. 14)
An artist referred to only as Richards was named in reference to a marine scene. The author may have meant William Trost Richards who was known for his oceanic scenes.71 Another artist is mentioned only by the last name of Murphy as having painted The Golden Wood. This may be
John Francis Murphy who has works in today’s permanent collection of the BIAA. The painting was described as an Impressionist piece and it was suggested that the viewer overlook the lack of detail and try to enjoy the effect of the glow that gives the illusion of distance.72 It is evident that the author was trying to offer an unbiased portrayal of the painting but without complete success.
The image of the piece was not featured in the article nor could a reproduction of it be found for further discussion. Interestingly, The Golden Wood is cited in the announcement of the opening of the Butler Institute of Art in 1919. After the introduction, this 1909 article discusses the works of art in detail providing a source for those not familiar with some of the pieces or the artists. It also proved that Butler’s preferences were varied. He seemed to favor scenes that provided a
71 It would make sense if this were the artist as there is today a work by Richards in Butler’s permanent collection along with a piece by Knight. “Fine Paintings in a Youngstown Gallery,” Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
72 “Fine Paintings in a Youngstown Gallery,” Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
47 sense of peace and quietude but was not beyond enjoying studies of war or conflict. Portraiture, a well respected genre, was also included and admired.
Numbering more than fifty works of art in his personal collection, those mentioned indicate an interest in subject matter ranging from pastoral scenes to those of a moralistic character.
Butler had a preference for paintings of nature. His collection was comprised of a variety of nineteenth-century styles such as Realism, Romanticism, Naturalism, and, on a smaller scale,
Impressionism. Nevertheless, there is still an eclectic representation of subject matter illustrated in the article. Wilfred Constant Beauquesne, known for his scenes of the Franco-Prussian War, is represented by his painting The Bugler is Spending His Last Breath to sound a Charge (Fig. 15).
The existence of this piece in Butler’s collection reiterates his appreciation of art with a nationalistic subject matter. Beauquesne’s piece was one of the paintings featured in the article with an illustration. The setting of the work is outdoors on a battlefield and a young man, who is accompanied by a lovely young woman, is raising a bugle to his lips to sound the charge. Amid the dead and dying the young woman looks out of place in her ladylike attire complete with bonnet tied with a crisp bow. She serves as an analogy of all that is good and pure and worth fighting for. The reproduction in the newspaper was in black and white so color and lighting cannot be determined. Even without those elements, the melodrama of the piece is clear. It is the young man’s duty to at all costs defend his country. This type of painting as an illustration of
Exemplum Virtutus, a painting that tells a moral tale, would appeal to the general public as it appealed to their sense of nationalistic pride and duty to preserve a civilized society.
An American artist, Ridgway Knight, sometimes listed as Daniel Ridgway Knight, was famous for painting peasant women in outdoor settings. His painting titled, Girl Drinking from a
Jug in the Harvest Field, was highlighted. (Fig. 16) The painting embodies his use of settings in
48 open fields with maiden-like women often in peasant clothing, joyfully working or taking a break from work. It is difficult to see detail in these works because of the grainy quality of the microfiche on which they appear. Furthermore, there is no description of the colors used and the images are all in black and white.73 This painting is not found in any current resource that lists works by this artist and the article may be the only visual reproduction of the piece. The painting is of a young girl standing outdoors in a field preparing to drink from a water jug. She is placed in the center of the foreground making her the indisputable focal point of the composition.
Dressed plainly with her hair pulled back in a bun, she becomes important simply by her existence on the canvas. She is not aware of the viewer as she lifts the jug, implying that the smile forming on her lips is a result of the anticipation at quenching her thirst. Like
Beauquesne’s painting, this piece is appealing in that it represents the virtue of hard work and an unquestionable amount of charm.
Butler enjoyed friendships with many distinguished members of the art world. Evidenced in many correspondences, he had associations with various artists, museum directors, and gallery owners from across the country. These connections not only aided him in his desire to build the
Mahoning Institute of Art but also enhanced his personal experiences with art appreciation and collecting. Frederick Allen Whiting of The Cleveland Museum of Art appears to have been a particular friend to Butler. As the CMA officially opened in June 1916, Butler at this time was actively developing the MIA undoubtedly with the belief that he was moving toward the creation of a like styled facility. Mr. Whiting was seen as a contemporary of Butler’s but with an expertise in the study of art. Letters regarding Whiting’s initial visit to Youngstown as a guest
73 It would be possible to get an idea of the color scheme in Knight’s painting by looking at his other works with similar subject matter. The title area was more of a description that read Admirable for the Feeling it Conveys of a Calm and Peaceful Summer Day.
49 lecturer begins in November 1915. In the first letter Butler states that he wants to personally welcome Whiting to Youngstown and that his visit might assist in an “Art awakening” that the
MIA hoped to initiate.74
In March 1918, Whiting wrote to Butler regarding future discussion about a collection of paintings in the museum’s possession which was being restored and indicated that some of the pieces were to be sold.75 This denotes that Whiting was co-operating with Butler in building a collection for the future Butler Institute of American Art. Not only was Whiting helpful in supplying Butler with leads on securing works of art, but Butler solicited Whiting’s help when writing the purpose clause for the incorporation for the BIAA. A letter dated August 20, 1919, almost exactly four months prior to the opening of the museum, includes this request. Another request was sent to the CMA director December 30, 1919, asking for a copy of their by-laws.76
The Iconography of Early Twentieth-Century American Art
American art in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries often dealt with subject matter that provided the viewer with a feeling of nationalistic pride. It was through these early
American works that Americans developed their sense of identity. It helped to define how citizens saw themselves through the lens of democracy, a state which had been hard won through battle and sacrifice. As a young country without a long and rich history to draw from, artists created an identity through their interpretations of the people making up the populace and also of the landscape which was uniquely different from other nations. Heroes were developed not just
74 Butler to Whiting, November 1915. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
75 Whiting to Butler, March 1918, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
76 A letter indicating a notable connection to the art scene in New York was addressed to the heiress Mrs. Harry Payne Whitney, less formally known as Gertrude Vanderbilt. Butler sent her a copy of the MIA catalogue from the first exhibition. This correspondence shows that Butler was reaching out to some of the most influential patrons of the American art scene. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
50 from battle scenes but from ordinary people and their activities. Genre scenes distinguished
American pursuits and undertakings from those of their European counterparts formulating
American characteristics. Also setting America apart was the unique topography of North
America. With the forests as the monumental cathedrals and the mighty oak trees and rivers representing the icons within, it was the abundance of nature that was celebrated as the backdrop for how Americans saw themselves.
