ANNA MARY FREEMAN'S ROOM:

WOMEN AND ART IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

by

Shauna Martineau Robertson

A thesis submitted to the faculty of

Brigham Young University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Arts

Department of Humanities

Brigham Young University

December 2004

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

GRADUATECO~TTEEAPPROVAL

of a thesis submitted by

Shauna Martineau Robertson

This thesis has been read by each member of the following graduate committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory.

-----------------------------Date Allen J. Christenson, Chair

Date Kerry D. Soper

Date Edward C. Cutler

BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY

As chair ofthe candidate's graduate committee, I have read the thesis ofShauna Martineau Robert son in its final form and found that ( 1) its format, citations, and bibliographical style are consistent and acceptable and fulfill university and department style requirements; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the fmal manuscript is satisfactory to the graduate committee and is ready for submission to the university library.

Date

Accepted for the Department

Accepted for the College

Allen J. Christenson Chair, Graduate Committee

Allen J. Christenson Graduate Coordinator

Van C. Gessel Dean, College of Humanities

ABSTRACT

ANNA MARY FREEMAN'S ROOM:

WOMEN AND ART IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA

Shauna Martineau Robert son

Department of Humanties

Master of Arts

This thesis is a study of the conditions surrounding the artistic production by

women in antebellum America-specifically the two decades preceding the Civil War.

The life and work of Anna Mary Freeman provide the framework for the questions raised

and discussed as a result of my research, and her story serves as an example of both the

possibilities and limitations presented to women who desired to pursue art as a career

during this period.

This work is divided into three major sections that analyze the key factors that

contributed to a woman's ability to participate in the world of professional artists. The

first section is focused on the educational expectations and opportunities available to

women in America and England during the 1840's and 1850's. It will also examine the

relationship between educational reforms after 1850 and the increased artistic recognition

given to women.

The second section of this work will concentrate on the move during this period

toward increased participation by women in the business world. I will analyze the

obstacles faced by women who wanted or needed to earn their own income, but also new

societal demands that made increasing professionalism possible. A comparison between

the accomplishments of literary and visual artists will help demonstrate this movement.

The final section of my study will examine the philosophy of "separate spheres"

and how this overriding philosophical belief simultaneously oppressed and liberated

women. Within this paradigm of gendered performance many women found ways to

give expression to their creativity and their yearning for independence and self­

determination.

The personal and professional decisions made by Anna Mary Freeman regarding

her chosen genre, clientele, and business practice reinforce current scholarship on women

and art during this period of American history, but also provide an intimate portrait of a

relatively unknown artist who found a measure of professional success and personal

freedom as a result of emerging opportunities for women in the first half of the nineteenth

century.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my deep gratitude to Dr. Allen Christenson for his

example and expertise; Dr. Edward Cutler and Dr. Kerry Soper for their support

and advice; Melissa Bush at the University of Georgia for her prompt and

efficient assistance with my research; and my husband, Bruce, who has always

gtven me room.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction Page

Room to Learn Page 9

Room to Earn Page 31

Room to Yearn Page 65

Conclusion Page 85

Illustrations Page 88

Appendix A Page 93

Appendix B Page 94

Appendix C Page 95

Bibliography Page 101

Vll

Introduction

In her 1928 e2say "A Room of One's Own," Virginia Woolf attempted to discover

why the artistic output of women was nearly non-existent in comparison with that of

men. She posed the question, "What conditions are necessary for the creation of works

of art?" She concluded that an artist must have money, time, and a room of her own­

three things assumed to be largely unavailable to women prior to the 201h century. All

three of these criteria allude to the necessity of freedom. The money she referred to was

enough of a stipend to make her economically independent. The time she referred to was

unbroken periods during which she could focus entirely upon artistic production. Among

other things, she felt that motherhood, with its intense demands on a woman's most

energetic hours, was incompatible with the demands of art . Finally, .when she specified a

room of her own, she meant a physical space dedicated to her craft, but also perhaps an

emotional space that was separate from the demands and distractions of everyday life. In

this way, a room of one's own represents a boundary between the self and the outside

world. By designating a physical space over which one has complete ownership, control

over what happens in that space is also suggested. The money and time then become

vehicles that allow an artist to enter and utilize the creative space.

By making this final criterion-a room of one's own-the title of her essay,

Woolf inferred that this sense of both physical and philosophical space is, perhaps, the

most crucial factor in successful artistic endeavors. The concept of room, then, becomes

a metaphor for the entire artistic process. Woolfs theory about the dearth of important

art produced by women when viewed in this light becomes a critique of how women

2

historically, and of her own time, were prevented from functioning within self­

determined boundaries.

More recently, art historian Linda Nochlin has echoed the question posed by

Woolf in an essay titled, "Who Are the Great Women Artists?" which was first published

in 1971. Although she does not specifically refer to Woolfs work in her essay, there are

clearly parallels between the two studies. It is important to note that the lapse of close to

fifty years between these two important studies shows recognition of both the persistence

of the problem originally highlighted by Woolf and also the lack of satisfactory answers

to her question. As Ann Landi observes in an update on the topic published in the March

2003 issue of ARTNews, Nochlin's essay "became a seminal document for its times"

(94).

Nochlin was writing as part of the feminist movement of the 1970's that sought to

expose artificial boundaries drawn for women and empower them to reconfigure the map.

At the heart of the essay, according to Landi, was a "plea ... for a closer evaluation of the

social structures surrounding the production of art" (ibid). Nochlin prompted a

resuscitation of the work and a reexamination of the careers of unknown or

underappreciated women artists. Her conclusion, like Woo If s, is that the challenge for

female artists is three-fold. She asserts that to be capable of producing great works of art,

a woman must have access to education, patronage, and a social structure that allows her

self-determination. In Nochlin's terms, this has historically meant being born white,

middle-class, and male. Essentially, her work is also a discussion of boundaries: who

determines them, who reinforces them, and who is willing to challenge them. Moreover,

beyond examining the boundaries imposed on the artists, her study also alludes to the

boundaries drawn around the art itself If a work is judged to be great, who determines

the standards by which it is measured? This question is a little more difficult to answer

but may very well be more important in the study of artistic production by women

working in the Western tradition. For her article, written after another thirty years of

production and discussion, Ann Landi chose to borrow Nochlin's title. Besides the

obvious connection to the earlier essay, Landi demonstrates that Woolfs original

question is alive and well in the twenty-first century. And although she concludes that

many boundaries have been erased and the playing field leveled in some significant ways,

the opportunities for artists and the standards for art are far from set.

Although the last thirty years have been favorable for including more female

3

artists in classrooms and in exhibition spaces, the central questions posed by Woolf,

Nochlin, and Landi regarding how and why art is produced and the impact of gender

remain as necessary and compelling as they were when they were originally posed. The

shifting criteria applied to art in assessing its greatness are partly to blame. In an

interview for Nochlin's article, Marla Prather, a curator for the Whitney Museum, points

out that "even when you pay attention to those careers that shouldn't have been lost in the

great shuffle of art history, it doesn't necessarily mean that our estimation of their work

increases" (Landi 94). Imbedded in this observation is a crucial point. There are artists

whose work will never be classified as great no matter what set of criteria is applied, but

whose careers provide a window through which we can study and evaluate the social

structures that foster and frustrate the production of art by women.

The consequences of assigning boundaries have already been alluded to, but for

the purposes of this study, some will necessarily be imposed. The historical window

4

through which I will study the artistic production by women will open mainly on

America during the two decades preceding the Civil War. Most of the study is centered

in New York, which emerged during this time as a center for both visual and literary art.

This represents a time and place where many different segments of society were

attempting to redefine themselves by articulating new goals and boundaries. Artists and

women joined in the effort to examine how the principles and values perceived as being

"American" informed this definition process for them. A unique situation emerged for

female artists as they were involved in both of these social questions and often had to

make compromises in one area if they expected to make gains in the other.

In the 1840's, most male artists in New York worked from cramped, poorly lit

studios that were often located in rooms above other businesses. Potential patrons would

make visits to these individual studios to view and purchase work. If women were

involved in artistic production at all, it was usually in the minor field of decorative art

and their work was completed within their own home. It would either be commissioned

by acquaintances or sold through membership in a guild, thus preventing women from

directly transacting business.

In 1858, a building was erected at 51 West Tenth Street in New York-the first

building in America constructed exclusively for the production, display, and sale of art.

Called simply the Studio Building, it provided various types of artists with studio space.

Additionally, it included a gallery that facilitated the display and sale of their work. The

idea of creating a central location was new and part of a strategy to make America more

of a player on the international art scene. Among the artists to use this address during

their careers were Frederic Church, Albert Bierstadt, Stirling Calder, Winslow Homer,

and William Merritt Chase.

Speaking of the first group of tenants to occupy the Studio Building, historian

Annette Blaugrund refers to "A Brotherhood of Artists" (23). It is interesting to note,

however, that among this brotherhood of twenty men was listed a lone woman-Anna

Mary Freeman. The few extant examples of Anna Mary Freeman's work fail to reveal an

overlooked master. A closer look at her professional and personal life, however,

validates many of Virginia Woolfs points about female artistic production and also

answers N ochlin' s challenge to examine the social structures that impact the production

of art.

5

The research reveals that Mary Freeman was driven by an economic need to

support herself that certainly impacted the type of art she produced. She appears to have

refused, however, to adhere to common social practices-including marriage-that

would have guaranteed her financial security. What emerges is the portrait of a woman

who defied social conventions, stood her ground with the influential men with whom she

had contact, and capitalized on her talent and her connections to be self-sufficient at a

time in America when the concept of an independent woman was just starting to be

articulated. Although different groups saw the role of women in different ways, each

sought to incorporate the idea of independence as part of a larger project of defining what

it meant to be American. I feel that Freeman capitalized on the fluidity of the social

rhetoric and elasticity of social boundaries to exercise a surprising amount of self­

determination.

6

Freeman's father, George, recognized these qualities in his daughter at the tender

age of nine. Speaking of Anna Mary in a letter to his brother, he describes her as being

"very clever." He wrote, "I mean clever in the English and true sense, what you perhaps

in America call smart, talented, etc. But Mary is American clever too" (30 March 1835). 1

One might say that clever in the English sense meant accomplished within the bounds

established by society. But I think George Freeman also recognized, even at this young

age, that his daughter was proactive in challenging boundaries that determined personal

and social opportunities if they were unjustly or unfairly drawn. He also hints at the role

of gender in setting these boundaries since he was, in a way, justifYing the expense of

educating his daughter. His comments also reinforce the notion that there was an effort

during this time to articulate what it meant to be American. This American artist may not

have exhibited the type of artistic genius often ascribed to the "Masters," but she did

exemplifY the cleverness of a woman who exercised her artistic spirit in spite of the

obstacles alluded to by both Woolf and Nochlin.

Anna Mary Freeman is one of those artists that Marla Prather would call lost in

the shuffle of art history. Her inclusion in the new Studio building, however, and her

participation in the exhibitions staged there and at the National Academy of Design,

would indicate that her career was significant-at least significant enough to bring in

sufficient income to pay her studio rent in the absence of any familial support or stable

professional patronage. The aim of my study is to trace the path ofher career and

1 The majority of biographical information on Anna Mary Freeman is gleaned from two sets of letters. The frrst set contains letters from her father, George Freeman, to his brother Shubael. These letters are on file with the Smithsonian and are available on microfilm and arranged by date. The other set contains letters from John Howard Payne to a variety of correspondents. These letters span the years 1842-1850 and have been collected into four volumes that are on file at the Hargrett Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia. These letters are also arranged chronologically with unnumbered pages. Each time these letters are quoted or referred to in this thesis, they will be identified by date and by author or recipient.

demonstrate that her choices, both personal and professional, reveal a great deal about

societal restraints placed on women regarding their personal and public lives during the

mid-nineteenth century, but also the new opportunities for participation and self­

determination facing women in general and artists in particular.

While her work may not secure her place in the annals of art history, Anna Mary

Freeman's life and career are worthy of further study-a study that becomes a valuable

tool for understanding the role of women and the development of art in New York in the

two decades preceding the Civil War. It could be successfully argued, however, that

Freeman did achieve a measure of artistic greatness if contemporary art critic Dave

Hickey's definition of the term is applied. In an interview for Ann Landi's 2003 essay,

he asserted that "we judge greatness by its consequences" (95). The consequences he

refers to are cultural; great art challenges and expands the cultural dialogue. As a result,

great art not only affects the artist, but the audience as well. If, as Landi's work asserts,

the cultural value of the art produced by women in the twenty-first century has been

raised, it is a consequence of the work of artists who have come before. Unfortunately,

the failure to locate evidence in Freeman's own voice beyond her poetry and a few letters

presents a limited opportunity to study the personal consequences of her choices.

Anna Mary Freeman, it appears, was a woman who, by 1858, had found the type

of room that Virginia Woolf wrote about. A synthesis ofWoolfs and Nochlin's

assertions about women's artistic opportunities still falls under the call for a "room of

one's own", but it can be expanded and clarified. In addition to possessing a certain

degree of talent, a successful artist, regardless of gender, time period, or culture, requires

room: room to learn, room to earn, and room to yearn. Since Freeman's name is absent

7

8

from the list of'"great artists," it indicates that she had limited access to one or more of

these essential rooms. The purpose of this study is to take a closer look at how each of

these rooms impacted the artistic careers of Freeman and other visual and literary artists

of her time. It will seek to determine whether their absence from a crucial room was

determined by their own choices or the restrictions imposed by others. Finally, I hope to

show that whether or not the work of female artists prior to our time meets our current

ideas of greatness, the fact that they found a way to enter these rooms at all is a measure

of artistic accomplishment in and of itself

9

Room to Learn

Education, as Linda Nochlin concluded, is a key factor in the development of a

noteworthy artist. Although educational opportunities did start to expand for women in

the early nineteenth century, most reform movements began after 1850 in England and

after the Civil War in America. It may seem ironic that Virginia Woolf did not include

education as part of her essay on what is necessary to the production of art since the essay

was prompted by her experience of being denied access to a college education, but it

must be remembered that Woolf was speaking specifically of literary art. Young women

of the middle and upper classes on both continents had been taught to read and write for

quite some time. Beyond that, however, their opportunities for education beyond the

basics were limited and firmly grounded in expectations tied to gender.

Much of what is known of Anna Mary Freeman's early years and education

comes from the letters between her father and his brother. Mary was born in London

early in the year of 1825. Her father, George Freeman, was a self-taught portrait painter

who had left America in 1816 with his new bride, Lydia V. Burr. Commissions in

America were scarce and George was unsuited to the farming that sustained the rest of

his father's family, so he went to Europe to study and to make a name for himself.

Although George promised his brother to try to arrange visits to America with his new

family, the cost was prohibitive and Lydia was afraid the commissions in England would

dry up in their absence. It is unclear how much artistic training George received in

England from his letters, which mostly discuss commissions and farming concerns.

10

By 1832, the family had relocated to Bath, where Lydia managed the growing

family and George traveled to complete portrait commissions. In a letter dated April 2 7,

1832, George wrote, "my daughter Mary (God bless my little Mary) just seven years, as

beautiful as an angel," and also mentioned the additions of sons George Lloyd and

Thomas Henry Skiff. As a young adult, Mary assumed some of the financial burden of

providing for this family. In letters written between 1848 and 1850, John Howard Payne,

one of Freeman's most ardent supporters, frequently mentioned the fact that it was

Mary's financial contributions that were keeping her brother Henry in college-a

privilege that would not have been extended to her because of her gender. According to

Linda Kerber, it was not that uncommon for daughters to be working while their brothers

attended school. The longer boys could be kept out of the workforce, the greater chance

they had at social mobility. To make this possible, many women, both mothers and

daughters, began to work for pay ( 45). Most of these women worked as domestics or

took in boarders, but others entered the public sector as a means to secure employment.

George Freeman saw to it that all of his children received an education. Since his

letters referred to his children being away from home, it appears they weren't wealthy

enough to hire a governess or a tutor to come into their home. At one point, George

Freeman wrote that the cost per year of educating his three children was over five

hundred dollars, but didn't begrudge the sum since his boys"[ were] of good capacity"

and "Mary, dear little darling, now 9 years old, [was] very clever" (30 Mar. 1835). It is

in this same letter that George distinguished between the previously mentioned British

definition of clever and what he refers to as ''American clever." There is a distinction

between the kind of knowledge that can be taught or learned in school and what we may

call "street smarts"-an ability to create novel solutions or original ideas.

