Niblack Arts Lecturer Holly Pyne Connor '70 Presents Angels & Tomboys
Helen Cudahy Niblack '42 Arts Lecturer provides look into "Girlhood in 19th Century American Art"
Dr. Holly Pyne Connor '70, curator emerita of the Newark (NJ) Museum and an expert on American 19th-century art, mesmerized the 21st-century young women of her alma mater with stories about the lives of girls portrayed by artists two centuries ago Wednesday (April 9) when she presented “Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th Century American Art.”
Dr. Holly Pyne Connor '70, curator emerita of the Newark (NJ) Museum and an expert on American 19th-century art, mesmerized the 21st-century young women of her alma mater with stories about the lives of girls portrayed by artists two centuries ago Wednesday (April 9) when she presented “Angels & Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th Century American Art.”
Connor included works from the more renowned Winslow Homer and Mary Cassatt, while also delving into pieces by lesser known artists such as Lilly Martin Spencer and Cecilia Beaux.
Connor’s inspiration for the exhibition included literary figure Daisy from Henry James’ 1878 Daisy Miller, who is described as “an inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence,” as a model for the dual nature of girlhood, particularly in the latter part of the 19th century. Another literary figure, Jo March from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, served as Connor’s archetype for the tomboy of that period.
Connor’s inspiration for the exhibition included literary figure Daisy from Henry James’ 1878 Daisy Miller, who is described as “an inscrutable combination of audacity and innocence,” as a model for the dual nature of girlhood, particularly in the latter part of the 19th century. Another literary figure, Jo March from Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, served as Connor’s archetype for the tomboy of that period.
A number of works in the exhibition depicted young women as angelic – “Angel” (1887) by Abbott Henderson Thayer, for example, became the iconic image for this exhibition. And, while paintings of a girl standing on a fence, or of a sister standing behind her brother as he takes aim at a distant target, or the sculpture of the wildly exuberant roller skater, arms akimbo and missing a skate, are by no means shocking or even unusual to our girls, taken within the societal context and expectations of the time, they came to understand how very different the lives of the girls in the images were from their own.
Several paintings also demonstrated the impact that the Civil War had on families and young women as fathers and brothers went off to war, perhaps never to return, leaving mothers bereft and homes in chaos. Expectations and boundaries for education and work opportunities for women were forever changed, paving the way for the young women of today, several generations later.
Connor was able to bring the paintings and sculptures to life with her vivid descriptions of the drama occurring in each vignette, down to the smallest detail such as the meaning of strawberries in a toddler’s lap or the significance of a newspaper’s headline. Students absorbed her expert interpretations of the images, and will take those lessons with them, enabling them to view art through new, more discerning, eyes.
Dr. Connor’s presentation was part of the Helen Cudahy Niblack ’42 Arts Lecture Series, which was established by Austi Brown ’73 in memory of her mother. It has brought a variety of literary, performing, and fine artists to Foxcroft to share their work, stories, and perspective on the nature of the creative process with both students and the larger community since it began in 2007.
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An all-girls boarding and day school in Northern Virginia, Foxcroft prepares young women in grades 9-12 for success in college and in life. Our outstanding academic program offers challenging courses, including Advanced Placement classes and an innovative STEM program. Our premiere equestrian program is nationally recognized, and our athletic teams have won conference and state championships. Experience the best in girls' boarding schools: visit Foxcroft.
