Another Generation's Folk Art

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Another Generation's Folk Art: Edward Duff Balken and His Collection of AmericanProvincial Paintings and DrawingsAuthor(s): Charlotte Emans MooreSource: Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University, Vol. 57, No. 1/2, A Window intoCollecting American Folk Art: The Edward Duff Balken Collection at Princeton (1998), pp. 10-28Published by: Princeton University Art MuseumStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3774772.

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AnotherGenerations FolkArtEdward uffBalken ndHis CollectionfAmericanrovincialaintingsndDrawings

O ver periodoftwenty-sixears, dward uffBalken fig. ) amassed nimportantollection fsixty-fiveaintings nddrawings hathe termedat various times primitive,"provincial," r "folk"art.1Beginning n I920, withhisacquisition f theportrait fMr.GoodrichfHancock,Massachusetts,ttributed o AmmiPhillips fig. , cat. no. ii), Balken soughttheseworksofart to decoratehis countryhome in theBerkshires. isappreciationnd avid collecting fAmericanprovincialspredated hoseofmany fhismorecelebrated ontempo-raries,uch sAbbyAldrichRockefeller,dithHalpert,ndHolgerCahill,who were not ntroduced o thesubject san art formworthyof attentionuntil the mid-to-late1920S. A reservedndividualwho valued hisprivacy, ftenlending nonymously o exhibitions, alken actively, utdiscreetly,participated in the burgeoning field ofAmerican rovincial rtduring periodencompassing tsrediscoveryy artists,ollectors, nd scholars nd its nsti-tutional cceptance s a valuedcontribution o thehisto-ryofAmerican rt.Two yearsbeforehis death, n i960, Balkenpresentedthisentire ollectionto The ArtMuseum at PrincetonUniversity,isalmamater.This ift rovides rthistorians,researchers,nd thegeneralpublicwitha rareopportuni-tyto study nd evaluate a collection thathas remainedintact over time,unedited by curators,dealers,familymembers, r others.Whetherexperts abel the works nBalken'scollectionhighstyle, rimitive,rovincial, olk,or, imply,rt, his roupofpaintingsnddrawingsnformsour understandingfhow the fieldcurrentlyeferredoas American olk rtwas defined ndcodifiedbypreviousgenerations. window into theworld offolk rtcollect-ingofthe 920S through he 1940s, theBalkencollectionconveys ne man's nterpretation,rdefinition,f thesub-ject, n whose rediscovery,cholarly valuation,s well as

market nd institutional alidationhe participated. hisessaywill examineEdwardDuffBalken,his involvementintheartworlds fPittsburghndNewYorkCity,ndhisactivities elated o collecting mericanfolk rtwhile iv-ing in theBerkshires. man of leisurewithprofessionaltiesto theworldof modernart, connoisseur'sye, nd apenchant foracquiring art,Balken was presentat themomentwhenmanyAmericans egantofindmeaning nthe nation's previously overlooked artisticheritage.Through his collecting efforts nd involvement withinfluentialxhibitions, alkenhelpedtomoldpublicper-ceptionsofAmerican visualculture hat nform ur dis-course to thisday.Born in Pittsburgh,ennsylvania,nAugust26, i874,Edward DuffBalkenwas the son ofHenry, Norwegianimmigrant,ndWilhelmina uffBalken.Raised ina priv-ileged family, e attended the prestigious Shadyside

Fiigure i.EdwardDuffBalken,I938. Carnegie agazine12, no. (April 938), IjS5.

Opposite: ollyMaxon f tephentown,ewYorkdetail),at.no.36 yi958-64). I I

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Figure . Mr. GoodrichfHancock,Massachusetts,at.no.II (yI958-65).

Figure3.Adriaenvan Ostade,Dutch, i620-i685, LePeintreThe Painter),tching, I.1 X i6.9 cm.CarnegieMuseum ofArt, ittsburgh,ift f EdwardDuffBalken (47.I0-3)-

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Academy. ollowingthe ead of many onsof profession-al men ofstandingn Pittsburgh,e enrolled tPrincetonUniversity nd earned a Bachelor of Science degree ini897. Aftertaking part in archaeologyexpeditions toGreece and theNear East,he returned ome to workassecretary orWeyman nd Brother, local tobacco firm.On October 7, 902, he marriedLois Livingston ailey,daughterofJamesBailey, pioneer iron manufacturer,industrialist,ailroadmagnate, nd banker.Soon after-wards,n i906, thesameyearhis second childwas born,Balken retired rombusiness t the age of thirty-twoopursuehispassionfor rtcollecting.2During trips o Europe in i9oi and I902, Balken mayhavebeen exposed to theprintrevival hatbegan in thei88os, incehe developed taste orprintsndsubsequent-ly ecuredmany orhispersonal ollection.3n addition oacquiringThePainterfig. ) byAdriaenvan Ostade i6io-I684) and AntoineVitre fig.4) byJeanMorin (i590-i650), intimeBalken ownedengravingsyAlbrecht irer(I47I-I528), Fran~oisMillet i814-i875), andHenri de

Toulouse-Lautrec (i864-I901), as well as prints byAmericanartists uch as ArthurB. Davies (i862-I928),Stuart Davis (i892-i964), and Rockwell Kent(i882-1971), among others.4 rints,however,were ustone facet f thevoluminous ollectionBalkenmaintainedin his argeyellowbrickhouse locatedon Colonial Placein the fashionable hadysidedistrict f Pittsburgh.hishome,whereBalken,hiswife, ndtwochildrenived,wasdecoratedwithhandsomepiecesofAmerican urniturefthe GreekRevivalperiod, riental ugs,nd framedworksof art.5 ikemany fhis contemporaries,alkenalsokeptabreast fwhat wereheralded t thetime as the workoftwentieth-centuryelf-taughtrtists,urchasing aintingsby JohnKane (i860-1934), a local Pittsburghrtist,ndPop Hart (I868-I933).6 In additionto the seventy-twoprints e donatedto theCarnegie Instituten Pittsburghduring he 940S and i950s, he gavethis nstitution anydecorative arts,paintings, nd watercolors, ncludingSwampscottBeach, by Maurice B. Prendergast i859-1924) (fig. ).7 Manuscriptsndrarebooks alsoexcitedhis

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Figure4. ean Morin, French, 59o-i65o, Antoine itre',ngraving,31.91 X 21.6 cm.CarnegieMuseum ofArt,Pittsburgh, ift fEdward Duff Balken (46. 6.2).

connoisseur's ature ndhe acquired n impressivessem-blage ofdocuments nd imprints, hichhe subsequentlydonatedto PrincetonUniversity.8In December of I9I5, JohnW Beatty, irector f theDepartment of Fine Artsat the Carnegie Institute, p-proachedBalkento found a department f prints nd toserve as itsfirst urator.9 alken's manyyearsof engage-mentwithPittsburgh'srtistic ommunity nd the localreputationurrounding iscollectionoffineprints rob-ably nfluenced eatty nhis decisiontooffer his ositionto a man with ittle ormal rainingn thearts.10hus, ni9i6, at the age offorty-two,alken embarked n a newprofessional areer thatallowed him to draw upon hisexpertisenprint ollecting ndprovided imwithofficialauthority o arbitrateaste nPittsburghnd the artworldin general." During thisperiod, Balken befriended heteenageJohnWalker,who laterbecame chief urator ndthendirector t theNationalGallery fArtnWashington,D.C. In hismemoirs,Walkerrecalled thatBalkenhad "aknowledge, sensitivityo works of art, nd an intuitivefeeling orbeauty"he envied and aspired o attain n hisown work.12Since Balken and hisfamily pentonlysixmonthsofeachyear nPittsburgh,owever, is eisure-classife-styleshapedhisprofessionalctivities t themuseum. n about19II, Balken had purchasedpropertyn the BerkshiresregionofMassachusetts,outhofStockbridge nd westof

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\: 'Figure5.Maurice Prendergast,American, orn in Canada,

t e ; _ _1\= t t Act T i859-I924, Swampscotteach, a.1917, graphite, atercolor, astel,and gouache,39.7 x 57.5 cm.CarnegieMuseum ofArt,Pittsburgh, ift f EdwardDuffBalken (49.5. IO)

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Figure6. EdwardDuffBalken'shome in the Berkshires.

Figure7. Office.

Figure8. Livingroom.

Figure O. Livingroom Figure9. Dining room.Photographsf DB's homere y rt vans.

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GreatBarrington.He commissioned architect .McA.Vance of nearby ittsfieldn 19I2 to build a large ndspa-cious country ome in the colonial revival tyle, rawingupon an eighteenth-centuryrchitecturalocabulary orits xteriorppearance fig. ) 13 Here,Balken and hisfam-ily ived during hespring nd summermonths.With itsmodern conveniences, the house was already wiredforpowerwhen theelectric inewasbrought o theareain 1912 fromnearbyGreatBarrington.'4 ortions fthishouse may have been modified in about I921, sinceBalkenwrotebacktothe Carnegie nstitutesking o bor-row for study several photographs depicting "earlyColonial Architecture, xteriors, nteriors, lso pho-tographs f details-doorways, etc." from hemuseum'scollection.15A gentleman armer,alkenemployed ocalmen tomaintain isproperty, hich ncluded a vegetablegarden upplying he familywithfresh roduce such asrhubarb ndasparagus. hese menalsosupervised alken'ssmall holdingsof livestock.16 From his countryhouse,Balken kept abreast of his department'sactivities inPittsburghhrough orrespondence,husparticipatingnthe museum'sprograms romhis desk overlooking hefarm (fig. 7). Writing to Charles F. Ramsey of theDepartment fFineArts t theCarnegie nstituten 19i5,Balkenacknowledgedthe value of his farmhouse etreatand itspowersofrejuvenation.The countrywas neverso beautiful," e wrote,the farm ever o interesting,ndnever have I been more resolved to live this life atleast six months n everyyear.Art and pictures?Well, toparaphrase page or two in a recentbook, artsimplyrepresents an'spassionate esire o drag hetruth ut oflife n half a dozen different ays.God does it foryouin thecountry "17Balkenand his familywere not alone in seeking oli-tudeamongthe woods andhills f theBerkshires.Withtspastoral etting f akes, mallfarms,nd country illages,this dyllicportionof New Englandhad alreadydrawngenerationsto experience its naturalbeauty and pic-turesque tmosphere.Made accessibleby railroadn thenineteenth entury,he Berkshires ffered anctuary otwentieth-centuryity wellers oncerned bout ndustrialproblemsndovercrowding.'8n increasing umbers,am-ilieswho had lived on the land forgenerations ave uptheir omesteads o move to thecities or mploymentndopportunities navailable o them n rural ettings. armland thusbecame plentiful nd affordableo those n theearly wentiethentury hosought sylum.'9WhenBalken

and hisfamilymovedto thisregion,mbued withhistor-ical associations,he Berkshires ereblossoming s a cul-tural center and summerresort. nstitutions ike theBerkshireMuseum,theStockbridge rtAssociation,ndthe Boston Symphony rchestra tTanglewoodprovidedan artisticmilieufor ummer esidents.Balken's choices to purchase farmn a rural rea, oconstruct house based on eighteenth-centuryroto-types,nd to live n thecountry orhalf heyearreflectbroader trend n American society during this period.Although the vision of colonial America, as historianKennethAmes has acknowledged,sa "persistentndper-vasive omponent" f thenation's ulture, uring heearlytwentieth enturythe colonial revival mpulse gainedmomentum.Americanseagerly ppropriated mages ofthecountry'smythic oundingFathers,cclaimed he vir-tues of an eighteenth-centuryremodern, reindustrialsociety, nd collected itshistorical relics and artifacts,includingfurnishings,uildings, nd fine arts.20 uringthe colonial revival f theearly wentiethentury,hepastwassymbolized or omeby hand-made bjectspermeat-ed with the ideas and ideals of the nation'sforefathers.These items were contrastedwith the impersonalmass-produced ndustrial ommodities f the machineage inwhich they ived.Forothers, he narrativesnd attributesofthecountry's arlyhistory ere a meansto acculturateand socialize therising mmigrant opulations s well asto claim theirown ancestralegacy. his colonial revivalperiodalsoprovided sourceofnationaldentityor atri-otic purposes,particularly uringtimes of conflict ndwar.21