Based on the cost of tuition, it is likely that Mary Freeman attended one of

England's more fashionable boarding schools. Aimed mainly at the upper and middle

classes, this type of "finishing" school was found in London and the major resort towns

such as Brighton, Clifton, and Bath-where the Freeman family was living. According

11

to a study of women's education in England during this same period by June Purvis, the

curriculum at this type of school covered the following: deportment, drawing,

calisthenics, foreign languages and English, with alternate weeks of memorizing history

and learning geography (69). Even though drawing was part of the curriculum, these

young women were not being prepared for any profession outside of being a wife and

mother. As one student lamented, "Nobody dreamed that any one of us could in later

life be more or less than an 'Ornament of Society'. That a pupil in that school should

ever become an artist, or authoress, would have been looked upon ... as a deplorable

dereliction" (Purvis 69). This quote illuminates some key attitudes toward women's

education during the period that Freeman was growing up. The first was that women

should become accomplished in those areas that would increase their ornamental value.

The second, less obvious but certainly more detrimental to an aspiring artist, was that any

desire to expand one's experience outside of this narrowly defined scope was heartily

discouraged. Thus, upon leaving one of these British boarding schools, a young woman

like Mary Freeman would be "finished" in more ways than one. She would be worthy

and ready for marriage, but her opportunities to study and learn were also finished.

12

Specific details about the lives and activities of his three children are scarce in his

letters, but George Freeman always referred to his only daughter in terms of endearment

and also mentioned her beauty and her delightful personality. While it appears that he

encouraged Mary in her artistic interests, from a very early age he also focused on those

qualities that would make her successful in a traditional way. The comments about

Mary's physical appearance, personality traits, and talent might be dismissed as a father's

biased ramblings about his only daughter, but John Howard Payne also refers to both her

· talent and her beauty in his letters. For both men, it is as if they must constantly remind

their correspondents that although she possessed intelligence and skill, she also had the

qualities of personality and beauty that will help her fulfill her destined role as a woman.

Efforts to find a portrait of Anna Mary Freeman for this study in order to support

or refute her physical beauty have been largely unsuccessful. Although standards of

beauty change, a contemporary portrait might assist research into how her appearance

would have opened or closed doors of social, professional, and personal opportunity.

There is one portrait completed by George Freeman during his years in London that is

speculated to be of his daughter (fig. 1). Because of the age and uncertainty of the

identification of the sitter, this portrait is not much help for the purposes previously

stated, but it does demonstrate the artistic skill of George Freeman and indicates the level

of expertise Mary would have been exposed to in her early years.

George did finally return to America alone in 183 7 to complete a commissioned

portrait of President Martin Van Buren. This connection, along with a social climate

more conducive to the production and sale of art, made the idea of returning to America

with his family seem more of a possibility. Upon his return to England in March of 1841,

George completed the most important commission of his career. He was the first

American to be invited to paint Queen Victoria from life. George increased his

reputation and career opportunities not through continued education, but through sitters

of increasing prestige. That summer, he and his family returned to America for good.

With his connections to Van Buren and the artistic clout of his portrait of the Queen, he

felt assured of enough commissions to support his family.

13

Anna Mary Freeman was sixteen years old when she set foot on American soil for

the first time. She often accompanied her father on his painting trips while the rest of the

family stayed at home. Although Mary received a traditional English boarding school

education, she probably refined her painting skills at her father's side. During the fall of

1 84 2, Mary accompanied her father on a painting trip to Baltimore while the family

remained in Hartford, Connecticut. George Freeman seems to have determined that the

formal education of his seventeen year-old daughter was complete since she was free to

travel extensively at this time of year. A few years later, Mary would be working to earn

the money that would keep her brother Henry in college. It is unclear whether Mary also

painted during their travels, or whether she simply provided support and companionship.

Nevertheless, it is certain that she learned the business side of art first-hand.

There is one allusion to Mary's art education in an article for the New York

Mirror penned by John Howard Payne in 1848. He wrote, "It is touching indeed to see a

lovely young girl spontaneously seeking to make the fortune of genius and education a

source of worldly independence" (8 Nov. 1848). Payne seems to be advocating the

philosophy that to be truly successful as an artist, one must have both genius and

education. The three essays I have chosen to frame this discussion of artistic production

14

by women all speak to this issue. As Landi points out, defining "genius" is just as

problematic as defining "greatness" (95). Woolf promotes the idea of genius as she

speculates in her essay about what would have happened if Shakespeare had had a sister.

She concludes by asserting that women of that time and up into her own time may have

been born with the seeds of genius, but by itself it is not enough. Nochlin, however,

completely refutes the idea of a mysterious, magical power that is imbedded in the artist

in favor of exploring how a society can create and foster such creativity. More recent

scholarship by Barbara Groseclose examines what she calls "artist-narratives" and shows

that in the history of the European tradition of art, "artists-to-be from Giotto (1267-1337)

to Thomas Cole give off a glimmer of their greatness in childhood" (27). It is hard to say

if Anna Mary Freeman fits into this narrative in the absence of a detailed biography.

Although clearly taken with his only daughter, George Freeman's letters never make

specific mention ofher possessing artistic talent. Woolf's story of the fictional sister of

Shakespeare does have a point, however. If fostering special gifts in female children is

not part of a society's agenda, those gifts may never be noticed.

Linda Nochlin explores the historical implications of educating women in depth

in her 1971 essay. Most significantly for visual artists, women, throughout the 19th

century, were kept from studying the nude of either gender-a practice considered

integral to art education and a genre considered to be the greatest form of art. It is

interesting that although the art world in America was very proactive throughout the

nineteenth century in establishing itself as a significant international player, the

academies that rose up in major cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago

were all reluctant to use nudes with male students and nearly all were adamantly opposed

to using them with women. Groseclose attributes the great number of American artists

that left to work in Europe during this time specifically to this fact. She asserts,

"American art students training in Paris were there because American academies had

been unable to initiate or maintain working from the nude as part of their curriculum"

15

( 17). Whether or not Freeman would have been in a position to take advantage of

educational opportunities in America, the number of expatriate artists during this time

reflects upon the consequences of censoring opportunities to paint from life. The

perceived lack of educational scope or quality available in America may have also served

to diminish the perceived quality of the work of American-trained artists.

There could be a number of reasons for reluctance on the part of American

schools to utilize nude models. The easy, but too simplistic, answer is America's

puritanical roots. The prevailing emphasis on extolling a woman's virtues and denying

her sexuality during the antebellum period surely contributed to the cultural disdain for

either posing or painting from a nude if you were female. But this underlying societal

restraint would also extend to the audience who, especially during this time of increasing

capitalism in America, were also the consumers of art.

The importance of the audience cannot be underestimated. The first Academy of

Arts in America, established in New York in 1802, was established by patrons rather that

executers of art. Most professional artists were working in England or other European

countries during that time. These early academies were founded to teach art

appreciation-not art. In his history of the National Academy of Design, Eliot Clark

points to the fact that '1he New York Academy had little concern with the practicing

artist. .. it was an endeavor to bring together men of social distinction" ( 5). If the earliest

16

professional arts organizations were created to cultivate one as a "gentleman," it is not

surprising that women were left out. As Barbara Groseclose echoes, "a group of wealthy,

well-bred men professed themselves willing to take charge of the cultural education of

the masses, who were made of 'malleable stuff'" (1 0). The organization eventually

disbanded, but gave rise to the National Academy of Design-a group founded in 1826

by some of the most prominent artists of the day. Unlike their predecessor, this Academy

sought to provide real training for artists on this continent. They did, however, still

recognize the importance of educating their audience through exhibitions and

publications.

At the major art academies in the United States, students were taught the figure

from both casts of classical Greek sculpture and from life. It wasn't until after the Civil

War, however, that women began to be a real presence in these drawing classes, and their

study of nudes usually came in a group of only females. American artist Thomas Eakins,

after pushing his superiors to the brink on other occasions, lost his teaching position at

the Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts for revealing a male nude model in a class of

mixed students. Barbara Groseclose gives a telling conclusion to this event:

Another. .. explanation is that he lost his job not so much because he

offended women art students by revealing a male nude (there seems to

have been no outburst of condemnation from women in the P AF A) but

because he offended men. In this reasoning, which gives credence to the

idea that one who looks holds power over one who is looked at, women in

an art school gazing long and hard at a naked man-naked and so

defenseless--Dbtain a position of dominance over the male body, a

situation that insulted men and may have scared them too (22).

17

According to Nochlin, the lack of training in drawing the nude resulted in aspiring

female painters "restricting [themselves] to the 'minor' fields of portraiture, genre,

landscape, or still life" (160). There are some problems with this statement, however,

for artists in general and Anna Mary Freeman specifically. There were male painters

working in all of these 'minor' fields who are today considered to be great artists. The

fact that Anna Mary Freeman chose portrait miniatures may be due in part to educational

shortcomings, but her choice of genres was also likely a result of the example of her

father.

If it is true that Freeman's father was her greatest artistic influence, it leads into

another ofNochlin's theories about the artistic education and training of women:

"I can point to a few striking characteristics of women artists ... generally all, almost

without exception, were either the daughters of artist fathers, or, generally later, in the

nineteenth and twentieth centuries, had a close personal connection with a stronger or

more dominant male artistic personality ( 169). It is ironic that Nochlin fails to give these

mentors credit for challenging societal expectations.

Training, whether obtained by a self-taught, apprentice-trained, or academy­

educated artist, typically commences with copying or emulation. If women were

generally denied access to a master or an academy, it makes sense that those with artist­

fathers would emulate the work of their parents. In fact, one of the few women

mentioned in the gallery reviews and advertising of The Crayon along with Anna Mary

Freeman was Jane Stuart, daughter of Gilbert Stewart.

18

One significant illustration of this training pattern is the family legacy of Charles

Willson Peale. It is not surprising that someone who named many of his seventeen

children after famous artists would become part of an American artistic dynasty. In 1997,

an exhibition was created to celebrate the artistic contributions of this remarkable family.

The show highlighted ten artists-three of whom were women. As stated in the press

release published by the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, "Although the works of

the male members are well known, the exhibition reveals that the female members of the

family also excelled and achieved a status that no other women artists in American had

previously known." Charles had one daughter, Angelica, named after his favorite female

artist, whom he instructed in drawing and who achieved recognition for her work. Two

ofhis granddaughters also rose to prominence: Mary Jane, the daughter of Rubens Peale;

and Rosalba, daughter of Rembrandt Peale. In addition, Charles' brother James, himself

an art framer and miniaturist, produced three influential female artists: his daughters

Sarah, Anna, and Margaretta. All of these women were the beneficiaries of a rich artistic

heritage. Their chosen genres included still life, portraiture, and miniatures-reflective

ofboth their time and their gender.

The story of this family also reinforces the importance of instruction and casts

doubt on the supremacy of genius in creating a great artist. The entire concept of genius

gains much of its power by how rarely, and therefore more preciously, it is bestowed.

Surely there must be a better explanation for a family so prolific in its production of

artists. Peale himself, after acknowledging that the prevailing opinion during his time

was that great artists were born with a specific gift, said, ''Now there are proofs of men,

that shew an equal readiness to acquire knowledge to a fme Soil, in which every thing

19

will grow, that is sown therein. But remember cultivation is absolutely necessary" ( 41 ).

"The Lamplight Portrait, James Peale" (fig. 2) is a painting by Charles Willson Peale that

is rich in contributions to the discussion of genre, gender, and guidance that informed

Anna Mary Freeman's world. Peale completed the painting in 1822, at the age of 81.

The subject is his brother James, now retired from painting, looking at a miniature

completed by Charles' own daughter Anna. The subject of the portrait is Rosalba,

Rembrandt Peale's oldest daughter. The portrait shows examples of two popular genres

of painting-portraiture and miniatures. It also demonstrates the relationship between

mentor, artist, and subject. As exemplified in this portrait and the family upon which it is

based, training appears to be more of a factor in producing artist greatness than genius,

and gender does not inherently diminish the capacity of the learner. Additionally, the

example of the Peale family would also suggest that the quality of the instruction was

more important than where it was obtained. This has significant implications for an

argument like Nochlin's that asserts the importance of a formal, academy or university­

based education on producing artistic greatness.

William Morris Hunt, brother of the designer of the Studio Building and one of its

original tenants, was one who often provided art instruction to women-the first

American master to do so. Most of these lessons took place in his studio or in his home.

After moving to the Studio Building, his pupils would not only have had access to the

work and techniques of their mentors, but also exposure to the work of other Studio

artists. Although documentation of a teacher-student relationship between Hunt and

Mary Freeman is unavailable, her proximity to him and so many other prominent artists

20

of the day once she had space in the building provided Freeman with a rich educational

expenence.

When Hunt first made the decision to open his studio for instruction, he

assembled a class of forty women. In answer to the question of why he taught women, he

responded, "Because they came and asked me to show them, and offered to pay me for

my time. I have told the young men again and again that I would do the same for them, if

they would get a large room and all work together. But some of them would not be as

teachable as the women are" (Hunt 140). He realistically acknowledged that most of the

women would not become professional artists, but educating the audience was also part

of his agenda. Although he and his brother received their artistic training in some of the

finest academies of Europe, Hunt's vision for art was much larger than the tight

curriculum of the academies. He preferred the atelier system, where you learned to paint

by painting. He taught, "The way to educate artists is to bring them up in studios. This

plan of the Art-Museum School will produce teachers and people skilled in academical

drawing,-not painters" (136).

Hunt's philosophy of training refutes Nochlin's claims regarding the necessity of

University or Academy access in creating a great artist. It does, on the other hand,

reinforce Woolfs requirement that an artist needs time to create. Like Nochlin, however,

Hunt did reject the idea of genius. In a wonderful definition, he said, "Genius is nothing

but love. If you love to paint, if you love to sing, if you love to black boots, you are a

genius" (83). During the time Anna Mary Freeman was training and working, she did

take advantage of opportunities to learn from the men who were willing to teach. The

fact that these males were not afraid to educate their female children or clients beyond the

surface societal requirements of refinement made more room for women in the training

system for artists.

Mary Cassatt, one of the first American women to be recognized for her artistic

greatness and one of the few to be considered a master, was the beneficiary of this

21

gradual process of instructional expansion. In an essay on her education, Andrew Walker

notes that Cassatt began her art education in 1860 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the

Fine Arts, where the curriculum included copying Old Master and contemporary work

(Barter 21 ). At the heart of this essay is Cassatt's realization that she needed to copy the

best work and study with the best artists to become a true professional, and she spent her

life in pursuit of opportunities to do so. She took advantage of both formal and casual

forms of instruction. Unlike the Peales or Mary Freeman, however, Cassatt did not have

the support and example of her father. In fact, in a conversation with her biographer she

recollected that her father's reaction to her decision to return to Europe to pursue a career

in art was to say he would rather see her dead (Mathews 12).

A collection of letters edited by Nancy Mowell Mathews between the members of

Mary Cassatt's inner circle gives us a good sense of her training and her attitude towards

art. The first set of letters is written by seventeen year-old Eliza Haldeman, a classmate

and friend of Cassatt's at the Philadelphia Academy ofFine Art. She vividly describes

the pros and cons of their training. In a letter to her father from 1860, she describes how

she is being taught to draw. She explains that she and the other "young ladies" had been

assigned to particular teacher. Rather than receiving instruction at the Academy, the girls

went to his studio with a week's worth of drawings to receive his critique. Students,

regardless of gender, were not allowed to paint until extensive study and copying of

22

classical works of painting and sculpture (24). Although there were a fair number of

female students, Haldeman still distinguished between those who were amateurs and

those who were professionals. Several years later, Mary Cassatt wrote of a traveling

companion, "[F]or although my friend calls herself a painter she is only an amateur and

you must know we professionals despise amateurs" ( 61 ). Academy training did facilitate

the desires of potential 'professional' artists, but also served as a type of finishing school

for less artistically serious young women.

Eliza Haldeman was very clear in her letters to her father that both she and Miss

Cassatt were serious about art. After another two years at the Academy, she claimed that

although the Academy had emolled many more female students, she and Cassatt were

"still at the head" (26). If the theory about artistic genius holds true, by this time Mary

Cassatt's talent should have been evident. And although Haldeman did note that they

were at the top of their-class, she mentions that they both had much to learn and

possessed different artistic strengths. As her classical subject during December of 1862,

Cassatt was working on a rendition of the Atlas while Eliza was getting ready to start a

Laocoon. Haldeman wrote of their abilities, "We keep pretty nearly together. She [is]

generally getting the shading better and I the form, she the 'ensemble' and I the

'minutia"' (26). Although she may be an umeliable source, Eliza Haldeman doesn't

seem to perceive any manifestation of genius on the part of Cassatt.

