Sarah Tyson Hallowell
Encyclopedia
Sarah Tyson Hallowell was an important American art curator in the years between the Civil War
and World War I
. She curated a number of major exhibitions in Chicago, arranged the loan exhibition of French Art at the World's Columbian Exposition
in Chicago, worked with Bertha Palmer
(1849–1918) to organize the murals for the women's pavilion for the fair and then moved to Paris where she served as agent for the Art Institute of Chicago
and assisted wealthy Americans in their pursuit of French art. Her circle of friends included Auguste Rodin
(1840–1917), Mary Cassatt
(1824–1926), James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and the famous Swedish painter Anders Zorn
(1860–1920). During World War I she and her niece Harriet Hallowell (1873–1943) performed heroic humanitarian work, treating the wounded in her home, at a small hospital and visiting prison camps behind German lines to insure Allied prisoners were treated properly. She lived in France until her death in 1924.
. She is sometimes confused with the journalist and feminst Sarah Hallowell who was also born in Philadelphia, a few years after Sarah Tyson Hallowell. Her mother was Mary Morris Tyson Hallowell (1820–1913), who came from a successful family of Quaker businessmen. Her father was tubercular and died when he was forty-two. Even though the family were Quakers, three of her brothers, Morris, Francis and Lewis, fought in the Civil War for the Union Army. Like many Quakers, Mary Morris Tyson Hallowell was dedicated to humanitarian service and she worked for the Sanitary Commission in Philadelphia and in 1864, she traveled to Tennessee to deliver relief to war refugees.
, who was brought up by her mother. From 1880 to 1890, she produced exhibitions that featured works by young painters and important works from the recent Paris Salons. In 1890, she introduced the works of the French Impressionists.
, would celebrate the city's rebirth from the effects of the Chicago Fire
of 1871 and the 400th anniversary of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus
. Organizing the fair was a massive undertaking and the selection of art for the fair was an important role. When the Chicago fair was announced, Hallowell threw her name in the ring to be Director of Fine Arts. Sixty prominent painters signed a petition on her behalf and she was endorsed by the New York Times. However she was passed over for the top position, which was given to Halsey Ives
(1847–1911), founder of the Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis. Instead of the top spot, Hallowell was made Ives' assistant and she was charged with arranging a loan exhibition of French paintings and sculpture in American collections. In addition to her curatorial role in assembling the loan exhibition for the fair, Hallowell was also heavily involved in the women's pavilion for the fair. This committee was headed by her friend and client Bertha Palmer.
and when there was an emphasis on to making murals a large part of civic architecture. The themes chosen for the murals for the Women's Building of the fair were "Primitive Woman" and "Modern Women" with the murals emphasizing woman's progress. Initially,Bertha Palmer and Hallowell wanted the accomplished and academically-trained American artist Elizabeth Gardner
, paramour of the artistic titan William Adolphe Bouguereau, to do both murals,but Gardner felt she was not up to the rigors of the task and turned the project down entirely. Hallowell then recommended the young academic painter Mary Farchild MacMonnies and Mary Cassatt, who was from the Impressionist circle, but little known in the United States at the time. Bertha Palmer agreed to the choices and after the re-writing of the contracts for the murals which had been too confining, the women got to work. Bertha Palmer and Hallowell met with the artists and when Palmer returned to Chicago, Hallowell remained behind in France to monitor the progress on the ambitious project. Early in 1893, the murals were shipped and installed and after the fair opened, the consensus was that the MacMonnies mural was the more successful of the two. After being stored away after the fair, both murals disappeared and their whereabouts are presently unknown.
(1837–1905) to purchase Rodin's work and she eventually brought Rodin a number of collectors including Mr. & Mrs. Potter Palmer, Isabella Stewart Gardner
and Elliott Clark. In appreciation for her efforts, Hallowell was given three Rodins, a bronze Sphinx, a marble and even a terra cotta.
and Grez-sur-Loing
, close to the Forest of Fontainebleau
, where the Barbizon School painted. Because of her friendship with the French Impressionists and her familiarity with their work, Hallowell would have been quite familiar with Moret-sur Loing. Alfred Sisley
died there in 1899. Mrs. Hallowell, who was now quite elderly required a lot of attention and the two younger women cared for her until her death in 1913.
, allied prisoners were in danger of starvation stating that "It is absolutely vital that such relief should be sent." She made a number of trips into the prison camps in Germany to monitor the well-being of the Allied Prisoners of War and to deliver care packages.
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
and World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. She curated a number of major exhibitions in Chicago, arranged the loan exhibition of French Art at the World's Columbian Exposition
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
in Chicago, worked with Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer
Bertha Palmer was an American businesswoman, socialite, and philanthropist.- Biography :Born Bertha Matilde Honoré in Louisville, Kentucky, her father was businessman Henry Hamilton Honoré...
(1849–1918) to organize the murals for the women's pavilion for the fair and then moved to Paris where she served as agent for the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
and assisted wealthy Americans in their pursuit of French art. Her circle of friends included Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
(1840–1917), Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...
