Hidden Treasure (Who Knew?)

For history and art loving people like me, 

my city of Philadelphia holds much treasure, 
some less immediately evident than others.
Latest example, the LaSalle University Art 
Museum, where yesterday a friend and I saw 
a small but delightful exhibition of Charles 
Willson Peale And His Family At Belfield.

                     Charles Willson Peale, self-portrait

When Peale, the famous portrait painter and 
curator of his own early natural history museum 
(considered the first natural history museum 
in America and once housed in Independence Hall), 
retired from that post, he moved his family 
to the country. 
The property, just east of Germantown and now 
adjacent to the campus of LaSalle University, 
he called Belfield Farm.

            A view of Belfield by Charles Willson Peale
Today, the President of LaSalle lives in Peale's 
charming old house.

                                  Peale's house at Belfield
Mr. Peale and I are "old friends". His paintings
of his family were a great help to me during my 
REDOUTÈ research. Since Peale's children were 
also artists, as was Peale's brother James, and they 
lived at approximately the same as the Redoutè 
family, details of their dress and artists' tools 

were immensely valuable.

                           The Peale family by Charles Willson Peale

The Redoutè family from REDOUTÈ,The man Who 
Painted Flowers by Carolyn Croll

Another artist of the period to whom I am 
indebted is Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun, Marie 
Antionette's portraitist. Madame LeBrun 
painted her young brother, also an artist, 
wearing the sort of costume the Redoutè 
brothers would have worn. Again including tools 
of the trade, portfolio and a drawing instrument 
that held charcoal at one end and white chalk
at the other.

                        Young artist by Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun

         Young Pierre-Joseph Redoutè 

The artist's brother by Elisabeth Vigee LeBrun

The Redoutè brothers, Pierre-Joseph and Antoine Ferdinand in Paris
Besides this special Peale exhibit, the LaSalle 

University Museum of Art houses a small but 

interesting collection of paintings and prints 

from the 15th thru 20 centuries. 

Took me long enough!
(http://www.lasalle.edu/museum/exhibitions/peale/) - link


click on images to enlarge

Remembrance Of Past Soup

Twenty eight inches of snow in Philadelphia reminds me of making soup which reminds me of TOO MANY BABAS, the first book I both wrote and illustrated. I had been working on illustrating a play about a fire breathing dragon for a textbook assignment. The children and teachers were supposed to get ideas for making the dragon's and other character's costumes from my pictures. Obviously, the Dragon could not use real fire so here is a rough sketch of my dragon costume. To "breathe fire" the "Dragon wiggled his firey fingers (fire painted white gloves) in front of his face under the brim of his green cap (dragon's upper jaw). Brilliant, yes?

The criticism came back. When he wasn't "breathing fire" the Dragon should take off his gloves (the fire) and put them in his pants pockets!! So now there would be fire coming out of his pockets. I still don't know why. But it reminded me of the sayings, "A camel is a horse. designed by a committee!" and "Too many cooks spoil the broth!" My Aha moment! I had also just seen an incredible exhibition of historic Russian costumes at the Metropolitan Museum in NY. With my head full of fabulous peasant costumes and decor, my Babas were soon "helping" Baba Edis make soup in her cozy little dacha.

In my first version the story ended with the ruined soup.

I showed it to my friend Barbara T. , who asked me the important question, "What are you trying to say to children?  YOU may think that too many cooks spoil things, but is that what you want to tell kids about working with others?" (actually, at the time, I wouldn't have minded) But of course she was right, so back I went to clean up my act, or at least my story. 

(click on art to enlarge)

TOO MANY BABAS, HarperCollins (I Can Read)

A good warm read on a cold day!!  ;-)

Library Notes

On this day 278 years ago (July 1,1731)

Benjamin Franklin began the first circulating

library, The Library Company of Philadelphia.

In those days books were more expensive than

most people could afford. So Franklin invited

50 intellectual friends to share the expense by

pooling their funds. Each contributed 4o shillings

to help buy books and 10 more in yearly dues.

Donated books were also gratefully accepted.

In exchange, members could borrow what they

wanted to read. From the Revolution to 1800

while Philadelphia was the capital of the US

it served as the Library of Congress. Until 1850

it was the largest library in the country.

Today, The Library Company of Philadelphia

continues as an historical research library

(right down the street from here) of the

17th -19th centuries. The original books in

Ben Franklin's library are still in the collection.

http://www.librarycompany.org/

The first library on wheels was begun

in 1905 by Mary L. Titcomb, head of the

Hagerstown, MD Public Library.

Like Franklin, Mary Titcomb wanted to make

books available to people who could not

afford them. Mostly rural families who

lived far from towns with libraries.

At first she placed circulating books in general

stores and churches.

Then she designed a horse drawn wagon that could

carry hundreds of books around the countryside.

I am posting several of my illustrations from

Nancy Smiler Levinson's, Clara & The Bookwagon.

A fictional account of the very real Ms. Titicomb

and her brilliant idea.