Cassatt, having received the fullness of artistic instruction that America had to

offer, left for Paris in 1865. Throughout her career, she sought to attach herself to other

artists, almost exclusively men, who would help her develop not only her technique, but

her style as well. Although as a student in Philadelphia she dreamt of finding someone to

23

buy a painting of hers for a thousand dollars, for. her, financial gain was a by-product of

her efforts-not the goal. She traveled extensively to hone her talent and reputation and

refused to be contained or contaminated by conventional approaches being taught in

America and France at this time.

Her financial security was not the only factor that freed Cassatt to search out the

best possible instruction. Like Mary Freeman, Cassatt's status as a single woman

allowed her to travel unencumbered by the responsibilities of a family. Unlike Freeman,

however, Cassatt had access to her family's wealth to finance her education and career.

Although specific information on Anna Mary Freeman's education proves elusive, it is¥

clear that when she arrived in America at age sixteen, Mary spent most of her time using

whatever skill she had acquired in her early years to earn a living and may not have had

time to pursue her artistic education with the passion displayed by Cassatt. If William

Morris Hunt was correct in asserting that one became a better painter by simply painting

without regard to mistakes or public critique, then an artist like Freeman, after

completing commissions that would please perhaps a less enlightened client, may have

had little time to experiment and get better. Although Cassatt always had her eye on

becoming a professional painter, most women at this time would be content with amateur

status to serve their own domestic needs. An education in art for many was a means of

refinement, not a professional pathway.

Mary Cassatt had time, money, education, studio access, and growing patronage

on both sides of the Atlantic. The most important condition driving her success,

however, was her unfailing passion for improving and seeking out opportunities and

connections that would augment her inherent talent. Her goal from day one was to be a

24

professional artist and that, more than anything else, may have been the key ingredient to

her success. Mary Cassatt benefited from an increasing respect and tolerance for the

artistic production of women at the end of the nineteenth century, but in spite of the few

fathers and mentors who nurtured women's careers, the first half of the century still

marked a period where "women were deprived of encouragements, educational facilities

and rewards" (N ochlin 163). Thus, Woo If and N ochlin were correct in identifYing the

need for multiple conditions to exist and combine in the production of great art.

One of these conditions that has not been directly addressed, but was certainly a

side benefit of formal educational opportunities, is that of an increasing network of

professional colleagues. As previously mentioned, most artists working in America

during the early nineteenth century worked in relative isolation. They may have been

aware of masterworks of art through their own studies, but did not have much of a chance

to exchange ideas with their peers. This, combined with other factors, probably retarded

the progression of the art movement in America. William Morris Hunt recognized the

importance of this as he lamented young men's willingness to work in groups. The label

applied to the group of artists working from the Studio Building at the time of Freeman's

occupation-the Hudson River School-highlights recognition of instruction and artistic

progression and innovation even though it was not a formal "school." Mary Cassatt was

able to use her network of colleagues and patrons to great advantage throughout her

career. Even if some of her educational experiences were frustrating or ordinary, each

change in location introduced her to a new group of contemporaries. As evidenced by the

Impressionist group of which she became a part, there were tremendous opportunities for

experimentation and dialogue that grew out of these associations. Arid her classification

25

in recent years as a great artist is due, at least in part, to her being a part of this innovative

group.

Anna Mary Freeman, however, did not have the social-at least early on--or

educational benefits possessed by Cassatt. Without evidence in Freeman's own voice, it

is impossible to determine her level of artistic passion or to pinpoint her artistic

intentions. Samples of her work are few, and samples of her thoughts are even fewer.

She may have used her talent to earn money and never aspired further than that. If

economic survival were her only motivation, however, she wouldn't have been so quick

to dismiss the proposals of marriage referred to in the letters from John Howard Payne.

During the period of their correspondence, Freeman was in her mid-twenties-an age at

which many young ladies were already married and settled. The freedom to produce art

may have been one reason she rejected marriage until later in life, but a general sense of

freedom of self-determination may also have played into her choices. Nevertheless, if

her desires and her talent would have led her in the direction of greatness under other

circumstances, her relative poverty and sense of responsibility to the support of her

family would have been a barrier to her pursuit of that goal. Bound by the need to satisfy

the patrons she depended upon for money, and the time she had to consume in order to do

so, may have left the artist unable to push the boundaries and take the risks that seem to

be one of the enduring criteria that defines artistic greatness.

Even if there had been room for women in the area of artistic education during

Freeman's formative years, her economic situation may have made that opportunity

elusive. Her desire to occupy the Studio Building, however, may point to a determination

on her part to expand her artistic education, whether that was directly or indirectly

26

accomplished. Because a permanent studio, especially of the size of the spaces in the

Studio Building, would be an unnecessary expense for a miniature artist, Freeman seems

to have been trying to transcend the limitations that had up to this point been imposed

upon her career. She may also have seen a perfect opportunity to associate and learn

from some of the most important and innovative American artists ofher time. The timing

of its opening in 1858 also found her brothers older and more established, so she was

freed from much of her familial responsibility. For a serious artist, the open,

interconnecting studios of the Tenth Street building would have provided a richer

educational experience than any academy could have offered.

The importance of academy or institutionalized education in the success of an

artist also changes over time. For example, by the end of the nineteenth century, formally

educated artists were dismissed as unimaginative and unoriginal and self-trained artists

began to have increasing success. In a recent study, Barbara Pollack shows that in

today's art world there is still a distinction between contemporary artists who have

"M.F.A~s and major gallery representation" and artists known as "outsiders" who have

been self-taught (92). Formal education may not be an essential ingredient in the making

of a great artist, but for women of Anna Mary Freeman's time, access to education

provided a vision of what could be accomplished and provided a technical, historical, and

cultural base from which women could build a reputation and find an artistic space to

occupy.

At this point, it is necessary to make a distinction between literary and visual art.

When Virginia Woolf posed her question about making art, she was referring specifically

to writing, although many of her conclusions apply to all types of art. In antebellum

27

America, women writers enjoyed more acceptance and economic success than artists

working in other media. Novels, advice and etiquette manuals, religious tracts, and

journalistic endeavors written by women proliferated during this period. Writers like

Lydia Sigourney, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Catharine Beecher, and Louisa May Alcott

began to exert a measure of cultural recognition and power. Examining the reasons for

this helps illuminate the problems faced by Anna Mary Freeman and other women at this

time.

Linda N ochlin claims that because most middle and upper class people were

literate, authors did not face the same obstacles of education and training in their field of

endeavors as visual artists, and that is why they were more successful. In addition,

literary art was typically privileged during the colonial period in America and up through

the Civil War. Art historian Neil Harris points out that "[b ]efore Americans made

pictures they used words" (2). This reverses the way a society typically evolves, but is

characteristic of colonization. It did, in fact, produce a distrust of the visual in conveying

societal values that hampered artists of both genders during the first half of the nineteenth

century.

William Morris Hunt addressed the relationship between literary and visual art.

His comments are of great significance in addressing the questions raised by Woolf and

Nochlin. He pled, "Children should learn to draw as they learn to write, and such a

mystery should not be made of it .... As it is, every child shows some disposition to draw

early" (9). He explained that because children experiment on any surface they can find or

they waste "whole sheets of paper", this early and natural affection for the visual is

discouraged and buried. Thus, it is specifically the notion of genius that hampers a

28

developing artist. Because reading and writing was valued and encouraged in nineteenth

century America, it shouldn't be surprising that great authors of both genders were

produced.

Literacy-a necessity in a successful democracy-is an interesting term in that it

addresses the skill of both producer and consumer. I would agree with Nochlin's

assertions regarding the educational limitations for female visual artists, but as previously

mentioned, her argument needs to be extended to the artist's audience. Appreciation and

access to fine art was available mainly to the upper classes. In many respects, the fine

arts, both historically and now, depend upon an educated audience. Even if the lower

classes could learn to appreciate fine art, public museums were still a new development,

and the purchase of original art for display in their homes was typically not an option.

One other problem that is exposed when visual and literary art is compared is the

perception that the function of art is a strictly aesthetic one. Many viewers, even today,

fail to realize that part of what makes a work of art great is what is has to say.

Unfortunately, visual literacy did not make the list of necessities for a nineteenth century

American, and rarely makes the list for one of the twenty-first. Once again, the wisdom

of William Morris Hunt simply but beautifully exposes this dilemma: "Drawing should

be considered not an accomplishment, but a necessity. Any one who can make the letter

D can learn to draw. Learning to draw is learning the grammar of a language. Anybody

can learn the grammar, but whether you have anything to say, that is another thing" (64).

It would have been difficult for any artist during Freeman's time to say something

meaningful to an audience who, in large measure, did not speak the language.

29

Any person literate in reading and writing, however, could buy a newspaper,

journal, or book. Although women were largely excluded from higher education, basic

literacy was encouraged and expected. And women, within their domestic scope, had the

time and motivation to consume the vast amounts of literature produced during this time

of mass circulation. To keep up with the demand, both in number and content, it was

economically necessary to patronize writers who were women. Thus, it wasn't so much

an example of recognizing the talent of women, but of recognizing their profit potential.

The economic considerations of artistic production leads into a discussion of the next

area where women during the first half of the nineteenth century sought room-the room

to earn.

30

Room to Earn

"I am glad that a new order of woman is arising ... who are evidently sufficient unto themselves, both as it regards love and bread and butter" (Fern 295).

This praise comes from the popular nineteenth-century writer who went by the

pen name Fanny Fern. The quote indicates that for women of Anna Mary Freeman's

generation, the ability to earn a living granted to them both economic and emotional

31

independence. Virginia Woolf argued that this type of independence was required for the

successful production of works of art and that social expectations for women interfered

with the process. What requires further examination is the effect upon women who chose

to strive for economic independence--or mere survival-through the production of their

art rather than having the luxury of economic security that has already been assured.

Born Sara Payson Willis, the author Fanny Fern overcame many of the obstacles

facing women of her time and chronicled her path to financial independence in her first

novel, Ruth Hall. This thinly veiled autobiography graphically portrays many of the

issues about the creation of art raised by Woolf and Nochlin. Sara Willis appeared to be

on a traditional path early in her life. She wasn't an exemplary student, but loved to

write. She returned from Catherine Beecher's boarding school in 1831 with recognition

for her writing talents, but regret at her having largely failed in the areas of social

refinement for wmch Beecher was famous. Like the title character in her novel, Sara

Willis started out on the domestic path of wife and motherhood, but the death ofher

husband left her in a precarious social position. Her own parents refused to support her,

claiming that her late husband had mismanaged funds. Her in-laws refused to support

32

her, claiming she had squandered her husband's wealth. The real Sara Willis, like the

fictional Ruth Hall, turned to the only thing she could do well-she started to write.

In 1855, Willis-now known as Fanny Fern-would sign a contract making her

the highest paid newspaper writer of her time. Women readers made up a profitable

portion of the reading market, and during this time women's magazines and advice

manuals proliferated. Although many of the notable authors from this period reinforced

the oppressive domestic view of women, Sara Willis made her fortune with Fanny Fern's

biting satire against these prevailing views.

There are some very telling parallels between the lives of Sara Willis and Mary

Freeman. The first is that they were required by their circumstances to earn a living.

Because both women belonged to the middle class, their options for earning were

hampered by the social expectations for a "lady" that dictated not only what a woman

could do, but where she could do it. By 1846, both women had people dependant upon

them for financial support. For Freeman it was her brothers, but for Willis, now a widow,

it was her two children. The very different expectations placed upon a sister as opposed

to a mother created a sense of urgency for Willis that was perhaps absent for Freeman.

Willis tried two of the most acceptable ways for a single woman to fmd financial

security. The first was teaching, but she failed to pass the exam. Finally, at the urging of

her father, she remarried in 184 9.

By this same time, Freeman had rejected proposals from John Howard Payne and

also at least one other man. Payne and Freeman met in New York during the summer of

1848 where Mary was living and working. He fell in love with her and became her

unofficial art dealer. In a letter dated July 25, 1849, Payne reminds her that when their

relationship first started, the disparity in their ages (he was almost thirty-five years her

senior) was not an issue. He claimed that she "even said she liked older men." In the

same letter, however, he laments that his lack of a job at the moment makes it so "he

can't provide for her so she didn't have to provide for herself" This comment is

significant. It shows that marriage to this man would not necessarily have produced any

measure of financial security. It also verifies that, while it was true she was contributing

towards her family's support, Freeman's main concern was her own sustenance. This

allowed her the luxury of refusing to marry while Willis felt bound to do so.

33

Sara Willis found her second marriage to be a disaster, and in an affront to

propriety, divorced in 1851. It was at this time that she decided to survive doing the only

thing in which she felt competent: writing. And following her trials, she certainly had

plenty to say. Her first article, published in Boston's Olive Branch in 1851, was titled

"The Model Husband." After her lengthy description of the ideal husband, she concludes

with the word "unpossible!" (Fern 216). The most foreign idea to her contemporary

audience she saved until last: "[H]e says women will do as they like-he should as soon

think of driving the nails into his own coffin, as trying to stop them."

John Howard Payne is a good example of the general attitude about marriage and

the relationships between women and men at this time. While he often expresses

admiration for Mary Freeman's talent, it is only commendable because it is at present

useful. Independence was never intended as the goal for demonstrating talent and ability.

Rather, it was these qualities that made women a desirable companion for men-a union

that, ironically, typically served to smother those same qualities.

34

Sara Willis' second marriage changed her ideas about the balance of power in a

relationship. In another of her early articles, she made the following observation: "Catch

a regular, smart, talented, energetic woman, and it will puzzle you to find a man that will

compare with her for go-aheadativeness. The more obstacles she encounters, the harder

she struggles, and the more you try to put her down, the more you won't do it" (Fern

226). She wrote this in reply to an article written by a man advising young women that

men are far superior to them and if they don't remain attentive the men would be forced

to tum from their "insignificant love." Willis seems to be speaking directly to John

Howard Payne when she argues that if the love of a young woman is so insignificant,

"Why does a man offer himself a dozen times to the same woman?" (ibid).

Sara Willis and Anna Mary Freeman were both able to achieve self-sufficiency

outside the bonds of marriage. They both chose avenues for earning that were socially

acceptable, but referring back to a statement by William Morris Hunt, there may be an

explanation why one was historically and socially significant, while the other seems to

have worked in relative obscurity. Willis had a significant message that was shared by

vast numbers of women. Her failed second marriage came in the wake of the first

women's rights convention held at Seneca Falls, New York in I 848. The climate in

America in the I 840's and I 850's saw a significant challenge to existing boundaries

placed on women. Although Sara Willis was often criticized for the "unfeminine" bite of

her satire, her participation in the profession was viewed as acceptable. Her ideas

resonated with much of her audience because they spoke her language. Freeman, even if

she had something significant to say, would have found it difficult to make a statement

with her painting, both because her training was insufficient and her audience was not

fluent in a visual language. Additionally, although Willis started her career in a state of

poverty, she eventually enjoyed the type of compensation that would have allowed her

freedom of experimentation and risk-taking that are characteristic of great artists. Up

until her later marriage, Freeman worked steadily, but never achieved the status and

attendant compensation of most of her male contemporaries. This may have prohibited

her from creating the kind of art that separates the good from the great by existing

societal standards.

There is another interesting link between Sara Willis and Anna Mary Freeman.

35

When Willis first decided to try publishing her work in 1851, she turned to her brother,

Nathania! P. Willis for help. He was, at the time, the editor of the New York Home

Journal. Sara Willis' biographer, Joyce Warren, explains that although he had helped

launch the careers of other female writers, he refused to help her. In fact, he expressed

shame that any of his peers in the publishing world would know that anything so 'vulgar'

-and 'indecent' had been written by his own sister. He felt the only appropriate avenue for

her fmancial survival was to write religious tracts (Warren 14). It was to this same N. P.

Willis that John Howard Payne, Mary's friend and mentor, wrote on September 8, 1848

to try to get public praise for Freeman's painting published. She had a piece included in

the Art Union's exhibition, but it had apparently been moved to an inconspicuous

location. Payne hoped that public notice of her work would result in a more prominent

display. There is no record of Willis' response to Payne, if any, but it appears from later

letters written by Payne on the topic that Willis failed to print the notices. He sent for

another copy of the favorable review since it appeared that "Mr. Willis never received the

verses" (18 Sept. 1848). It took another month to procure the article and forward it back

36

to Willis. Payne wrote requesting publicity for Freeman on a few more occasions during

the following year, but never acknowledges whether any of it was published.

