 |
| Judge and Mrs. Arthur Yates |
by
Joan K. Yanni
Among the Gallery’s rich
holdings in folk art (the enchanting Portrait of Josephine Dixon, for
example, and the engaging Pierrepont Edward Lacey and His Dog, Gun)
is a double portrait placed appropriately above an 18th-century sofa
in the folk art--decorative art gallery. It is the unusual portrait of Judge
and Mrs. Yates (41.30) by M.M. Manchester.
The painting shows a
somber couple seated at either end of an Empire-style sofa. The man’s right arm
lies across the back of the sofa, and in his left he holds a copy of William Paley’s
Natural Theology, one of the most popular philosophical works of the 19th century--a
reference to the man’s erudition. The work is finely detailed, with
light playing across the satin drape behind the woman and illuminating her lace
collar, her necklace and the brooch at her waist. She holds a pink
rose in her lap, and a lacy scarf is draped across her right arm.
Both people are in
formal attire--the man in a black waistcoat and the woman in a fitted blue
dress. Though their clothing is detailed, it is stiff and shapeless, with no
sign of a flesh-and-blood body underneath. Mrs. Yates’ bodice is draped,
swag-like, across her chest, while the judge’s coat could be made of cardboard.
Their faces are smooth and expressionless. He looks out at the viewer, while she
stares into space. This was a period in which the man was the important head of
the household. Is that why she looks sad and he looks imperious?
Between the two in the
center of the painting is a window looking out on a surreal vista. It
incorporates both the Old World and the New in a moonlit scene. In the
background is a European vista including castles, ruins, and even the Tower of
Pisa. In the center foreground is a log cabin. A strange
mix, perhaps telling the viewer that the Judge was an educated and wealthy
gentleman who had been on the Grand Tour of Europe in his youth. The log cabin
may suggest that his roots were humble, his wealth coming from the hard work of
his ancestors. Or perhaps the painter was demonstrating his knowledge of prints
depicting European scenes.
And, as one examines the
landscape closely, a question arises: did the artist intend the scene in
the window to be out-of-doors, or is it a painting on a window shade, popular
in homes of the well-to-do after the 1830s? The more one looks, the interesting
the work becomes.
The painting was
purchased by curator Isabel Herdle from the estate of Frederick W. Yates of
Rochester in 1941. According to a surviving sister-in-law, the portrait had
been handed down from the deceased’s father, Arthur Yates, Jr., who was an avid
genealogist as well as a wealthy business man. The subject of the
painting, Judge Arthur Yates (1807-1880), was the son of Dr. William Yates,
reputed to be the first to introduce vaccination into America. Judge
Yates was born in Butternuts, now Morris, NY, in Otsego County, but moved to
Waverly in 1932. There he built Tioga County’s first steam saw mill and became
a prosperous lumberman. A leading citizen of Waverly, he served as both village
postmaster and Justice of the Peace before being appointed to the Tioga
County Court in 1836. He married Jerusha Washburn of
Butternuts, presumably the woman in the portrait, in 1836. Six
children were born to the couple before she died at age
45.
The painting is signed
and dated “M.M. Manchester, Artist, and AD 1840.” It has been relined and the
signature no longer shows, but photographs were taken for documentation. Who
was M.M. Manchester? Though he was obviously an accomplished painter, little is
known about him, and the Gallery’s is the only known signed work by the artist.
There were many
itinerant painters at this time--artists, many lacking skills, who made a
living by going from town to town, advertising their presence in local papers,
showing an example of their work, and painting whatever townspeople were able
to pay for a portrait. Manchester was no ordinary itinerant, though. His skill
can be seen in the Yates portrait, and he was aware of the European tradition
of the Grand Manner, of placing a subject in luxurious and elaborate, even if
not authentic, surroundings and wearing fashionable clothes. Thus he must have
been than an unskilled folk art painter working in isolation. At some time
he must have been in a city where skilled artists worked and where he could see
the work of accomplished American painters or prints of works by European
artists.
Still, it is strange
that so little is known about such a talented painter. Research has found an
obituary from the Cooperstown, NY, Freeman’s Journal for May
29, 1847, noting the death of an M.M. Manchester in the 38th year
of his life. The death notice does not mention that this Manchester was an
artist, and his name does not appear in Cooperstown census records or
directories. No death certificate survives, and apparently no will
was probated in either Otsego or Chenango County. However, odds were
against finding such records, since birth, death and marriage certificates were
not regularly kept by the New York State Department of Health before 1880.
But the date of our
painting and the location of the sitters would make it likely that this
Manchester was the painter of our portrait. And an early death at age 38
would suggest a short career and might account for the small number of
paintings by him that have been located.
In her article “A Yates
Family Portrait by M.M. Manchester: Materials for a History,” Patricia Junker
makes note of a double portrait, unsigned, but attributed to M.M. Manchester,
and reproduced in The Magazine Antiques. This unsigned portrait
uses the same composition as ours: a couple seated on either side of a
sofa, with a view of a landscape seen in the center of the picture. The careful
details of texture are similar, and light plays across the picture highlighting
the fabric of the drapes in the background and the clothing of the sitters. The
landscape is not European, however, but a panorama with a river steamer. The
similarity of the style in the two portraits, however, indicates that the
artist is the same.
The scarcity of works by
such an accomplished artist is not only odd, but frustrating, and MAG’s unique
double portrait begs for research.
Source: Porticus,
vol. IX, 1986: Patricia Junker: “A Yates Family Portrait by M. M. Manchester:
Materials for a History” p. 21, and curatorial files
No comments:
Post a Comment