(1824–1926), James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and the famous Swedish painter Anders Zorn
Anders Zorn
Anders Leonard Zorn was one of Sweden’s foremost artists who obtained international success as a painter, sculptor and printmaker in etching.-Biography:...
(1860–1920). During World War I she and her niece Harriet Hallowell (1873–1943) performed heroic humanitarian work, treating the wounded in her home, at a small hospital and visiting prison camps behind German lines to insure Allied prisoners were treated properly. She lived in France until her death in 1924.
Early History and Family Background
There are various dates for Sarah Tyson's birth in circulation, but the most accurate in probably December 7, 1846 in Philadelphia, PennsylvaniaPennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. She is sometimes confused with the journalist and feminst Sarah Hallowell who was also born in Philadelphia, a few years after Sarah Tyson Hallowell. Her mother was Mary Morris Tyson Hallowell (1820–1913), who came from a successful family of Quaker businessmen. Her father was tubercular and died when he was forty-two. Even though the family were Quakers, three of her brothers, Morris, Francis and Lewis, fought in the Civil War for the Union Army. Like many Quakers, Mary Morris Tyson Hallowell was dedicated to humanitarian service and she worked for the Sanitary Commission in Philadelphia and in 1864, she traveled to Tennessee to deliver relief to war refugees.
Art career
Sarah Hallowell attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, but the extent of her artistic training is not known. During the Civil War, most of the family's investments, which had been in the South, were lost, leaving their financial situation precarious. Sometime in the late 1860s, the family moved to Chicago in hope of finding a professional position for Sarah with which she could support herself. Sarah's interest in and knowledge of art earned her a position in arranging art exhibitions for the Interstate Exposition, which was an annual trade fair held in Chicago. In 1879, she was assistant clerk of the Exposition and in 1880, she became clerk for the art committee, which meant, the curator who worked with artists and collectors to select paintings. Her role as a curator required her to travel to artist's studio's in the United States as well as in Europe where many American painters were studying in the academies and ateliers of Paris. She quickly earned a reputation with artists and collectors and developed a wide circle of prominent Americans from whom she could borrow paintings from for her exhibitions. She made some of her European journeys with her mother Mary Morris Tyson Hallowell and her niece, Harriet HallowellHarriet Hallowell
Harriet Hallowell was an expatriate American artist who lived in France for almost fifty years. She was born in Boston to a distinguished and artistic Quaker family. During the First World War, The Great War, in the British vernacular of the time, she remained in France and was an industrious...
, who was brought up by her mother. From 1880 to 1890, she produced exhibitions that featured works by young painters and important works from the recent Paris Salons. In 1890, she introduced the works of the French Impressionists.
The Chicago World's Fair
The Chicago World's Fair, the World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, would celebrate the city's rebirth from the effects of the Chicago Fire
Great Chicago Fire
The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned from Sunday, October 8, to early Tuesday, October 10, 1871, killing hundreds and destroying about in Chicago, Illinois. Though the fire was one of the largest U.S...
of 1871 and the 400th anniversary of the first voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
. Organizing the fair was a massive undertaking and the selection of art for the fair was an important role. When the Chicago fair was announced, Hallowell threw her name in the ring to be Director of Fine Arts. Sixty prominent painters signed a petition on her behalf and she was endorsed by the New York Times. However she was passed over for the top position, which was given to Halsey Ives
Halsey Ives
Halsey Cooley Ives was the founder of the Saint Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts. The institution later became two distinct bodies; the Saint Louis Art Museum, and the Washington University School of Art which includes the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum...
(1847–1911), founder of the Washington University School of Fine Arts in St. Louis. Instead of the top spot, Hallowell was made Ives' assistant and she was charged with arranging a loan exhibition of French paintings and sculpture in American collections. In addition to her curatorial role in assembling the loan exhibition for the fair, Hallowell was also heavily involved in the women's pavilion for the fair. This committee was headed by her friend and client Bertha Palmer.
The Women's Murals
For the women's pavilion, it was decided that there would be two murals, high up on each end of the vast space. The Chicago fair took place in the era of the City Beautiful Movement and the American RenaissanceAmerican Renaissance
In the history of American architecture and the arts, the American Renaissance was the period in 1835-1880 characterized by renewed national self-confidence and a feeling that the United States was the heir to Greek democracy, Roman law, and Renaissance humanism...
and when there was an emphasis on to making murals a large part of civic architecture. The themes chosen for the murals for the Women's Building of the fair were "Primitive Woman" and "Modern Women" with the murals emphasizing woman's progress. Initially,Bertha Palmer and Hallowell wanted the accomplished and academically-trained American artist Elizabeth Gardner
Elizabeth Gardner
Elizabeth Gardner is an Australian freestyle skier-Professional career:Gardner made her professional debut on 8 September 2001 at the Mount Buller women's aerial event. Since her debut, she has competed the Europa, Nor-Am, and World Cup...