The collection of Payne's letters, added to those of her father, gives a new

perspective-although still a male one--on Mary Freeman's life and activities. The

correspondence between Payne and Freeman cover the period from September of 1848 to

May of 1850. Unfortunately, for our purposes, this is a one-sided conversation read from

Payne's point of view. There are a few details, though, regarding the nature of their

relationship that help flesh out her professional life during this period.

The first letter in which Payne mentions "Miss Freeman" is dated August 1, 1848.

Payne is arranging a commission for Mary Freeman with his sister-in-law for a portrait of

her daughter. The painting would require three separate sittings. For unstated reasons,

these sessions needed to be done in secret, and in the letter Payne is trying to come up

with excuses that will place artist and sitter together during the time of the most

advantageous light. During this time, however, Mary and her brother are described as

being so destitute, that all they have had to eat for four days is plain bread. Payne speaks

of their need to keep up appearances in spite of their current poverty, and endeavors to

aid in preserving Mary's dignity at all times. In the same letter he wrote, "I also wish

much you would give Eloise part of the pay and let her imagine some graceful manner of

handing it to Miss Freeman at the first sitting." The letter refers not only to the necessity

for Mary to support herself, but also to help her father's family and to contribute to her

brother's education. Payne wrote to Mary that she must not shrink "from permitting it to

be seen that [she] must work" (1 Aug. 1848). During the two years Payne and Freeman

corresponded, rather than living at a permanent residence, Mary moved frequently and

stayed with various clients, with acquaintances, or in rented rooms.

37

Virginia Woolf recognized the impact of poverty on women in general and those

who must or choose to earn a living in her essay titled "Professions for Women," written

in 1931. In speaking of how she spent the first money she received for her own writing,

she said, "But to show you how little I deserve to be called a professional woman, how

little I know of the struggles and difficulties of such lives, I have to admit that instead of

spending that sum upon bread and butter, rent, shoes and stockings, or butcher's bills, I

went out and bought a cat-a beautiful cat" (388). In this essay, Woolf elaborated on the

importance of a sufficient income to an artist. She also addressed the particular financial

constraints faced by visual artists. She first remarked that because other, earlier writers

had paved the way by the quality of their work and the acceptance of women writers that

ensued, she had a relatively smooth path into writing. She then explained:

Thus, when I came to write, there were very few material obstacles in my

way. Writing was a reputable and harmless occupation. The family peace

was not broken by the scratching of a pen. No demand was made upon the

family purse. For ten and sixpence one can buy paper enough to write all

the plays of Shakespeare-if one has a mind that way. Pianos and models,

Paris, Vienna,and Berlin, masters and mistresses, are not needed by a

writer. The cheapness of writing paper is, of course, the reason why

women have succeeded as writers before they have succeeded in the other

professions (388).

38

Woolf alludes to the more modem idea that "it takes money to make money." Freeman

and other artists of her day who were not financially independent relied on commissions

and the promised compensation that accompanied them. And because the content and

format of these paintings were subject to the desires and expectations of the client,

experimentation or boundary-challenging would be extremely detrimental to business. It

would cost a writer next to nothing to experiment with their craft, but for a painter it

could get very expensive.

John Howard Payne was having financial difficulty of his own. He had been an

ambassador to Tunisia under President Polk, but lost his job with the change of

administration in 1844. He had some land he was unable to sell and was awaiting the

election of 1848 to change his fortunes. In the collection of his personal letters, he is

often writing to borrow money or extend loan payments. Prior to his diplomatic

assignments, he had been an actor and dramatist of some note, although probably not

quite up to his own pronouncement of his status as "The American Hamlet." Following

are excerpts from another letter where Payne made an assessment of Mary's talent and

offered an explanation for her choice of genres at this time:

The daughter of a very eminent artist here, who is herself an artist, is

making a most creditable effort to assist in the support ofher father's

expensive family, - including the completion of a brother's education, now

in his senior year at Columbia College. She is young and handsome and

highly principled and accomplished; and, in addition to all the rest, draws

admirably and makes perfect likenesses .... Miss Freeman, the young lady

in question, paints on ivory as well as on paper; but in order to obtain

employ readily, and to make her powers known, now principally confines

herself to water colour sketches on paper, at ten dollars each; though, of

course, she would execute ivory miniatures, if she could find customers

able and willing to pay. One of the latter description by her, was lately

praised very earnestly in the Tribune ( 19 Aug. 1848).

From this letter it is clear that Freeman needs to work, and to work in the manner that

will most readily produce needed cash. In this same letter, Payne described her need in

what would become his signature style of using her financial woes to elicit sympathy

which will help secure the commission, but also to excuse her for working. He referred

39

to her here as a "suffering genius" (his emphasis). This idea was part of an effort at

constructing the image of an artist during this time. Not only does the term equate artistic

greatness with genius, but that same rare, transcendent gift also becomes an almost

uncontrollable force that takes over the individual's life. The image of the suffering

genius or the starving artist implies that a true artist would sacrifice all for her muse

rather that pollute her work by catering to the whims and tastes of the unrefined masses.

By using this term to describe Freeman, Payne was trying to elevate her from the working

class who work out of necessity, and to place her along with those who are compelled to

create as a result of a special gift.

At first the reference to her praises in the Tribune might give more credence to his

assessment of her talent, but later letters and common practice make it likely that the

notice was authored or ordered by Payne himself In one ofthe letters toN. P. Willis,

Payne exhorted the publisher to print verses of praise for Mary's work written by a Mrs.

Green. He even invited Willis to embellish the notice with "some remark of your own,

40

given with that delicacy and grace of which no one is more capable" (8 Sep 1848).

Almost two months later, Payne again wrote to Willis, sending another copy of the

verses-the first copy must have been lost since it had not yet been published-and a

request for an introductory paragraph. He then provided a "sketch" of what he calls the

facts to "help" Mr. Willis with his introduction. What follows is over a page of carefully

worded prose praising both Mary and her father. He referred to George Freeman's "high

fame" and mentions that the quality of Mary's work "would almost induce us to believe

genius inheritable." The overall tone of the letter suggests that this is a perfect

opportunity for enlightened souls of both sexes to give financial support to a talent

"struggling and only in the dawn of destined eminence" (8 Nov. 1848). 2 The cultural

power of making artist and genius synonymous is evident in his careful choice of words.

Because of Payne's tendency toward exaggeration and his own feelings toward

Mary, his assessment of her work is suspect. At one point, in an effort to secure a

commission from the actress Fanny Kemble Butler, he wrote, "There is a young lady

artist in New York, in whose fortunes I take much interest; for she is full of talent and not

very full of money, which she wishes to earn ... The daughter is likely to become the first

female artist in America" (29 March 1849). While we may not be able to trust his

assessment of her talent, one conclusion that could justifiably be drawn is that, up to this

point, no American female had distinguished herself as an artist.

Whatever her personal feelings toward him were, Mary appears to have needed­

or at least appreciated-his help professionally. She had made professional room for

herself to earn a living, but was not able to fully conduct her own business. Like Sara

Willis, at first she had to seek and accept the help of men. After completing a

2 Full text of this sketch is found in Appendix A

41

commission arranged for by Payne, he WI"ote to her about negotiations for setting a price

for some additional pieces for the same client, Mr. Riggs. He quoted Riggs as saying,

"Well, I can't talk to a woman about money" (1 0 July 1849). In letter after letter, if

Payne was not imploring his connections for money, he was seeking commissions for

Mary. His motive may have been love or a genuine interest in art, but he never charged

or withheld any type of fee. In spite ofhis own financial woes, Mary's success would not

change his own fortunes unless they were married. In one letter to her, Payne is

responding to an offer from Freeman to lend him money for a trip. He wrote that he

"wouldn't do it even if she were his wife" (29 Jul 1849). His sincerity could be

questioned, though, since if they had married at that point, she was the only one earning a

steady income. He did pride himself on his knowledge and patronage of the fine arts, but

his tenacity at securing commissions for Miss Freeman was exceeded only by his

repeated but futile attempts to make her his wife.

Whatever Payne's true motives were, he was relentless in arranging commissions

and promoting her work by word of mouth and through the local press. Some of that

motivation may have been a perceived need to protect Freeman from the "dangers" of the

public sphere of men. At times Payne sounded like a husband, and at other times­

especially in letters to George Freeman-he assumed the role of surrogate father. This is

in keeping with the contemporary ideal of men as the protectors of women. In an article

written for Lippincott's Magazine of Popular Literature and Science reflecting on

changes in the expectations for and behaviors of women, the author acknowledged that

"to preserve the effect of being a rare and beautiful creature carefully guarded in elegant

seclusion, [a young lady] must really be secluded from healthful knowledge of the world

42

and genuine experience of life" (A. W. P. 625). According to the article, physical

protection during Anna Mary Freeman's time had been coupled with emotional and

intellectual "protection." What is interesting to note about this observation, however, is

that the author attributes this change not to a new recognition of the abilities and intellect

of women, but to societal progress. The article goes on to state: "[W]hat has come to

girls in the nineteenth century is a good thing for them to have,-the unafraid air which

means, not that they have shaken off the protection of fathers and brothers, but that there

is no longer in society that from which they need to be protected" (ibid). Payne's letters

support this perception that Freeman's participation in public affairs required his support

and protection. As he once wrote to Freeman, "To permit a delicate female to be

harassed by worldly cares, is a fault in any man who can prevent it" ( 1 Sept. 1848).

According John Howard Payne's letters and those ofher father, Mary spent much

ofher early adulthood chasing commissions. The letters from Payne between 1848 and

1850 reflect a variety ofNew York, Connecticut, and Washington addresses, usually in

the care of a host. Often, the change of address would coincide with a new commission,

and would also reflect where Payne was staying. While he was in Washington trying to

gain access to President Taylor, he arranged for Mary to work there and she enjoyed

steady work for several months. Although Payne brought with him a host of new

connections, she was able to keep busy and financially afloat both before and after their

friendship. Unfortunately, the source material to uncover whether she was able to make

her own arrangements at this point is not available. In light of Mr. Riggs' comments

about conducting business with women, it would have been an obstacle to success unless

she had the help of other men. This situation extended outside the world of visual art, as

even very successful authors like Sara Willis still had to rely on male editors and

publishers to conduct their business.

43

Anna Mary Freeman worked within the societal confines dictated for women at

that time, and also chose a genre that was very traditional. Like her father, Anna Mary

Freeman worked mostly in miniature portraits. This is a fascinating genre that had its

start in England. It was, however, seen more as a craft than an art, so when America was

trying to exert artistic influence and increase the public stature of the artist, the popularity

of this genre began to wane towards the middle of the nineteenth century. During the

colonial period, the hard work of nation building and the Puritan philosophy of austerity

created what Neil Harris calls an "artistic vacuum" (6). As American artists began to

travel back to Europe for training and to bring back an expanded view of art, the portrait

miniature started being replaced by more "significant" works of art. It also began to lose

its societal function as a symbol of reverence, remembrance, or attachment to another

person due to the increasing use of photographic processes-a much more time and cost­

efficient processes than painting.

There may be several reasons why the painters of these portraits failed to achieve

the same stature as other types of painters. First, miniature paintings were often

classified as a decorative art. Part fine art and part craft, the smaller, earlier versions of

these portraits were often worn as jewelry. The actual portrait was usually executed in

watercolor on ivory and then set into some type of frame. Miniature portraits had

reached their peak of popularity in America by the tum of the nineteenth century. In

addition to the reasons outline above, the age of industrialization and relaxed social

mobility helped temper some of the Puritan-based aversion to ostentation. The first

44

American-born miniature painter of record was Benjamin West, but artists of this genre

often remained anonymous. West's first miniature was a self-portrait as a gift to a girl

who ended up refusing him. This gift was never intended for public display-thus

emphasizing the private nature of the genre. For Freeman, as well as for other female

artists, this privacy would protect their modesty in both the execution and display of their

work.

In a companion work to a recent show of American portrait miniatures at Yale

University, Robin Jaffe explains the unique nature of these works of art: "The portrait

miniature stands apart from any other art form in its highly personal associations.

Whereas easel portraits present a public self meant to face outward, portrait miniatures

reveal a private self meant to face inward ... As such, they invite inquiry into the particular

bonds between sitter and beholder that they were made to commemorate, and by

extension into a lesser-known aspect of American private life" ( 1 ). In the few examples

of Freeman's work and the outline of commissions in Payne's letters, her sitters are

mainly women and children. In light of Jaffe's comments, execution of a miniature by a

woman would also protect the modesty of her sitter. Although many men, including her

father, also did portraits, the perception of intimacy between painter and subject may

have helped protect part of the client base for women. Perhaps it was also felt that

women, being more sensitive, could render a better likeness of another woman because

they shared the same cultural space.

Another aspect of miniature portraits that enhances their intimate and personal

nature is that often they were a reflection of mourning over the loss of a loved one. In

larger portraits painted for public viewing, the sitter was often depicted wearing a

45

miniature of a lost loved one. In family groupings, this technique allowed for the portrait

to be of the complete family. While Anna Mary Freeman was working in Washington

during the summer of 1849, John Howard Payne wrote her an urgent letter on behalf of a

woman whose husband was very ill. She wanted his likeness painted immediately and,

when informed of Freeman's prices, replied that "she would rather give any sum, than

fail to have the picture" (25 Jul 1849). Unfortunately in this instance, the man died

before the request could even be delivered to Freeman. Because a painting of a deceased

loved one was considered a fitting tribute, it may seem at first that the death of the subject

would be inconsequential to the portrait. One explanation for the commission being

cancelled may have been the prevailing view of the delicacy and frailty of women that

would have made the activity difficult to bear. Although some artists would paint from

sketches done after a person's death, they would often double their fee for this service

(Mattison Ch. 3).

Although the business side of seeking and securing commissions may have

belonged to the public sphere dominated by men, miniature portraits were uniquely suited

to the private world commanded by women. Portraits were often painted in the client's

home, thus giving a sense of intimacy between the subject and the artist. Additionally,

the finished product was intended for private display either in the home or worn on the

body. Thus, Anna Mary Freeman chose to work in a genre that had already made room

for women-as artists, clients, and subjects.

The intimate nature of portrait miniatures may also explain why they often failed

to receive public recognition. There is both historical and literary evidence that

miniature portraits were often exchanged by secret lovers or by the participants in extra-

46

marital affairs. In an effort to further conceal their identity, the portraits were often a

close-up of one cherished feature, such as an eye or hand. Daniel Webster reportedly

carried a portrait of his artist/mistress, Sarah Goodridge, that only showed her bare

bosom from her neck to her ribcage (Frank). In Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Emma gives

her miniature likeness to her lover as a gift.

In his letters, John Howard Payne often referred to one or more "likenesses" that

he carried of Anna Mary Freeman in her absence. He identified one as a miniature,

probably painted by Mary herself, and he speaks of wearing it next to his heart. In one

letter to her he wrote, "I have no consolation for your departure, but to look upon all of

your image that I possess; and I love you even there, although even there you tum away

from me, as if absorbed by something paramount & overwhelming" ( 1 Sept. 1848).

Rather than exhibiting a direct gaze, the eyes in the portrait he referred to are looking

away, which he often construed in his insecurity (well-founded) as her failure to truly

love him. Understanding the role this miniature would play, Freeman knew her likeness

would be the object of Payne's gaze and perhaps meant to reinforce this message with

him.

There is much discussion in recent years of the implications of gaze in gender

studies and how it relates to power and oppression. Portraiture in general is loaded with

implications since you have the gaze of the artist that is required to execute the painting,

the gaze that emanates from the subject once the painting is complete, and the gaze of the

viewer as the portrait is viewed. For miniatures specifically, their purpose was to

perpetuate a specific and very private relationship. As an illustration, later in his letter of

September I, 1848, Payne described in great detail the power of gaze contained within

these intimate portraits. He wrote:

47

Stay-I must tell you about your miniature. I took a glance at it last night,

after I got into bed, and by some singular effect of the light, there appeared

two images, the one like a daguerrotype [sic] but the other flung off at a

distance and enlarged and looking so real that it startled me with delight,

and then there came over me a sort of sadness and disappointment to think

that there were four and twenty hours of hard traveling between us & long

rivers & railroads &, I suppose, mountains. Your face is now on my desk

as I am writing, and there seems a slight flush upon the cheek, and the lip

almost appears ready to quiver with a sigh-Oh, that it would turn round

& not eternally remain thus averted and unsmiling!

The details of this experience demonstrate that miniature portraits were created for a

unique and very specific gaze, a condition which perhaps makes them seem out of place

in a public venue such as a museum and may account for so many of them being lost to

art historians.