As a man who inarguably played an integral part in the development of the Steel Age in the
United States and was also politically connected to the highest office in the government through his friendships with Warren G. Harding, William McKinley, Theodore Roosevelt, William H.
Taft, Calvin Coolidge, Woodrow Wilson, and numerous other lesser known political office holders, it follows that Joseph G. Butler Jr. would show a preference for the subject matter found in his own collection, ranging from bucolic scenes to portraits and including an interest in art of
Western America together with portraits of Native Americans.77 Nationalistic pride would likely appeal to a man of his pursuits. Mr. Butler was a young man in his early twenties during the
Civil War and this, coupled with the unrest among the immigrants from Western Europe and the
Native Americans, could surely have influenced Butler’s preferences in art. Furthermore, these themes were often showcased in the realistic and naturalistic academic style which pleased him.
Butler did have an appreciation for modernist style. There is not much evidence that Butler’s taste in modernity ever ventured further than Impressionism. The Armory Show introduced
Americans to shockingly innovative styles in 1913, bringing works by Picasso, Matisse, and
Duchamp as well as Impressionism to New York.78 The absence of such pieces from Butler’s
77 Butler, Recollections of Men and Events, 312-334.
78 Butler traveled to New York City frequently and maintained numerous friendships with businessmen there making it likely that given his interest in art he would have been exposed to styles of modernity.
51 collections supports the idea that he was mostly interested in the art that he believed best represented the United States’ ideals in both style and subject matter. Pieces by artists who had studied in Europe he believed elevated the moral aptitude of society. There were also great technological changes taking place in the country and around the world at this time. These changes influenced the way people lived and worked and the rapidity with which these changes were occurring was tangible.79 As a businessman who had an international reputation, Butler lived and worked in the midst of these scientific and technological advancements and surely appreciated their importance. However, his taste in art remained conventional.
The Ashcan School was the foremost movement in American art during the early twentieth century. Its artists, led by Robert Henri, worked to capture urban life with its turmoil and tenements. Art critic Bailey Van Hook wrote, “will, energy, drive, strength, force, and ambition were exalted….In an age marked by colonization, industrialization and urbanization, a more forceful symbol was needed—not a virgin but perhaps a dynamo.”80 The Ashcan School was not interested in the academic themes steeped in European tradition. What they hoped to achieve was a representation of the energy Van Hook was describing, a realism that embraced the changing world as they saw it, focusing on the urban way of life and those who made up the lower class.
Instead of bucolic scenes, Henri taught the idea of painting what was daily life and the urban condition in a brutally honest way which had been essentially ignored. Fifteen million new immigrants arrived in the United States from 1890-1915, flocking primarily to the larger cities.
With them came new traditions and cultures that altered the essence of what American meant.
79 The Wright brothers were making huge advancements in air travel making the impossible possible in 1903. Albert Einstein with his theory of relativity E = mc2 revolutionized the scientific community in 1905. The automobile became a plausible mode of transportation with the invention of the Model T in 1907.
80Frances K. Pohl, Framing America, (New York: Thames and Hudson, 2002), 232.
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Henri believed the plight of the urban condition was as worthy of attention as any subject matter, and thus began his quest for revolutionizing art. Henri was soon joined by George Bellows who is often described as a “manly” artist because of his themes and their representation. William
Glackens, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan, Arthur B. Davies, Ernest Lawson, and
Maurice Pendergrast were also among these urban realists. These artists all felt that the growing urban situation was creating an exciting change that needed to be recorded. All of the Aschan artists, known as the Eight, are represented in The Butler Institute of American Art’s permanent collection; four pieces were purchased during Butler’s lifetime and three of those after the museum had opened.
The first of these paintings purchased by Butler, The Little Dancer by Robert Henri, shows a beautiful young girl in a vibrant red dress sitting on a red chair against a shallow background of neutral gray with a red drape to the left. (Fig. 17) The vibrant red of her dress is reflected in her lips and is also used to heighten the color of her complexion. Offset by her black hair and eyebrows, the colors create a sense of excitement and energy. She is looking off to her right with a secretive smile. She represents a popular theme of café or theater pieces that usually included young beautiful women.
The second painting purchased was by Ernest Lawson titled Misty Day in March. (Fig. 18)
This painting has a more modern appearance because of its style rather than theme. The composition is of a landscape that shows a stone bridge over a river with a village nearby. A combination of strong horizontal and vertical line orientations create a sense of order and add to the calming effect of the painting. Tinted purples, oranges and teals are used to express the result of the natural light. The overall texture of the work, created with short loose brushstrokes, results in a general unity and absence of focal point very unlike the teachings of the academy. If
53 anything, it could be argued that the illuminating light is the focal point. The short loose brushstrokes, pastel colors, and sense of immediacy along with the artist’s attempt to capture the light reflect the influence of Impressionism. The lack of an obvious focal point suggests that intention of the piece was more about style than subject matter.
The third piece known to be purchased by Butler was mentioned in the 1909 article in the
Youngstown Vindicator. It is of a young girl titled Bridget. (Fig. 19) From what can be seen of the image from the article the girl is very young and has a happy expression. There are other paintings by Henri with the name Bridget. This does show that Butler purchased a Henri painting for his personal collection prior to the opening of The Butler Institute of American Art in 1919.
The choices Mr. Butler made in his purchasing reveals some appreciation for what the modern artists were working on.81
The last painting from The Eight purchased during Butler’s lifetime was Arthur B. Davies work titled Arethusa. (Fig. 20) Based upon a Greek myth, a young nymph, Arethusa, is seen sitting on the bank of a stream in the midst of bathing. The artist presents her to the viewer from behind and focuses on the long sensual curve of her spine. She is both provocative and innocent as she is unaware of the viewer’s presence. Although the style reflects a more contemporary approach, the subject matter is presented as a traditional half-draped nude.
