It is generally known that womenwere educated in the arts, but therole of professional artists

throughout history has been primarilyrestricted to men. Women were notpermitted into art schools until theearly 20th century, so it is no surprisethat the women creating art had little,if any, recognition. Many scholars havebeen the impetus for this exhibition ofwomen printmakers—all dedicated tothe inspiration and techniques of theseartistic pioneers.

The exhibit, “Pushing the Line:American Women Printmakers,” atthe Mitchell Gallery, from August 24to October 14, showcases more than50 works by women printmakers.Printmaking itself has a mixed historyof technical improvements and experi-mentation, appreciation andcontroversy, as well as personal andcommercial successes and failures.Although American graphic art haslong had its place in art history(George Washington’s library includeda volume of directions for etching in1794), there are few records of theseearly attempts, none of which includewomen.

Women, as printmakers, began toparticipate as the spouse, partner, or

sibling in joint ventures or inassociation of well-known artists, suchas Mary Nimmo Moran, wife ofThomas Moran; Marguerite Zorach,wife of William Zorach; and HelenFarr Sloan, wife of John Sloan.Although themes may overlap, most

subjects by women in the mid-1800sare domestic scenes, landscapes, orfamilial portraits such as the drypointby Mary Cassatt, Denise Holding HerChild, or the etching, L’Agassiz,portrait by Anna Lea Merritt. Much

A B O U T T H EG A L L E R Y

The Mitchell Gallery in Mellon Hall, on thecampus of St. John’s College in Annapolis,Maryland, was established as a center oflearning for all who wish to deepen their understanding of the visual arts. TheMitchell Gallery serves the greaterAnnapolis area with the only fullysecured, climate-controlled fine arts facility in Anne Arundel County.

H o u r sDuring scheduled exhibitions, the gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, 12-5 p.m. and Friday, 7-8 p.m. There is no admission charge.

Docent-led tours are offered onThursdays from 12-3 p.m. Group toursare available. For information call 410-626-2556.

S t a f fDirector: Hydee Schaller

Editor: Gregory Shook

Chairman, Faculty Advisory Committee:Thomas May

Chairman, Mitchell Gallery Board of Advisors: Katharine C. Pingle

Art Educator: Lucinda Dukes Edinberg

Exhibit Preparator: Sigrid Trumpy

Art Director: Jennifer Behrens

website: www.stjohnscollege.edu

Funding and support for this exhibition is provided in

part by Anne Arundel County, the Arts Council of

Anne Arundel County, the City of Annapolis,

The Helena Foundation, the Maryland State Arts

Council, the Estate of Elizabeth Myers Mitchell,

Mitchell Gallery Board of Advisors, Members of the

Mitchell Gallery, the Mitchell Gallery Endowment,

Mitchell Gallery Next Generation Committee,

the John and Hilda Moore Fund, the National

Endowment for the Arts, the Lillian Vanous Nutt

Mitchell Gallery Endowment, and the Clare Eddy and

Eugene V. Thaw Fine Arts Fund.

E X H I B I T SPUSHING THE LINE: AMERICAN

WOMEN PRINTMAKERS

August 24 to October 14

CIVIL WAR ERA DRAWINGS

FROM THE BECKER COLLECTION

October 27 to December 12

N E W S F R O M T H E M I T C H E L L

G A L L E R Y A T S T . J O H N ’ S

C O L L E G E

Continued on page 2

ARTLINEVol. 22, No. 1 Fall 2012

CIVIL WAR ERA DRAWINGS FROM THE BECKER COLLECTIONOctober 27 to December 12

“The real war won’t getinto the books,”prophesized Walt

Whitman, though the drawingsmade by Special Artists duringand after the Civil War unravelaspects of the “real war”through their documentation ofrelatively unknown incidents,inglorious moments, andsuffering. These images help usinterpret complex histories andunresolved tensions of the post-Civil War era, particularly thosethat defined the rights of thecitizens and the responsibilities of thefederal government.

Between 1861 and 1865, Frank Leslie’sIllustrated Newspaper, Harper’s

Weekly, and the New York IllustratedNews sent artist-correspondents totravel with the Union armies to makedrawings of what they saw. Embedded

Essay excerpts from First Hand: Civil War Era Drawings from the Becker Collectionedited by Judith Bookbinder and Sheila Gallagher

Continued on page 3

FEATURED EXHIBITIONSWorden Day, Mandala VII, 1963. Woodcut on laid paper. Collection purchase 1964.284. Courtesy of the Syracuse University Art Collection.