Built as an informal etreat rom he more formal ur-roundingsof his life in industrialPittsburgh, alken'shome ntheBerkshires rewon thecolonial revival or tsexterior nd, n addition, or ts nterior etails,ncludinga large open fireplace, eamed ceilings,muted ightgraywalls, ndhardwoodfloorsfig. ).22Decoratedprimarilywithfurnishingscquired n theregion,with a penchantfor arlyAmericana,hehousewasfilledwitheighteenth-and early nineteenth-centuryadder-back ndWindsorsidechairs, ooked rugs,pewter, toneware ottery,arlyblown glass, amplers, haker bandboxes and tilt-backchairs, nd wrought-iron ightingdevices (fig. 9). Thestraightforward,nadorned lines of the colonial-stylearchitecture,he starkwallsdevoid ofwallpaper,nd therestrained pholstery reatment f the sofa, eproductionwing-backchairs, nd draperies howed toadvantage he' 5



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antiquefurniturend provided neutral ackground orthe framedworks of arton the walls.A spinningwheel,thedominant con of thecolonial revival, ccupied a cor-ner ofthe iving oom fig. o), although t s doubtful ny-one in the Balken householdspentmuch timespinningflaxfiber nto thread.23In i919, tragedy truck he Balken familywith the un-expecteddeath of Lois BaileyBalken from omplicationsdue to accuteappendicitis.24alkensuddenly oundhim-self hesinglefather f twoteenagechildren. erhaps s adistraction romhis grief, hefollowingyear, e enteredthe third haseof his ifeby purchasing is firstrovincialpainting,heportraitf Mr.GoodrichfHancock, assachu-settsfig. , cat. no. ii) from dwardDeming Andrews,local Pittsfield ntiquesdealer and burgeoning uthorityon Shaker ife and materialculture.n time,he wouldacquire seven moreportraits ow attributed o Phillips,creating,npart, regional dentityo hiscollection, hichincludedprimarily ineteenth-centuryorks of art de-picting ocal residentsnd othersubjectsby artistswholived and worked n the Berkshires.Balken's collectionofAmericanprovincial rtresultedfrom number f factors hat ell ntoplace around 920.A self-trainedonnoisseur,who accrued expertise romassembling iscollection, alkenfoundhimselfna regionwhere the native rtistic raditionwas underappreciatedand at the same time economic conditions loosenedobjects fromtheir ancestral contexts.Traveling theBerkshire oads, e stopped tantique hops nd, n occa-sion,knockedon the doors ofprivate esidencesnsearchofpaintings nddrawings. is expeditions ieldedworksof artmainlyfound on thebackroadsofMassachusetts,Connecticut,nd NewYork.When documentationegard-ing portrait ubjectswasn'tforthcoming,alkenallegedlyassignednames to these ikenessesn tribute o friends.25According o arthistorianMaryC. Black,who knewhim,Balken neverpaidmorethanone hundreddollarsforhisprovincial ictures.26 ith fewexceptions, lack's asser-tion s substantiatednBalken's nventory ecordingitherpricespaid or valuesforworks f art nd furnishingson-tained n his countryhome. Portraitsf David Carpenterand hiswife,AzubahAllenCarpentercat.nos. 9 and 20),attributed o the artistAsahael Powers; Mr. Goodrich fHancock,Massachusettscat.no. ii), attributed o AmmiPhillips; ndPollyMaxon of tephentown,ewYorkcat. o.36), by an unidentifiedrtist,re all listed t one hundreddollars each (Appendix I).27 Since the collectingand

reevaluating f earlyAmerican ntiques nd fine rtswerestill n theirnfancy,alken was in an enviableposition oacquireworksof art at modestpricesfrom rearesidentswho needed cash more than their familyheirlooms.28Furthermore,ecause Balkenbegan to collect provincialpaintings nd drawings n I920, he preceded by severalyearsthose whom culturalhistorian lizabeth Stillingerwould identifys rich"super-collectors": bbyAldrichRockefeller, lectraHavemeyerWebb, Henry Ford,andFrancisGarvan, and, later, dgar and Bernice ChryslerGarbischand Nina FletcherLittle, mong others,whoinflated hemarket orAmerican olk rt nd who are nowrecognized n scholarlywriting s pivotal eaders in itsrediscovery.29In the summerof 1924, the Americanwing of theMetropolitanMuseum ofArt nNewYork opened to thepublicand featuredhecountry's ecorative rts rrangedin period rooms from he colonial period through heFederal era. The year 1924 also marked two landmarkexhibitions eaturingolkart,which tookplace in NewYork. In February,rtistHenry Schnakenberg I870-1971) organizedan exhibition ntitled EarlyAmericanArt"at theWhitney Studio Club. This show borrowedworks from he collections of several artistswho wereintroduced ofolk rtduring ummerst HamiltonEasterField's rtist olony nOgunquit,Maine.30 he followingDecember, heDudensing Galleries rganized n exhibi-tion of earlyAmericanportraits nd landscapes in itsshowroom located at 45 West Forty-fourth treet.3"Featuringwhat were perceived t the time to be exclu-sively he work ofnineteenth-centuryelf-taughtrtists,the Dudensing Galleries was heralded n the pressforofferingne of three ritical xhibitions eld in 1924 tofoster hepublic's ppreciationndawareness fAmericanart.32 s one often enders o this eminal xhibition,longwithmodern artistsRobert Laurent I890-I970) andWood Gaylor I883-I957), Balken'sparticipationden-tifieshim as a pioneer collector and leader in the re-evaluation ofAmerican primitives.33 urthermore,nlending bjectsfrom isprivate omeintheBerkshiresoa galleryexhibition n NewYork, at the center of theAmerican rtworld, alken was notmerely casual, ma-teurcollectorbut a sophisticated dvocate forprovincialart, laying formative ole n defining heartisticegiti-macyof this art.Unlike some of the later collectorsofAmerican olk rt, alkenpredominantlycquiredhiscol-lectionwithout mploying dealer o assist im;hisback-

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ground in prints and museum acquisitions gave himconfidence nhisown udgment nd taste n art.Balken's attraction o American primitivesmay havederivedfrom desireto appointhis countryhome withinexpensive, nformal urnishings,lthough he had theincome to pursue more costly collections, uch as fineprints, are ooks, nd manuscripts.34e mayhave chosentheAmerican aintingso compliment iseighteenth-andearlynineteenth-centuryurnishingsr to save them asartifactsfAmerica's reindustrialistory. y virtue f hisstaff osition at the Carnegie Institute nd direct n-volvement n the museum'sCarnegie International,prestigious, nnual, nternational xhibition of modernart, owever, alken was also a pivotalplayern the worldofmodern rt fthe 920s and 930s. HistorianMichaelKammen has argued that during the decades betweenWorldWars and II, manyAmericans mbracedthe co-existence f modernism nd traditionalismn their ives."The modernist,"ccording o Kammen, might r mightnot alsobe a traditionalist;ut he clearly elt he need totake nativetraditionsnto account."35 alken apparentlywas in sympathywith both worlds,whose intersectioninformed nd codifedhis appreciation nd evaluationofAmerican olk rt.Under the leadershipof Homer Saint-Gaudens, heCarnegie Institute's ew director f the DepartmentofFineArts,n I922, Balken was promoted o acting ssistantdirector f thisdepartment, positionhe held until hisretirementn I935.36In conjunctionwithSaint-Gaudens,Balken helped select nd securemanyworksbycontem-poraryAmerican rtists or nclusion n theCarnegie In-ternational. stablished n i896, this annual exhibitionfostered ood will among nations through he interna-tional anguageof art,providedan opportunity ortheCarnegie Institute o purchase he best n contemporarypainting or tspermanent ollection,nd brought ews ofthe art world nAmerica and abroad to Pittsburghesi-dents.With merican ndEuropean contemporary aint-ings shown together, he exhibition also was meant topromotenative alent yfavorably omparing t with theskill fEuropeanartists.37His involvement ith the nternationalmade Balken arecognized figurewithin the modern art milieu. FromVermontn I925, Saint-Gaudens aid tribute o Balken'scentral ole as a conduitbetween theCarnegie Interna-tional and New York's art community:For in New Yorkyou are much more a part of the American artists han

am ... ," he wrote. "For Pittsburgh the same situationexists."38 alken traveled requentlyo NewYork to meetwith dealers representingmodern American artists ndcorrespondedwithprincipal rtists f the day, ncludingChilde Hassam (i859-I935), George Luks (i866-i933),Alfred tieglitzi864-i946), Maurice Sterne i878-i957),and Marsden Hartley (i877-I943), among others. Heoften met with themin their studios or their dealers'showrooms o examine their atest anvases.For example,Balken was instrumentaln selecting ndpersuadingCharles Sheeler (i883-i965) to send his ac-claimed painting American nterior o the CarnegieInternational n I934 (fig. i). Showing a portion ofSheeler's iving oom nhis former ome inSouthSalem,New York,thispainting,which features ooked rugs,Shaker table and bandbox,an early nineteenth-centuryturned-post bed, and a slip-decorated ceramic mug,testifies o his own collecting interests n Americana.Sheeler's itle or hispainting, mericannterior,ccordingto arthistorians arolTroyen nd Erica E. Hirshler,payshomage to the unpretentiousut handsome ssemblage ftraditionalnd nativemanufacturesepicted, nd also nti-mates hat his ort fsimple nterior epresentshe bestof

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Figurei. Charles heeler,American,883-i965. Americannterior,1934, oil on canvas,2.6 x 76.2 cm.YaleUniversityrtGallery,iftofMrs.PaulMoore 1947.424).

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_1....... ...........Figure I2. Edward Duff Balken'shome,upstairs all photo: ArtEvans).