The Fire
Tragically on December 12, 1917 a fire in Mr. Butler’s home destroyed almost his entire art collection. The only artworks saved from destruction were Butler’s Native American collection which was on display at the Reuben McMillan Library at the time of the fire and a painting by
81 This may be the only image of this piece because it was burned in the fire at Butler’s mansion.
54
Albert E. Sterner titled The Dutch Girl.82 Also lost were his collection of books and a collection of signatures which included most U.S. presidents. Butler learned of the fire through a telegram dated December 12, 1917 which read “Return home at once – your residence destroyed by fire.”
(Fig. 21) This was a devastating personal loss for both Butler and the Youngstown community.
A collection which had enjoyed national publicity and included works from many respected artists was permanently lost. Fortunately, through journalism, images of a small representation remain for reference. Because of Butler’s respected reputation as businessman and art collector word of the fire was immediately reported in national publications. In addition to the expected reporting in local newspapers The Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article just days after the fire.
The headline read on Thursday, December 13, 1917 “Crushing Blow in Treasure Loss.” In addition to reporting the fire the article also informs that Butler was completing a fireproof museum across the street from his home which was to house his art collection.83 The American
Magazine of Art reported the fire under the subtitle “The Butler Collection Destroyed.” It mentions that the collection was to be moved across the street to a new building. It discusses how the fire was started by an improperly installed wood furnace. Although brief in length, it conveys deep regret at the loss of Butler’s art collection.84
Butler received numerous letters of condolence from around the country. F. Allen Whiting immediately sent a letter two days after the fire. Arthur G. Clark from the Arthur G. Clark Co. in
Cleveland, who was a publisher, bookseller, and art dealer, also offered his sympathies. The
American Federation of the Arts whose headquarters were located in Washington, D.C. and
82 “The Dutch Girl” by Albert E. Sterner is no longer in the Butler collection and its whereabouts are currently unknown. The painting was not included in the inaugural exhibition of the Butler Institute of American Art.
83 “Crushing Blow on Treasure Lost,” Cleveland Plain Dealer, December 13, 1917.
84 The American Magazine of Art. "The Butler Collection Destroyed.," November 1917, 163-164.
55 many other friends and business associates voiced their shock and dismay over the loss of
Butler’s collection. Mr. John G. Clark of The University Club in Washington, D.C. included in his letter a note of encouragement.85
This devastating event did not discourage Butler. He began rebuilding his art collection and eventually was able to acquire a comprehensive representation of American works by some of the most celebrated artists. His enthusiasm for American art was evident in his second act of collecting. He committed himself to purchasing only works by American artists, and though no formal statement by Butler explains exactly why, his tendency toward supporting American artists was clear during the MIA days. His decision to focus his energies on American works led to the evolution of the museum which would become the first free standing building dedicated to the promotion of American art.
Butler’s love of art, his involvement with the art scene in Ohio and New York, and his entrepreneurial skills are prophetic in leading up to his building of The Butler Institute of
American Art. It was the kind of undertaking that required someone with financial ability, social contacts, and belief in the purpose. He knew that by creating such an institution his hometown would advance toward becoming a respected cultural center. “I indulge the hope that
Youngstown will someday have an art museum that will make the Mahoning Valley as much celebrated as an art center as it is noted as one of the largest steel producing localities in the world.”86 By narrowing the focus of the museum, Butler joined major institutions in the long
85 Butler’s “determination to go forward with the gallery and to purchase other pictures to be kept in it. Your public spirit and courage will serve as a community example through many future years.” (White 1901) A myth or urban legend regarding the building of the Butler Institute of Art has circulated for many years. It was rumored that because of the fire Butler decided to build a museum to safeguard his art collection. This correspondence serves as evidence that the building plans were well underway at the time of the fire.
86 Joseph Green Butler Jr., "The Small Museum: Its Worth in a Community," Youngstown, Ohio. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
56 overdue honoring of the work of American artists. The BIAA became the first museum built in the US exclusively devoted to American art, and remained the only one until over a decade later when the Whitney Museum of American Art opened in New York in 1930.
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CHAPTER IV
THE BUTLER INSTITUTE OF AMERICAN ART
When fire destroyed Joseph G. Butler, Jr.’s home, plans for building a permanent art gallery in Youngstown were in progress. The chosen location was directly across the street from Butler’s house. He had discussed the style of the future art gallery with the renowned architectural firm
McKim, Mead and White. (Appendix 2) However, with the loss of nearly his entire collection, it was imperative that Butler begin to regain some of what he had lost. All of the paintings mentioned in the previous articles written about him no longer existed. His commitment to collecting fine art was barely impeded and his indomitable spirit led him to continue with the gallery as planned. It was at this time when Butler focused solely on acquiring American art. He felt that by opening an institute of this nature, American artists would gain confidence in their art.87
The Collection
Careful consideration of the paintings purchased by Butler demonstrates his preferences for
American art. On January 26, 1918, a purchase contract was signed by Butler and Chicago art dealer J.W. Young regarding American Barbizon painter George Inness’ painting referred to as both A Tragedy of the Sea and Tragedy at Sea, 1864. (Fig. 22) Young brokered the purchase of the painting for Butler. It was purchased from Alex Gaw of the Lincoln Safe Deposit Co. where it had been placed in storage for twenty years by its previous owner Mr. Edwin Harry Willcox.
Willcox had a letter from the painter’s son George Inness, Jr. dated December 1916 listing the
87 Joseph G. Butler, Jr., History of Youngstown and The Mahoning Valley Ohio, Vol. 1. (Chicago: Amerian Historical Society, 1921), 380.
58 value of the painting at that time at twenty thousand dollars. It was sold to Butler for twenty-five thousand dollars.88
Young wrote a letter to Inness, Jr. in 1918 informing him of the sale of his father’s painting to
Butler. In the letter Young reiterates Butler’s level of commitment to accruing a new collection for the impending museum. In discussing Butler’s intentions, Young lets Inness know that Butler greatly admired the piece.
Mr. Butler was the first person to see it there and he felt that he would like to make this work the first picture he bought for his new museum, now in the course of erection. He has made the acquisition and shares with me the belief that this one work will do much to elevate public taste and set a high standard by which works of art generally can be measured in his community.89
Inness Jr. later writes to Butler regarding the painting and his letter raises an interesting point regarding the signature. In the letter Inness states “this picture was not signed as at one time, my father had a great aversion to signing his pictures, claiming that a work of art should be valued on its merits and not by the artist’s signature. I saw the picture some years ago in the studio of
Robert C. Minor and signed it for my friend Mrs. Willcox.”90 In comparing the two signatures it is clear that they do not match. (Fig. 23-24) There is enough proof and the provenance is well documented that the authenticity of the painting has never been in question even after this unconventional practice.