PUSHING THE LINE: AMERICAN WOMEN PRINTMAKERSAugust 24 to October 14

by Lucinda Edinberg

Andrew McCallum, Siege of Petersburg: A Night Attack, March 31, 1865. Graphite on

wove paper. Courtesy of the Becker Collection, Boston College.

PUSHING THE LINE: AMERICAN WOMEN PRINTMAKERSAugust 24 to October 14

Continued from front page

EXHIB IT

can be said about the relationships ofthese artists with their partners,husbands and teachers with respect tothe enhancement or detriment oftheir careers. The images of theseartists reflect new social thought,personal sorrows, experimentaltechniques, and intellectual pursuitsunseen in the 19th century.

Several exhibitions and clubs wereorganized to promote the graphicarts, of which many women partic-ipated, but few were recognized. MaryNimmo Moran received high praisefor her prints, as was described byMrs. Schuyler Van Rensselaer forCenturymagazine in 1883: “Mrs.Moran is as yet the only woman who isa member of the New York EtchingClub, and no name stands higher onits role. Her work would never revealher sex—according, that is, to thepopular idea of feminine character.” Itwas the major exhibition, “WomenEtchers of America,” hosted by theBoston Museum of Fine Arts in 1887and later at the New York UnionLeague, which garnered the respectfor women artists of her caliber.

By the early 20th century, morewomen were allowed to participate inclasses in established art institutions.Among one of the most importantendeavors was the printmakingprogram at The Art Students Leagueof New York, and the Chicago Societyof Etchers, whose 1912 exhibition

included more than 70 members, ofwhich at least 10 were women. Inaddition, the California Society ofEtchers (now the California Society ofPrintmakers) continued the interest inexhibitions, technical exchange,shared knowledge, equipment, andtraditions of fine printmaking asopposed to reproduced images. Thecontribution of women printmakers asteachers boosted the respect ofwomen as artists and teachers.

As transportation and technologyprogressed, so did the world of womenartists. Helen Hyde spent much of hercareer in Japan, a residency thatgreatly influenced her style; this canbe seen in her work, Family Umbrella,on view at the Mitchell Gallery. Thiswood engraving reflects her educationin Japanese ink drawing andtraditional woodblock printing.Marion Greenwood’s travels toMexico, which resulted in a number ofmurals based on regional history,furthered her career in the UnitedStates. English-born Clare Leightonsettled in the United States andbecame one of the most recognizedartists and teachers in both Englandand the United States for her woodengraving technique.

The World War II “Artists for Victory”and the Works ProgressAdministration Federal Art Project,established in 1935, were alsoimportant channels for artists. Theseprograms inspired works that wereprimarily nationalist in theme, achange from the domestic subjectsdepicted in previous decades. TheWPA-FAP project included more than800 artists; this included about 200artists such as Isabel Bishop, MabelDwight, Marion Greenwood, RivaHelfond, Helen West Heller, MargaretLowengrund, and June Wayne. Sincethat time, there have been no efforts

of this magnitude to promoteprintmakers as artists.

Over the years women have begun tobe recognized in some measure andmany museums and organizationshave dedicated exhibitions to theseefforts, but their work continues totake a backseat to their malecounterparts. If for no other reason,this is because of the proportion offemale to male artists. This exhibitionof works from the collection at theSyracuse University Art Galleries andConrad R. Graeber Fine Art will addto the growing appreciation for theskill and creativity of these womenprintmakers.

elizabeth Seaton, curator at the

Marianna Kistler Beach Museum

of Art at Kansas State University,

will lecture on September 18 at

7:30 p.m. previously, Seaton

worked in the museum

education department of the Art

institute of Chicago (2000 to

2003), and as a curator at

northwestern University’s Mary

and leigh Block Museum of Art

(1994 to1996). raised in

Winfield, Kansas, her research

interests include Kansas culture,

American printmaking, U.S.

government patronage of the

arts, American art between the

two world wars, and women and

the arts. Seaton received her BA

in art history from Harvard

University in 1989, and her MA

and phD in art history from

northwestern University in

2000.

Seaton has organized numerous

exhibitions, including the Beach

Museum of Art’s 2005 to 2008

traveling exhibition, “paths to the

press: printmaking and American

Women Artists, 1910-1960.” She

has written several articles and

two books, Paths to the Press:

Printmaking and American Women

Artists, 1910 –1960 (2006) and

WPA Federal Art Project

Printmaking in California (2005).