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nationalvalues."39 pioneercollector,cholar,nd dealerin folk rt,Holger Cahill in 1941 described heartist n aletter oarthistorianJeanipman s"one of the realAfici-onadosofAmericanPrimitives."40o Sheelerat hishomein Ridgefield,Connecticut,Balken wrote, Last weekwhen was nNewYork called ttheDowntown Galleryand sawthereyourcanvasAmerican nterior.' liked thispainting o verymuchthatwe are askingMrs.Halperttoreservetfor sfor he nternationalnthefall.' IThe sim-ilarities etween hepainted nterior f Sheeler's esidenceand the interior photographs of Balken's Berkshireshouse-for example,the image of the upstairshallwaywiththe Windsorand ladder-backchairs,hooked rugs,Shakerbandboxes, nd antiquedesk (fig.12)-are com-pelling. n exhibiting heeler'swork ntheCarnegie'sgal-leries, alken-who was so self-effacinghathe appliedacoat of neutral raypaintover the surface nd chrome ofhis car-in effect,nonymously isplayed is own homeand aestheticpreferences.42 urthermore, his choicedefined he collection nd display ftraditionalmericanarts s a "modern"activity.43Inthe nfancyf collectingAmericanrimitives,rfolkart, bjectswere undocumented,rtistsnstudied,many fthe worksof art unattributedo identifiedrtists,nd thecontext n which artists nd patrons nteracted nexam-ined.Enthusiasts reelyscribedto these workswhateverattributes heypleased. CollectingAmericanprimitivesprovidedblank canvaseson which to portray romanti-cized,and, n manyways,naccurate, ast. wo seeminglydisparate,lthough complementary,orces n Americansociety, ere nterestedn reclaiminghemfrom bscuri-

ty. he antimodernists,r traditionalists,s addressed re-viously, mbraced heseobjectsbecause, n part, hey ep-resented emnants f a pure,preindustrialocietywhosehandmadeobjectswere mbued with nationalisticonno-tations.Modern artists,eeking o rebelagainst he estab-lished academy,were attracted y the untrained, rtisticresponses f individualsworkingoutside the prescribedaestheticmandates."Art historian eatrix Rumfordhasstated hatthe modernists alued the formal ualitiesofthese bjects.The arly aintings,ortraits,ecoycarvings,ship figureheads, igar storefigures, ooked rugs,andweathervaneswere "a means to dignifyheir wn use ofsimplifiedorms, rbitraryerspective,ndunmixed olorby suggestinghat uch methodswere rooted n an earlierAmerican radition."45ather than ookingtoEuropeforprecedent, he modernistsdentifiedwith the native re-ators and appointedthemselves herightful eirs of thisindigenous egacy.As a result,many modernartists ol-lectedAmerican olk rt nd paidtribute oit n their wncanvases nd sculpture. harles Sheeler'sAmericannteriorepitomizes heconvergence f the antimodernistnd themodernist.

Edith Halpert, dealer nmodern rt ndtheowneroftheDowntownGallerynNewYork,recognized he mar-ket forAmerican folkart. n 1929, she opened an addi-tional showroomto offert for sale. Halpert chose thephrase"AmericanAncestors"to advertise hese goods,shrewdlylluding o both traitsupportinghe collectionof Americanfolkart. he ancestors ould be interpretedas either he nation's orebearsr theprecursors f mod-ern art.Sellingto high-profile lients ikeAbbyAldrich

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Rockefeller nd ElectraHavemeyerWebb, Halpertbe-came one of themostenterprisingnd influential eal-ers nAmerican folkart.Her endeavors lso caughttheattention fBalken,who purchased provincial aintingfromher entitledLady on Wood.46 ince the CarnegieInternational howcased American modern art, t wasin EdithHalpert's nterest o secure a productive rofes-sionalrelationship iththeCarnegie Institute,nparticu-lar,withBalken.Agentforprominent ontemporary mericanartists,including tuartDavis (i892-1964), BernardKarfoil(I866-1955), Max Weber 188I-i96i), and William I889-i966) and Marguerite i887-i968) Zorach,Edith Hal-pert'sDowntown Gallery was a logical stop on HomerSaint-Gaudens ndEdwardDuffBalken's tineraryuringtheir isits o NewYorkto vetworks or he nternational.In Balken,Halperthad a receptive lientnotonly forherliving artists,but also for her business in AmericanAncestors. uring theearly 930S, they xchanged ettersabout the International ut also about theirmutualpas-sion for folk art.Halpert praisedBalken forproducingconvertsto ourgreat auseofAmericana,"oliciting imto see her folk rtgallery ndto view"the new ancestorswe haveexcavated."47Peppering their etterswith quips about Americanprovincial rt, heydrewupon each other'sudgment. n

47* / o f,j~~~~~~~~Figure3. PollyMaxon f tephentown,ewYork,nidentifiedrtist,cat. o. 6 yI958-64).

Aprilof 93I, for xample,Halpertresponded oBalken'ssolicitation orheropinionon hisportrait fPollyMaxon,by an unidentified rtistfig. 3, cat.no. 36). Basing hercomments n a black and whitephotographBalkenhadenclosed in a previous etter, alpertwrote, I think hepicture sswell.What olorswereemployed? am curiousto know whether twas painted n a highkeyas some ofthepaintings fthat imewere. n any eventyou can addanother dmirer o thelist."48n reply, alken comparedthe artist's alettewith that of the eighteenth-centurySpanish rtist rancisco e Goya I746-i828), revealing isclose studyof the likeness nd attraction o itspainterlyformal ualities. I amgladyoulikedmyAmericanprim-itive,Polly Maxson [sic],"'Balken stated. The color isentirelyn the background,ust slightly eminiscent fsome ofGoya'spainting hat have seen.The figures inblack,with heexception f thewhitecollar ndcuffs,ndthe rose the adyholds n her hand so coyly s a red,redrose. he Hitchcockchair s a delicate hade ofpink, ndI supposewasoriginallyed ike mostof that ype fchair,withsome slight rnamentation n the back and legs."49An astutebusinesswoman,n 1933, Halpertwasted notime n confiding o Balken that twas she,omitting nyreference oHolger Cahill,who hadbeen instrumentalnputting ogether bbyAldrichRockefeller's olk rt col-lection,then on exhibition t theMuseum ofModernArt.50 olicitingBalken to see "the grandexhibition,"Halpert underscoredher authority s an experton thematerial yher ssociationwith his lient.n a second et-ter, he againenticedBalken to visit: Have you seen theexhibition t theMuseum of ModernArt and if o whatdoyouthink f t. ?] t s a collection madeupfor NewYorkclient nd covers heterritoryf folk rtpretty en-erally.t would be a treat o getyourreaction o thecol-lection." 'Balken'srelationship ith EdithHalpertreinforced isposition s a sophisticatednd astute ollector. pioneerin appreciating hismaterial, e also participatedn pro-moting heemergence fAmerican olk rt n themarketand amonginstitutions.52alpertand Balken alsomutu-allypromoted heir wn causes.Balkenreceived ffirma-tion ofhisartisticudgments nd entrynto theworldofHalpert's rtists. alpertgainedaccess to the Carnegie'sgalleries,nd possibly o its coffers,nd securedBalkenas a client.During the 1930s, exhibitionson American folkartproliferatedhroughouthenation. AmericanPrimitives,"

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~"SM/'~~~~~~-

Figr 4 Henriettaorr,ttributedoArnmihillips, at.no. 2(Y 95 8-66) .

shown at the Newark MuseumNovember4, 1930-February, I93 , subsequentlyraveledo Chicago,lli-

5,~~~~~~~~~~5

nois; Toledo, Ohio; and Rochester, New York.53TheMuseum of Modern Art'sexhibition, The Art of theCommon Man," November 15, 1932-January I5, I933,also circulated omajorAmerican ities,ntroducingheseworksof art to a national udience. n I930, the HarvardSociety forContemporaryArt held an exhibition inCambridge, Massachusetts, entitled "Exhibition ofAmerican Folk Painting in Connection with theMassachusettsTercentaryCelebration," organized byLincoln Kirstein and two undergraduates, EdwardWarburg ndJohnWalker,alken'sprotege.54ewspapersandperiodicals xplodedwithreviews fthese xhibitionsand with articles n the status f folk rt nAmerican rtscholarship. collecting henomenon arlier onfined omodern artists,ntiquarians,nd otherpioneer collectorsexpandedto include collectors nd enthusiastsntroducedto folk rt s a result f this xposure.Within close proximityo NewYork and Boston,theBerkshiresegionofferedntique hops ituated long themajor travel outesnorth hatmet the ncreasing emandforAmerican primitives nd decorative rts.55 wo close

i ., |

Figure5. GirlnMauve,ttributedo Zedekiah elknap,at. o. 2

friends fBalken's,J. tuartHalladayand HerrelGeorgeThomas, mongthe area'smostnotabledealers, ad a shopin Sheffield, assachusetts,ust a few mi'les rom alken'shome. By 1932, the partnershad purchasedand refur-bished colonialhouse to serve s their esidence nd busi-ness operation,dubbingit the "1750 House." Althoughdealing nAmericandecorative rts, alladay nd Thomasbecame well known,not for their clientele or for theobjectsthey old,but for heir xtraordinaryersonal ol-lection of Americanprovincial paintings. hese workshung on the second floor of their residence n galleryspace separated rom heir usinessnventoryn themainfloor. y their wn account,Halladayand Thomas beganto acquire provincialpaintings n I929 and,once thesepaintings ntered heir rivate ollection, ever old themaspartof their ommercialnventory.nce referredobya colleague as "the father nd mother"of HalladayandThomas's collection,Balken introduced these men toAmericanprovincial aintings, ncouragedthem to col-lect, nd gavetheir ollection tsfirst ublicexhibition this museum,-vhe,,arnegie;,:nstitute.'56Thei.r holdiA;ngsr

evnulyinlddsmefu ofiehnrd itrs5FolowngThma'sdeahin197,ths colcio a

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purchasedwithfundsfrom ohn D. Rockefeller, r., ndgiven n memoryof his wife,Abby Aldrich, o ColonialWilliamsburg, hereportions f t are owned bytheAbbyAldrichRockefeller olk Art Center.58Maintaining relatively ormal elationship,n whichHalladay and Thomas never ventured o Balken's housewithout n invitation,he threemen shared passionforprovincial rt hatmayhave ncluded omebusiness ego-tiationsfor works of art.59 lthoughno comprehensivewrittenrecordsappear to surviveconcerning Balken'sacquisitions, ictures rovideclues linkinghis collectionwiththeirpaintings. oth theportrait fHenrietta orr,attributedoAmmi hillipsfig.4, cat.no. 2), and thelikeness entitled Girl in Mauve, attributed o ZedekiahBelknap fig.5, cat.no.2), are believed ohavebeen asso-ciated originallywith two groups of familyportraitsowned by HalladayandThomas.60n a letterwrittennI958 to Mary C. Black, at the AbbyAldrichRockefellerFolk Art Collection, inWilliamsburg, irginia,Balkenrelates owhe, ndsubsequently alladay ndThomas, c-quired the family group of portraitsnow attributedto Zedekiah Belknap."You are right,"Balken wrote,"Lenox is not the family ame,but the town wherepur-chased from dealer now dead. He had sevenportraits,all of the samefamily, ather,mother,nd fivechildren.I consideredNo. i0 [Girl nMauve] the mostappealing,and laterHalliday [sic] and Thomas bought the others.I was told at the time that thepaintings ame out of ahouse in Stockbridge...."61Unable to offer he Internationaln 1940 because itcould not secureworksfrom broaddue toWorldWar I,theCarnegie nstitute eld a survey fAmerican ainting,featuringeveral olk aintings.62mboldenedbythepub-lic's favorableresponse to these pictures, he museumdecided to devote an entire xhibition o thesubject. nOctober 940, John ' Connor,Jr.,ssistant irector ftheDepartmentof FineArts, nlistedBalken'scooperation:"As you know, here re a fewofthe so-called AmericanPrimitives'n theSurvey fAmericanPainting.n talkingwithpeople here and there, find that there s a greatinterestn them. suggested o Mr. Saint-Gaudensthepossibility fhavingan exhibition f, say, iftyrom hecollection of Messrs. tuartHalladayand HerrelGeorgeThomas....Thisexhibitions allupto you... . 63 Underthe direction f Balken, n his capacity s honorary ura-tor and trustee f the Department f Fine Arts ince hisretirement n 1935, Halladay and Thomas sent eighty