The reemergence of the painting caused quite a stir as Inness was a well-known and well- respected American artist. An article in The New York Times was headlined “AN INNESS
88 George Inness Jr. to J. W. Young, January 30, 1918. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
89 J. W. Young to George Inness, Jr., January 25, 1918. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
90George Inness, Jr., to Joseph G. Butler, Jr., Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
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PAINTING SOLD. A Tragedy of the Sea at Highest Price Ever Paid for Artist’s Work.”91
Numerous directors, upon hearing of Butler’s purchase, vied for the opportunity to borrow the piece for their own galleries. Inness’ masterful use of tenebrism, expressed in the extreme dark color in the sky and sea with dramatic light, highlighting the frightful danger facing the figures that appear small and helpless on the violent waters, does not represent his usual technique.
Known for creating peaceful landscapes, this painting shows the antithesis of emotion Inness was known for capturing on canvas. Although he creates dramatic skies in a number of his landscapes, few of them do so with the feeling of impending doom found in A Tragedy of the
Sea.
Correspondence between Butler and the Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, the Minneapolis Art
Museum, currently named the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, and the Cleveland Museum of Art during the spring and summer of 1918, indicate that the painting was on loan during that time.92
It was returned to Youngstown in October and remained there until 1929 when it was traded to
The JJ Gillespie Company in Pittsburgh in exchange for Inness’ Misty Morning Montclair (1893) which is currently part of the permanent collection. A Tragedy at Sea holds the distinction of being the first painting Butler purchased as he began his new art collection.93
Young continued to assist Butler in his search for paintings for the new gallery. Specifically in a letter from February 1918 Young encouraged Butler to look at some important works by
Chase (William Merritt Chase) that he had for sale.94 It is unclear whether any transaction took
91 “AN INNESS PAINTING SOLD. A Tragedy of the Sea at Highest Price Ever Paid for Artist’s Work.” New York Times, February 16, 1918. http://query.nytimes.com/. (accessed May 27, 2015).
92 A Tragedy at Sea, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
93 Butler seemed very eager to acquire A Tragedy at Sea. It is unclear why the painting did not remain in the museum’s permanent collection. There is no documentation explaining this incident.
94 Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
60 place as a result of that interaction. The Butler Institute of Art purchased a painting by Chase in
1921 titled Did You Speak to Me? two years after the opening, and it is unlikely the painting had been in Young’s possession since 1918.95 (Fig.25) There were two different paintings by Chase at the opening of the Butler Museum. One was Portrait of My Daughter Alice, 1895 in The
Cleveland Museum of Art since 1920. The other is Devotion and neither seems to have been acquired through Young.
Later the same year, Butler would make a purchase that eventually became the paramount symbol synonymous with his museum’s reputation as an institution of high standards dedicated to American art. Snap the Whip (1872) by Winslow Homer, one of America’s foremost artists of the nineteenth century, has been one of the museum’s most coveted works of art. (Fig. 26) Butler first became interested in the work in Philadelphia in 1876 at the Centennial Exhibition however; the asking price of $1,000 was too steep. Forty-two years later he again had the opportunity to purchase the painting, which he did for $5,000.96 In Snap the Whip, Homer represents pure
Americana, from the green hilled landscape, to the red wooden schoolhouse, to the barefooted chain of boys playing the thrilling game Snap the Whip in the schoolyard.97 Homer’s carefully painted scene brings the viewer up close to the action amongst a field of American wildflowers without intruding on the boys’ fun. Young girls can be seen in the background, wearing their
95 Purchase dates retrieved from the BIAA’s website may not be accurate due in part to careless recordkeeping practices of a former employee. The dates listed in this thesis are the dates currently on the museum website butlerart.com. Current employees of the Butler are working toward correcting any inconsistencies but have not been able to trace all provenances of the permanent collection.
96 Snap the Whip, Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
97 Snap the Whip or Crack the Whip is played when 6 or more players hold hands and run rapidly around an open field. The leader of the line holds the next player with two hands and the last player also hold on with two hands. The idea is that the force of the movement created by running makes it difficult for the last player to hold on and the object is to “Snap the Whip” and send that player flying off of the line.
61 homespun dresses, removed from the raucous game. Homer places the figures in a wilderness that seems more new and fresh than dangerous. Homer represents the theme of carefree youth which can be interpreted on different levels; literally from the figural representation of the children at play or metaphorically representing the precarious nature of a youthful America striving to develop an independent nation.
Boston artist Robert Vonnoh’s painting In Flanders Field: Where Soldier’s Sleep and Poppies
Grow, 1890, was purchased by Butler in 1919. (Fig. 27) Vonnoh, an American Impressionist, studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, one of the most popular art schools amongst the increasing number of American students in France. A young woman, in relative detail, is seen gathering a bouquet in a vast field of poppies. Her face is turned toward the viewer but her gaze is focused on the flower she is a preparing to add to her bunch. Her face is shielded from the sun by a straw bonnet with a white flower and she wears a purple calico dress with a white apron.
She has a slight smile on her face which lends a sense of tranquility to the scene. Behind her are other figures similarly dressed, also gathering poppies. Beyond those figures is a horse and cart indicating a road and the driver has caught the attention of one of the figures in the field. The road intersects with a border of trees and leads toward a farm in the distance. The cool colors of the figure’s clothing are offset by the warmth of the yellow-green grass and the red-orange flowers. It is easy to imagine that Vonnoh’s intentions were to create a pastoral scene focusing on the play of light using Impressionist techniques. However, the title refers to something quite specific revealing a much deeper meaning to the painting.
