Saturday, April 13, 2019

Lilly loved Life

Lilly loved Life

Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902) was one of the first famous American female artists to gain recognition on the American art scene. She did not make much revenue from her commissions -- sometimes agreeing to as little as ten percent. She seemed to paint only those things that were immediately around her. She did not paint nudes; she did not paint sad scenery; she did not paint simply for others to derive pleasure. She painted the joys that she received from her everyday tasks. Her art, which is typically tagged as genre painting, is simply an extension of her every day pleasures. She was a mother and wife, but also a passionate painter and business woman. While many of her painting were commissioned, she seemed to always have sunlight and joy pervading through her art pieces. She loved her life -- she had a supportive husband who left his job to help her around the house. This is not to say her life was not without struggle. Many people took her commissioned artworks without paying. No life is without struggle. Through Lilly Martin Spencer work, adjoined with other works of the period, show the everyday joys abounding amongst the mundane tasks of everyday life.

Young Husband First Marketing was painted two years after Lilly Martin stopped writing about her husband Benjamin working as a tailor and increasingly mentioned him helping her around the house with the children and with chores. It is assumed that she used him as the inspiration as the young husband in this piece, and this can be supported by the facial features used to depict the man in Conversation Piece. While the man is frustrated in the moment, depicted in a clumsy, stubborn manner, it can be appreciated by a young wife that her husband would be willing to do the everyday task of going to the market (even if he looks laughable while doing it).



Title: Splint Basket
This basket is of the same era as Young Husband First Marketing, and would add a new dimension to Spencer’s painting when displayed together. With its emptiness, it invites the viewer to be inquisitive as to how many vegetables and different assundries could be carried back from the market. As one begins to wonder what the basket could hold, their eyes will bounce between the basket that is painted and the basket that is in front of them; comparing the two -- and before the viewer knows it, they will be pulled again to evaluate the painting more fully. The market is a hassle for the everyday life, but Spencer still manages to depict the humorous side about the everyday frustrations.





A young couple with their newborn child summarizes Spencer’s joy -- which is in her family. The two look upon the child with soft yet joy-filled eyes, while the fulfilment of the antebellum period surrounds the family. She could have set this scene in any place, and the joy of a child would be the sole focus of the entire piece. The domestic life is still full of wonder, as it is no easy task to guide and love a child -- which is what Spencer wants the viewer to see.


  • Title: Tea Table Used in Abraham Lincoln's Springfield, Illinois Home, 1850-1860
  • Date Created: 1850/1860
  • Location: United States, Illinois, Springfield
  • Type: Objects
  • Contributor: The Henry Ford
  • Original Source: Digital Collections
  • Object Name: Tea table (Table)
  • Object ID: 30.878.14
  • Image ID: THF95235
  • Credit: From the Collections of The Henry Ford.
A typical tea table, when played next to Conversation Piece, becomes a prop in the mind of the viewer. The coupling of a two dimensional with the round transforms the frame that the picture is held in, to a window in which the viewer is looking through. This is key in the curation of this exhibit because so many conversations happen over tea after a meal, and a tea table would be in the sitting room where the child would be growing up. This piece of furniture would have been in the house throughout the child’s life; possibly to inherit it and have it in his or her home some day.  




  • Image result for we both must fade
  • Title: We Both Must Fade (Mrs. Fithian)
  • Date Created: 1869
  • Physical Dimensions: w1365.25 x h1828.8 mm
  • Credit Line: Museum purchase
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: http://www.si.edu/termsofuse
  • Medium: oil on canvas
Painted post Civil War, it can be seen that while Lilly Martin Spencer painted with a more somber tone. This beautiful dress would not have been something that Spencer would have had access to, seeing as she writes about how her husband had run out of clothes for himself because he was using his own clothes to fix the clothing for their children. Being in a poor standard of living does not mean that Spencer had a poor spirit of living.



  • Title: Dress with evening bodice, Chantilly lace shawl, and Parlor chair
  • Type: Costume; Furniture
  • Original Source: Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, CT.
Dress with evening bodice, c. 1850. American. Silk. Gift of Estate of Matta Grimm Lacey, 1976.33b,c. -- Chantilly lace shawl, c. 1850–75. French. Silk. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Kraatz, Paris, 1984.70. -- Parlor chair, c. 1863. American, probably Boston. Rosewood and silk damask, 39 1/4 5 18 1/2 5 16 1/2 in. Gift of Mrs. Horace B. Clark, and Thomas L. Cox, by exchange, 1985.2.2
When looking at items that are similar to those portrayed in We Both Must Fade, it is clear that the painted representation is more beautiful than the items that are being painted. Spencer had an ability to bring out the most beautiful qualities of what was being painting, which speaks multitudes towards her joy in life. Lilly Martin Spencer painted a piece that, in her mind, was only a representation of something she could not have. Yet, the truth is that Lilly Martin Spencer had to talent and gifts that the women wearing those dresses could only wish to possess.  



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