paintings o Pittsburgh orthe collection'sdebut in themuseum's irst xhibition xclusively eaturing mericanfolkart, American Provincial Paintings 68o-i86o,"April 7-June I, 94I .64Halladay nd Thomasexpressed heir nderlying oti-vationfor ollecting heseworks, urely hared y Balken,stating hat heyenjoyed looking after he roots o thatone day n modernpainting hepeople of America willhave the pleasure of owning and living with blossomswhich will really e American n their ine implicity."65Balken's dvice to Halladay and Thomas suggests isper-spective n theseworks.Urgingthepartners o be con-servativewith the information hey presented n theaccompanying atalogue,Balken arguedthattheworksthemselves tood on their wn.Theirpracticeofassign-ing known artistswithout documentation was a mis-placed effortto validate the pieces. "I am wary ofattributions . . ," he wrote. It is in your nterestswellas ours to step oftly.Toell withundocumented ttribu-tions ust now.The show is the thing.Regard this firstexhibition n allmodesty s a debutwhich, fworthy,scertainly think tis,willbe a stepping tone to a largerand moreappreciative nderstandingfthevalue ofyourcollection."66A scholar of old masterprints,who wasfamiliarwithterminologyuch as "school of" and"styleof,"Balken could appreciate the fine qualities of theworkswithouttheneed, or benefit, fdocumented rt-ists'names.While Balken valued both Americanprovin-cials nd modern rt,Halladay ndThomasappear ohaveembracedAmericanprovincial aintings s an alternativeto collectingmoderncanvases,which theyperceived s"nothingnew."67The followingyear, his collectionwas once again inthe limelight, enlisted by the Whitney Museum ofAmerican Art in New York as a fundraiserfor theAmerican ieldService.68s a result fthese howings ndsubsequentpublic venues, he Halladay-Thomascollec-tion gained nationalnotoriety, ell beyondthe limitedconfines f the I750 House" in the Berkshires.69ad itnot been forBalken,Halladay and Thomas's collectionmighthave remained small,ocal attraction,nownonlyto informed uriosityeekers nd those n the market orAmerican ntiques.Unlike HalladayandThomas,who enjoyed diplayingtheir ollection o people who droppedby unexpectedlyat their ntiques usiness, alken, ntensely rivate ndre-served, egarded is provincial rt collection s an exten-

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Figure 6. Romantic andscape, nidentifiedartist,at. no. 6i (yI958-95).

I ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - 1

sion of hishome. His collectionwas notforpublic view;only ndividualswhom Balkenknew andformallynvitedto visit him in the Berkshireswere treated o seeingit.Consequently,when JohnO'Connor approachedhimabout showing his own collection at the Carnegie, hesummarilydismissed the request.Visitors had been soenthusiasticboutHalladay ndThomas'scollection t themuseum, hestaffersistedn soliciting alken's oopera-tion. Contactinghim inAugust1942, O'Connor made aproposalworded to reflect is colleague'sguardedprivacy."Virginia [Lewis] was most enthusiastic about yourprovincial aintings, nd she wanted to know why theyhad neverbeen exhibited. told her it wasn't our fault.What do you sayto an anonymous xhibition uring hewinter? mean anonymous s to theowner or sourceofthepaintings.... Don't say no immediately,ut think tover and we'll discuss t further."70wo months ater, eagain opened thesubject,nregard oBalken's ttendanceat the WhitneyMuseum for the Halladay and Thomasexhibition."Soyou areputting ne overon mebysneak-ing off o New York for the opening of the AmericanProvincialPaintings t theWhitney," e noted. I wouldlike to be there oo.This all bringsme backto the subjectof howingyourpaintingstsome time.Haveyou thoughtthat idea through?"'71 O'Connor made several moreattempts ver the nextfewyearsto persuadeBalken toloan his collection. In I946, Balken finally omplied.

Unconvinced thathis collectionwould receive sympa-thetic audience in Pittsburgh, is hometown,he acqui-esced withtrepidation:I am not keen aboutshowing heAmerican Provincial Paintings, and I think FatherO'Connor will tellyou I am notbeingcoy," e wrote toSaint-Gaudens."I feel the collection is not importantenough to ratean exhibitionn Pittsburghnd thatveryfewpeople in thetownwill be interested. owever, incethe matter as been decided n the affirmativee willdoour best from his nd...."72In preparation,alken agreed o havehis house strippedof hisprovincial aintings nd drawings, hich were takento the Carnegie Institute or the exhibition, cheduledJanuary -February23, I947.73Much to his surprise nddelight, he first ublic exposureof this collection was agreat success. He remarked n relief to Halladay andThomas, The show s goingon verywell ndeed-muchmore interesthan expected."74 alken also sharedJohnWalker's emarks, y now chief curator t the NationalGallery fArtnWashington, .C. Respondingto the cat-alogue Balken had senthim,Walker,who never had theopportunityo viewBalken'scollection nsitu, oundthecatalogue's llustrationsdequate reference:I have alwaysbeen enthusiasticbout this ypeofpainting, hough astsummerwhen my Englishcolleagues preferredur folkartists o WinslowHomer, felt heir alues wereslightlydistorted.Therere several icturesikethe Girl n Pinkor

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PollyMaxon which would giveanything o have, nd soperhaps he English re right fter ll."75Dominatedby forty-eightortraitsnd featuring inelandscapes nd seven other worksof art, his exhibitionrepresented wenty-six earsof collecting, ulminatingwithhis ast cquisition,n I946, of the painting, omanticLandscapefig. 6, cat.no.60), by nunidentifiedrtist.Theemphasis n the appreciation fAmericanprovincial rthadpreviouslyeen confined rimarilyo formal ualitiesof works,without reference o artistic ontext.By theI940s, this pproachbegan to shift, ithnew research nnot only the dentity nd livesofthese rtistsutalso thepatronswho commissioned he works.Balkenresearchedhis own collection n the 1930S and 194os; however, iscollection till eflected is hesitancyo assert nfoundedattributions,s he had advisedHalladayandThomas. Aspublishedn 1947 hiscollectionncludedfifty-sixicturesbyunidentifiedrtistsndonlyeightworksbysixknownartists.76Balken was well into his seventies y thetime his col-lection received ts firstnstitutionalxposure ndpublicvalidation.n makingplansforhis estate, e proposedtoPrincetonUniversity,is alma mater,n 1952, the dona-tionofthis ntire ollectionupon hisdeath,withoutre-strictions.Writingnitiallyo Professor onald Egbert tPrinceton, alken outlinedhisobjectives: Do you thinkthe Art Museumwould be interestedn having collec-tion ofAmericanProvincial"Primitive") aintings ivenon death of the owner and withno strings ttached?"77

Balken wroteagain six years ater n 1958 with a revisedrequest asedupon his personal ircumstancesnd a con-cern for hecollection:My country ome has not beenoccupied formore than threeyears, nd due to physicaldisablementknow shallnot return here,"alkenwrote."It seems to me unwise thatmy collectionof AmericanFolkArtpaintings, ater olors sic], nd drawings houldremain onger n the empty,old, nd unventilatedouse.... I am wondering f you can receive them sometimesoon, thisspringor summer."78wo months ater, heentire ollectionwasinstalled tThe ArtMuseum,with apublishedcataloguebased on the one preparedforthePittsburghhow.The xhibition,June-30, wasone of hefeaturedvents f thatyear's ommencementn June, ndthecollectionrecognized s the mpressivend generousgiftof Edward DuffBalken,a member of the Class ofI897. 9

A pioneercollectorwho recognized he artisticmeritofAmerican rovincial rt, alkenparticipatednthecrit-ical, arly eriodofthis ield's evelopment,rom tsredis-coveryand reevaluation o its successfulmarketing ndinstitutionalalidation,rowned yPrincetonUniversity'sacceptanceof hisgift,woyears eforehisdeath,n i960.His comprehensive ollection,which remains ntact ndunculled, provides an extraordinary pportunityfortoday's cholars o examine one collector's efinition fAmerican olk rt nd ays hefoundation orunderstand-ing how our own perceptions f the subjecthave beenshapedand informed ypreviousgenerations.