In Flanders Field by John McCrae
In Flanders fields the poppies blow Between the crosses, row on row,
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That mark our place; and in the sky The larks, still bravely singing, fly Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie, In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
This Post-World War I poem emotionally deals with the sacrifice of the young men who fought for their beliefs and their country.98 The 1890 painting was purchased directly from the artist with the help of Butler’s friend and artist J. Massey Rhind but had yet to be titled. A letter from him to Butler indicates that it was Rhind who gave the piece its title based upon the popular poem with the approval of Vonnoh.99 Also a current part of the BIAA’s permanent collection, it shows that Butler was willing to embrace more current styles and was looking to amass a varied representation of American art. Highly Impressionistic in nature, Vonnoh’s work uses heavy impasto in capturing the light on a field of poppies where the young women gather bouquets. As
Homer’s painting with its red schoolhouse and barefoot children embodies Americana, Vonnoh’s work allows for the European influence in American art without relinquishing its national identity.
98 During 1915, John McCrae sent the poem to The Spectator magazine. It was not published and was returned to him. It was, however, published in Punch magazine on December 8, 1915.
99 J. Massey Rhind to Joseph G. Butler, Jr. January 29, 1919. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
63
Another painting purchased by Butler was Sylvia, 1908 by William Paxton. (Fig. 28) Paxton was a Massachusetts artist from the Boston school and a known portraitist. Purchased in 1917,
Sylvia is smiling slightly while comfortably sitting on a gilded framed blue silk embroidered chair. The most striking elements of Paxton’s painting aside from the magnetic gaze of the sitter are the varied textures and surfaces throughout the piece. The sheens of the satin ribbon, the pearl adornment on the sheer lace bodice, her peaches and cream complexion, and her soft auburn hair are all handled with a masterful technique reminiscent of the noted technique of
Baroque Flanders.100
These four pieces, along with his Native American paintings, represent the beginnings of a reconstructed collection of artwork upon which the Butler Institute of American Art was founded. These works were by no means a replacement for all that had been lost; however, it shows that Butler chose wisely and with intelligence. Inness’ seascape, Homer’s simplicity of the
American condition, Vonnoh’s tribute to post-war nationalism and Paxton’s portrait thematically cover a broad spectrum which subtly reflects the contemporary tastes of Butler’s time. The initial purpose for the building of the art gallery was to house his previous collection which included numerous works by European artists. Without being forced to begin again, the focus of the museum may have been very different.
The Building
Museums across the country began expanding their American collections, which elevated the status of American artists. However, they were still being displayed in the shadow of the
European masters. Galleries for American art were not yet in place. There is one museum that can boast an all-American collection before the Butler; the New Britain Museum of American
100 Hypothesized by this author.
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Art in Connecticut. Founded in 1903, it began with the donation of $20,000 given by John Butler
Talcott to purchase “modern oil paintings.”101 At that time, modern included colonial portraiture,
Hudson River School landscapes, American Impressionism, and works from the Ashcan School.
The museum opened in a downtown building in New Britain, CT, therefore, only the purpose preceded the BIAA. The Butler Institute of American Art still has the distinction of being the first art museum in the world intentionally built for the purpose of exclusively showing
American art.
News of the forthcoming Butler museum made the front page of the Youngstown Vindicator in June 1917, six months before the fire. The Vindicator discusses the location, appearance, and cost of the gallery while praising the benefactor. The appearance is described in detail demonstrating the extent of the progress that had been made to that point. Furthermore, the article talks about the Georgian marble chosen along with the Italian Renaissance style complete with a loggia. Three arches supported by two columns present the entranceway with two sculptures set in niches on each side of the building. What is being described as Italian
Renaissance style is formally known as neo-classical and was the preferred style for government buildings in cities across the U. S. during the early twentieth century.102 Some buildings that
Butler was specifically looking at as examples of what he liked were The Palazzo Farnese a
Caprarola which he had seen on a trip to Italy, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Detroit Museum of Art, and The Toledo Museum of Art. (Fig. 29) Butler requested pictures of their façades.103
101 New Britain Museum of American Art. 2010. http://www.nbmaa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=22&Itemid=46 (accessed May 14, 2015).
102 “New Museum to be Built in Youngstown,” Youngstown Vindicator, June 1917.
103 W. J. Sherwood, Art Institute of Chicago to Joseph G. Butler, Jr., July 31, 1916. Charles Moore, Detroit Museum of Art, to Joseph G. Butler, Jr., August 10, 1916. Archive: The Butler Institute of American Art .
65
The influence of the other structures on the appearance of the BIAA is evident. The Detroit
Museum of Art seems to be the most similar, with an arched portico and simple façade. (Fig. 30)
Architects McKim, Mead and White were chosen to design the BIAA because Butler was pleased with the work they had done on the McKinley Birthplace Memorial in Niles, Ohio, which Butler had built in 1915 to honor his childhood friend. The firm was well known for its neo-classical construction around the United States. They were based in New York City and designed the first Penn Station, which was inspired by the Baths of Caracalla. In choosing this firm, it is clear Butler was looking for his gallery to be something special. (Fig. 31) Some defining features of the museum’s design are found within the portico of the museum. It is made of blue colored terra-cotta with cream colored groin vaulted beams. At the points of intersection are two roundels, each with an image of a reproduction of a medal found in the National
Museum in Florence. In the roundel to the viewer’s left, while facing the museum, is the silhouette of Pope Julius II, the famous patron who commissioned Michelangelo and Raphael to create extensive work in Rome during the sixteenth century. The other roundel, to the visitor’s right, has the silhouette of Cosimo di Medici, the Florentine patriarch of the Medici family and famous patron of Brunelleschi, among many famous Renaissance artists. These dedications celebrate the longevity of art patronage and visually connect Butler to their legacy. (Fig. 32)
Flanking the portico, on either side in the two respective niches, are sculptures, one of
Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom, science, and the arts to the viewer’s right and, to the left, Apollo, the Greek god of music, poetry, and dance, among his many functions. These sculptures give the visitor an indication of what is being celebrated inside. These sculptures were made by the artist J. Massey Rhind of New York City. He was a friend of Butler’s based upon the amount of correspondence that passed between them in the years prior to the opening of the
66
BIAA. A letter dated June 1917 includes an offer from Rhind to Butler to create the sculptures for the niches.104 Butler hired him and the sculptures were purchased in 1919.105
A frieze over the entrance door contains a statement in Latin. It is not however the saying originally suggested by the architects. A letter from the firm in the fall of 1917 offers the advice that the inscription should be a Latin phrase concerning art. Cicero’s quote Honos Alit Artes was offered as appropriate in both meaning and length. It translates to “The honor shown the arts cherishes them.” Butler obviously had other ideas regarding the inscription. Handwritten across the bottom of the letter is the Latin phrase Pro Bono Publico which means “For the public good.”
