Showing posts with label art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label art. Show all posts

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Take a Trip to Scottsville Cemetery in Harrison County Texas

Victorian fencing and magnolias: Scottsville cemetery
With an urge to get out of town for a few hours, Steve and I piled into the Jeep this morning and headed for East Texas.

Steve has had an urge to visit an old general store in Jonesville, TX (that's another post to come) and so we headed west on Highway 80 (we don't like interstate) and overshooting Jonesville by several miles, we ended up first in Scottsville, Texas, which  is about five miles east of Marshall in Harrison County, Texas. There's not much to Scottsville and at its best only boasted about 300 people. What's notable these days about the place is the stunning cemetery there on Farm Road 1998.

The town of Scottsville was founded by William Thomas Scott who was born in Mississippi in 1811; his father, Thomas Scott, was a planter who fought heroically in the Battle of New Orleans. He sustained wounds from which he would never recover and died in 1823. His son, William Thomas Scott, went to work in a store in Mississippi which enabled him to prove himself, enter into a partnership with the owner of that store, and to save enough money to buy land. He married and brought his bride to Texas in 1840 where he founded Scottsville.

William Thomas Scott established five cotton plantations and he built a home that reportedly was modeled after Beauvoir, the home of Jefferson Davis in Mississippi. He was a proponent of the railroad and had an active legislative career, serving in the House of Representatives for the Republic of Texas, the state Senate, and in 1861 he was a member of the Secession Convention.

During the Civil War, it is reported that his plantation provided provisions for the Confederate troops.

Scott and his wife had perhaps ten children and the eighth was a daughter,  Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Scott who would eventually marry a fellow named Peter (Pete) Youree who was born and educated in Missouri. When the War Between the States broke out, Pete Youree was 17 years old; he volunteered to serve with Company A of Shelby's Missouri cavalry in 1861. He was wounded two times, once at Shiloh and once at Helena; by the end of the war he was captain of Company I, Slayback's regiment, Missouri Rifles.

Youree was honorably discharged from the war in Shreveport where he stayed and in 1870 he married Betty Scott. The Yourees began to establish themselves in Shreveport and Pete worked as a clerk, saved his money, invested wisely, and eventually established the electric streetcar system in Shreveport and he worked as Vice-President and later President, of Commercial National Bank. He was also instrumental in building the McNeil Pumping Station: Shreveport's waterworks, which is a fascinating museum to visit today.

Pete and Betty had two children, one son and one daughter, William Scott Youree (1872-1904) and  Susan Rose Youree (1881-1974). The son, William Scott Youree, died mysteriously in Monterrey Mexico which naturally devastated the family.

Betty was elected President of the Shreveport Chapter #237 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy in 1898, a position which she held for two years, and then was re-elected as President of the organization in 1904 and served until 1926.

Pete Youree was obviously a supporter of the Confederacy and he donated a monument to the UDC which stands in Greenwood Cemetery in Shreveport. That monument is similar to this monument that stands at the entrance of the Scottsville cemetery although the engraving is different, of course.

Confederate Monument: Scottsville Cemetery

The Greenwood cemetery monument names Youree as the benefactor while the Scottsville monument lists the names of the family's Confederate dead on one side...

Confederate monument: Scottsville

...and the other:

Confederate monument: Scottsville
And this inscription:

Confederate monument: Scottsville

Both were by Frank Teich and both have the lone soldier with arms at rest at the top.

Youree had an apparent love for statuary and classic art. The cemetery at Scottsville is a testament to that. The cemetery is filled with beautiful monuments and sculpture as well as a stunning chapel built in the memory of his son.

Youree Chapel: Scottsville

As beautiful as the chapel is, what most people seem drawn to is the weeping angel statue, entitled Grief, or sometimes called Weeping Angel.

Weeping Angel: Scottsville

Her arm is broken and she needs cleaning, but my goodness she is something to see.

She was sculpted by artist Frank Teich from Llano, Texas who also created many, many of the Confederate monuments in this area, including the stunning monument in front of the Caddo Parish Courthouse.

The angel is ten-feet tall and carved from Carrara marble from Italy. She reportedly cost $40,000 in 1904.