Charlotte mansMoore

i. UntilPrinceton niversityndertookhis ummaryatalogue,he nlyrecent cholarlytudy dentifyingdwardDuffBalken ndhis role s acollector fAmericanrovincialrtwasBeatrixRumford'sssay n thetwentieth-centuryediscoverynd early ollectingfAmerican olk rt,see Beatrix . Rumford,UncommonArt of theCommon People:AReview ofTrendsn the Collecting nd Exhibiting fAmerican olkArt," n Ian M. G. Quimby and ScottT. Swank,eds., PerspectivesnAmericanolkArt NewYorkand London,1980), 46. Since the earlytwentiethentury hen heseworks f rtwere rediscovered"ntil hepresent, cholars have debated the accuracyand use of the terms"provincial,"primitive,"folk,"nd "plain," mongothers, o describetheseobjects nd the artists ho created hem. n the context f thisessay,ome of thesewordshavebeen employed ecauseBalken ndhiscontemporariessedthem o define his mergingield f nquiryndappreciation.nparticular,heword provincial"s usedherepredomi-nantly ince t appears o be the termBalkenpreferredodescribe iscollection. odified n theearlywentiethentury,t s noted hat heseterms aveno currencynperiodreferencesftheeighteenthrnine-

teenth entury.heirmeaning iesmore nthehistory fthe disciplinethanwith he ct of creation n time nd place.For a similar iscussionof theterm primitive"s used bythese ame generationso addresstribal rt, eeWilliamRubin's essay Primitivism"n whichhe states,"That the erm rimitivisms ethnocentrics surely rue-and logical-ly o,for t refersot to thetribal rtsn themselves,ut totheWesterninterestnand reactionothem. rimitivismsthus naspect f hehis-tory f modern rt, otof tribal rt. n this ense, heword s compara-ble to the French japonisme,' hich refers otdirectlyo the art ndculture fJapan, utto theEuropeanfascination ith t," nWilliamRubin, ed.,20thCenturyrt:Affinityf he ribal nd theModernNewYork,984), 5.2. Biographicalnformationertaining o Edward DuffBalken and hisfamilys from arious ources. hese include: Obituaries, dwardD.Balken, rustee f nstitute'"ittsburghun- elegraph,pril6, i960; "E.1).Balken, nstitute ioneer,Dies, Prints ivisionFounder, 5, MadeManyRich Gifts," ittsburghostGazette, pril6, i960; "CarnegieArtOfficial ies,BalkenAssembled ioneer Collection," ittsburghress,

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April , 1g60;"In Memoriam," arnegie agazine 4,no.5 i960), I57;"Memorials, dwardDuffBalken, 97,"PrincetonlumniWeekly,uly,i960, i6;"EdwardBalken, rint urator,5,RetiredCarnegie nstituteOfficial ies-Donated Art to Princeton," ew York imes, pril 12,i960; "Edward DuffBalken Dies; Was Benefactor of University,"Princetonerald, pril 5, ig6o;John 'Connor,Jr.,"Balkenarks othBirthday,ollector f FinePrints, anuscripts;ctiven InternationalShows," ittsburghun-Telegraph,ugust 6, 1954;"Our NewTrustees,EdwardDuffBalken," arnegie agazine 2, no. (April 938), I55. Forthesecitations,he author hanksRinaYoungner, esearchssociate,"International Encounters," Departmentof Fine Arts,CarnegieMuseumofArt;Jennifer.Krantz,ssistantotheregistrar,epartmentof FineArts, arnegieMuseum ofArt; nd Monica Ruscil, SpecialCollections ssistant,eeleyG. Mudd Manuscript ibrary,rincetonUniversity.or informationertaining o Balken'sfather-in-law,ee"Pioneer ronMaker sDeadjames M.Bailey... "unidentifiedourceanddate, ourtesy eckerman alken,NewYork,n curatorial ilesTheArtMuseum.3.LynnBarstisWilliams, omp.,Americanrintmakers880-1945:An IndextoReproductionsndBiocriticalnformationMetuchen,NJ, 993), viii.4. EdwardDuffBalken hereafterDB)'s collection lso includedprintsbyJohnJ. . Murphy i888-i967), Roi Partridgei888-i984), JosephPennell i860-1926), and BoardmanRobinson (i876-1952), amongothers,ee ist fprintsDB owned,April4, 1943, Archives, arnegieMuseumofArt, ittsburgh,A (hereafter rchives, MA), code no.4122. Information ertaining o EDB and his associationwith theCarnegie nstitutes contained rimarilyntworepositories.Allorre-spondencebefore 940, unlessnotedotherwise,s on deposit s theCarnegieMuseum of ArtPapersat the Archives fAmericanArt,Washington,.C. (hereafterMA Papers,AAA). orrespondencefter1940, unless stated therwise,s fromArchives, MA. In I986, theDepartmentf FineArts t theCarnegie nstitute as made a compo-nentofthis nstitutionndgiven he nameThe CarnegieMuseumofArt hereafter MA). All text nd correspondenceited n this ssay,unless tated therwise,se the termCarnegie nstitutehereafterI).The author hanks achel E. C. Layton,uratorialssistant,ecorativeArts, MA, for larifyinghis hange.

5. The author hanksMrs.CharlesFagan, I,for haring ermemories fBalken'sPittsburghome and itsfurnishings.he author lso thanksCharles agan, II,forhiscomments ndassistance,nterviewedanuaryI995, Pittsburgh.6. EDB ownedJohnKane's painting quirrel illFarm,a. 1926, in LeonAnthony rkus, omp.,Johnane: PainterPittsburgh,971), 170, ilus.cat.no. 104, on p.28I. In hisautobiography,ane acknowledgesDBforbeingone of the earliest urchasersf hiswork. ee, SkyHooks:theAutobiographyfJohn ane, s toldto MarieMcSwigan,"n bid.,88. Thispainting as ncluded n the Eighteenthnnual xhibitionftheAssociated rtists fPittsburgh,"I, Februaryo-March 9, 1928,and exhib. at. s no.38, ndwasalso ncluded n Kane'smemorial xhi-bitionheldattheCI. See, Department fFineArts, I, "A MemorialExhibition f thePaintingsfJohnKane (I860-1934)," April9-May14, I936, cat.no.7.Other ollectors hoacquiredKane'swork nclude,StephenClark, tephenHirsch,AbbyAldrichRockefeller, . DavidThompson, ndJohnWalker. DB also acquiredPop Hart'sdrawingentitled,MatchingndWeighinghe Birds," exico, 927. See, HolgerCahill, George . 'Pop'Hart:Twenty-fourelectionsrom isWorkNewYork, 928), unpaginated,ourtesy,lizabeth tillinger, estport, T,July 3, 1995. These works fartprobably erefurnishingsfBalken'shome nPittsburgh.7.In otal, alken donatedfourteen ecorative rtobjects, evenwater-colors, nd two paintings,ne being notherworkbyPrendergastnti-tled Women t Seashore. ennifer . Krantz, ssistant o the registrar,CMA, to Charlotte mansMoore (hereafterEM), September , 994,

curatorial iles, he ArtMuseum.See bill of sale fromMaurice B.PrendergastoEDBApril 4, 91i8, or ainting wampscotteach, hichsoldfor 250.00. Archives, MA, code no. 09.8. These included 553-pagemanuscript,opied n 171I from heorigi-nal of about 1573, detailing history f the civil strifet Munster,Germany;seventeenth-centuryopy f nencyclopediaf thleticsnthe ncientworld ntitled eArteGymnastica,yJerome ercuriale,nItalianphysician; wovolumesofan eighteenth-centurynpublishedmanuscriptyCosimoBaroncelli ddressinghehistoryf theMedicifamily;n edition fQuintusCurtius, ife fAlexanderheGreat, rint-ed nVenicen 494; a copy f TheLettersf t.Jerome,ublishedn Baselin 1489 by Nicolaus Kesler; hree ncunables,r "cradle"books,onebeing a concordance freligious ndecclesiasticalerms ompiledbyNiccolo da Osimo, printedn Venice n 1474, theothers eingSaintThomasAquinas's ommentariesn the ettersfSaintPaul and a vol-umeof SaintBonaventure'sententiarum.thergenerous onations oPrinceton niversity'sibrarynclude copy fMunster's osmographey,printedn 1578,and i649 printingfGottfried'srchontologiaosmica.Monica Ruscil, Special Collections assistant, eeley G. MuddManuscript ibrary,rincetonUniveristy,o CEM, September 2,1994, curatorial ilesTheArtMuseum.The uthor lso thanksMargaretM. Sherry, rchivist, are Books and Special Collections, irestoneLibrary, rincetonUniversity,or confirminghe correct pelling fthese itles nd forproviding comprehensiveist f EDB's donationsto this ibrary,ee MargaretM. Sherry o CEM, December 15, 1995,curatorial iles.9.JohnW Beatty, irector f Fine Arts, I, to EDB, September , 1915,andJ.W Beatty o EDB, December 1, 1915, CMA Papers, AA, codeno. 122.

i0. EDB workedwith everal roupsn the city,ncluding heAssociatedArtistsof Pittsburgh,One Hundred Friends of PittsburghArt,Pittsburghtching lub, ndArt ociety fPittsburghnprojectshatsought o boost ocal appreciationor he arts nd to provide ublicaccess to works of art and cultural activities.Affiliatedwith theAssociated rtistsfPittsburgh,alken workedwith ts members osponsornnual rt xhibitionsnthe ity o nterestesidentsn thefinearts and to provide supportand encouragementfor ocal artists.Founded n i910, this rganizations recognizeds thesecond oldestcontinuous rtists'roupof tskind n thecountry. rtists ho con-tributed o its nnual howsover heyearsncludeJohnW Alexander,MaryCassatt, enryO.Tanner, hilipPearlstein,ndAndyWarhol.Themembership f thisorganization, eekingto present professionalforum or rtistsnd theirwork,nvitedoPittsburghomeofthemostprominent merican rtists f thedayto serveas udges, ncludingGeorgeLuks,William lackens, harlesW Hawthorne,rnest awson,ReginaldMarsh,Williamorach,Charles urchfield,nd,more ecent-ly,Robert Motherwell. ee, Mary Brignano,TheAssociated rtistsfPittsburgh: he First Seventy-FiveYears, 1910-1985 (Pittsburgh,985);Christian .Walter, The AssociatedArtists f Pittsburgh," arnegieMagazine 2, no. 9 (1929), 259-62; idem, The AssociatedArtists fPittsburgh,"rt ndArchaeology4, nos. 5-6 (I922), 329-30; see also,miscellaneouslippings,ertical iles,Artnd MusicDivision, arnegiePublicLibrary,ittsburgh.nother rganization alkenassisted, neHundred Friends fPittsburgh rt, urchasedworks f artfrom heAssociated rtists'xhibitionsndgave hem o the ity'sublic chools.A voluntary roup f one hundred ndividuals ho contributedundseachyear or hepurchase f works fart, his rganizationought osupportocalartistsinanciallynd toupliftchool-age hildrenhroughart ppreciationnd nstructionn theclassroom.John. Porter,OneHundred Friends f Pittsburghrt,"' rt ndArchaeology4, nos. 5-6(1922), 347-49y; dem, Those One Hundred riends,"atnegieMagazine , 00. 10 (1929), 302-4; and miscellaneouslippings, erticalfiles, rt nd MusicDivision,CarnegiePublic Library,ittsburgh.ee,

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JohnL. Porter,ecretary,ne Hundred Friends fPittsburghrt, oEDB, concerningallfor n executive ommitteemeeting, ctober 1,I923; EDB to Homer Saint-Gaudens,irector f the Department fFineArts, I, October , 1935, andOctober 9, I935, and Saint-Gaudens oEDB, October 4, 1935, and October 9, 1935, CMAPapers, AA,code no. 122. TheArtSociety f Pittsburgh,nother fBalken's nterests,asfounded n i873 topromote ultural,ducation-al, nd artisticndeavorsn the community.ponsoring rt xhibitionsat theCI and ectures n art, heSociety lso tronglyncouragedmusicappreciationwithconcerts nd receptions eaturing rominent er-formers of the day. See, Edwin Z. Smith,"The Art Society ofPittsburgh,"rt ndArchaeology4, nos.5-6 (I922), 350-51, and Chapterand By-Laws fArt ocietyf ittsburghPittsburgh,8gi); see also, erti-cal files, ennsylvania oom, andArt and Music Division,CarnegiePublic Library,ittsburgh,MA Papers, AA, code no. 594. For hercontributions,he author thanksRina Youngner, esearch ssociate,"Internationalncounters,"epartmentf FineArts, MA. An ardentcollector ffine rints,DB was also nstrumentaln founding short-livedorganization edicated o developingocal interestn fineprintsandthe graphic rts. n existence or nly ixyears eginningn i909,thePittsburghtching lub ceasedoperationsn 1915andsubsequent-ly donated ts mpressiveollection of lithographsy JamesAbbottMcNeill WhistlerI834-I903) to the CI. Archives, MA, Pittsburgh,code no. 412; inparticular,eeEDB toJohnW Beatty, epartmentfFineArts, I, December31, I915, inwhichBalken acknowledges hedissolutionf theclub,notes tspresentationf twelveWhistleritho-graphso theCI, and provides descriptionftheorganizationwhichfor ixyearsaboredunselfishlyodevelop n this ommunityloveofFinePrints,nda studious nterestn GraphicArt."

