Picturing Motherhood Now at the Cleveland Museum of Art

If you’ve been following along you know what I did on my pre-holiday vacation. A little trip to Cleveland and a lot of time spent at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Just across the hall from the Revealing Krishna show is Picturing Motherhood Now! Quite a thought provoking locally curated show that presents us with a lot of different representations of what we think motherhood can be. Some of the works are exceptionally touching. Some of them didn’t quite connect me to the idea of motherhood. But there is a lot of very accomplished and dynamic work to see here.

One of the paintings that captured my attention and emotions is Portrait of her Mother by Mequitta Ahuja (American, born 1976). She writes, “I make paintings by scraping away paint, figuring something new out of loss”. This painting was done during the last months of her mother’s life and I find it quite compelling.

Portrait of Her Mother, 2020. Mequitta Ahuja (American, b. 1976). Oil on canvas; 182.9 x 213.4 cm. Courtesy of Mequitta Ahuja and Aicon Art, New York. © Mequitta Ahuja

Another painting that puts me in a similar frame of mine is Titus Kaphar’s Not My Burden. The painting features two Black women who have been touchingly depicted and are certainly two individuals. But they are holding children consciously absent…so absent that the canvas has been actually cut away to show the exposed gallery wall in a brilliant white. The museum wall card suggests that the missing children might represent white children who are often cared for by Black women or Black children who have been tragically lost and a hole is left to their mothers. This painting is probably the show’s centerpiece and most gripping…

Not My Burden, 2019. Titus Kaphar (American, b. 1976). Oil on canvas; 167.6 x 153 cm. © Titus Kaphar. Image courtesy of the artist and Gagosian. Collection of Ellen Susman, Houston, Texas. Photo: Rob McKeever

There are a number of very elegant but evocative sculptures as well. This clay mother and child or Madonna by Rose B. Simpson (American, born 1983) is a prime example. Ms. Simpson is working with traditional methods used by her family and ancestors in the American Southwest. Titled Genesis this sculpture is both tied to our immediate era and timeless at the same time.

Genesis, 2017. Rose B. Simpson (American, b. 1983). Ceramic and mixed media; 83.8 x 22.9 x 15.2 cm. Courtesy of the artist and Jessica Silverman, San Francisco. © Rose B. Simpson

And then we have a group of multi-media sculptures by Alison Saar (American, born 1956) that are troubling in their content. These works are based on an enslaved child character, Topsy, from Harriet Beecher Stowe’s anti-slavery novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin. I am going to post a number of photos here. One from the museum that shows us the clear vision of Rice, one of three sculptures on display from a series of five. And then I will provide two more that I took that show all three in the context of the show. The three figures are Indigo, Cotton, and Rice. The youngster is clearly shown wielding the tools of slavery and harvesting cotton. A clear indictment of our past…and a prod to think about what that means to our present.

Rice, 2018. Alison Saar (American, b. 1956). Wood, copper, ceiling tin, bronze, tar, and vintage found tools; 162.6 x 76.2 x 63.5 cm. Collection of Susan Morse, Los Angeles. © Alison Saar. Courtesy of L. A. Louver, Venice, CA
photo by Ed Heinzelman
photo by Ed Heinzelman

And now a bit of whimsy: Louise Bourgeois (American, 1911 – 2010):

The Nest, 1994. Louise Bourgeois (American, 1911–2010). Steel; 256.5 x 480.1 x 401.3 cm. San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, Purchase through the Agnes E. Meyer and Elise S. Haas Fund and the gifts of Doris and Donald Fisher, Helen and Charles Schwab, and Vicki and Kent Logan, 98.193.A–E. © The Easton Foundation / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Photo: Katherine Du Tiel

Picturing Motherhood Now runs through March 13, 2022. This show is ticketed and tickets can be purchased online at the link shown here. Be sure to check the museum website for COVID precautions before visiting.

Ginny and Andrew, 1978 by Alice Neal (American, 1900 – 1984) oil on canvas, from a private collection. photo by Ed Heinzelman

Americans In Spain: Painting and Travel, 1820–1920 at the Milwaukee Art Museum

During my study of American art history, most of the better known American artists made visits to Europe to study. It seems that they almost always visited London where a number of ex-pat artists made them welcome. And they almost always made it to Paris which was certainly the center of Western art at the time. And those wealthy enough or lucky enough to have a generous patron made it to Italy: Florence and Rome!

So I have thought very little about Spain’s influence on American art in general or painting in particular. So the theme of the current show at the Milwaukee Art Museum created a bit of doubt but then curiosity in my mind. And then Americans In Spain: Painting and Travel, 1820–1920 opened up a different view on Spain’s influences on American artists and it was a very pleasant surprise to find some very well known painters visited Spain and were influenced by the art, architecture, landscape, and the overall atmosphere of the place. And although very similar to the rest of Western Europe it is also very different.

Well, what will you see? Portraits and Landscapes and Genre Paintings…and nearly a room full of different views of the Alhambra (one of the most significant architectural sites in Spain from the time of Muslim rule in Medieval era)…and famous American artists showing just a little different perspective on their vision. Who exactly? Well; Mary Cassatt, John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, William Merritt Chase, James McNeill Whistler, and Robert Henri.

One thing you will notice about the epic landscapes is a sense of a much hotter brighter sun. The landscape lacks the lushness and greens and twinkle of many of the landscapes that we we are used to seeing in America or from France. Here the sun burns and the landscape takes on a bright ocher with hints of oranges, reds, and browns. It is quite striking and particularly revealing in some of the paintings of the Alhambra.

The portraits tend to be just a little more towards the realistic side given the influences of earlier Spanish portraiture. And the streetscapes and genre paintings are also bright…often more to the bright white of sunlight and it is apparent that the dress and customs of Spain seemed exotic to Americans in the nineteenth century as they may seem today (particularly the appeal of dancers…there is a room of paintings of Spanish dancers by an array of artists…and one in particular took on the role of muse).

So enough chatter…here are a few of my favorites. I apologize for some of the image quality. I was using my phone and I have a tendency to get a little wobbly. But I will put up a number of each type of painting if they’ll display cleaning…and there will be one extra surprise at the end.

William Merritt Chase: Girl in White; 1898 – 1901
Carrie Hill; View of Segovia; ca: 1925
John Singer Sargent; Hex Wood, Majorca; 1908
Elizabeth Boott; The Alhambra; 1881
Childe Hassam; Plaza de la Merced, Ronda; 1910
John Ferguson Weir: detail from The Alhambra, Granada, Spain: ca. 1901
Edwin Lord Weeks; Interior of a Mosque at Cordova; ca. 1880
El Greco: Saint Catherine; 1610 – 1614

Yes, I know he’s not American but he’s not Spanish either! And who can resist an El Greco!

So if you are interested in seeing this show, it is at the Milwaukee Art Museum through October 3, 2021. Due to continued pandemic concerns advance timed tickets are recommended and available…so check out that information here: Americans in Spain!

I plan to visit it again before it closes…so maybe I’ll see you there!!