Weeping Angel: Scottsville cemetery


The cemetery is filled with beautiful sculpture:

Scottsville cemetery
A closer look:

Scottsville cemetery

...and monuments:

Scottsville cemetery

But that angel!


There are some tragic mysteries too - I was struck by these three tiny graves. Infant children - two died at age two and one at age 3.

Scottsville cemetery

There are many Confederate graves there, most marked with the First National Flags, likely from a recent Confederate Memorial Day event.


The cemetery has many other beautiful pieces of statuary and is quite old. The landscape is beautiful, atop a hill and filled with hardwoods, walnut trees, and magnolias.



It's worth the short drive from Shreveport to visit the Scottsville Cemetery.


Bibliography:
Eric Brock: Shreveport Chronicles
Texas Escapes: Scottsville, Texas
Texas State Historical Association: William Thomas Scott Biography


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The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest 
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
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Wednesday, June 29, 2016

The War Horse Memorial: Richmond, Virginia


The War Horse (photograph from The Virginia Historical Society)
Recently a friend of mine handed me a thick, blue folder inside of which was articles, photographs, postcards, souvenir booklets, and magazines all relating to Civil War themed topics.  Because I have recently joined the United Daughters of the Confederacy, she wanted to share some things with me that she knew I would be interested in.  The folder is a treasure trove of interesting topics and now that my Cammie Henry manuscript is in the hands of the publisher for round two of scrutiny, I have a little time to delve into my blue folder.

One of the photographs that caught my eye was of The War Horse memorial which is located at The Virginia Historical Society in Richmond, Virginia.  The monument is a memorial to the horses and mules, both Union and Confederate, that were lost during the Civil War.  It is estimated that between 1,300,000 and 1,500,000 horses and mules were lost during the conflict either through injury or disease. At Gettysburg alone, it is estimated that 3,000 horses and mules were lost.

The monument in Virginia is a life-sized bronze horse who still wears his saddle and bridle.  His head hangs low, his ribs are exposed, and he is exhausted.  His back foot is slightly raised, which according to philanthropist and horse breeder Paul Mellon who commissioned the monument, is "what horses do when they are tired."

In doing a little research on the monument and the artist who created it, I learned that this monument is actually one of three War Horse monuments.  The other two are three-quarter sized and stand at The National Sporting Library and Museum in Middleburg, VA, and at The United States Cavalry Museum at Ft. Riley Kansas.

By the time Paul Mellon commissioned the one for the Virginia Historical Society, he had decided that 3/4 size was not large enough and so the artist's mold had to be enlarged for a life-sized monument.

The artist is Tessa Pullan of Rutland, England. She is well-known for her work in portraying animals and Mellon knew her because she had created a monument for his Kentucky Derby winning horse, Sea Hero, in 1993.  According to "The Origin of the War Horse" by Lisa Campbell of the National Sporting Library and Museum, Mellon was acquainted with artist John Skeaping under whom Ms. Pullan had studied. Skeaping highly recommended Ms. Pullan and so she was hired to do the Sea Hero commission.

In creating the War Horse monument, Ms. Pullan was aided by vast numbers of photographs and input from Paul Mellon.  Mr. Mellon knew exactly what he wanted this horse to look like and had been inspired by this photograph he saw in a book: it is "The American Tommy Atkins in a Montana Blizzard" by Remington.  The horse in that painting is also exhausted, gaunt, and has his back foot slightly raised.

In Lisa Campbell's article, Tessa Pullan says Mellon "supplied the photographs which were of a horse used for battle reenactments. He also sent a couple of photocopies of prints or paintings to give me an idea of what he was after. One was a horse in a snow storm which is the one I based the sculpture on."  Pullan also studied photographs of abused and starved horses, a process she describes as "horrendous," but that helped her get the effect she and Mellon wanted.

The horse was intended to represent both Union and Confederate sides and a great deal of research went into the gear on the horse so that it could represent either side.  It is also interesting to note that the scabbard is empty, indicating that the rider did not survive the battle.

The monument at the Virginia Historical Society was unveiled in September 1997; at the base of the monument is the inscription:

In memory of the one and a half million horses and mules of the Confederate and Union armies who were killed, were wounded, or died from disease in the Civil War.