106 It is Butler’s choice that greets each visitor. (Fig. 33) (Appendix 3)
The Opening
The inaugural exhibition of the Butler Institute of American Art was held on October 15,
1919. Seventy-five painting by American artists were on display. Butler was able to procure an impressive representation of America’s finest artists. (Appendix 4) He did not include his Native
American collection in the opening.107
A number of celebrated Americans attended the opening including Theda Bara, Douglas
Fairbanks, J.P. Morgan, Andrew Carnegie, Mary Pickford, and baseball player Irvin Key
“Kaiser” Wilhelm. One of the more notable attendees undoubtedly was President Woodrow
104 J. Massey Rhind to Joseph G. Butler, Jr., June 12, 1917. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
105 Ibid.
106 McKim, Mead and White to Joseph G. Butler, Jr., October 4, 1917. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
107 One artist Butler must have particularly admired was J. Francis Murphy. His work was part of Butler’s initial collection that was destroyed in the fire and here appears in the catalogue of this occasion. Ten of the paintings at the opening are now part of the permanent collection. In addition to the paintings purchased prior to the event these include By Drover’s Inn, G. Glenn Newell, Twilight, Ralph A. Blakelock, Autumn Evening, D. W. Tryon, Portrait of H. H. Stambaugh, Ivan G. Olinsky, Kwaunon, John La Farge, Portrait of Mrs. Gilbert, Irving R. Wiles and Young Chief’s Mission, Joseph H. Sharp.
67
Wilson. (Fig. 34) This distinguished list indicates the esteem that had been afforded to Butler’s project. Artist Robert Vonnoh was regrettably unable to attend the event. He sent Butler a letter the day before which expresses his support of the museum and how the public will receive it. He wrote “I feel sure it will be a great museum and I think the public will be interested and pleased with your discriminate selection; about my picture also will interest them both from the artistic and the sentimental point of view.”108 Vonnoh’s mention of the public indicates that this museum was really for the people of the community. The formal opening of the museum to the public was
October 19, 1919. (Fig. 35-36)
Following the opening of The Butler, most of the initial announcements made a point to mention that the museum was a gift to the people. In The Citizen, a Youngstown-based periodical, an article headlined “Beautiful Art Gallery Given to the People” stated “…the beautiful gallery presented to the people of Youngstown last evening by its creator J. G. Butler,
Jr. should be the means of making the individual life of the community sensitive to spiritual truth and awakening in it a desire to do to completeness as the artist does every work-a-day task.”
The mayor was quoted as saying that “the new building would add tone and refinement to the city and that it is my hope as well as of many that the gallery will be the means not only of stimulating the lives of all the people of the community but of encouraging other philanthropists.”109 As much as the museum’s intention was to celebrate art it also was meant to celebrate the people who would visit it as well as the experience it would give them.
Most local newspapers covered the opening of the museum but the most significant publicity came from The American Magazine of Art. Two-and-a-half pages were dedicated to the
108 Vonnoh to Butler, October 18, 1919. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
109 “Beautiful Art Gallery Given to the People,” The Citizen, October 1919.
68 announcement of the opening and it too focused on the benefit it would have on the community
“…it is purposed for the benefit of the people of that city and those who are fortunate enough to be passing that way.”110 The article then shares information regarding the outward appearance of the museum and goes on to highlight some of the paintings at the show. In every article written about the museum, whether it was discussing the impending construction of it or hailing its completion, the underlying theme was always that it was a gift to the people of Youngstown.
The Gift
Butler felt very strongly about what an art museum would mean to the people of Youngstown.
The Articles of Incorporation were officially submitted December 27, 1919. (Appendix 5) In an essay written during the heyday of the Mahoning Institute of Art, Butler strongly affirms that the museum in a small community such as Youngstown provides numerous benefits. It is his contention that nothing offers greater opportunity for an immigrant to assimilate with his new environment than the exposure to his new nation’s art. He writes,
Americanization is the battle cry and what better means can be used than to educate the children and coming generations in Art and all it implies. Seventy percent of our population in Youngstown is foreign birth. It is our purpose to do our share towards the education of the younger portion susceptible to Art influences, by reproducing the atmosphere in which many of them were born and raised in the Continental Countries from whence they and their parents came. The newly arrived foreigner can be helped by inviting him to see something which will please and interest him before he can read English or enjoy much of anything else in this country…In a small community the need of seeing good pictures is greater than in cities where there is actual instruction of art students.111
Butler saw the art museum as an equalizer in communicating ideas between citizens of all nationalities and also bridging economic classes. “We must show the average person that art is a
110 The American Magazine of Art. "A New Art Museum," November 1919, 61-63.
111 Butler, "The Small Museum: Its Worth in a Community."
69 subject in which he has always been interested if he only knew it.”112 It was true generosity of spirit that prompted the intention of building the museum. In his autobiography, Butler wrote of his intentions; that it be a credit to Youngstown, that it be a center for the stimulation of local talent, and that it have permanent educational value to the community. “It should also promote
American pride and loyalty for American ideals and help to encourage cultivation and development of artistic genius in the New World.”113
As Youngstown was growing in 1919, the addition of a museum that drew attention of this magnitude only added to the city’s prestige. Butler understood that choosing Youngstown as the location for his museum put the city in a cultural category on par with major cities like
Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Toledo, Detroit, Chicago, and Cleveland. He was trying to add an element of credibility in raising the standard by which Youngstown was judged. Some of the benefits to a community in having a museum are that it lends a sense of belonging to the local citizens who visit it, and can create a shared experience further uniting them as a society. In using the museum as a vehicle with which to promote American art, Butler was saying that it was time to look at it again with a new perspective. It was time to give the American artist the same respect and attention that their European counterparts had enjoyed for centuries. He built the Butler Institute of American Art for the art, for the artist, and for the people. Pro Bono Publico.
Butler’s Museum Today
As Joseph Green Butler, Jr. intended, The Butler Institute of American Art remains an institution dedicated to sharing American art with the general public. Through bequests, donations, and acquisitions the permanent collection now boasts over twenty-two thousand
112 Ibid.
113 Butler, Recollections of Men and Events, 101.
70 works of art, the earliest dated 1719. There have been surprisingly few changes in directorship.
