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InPrint Article
Read this article, or see other newsletter articles. February, 2005 Interview with Wendy Wick Reaves, Curator of Prints and Drawings By Janet Maher Wendy Wick Reaves became the Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.si.edu) in 1974 and has been creatively building the collection ever since. She explained that, with very broad interpretations, this art collection represents famous figures in history that have made a significant contribution to the culture and history of the United States. Drawings, photographs, and prints number into the tens of thousands to date. While the quality and significance of the art is crucial, the first consideration for selection at the Portrait Gallery is the biographical or historical relevance of the subject. This aspect affords a fresh and eclectic view to the visual history of American-related art. Works by such artists as Eastman Johnson, Mary Cassatt, and John Singer Sargent are represented within the Gallery’s prints and drawings collection, which features prominent Americans of different eras. The collection also includes such examples of non-traditional and ephemeral material as cartoons, caricatures, posters, and illustrated books that one might not expect to see in a museum devoted to portraiture. The earliest work in the NPG collection is the only accurate portrait of Pocahontas, a 1616 engraving bound into the Bazilioologia or Booke of Kings. This compilation of engraved plates plus a titlepage is very rare (although there is a version in the Garrett library collection at Evergreen House, Baltimore, MD) and no two volumes are alike. A unique copy of a 1787 almanac contains the only known portrait of 18th century Whiskey Rebellion leader Daniel Shays. Among the collection’s other rare volumes are an endearing 1854 Japanese souvenir book depicting Commodore Matthew Perry, and a 1773 book by the former slave Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, which includes an engraved frontispiece portrait of the author. The poster collection, comprised of both European and American examples, ranges from Jules Cheret’s 1893 lithograph of American dancer Loie Fuller to a large Italian film poster featuring Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman in “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” to American psychedelic posters from the 60s. There is a rich representation of modern and contemporary art, such as a prize collection of pastel portraits from the Harlem Renaissance. A beautiful Faith Ringgold book, Seven Passages to a Flight, composed of etchings on linen with pochoir coloring, is accompanied by a matching quilt printed with the same images. The recent acquisition of collector Ruth Bowman’s 187 20th century American artists’ self-portraits, all on paper, has significantly added to the contemporary aspect of this collection. A Kiki Smith self-portrait print folds into a book. A handmade paper grid piece by Chuck Close traces the artist’s touch in the drying pulp. Philip Pearlstein drew his portrait on a previous exhibition poster. Self-portraits by Alexander Calder, Andy Warhol, David Hockney, and Jim Dine were also acquired with this collection. One of the exhibitions planned for NPG’s 2006 re-opening is Eye Contact: Modern American Portrait Drawings, which will feature 72 20th century masterpieces from the collection. It will be accompanied by a catalogue. Previous thematic exhibits with fine catalogues have included Celebrity Caricature in America, and (Pat) Oliphant’s Presidents: Twenty-five Years of Caricature. Several graphics exhibitions are on the Portrait Gallery’s website. Look on the website as well for a future Call-for-Entries for a Portrait Competition which will also result in an opening exhibition in 2006. Call ahead (202.275.1855) to make an appointment to see particular works in the collection, weekdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. |
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