ii. By lobbying t the museumfor dequateexhibition acilities or heprint epartmentndworkingobuild ts ollection,nhisfirst ear scurator alken broughtnto the collection orty-fiveineengravings,forty-sixood engravings,hirty-sixtchings,ndfour riginal itho-graphs,while mounting xhibitions f lithographs y JamesAbbottMcNeill Whistlernd etchings yChilde Hassam.See EDB, curator,Department fPrints, I, toJohnW Beatty, irector, epartment fFineArts,March 1, I9I6, CMA Papers,AAA,ode no. 122. AlthoughBalkenwasnot a prolific riter, uring istenuret this nstitutionewrotearticles or the CarnegieMagazine ddressingarious ubjects,includingMalvinaHoffman-Americanculptor," arnegie agazine ,no. 9 (1929), 270-72; "Fine Prints rom he Collection ofLessingJ.Rosenwald," CarnegieMagazine 7, no. I (I933), 13-i8; "HolbeinDrawings ngraved yBartolozzi," arnegie agazine , no.6 (i934),I63-66. Forthese itations,heauthor hanks ob Gangewere,ditor,Carnegie agazine, ittsburgh,A.

I2. JohnWalker,Johnalker,elf-Portraitith onors: onfessionsf nArtCollectorBoston ndToronto,974), 20, and nterview ithJohnWalkerby CEM, February, 1995,curatorialiles,heArtMuseum; ee also,Balken's omment eflectingisphilosophyn modern rints,Here sa safe ndsaneruletoput nyourhat:-Never take modern xhibi-tion ofprints,r anythinglse,without omebody irsteeing t.That'somebody'mustbe one forwhose udgementyou haverespect,"nhandwrittenesponseo etter romJohn'Connor,Jr.,ssistantirec-tor, I, toEDB, August 0, 1936,CMA Papers, AA,code no. 122.

13. The author hanksDB's grandson eckerman alkenfor llowing erto examine he rchitecturallansfor hishouse.14. For information bout the electric ine,see Lila S. Parrish,GreatBarrington, A, to CEM, February 8, 1995, curatorial iles,he ArtMuseum.I5. EDB toJohnWBeatty,July, 192I, CM APapers,AAA, odeno. I22.Atan undetermined ime, DB's friend nd neighbor lbertH. Spahrdesignedmodest dditions nd made omechanges o thehouse's nte-rior.

i6. EDB to MissMary L. McBride,May 22, 1927; EDB to Major John]O'Connor,June , 1924, CMA Papers, AA, code no. 122. See also,interviews ithEDB's son Bailey Balken, nd grandson eckermanBalken, y CCH,June I, i99i, and withBeckerman alkenbyCEM,1994, curatorial iles, heArtMuseum.

I7. EDB to CharlesF Ramsey, epartment f FineArts, I,June 7, I915,CMA Papers, AA,code no. 122.i8. During the yearsbetween 840 and i86o, manyAmericanwritersresided n or visitedheBerkshires.Williamullen Bryant uilt housein Cummington;Herman Melville wrote MobyDick at his home,Arrowhead,n Pittsfield.thers ncludeNathanielHawthorne,amesRussell Lowell, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Catharine Sedgwick, ndHenry Wadsworth ongfellow. his concentration f many of thenation's reatwriters uring hisperiod,within few miles of eachother nd in combinationwith the surroundings,ed theReverendHenryWardBeecher o bestow n this egion he itle,The AmericanLakeDistrict,"lluding o ts imilaritiesith heEnglish ake District,madefamous y writersikeWilliamWordsworthnd SamuelTaylorColeridge. atern thenineteenthentury,he culptor aniel ChesterFrenchi850-193I) lived t hishome,Chesterwood,n Stockbridge.ni885, attorney nd diplomatJosephHodges Choate commissionedarchitect tanford hiteto buildhis homeNaumkeag n this own,while writer dithWharton wnedthe Mount n nearby enox. SeeEdwardHalseyFoster,CatharineMaria SedgwickNew York,1974),19-20; seealso, erkshireounty:tsArtndCulture700-1840 (Pittsfield,MA, i986).

i9. For a first-handccount addressing he availabilityf farm andformodestprices during hisperiod, ee the comments f artist eorgeLaurenceNelson.He and his wifepurchased homeinKent,CT, ini919. GeorgeLaurence Nelson,NewLifeforOld TimberKent,CT,i982), 7, 21, 37.

20. KennethL. Ames, ntroduction,nAlanAxelrod, d., The ColonialRevivalnAmericaNewYorkandLondon, 985), 3.2 I. For nformationertainingo the olonial evivalnAmerica, ee, bid.,

1-14; KaralAnnMarling, eorge ashingtonlept ere:Colonial evivalsandAmerican ulture,876-1986 Cambridge,MA, I988), in particular,i85-222; MichaelKammen,MystichordsfMemory:TheransformationofTraditionnAmericanultureNewYork,99I), part , 1915-45,299-527; ElizabethStillinger,heAntiquers,heLives ndCareers,heDeals, he inds,heCollectionsf heMen ndWomen howere esponsiblefor heChangingastenAmericanntiques,85o-1930 (NewYork, 980);and WilliamH. TruettnerndRogerB. Stein, ds.,Picturingld NewEngland:magenadMemoryNew Haven, 999).

22. After DB died,hisfamilylosedup thehouse.Arranged yColleenC. Heslip, hotographs ere aken hat ccuratelyeflectts ppearanceduring DB's lifetime,mittinghepaintingsnd drawings iventoPrincetonUniversity.he author hanks eckermanBalkenand hiswife,MaryRiddell, or llowingherto see the houseand examine tscontents nd for haring DB's papers ndaninventorye made atanundeterminedime,which ppears o ndicate pproximaterices aidfor hefurnishingsnd works fart ontainedn thishome.23. Christopher onkhouse,"The pinningWheelsArtifact,ymbol,ndSourceofDesign,"n Kenneth .Ames, d., Victorianurniture:ssaysfrom Victorianociety utumn ymposiumPhiladelphia, A, I983),153-72. In EDB's inventory,e recorded hevalue of $25 forthis"SpinningwheelandFlax Reel.Turnings elicate& fine or o usefula piece," n"Furniturenventoryarm," ourtesy eckerman alken,NewYork, hotocopyncuratorialiles,he ArtMuseum.

24. EDB toJohnW Beatty,ctober 9, I919; Beatty oEDB, November ,1919, Western nionTelegram;nd EDB to Beatty, ovember , 9I9,Western nionTelegram, MA Papers, AA,code no. I22.

25. In a letter o Colleen C. Heslip (hereafter CH), Mary C. Blackrecalled,It was [John3'Connor who reiteratedhatMr.Balkenhad25



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toldme, hat alken iked obestownames nunidentifiedubjects hatrelated o hisfriends r contemporaries."aryC. Black,Germantown,NY, toHeslip,June0, i99i, curatorialiles,The rtMuseum.This ac-tor, n combination ith lack ofcontemporaryocumentation, ayexplainwhyfew dentified ortraitubjects ould be found nprimarysources.26. Mary C. Black,Germantown, Y, to CCH, Williamstown, A, June

20, i99i, curatorial ilesTheArtMuseum.27. Ibid.Exceptions othis imitnclude, olonial ame yi958-57), attrib-uted to Sarah Perkins,Girl n Pink yi958-74), attributed o AmmiPhillips,nd George ashingtonyi958-IoI), by nunidentifiedrtist,n"Furniturenventory arm," ourtesy,eckerman alken,NewYork,photocopyncuratorialiles,he ArtMuseum see also,Appendix ).In I946, EDB paid one thousand ollars oHarry haw Newmanof heOld Print hop,NewYork, or hepairofpaintings epictingMotherand Daughter nd Father nd Son,The Walker amilyyi958-58 and

yi958-59). See copy of EDB's account ard n etter rom ennethM.Newman,TheOld Print hop Inc.,NewYork,NY, to CCH, OctoberIO, i99i, curatorialilesThe rtMuseum.

28. For nformationertainingothe vailabilityfworks fart t modestprices, eeLilaS.Parrish, reatBarrington, A,toCEM, February8,i995, curatorial iles, he Art Museum, and interviewwithAgnesHalseyJones, averford,A, ndCEM,July 994, curatorial iles.

29. For referenceothe ermsuper-collector,"nthe ontext fcollectingAmericana,see Stillinger, ntiquers,00. The author also thanksElizabeth tillingerorhercommentsoncerning he nclusion f theindividuals ited. lizabeth tillingero CEM, April 8, i999.30.Early mericanrt, xhib. at.,Whitney tudioClub (NewYork, 924)courtesy,lizabeth tillinger, estport, T. Also n I924, in Kent,CT,an exhibitionwas held in the summer eaturingmanyportraits hatwouldbe attributedater o the rtist mmiPhillips. rganized y rtistGeorgeLaurenceNelson, his xhibition,hoseworks f rtwerebor-rowed rom ocalresidents, as held nconjunctionwith streetair obenefitheKentPublicLibrary.ee Mrs.H. G.Nelson,"EarlyAmericanPrimitives,"nternationaltudio o, no. 334 1925), 454-59;"The KentStreet air," ew Mif rd imes,July1, 1924;"Kent,"NewMilfordimes,August , 1924;"The KentStreet air,"Milfordimes, ugust 4, 1924.As far shas beendetermined,DB probably id notattend his xhi-bition.Writingto EDB in I941, the art historianJamesFlexnerremarked n howpleased he and hiswife, gnes laterMrs. Louis C.Jones,nauthorityn the ubjectnher wnright),ad been tosee hispaintingollection. e noted hathe wasenclosingMrs.Nelson's rti-cle on theexhibition,ndicatinghatEDB probablywas not familiarwith t. Atthat ime, promisedohunt ut thereferenceoryou....You will findcanvasses y the Kent artist later dentified s AmmiPhillips] llustratedhere...."James homasFlexner, lintonville,T,toEDB, October , I941, courtesy,eckerman alken,NewYork, ho-tocopy n curatorial iles, he Art Museum.Thanks also to EmilyHobson,Kent,CT.31. Duringthis xhibition,heFrickArtReference ibraryhotographed

the sixteenportraitsnd possiblytwo of eight andscapesshown.Consequently,t is almost ossible isually o reconstructheportraitsection f this nstallationogain n mpressionfpainting referencesin 1924. Interestingly,he canvases ncluded are relativelyark andsomber,uggesting specificesthetic alue t workduring his eriodofcollectinghatsdifferentromoday. urthermore,ith ittle egardforhistorical ccuracy,heportraits ere assignednames thatwerethoughto coincidewith he sitters'ppearance rseemed nkeepingwith the New EnglandYankeeidentity,uch as Drusilla,Prudence,Euphemia,ndTabitha. t scontended ere hat his 920S folk rt es-theticwas transformedn the 1930S by the activitiesf AbbyAldrichRockefellernd herhired ssociates ho,becauseoftheir ast inancialresources, ained access to a significantlyroadercross-section f