Seaton is an officer of the print

Council of America.

Helen Hyde, The Family Umbrella, 1915. Color woodcut on Japanese paper.

Courtesy of the Syracuse University Art Collection.

T H e i M AG e S o f T H e S e A rT i S T S r e f l e C T n e W S o C i A l T H o U G H T,

p e r S o n A l S o r roW S , e x p e r i M e n TA l T e C H n i q U e S , A n D

i n T e l l e C T UA l p U r S U i T S U n S e e n i n T H e 1 9 T H C e n T U ry.

INTAGLIO is a family of printmakingtechniques in which an image is carved,cut, or engraved into a flat surface, andthe incised line or area holds the ink.

LITHOGRAPHY, invented in 1798, is aprocess in which a limestone is drawnwith an oily crayon, then wetted withwater and inked. The oil-based inkadheres only to the crayon drawing.

DRYPOINT is an intaglio process inwhich a copper or zinc plate is inscribeddirectly with a pointed needle. Theincising leaves a ragged edge whichproduces a soft line when printed.

ETCHING involves a copper or zincplate that is coated with an acidresistant ground, inscribed with anetching needle, and then exposed instages to acid which allows contrasting

lights and darks in the design.

Helen West Heller, Picking Daisies, 1928. Woodcut on oriental paper.

Gift of Mr. Harry and Maria Wickey. Syracuse University Art Collection.

Special Artists, as they were called,within the armies was a new practice,and newspaper readers eagerly studiedthe engravings that accompanied warstories.

Judith Bookbinder and SheilaGallagher, two members of BostonCollege’s Fine Arts faculty, haveresearched, catalogued, photographed,and designed an online archive for oneof the most significant untappedresources on the American Civil War inthe last few decades—the BeckerCollection. The Mitchell Gallery willexhibit 124 of the nearly 700 drawingsin this collection, which constitute anarchive of first-hand observations by 14artist-reporters, including JosephBecker, who eventually became artdirector at Leslie’s. These images havenot been previously displayed orpublished.

Some of these artists’ images are ofimmense value to historians. Forexample, Henri Lovie, who producedscenes from the Battle of Shiloh, and

Frederic Schell, known for hisremarkable view of the Siege ofVicksburg, are the only artists whorecorded these battles. While Civil Warphotographers could offer true imagesof landscapes and battlegrounds, onlySpecial Artists could create finelydetailed depictions of actual combat,based on the quick studies they madefrom close observation. Theirsensitivity, honed in the war, resulted indrawings of subtle and elegant drafts-manship, and expressive compositionsthat speak less of victory or defeat andmore of the complexity and cost of theconflict.

During the war, Northerners werenaturally curious about the people—former slaves—who had long been thesubject of public debate. These imagesfrom the Becker Collection depict African Americans’ contribution to the war effort represented with men and women bent over shovels,wheelbarrows, and pallets, digging,pushing, and loading. Other imagesinclude African Americans in scenes of

heroism, humor, and ridicule, andpredict, perhaps, their destiny in a newsociety.

Regardless of how the Special Artistsmanaged to produce artworks underdifficult conditions, they speak to the21st-century viewer not only of thespecific visual data of the war, but alsothe transcendent experiences of life andthe aesthetic qualities of art, a discoursespoken in a universal language thatcontinues to resonate now and in thefuture.

“Civil War Era Drawings from theBecker Collection” is curated by JudithBookbinder and Sheila Gallagher, andthe traveling exhibition is organized byCuratorial Assistance TravelingExhibitions, Pasadena, Calif.

Drawings from the Becker Collectionpremiered at the McMullen Museum atBoston College in the exhibition, “FirstHand: Civil War Era Drawings from theBecker Collection,” which wasorganized by the McMullen Museumand underwritten by Boston College andPatrons of the McMullen Museum.

CIVIL WAR ERA DRAWINGS FROM THE BECKER COLLECTIONOctober 27 to December 12

NOTES

John f. e. Hillen, Battle Two Miles West of Atlanta, July 30, 1864. Graphite, brown ink, and brown wash on wove paper. Courtesy of the Becker Collection, Boston College.

PuShing the Line: AmeriCAn

Women PrintmAkerS

AuguSt 24 to oCtober 14

September 9 opening reception & family

program. exhibit Curator lucinda edinberg will

lead a tour of the “Women printmakers”

exhibition followed by a hands-on workshop

from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

September 18 lecture. elizabeth Seaton,

curator at the Beach Museum of Art, Kansas

State University, and curator of “paths to the

press: printmaking and American Women Artists,

1910-1960,” will lecture at 7:30 p.m.

