ECOVORE Gets Lost in a Hall of Wonders
George Catlin, Buffalo Bull, Grazing on the Prairie, 1832-1833, oil on canvas. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Gift of Mrs. Joseph Harrison Jr.
Enterprising pioneers rode roughshod across America, and with matching vigor, an epic new Smithsonian American Art Museum exhibition rampages through decades and conjoined themes.
Claire Perry, the independent curator who orchestrated the display of 161 works, notes that during America’s early years, the forces of disunity outweighed those of unity. As it is today. But chief among unifying forces was the passion for exploration and invention, and less honorably, the exploitation of resources, annihilation of animals, displacement of native peoples, and enslavement of persons in the quest to cultivate agricultural and industrial economies.
The Great American Hall of Wonders: Art, Science, and Invention in the Nineteenth Century demands a visit if you’re in Washington, D.C., or a virtual viewing online. Its insights can inform action as struggles intensify over the world’s remaining resources. The show’s title harks to super-sized cabinet of curiosities (“wunderkammer”) that artist Charles Willson Peale turned into a museum. Peale’s 1822 self-portrait, “The Artist in His Museum,” ushers visitors into the exhibition.
Charles Willson Peale, Exhumation of the Mastodon, 1806-1808, oil on canvas. Maryland Historical Society, Baltimore City Life Collections
Several gripping representations of buffalo show how humans have been fascinated by this large herbivore, even making the buffalo an American symbol, while allowing countrymen to practically wipe out the species. The irony continues today, with many people now regarding zoos – and museums – as final habitats for wild animals.
Eadweard Muybridge, Buffalo; Galloping, 1887, collotype. Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University, Stanford Family Collections
In his oil painting “The Last of the Buffalo,” Albert Bierstadt depicted a lone Indian astride a horse, hunting a buffalo running terrified among scattered bones of previous kills. By 1880 the herds once roaming America were gone, and native peoples displaced from ancestral lands.
Artworks depicting invention on the changing American landscape range from initial efforts to harness Niagara Falls for hydroelectric power to Margaret E. Knight’s 1879 patent model for a machine that makes paper bags.
Among observations shared by the curator: painter Thomas Cole warned of “desecrating natural beauty with what is called improvement” as trees were felled for agricultural fields and railroads. In an 1865 painting, Cropsey presented an idealized view of a viaduct bridge blended into nature; he distanced a locomotive and its attendant noise and belching smoke.
Jasper Francis Cropsey, Starrucca Viaduct, Pennsylvania, 1865, oil on canvas. Lent by the Toledo Museum of Art. Purchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott
The prevailing sentiment: progress would bring more than it would take away. Great plains would yield crops, trains would build commerce, great sequoias of the West would make functional containers.
Carleton Watkins, Foot of Grizzly Giant, Mariposa Grove, 32 feet diameter, 1860s, albumen print. Courtesy of the Bancroft Library, George Davidson Collection, University of California, Berkeley
Interestingly, the nation’s first patent office was built on the site of the museum (which underwent a splendid renovation a few years ago). By the 1850s, more than 100,000 visitors a year marveled at the building’s displays of patented inventions. The concise collection now on display captures that allure, as does its superb companion catalog. Available online, “The Great American Hall of Wonders: Art, Science, and Invention in the Nineteenth Century” ushers armchair travelers into a cabinet of curiosities as well as this age of ardent optimism. For a sneak peak, check out the slideshow and podcasts on the museum’s website.
ECOVORE Eats: Inspired places to dine in the neighborhood include:
Founding Farmers: Green-Certified restaurant featuring fresh farm-to-table fare and inventive, well-prepared mock meat dishes.
Java Green: Nearly all-vegan, with Korean-inspired noodle and rice dishes, mock meats, vegan desserts, and morning to early evening day take-out.
Elizabeth’s Gone Raw: New upmarket bistro serving sumptuous all-raw entrees, teasers and desserts as well as organic vegan wines. Reservations required.
Rasika: Indulgent Indian cuisine with a fine veg tasting menu.
ECOVORE Sleeps: Among inspired and budget-friendly accommodations, the worldwide CouchSurfing has many Washingtonian participants. A short walk from the museum is Capital View Hostel and the luxe dorm DC Lofty. No need to settle for stodgy or dodgy lodging here.
Timothy O’Sullivan, Tufa Domes, Pyramid Lake, Nevada (King Survey), 1867, albumen print. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Museum purchase from the Charles Isaacs Collection made possible in part by the Luisita L. and Franz H. Denghausen Endowment.
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