Americanmaterial ulture.A ew folk rt anon"was formed ith heexhibition f her collection t the Museumof Modern Art n NewYork,which showcased rightlyoloredportraitsnd landscapes ea-turing utechildren ith dorable ets nd decorative arrativecenes.Thisvisual anonwas ater nstitutionalizednnumerous ublic ndpri-vatecollections nd continues o nform ur udgmentso thepresent.To udge EDB's collection ythe esthetic efinitionsf he ater anonisto view his accomplishmentnachronistically,ithout sophisticat-ed grasp f howthetaste orAmerican olk rtdeveloped ver ime.32. Exhibitionf arlyAmericanortraitsndLandscapes,lso omeAntiquesndRareHooked ugs, xhib. at., NewYork, 924), courtesy,lizabeth til-linger,Westport, T; for publishedreviewsof this exhibition, ee,"Random mpressionsnCurrentxhibitions,"ewYork erald ribune,December 4, I924, is;"Art, xhibitions ftheWeek,"NewYorkimes,December14, 1924, I4;"Varied xhibitionsn theGalleries," ewYorkSun,December 13, 1924, II; Deoch Fulton, Cabbages & Kings,"Internationaltudio80, no. 334 (1925), 489-9i. Thanksto ElizabethStillinger,or hefollowing eviews,ee also,Guy Eglington,Art ndOtherThings,"nternationaltudio o, no. 333 1925), 4i6-i9; "PopularCultforAmericanrimitives,"rooklynailyEagle, ecember 1, 1924;"Current xhibitions," rts ,no. (1925), 46-47.33. EDB's fellowenders o this xhibitionnclude Mrs.F F Brumbach,Mrs.H. S.Davis, tephanHirsch,Mrs.G.Laying, . R. Stock,Alfred.

Uhler, nd L. EWhite.34. Forcontemporaryommentaryn the use ofAmerican rimitivesodecorate ountry omes, ee Homer Eaton Keyes, Some AmericanPrimitives," agazine ntiques2, no. (1927), ii8-22.35. Kammen,Mystic hordsfMemory,09.36.For the nterveninghirteen ears, alken retained his dministrativetitle, eflectingis refusal o assume ull-timeesidencyn Pittsburgh,seeHomerSaint-Gaudens oEDB,July 6, 1922, CMA Papers, AA,code no.4I22; EDB to Saint-Gaudens, arch 8, 1935, CMA Papers,AAA, code no. 4I22; Saint-Gaudens o EDB, May 27, 1935, CMAPapers, AA,code no. 122.37.Unless otherwise tated, nformation ertaining o the CarnegieInternationalnPittsburghs fromJohn'Connor,Jr.,The PittsburghInternational,ts Beginnings, evelopment, nd Evolution," n TheHistory fthePittsburghnternational,arnegie nstitute,896-1952(Pittsburgh, 952); idem,"The Carnegie Institute nternationalExhibition,"ArtndArchaeology4, nos.5-6 (1922), 301-II;Departmentof FineArts,Carnegie Institute, ittsburgh,896-1955, RetrospectiveExhibitionf aintingsfromreviousnternationalsPittsburgh,958).38.Homer Saint-Gaudens o EDB, August 5, 1925, CMA Papers, AA,code no. I22.39.Carol Troyen nd Erica E. Hirshler,CharlesSheeler: aintingsndDrawingsBoston,987), 154.40.Holger Cahill,FederalWorksAgency,WorksProjectsAdministration,Washington,.C., to JeanLipman, ditor, rt nAmerica,annondale,CT,January , 1941, Jean ipmanPapers,AAA, ourtesy,lizabeth til-linger,Westport,T.41. EDB toCharles heeler, idgefield, T, May9, 934; Sheeler oEDB,May 15, 1934, Archives, MA, code no. 6oo.42. Interview ithBailey ndBeckerman alkenby CCH,June II, i99i,and nterviews ithBeckerman alkenbyCEM, 1994, curatorialiles,The ArtMuseum.43.For a sociological nalysis fmodernity,ee PeterL. Berger, rigitteBerger, nd Hansfried ellner, heHomeless ind:ModernizationndConsciousnessNewYork,973).44.Forscholarlytudies n thehistoryfAmerican olk rt ollecting,eefor example, Wanda Corn, "The Return of the Native: TheDevelopment f nterestn American rimitive ainting;'master'she-sis,New York University,965; David ParkCurry, Rose-ColoredGlasses,Looking for Good Design' in American Folk Art," n An

26



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Americanampler:olkArtfromhe helburne useumWashington,.C.,i987), 24-4I; Alice Ford,PictorialolkArt:New England oCalfornia(New Yorkand London, 1949); PatriciaMainardi,Americanculpture,Folk& Modern,xhib. at.,TheQueensMuseum NewYork, 977), cat-aloguefor xhibition eldMarch 2-May 8, 1977; BeatrixT.Rumford,"UncommonArt,"3-53.45.Rumford,UncommonArt,"3.46.EDB's collection ontains hree ingle ortraitsf womenpainted npanel,Rural MatronyI958-87), Lois BarnesSmithWarner,ducator(yI958-97),andAnn ofMaldenBridgeyI9s8-93), all byunidentifiedartists. nyof these hree ouldbe the relevant ork. dithG. Halpertto EDB, April O, I934, CMA Papers, AA, code no. 5921. See also,telegram romHalpert,AmericanFolk ArtGallery, o CI, May 24,1934,CMA Papers, AA, code no.589i; Halpert o CI, May 24, I934,CMA Papers, AA,codeno. 589i;JohnO'ConnorJr.,Carnegie nsti-tute, o Halpert,May25, 1934, CMA Papers,AAA,odeno.589i.47.EdithG. Halpert o EDB, September , 1931, CMA Papers,AAA,odeno. 5891; Halpert o EDB, January2, 1933, CMA Papers, AA,codeno. 5800; Halpert o EDB, December 2, 1931, CMA,AAA, code no.II0. In this orrespondence,he lso provides imwith preparediog-raphy n Holger Cahill,her business artner,nd one of the eadingscholarsn theemerging ield ffolk rt.Halpert o EDB, DecemberI2, I93I, CMA Papers,AAA,ode no.589I.

48.EdithG. Halpertto EDB, April 30, I93I, CMA Papers,AAA, codeno.589I.49.EDB to Edith G. Halpert,May 5, 193I, CMA Papers, AA,code no.589I.50.CuratedbyHolgerCahill,who had previouslyrganized wo otherseminal xhibitionsddressingAmericanolk rt n 930 and 93I at theNewark Museum, heshow at the Museumof Modern Art, ntitled,"American olkArt-TheArtof heCommon Man,1750-Igoo," No-vember30, I932-january 15, 1933, featured 74 worksof art entanonymously yAbbyAldrichRockefeller. founderndactive up-porter ftheMuseumofModernArt,whose husband's inancialack-ing ubsequentlyelped o restore olonialWilliamsburg,AbbyldrichRockefeller'snterestn American olk rtprobably eveloped,npart,from er personal ppreciationfcontemporaryrt nd itshistoricalantecedents.ee,Rumford,UncommonArt," 2.

5 . EdithG.Halpert oEDB, December , 1932, CMA Papers,AAA,odeno.589I andHalpert oEDB,January2, 1933, CMA Papers,AAA,odeno. 5800; Halpertmayhave embellished er nvolvement ith Mrs.Rockefeller inceHolger Cahill obviously layed critical ole, ee,WendyJeffers,HolgerCahill and AmericanArt," rchivesfAmericanArtJournalI, no.4 (I991), 7.52.EDB to Edith G. Halpert, anuary3, 1933, CMA Papers, AA,codeno. 5800.53.Holger Cahill, American rimitives:n ExhibitofthePaintings fNineteenth-CenturyolkArt Newark,NJ, 93I).54.ExhibitionfAmericanolkPaintingnConnectionith heMassachusettsTercentenaryelebrationCambridge, A, I930), unpaginated.

55.Over theyears,heregionwashome to several ther olk rt ollectors.EatonPaperCorporationxecutive oraceW Davis ofPittsfield, A,collectedAmerican olkpaintingsrom 934 untilhisdeath,n 1942.Seventy-fivefthemwere oanedto theBerkshire useum n 1941 foran exhibition ntitled AmericanFolk Painting f theNineteenthCentury."pon Davis'sdeath, oward ndJean ipmanpurchasedhiscollection,etainingomepiecesanddispersinghe remaindert auc-tion n NewYork n 1946.According oWendy effers,orothyMillerand herhusband, olgerCahill, wneda home in Stockbridge, A,which he nheritedn 943. However,inceherparentsived here ntiltheearly 950S, theydid not spend muchtime at thisresidence. orinformation ertaining o Horace W. Davis and his collection, ee,AmericanolkPaintingsfheNineteenthentury,entbyHoraceWDavis

(Pittsfield,A, 194I);"FolkArtAttains istorical alue,"NewYork un,February 2, 194I, Jean Lipman Papers,AAA, courtesy, lizabethStillinger,Westport,T. For nformationertainingo the aleofDavis'scollection, ee,JeanLipmanto Maxim Karolik, anuary , 1945,JeanLipmanPapers, nd Parke-Bernet alleries,American olkPaintings,Includingmaginativerimitives,arines,cenicAmerica,ocalitiesfnterest,Homes ndSchools fOurAncestors,olk s TheyWere,ollectionormed ytheLate HoraceW Davis,Soldby Order fMr.& Mrs.Howard ipman,Cannondale,onn. February8, 1946). For nformationertainingoDorothyMiller nd Holger Cahill ntheBerkshires,ee,WendyJeffers,New York, to CEM, September 2, 1994, curatorial iles, he ArtMuseum.56.J.StuartHalladay nd HerrelGeorgeThomasto JohnO'Connor,Jr.,CI, March 22, I941, Archives, MA, code no. I5i0; Halladay andThomas to O'Connor,April I, 194I, Archives,MA, code no. I5o0;Halladay ndThomasto O'Connor,June , 1941, Archives, MA, codeno. i5io;Halladay nd Thomasto O'ConnorJune I2, 1941, Archives,CMA, code no. iSio; O'Connor to F.A. Leovy, ittsburgh,ugust 8,194I,Archives,MA, code no. 5io. At a later ate,Thomascknowl-edgedthat he collection ad grown omorethan ivehundredtems,see, The Halladay-Thomas tory,"lipping,nidentifiedource, ura-torial iles,AbbyAldrichockefellerolkArt enter,WilliamsburgVA.57.JohnO'Connor,Jr., I, to EDB, October 20, 1942, Archives,MA,code no. 122. For ources ertainingoEDB introducing alladay ndThomas to American rovincial aintings,ee telegramromMaryC.BlackAbbyAldrich ockefellerolkArtCollection,Williamsburg,VA,to Robert Koch,PrincetonUniversity,pril 8, I960, curatorial iles,The Art Museum, n which she sendsmessage,...We are proudofmention fhispioneernterestnfolk rt hated Halladay ndThomasof Sheffieldo make their ollection."See also,variousobituaries,including"E. D. Balken, InstitutePioneer, Dies, Prints DivisionFounder, 5,Made Many Rich Gifts,"ittsburghost Gazette, pril6,1960; "Carnegie Art OfficialDies, Balken Assembled PioneerCollection," ittsburghress, pril 6, ig60; "Memorials, dward DuffBalken,97," PrincetonlumniWeekly,July, ig60, i6;JohnO'Connor,Jr.,BalkenMarks othBirthday,ollector fFinePrints, anuscripts;Active n Internationalhows,"Pittsburghun-Telegraph,ugust26,1954. For thesecitations,heauthor hanksRinaYoungner,esearchassociate,Internationalncounters,"epartmentfFineArts, MA,Jennifer. Krantz,ssistanto theregistrar,epartment f FineArts,CMA, andMonicaRuscil, pecialCollectionsssistant,eeleyG.MuddManuscriptibrary,rinceton niversisty.