September 30 Sunday Afternoon Tour. exhibit

Curator lucinda edinberg will lead a tour of the

“Women printmakers” exhibition at 3 p.m.

october 3 Seminar. St. John’s tutor David

Townsend and artist ebby Malmgren will lead

a seminar related to the exhibition at 7 p.m.

registration is required. Call 410-626-2556

to register.

october 4 Book Club. Join members of the

Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a tour of the

“Women printmakers” exhibition followed by a

discussion of Cat’s Eye by Margaret Atwood, from

2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Janet Gellici will lead the

discussion. registration is required. Contact

Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530.

october 10 Art express. exhibit Curator

lucinda edinberg will give a lunchtime gallery talk

on the “Women printmakers” exhibition

from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

CiviL WAr erA DrAWingS from

the beCker CoLLeCtion

oCtober 27 to DeCember 12

october 27 and 28 Civil War living History

program. for more information,

visit www.stjohnscollege.edu/events.

october 28 opening reception & family

program. Art educator lucinda edinberg will

lead a tour of the “Civil War era Drawings”

exhibition followed by a hands-on workshop

from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

november 11 lecture. Dr. Judith Bookbinder,

co-curator of the “Civil War era Drawings”

exhibit, will lecture on “reporting the Civil War

through Art” at 3 p.m.

november 14 Art express. Art educator

lucinda edinberg will give a lunchtime gallery talk

on the “Civil War era Drawings” exhibition from

12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

november 29 Book Club. Join members of the

Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a tour of the

“Civil War era Drawings” exhibition followed by

a discussion of The Red Badge of Courage by

Stephen Crane, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. David

Townsend will lead the discussion. registration is

required. Contact Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530.

December 2 Sunday Afternoon Tour. Art

educator lucinda edinberg will lead a tour of the

“Civil War era Drawings” exhibition at 3 p.m. 

St. John’s During

the Civil War

The basement of Humphrey's

Hall, an 1837 Gothic revival

building on the Annapolis

campus of St. John’s College,

served as a morgue for Union

soldiers during the Civil War.

Today the centuries-old brick

walls house the college’s

bookstore, which carries nearly

45,000 publications and is open

to the public. Also during the

war, McDowell Hall, the

college’s first building, and floors

of Humphrey’s were a military

hospital.

Drawing as Literacy

Drawing is an act of communication and was regarded as an important form of literacyin the America of the 1860’s—a skill that was as important for a young child’sdevelopment as it was for the young country’s economic progress. By 1870,Massachusetts had passed the Drawing Act, which legislated that “drawing be includedin the branches of learning which are…required to be taught in the public schools.”Other states incorporated drawing pedagogy into the curriculum to train teachers.Popular drawing manuals instructed students to sketch frequently to train “theirquickness of perception” and form visual “conclusions with rapidity and decision.”Quick drawing was an important graphic notational method that allowed the viewer toretain a fleeting thought.

“Less is more: Small Works

in a great Space” A

mitchell gallery national

Juried exhibition

May 29 to June 19, 2013

The Mitchell Gallery is acceptingentries for “Less is More: Small Works in a Great Space,” a newnational juried exhibition. Open to allartists over the age of 18 living in theUnited States and Puerto Rico. Entriesmust be original works, in any media,including jewelry, created within thelast three years (2010 or later).Maximum acceptable dimensions of

each work are 8" x 10" x 4"measuring to the outeredges of any frame or theoutside edge of object.Jurors are Joann G. Moser,senior curator of GraphicArts, SmithsonianAmerican Art Museum, and Jack Rasmussen,director and curator,Katzen Arts Center,American University,Washington, D.C.

The exhibition includescash awards and a specialpreview reception forcollectors and dealers. All work will befor sale. Proceeds from the exhibitionsupport Mitchell Gallery educationalprograms. A non-refundable fee of $40entitles the artist to submit up to threeworks. Submission is online only.Deadline to submit is February 28,2013. To enter and for moreinformation: http://themitchell-gallery.org or call 410-626-2556.

Anne Arundel County

Juried exhibition 2012

Prize Winners

Juror Katherine Blood, curator of FinePrints at the Library of Congress,selected three local artists to receiveprizes for their entries in the “Imageand Imagination: Anne Arundel CountyJuried Show” held at the MitchellGallery last spring.