The private nature of the business itself may also be an explanation for the

comparative lack of recognition given to miniaturists. Even if the desire for recognition

had arisen, due both to size constraints and focus on the subject, many of these portraits

were unsigned. Unless Freeman's portraits were shown at a public exhibition, it is often

difficult to find a record of who her sitters were and where her work might be. Robin

Jaffe points out another problem related to the size and function of the portraits:

48

The very function of miniatures as familial and loving tokens frustrates an

evaluation of their importance in the evolution of portraiture, material

culture, and social history in America. Small, private, fragile, and

portable, miniatures were easily damaged or lost as they accompanied

family members through the dislocations of revolution, immigration,

migration, the Civil War, and the passage of time (303).

Looking at an exhibition of miniatures in 1934, a reviewer observed, "Most of them have

had adventurous existences, surviving war and fire and flood, treasured, but sharing the

family fortunes almost like individuals and possibly all the more loved for any resulting

blemish" (Jaffe 305). Returning to the idea that great art is judged by its cultural

consequences, the fact that most of these paintings had personal consequences may

explain why so many of their artists remain unheralded.

This discussion of the status of portrait miniatures raises an important question.

Although society may have considered miniature artists to be merely craftsmen, how did

portrait artists define themselves-as aspiring or functioning master painters, or as

talented craftsmen earning a living? As mentioned previously, history has named Mary

Cassatt as a great painter, but that status was her stated aspiration from the very

beginning of her career. Anna Mary Freeman exhibited and advertised, but possibly only

as a way to increase her business and her income. Perhaps she never achieved artistic

greatness because that was not her aspiration. Her choice to work in portrait miniatures,

however, must not be attributed to a lack of desire for larger recognition. We can look no

further than to her father, George Freeman, who worked in miniatures but still hoped

for-and fully expected-international recognition.

49

About the same time Mary Freeman came on the scene, the tradition of portrait

miniatures was undergoing drastic changes. Miniaturists Henry Inman and Thomas

Cummings were among the fifteen men who founded the National Academy of Design in

1826. The American art market was becoming increasingly competitive and Cummings

sought to place miniatures on an equal stature with larger format easel paintings. This

change of focus from a private to a more pubic sphere altered the aesthetics, marketing,

and social function of miniatures. Still small in size, miniature portraits were now more

often rectangular rather than oval-shaped and intended for display on a wall or in a

cabinet grouping and not to be worn on the body (Jaffe 273). The record of Freeman's

exhibition entries shows that she did adjust to this change in the market. Examples of her

work are undated (figs. 3 and 4 ), but the one that reflects increased technical skill is

almost double the size of other portrait miniature. Freeman's move to the Studio

Building also indicates a move toward working in new directions.

Traditional painters were not the only competition for the miniature portraitist.

Photography also provided the same sentimental keepsake at a much more affordable

price. According to Jaffe, in 1855 a hand-colored daguerreotype might cost from $3 to

$6. Miniatures by a prominent artist ranged from $50 to $218. (296) These prices are

consistent with the ones quoted to Anna Mary Freeman by John Howard Payne during

the two years he endeavored to secure commissions for her. Some families still

commissioned painted portraits as an expression of their status, but since sitting for a

photograph was so much less intrusive on the subject's time, many aspiring capitalists

and republican mothers preferred the relative speed of photography.

50

These feelings are expressed in a letter to Anna Mary Freeman via John Howard

Payne from a Mrs. Fanny Butler. It reads:

The desire you express that I should sit to Miss Freeman for my picture, is

one of six applications to the same effect made to me within the last three

weeks-some of them by and for personal friends. I merely mention this

to give more weight to the reason which compels me to refuse your

request i. e: that my time is so extremely engrossed with multiplied

engagements, that it is entirely out of my power to devote any of it to such

a purpose-! have been obliged to decline from this cause the very

summary process of Daguerreotype portrait-making, and a miniature, as

you know, is the longest of all pictorial performances ( 6 Apr. 1849).

Photography demanded less overall time, but for the time it took for an image to be

captured, the subject had to remain perfectly still. This led to unnatural and often

unpleasant facial expressions in early photos. Painters were able to give their subjects a

more natural look, but in that and many other ways, paintings were much more subjective

than photographs. One way painters incorporated the advantages offered by photography

was by painting from photographs instead of from life. Thus, they rendered a portrait

enhanced in expression and color but with no additional time or inconvenience to the

sitter.

The introduction of photography freed many artists to work from a studio rather

that traveling to the homes oftheir clients. Not only did the process of producing a

portrait shift from a private to a more public setting, the works themselves were more

geared to a public rather than a private audience. This shift corresponds to the time that

51

Anna Mary Freeman sought for a more permanent studio space rather than moving from

one client's home to another.

Mary Freeman made the shift from the private to the public sphere in a very

methodical manner. In John Howard Payne's letters during the first half of 1850, he was

trying to find adequate space for her to rent. She eventually took up a studio space at

New York University. In light of the constraints ofher chosen career just a few years

earlier, this new activity represents some key shifts in both the marketing of her art and

her growing self-reliance. Rather than depending upon friends like John Howard Payne

and his associate Mr. Butler to secure commissions from among their circle of associates,

Mary began using the growing newspaper industry to seek her own opportunities. She

had learned the value of advertising early from her father. On the first painting trip they

took together after arriving in New York, George Freeman milked his portrait of Queen

Victoria for all of the publicity and business it could generate. In a letter to Lydia

Sigourney, he spoke of taking it to Canada, where "she [would] be more in her element at

the same time tho [sic] I am sure she would not excite more admiration" (19 Sept. 1842).

Like many of the successful female authors, Anna Mary Freeman found a voice in the

many print journals of the day. In January of 1855, the following advertisement began

running in The Crayon, one of the first New York periodicals dedicated specifically to

art:

ANNA MARY FREEMAN Miniature Painter,

No. 4 New York University At Home on Saturdays.

52

Her address changed to different rooms at NYU and eventually to the Tenth Street Studio

Building, but the ads ran continually for the next few years. Mary had established herself

as a professional and independent artist. Although not a member-very few women

were-she was included in the annual exhibitions of the National Academy of Design

beginning as early as 18463, the Art Union exhibition of 1848, and the exhibitions staged

at the Studio Building during her occupancy. Although women were not often included

in professional organizations, they were well-represented in exhibitions. This exclusion

may be attributed in part to gender expectations and limitations, but it could also be

argued that membership in these groups did little to enhance the opportunities for the

individual artist. There were separate groups for women, but like the male-centered

organizations, their main purpose was in promoting the execution, exhibition, and

appreciation of American art, not to further the careers of particular artists.

The ability to exhibit and advertise freed Mary from a dependence on well­

connected men, but also increased her potential pool of clients beyond those to whom she

could trace a line of personal connection. This is one more example ofthe shift away

from the private and intimate. The advertisements not only reached a wider audience in

terms of numbers, but also appealed to a larger audience in terms of social class.

By 1857, studio visits were a common way for potential clients to familiarize

themselves with an artist and his or her work in the absence of the more traditional

personal connections. According to Carrie Rebora Barratt in her study of the making of

New York into a center for art during the second quarter ofthe nineteenth century, "A

reporter for Putnam's Kaleidoscope recommended giving New York the epithet 'the

Artist City, or the City of Studios,' in recognition of the more than three hundred spaces

3 See Appendix C for a complete list ofNAD exhibition entries.

53

for artists open for independent business each day. Many artists shared room in buildings

dedicated to such studios" (61). Such was the case with Anna Mary Freeman in her

University studio.

Rooms in the four towers of the University Building at NYU were rented to artists

to generate money. This arrangement obviously benefited the school, but also the

tenants. Having several artists housed in one building made it more convenient for

buyers, but also allowed for association and collaboration among the artists. "Artists'

studios played a central role ... providing a convenient meeting ground for painters,

literary figures, merchants, professional men, and potential patrons. In New York, much

of this activity centered on the University Building at New York University ... "

(McCarthy 9). Other buildings in the area ofNew York University also accommodated

groups of artists. One of these was Dodworth's, a dancing school with rooms for artists

on its upper floors. This space also allowed artists to display several pieces at evening

receptions (Blaugrund 14). These receptions were another way for artists to appeal to the

public for both recognition and remuneration. According to Blaugrund, "[b ]y mid­

century, then, the artist's studio had become a signifier of status, acculturation, taste, and

success, besides being a functional work space. As such, it was a crucial marketing tool"

( 15). Not only did the associations among artists have the positive effects described by

Blaugrund, they also served to advance the education-and by extension the

"greatness" --of artists by encouraging discussion, collaboration, and innovation. This

educational benefit would also extend to the audience as they gathered to view the works

at an exhibition.

54

At the time Freeman worked out of her University studio, the National Academy

was "still the city's principal gallery of contemporary art, both for exhibitions and sales.

The intitution had never been stronger. Housed in an appropriate building of its own at

the comer of Tenth Street and Fourth Avenue ... the venerable Academy had a high

profile among New York's community of artists, collectors, and viewing public" (Barratt

61 ). The move toward a more public forum for art corresponded with a push for public

museums and galleries.

One of the tenants at New York University during the years Mary had her studio

there was William Morris Hunt. Hunt had returned to America in 1855 after studying in

Paris. One of his first projects after returning was to assist his brother Robert to design a

building dedicated solely to the needs of visual artists. This building was also located on

Tenth Street, and was known simply as "The Studio Building." A review written in The

Crayon to coincide with the opening of the building stated:

This structure is an experiment, intended to provide studios for artists,

accompanied with an exhibition-room, wherein the works of the occupants

of the building can be visible at all suitable hours. There are about

twenty-three studios (large and small) in the building, which occupies a

space of ground one hundred feet square, besides a number of small

rooms, etc. that can be used as required. The studios range in size from

about fifteen feet by twenty feet to twenty feet by thirty feet. The

exhibition-room is a prominent feature of the building, being in fine

proportion, and beautifully lighted ... we would point to it as one of the

evidences of an increasing estimation of Art in our midst" (23).

55

According to Blaugrund, who has done an extensive study of the one hundred

year history of the Tenth Street Studio, the main criterion used to determine who received

space in the building was his or her connections. This leads to an important question

regarding Anna Mary Freeman-the only woman among the first group of tenants and

one of only a few women to hold a spot there during its entire history. Whom did she

know? What circumstances combined to allow her to join this prominent and

increasingly influential group of artists? In light ofBlaugrund's identification of the

importance of connections, it is unlikely that it could have been a simple case of first

come, first served. The fact that the building opened with an extensive waiting list for

studio space combined with the desire to centralize and strengthen the international

position of American art and artists points to the likelihood that some effort at selectivity

in tenants would have been employed.

It is difficult to document relationships with men or women who would have had

the connections to secure Freeman's place in the Studio. Although A. B. Durand was

probably familiar with her literary and visual work through his association with the

Crayon, it was not unusual for that weekly paper to discuss and promote the work of

women. Freeman is frequently mentioned, but my no means in a prominent or favored

manner. Of her documented commissions, none seem to be of the stature in the art world

to allow her entry. Perhaps she used some ofher father's connections, but in the only

biography of George Freeman, actual relationships with the first tenants are merely

conjecture.

One of her father's acquaintances, the author Lydia Sigourney, may have

influenced or assisted Freeman. Sigourney was a native of Hartford and was familiar with

56

the entire Freeman family. She also sat for at least four portraits by George Freeman,

some of which were published along with her literary works. Sigourney was a very

public figure in her time, being an accomplished writer. Like so many others, though,

she understood the concept and the comfort of separate spheres. Those boundaries

dictated that for women to venture into the public sphere, it must be for a cause with

underlying domestic ties. For Sigourney, this meant writing advice for women,

promoting the moral values upheld and instilled by Republican mothers, and educational

tracts meant for consumption by the schoolchildren sent forth into the public school

system.

Like some of the other writers discussed in this paper, Lydia Sigourney found a

way to manipulate the very system her work promoted to be successful in the public

sphere. Although at first she published her work anonymously to placate her proud

husband, once her authorship was made public in 1833, she took credit for everything she

wrote. One might be tempted to congratulate Mr. Sigourney on his enlightened attitude,

but his willingness to let his wife take public credit for her success was probably more a

function of his increasing dependence on her earnings as his economic position fell.

Even if Sigourney was not the direct link who opened the doors of the Studio

building to Mary, the close relationship between the two families evidenced by the

George Freeman letters must have exposed Freeman to a host of influential people. It is

likely that Sigourney' s example of carefully navigating the public sphere while

maintaining her status as a "lady" made an impression on Mary. While access to a studio

may have been the biggest hurdle because ofher gender, once she got in she would have

needed a certain amount of self-assurance and aggressiveness to stay there.

57

William Morris Hunt was another important figure with whom Mary Freeman

enjoyed an acquaintance. It was a relationship that is referred to as early as 1848 by John

Howard Payne. According to his letters, on at least two occasions Hunt supplied Mary

Freeman with drawing boards. Later they simultaneously worked from the University

studios. One characteristic of the buildings with dedicated artists' spaces was frequent

gatherings of their tenants; Freeman and Hunt surely knew each other. The details of their

relationship are not documented, however her thirst for learning and his favorable attitude

towards female artists is evident. If Hunt was the one who opened the door for Freeman,

it may be an indication that among the women he had observed and taught, she

distinguished herself as possessing professional potential.

William Morris Hunt was well-born and, upon his return to American in 1855,

secured a marriage that advanced his social position. In tracing his influence on the

education of women, Kathleen McCarthy notes, "Hunt's impeccable social credentials

and his personal wealth enabled him to do as he chose, and what he chose to do was to

start a painting class for some of the city's most cultured and prominent young women.

His classes filled a special place in the city's artistic landscape, providing training for

upper-class students in a suitable refined milieu" (86). This quote not only highlights his

influence as a mentor, but also demonstrates the freedom that comes with wealth, and the

importance of maintaining the cultural expectations for women's behavior.

While Anna Mary Freeman is not specifically mentioned as one of his students, it

is clear, as previously mentioned, that Hunt endeavored to promote promising female

artists. Hunt's favorable attitude toward women who ventured into the public sphere,

however, was not the prevailing one. Whether it was Hunt that paved the way for

58

Freeman's tenancy in the Tenth Street studios or someone else, her selection was

probably met with great resistance by some. Blaugrund's description of a "brotherhood

of artists" does not merely refer to gender, but also the behavioral expectations associated

with it. As McCarthy points out, "Studios, clubs, and salons were considered male

cultural terrain" (9). The admission of a woman into this fraternity was surely

problematic, at least for some. This only serves to indicate a certain stature for the person

responsible for her good fortune.

Not all of these clubs excluded women, however. A group ofNew York

newspaper writers-both men and women-began meeting regularly at Pfaff's saloon on

Broadway in the late 1850's. The group formed around Henry Clapp, editor ofthe

Saturday Press and expanded to include other types of writers. They became known as

the Bohemians of Pfaff's, and Clapp was anointed their king (Rawson APS Online). But

the group also needed a queen, and found one in the lively and brilliant author and actress

Ada Clare. In addition to her presence at the Pfaff gatherings, Ada Clare also held more

refined salon gatherings in her home on Forty-second Street. In an 1896 article reflecting

on this extraordinary group of individuals written for Frank Leslie's Popular Monthly,

A. L. Rawson wrote, "Ada Clara was the atmosphere of the place in which those young

men, nearly all bachelors, and young women, nearly all maids, grew into a society of

intellectual pleasure-seekers, who were not bound by conventional rules, nor fettered by

the rigidities of customer, but harmonized by fine feeling" (ibid). Rawson includes a

partial list of Ada Clare's friends, which includes poets, musicians, dramatists, several

artists, and even Walt Whitman, who also dropped in on Pfaff's Bohemians from time to

time. Rawson goes on to explain that Clare always had a female companion, one of

which was "Mary Freeman, who was later Mrs. Goldbeck, a genius in water-color

miniatures" (ibid).

59

Freeman's association with this group may not be the direct link to the Studio

building tenants, but it does place her in an important position both socially and

professionally. It proves that she was part of the discussions about American identity and

the role of art in that process of self-definition. Her relationship with Ada Clare would

have provided her with a role model who managed to maintain the respect and admiration

ofher influential friends in spite of the fact that she was outspoken, independent, and

very much a part of the public sphere. Perhaps it is merely coincidence, but Freeman's

later marriage to a much younger composer, Robert Goldbeck, resembles an earlier affair

Ada Clare had with the composer Louis-Moreau Gottschalk that resulted in the birth of

an illegitimate son.

