Blog Memories: The "Women's Work" Exhibit at Lyndhurst
Here's a blog I originally posted in June of 2022 on an interesting exhibit at the Lyndhurst Estate not farm from my Bedford, New York farm. If you're in the area, check out their current display focusing on the history of Lyndhurst - open until October 15th, 2023.
A striking exhibition marking the evolution of women artists over the course of 300-years is now on display at the Gothic Revival Lyndhurst Estate in Tarrytown, New York.
Presented inside both the Lyndhurst mansion and in its exhibition gallery, this extraordinary "Women's Work" show features more than 125 works including approximately 50 contemporary pieces mainly created after 1970 by mostly American women artists from diverse backgrounds, placed in conversation next to historic antecedents from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Here are photos of a selection of items included in the exhibit, which is on view now through Monday, September 26th.
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- The “Women’s Work” exhibit was curated by Lyndhurst’s Executive Director Howard Zar, Nancy Carlisle of Historic New England, and Rebecca R. Hart, an independent contemporary art curator. The show displays historic examples of domestic handcrafted items alongside objects made by contemporary women artists who incorporated the same artistic traditions in their practices.
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- Many of the pieces are presented in this exhibition gallery on the Lyndhurst grounds. The groupings are intended to show the wide breadth of techniques used to create the pieces over time.
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- Here from left to right: “Tile Palette” by an unknown maker used by Jane Armstrong Tucker and Celia Thaxter/Haviland & Co., “Teacup and Saucer,” Jane Armstrong Tucker/Haviland & Co., “Plate,” Judy Chicago, “Virginia Wolf Test Plate #1 for The Dinner Party,” Emily Cole, “Monarda Cabinet Plate,” “Untitled (Strawberries),” and Emily Cole’s “Cream Pitcher.”
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- The “Knit Wool Rug” in the foreground was made by Elvira Curtis Hulett when she was 88-years old living with Shakers in Massachusetts. It shows her attention to detail as well as the utilitarian functionality so often shown in Shaker pieces. Above it on the wall is a more contemporary work by Miriam Schapiro called “Golden Pinwheel” which was made using braided and knitted wool.
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- Hand stitching was the most time consuming of the skills learned by women in the 18th and 19th centuries. Aside from housework, sewing the family’s clothes and linens took up most of a woman’s daily tasks.
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- On the left is a quilt by renowned African American quilter, Mozell Stephens Benson in 1991. The center piece is Faith Ringgold’s “Feminist Series: Of My Two Handicaps #10.” Faith is known for popularizing the story quilt, a quilt with pictures and textures used primarily to tell a story. On the right is “Bars Quilt” made by Amish artist Elizabeth Yoder between 1870 and 1880.
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- This is a contemporary “Checkered Quilted Workwear Jacket” made of cotton and hand-tied yarn by Emily Bode – clothing made with modern fabrics and inspired by traditional practices.
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- This is called “Pantaloncini: Work No. 069” by Angela Ellsworth. These bloomers replicate those worn by 19th century women under their dresses. These garments became a symbol for women’s rights because they represented a lack of movement and the need for freedom. This piece is made using more than 50-thousand brightly colored dress pins and faux pearl corsage pins.
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- This is a scallop-shell-patterned needlepoint seat cushion – one of 12 made by First Lady Martha Washington around 1801, after the death of her husband, President George Washington.
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- In this installation, a wax figure by Sarah Gardner Gee made in the 1700s from wax, silk, linen, glass, shells, and wood, next to “Curupira,” by Shary Boyle in 2014. It shows a young women dressed in fancy clothing with fruit suggesting abundance and fertility displayed with a figure showing vulnerability and fear.
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- This “Dressing Gown” by an unknown maker was made between 1862 and 1864 out of wool, silk, taffeta, and cotton.
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- Many of the exhibit’s pieces are also displayed in various rooms of the mansion. They are loosely positioned in areas where they may have most naturally been used.
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- Here is a set of topsy turvy dolls in the child’s bed of the master bed chamber. The dolls are skirted figures that display a different face when turned upside-down. One made by an unknown woman in the 1860s on the left and two created by the artist Kiki Smith in 2002 – “Little Red Riding Hood” and “Owl and Pussycat.”
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- Contemporary artist Liza Lou created this piece in 2006. Look closely – it is made entirely with beads and aptly named the “Loo.”
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- Liza also made the popcorn box and popcorn in the back of this case, again all with beads. The beadwork of Northeastern Indigenous tribes has been known as an art of survival. The other pieces were likely done in the mid 19th century also using Indigenous beading techniques.
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- On this bed, another quilt created by one of the woman servants. Quilting was influenced by a need to provide proper cold weather bed coverings, but over time, also became a very artistic and expressive art form.
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- The tableau in the Lyndhurst Library features silhouette pieces by Idelle Weber, Kara Walker, and Jaune Quick-to-See Smith. Silhouettes were very popular in the 19th century as a more affordable art form compared to painted portraits. These were often done as parlor activities in the home.
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- Kathleen Ryan, “Bad Lemon” or “Sour Blush,” made this in 2020 out of aventurine, smokey quartz, rhodonite, calcite, quartz, labradorite, green line jasper, kambaba jasper, pink opal, citrine, amethyst, rose quartz, agate, serpentine, pink lepidolite, malachite, mother of pearl, freshwater pearl, bone, glass, acrylic, and steel pins on coated polystyrene. She was known to carve larger than life fruits into Styrofoam and then cover them with semi-precious stones and glass beads. The rotted sections of the fruit show the national economic decline during that time.
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- An unknown woman artist created this “Beaded Fruit” piece in the mid-20th century using synthetic beads and straight pins. The beads likely came from a kit sold to female home hobbyists during the Depression.
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- This is called “Murmur.” Made of wax, silk, and wire in 2009 by artist Valerie Hammond. It combines flora, fauna, and the human body in various gestures.
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- After the Civil War, home decorating became more common. Victorians were great fans of nature and horticulture. Below is “Floral Wreath” by an unknown artist made with wool and silk in a gilt wood frame. On top is Portia Munson’s 2012 “Morning Glory Mandala” using pigmented ink on Hahnemuhle paper.
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- The “Women’s Work” exhibit continues through the summer – catch it if you can. And please visit Lyndhurst – the historic estate will inform, intrigue, and inspire you.
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