Painter Channing Houston won theJohn B. Moore Prize for Best in Show

for his oil on linen painting, 21stCentury Bather (2012). HowardGelman won the Mitchell Gallery Boardof Advisors Prize for Best Three-Dimensional for his bronze sculpture,Seated Young Woman (2009). TajVaccarella won the Mitchell GalleryBoard of Advisors Prize for Best Two-Dimensional for his oil on canvaspainting, Winter (White Fire) (2012).

travel with the mitchell

gallery: island Life in

greece and turkey

September 24 to

October 2, 2013

Join us for this exclusive nine-dayodyssey to the windswept paradise ofGreece’s ancient islands and Turkey’sfabled coast, a world of rich culture andhistory. Cruise from Athens to Istanbulaboard the exclusively chartered,intimate M.S. L’Austral. Discover thevery cradle of Western civilization

during carefully designed, expert-ledexcursions, highlighted by theUNESCO World Heritage sites ofDelos, Rhodes, Pátmos, and Troy.Participants may extend their voyagewith the Athens Pre-Cruise Option andthe Istanbul or Cappadocia Post-CruiseOption.

For more information, contact Pamela McKee at 410-263-2610 orpmckee7@verizon.net.

Support the gallery—

become a member!

When you support the Mitchell Gallery,you help provide a world-class centerfor the visual arts in the heart ofhistoric Annapolis. You enable thegallery to bring museum-qualityexhibitions to an award-winning, AAM-accredited, state-of-the-art facility onthe campus of St. John’s College. Yoursupport helps bring works byRembrandt, Calder, Rodin, Borofsky,Hiroshige, Cassatt, and many otherartists to Annapolis. You make ourcommunity culturally vibrant. Youenable hundreds of schoolchildren toenrich their art education with toursand hands-on activities. You supporteducational outreach programs such aslectures, gallery talks, seminars, poetryworkshops, and other programming foreach exhibition—all open to the publicwith free admission. To become amember, call Alexandra Fotos at 410-295-5551 or visit www.stjohnscollege.edu/events, andclick “Art Gallery, Mitchell Gallery.”

The Mitchell GallerySt. John’s CollegeP.O. Box 2800Annapolis, MD 21404-2800

Non-profit org.U.S. Postage

PAIDAnnapolis, MDPermit No. 120

WeLCome neW memberS

Katherine Blood

Bruce and Torii Campbell

Jim Cox and pam Shaw

Alan and pam Cressman

Sheila Delaquil

Michelle Dorlon

Svend and patricia esborg

Charles faddis

John and priscilla felter

Millard and Barbara firebaugh

Jenny Jefferson

Shannon H. McDowell

phyllis l. Millan

Ann T. prendergast

John and Martha Schwieters

Andree Tullier

Charles and Marie White

Margaret Boynton, Pine Grove, 2012. oil on panel.

mitchell gallery Awarded

national Accreditation

The Mitchell Gallery at St. John’s College has

achieved accreditation from the American

Association of Museums (AAM), the highest

national recognition for a museum. AAM accredi-

tation signifies a museum meets and often

exceeds the standards and best practices of the

museum field; it is the field’s primary vehicle for

quality assurance, self-regulation, and public

accountability. in addition, AAM accreditation

earns national recognition for a museum for its commitment to excellence in all that

it does: governance, collections stewardship, public programs, financial stability, high

professional standards, and continued institutional improvement. of the nation’s

estimated 17,500 museums, 779 are currently accredited. The Mitchell Gallery is one

of only 15 museums accredited in Maryland.

“The elizabeth Myers Mitchell Gallery is one of three museums in the nation to earn

accreditation for the first time in 2012,” says Director Hydee Schaller. “in our 23rd

year, we proudly join a long list of distinguished accredited museums and welcome

our community to join us in celebration. This achievement would not have been

possible without the loyal support and generosity of our dedicated volunteers, and

the St. John’s College officers, Mitchell Gallery faculty Advisory Committee, and

dedicated gallery guards.”

Since it opened in 1989, the Mitchell Gallery has continually brought art of world

renown to Annapolis, connecting the visual arts and the liberal arts. its modern

design by Annapolis-based architect Chip Bohl won a Citation of Merit from the

American institute of Architects. The gallery attracts more than 10,000 visitors a year,

serving the St. John’s College community and the wider communities as a resource

for viewing, discussing, and learning about fine art.

for information about 2012-2013 exhibitions and related programs, visit

www.stjohnscollege.edu/events.

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