Virginia Commonwealth University VCU Scholars Compass Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 2010 Lilian Westcott Hale and Nancy Hale: From Victorian to Modern in Art and Text Norah Hardin Lind Virginia Commonwealth University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd © The Author Downloaded from https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/81 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at VCU Scholars Compass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of VCU Scholars Compass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. © Norah Hardin Lind 2010 All Rights Reserved Lilian Westcott Hale and Nancy Hale: From Victorian to Modern in Art and Text A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Media, Art, and Text at Virginia Commonwealth University. by Norah Hardin Lind B.A in English, University of Virginia, 1978 M.Ed. in English, University of Virginia, 1981 Director: Dr. Bryant Mangum Professor, English Department Virginia Commonwealth University Richmond, Virginia May, 2010 ii Acknowledgment The completion of this dissertation expands Hale family research to include Nancy Hale‘s generation, and it is made possible through her own efforts to preserve information about her family of influential and absorbing personalities. I would like to thank the libraries which Hale selected to catalogue and preserve the extensive personal and professional writings of her long career. The archive librarians provided expert assistance in directing me to the resources I required in both The University of Virginia Special Collections and the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College. I am particularly grateful to Maida Goodwin at Smith for sharing her knowledge of the extensive contents of the Hale family papers as well as her delightful insights into the remarkable family. Many people provided encouragement and support throughout the research and writing of this dissertation. Dr. Bryant Mangum was unstinting with his time and expertise in his role as my dissertation director. The interdisciplinary nature of this work allowed me to reap the benefits of a committee from varied fields of accomplishment. Dr. Eric Garberson‘s art historical advice was critical in the examination of the work of Lilian Westcott Hale. Thanks also go to Dr. David Latané, Dr. Gretchen Soderlund, and Dr. Judy VanSlyke Turk. This dissertation is the first to emerge from the new Ph.D. program in Media, Art, and Text, and the program‘s director, Dr. Marcel Cornis-Pope, provided wise counsel and a spirit of optimism for which I am especially grateful. I am appreciative of the grants provided by Virginia Commonwealth University during my coursework and the Dissertation Writing Grant which supported my later work. Smith iii College provided a travel grant for my early research and a Caroline D. Bain Scholar-in- Residence Fellowship which will allow the continuation of my work on the Hale family‘s artists. Many friends and members of the Hale family shared their memories: Anne Freeman, Edward Kessler, Martin and Ruthe Battestin, Maida Goodwin, Shelah Scott, William Wertenbaker, Janelle Morton, Mary Welby von Thelen, and John Beebe. My sisters provided valuable assistance in their own fields of expertise: Janelle Hardin Morton as an editor, and Mary Welby von Thelen as the technological system support which such a large project demanded. The emotional encouragement of all of these people went beyond the usual scope required by such an effort. The illnesses and deaths of my mother and my son during this program required particularly strong shoulders for support. My husband Tom Lind was unwavering and uncomplaining. He and my daughter Mary Clark Lind assumed many of my customary duties, and they tolerated the tremendous demands on my time with love and good humor. This dissertation is dedicated to my family: my husband Tom Lind, my daughter Mary Clark Lind, and my sisters Janelle and Mary Welby. They gave love and comfort through the events which sadly provide the second part of my dedication: in loving memory of my father Mark Hardin, my mother Kitty Hardin, and my son Carter Lind. I know they would be proud of this accomplishment as would my grandmother, Nancy Hale. iv Table of Contents List of Abbreviations……………………………………………………………………...Error! Bookmark not defined. List of Illustrations……………………………………………………………………….vi Abstract……………………………………………………………………….………….xii Part 1: The Artistic Contribution of Two Women………………………………………..1 Lilian Westcott Hale: A Victorian Background ......................................................... 19 Nancy Hale: From Traditional Beginnings ................................................................ 