In spite of her social connections, there remains a question about Anna Mary

Freeman's work that could hold the key to her inclusion in the initial group of Studio

Building artists--did she do any other types of art? An extensive search for this study

has so far yielded very few extant examples of her work and all are portraits. All

exhibition entries are also listed as portraits of various sizes. The evidence in all the

primary sources gathered for this study indicates that portrait painting was the way she

made her living. But did she ever experiment with other genres--Dnes that would

necessitate significant studio space? In all of the sources examined for this study, there is

only one passing reference to any other type of work. In February of 1850, John Howard

Payne wrote her a letter apparently arranging for her to move to Washington. He spoke

of the competition she would encounter, and then he referred to some "season" pictures

60

she had completed. Although at the beginning of the nineteenth century landscapes were

considered a less important genre than history painting or portraiture, by the middle of

the century, romanticism and transcendentalism had brought a new respectability and

significance to paintings of nature. The fact that she was at least dabbling in this genre

may point to an effort to broaden her artistic ability and influence.

Regardless of the circumstances that eventually brought her there, what was it like

at the Tenth Street Studios? In New York, people from a variety of backgrounds sought

to bring civilization, or citizenship, and urbanity to their city and its residents. Art was a

significant part of the city's efforts at self-definition because it brought with it a sense of

culture and refinement (Upton 4). It is clear that the opening of the studio building

signaled an increased awareness of the cultural importance of a nation's art, and by

extension, the importance of the artist. This effort at self-definition and self-promotion

was not limited to the arts. As Alan Trachtenberg points out in The Incorporation of

America, the antebellum period laid the foundation for the economic incorporation that

transformed all aspects of American life in the post-Civil War age. It was a time when

"controversies over the meaning of America symbolized struggles over reality, over the

power to define as well as control it" (8). IfNew York and America as a whole could

become a significant player in the art world, the level of civilization it implied would

extend to all other aspects of American life. As an experiment in new ways of looking at

art and artists, the Studio Building was a crucial step forward in this image construction.

Annette Blaugrund identifies several features of this building that would have

had a particular effect on Mary Freeman. First, the studios were interconnected and

readily accessible to patrons, reviewers, and other artists. This layout would have

61

fostered collaboration and competition-both of which would have been problematic for

any women, let alone a single one

While it has been mentioned that William Morris Hunt and a few others

welcomed the opportunity to work with and mentor women, many men felt that women

should restrict their artistic endeavors to the domestic realm. The layout of the building,

however, would have allowed Freeman access to the ideas and experimentation of the

other Studio artists regardless of their own personal willingness to share them. The list of

the first tenants includes the names of some very prominent and influential artists of the

day, including Frederic E. Church, who would later be joined by other artists who made

up the Hudson River schoo I. i4

Another advantage available to Freeman and the other Studio artists was

increased exposure. In addition to her advertisements in The Crayon, Freeman's work

was often mentioned and reviewed in connection with regular studio visits by

contributing journalists. The large central exhibition space also gave her the opportunity

to show her work. Although there were other locations in the area for group exhibitions,

for its time, the Tenth Street Studio was the most exclusive. The annual exhibition at the

National Academy of Design attracted "almost every major and minor artist," and

Dodworth allowed any artist to exhibit (Blaugrund 80, 69). Regardless of what

reputation she was able to build prior to 1858, Freeman's inclusion in the Studio group

would surely have enhanced her marketability.

4 The ful1 list of original tenants, according to Dr. Blaugrund, is as follows: William F. Atwood, George H. Boughton, Jame R. Brevoort, Frederic E. Church, Sanford R. Gifford, Regis F. Gignoux, William M. Hart, Wi1Jiam J. Hays, John H. Hill, Richard W. Hubbard, John La Farge, Louis R. Mignot, Edward W. Nichols, William J. Stillman, James A. Suydam, Eliphalet Terry, George Q. Thorndike, Henry F. White, and Theodore Winthrop, Richard Morris Hunt, and Anna Mary Freeman

62

There are several factors that combined to intensify the marketing of art in New

York during the antebellum period. As previously discussed, the embellishment of

private spaces was a way to signify social status. This mindset would lead to the

conspicuous consumption of the Gilded Age. Although at first, European paintings were

preferred, starting with the founding of the National Academy ofDesign in 1826, there

was a shift in preference to American painters. Not only did studio visits allow potential

buyers to "shop," but it also assured them that they were purchasing an original work of

art. Blaugrund points out that Robert L. Stuart, an important collector who patronized the

Tenth Street artists, actively collected American art in the 1850's and 1860's because it

decreased the chances ofbuying a fake (78).

There is also evidence that Freeman was experimenting with other earning

opportunities at the same time she worked out of the Tenth Street building. The year

1858 was an exciting one for Mary Freeman, both professionally and personally. In

addition to being established as an artist and enjoying the benefits provided at that

location, she was also writing poetry. A few of her poems were published in The

Crayon. 5 Also in 1858, Musical World Print published a song titled, "Let Me Weep."

(Appendix C) Anna M. Freeman is credited with the lyrics and Robert Goldbeck, a

young German composer, wrote the music. In December of 1858, Anna Mary

collaborated with Mr. Goldbeck once again, this time for an evening of performances at

Dodworth's Rooms on Broadway in New York. Goldbeck was giving his second concert

in a series, performing his original "Trio." In conjunction with this event, Freeman ran

the following advertisement in the New York Times: "Anna Mary Freeman, artist, takes

this method of informing her friends that she will have the honor of giving her first

5 For the text of published poetry by Freeman, see Appendix C

63

recitation, in public, at Mr. Robert Goldbeck's second Concert on Thursday Evening,

Dec. 9, at Dodsworth's Rooms." In addition to this ad, there is also one from Mr.

Goldbeck and one from the promoters of the event, mentioning the fact that tickets for the

event could be purchased for one dollar at local music stores. According to the paper,

the dramatic reading that Mary gave was of a recently completed poem by Elizabeth

Barrett Browning titled, "Rhyme of the Duchess May." Although she was participating

in other facets of the fine arts, it is important to note that in the ad, she still thought of

herself primarily as an artist.

The relationship between Miss Freeman and Mr. Goldbeck apparently turned

from professional to personal. Although George Freeman's biographer, Wilma Keyes,

lists 1859 as the year Anna Mary Freeman married, his letters do not mention her

marriage until1861. Additionally, there was a brief review in The New York Musical

World of"a series of 'Popular Lyric Recitals"' hosted by Mr. and Mrs. Robert Goldbeck.

At the time she would have been thirty-four years of age. There are discrepancies in

Goldbeck's exact date ofbirth, but at the time of the marriage he was between the ages of

twenty and twenty-four-significantly younger that his bride in any case. It appears from

the tenant roster that Mary gave up her studio in the Tenth Street building in 1860, but

there is evidence that she remained in New York for at least another year. After that,

details ofher whereabouts are difficult to come by. According to her father's letters, she

had a son named William Freeman Goldbeck in February of 1861. In keeping with the

prevailing attitude toward the responsibility of married women, marriage and/or

motherhood were probably the reasons Freeman gave up her Tenth Street studio.

64

Information about Anna Mary Freeman's life is scarce in the years following her

marriage to Robert Goldbeck. She had entries in the National Academy exhibitions in

1861, 1862, and 1863. She also entered a piece in the 1868 exhibition titled "In

Memorium." This may have been a tribute to her father, who died on March 7, 1868.

Clues to her activities after she left the Studio building are few. Other than the NAD

exhibitions through 1868, there are only two poems published in 1871 and 1873

published under the name of Anna Freeman Goldbeck. Although the evidence verifies

the marriage between Freeman and Goldbeck, she is not mentioned by name in his brief

biography.

That our perception of Anna Mary Freeman is filtered through the lens of the

influential men in her life reflects the social climate in which she lived and worked.

Women during the first half of the nineteenth century were relegated to a very closely

defined and defended role-a role defined by men and often defended by women in a

play for social and cultural power. Many women, however, were unable to survive

within its constraints. For some, this survival was more philosophical, but for many­

like Sara Willis-it was very literal. As the women's movement escalated in the two

decades preceding the Civil War, more and more women sought room to satisfY the

yearning to pursue their own dreams and define their own lives.

65

Room to Yearn

To yearn is to have an earnest desire for something, but the word also hints that

there will be major difficulties or obstacles encountered in its fulfillment. During the first

half of the nineteenth century, both the rate and nature of changes to the fabric of society

and their impact on daily life created or intensified yearnings in many women.

When George Freeman brought his family to America in 1841, his daughter was

sixteen years old. In many ways, the country itself was in a period of adolescence with

all its attendant change, growth, angst, and search for identity. And it was in New York,

the city that would become her home, that the growing pains were most pronounced. The

population ofNew York doubled between 1844 and 1850 (Goldsmith 139). More and

more Americans abandoned an agrarian lifestyle where the home was the workplace and

the goal was economic self-sufficiency and providing the means for each family member

to perpetuate this lifestyle. Construction of canals and, later, railroads allowed families

access to goods that could never be self-produced by the family farm. The appetite for

commodities outpaced the impetus for familial self-reliance, leading many to abandon the

plow and pursue occupations that promised the means to feed this new appetite. Among

the many results of this seismic shift were some that directly and dramatically affected

the lives of women. The first was the creation of a middle class. This was not, however,

simply a new social category to which people were assigned. It was a stepping-stone in a

social mobility that made the higher classes available, at least in principle, to all.

66

As Mary Ryan articulates in her book Cradle of the Middle Class, it is within this

traditional nuclear family that the middle class was created. As Wendell Garrett explains,

by 1850 in northwestern Europe and North America, "the extended family became the

nuclear family: marriages arranged by parents for economic reasons gave way to

marriages arranged by spouses themselves based on sexual attraction and romantic love;

family life, previously lived largely in public, became a private affair in a single-family

dwelling" (1 ). It was a precarious place at first for women. With an eye on social

mobility, the home became a place to showcase social status and refinement. More

importantly, the home became a sphere from which women could assert power and

influence.

Out of this recognition of the private sphere as a source of individual and

communal power grew the cult of the "True Woman." Although unable to actively

participate in the political process (supposedly by her own choice), women found a public

voice through what was termed Republican Motherhood. By marrying and having

children, and raising those children to be good citizens, it was suggested that women

were able to participate in the American dream. If the ultimate expression of influence

was in the bearing and raising of children, however, how could unmarried, widowed, or

divorced women access this power? This question would have had great significance to

Mary Freeman since she remained unmarried until her mid-thirties. Was it possible to

earn a living and still retain one's status as a true woman? Nicole Tonkovich has done an

interesting study on the cult of domesticity centered on four influential literary figures:

Catherine Beecher, Sarah J. Hale, Fanny Fern, and Margaret Fuller. The title ofher

work, Domesticity with a Difference, hints at this same question and, at the same time, its

67

answer. All four of these women lived, at least for a period of time, outside of the

marriage relationship seemingly required of a "True Woman." Not only that, but they all

earned a living in the very public profession of publishing. Tonkovich demonstrates that

by drawing the boundaries of separate spheres, they could then use the rhetoric of

domesticity to challenge the very boundaries they created without encountering the

resistance from men that would have been encountered by full frontal attack. As long as

they were writing for women, publishing in women's magazines, and writing about

domestic concerns, the very radical nature of what they were doing remained largely

undetected.

The same year that Mary Freeman arrived in New York, Catherine Beecher

published her Treatise on Domestic Economy. This was the first comprehensive, written

articulation of the concept of separate spheres. "That the book was read by several

generations of women nationwide suggests that the domestic practice it encoded as

foundational to an American identity in 1841 continued to be viable as the nation

expanded westward." (Tonkovich 92). The idea of separate spheres specifies that the

workplace, or public life in general, is the domain or sphere of men. By default, it may

appear, the home or private life is the woman's sphere. This is not, however, a mere case

of women receiving the leftovers as a modem sensibility may want to assign to this

concept.

Beecher ran a finishing school for young ladies, so there was an eager, ready­

made audience for her ideas. Although on the surface, Beecher seems to be advocating

the subordination of women, a closer look indicates otherwise. She had to carefully craft

her rhetoric so as not to offend those fmancing the education of those girls and thus cut

68

off both her livelihood and her access to America's young women. Catherine Beecher

did believe women were the equals of men, but with a qualifier. As she wrote:

In this Country, it is established, both by opinion and by practice, that

women have an equal interest in all social and civil concerns, and that no

domestic, civil, or political institution, is, that sacrifices her interest to

promote that of the other sex. But in order to secure her the more firmly

in all these privileges, it is decided, that, in the domestic relation, she take

a subordinate station, and that, in civil and political concerns, her interest

be intrusted [sic] to the other sex, without her taking any part in voting, or

in making and administering laws ( 4) .

At first this seems like a paradox-that through subordination a woman could secure her

own equality. But there is a very subtle condition. The woman chooses the subordinate

position; it is not assigned to her by men. Beecher understood the importance of women

being able to enter the rooms occupied by men, but also understood that the path of least

resistance was through the back door. Subordination, she felt , was a natural condition

exemplified through the subordination of man by God. That extended, in a natural way

to the parent-child relationship. She then explained, "In most other cases, in a truly

democratic state, each individual is allowed to choose for himself, who shall take the

position of his superior. No woman is forced to obey any husband but the one she

chooses for herself, nor is she obliged to take a husband, if she prefers to remain single"

(3). It doesn't carry the biting sarcasm displayed in the passage by Fanny Fern, but

Beecher also seems to be justifYing her own unmarried status by implying there is no

man who is her superior. She again reinforces the idea that the work of women in the

domestic sphere carries the same importance as the work of men in the public by

extending this ability to choose to whom you will be subordinated in the worker­

employer realm.

69

Beecher's Treatise on Domestic Economy essentially professionalized the

domestic activity women were engaged in during her time and effectively raised the

importance of that activity to be equal, or in some cases greater, with the public activity

of men. And if this work was truly significant, it must require extensive and focused

education. On one hand, Beecher promoted the idea that "real" education should be

reserved for those who have the most important duties to perform in society-men (29).

But as the most influential teacher of those expectations for men in their formative years,

she called the work of a mother "the greatest work that ever was committed to human

responsibility" ( 4). Beecher's philosophy had great implications for women.

Contemporary historian Barbara Goldsmith summarized the paradoxical nature of

Beecher's cultural power: "Catherine Beecher preached a gospel of perfect domesticity

elevated to godliness. Throughout the nation middle-class white women deferred to her

rules ... With absolute clarity and conviction, this unmarried virgin of forty-one, who had

no home of her own, prescribed how to raise a generation of women" (23). I would add

to that assessment that she also prescribed how to raise a generation of men.

Academic training for girls did have a place in her curriculum, but rather than an

early emphasis, Beecher thought academic rigor should be postponed until the later teen

years. This accomplished providing a richer and longer period of education for more

women. Since teaching was often the only acceptable profession for single "ladies," and

Beecher promoted teaching as a delegation of the power of the parent, professional

70

teachers like Beecher herself gained a measure of equality with both other male

professionals and the equally important democratic mothers. Also, by making the main

emphasis of her curriculum the minutia of domestic activity, she effectively excluded

men from teaching and opened the professional doors for many more women. She also

and promoted the idea that women could achieve an important network of support that

would extend beyond the domestic sphere.

There is an example of this attitude in one of the letters from John Howard Payne

to Freeman in 1848. He wrote to a Mrs. Gaines of New York to try to arrange a

commission, but also implored her to use her connections to generate more business. He

wrote, "A lady's interests can not be more becomingly supported than by a lady .... for

the individual on whose behalf [these requests] are tendered is eminently entitled to the

support of the highest and best ofher sex" (22 Aug 1848). In her study on American

philanthropy and art, Kathleen McCarthy points out that while philanthropy and charity

work were one way women could acceptably participate in public life, prominent women

who actively and enthusiastically promoted female authors were slow to support visual

artists. McCarthy asserts that women were slow to include visual art because of their

religious aversion to the sensuality common in baroque painting-a sensuality the '1rue

Woman" sought to avoid. "Women's cultural responsibilities were trivialized and

reduced to a domestic scale" (8). Thus in the effort to promote true womanhood, female

artists were victimized in the process.

The doctrine of separate sphere was not without its critics, however. The year

after Mary arrived in New York, Margaret Fuller published her famous essay "Woman in

the Nineteenth Century." In the early pages of this work, Fuller describes the impact

71

made by various types of individuals on humankind. She writes, "[T]he artist whose

hand, drawn by a pre-existent harmony to a certain medium, moulds it to forms of life

more highly and completely organized than are seen elsewhere, and, by carrying out the

intention of nature, reveals her meaning to those who are not yet wise enough to divine

it" ( 4). Fuller is trying to articulate the idea that the striving of each individual should be

to achieve greatness in his or her own sphere-a sphere dictated by the divine which is

not contingent upon gender or race. Mary Freeman's art may not have achieved the level

or articulating Truth, but certainly adheres to another description from Women in the

Nineteenth Century: "Lives, too, which bear none of these names, have yielded tones of

no less significance. The candlestick set in a low place has given light as faithfully,

where it was needed, as that upon the hill" (Fuller 4). Throughout her essay, Fuller

acknowledges the doctrine of separate spheres and seeks to redefine the boundaries.