Some say that the best time to visit the monument is at night; the lighting on the horse causes a huge silhouette on the wall behind him which is a striking sight.

Related:

Tessa Pullan's website is here.

More about animal mascots of the Civil War.

The War Horse photographs.



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Saturday, June 29, 2013

Street Art: Love it or Hate it?

Street art.

Love it or hate it?

Vandalism or self-expression?

Street art, graffiti, tagging, whatever you want to call it, takes many forms, including sculpture and street installations, and could be considered as old as cave painting.  You see it in urban areas, on train cars, on sidewalks, just about anywhere, really.

While there is plenty of sanctioned art locally, and many wonderful galleries, street art is alive and flourishing in Shreveport-Bossier and the Shreveport Regional Arts Council has sanctioned many public art pieces.  One public work was dealt a setback today.

Locals driving through the intersection of Youree Drive and Kings Highway will notice that the "En Plein Air Gallery"  has been painted over.  The gallery, which was started in 2011 by local artist Nadine Charity, has been developing and evolving.  It began with poster art on the blank wall of an abandoned beauty supply business after the neighboring Murrell's restaurant was demolished.  The blank wall was an open canvas just calling out to local artists.  Most recently red circles have appeared as well as a bamboo and concrete sculpture.

Here is a 2012 video of the poster art which began the gallery:



Via Robert Trudeau, this is the gallery today:


...and the gallerylast week:


Which do you prefer?

Note the concrete and bamboo sculpture in the center.

Local street artists responded to the painting-over of their mural by dressing up the sculpture today:


What do you think?

If your're a fan of street art you might enjoy this Facebook page:  StreetArt in Germany.

Further reading:
Wikipedia:  Street Art
The History of Modern Street Art and Graffiti 
Is Street Art a Crime?
Street Art or Street Crime?
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Monday, June 10, 2013

How to Spend The Hot Afternoons This Week in Shreveport

As the heat rises and the temperatures get steamy outside this week in SIGIS-land, consider spending an afternoon at the Louisiana State Exhibit Museum on Greenwood Road.  The museum is still home to all the fabulous dioramas you remember as a child, as well as many other wonderful surprises.  Through this month you will find a fantastic special, limited exhibition of the works of local folk artist Bertha Cooper Harris.  Mrs. Harris is sometimes compared to artist Clementine Hunter, but she clearly has her own style and story to tell through her work.

Steve and I attended the opening reception on June 2 where the artist was in attendance along with some 400 other guests who came in and out through the afternoon.  In addition to the paintings, there is also brief, eight or nine minute documentary screening which shows a recent visit by Mrs. Harris to the remains of Beene Plantation where she spent much of her youth.



I'm an admitted admirer of Mrs. Harris's work and have a couple of her numbered prints, and one original, in my home.  One of my favorites is "Cooper Hill" which reflect the artist's early life living on her grandfather's land.



I love it because of all the activity and the bright colors.  There is something going on in each part of the painting!  And notice, in the above photo, the little white and black dog in the right corner.  The dog appears in many of Mrs. Harris's paintings.



In her memoir, reviewed here, she writes of having to leave a beloved dog behind when the family moved one time.  I asked her if this was the dog, but alas, it is not.



She told me this dog is just sort of a trademark of hers.  He's cute, though, and I like looking for him in the pictures.  He's not always there, but he's in many of them.

Mrs. Harris paints on whatever she can find; cardboard, fan blades, canvas, gourds, etc.



I love this one:


It reflects pay day and the company/plantation store.  Again, much activity in the picture!

The exhibit runs through June 28.  The museum is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 - 4:00.  Admission is free.


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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery for the "Photographs of the Vietnam War" Exhibit

Today was the last day to catch the Photographs of the Vietnam War 1970-71 exhibit at the R.W. Norton art gallery.  The actual title of the exhibit is "In the Shadow of Danger: Photographs of the Vietnam War; 1970-71."  The exhibit will be traveling around the country though, and if you get the chance to see it, you should.

This exhibit began in conversation. In 2011, Robert Spangler of Longview, Texas, a combat correspondent with the 10th Public Information Detachment, came to the museum to participate in our Oral History Project about his memories of life and service in the Vietnam War. That day, Bob lugged in boxes filled with his archives of 500 photographs from the war.