, paramour of the artistic titan William Adolphe Bouguereau, to do both murals,but Gardner felt she was not up to the rigors of the task and turned the project down entirely. Hallowell then recommended the young academic painter Mary Farchild MacMonnies and Mary Cassatt, who was from the Impressionist circle, but little known in the United States at the time. Bertha Palmer agreed to the choices and after the re-writing of the contracts for the murals which had been too confining, the women got to work. Bertha Palmer and Hallowell met with the artists and when Palmer returned to Chicago, Hallowell remained behind in France to monitor the progress on the ambitious project. Early in 1893, the murals were shipped and installed and after the fair opened, the consensus was that the MacMonnies mural was the more successful of the two. After being stored away after the fair, both murals disappeared and their whereabouts are presently unknown.
Friendship with Rodin
Sarah Hallowell had a long and productive friendship with the French sculptor Auguste Rodin. In the months leading up to the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, she worked hard to sell his sculpture to American collectors, but it was considered too avant-garde by everyone she approached initially. In spite of this, he greatly appreciated her efforts on his behalf. Eventually, he convinced the Chicago collector Charles YerkesCharles Yerkes
Charles Tyson Yerkes was an American financier, born in Philadelphia. He played a major part in developing mass-transit systems in Chicago and London.-Philadelphia:...
(1837–1905) to purchase Rodin's work and she eventually brought Rodin a number of collectors including Mr. & Mrs. Potter Palmer, Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner
Isabella Stewart Gardner – founder of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston – was an American art collector, philanthropist, and one of the foremost female patrons of the arts....
and Elliott Clark. In appreciation for her efforts, Hallowell was given three Rodins, a bronze Sphinx, a marble and even a terra cotta.
Moret-sur-Loing
About the turn of the century, Hallowell, her mother and her niece began living in the picturesque little village of Moret-sur-Loing which is located near the Art Colonies of BarbizonBarbizon
Barbizon is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest.-Art history:The Barbizon school of painters is named after the village; Théodore Rousseau and Jean-François Millet, leaders of the school, made their homes and died in the...
and Grez-sur-Loing
Grez-sur-Loing
Grez-sur-Loing is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France.-People:It is located 70 km south of Paris and is notable for the artists and musicians who have lived or stayed there...
, close to the Forest of Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau
Fontainebleau is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the arrondissement of Fontainebleau...
, where the Barbizon School painted. Because of her friendship with the French Impressionists and her familiarity with their work, Hallowell would have been quite familiar with Moret-sur Loing. Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life, in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedication to painting landscape en plein air...
died there in 1899. Mrs. Hallowell, who was now quite elderly required a lot of attention and the two younger women cared for her until her death in 1913.
War Relief Work
Because the war was so close to the Hallowell's home, a small hospital was set up in Moret-sure-Loing, "Hopital Aux No. 26" which in English would be Auxiliary Hospital Number 26. The hospital opened in August 1914 and was active throughout the war. Sarah Hallowell and Harriett Hallowell helped to treat wounded soldiers and like their grandmother did in the Civil War, raised money for refugees. At home they knitted warm clothing for French citizens who had been displaced by the fighting or whose homes had been destroyed. Also in the war, they also were involved in efforts to send care packages to allied soldiers who had been captured by the Germans. In a 1918 letter, Sarah Hallowell emphasized that because of rationing in GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, allied prisoners were in danger of starvation stating that "It is absolutely vital that such relief should be sent." She made a number of trips into the prison camps in Germany to monitor the well-being of the Allied Prisoners of War and to deliver care packages.
See also
- World's Columbian ExpositionWorld's Columbian ExpositionThe World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
- Salon (Paris)
- ImpressionismImpressionismImpressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
- First Battle of the MarneFirst Battle of the MarneThe Battle of the Marne was a First World War battle fought between 5 and 12 September 1914. It resulted in an Allied victory against the German Army under Chief of Staff Helmuth von Moltke the Younger. The battle effectively ended the month long German offensive that opened the war and had...
(1914) - Second Battle of the MarneSecond Battle of the MarneThe Second Battle of the Marne , or Battle of Reims was the last major German Spring Offensive on the Western Front during the First World War. The German attack failed when an Allied counterattack led by France overwhelmed the Germans, inflicting severe casualties...
(1918)
Book and Periodical References
- Adler, Hirshler, Weinberg, Americans in Paris 1860-1900, Exhibition Catalog, The National Gallery, London, ISBN 1-85709-301-1
- S.T. (Sarah Tyson) Hallowell, Women in Art, Maud Howe Elliott, Art and Handicraft in the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, 1893, Essay in Catalog
- Jeffrey Morseburg, The Indefatigable Miss Hallowell, Biographical Essay, 2010
- Kirsten M. Jensen, Her Sex Was an Insuperable Objection: Sara Tyson Hallowell and the Art Institute of Chicago, MA Thesis, Southern Connecticut State University, 2000
- Kirsten M. Jensen, The American Salon: The Art Gallery at the Interstate Industrial Exposition, 1872-1890, PhD Thesis, The Graduate Center, CUNY, 2007
- Nancy Mowell Matthews, Mary Cassatt: A Life, Yale University Press, 1998, ISBN 978-0300077544
- Hope L. Black, Mounted on a Pedestal: Bertha Honore Palmer, Masters Thesis, University of South Florida, 2007
- Sally Webster, Eve's Daughter, Modern Woman: A Mural by Mary Cassatt, 2004, ISBN 0-252-02906-2