The boundary between men and women was not the only one being redrawn in

the nineteenth century. It appears that Americans attempting to build a national identity

in the first half of the nineteenth century were not as resentful of a class system as the

Revolution would tend to assert. What they really resented was a closed class system that

prevented mobility. In a climate where fortunes could change overnight, women were

looking for criteria for social distinction that were not tied to economics. In Domesticity

with a Difference, Nicole Tonkovich demonstrates how these criteria were formulated,

disseminated, and perpetuated by the four authors in her study. She note that Sarah Hale,

editor of Godey 's Ladies Magazine, joined with Beecher in proposing "to replace one

system of status with another: in place of basing social rank on wealth and its material

signifiers, they locate it in character traits most appropriate to a democracy ... Principles

72

(Christian) include voluntary deference (weak to strong, youth to age, women to man),

noblesse oblige, and racial privilege" (96). Tonkovich notes that the practice of these

character traits started in the family and moves outward to the nation. A non-economic

version of class was desired.

One of the first tools of the "True Woman", as evidenced by the title of Hale's

Magazine, was to use a title that signified status independent of a relationship with a man.

Rather than using daughter, spinster, widow, or divorcee, their self-chosen designation

was "lady," which removed men from the equation but still indicated social class. At this

point, we must resist the temptation to excuse or ignore the class and racial privilege

embedded in the system. This is the true irony of the cult of domesticity. The domestic

sphere belonged to women, but a true woman would never engage in domestic labor.

This was reserved for those of inferior classes and/or races and would never be performed

by a lady.6 The authors in Tokovich's study were able to earn a living and achieve public

recognition because their intended audience was other women or because they wrote

about domestic or private issues. Also, rather than going to a public workplace, they

were able to write from the privacy of their domestic sphere.

Anna Mary Freeman also achieved her economic independence via the domestic

sphere in keeping with the expectations placed upon her. Although she did have to work

to support herself, painting and drawing were considered domestic activities suitable for

"ladies" to pursue. As previously mentioned, the choice of portrait miniatures allowed

both the artist and the art to remain largely in the private sphere of the home. The irony

for Freeman during the first decade and a half she spent in America is that she only

6 Although not germane to the scope of her study, Nicole Tonkovich does acknowledge the racial implications of this statement in her book.

73

participated in the domestic sphere in the homes of others. Until her marriage, she did

not have a home of her own. The idea of separate spheres depended upon marriage for its

survival, in spite of the fact that some of its most ardent supporters and detractors were

single women.

Although it was acceptable for a single woman such as Freeman to earn her living

by painting, it did not necessarily mean that she was accepted as a professional artist.

American artists were also trying to forge an identity during the second quarter of the

nineteenth century. Ironically, they were not afraid to cross into the domestic sphere in

order to do so, both in activity and character. In her study of this process of self­

identification, Sarah Bums illuminates both how and why this occurred. First, it fell

largely to men to design, build, and embellish domestic spaces. Not only did this prevent

women from participating in these activities, it also gave men a certain measure of

domination over these spaces.

The next example creates both a physical and psychological exclusion of women

from artistic greatness. As Bums explains, "The separation of spheres was very much a

one-way affair. Women invaded male territory at the peril of becoming unnatural,

unsexed, repellent, barren, and offensive. Men, by contrast, could travel freely into the

female preserve, appropriating what they found there and adding it to their 'natural'

endowments" ( 169). The characteristics normally associated with women, such as

emotion, sensitivity, and even delicacy were an acceptable contribution to the identity of

the male American artist. In fact, according to Burns, it was even a further evidence of

genius that the artist was fully human, possessing the best ofboth spheres. Women, on

the other hand, were not only discouraged from incorporating traditionally masculine

74

characteristics in forming their identity as artists, those who did effectively cancelled all

the desirable characteristics ofbeing a woman.

The fact that both George Freeman and John Howard Payne continually extol

Mary's desirable female qualities not only highlights their societal importance, but may

also indicate that her increasing success as an artist was a perceived threat to her status as

a lady. In the letters to Mary from John Howard Payne between 1848 and 1850, much is

revealed about her social position and also Payne's perceptions regarding her position.

He admired her ability to support herself, but only because it was economically

necessary. On one occasion he wrote, "Admirable is your pride to be the achiever of

your pecuniary independence & not to shrink, --as silly, conquest -seeking beauties, in

every respect immeasurable your inferiors, would,--from permitting it to be seen that you

must work & will not be ashamed to employ the talents God has blest you with, in

fulfilling the duties He has imposed upon you" (I Sept. 1848). This passage reinforces

true womanhood not only by Payne's laments that Mary is in this situation, but also in his

references to other "conquest-seeking beauties." This would seem to refer to one of a

lower class who tries to become a lady through an advantageous marriage. These are the

women Hale and Beecher seem to be keeping at bay, since they are not possessed of

those qualities characteristic of a lady. This reaction against the "new rich" reinforces the

idea that the cult of domesticity was a vehicle for social distinction and domination

among women.

Although Payne admired Mary, it was not because she was independent, but

because she was able to remain true to her nature in spite of tills temporary aberration.

After praising her, he wrote, ''And yet I wish I could see you freed from the very

75

necessity which gives your character an elevation even the more heroic from its towering

unseen & unappreciated by those around you, ... only employment and the necessity for

it. .. has for a season spell bound, in the very dawn of earnest, lofty-purposed, trusting,

headlong-hearted womanhood, even your power to love" (ibid). Payne recognized her

need to work, admired her willingness to do so, but blamed it for her failure to love him.

Payne was an actor and dramatist of some note earlier in his career. Older than

Mary by a generation, he may have been bewildered by the emerging empowerment of

women. For him, separate spheres were alive and well, but both spheres were designed

for the success and comfort of men. His thoughts on the domestic sphere are expressed

in a song from one ofhis operas, "Clari, the Maid of Milan." Few people may be

familiar with Payne's writing, but many will recognize the familiar verse he penned for

this work:

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble there's no place like home!

To thee I'll return, overburdened with care;

The heart's dearest solace will smile on me there;

No more from that cottage again will I roam;

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.

Home! Home! Sweet, sweet home!

There's no place like home!

(Yale Book of American Verse online)

76

Payne showed increasing frustration in subsequent letters that Mary did not want

their relationship to go beyond friendship. As a lady, she would defer to him by being

polite, but it appears that there was another reason she did not just end the

correspondence. John Howard Payne was constantly seeking commissions for her­

something it would have been unladylike for her to pursue on her own. She was

independent, but only to a point. It appears it was inappropriate for her even to order her

own supplies. Payne requested some drawing paper and cardboard on behalf of Miss

Freeman in a letter addressed to "Hunt, Esq. (Artist, 311 Broadway) New York" (15 Sept.

1848). He also made arrangements for payment and delivery.

While she may have been restrained in the world of business, Anna Mary

Freeman found ways to exert her personal independence. John Howard Payne was

constantly trying to find excuses to see her that would not compromise propriety. On

numerous occasions, he wrote to his New York theatre connections begging

complimentary tickets to take Mary and her hosts or family members to a play or concert.

After one such outing, Payne was annoyed that Mary had paid attention to other men. He

vowed to get out of the way so she can marry someone more "desirable," but his threats

were short-lived. There was never an outright proposal in his letters, but he did refer

often to a future where they would be together, and he also expressed anger,

disappointment, or sarcasm when she seemed to be attaching herself to other men.

John Howard Payne was not the only one concerned with Freeman's marital

status. In one ofher father's letters, he wrote that at age twenty-five, Anna Mary was still

single. He explained, "She is difficult to please and has not yet got married" ( 11 June

1850). At this point, Payne was leaving for Tunisia, and Mary's mother and youngest

brother had both recently passed away. The combination of these events most certainly

had an impact on the artist, and may have been the catalyst for some significant changes

in her life-both personal and professional.

77

By 1853, Mary was back sharing a room with her father at New York University.

It is likely that her father needed her companionship following the loss of his wife, but

Freeman may also have grown weary of her itinerant lifestyle. Her father had recently

converted to and was heavily influenced by the Spiritualist movement. Spiritualism was

related to many of the issues that defined the antebellum period. First, whether it took the

form of organized movements or was exhibited through private episodes of

communication with the deceased, the spiritual world was not viewed during this period

as a separate sphere. Many people claimed access to the spiritual world through

revelation and visitation. According to Barbara Goldsmith, rather than some intense

spiritual origin, the move toward spiritualism was a direct response to the invention of the

telegraph in 1842. She remarks, "Thus, faith in invisible power mediated not by

preachers ... but accessible to all believers was becoming a feature of everyday life" (22).

This link to science and the democratization of Christianities were features

Swedenborgism, an organized form of Spiritualism.

In her book, Goldsmith also argues that a large percentage of the participants in

spiritualism were women. Not only was this a form of empowerment, it also usually

occurred within a home, in a private setting. "Spiritualism was dominated by women and

its manifestations most frequently occurred in places within their control" (35). Thus,

although spiritualism challenged the idea that the earthy and spiritual worlds were

78

separate spheres, its practice served to reinforce the spheres that separated men and

women. It was also another vehicle for women to build identity and a common network.

George Freeman claimed to have had visions and conversations with relatives

who had passed away and admonished his brother, and most assuredly his daughter, to

get their spiritual lives in order. Mary, however, had shown some interest in

Swedenborgism a few years earlier. In a letter from Payne, he warned her against

associating with this Spiritualist movement. He was concerned by her interest and

warned her of the dangers of an "out gush of so much anguish when nothing particular has

arisen to call it up" (9 Apr. 1849). The force ofhis warning has several implications for

the concept of boundaries. First, he was assuming that, as a woman, she had allowed

emotion to interfere with reason and that, as a man, it was his duty to set her straight.

Swedenborgism refuted the power of the Christian Trinity and made the individual more

an agent of his or her own spirituality. This philosophy threatened the subordinate nature

of the relationship between man and God that was the foundation for separate spheres and

the superiority of men. The warning also carried implications for Freeman as an artist.

Payne hinted that women could only react to outside forces-they couldn't originate

them. For a portrait painter during this period, that was largely true. But for

experimental, innovative art-the type that in part signifies greatness-the opposite is

required. Mary's attraction to Swedenborgism may have resulted from an effort to exert

more control over her choices and her art.

Finally, this preoccupation with communication between the world of the living

and the spirit world had also helped perpetuate the market for portrait miniatures-the

genre practiced by Anna Mary Freeman. Often these small portraits were of family

79

members or friends who had passed on and were a tangible reminder of their continuing

presence. As the creator of these keepsakes, Freeman was keenly aware of the power

between these two worlds. As the boundaries between the living and the dead were being

erased by the Spiritualist movement, the emerging process of daguerreotype played a

major role in the demise of the portrait miniature-at least its function as a remembrance

of the dead. Because the process itself involved capturing the light of its subject to make

the image, many felt that a portrait made through this method actually contained the

essence of the person. This, combined with lower price and shorter execution time, made

it difficult for painters to compete in this specific market.

If art were simply a career and not a passion for Anna Mary Freeman, spiritualism

may have been one way for Freeman to satisfY her own personal yearning for validation

as an individual. Her romantic rejection of John Howard Payne and the other men

alluded to in his letters, coupled with her acceptance of the proposal of the much younger

Robert Goldbeck, seems to demonstrate satisfaction of a yearning for a marriage

relationship of love and equality. Her poetry may have been another outlet for yearnings

that she could not express through her art, whether it was because of limitations of genre,

time, or training.

The few poems Freeman published may give a hint to her personal yearnings as

both a woman and an artist, but the poems published between before the Civil War seem

more like reflections of conventional style and subject. (Appendix B) The examples from

The Crayon focus on romantic notions of nature as both the subject and the inspiration

for literary and visual art, but don't seem to reveal much about Freeman on a personal

level. They, along with all of the other second-hand evidence ofher life, do begin to

80

flesh out the portrait of a young woman who was immersed in the prevailing fine arts of

her day and who exercised a significant amount of self-determination. There is one later

poem, published in The Galaxy in 1871 that demonstrates a more personal sense of

yearning-both personal and artistic. The text, in part, is as follows:

Oh, that for one consummate hour

To me might come the poet's power!

That I, with his transcendent art,

To song might grandly set my heart!

Might pour my soul out in accords

Of such impassioned, perfect words,

They should immortalize the song,

By helping Love and Truth along!

Peace! Lives make poems finer far

Than the finest word-songs are! (697)

This is one of the last dated examples of Anna Mary Freeman's work located for the

purposes of this study. Ironically, the same poem that expresses her conclusion that a

person's life is his or her most significant work of art is also where the trail of evidence

of her own life appears to come to an end.

There is, however, a more authentic and personal written artifact to examine for

information about Anna Mary Freeman. Among the letters of John Howard Payne is a

copy of one from Anna Mary to a friend, "Truffi", that he was to deliver. Since she

addressed the letter to "My dear 'sister artist' Teresa", it is reasonable to assume that the

intended recipient is the actress and opera singer Teresa T ruffi, who made her

Philadelphia debut in 1848. Little more is known about this woman, but her image was

immortalized by pioneer photographer Matthew Brady (fig. 5).

81

This letter represents the only time I heard Anna Mary Freeman's narrative voice

during the course of my research. Although brief, one can hear verification of some of

the assertions made regarding her life, evidence of her pleasant personality, comments

regarding the quality of her work, and hints at a pride and pleasure in her work that goes

beyond simple economic necessity. The text of this letter, as recorded by Payne on July

2, 1849, is as follows:

My dear "sister artist" Teresa,

It is with the greatest pleasure that I learn by the newspapers that you are so near

to us as at Newport, for it gives me the hope of soon again seeing one of whom, though I

have seen so little, I have thought so often & so warmly. I have written many letters to

you, dear Teresa, in imagination, but this is the first time I have been able to write one in

reality, partly owing to my having been so much occupied with my art; which your kind

heart will, I know, be glad to hear. I have been most successfully pursuing here in

Washington, where I have been for the last three months, & where I have become

acquainted with a lovely friend of yours who has been here on a visit- Miss Boswell of

Philadelphia. I scarcely know which of us was most delighted to find out, during our

brief interview, that the other knew & loved vou- although I still think that!!!]!_ delight

was the greatest, because I found in Miss Boswell the first personal friend of yours I had

happened to meet with, & thus the first person who could fully sympathize with my

affectionate feelings in regard to you - She saw & was delighted with, my sketch of you

which I keep so carefully, more for the sake of the name written beneath it by your own

82

kind hand than for the likeness, which, though said by Miss Boswell to "breathe" is not

so good as that engraved on my heart - My success with your picture, was, I think, the

means of inducing her to sit for her own which I painted in miniature to the entire

satisfaction of herself & friends. I should like you to see it - Perhaps you will & perhaps

the sight of it will induce you to gratify me by sitting, when there is an opportunity, for

the miniature I am so desirous of painting of you. - Pray do me the favor to answer this

as soon as possible, if only by a very few lines, telling me of your intended movements, &

where you propose to remain for any length of time, - so that I can, if possible, be near

you, & show you better than I can by this hasty unworthy note, how sincerely & warmly I

am your friend

AMF

Present my kind remembrances to your mother.

Although the language is sentimental, the yearnings expressed in this letter are

very real. First, there is a genuine yearning for female friendship. In large part due to the

constraints imposed by separate spheres, same-sex friendships during the nineteenth

century were common, necessary, and often had many of the same qualities of expression

as romantic, heterosexual relationships. Since this letter was written during the time

Freeman was traveling, it also highlights the difficulty of sustaining relationships under

those conditions.

It is clear that Freeman kept current with what was going on in the world outside

of her own confmed space. She followed the movements ofTruffi through the

newspapers, and Payne mentions in several of his letters forwarding popular journals to

Mary wherever she was. This, in addition to other evidence of her publishing,

83

advertising, performing, and exhibiting in the public sphere demonstrates a yearning to be

a part of the exciting changes going on around her.