58. nformationrom lizabeth tillinger,estport,T; seealso, eatrix .Rumford, d.,AmericanolkPaintings:aintingsndDrawingstherhanPortraitsfromheAbbyAldrichockefellerolkArt enterBostonToronto,andLondon, 988), x.59.J.StuartHalladay nd HerrelGeorgeThomas toJohnO'Connor, Jr.,CIJune 12, I941, Archives,MA, code no.1510.60.MaryC. Blackwas thefirstcholar o notethis onnectionn hercor-respondence ithEDB. See,MaryC. Black,AbbyAldrichRockefellerFolkArtCollection,Williamsburg,A,to Frances ones nd RobertKoch, PrincetonUniversity,uly , I958, curatorialfiles, he ArtMuseum.For additional nformation,ee the individual ntries orHenriettaorr cat.no. 2) and Girl nMauve cat.no. ).

6I. EDB toMaryC. Black,Abby ldrich ockefeller olkArtCollection,Williamsburg,A,July 2, 1958, courtesy,eckermanBalken,NewYork, hotocopyncuratorial iles,he ArtMuseum.62.Among heworks xhibited ere:Peaceableingdomnd TheResidenceof avid winingn1787, yEdward icksI780-1849); SelfPortrait,yJohnKane;Coryell~serry,776,byJoseph ickett; heBurnishisters,yWilliamMathewPrior I806-I875); Baby na Red Chair, ultingntheHudson, anchesteralley,nd TheRunaway orse, yunidentifiedrtists.See DepartmentfFineArts, I, Surveyf mericanaintingPittsburgh,27



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PA, 1940), cataloguefor exhibitionheldOctober 24-December iS,1940. For identificationf these works s folk rt, eeVirgilBarker'snotesfor xhibition, MA Papers, AA,code no.7000.63.JohnO'Connor,Jr., I, toEDB, October17, 1940, CMA Papers,AAA,code no. 15i0.64.John O'Connor, Jr.,CI, to J.StuartHalladay and Herrel GeorgeThomas,April , 1941, Archives, MA, code no. I5io. Department fFineArts, I, Americanrovincialaintings68o-186o,romheCollectionofj.Stuart alladayndHerrel eorge homas.ora review f this xhi-bition, eeJeanetteena,"Four otableArt xhibitsWill Close Soon AtInstitute.. 80 CanvassesnProvincial isplay," ittsburghost-Gazette,May 20, 1941, courtesyJenniferutter, ochester, Y Reflectingntheir fforts,alladay ndThomasacknowledged alken's mmeasur-ablecontributiono the exhibition'success.Ifyouwerenot nvolvedinthe ituation,"heywrote,we never nthewide world, o ... neverin eighteenworlds ighteen imes s wide as this ne, would we haveput s much nto tas we did.... we didn'twant o etyoudown.""TheToilers"Halladay Thomas] toEDB, March 7, 1941, Archives, MA,code no. 1510.65.See "The Toilers" [Halladay & Thomas] to EDB, March 17, I941,Archives,MA, code no. 5io; see alsoThomas's omment,The newsgot bout thatwe had a collection fEarlyAmerican aintings. ritics,painters,uthors,ndmany thers ametosee them. hen theywouldreturn nd bring heir riends.eople became very nthusiasticboutthem nd chiefly hosewho were wareofthe best nmodern rt, orthesimilarityetween hetwo was marked. nly, tmight e added,while theearlyAmerican ranscendedis morepopular ndsophisti-cated rethren hohad thebenefit fEuropean raining,e, tthe ametime, nticipatedhemodern ainter ho, nmany espects,sgiving snothing ew,"n "The Halladay-Thomastory,"lipping,nidentifiedsource, uratorial iles, bby Aldrich RockefellerFolk ArtCenter,Williamsburg,VA.66. EDB toJ.StuartHalladay nd HerrelGeorgeThomas,December13,1940, original n curatorial iles, bbyAldrichRockefeller olk ArtCenter,Williamsburg,A,copy n CMA Papers, AA,code no. i5i0.Forresponse,ee,"TheToilers"Halladay Thomas] toEDB,March 7,1941, Archives, MA, code no.15io; andHalladay ndThomas toJohnO' Connor,Jr., arch17, 1941, Archives,MA, code no.1510.67. For referenceo Thomas's haracterizationfmodern rt s"nothingnew," ee"The Halladay-Thomastory,"lipping,nidentifiedource,curatorial files, heAbbyAldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Center,Williamsburg,VA,nd see note65 for ontext.68.WhitneyMuseumofAmerican rt, mericanrovincialaintingsfromheCollectionfj. tuart alladayndHerrel eorgehomasNewYork, 942),catalogue orbenefit xhibition or he AmericanFieldService, eldOctober27-November 9, 1942.69.Portionsfthis ollectionwould be included nother xhibitions,uchasThe ArtsClub ofChicago, xhib. at.,AmericanrimitiveaintingfFourCenturiesChicago, 943),November -27, 1943.

70.JohnO'Connor, Jr., o EDB, August 20, 1942, Archives, MA, codeno. 122.71.JohnO'Connor,Jr.,o EDB, October26, 1942,Archives,MA, codeno. 4122. For other etters oliciting alken to lend, ee, O'ConnortoEDB, May 20, 1943,Archives, MA, code no.4122, andO'ConnortoEDB,June7, 1945,Archives, MA, code no.4122.72.EDB to Homer Saint-Gaudens,eptember 7, 1946,Archives, MA,code no. 122.

73. Department f Fine Arts, I, American rovincialaintings,790-1877,from heCollectionfEdward uff alkenPittsburgh,947).Twopaint-ings n the catalogue, o. 33, Little lowerGirl, nd no. 40, Rip VanWinkle, heinbecksic , NewYork,y unidentifiedrtists,renot n thecollection tPrinceton niversity,or do they ppear nThe ArtMu-seum, rincetonUniversity,mericanolkArt:A CollectionfPaintingsPresentedn 1958byEdward uffBalken ftheClass of 1897 oTheArtMuseum,Princeton niversityPrinceton, 1958) (hereafterAFA).Number60, Mrs.Zachariah lager,s renamed Womanwith BlackPaisleyhawl,ttributedoAmmiPhillips cat.no.17). For thepriceofone dollar, DB borrowedNo. 33 from he Pittsburghontemporaryart ollectorG. David Thompson, banker ndsteel ompany xecu-tivewho was alsoa trustee fthe Museum ofModernArt,NewYork.See, memofrom ohnO Connor,Jr., I, March 13, 1946,Archives,CMA, code no. 4122, and An ExhibitionfWorkscquiredfromheG.DavidThompson ollectionPittsburgh,A,n.d.). The author thanksRachel E. C. Layton, uratorialssistant,ecorativeArts, MA, forherassistance n attemptingo locate installation hotographs f EDB'scollection.74.EDB to"The Boys" Halladay Thomas],January0, 1947, uratorialfiles, bbyAldrichRockefeller olkArtCenter,Williamsburg,VA.75. Transcription f letterfromJohnWalker, hief curator,NationalGallery fArt,Washington,.C., to EDB,January 6, 1947, curatori-al files, bbyAldrichRockefeller olk ArtCenter,Williamsburg,VA;interviewwithJohnWalker y CEM, February 995, curatorial iles,The ArtMuseum.76. See, "Carnegie ArtExhibits Scheduled," Pittsburghost Gazette,January , 1947;"Balkan [sic Art Collection to go on Exhibition,"Pittsburghost-Gazette,anuary , 1947; Eugene F Jannuzi,CarnegieInstitutehowMirrors arlyU.S. Life, election fPrimitive mericanArt ReflectsFashions f Our PioneerFolk,"Pittsburghost-Gazette,January0, 1947, courtesyJenniferutter, ochester, Y.The portraitentitled olonial ame South arolina),scribed oJames arl, sattrib-utedby CCH to SarahPerkins;hepainting ntitled ortraitf MIanwas attributed o JosephWhiting Stock and is currently y anunidentifiedrtist.

77. EDB toDonald Egbert, rinceton niversityJuly2, 1952, curatorialfiles, he ArtMuseum; ee also,EDB to Egbert, eptember0, 1952,curatorialiles.78. EDB to ErnestT. DeWald, director, he ArtMuseum,PrincetonUniversity,pril 1, I958, curatorial iles,The rtMuseum.79.TheArtMuseum, rinceton niversity,FA,catalogue or he xhibi-tion. wo additional ortraitminiaturesnd one oil portrait, hich donotappear nthe1947 catalogue,re ncludedn the1958 publicationl:no.64, Portraitf UMan,ttributedo Henry nman, 0.5x 22.9 cm.,whereabouts nknown;no. 65, Portraitf Man, by an unidentifiedartist,robablyikeness fWilliamJongcat.no. 1); andno. 6o, EdwardDuff t theAge ofFour, ee entry orEdward uff cat.no. 3). EDB toErnest .DeWald,TheArtMuseum, rinceton niversity,ay , 1958,

curatorial ilesTheArtMuseum;AnneK. Stolzenbach,egistrar,I, toFrances ollinJones,ssistanto thedirector,he ArtMuseum,May 8,1958,curatorialiles; tolzenbachoJones, ay 12, 1958,curatorialiles;EDB toDeWald,May , 1958,curatorial iles; eed ofgift, ay 5, 1958,curatorialiles. he author hanks harlesK. Steiner,ssociate irector,TheArtMuseum, orhisassistancen attemptingo locate nstallationphotographsf this xhibition.

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Another Generation's Folk Art

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