The first director, Margaret Evans, began immediately with the opening of the museum. When
Butler died in 1927 his son Henry Audubon Butler assumed the Presidency of the Board. In 1934
Henry A. Butler died and his son Joseph G. Butler, III became the new director. Current director since 1981, Dr. Lou Zona worked with Butler’s grandson for six months prior to his death.
An interview with Zona revealed just how much the Butler has grown and remained the same in the last century. Although the city of Youngstown did not evolve into the major metropolitan area that Butler had dreamt of, his museum has not wavered in its commitment to serve the community. It has maintained free admission in support of Butler’s mission: Pro Bono Publico.
Although, through many financially difficult times, it would have shown good business sense to charge a nominal fee of the thousands of annual visitors, the museum Board and Zona believe the integrity of Butler’s intention outweighed any projected profit. Therefore, it is through grant writing, donations, memberships and patronage, gift shop revenue, a Christmas artisans show, and event rentals supplement the endowment fund set up by Butler that provides forty percent of the museum’s budget.
Maintaining a space where local artists could be showcased was also very important to Butler.
In continuing with this tradition, The BIAA holds an annual mid-year show which Zona feels best exemplifies Butler’s vision. It is an opportunity for artists to display their work in a juried exhibition which they may have not otherwise had. The show draws hundreds of American artists and is a true celebration of their talents.
According to Zona, the museum’s present collection has a significant reputation in today’s art world because of the superior examples of American art it possesses. Galleries and museums from around the world contact The Butler with requests for the loan of a work of art whenever
71 they have an exhibition on American art. Unfortunately, the museum itself is not as well known because it is not located in a large tourist area. However, the nearly one hundred twenty-five thousand annual visitors are always rewarded with the quality of the roughly twenty-two thousand artworks there.
Probably one of the most publicized works at the museum is Winslow Homer’s Snap the
Whip. Thousands of school children who visit the museum annually leave after field trips carrying a hologram postcard of the famous painting. However, Zona says that it is Edward
Hopper’s works that are the most requested by European museums because he represents
America to the Europeans. The BIAA has loaned pieces to The Tate Gallery, The Centre
Pompidou, and The Vatican Museum. On one occasion, The Butler did decline to loan works to
The Museo del Prado in Madrid because of the amount of red tape required to fulfill the request.
A highlight in Zona’s tenure as director was when thirty major works were loaned to Tokyo at the turn of the twenty-first century. The Japanese tour was scheduled for April through
November, 1992. The following is the itinerary for the show: Itsetan Museum Tokyo 4/9/1992 -
5/5/1992, Yamaguchi Fine Art Museum Yamaguchi 5/12/1992 - 6/21/1992, Fukushima Fine Art
Museum, Fukushima 6/27/1992 - 7/26/1992, Takamatsu City Museum of Art,
Takamatsu 7/31/1992 - 9/6/1992. While in Japan, as Zona was riding to the exhibition, he passed a billboard advertising The Butler Collection with an image of Snap the Whip. For him it was validation of the importance the Butler collection held on an international level.
During Zona’s directorship, there have been a number of benchmarks that have been realized contributing to the museum’s character. In 1987, the addition of the West Wing was completed.
This doubled the size of the Institute to seventy-two thousand square feet. In 1989, The BIAA achieved professional accreditation from the American Association of Museums. This required
72 that temperature control be added to all of the galleries, surface fireproofing, and rewiring of the museum. A permanent collection catalogue, now in its second edition, has been completed, and every scholar approached in regards to contributing an article willingly agreed.
The year 1996 brought the expansion of a branch museum in Howland, Ohio that is referred to as The Trumbull Branch. It was one of two branches opened by The Butler. The other, which was located in Salem, Ohio, closed due to problems with the building’s infrastructure. The
Trumbull Branch is listed on the museum’s website as a space where international works by artists that greatly influenced American art is showcased. There are also permanent sculptures on site by artists Pierre Soulages, Don Gummer, Clement Meadmore, and Sophia Vari. These efforts of bringing Butler’s vision to neighboring communities, fulfills his mission of outreach to the masses through art.
In 2000, The Beecher Center, located in the south wing of the museum, opened to showcase art of the digital age. Many types of art made with modern technology are displayed and include both permanent and temporary exhibits. A digital media theater for performance art is also equipped for high-definition film presentations. Bill Viola’s The Raft, 2004, is an example of work that has been exhibited in this space. In foreseeing the need for such a space, The Butler is proving that it is not satisfied in being a site for historical examples of American art but that it will continue to provide for the ever changing needs of the art scene.
Some major artists added to The Butler under Zona are Romare Beardon, Jacob Lawrence,
Georgia O’Keefe, Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, and Norman Rockwell. When recounting the unveiling of Rockwell’s painting, Lincoln the Railsplitter (1965), Zona recalls the event as one of the more significant at the museum. (Fig. 37) Abraham Lincoln’s great-great-great-great- great-great nephew Ralph Lincoln dressed as his uncle, whose great stature he shared, and
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Youngstown’s first African-American mayor, Jay Williams, unveiled the painting together. Peter
Rockwell, son of Norman and a sculptor living in Rome, gave a talk about his father and his work.
As outstanding as The Butler collection is, Zona would like to see a larger representation of
Post-World War II art. Yet, the museum can boast works by Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana,
Ellsworth Kelly, Andy Warhol, Chuck Close, Helen Frankenthaler, and Jackson Pollock. When asked which artist he would most like to see added to the collection, Zona replied without hesitation “Willem de Kooning.” Although the museum owns three lithographs by the famed abstract expressionist, it is a painting that the director hopes for.114
As The Butler Institute of American Art approaches its centennial anniversary, it stands as a monument to the vision Joseph G. Butler Jr. had regarding the contribution an art museum would make to a community. In a study on how museums impact their communities in the twenty-first century, it is notable that the study’s projected goals are very similar in nature to Butler’s. They are: to develop pride in local traditions and customs, to play an important role in tourism, to have exhibitions relevant to the local area, to help people feel a sense of belonging and involvement, to involve people in local projects, to promote contact and cooperation across different cultures, to develop community and social networks, and to develop contact with different age groups.115
The Director, staff, and Board of Trustees of The Butler Institute of American Art have continued to fulfill Butler’s aim of educating the community through accessibility to a collection that represents the beginnings of the early American art movements, beginning with the colonial
114 Dr. Louis Zona, interview by Ann Michelle McMaster. Interview with the Director of The Butler Institute of American Art (August 12, 2014).