46 Part 2: Lilian Westcott Hale: The Victorian View……………………………………..56 Still Lifes and Landscapes ......................................................................................... 62 Idealized Images of Women ....................................................................................... 75 Portraits of Boys, Portraits of Girls ............................................................................ 98 Part 3: Nancy Hale‘s Writing and the Transition to Modernism………………………117 The New York Moderns .......................................................................................... 131 The New Woman ..................................................................................................... 135 Part 4: CONCLUSION: Recalling the Transition from Victorian to Modern…………203 v List of Abbreviations CW………….……………Charles Wertenbaker HFP……………………….Hale Family Papers LWH……………………...Lilian Westcott Hale NH………………………..Nancy Hale NHP………………………Nancy Hale Papers PLH……………………….Philip Leslie Hale SSC……………………….Sophia Smith Collection TSH……………………….Taylor Scott Hardin WM……………………….William Maxwell Documents from the Smith College Library will be indicated by SSC, followed by the abbreviation for the appropriate collection, the box number, a decimal point, and the folder number. vi List of Illustrations Figure Number 1. Letter from Philip Leslie Hale to Nancy Hale. SSC, NHP, 92.1. 2. Boston Paper. 23 Sept. 1928. SSC, NHP, 3.11. 3. Cover, The Life in the Studio, by Nancy Hale. 4. Lilian Westcott Hale, Boat model in front of window, charcoal, William Wertenbaker (Photo: author). 5. Lilian Westcott Hale, journal page. SSC, HFP, 15.1. 6. Lilian Westcott Hale, Snow on the Lawn, c. 1930, charcoal, private collection (Photo: Memorial Exhibition). 7. Lilian Westcott Hale, Old Dedham House, charcoal, location unknown (Photo: SSC, HFP, 97.5). 8. Lilian Westcott Hale, Snow with Berries, c. 1925, charcoal, private collection (Photo: Memorial Exhibition). 9. Lilian Westcott Hale, The Old Ring Box, 1907, charcoal and black chalk on paper, 22 ½‖ x 14 1/8‖, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Photo: Fairbrother, The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, 175). 10. Lilian Westcott Hale, The Dinosaurs, charcoal, private collection (Photo: author). 11. Lilian Westcott Hale, White Teapot, c. 1934, charcoal on paper, private collection (Photo: Hirshler, “Drawn with Butterfly’s Wings,” 18). 12. Lilian Westcott Hale, On Christmas Day in the Morning, 1924, charcoal and colored pencil on paper, Richard York Gallery (Photo: Hirshler, “Drawn with Butterfly’s Wings,” 17). 13. Lilian Westcott Hale, Untitled Interior, c. 1930, charcoal on paper, 28‖ x 21‖, private collection (Photo: Fairbrother, The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, 177). 14. Lilian Westcott Hale, An Old Cherry Tree, 1930, oil on canvas, 30‖ x 25‖, National Academy of Design, New York (Photo: Fairbrother, The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, 132). 15. Lilian Westcott Hale, Garden in Dedham, SSC, HFP, 97.6 vii 16. Philip Leslie Hale, The Water’s Edge, oil, 38‖ x 42‖, Society of American Artists (Photo: Paintings and Drawings, figure 49). 17. Philip Leslie Hale, Girls in Sunlight, c. 1897, oil on canvas, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Photo: Gammell, Boston Painters, 1900-1930,104). 18. Lilian Westcott Hale, Bleeding Heart, 1911, drawing (Photo: SSC, HFP, 97.5). 19. Lilian Westcott Hale, House in the Snow, drawing (Photo: SSC, HFP, 97.5). 20. Lilian Westcott Hale, Lavender and Old Ivory, 1914, oil on canvas, private collection (Photo: Hirshler, ―Drawn with Butterfly’s Wings,” 12). 21. Ellen Day Hale, Self Portrait, 1885, oil on canvas, 28 ½‖ x 38 ¾‖, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Photo: Fairbrother, The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, 95). 22. Ellen Day Hale, Morning News, 1905, oil on canvas (Photo: Hirshler, A Studio of Her Own: Women Artists in Boston 1870-1940, Plate 42). 23. William M. Paxton, Girl Arranging Flowers, 1921, oil on canvas, Brooklyn Museum (Photo: www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/artists/2930/William_McGregor_ Paxton). 24. William M. Paxton, Tea Leaves, 1909, oil on canvas. 36 1/8‖ x 28 ¾‖, Metropolitan Museum of Art (Photo: Fairbrother, The Bostonians: Painters of an Elegant Age, 1870-1930, 154). 25. Lilian Westcott Hale, Lady at Spinet, SSC 97.6 26. William M. Paxton, The Breakfast, Private Collection (Photo: http://www.metmuseum.org/special/americanstories/objectImages/TT.4.38.E L.jpg). 27. Lilian Westcott Hale, L’edition de Luxe, oil, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Photo: Gammell, Boston Painters, 1900-1930, 105). 28. Lilian Westcott Hale, Daffydowndilly, 1907, charcoal and black chalk on paper, 22 ½‖ x 14 ½‖, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Photo: