NEWSLETTER
Society for the History of Children and Youth
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No. 13 |
Winter 2009 |
American
Antiquarian Society, “Home, School, Play, Work: The Visual and Textual Worlds
of Children: Two Conferences
Worcester, MA, November 2008
Kelly Marino, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
The American Antiquarian Society held the
first of two meetings on “Home, School, Play, Work: The Visual and Textual
Worlds of Children,” in Worcester, MA, November 14-15, 2008. Founded in 1812,
AAS holdings include a vast variety of printed sources, which trace the
development of the United States until 1876. The organization works to bring together students,
collectors, and historians to encourage scholarship and research on
pre-twentieth century life. The AAS conference gathered diverse presenters from
across the country to examine the material culture of early American children
through artwork and print.
Papers illustrated how scholars uncovered the
voice of the child in unlikely sources such as portraits, photographs,
paintings, literature, and antique texts. November 15th sessions opened with presentations by C.
Dallett Hemphill (Ursinus College), Lauren B. Hewes (AAS), and Jennifer A.
Greenhill (University of Illinois), who examined depictions of children in
early artwork. In “The
Relationship between the Painted Portrait Tradition and the New Medium of
Photography, c. 1840-1865,” Hewes spoke on parents documenting milestones
through photography. The rise of the photography industry in the mid-19th century corresponded with changing ideologies about childhood. Prior to this period, adults conceived
children as miniature grown-ups, but by the mid-19th century, “childhood”
became a distinct and celebrated period in one’s life.
In her paper, “‘Too Noisy for an Art
Exhibition’: Childish Jocularity and the Emerging Culture of Art in the 1870s”,
Greenhill also examined depictions of children in the late 1800s, focusing on
Eastman Johnson’s work, The Old Stage
Coach. Johnson’s painting of
children playing near a broken carriage received mixed reviews at the National
Academy of Design. To offset the
violent tragedy of the Civil War, some artists controversially embraced lighter
themes. Greenhill suggested that
paintings depicting children playing and joking conflicted with the more “serious”
art, which was also popular during the period.
Early sessions further illustrated the value
of using unconventional sources to learn about children. Marcus A. McCorison (Worcester, MA),
James S. Brust, (San Pedro, CA), Linda Lapides (Baltimore, MD), and Peter
Walther (Oriskany, NY) exhibited their unique collections of early American
artifacts. In “‘Remember Me When
This you See’: Images of Childhood Preserved in Endpaper Inscriptions, Reward
Citations and the Effects of Harriett True,” Lapides analyzed antique notes and
messages left behind in 18th century children’s schoolbooks. From the faded messages of children to
the positive words of teachers, friends, or parents scrawled in long forgotten
texts, Lapides proved the significance of notes left behind. Endnote inscriptions revealed the
personality of the owner or even his or her emotional state.
Later sessions focused on gender and
education. Carol Soltis
(Philadelphia Museum of Art), Rebecca R. Noel (Plymouth State University), and
Gretchen Sinnett (Wheaton College) addressed coming of age in early American
society. In the session, “Girlhood
in Print and Portraiture,” Soltis opened by analyzing the evolution of young
women depicted in artist Thomas Sully’s work. From gypsies to maidens in “Thomas Sully’s Girls at Risk:
Didacticism and Drama in Nineteenth-Century American Painting and Print
Culture,” Soltis explained changes in women’s status in the 1800s through
symbolic elements of Sully’s paintings. She focused on variation in color, proportions, and iconography. Sully depicted women as vulnerable,
angelic, and as needing protection.
Sinnett concluded the session, speaking on
the evolution of early American women through changing attire. Her presentation, “‘The Date of My
Martyrdom’: Visual and Textual Representations of Nineteenth-Century Girls’ Transition
to Womanly Wardrobes,” addressed the work of William Merritt Chase, who painted
a portrait of his teenage daughter Alice in womanly garb. Sinnett explained that Alice looked
burdened, wearing different articles of clothing and accessories such a corset,
which marked distinct phases in her life. Alice could no longer wear her hair loose, and she had to wear dresses
that inhibited movement. Sinnett
suggested social and cultural traditions limited her freedom and pressured her
to conform to gender roles.
A session entitled, “Pictures, Picture Books,
and Paper Toys: Learning about Race,” concluded the conference. Sarah Z. Gould (University of
Michigan), Robin Bernstein (Harvard University), and Laura Napolitano
(independent curator) presented on early American games, toys, and
lithographs. In “‘Equally Clever
and Humorous’: Lilly Martin Spencer’s Reassuring Lithographs of Children”,
Napolitano examined 19th century images of children, contrasting
middle class and working class childhoods. During the period, Americans held nativist and racist
values, and the rapid influx of immigrants into American cities increased such
beliefs. As a result, Napolitano suggested upper class members of society tried
to keep their children safe from the “street culture” of the working
class. Spencer’s lithographs
illustrated the tension between children’s mischievous nature and adult
perceptions of appropriate behavior.
Presentations will continue at the second
part of the conference in Princeton, New Jersey, February 13,-14, 2009.
ASA “Home,
School, Play, Work”: Concluding
Conference
Princeton,
NJ, February 2009
Anna Redcay, Uniersity of Pittsburgh
On February 13th and 14th,
2009 the concluding portion of the conference “Home, School, Play, Work: The
Visual and Textual Worlds of Children” convened at Princeton University. The conference’s diverse array of
sponsors—including Princeton’s Cotsen Children’s Library, The Center for
Historic American Visual Culture, The Program in the History of the Book in
American Culture, and the American Antiquarian Society in conjunction with the
Worcester Polytechnic Institute—resonates with the valuable
interdisciplinary research presented during the two-day program by archivists,
literary critics, curators, and historians of art, architecture, and American
culture.
The conference cast a spotlight on the study of American childhood, with presentations taking into
consideration the effects of parenting, schooling, and other institutions upon
the child, while also looking at children’s own roles as students, workers,
authors, and active producers of culture. In examining these issues, speakers
drew from rare texts, photographs, architectural drawings, oral history,
unpublished diaries, and school artifacts. Amidst a series of engaging presentations, some notable
topics included the childhood journals of artist Sarah Gooll Putnam, the
propagation of nostalgia in mid-nineteenth-century children’s literature, and
the private use to which Emily Dickinson’s niece and nephews put public print
materials in collaging their nursery doors.
With its productive focus upon children’s
complex interplay with textual, visual, and material culture, the “Home,
School, Play, Work” conference reflects scholars’ deepening investment in
interdisciplinary research on childhood’s representation and experiences.
Paper abstracts and a full list of speakers
from the conference can be viewed at:
http://www.princeton.edu/cotsen/research-collection/academic-conferences/home-school-play-work/
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