115 Lynda Kelly, Measuring the impact of Museums on their Communities: The Role of the 21st century Museum. Conference paper. Intercom conference, Taipei, 2006.
74 period that was so heavily influenced by the then-prevalent European art scene, through the rapidly changing twentieth century when New York City was the center of the art world, and into the twenty-first century’s digital age. American artists are recognized for their contributions to the art world in the same manner as their European counterparts. The public at large is able to enjoy the artworks free of charge. New and upcoming artists can exhibit their works annually.
Through education in the visual arts, people can learn about themselves as well as develop a sense of nationalism. It is interesting to note that amidst a community that has struggled economically and has lost most of its population, Butler’s museum has not only sustained itself but grown consistently. American art museums have blossomed since 1919 and all previously mentioned museums now have galleries designated to the work of American artists. American art has evolved from a footnote in the annals of art history to a formidable genre that has earned the respect of art critics worldwide. The Butler Institute of American Art is the first building in the world dedicated to this ideal.
Conclusion
Piecing together the information gathered from news articles, scrapbooks, personal and business correspondences, committee meeting minutes, and journals, has taken time and patience but has proved to be fruitful. Butler’s personal and business letters tell of a man diligently working toward developing an art community in Youngstown. He formed relationships with directors of major art museums across the country in order to learn how they were run. He searched for fine art to purchase with the intention of sharing it with his fellow citizens and befriended numerous artists in the process. Newspaper and journal articles explain how he formed three organizations, led by wealthy and powerful residents, in the hopes of making his goal of an art museum a reality. Not even the devastating loss of his art collection deterred his
75 ambition. He was not to be bested. He rebuilt his collection with a specific focus on American art. Butler proved he was a true philanthropist, who loved his country and honored his sense of service to it. Because of the assembling of this information, there is now a better understanding of Butler’s museum.
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Fig. 1. Elbridge Ayer Burbank, Ah-all-tah-kone-ine; Umatilla (Nes Pilem, WA) half-male, date unknown. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 2. Elbridge Ayer Burbank, Ah-ge-pah; Navajo (Ganado, AZ) half-female, date unknown. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 3. Joseph Green Butler, Jr. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 4. Butler entrance foyer. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 5. Butler home, third floor gallery. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 6. Butler home, third floor gallery with skylights. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 7. Butler home, Native American Gallery. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 8. Adolphe Bouguereau, L'Enfant Jésus et Saint Jean Baptiste, 1878, “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901.
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Fig. 9. Adolphe Bouguereau, La Vierge, l'Enfant Jésus et Saint Jean Baptiste,1882. http://www.bouguereau.org/La-Vierge-LEnfant-Jesus-Et-Saint-Jean-Baptiste2.html. (accessed March 23, 2013)
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Fig. 10. Charles Merlette, Combat in a Church, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901.
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Fig. 11. A. Bryan Wall, A Chat by the Wayside, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901.
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Fig. 12. Edmund H. Osthaus, Hunting Dogs, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901.
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Fig. 13. Thomas Sully, Mrs. Jonathan Ingersoll, date unknown. “Gems from Private Galleries,” The Fine Arts Journal, July 1901.
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Fig. 14. Caesare Detti, Jan de Boulognes, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
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Fig. 15. Wilfred Constant Beauquesne, The Bugler is Spending His Last Breath to Sound a Charge, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
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Fig. 16. Ridgeway Knight, Girl Drinking from a Jug in the Harvest Field, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
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Fig. 17. Robert Henri, The Little Dancer, 1916-18. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 18. Ernest Lawson, Misty Day in March, 1917. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig.19. Robert Henri, Bridget, date unknown. Youngstown Vindicator, June 13, 1909.
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Fig. 20. Arthur B. Davies, Arethusa, 1901. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 21. Telegram informing Butler of fire that destroyed his home, December 11, 1917. Joseph G. Butler, Jr.’s scrapbook. Mahoning Valley Historical Society, Youngstown, Ohio.
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Fig. 22. George Inness, Tragedy of the Sea, ca. 1864. Birmingham Museum of Art. http://www.artsbma.org/pieces/tragedy-at-sea/ (accessed June 28, 2013)
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Fig. 23. Adjusted image for better viewing of signature on Tragedy of the Sea.
Fig.24. Adjusted image of signature from painting by George Inness, New Jersey Landscape, 1882.
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Fig. 25. William Merritt Chase, Did You Speak to Me?, 1897. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 26. Winslow Homer, Snap the Whip, 1872. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 27. Robert Vonnoh, In Flanders Field-Where Soldiers Sleep and Poppies Grow, 1890. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 28. William McGregor Paxton, Sylvia, 1908. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 29. Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, Baldassare Peruzzi, Palazzo Farnese a Caprarola, Caprarola, 1559-1573. http://www.poderesantapia.com/gardens/farnese.htm (accessed August 10, 2103)
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Fig. 30. Dawson and Anderson of Toledo, Ohio. Detroit Museum of Art, 1885. http://www.historicdetroit.org/galleries/detroit-museum-of-art-old-photos/ (accessed March 13, 2015)
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Fig. 31. McKim, Mead and White, the Butler Institute of American Art, 1919. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 32. Portico of the Butler Institute of American Art. http://coolcleveland.com/blog/2013/09/art-the-butler-institute-of-american-art/ (accessed August 20, 2014)
Fig. 33. Image of tympanum over the entrance into the Butler Institute of American Art. Provided by author.
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Fig. 34. Copy of signatures in the guest book from the opening of the Butler Institute of American Art October 15, 1919. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 35. Interior of the Butler Institute of American Art, 1919. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 36. Interior of the Butler Institute of American Art, 1919. Archive: Butler Institute of American Art.
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Fig. 37. Norman Rockwell, Lincoln the Railsplitter, 1965. Image provided by the Butler Institute of American Art.
APPENDICES
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Appendix 1
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114
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Appendix 2
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119
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Appendix 3
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Appendix 4
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Appendix 5
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