Note:

My "model" for Ms. Titicom's wagon, was an actual

delivery wagon that the old and now sadly closed,

Strawbridge & Clothier department store used to

have on display in the food hall on the first floor.

Happy Birthday, Josephine

June 23, birthday of Josephine de Beauharnais.

Born in Martinique in 1763. First wife of Napoleon

Bonaparte. Empress of France. Famous for

the flowers, especially roses, she grew at Malmaison,

her home near Paris and her collaboration with the

famous botanical artist, Pierre-Joseph Redouté.

Redouté had survived the French Revolution, despite

having painted flowers for Marie Antoinette who

considered him a servant.

To Josephine, Redouté was a special friend.

For the Empress, Redouté produced his exquisite

books of her flowers; Les Lilacees (The Lilies)

and Les Roses.

Before starting my illustrations for REDOUTÉ,

The Man Who Painted Flowers, I traveled

to Belgium, France and England to see

for myself the places Redouté knew. To

illustrate this true story, I had to know what

places, people and things from that time looked

like.

Not many roses in October, but I could imagine

Josephine's rose garden, where she and Redouté

collaborated, is still at Malmaison.

Flowers, particularly roses decorate Josephine's

carpets, chairs and porcelain dishes as well.

She wore flowers in her hair, on her costume or

a bouquet was near by in every portrait.

Flowers were her passion.

Josephine corresponded and exchanged specimens

with the great botanical figures of her day, including

John Bartram of Philadelphia, considered the father

of American Botany.

available at www.amazon.com

Redouté did this one!

Taking Cover

Working on a new cover for THE STORY OF THE 

PILGRIMS, by Katharine Ross that I illustrated for 

Random House a while back.

Remembering all the research and the help of the 

good folks at the Plimouth Plantation.

 Learned the Pilgrims dressed like other 17th century 

Europeans not in "typical" Pilgrim costumes from my 

childhood books. Invented by 19th century Victorian 

era artists. 

The Pilgrims did not call themselves Pilgrims.

There are only 2 documents recounting the harvest feast

we know as the first Thanksgiving. One, a contemporary 

letter by Edward Winslow, and the other by William 

Bradford, written 20 or so years after the event.

No pumpkin pie nor popcorn at that feast.

Every detail in my illustrations was examined and 

approved by the experts at the Plimouth Plantation.

I'd love to go there sometime and talk with the historic 

interpreters. My idea of a good time.

Just One More..........

I really thought I'd come to the last of the P-J Redoute portraits, when this popped up. Haven't yet identified who painted it but this one is from Redoute's home town of St. Hubert, Belgium.

It is hung in the Centre Redoute across the Rue Redoute from a small empty lot where Redoute's childhood home stood until 1944. During the Battle of the Bulge, Americans fired on the German headquarters. Missed by about 200 yards leveling the Redoute house.

Redoute's childhood home

drawn by Abbe P. Chalon

Feeling I ought to apologize, I was assured

with great bonhomie that we had been forgiven long before.

The Centre Redoute is now housed in

the old German Headquarters across the street.

One of the best "portraits" of Redoute I found was in the person of the town historian, Abbe Prosper Chalon. Abbe Chalon, my guide, a Roman Catholic priest, art historian, artist and a descendent of Redoute's mother's family.

. Remarkable resemblance.

See What I Mean? (see Jan 25, 2009 post)

Portrait of many (but not all) of Napoleon Bonaparte's

artists, painted by and including Louis-Leopold Boilly

as well as Redoute, Gerard and Isabey.

I rest my case.

Sherlock, Nancy, Dick And Me

When I began my illustrations for REDOUTE, The Man Who Painted Flowers, there was no Google. Only encyclopedias, libraries and museums. (It wasn't that long ago, but writing this suddenly reminds me of horses and buggies - ;-)

First of all I needed to know what Pierre- Joseph Redoute looked like.

As Empress Josephine's flower painter, Redoute was one of a gathering of distinguished painters serving Napoleon's court including Jacques Louis David, Francois Gerard, Jean Baptiste Isabey, Louis-Leopold Boilly, Theodore Gericault among others.

It dawned on me that even though Napoleon kept them all pretty busy with imperial portraits and heroic battle scenes there had to be a little down time once in a while.

And what distinguished painters might do during slow days is paint each other!

I spread the word to friends and colleagues. Somewhere, in a museum or catalogue was a portrait of Redoute, by one of Napoleon's portraitists, David, Gerard, Boilly, Prud'hon, Isabey.......

Almost instantly, an English friend working in Belgium reported a small portrait, possibly by David, in the Musee des Beaux Artes in Brussels. Thrilling! (Though it turned out to be by Francois Gerard).

Next one, by Louis-Leopold Boilly, showed up in a book on Napoleon.

Recently I discovered the one on the left, attributed this time to Eugene Isabey, on the web at the W. Graham Arader Gallery www.aradergalleries.com

Especially charming, as it appears Redoute is thumbing through his book of Lilies.

S. Holmes, N. Drew, D. Tracy and me.