Mary also reveals a great deal concerning her own work as an artist. First, her

excuses for not writing sooner indicate that she was actively pursuing her career and that

she was largely succeeding. The fact that she distinguished between the portrait she did

ofTruffi and the miniature she planned for Miss Boswell indicates at least a small effort

toward diversity in her choice of genre. It also demonstrates that she was not so tied to

commissions that she did not occasionally practice and experiment. She may have asked

the actress to sign the painting because it was intended as a personal study or keepsake~

or she may have been attempting to increase its value as a professional strategy.

The letter does highlight, however, the importance of networking when pursuing a

career of this sort. The letters written by Payne build an intricate web of friends,

acquaintances, clients, relatives, and their connections that can all be called upon to

advance or fulfill one's own personal needs. Especially in light of the intimacy and trust

that accompanied the execution of a portrait, the recommendation of an acquaintance was

the best advertising one could hope for.

In this instance, the portrait ofTruffi and the fact that she was a mutual

acquaintance served to secure a commission for Freeman. Although she hints at the

compliment paid to her work by Miss Boswell, there is evidence that this portrait was an

exercise intended to increase her ability and not executed as an advertising too 1 to be used

as her father used his "Queen." Freeman acknowledged that at least by her own

standards, the portrait was "successful." The fact that Boswell felt the likeness almost

84

breathed demonstrates that in her estimation, at this point Freeman's skill had advanced

beyond the rigid, impersonal style characterized by the first example of her work.

Finally, Freeman exemplified the yearning for personal connection that drove the

market for much of her work in miniatures. Her desire to possess a miniature of Teresa

Truffi was not in response to an outside request or commission. It makes one wonder at

the circumstances of their meeting since the seeming brevity of their acquaintance would

not necessarily or ordinarily have produced that level of attachment. It is also interesting

to note that rather than simply executing a miniature from the portrait she already

possessed, she was willing to wait for a live sitting. This desire could indicate that for a

miniature to function as a connection to another person as has been successfully argued,

completing it from any source other than life would have effectively placed a barrier to

that connection.

Freeman's yearning for connection at so many levels demonstrates the peril

involved anytime boundaries are drawn. It is a danger that faces contemporary art

historians and critics attempting to draw a boundary around artistic greatness. It is one

thing to identifY conditions that fostered or frustrated women producing art, but quite

another to use any of those conditions to include or exclude an artist like Mary Freeman

from the larger conversation about art. Contemporary art critic Paul Garner wrote, "The

[gallery] opening symbolizes the 'art world.' Hopefully, the work, or some of it, will

pass into a historical context of what I call 'the world of art.' Taken together, the two

represent a collective cultural experience" ( 11 0). There is sufficient evidence to verifY

that Anna Mary Freeman was a significant participant in the art world of her time, and

therefore an important part of the cultural experience of American Art.

85

Conclusion

Woolf was correct in asserting that women needed room in order to produce art. But just

as the concept of room has a variety of applications, there are also many ways of

procuring access to a room. For the modem feminist movement, the one that prompted

the questions posed by Linda Nochlin, the drive was not merely access to rooms once

reserved for men only, but the construction of a new building full of rooms specifically

for women. Ironically, Nochlin recognized the paradox inherent in this movement. By

separating the artistic endeavors of women, it implied a different set of standards for

determining greatness. For truly great works of art, the gender of the artist should

ultimately be undetectable and/or irrelevant.

During the nineteenth century, women were trying to find and define their role in

a rapidly changing social environment. While on the surface they may have seemed less

aggressive than their twentieth century sisters, in reality they argued for more substantial

equality between genders. They didn't want a new building; in fact, the women in the

nineteenth century already had their own "building": it was called a separate sphere, and

that is what bothered them the most. They merely wanted a key and acceptance into the

rooms that already existed.

The career of Anna Mary Freeman represents another approach to room

occupation. All she did is quietly elbow her way into a corner of the room still occupied

by men. Although less revolutionary than the other two, and to a modem sensibility less

86

acceptable, it gave her a measure of success. For her time period, the fact that she

entered the room at all is significant.

There is probably little value in trying to make Anna Mary Freeman fit the

arbitrary boundaries of artistic greatness. Even if more examples of her work could be

located and studied, ultimately, she was still a product of her time. She likely had

limited educational opportunities, but she did seek out those within her sphere of

influence who would make her better. She apparently experienced a constant need to

provide for her temporal needs may have kept her from freeing herself creatively, but the

fact that she could use her talent to meet those needs and achieve a measure of

independence was remarkable. And even ifher vision of how great she could become

was limited by her circumstances, her yearnings and modest successes were very real.

Freeman does, however, merit a place of significance as one who participated in

the larger conversation about art and helped ease a path for those women who would

follow her. Rather than attempt to classif)r her as an artistic genius-whatever that may

be-perhaps she would better be served with the title of Renaissance woman. Jacques

Barzun defines this term in From Dawn to Decadence:

[T]he true Renaissance man should not be defined by genius, which is

rare ... .It is best defined by variety of interests and their cultivation as a

proficient amateur. A Renaissance man or woman [his emphasis] has the

skill to fashion verses and accompany or sing them; a taste for good letters

and good paintings, for Roman antiquities and the new architecture; and

some familiarity with the rival philosophies. To all this must be added the

latest refinements in manners (79).

At the time of her arrival at the Studio Building on Tenth Street, Anna Mary Freeman

was doing all of these things. And perhaps that title would represent the greater

compliment.

For her time, the fact that she entered the room at all is significant. Virginia

Woolf, in her address to women pursuing professional careers over one hundred years

after Anna Mary Freeman's birth provides a perfect summation:

87

You have won rooms of your own in the house hitherto exclusively owned

by men. You are able, though not without great labour and effort, to pay

the rent. You are earning your five hundred pounds a year. But this

freedom is only a beginning; the room is your own, but it is still bare. It

has to be furnished; it has to be decorated; it has to be shared. How are

you going to furnish it, how are you going to decorate it? With whom are

you going to share it, and upon what terms? These, I think are questions

of the utmost importance and interest. For the first time in history you are

able to ask them; for the first time you are able to decide for yourselves

what the answers should be" (Professions 390).

It is the persistence and determination of women like Anna Mary Freeman that

allowed the women ofWoolfs generation to answer these questions and allows the

building, furnishing, decorating, and sharing of rooms by women today.

88

Fig. 1: ''A Child" (unfinished) by George Freeman. Believed to be Anna Mary Freeman, daughter of the artist. Copy courtesy of Mansfield Historical Society. Original in collection of Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Fig. 2. The Lamplight Portrait, James Peale by Charles Wilson Peale (1741-1827) Oil on canvas 24 x 36 in (62.2 x 91.4 em).

89

90

Fig. 3. Elizabeth Whitney by A. M. Freeman. 3 7 /8" x 3 1 /8" (Irregular) Miniature Watercolor on Ivory(?). In the collection of the Amon Carter Museum of Western Art, Fort Worth, TX.

91

Fig. 4. Mrs. Antonio Yznaga by A.M. Freeman. 7 %" x 6 1/t Crayon and Water Color Drawing. In the collection of the Museum of the City ofNew York.

92

Fig. 5. Teresa Truffi, full-length portrait of a woman, slightly to the left, eyes right, standing, in theatrical costume, holding small bottle. Half plate daguerreotype, gold toned. Produced by Matthew Brady Studio, 1850. On file with the Library of Congress archives.

Appendix A: Correspondence

Full text of a review written by John Howard Payne and forwarded to editors of various periodicals.

Nov. 8: 1848

93

Among the numerous specimens of painting which have delighted us at the Art Union with the talents produced by our country in that department, we have been particularly struck by an inobtrusive but exquisite little miniature, the work of a young lady The excellence of this effort by Miss Freeman, the artist to whom we allude, would almost induce us to believe genius inheritable; for we have long known various works of her father, which prove his title to the high fame he enjoys on both sides of the Atlantic. The celebrated picture for which Queen Victoria sat to him was pronounced in England to be equally perfect as a likeness and a work of art; and it evinces with what admirable tact a skilful hand can make that appear beautiful which is not entirely so in reality, without impairing its truth as a resemblance. But this is only one of many productions for which he has deserved well from all lovers of the pencil's wonders; and among his many claims on their special regard, none can exceed that which he has established in qualifying his gifted daughter to emulate a father so distinguished. It is touching indeed to see a lovely young girl spontaneously seeking to make the fortune of genius and education a source of worldly independence. We are convinced that there is not a lady in our land who will not honor in one of her own sex, a spirit at once so highly principled, so energetic and so grateful; and volunteer her best wishes that its aspirations may be realized.- Even we of the worser [sic] half of creation cannot but view with deep interest the exertions of a girl like this, to render her advantages the means of aiding their bestower to perpetuate that shelter for him and his from the rough weather of life which does not always remain even for the best of heads and hearts without hard and long continued stirring.- Creditable indeed is it to the Art Union that its surpassing facilities for making pictorial merit public should be so freely accorded to unpretending excellence like that which we desire to bring into wider notice; and we hope even to hear that some portion of its great pecuniary resources may be employed in encouraging by yet more than a place upon its exhibition wall, the earlier efforts of undoubted ability, which can never be so becomingly fostered with substantial aid, as when it is yet struggling and only in the dawn of destined eminence. -

94

Appendix B: Anna Mary Freeman

National Academy of Design Exhibition Record

1862- Listed address of 650 Broadway, New York

503. Sketch ofW. C. Russel (W. C. Russel) 523. Sketch ofthe late Mrs. Gideon Granger ofCanadaigua 524. Head in Miniature

1863 -Listed address of 650 Broadway, New York

428. Miniature (For Sale) 429. Miniature of a Lady (P. H. Stevens) 430. Mde. E. Montalba

1868 - Listed address of 65 1Oth Street, cor. Broadway

15. In Memoriam (The Artist)

1872- No given address (Mary F. Goldbeck)

36. The Captain of Richard Doubledick's Company- With the Dark-bright Eyes - Dickens.

Appendix C: Verse by Anna Mary Freeman

1. SONG OF THE FLOWERS Published in The Knickerbocker (New York Monthly Magazine),

Apr. 1848, p. 342

We come! We come! And we chase the gloom From the poet's dim and lonely room;

We will look in his heart with our dewy eyes, Till feelings long buried shall thence arise; With our perfume sweet we will fill the air, Till he knows it to be our voiceless prayer;

And his soul shall be moved with ours to rise In a grateful prayer through the twilight skies.

We come! We come! Should he look on us now With a heavy heart, or a clouded brow,

We will whisper of places where late we stood, Some close by the stream, some deep in the wood;

Places like those that charmed his view In the sunny hours that his childhood knew; Till his eyes shall be filled with pleasant tears

At the sweet and thrilling tale he hears.

No mortal has charged our bright leaves now With message of love, or passionate vow:

We come to speak to the poet's heart Sweet things that the angels to flowers impart;

We come that our song for a while may win His thoughts from sorrow and care and sin;

May stir in his heart the deepest well, Till its moving waters his bosom swell,

And his harp with a theme more lofty rings Than ever as yet has thrilled its strings.

'Tis for this we come, all crowned with dew; Oh! Would that the poet only knew

That the pearly drops on each flow'ret' s head Are the tears by angels nightly shed! Tears that his guardian-angels weep

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96

For his purity lost, for the passions that sweep, Impure and uncurbed, o'er his darkened soul,

And enslave his mind with their strong control, And destroy his harp's melodious tone,

Till its power to move the soul has flown; Till, affrighted and grieving, the spirit of love

Has flown away, like a startled dove That has sought in vain for a tranquil rest

In the stormy world of this troubled breast!

0, would that now, while his footsteps stray So far, alas! From the heavenward way, He knew that those guardian-angels still Watch over to shield him from every ill;

They bend o'er him now on their snowy wings, His spirit thrills to their whisperings:

They watch for the tear that shall fill his eye; It falls, and they bear it beyond the sky, Away! Away!-'t is an offering sweet, To lay at his heavenly FATHER'S feet; 'Tis a blessed drop from a fountain pure,

Its depths long sealed, and its light obscure, Which, clear as at first on his glad birth-day,

Shall wash from his soul each stain away.

Our mission is now fulfilled; our song Hath roused pure thoughts that had slumbered long;

Hath drawn from his eyes the awakened tear, First shed from the sky like a dew-drop clear,

Which in its own pure liquid light Shall shine as a star in the heavens to-night.

Poet, farewell! On thy throbbing heart Let us lie and feel how pure thou art; How blessed now, and how sincere,

To love how true, and to love how dear: Oh, thus on thy peacefully-heaving breast

What bliss to be gently rocked to rest! We breathe for thee our latest sigh­

We have lived for thee, and for thee we die!

2. MORNING SONG OF FLOWERS Published in The Union Magazine of Literature and Art,

Vol III, no. 1, Jul, 1848, p. 33

An angel came last night, and bent 0' er us, and wept,

Because no prayer to Heaven was sent, Before you slept.

See! On the lily's leaf there lies A drop, like dew-

1 t is a tear those angel-eyes Let fall, for you!

Oh, let us on our sweet breath bear, Beyond the sky,

From thy full heart, a grateful prayer, A heavenward sight;

So shall that loving angel weep For joy to-night,

And watch three in thy peaceful sleep Till morning-light.

3. FROST FANCIES Published in The Crayon, Vol. 4, no. 4, 1857, p. 109

The Frost's at work on the pane to-night, Tracing his fancies, the artist-sprite!

His fancies, so exquisite, dainty, and rare, They might be the dreams of the sleeping air Crystallized-showing what summer things

She loves to fan with her faithful wings, Leaves, and mosses, and vines, and flower, Tangled in wild-wood or trained in bowers;

With drifts of sea-weed, and dashed of spray, All mixed, in a dream's fantastical way, With plumes of feathery ferns, and bells

That chime, in odors, through forest-dells; And hunting-hors, from whose silver throats In flower-like forms wind the frozen notes­And see, up there-how like angel-wings!­All these, and more, are the wonderful things

Which the frolicsome Frost-the artist-sprite­On my window traces, this wintry night.

97

98

4. LINES ON A PICTURE Published in The Crayon, Vol. 4, no 2, 1857, p. 41.

Lowly bent, with reverent look O'er the cross-illumined book, Meekly wearing all the while,

Something sweeter than a smile, Something sadder that a tear, On her fair face, "lily-clear"­

See a maiden, modest, mild Readeth of an Infant-Child;

Well we know what ancient story In her eyes reflects its glory­

Well we know such lustrous look, Lighted only by one Book!

Trust, and tenderness, and truth Glow through all her grace of youth,

While an air of holy calm Breathes about her like a balm­Fragrant as the flowery sphere

Of some unseen angel near; And from angel's heart of flame

Surely inspiration came To the Painter, when his art Bade thee into Beauty start, Vision fair of maiden mild,

Reading of the Saviour Child!

5. NIGHT-SONG Published in The Crayon, Vol. 5, no. 6, 1858, p. 167

Not the mornings, child-like mornings­Full of melody and mirth,

That with singing and with gladness Come to wake the sleeping earth.

Not the evenings, non-like evenings, Passing silently and slow,

Throwing shadows through the casement, Telling dew-beads as they go.

But the nights-the queenly midnights Pour life-s richest wine for me

From the star-gem'd cup of Heaven, And my soul drinks royally!

6. LOVESONG Published in The Galaxy, Vol. XII, no. 5, Nov. 1871, p. 697

Oh, that for one consummate hour To me might come the poet's power!

That I, with his transcendent art, To song might grandly set my heart! Might pour my soul out in accords

Of such impassioned, perfect words, They should immortalize the song, By helping Love and Truth along! Peace! Lives make poems finer far

Than the finest word-songs are! When, with kind, unselfish deed, Answering your neighbor's need. Or bravely taking up your cross,

Patient under wrong and loss, Then, unconsciously, you wake Harmonies no words can make; Something sweeter than all song

Helps heavenly Love and Truth along.

7. ADJURATION Published in The Galaxy, Vol. XV, No.2, Feb 1873, p. 177

Keep, oh! Keep my troubled soul Firm beneath your pure control,

Lofty Purposes! Let Day Drive not you, with Night away!

Steadfastly within me bum! As, within the Heavenly urn

By the sunbeams hid from sight Stars bum on, to crown the night.

So, when o'er my fainting soul Sorrow's night shades darkly roll, Ye may, star-like, crown my night With your glorious, guiding light!

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100

~(( t ~~ t, .. ',__./

lllt ~~/ ~e.err

~~

. [FOE THE MUSICAL WORLD. } ·

...

\~J Wor d a br ,'\. :>.,_-\ l'L\11 Y FREl~~\1.-\:"i ... :lltulc b y ROllERT GOLlrBE-ClL

Reproduction of music published in The Musical World, 1858.

101

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