They revealed his work from the year he spent writing and photographing for military publications stories about soldiers around him. Bob, with his M16 rifle, rucksack, notebook and camera, spent many days sharing the danger of fellow soldiers stalking the enemy in "the bush". He photographed life aboard army aircraft and duty on fire support bases. He captured images of artillerymen as they manned howitzers, medics at work on casualties, dogs of war and their handlers, and men of many ranks from generals to privates, all in documenting a year in a distant and dangerous country.

The museum has preserved his more than 500 photographs in digital form and took 80 of those images, enlarged them to 12 x 17 size, and framed them.

Robert Spangler is a native of Fort Worth, Texas and enlisted in the Army in 1969.  He went to Vietnam in 1970, assigned to the 196th Light Infantry Brigade.  He was assigned to the 10th Public Information Detachment of the American Division Public Information Office and spent the next year taking pictures and writing stories of soldiers in war.

He typed his stories on an old manual typewriter and printed his pictures in a makeshift darkroom built from a crate and a blanket.

His stories and photos appeared in Southern Cross, Army Times, and Stars and Stripes.

The exhibit is spread throughout three galleries.  In the first gallery was this wonderful shot:


I want to know what he's reading.  The accompanying text box points out that he wore his wedding ring to the war.


I liked this picture, too:


The caption is "Smoke 'em if you've got 'em."

Eating on the go:


And the dog pictures...


There was an exhibit of Spangler's uniform and his cameras as well as several of his articles:


We moved on through the exhibit and I was looking at this picture...


...which is of John McCain's father taken on Christmas Day 1970.  At the time of this photograph, his son was spending Christmas as a prisoner in Hanoi Hilton.  I was busy reading the text block when someone walked up to us and thanked us for coming to the exhibit.  It was, of course, Robert Spangler.  What an honor!


He was just mingling among the patrons visiting with anyone who had questions, comments, or stories to share.

In September of this year, the Norton brought in several of the men in the photos to see the exhibit.  It was a reunion of sorts, and was the first time they had seen each other in 40 years.  There's a framed image from the flyer hanging near the exhibit and all of the men signed the mat.

Here is dining al fresco, Vietnam style:


While visiting with Mr. Spangler, he told us that there was a catalog of the exhibit for sale which has all of the photos on display as well as their text blocks.  We rushed up to the front to get one which he graciously signed for us.

Before we left the museum we had to check out the library which has recently opened.  Library is a misnomer, really; the books do not circulate:

 One portion of this section is devoted to the James M. Owens Book Collection, a remarkable selection of early Americana, which includes such significant historical works as a 1787 copy of Thomas Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia and the 1808 Reports of the Trials of Col. Aaron Burr, for Treason, and for a Misdemeanor, in Preparing the Means of a Military Expedition against Mexico, a territory of the King of Spain, with whom the United States were at peace, among many others.
The crown jewel is the huge, rare Audubon double elephant folio of the Birds of America, weighing in at 40 pounds.

It is the most beautiful library I've ever seen:


I could totally spend every day in there, quietly reading.  The room is filled with rare and precious woods and everything was made on site and locally (except for the chairs) by craftsmen and artisans.

I love the stained glass window in the office:


We took a quick run through the rest of the museum (they've moved a lot of things) before heading out.

If you're a local and haven't been to the Norton lately, put it on your list of things to do.

The photo exhibit leaves today but the next one coming in is The Curious World of Patent Models From the Rothschild Collection.  It opens October 23, 2012.

The SIGIS Take a Trip Series:
Take a Trip to the 2012 Defenders of Liberty Air Show at BAFB
Take a Springtime Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden, LA
Take a Trip to Logansport, Louisiana
Take a Trip to the Lock and Dam on Red River
Take a Trip to the 2012 Barkus and Meoux Parade
Take a Christmas Shopping Trip to Second Hand Rose in Minden
Take a Trip to the Fourth Annual Barksdale AFB Oktoberfest
Take a Trip to Grand Cane's Fifth Annual Pioneer Trade Day
Take a Trip to the 2011 Highland Jazz & Blues Festival
Take an Autumn Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Take a Fall Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to the 8th Air Force Museum at Barksdale Air Force Base
Take a Summertime Trip to Grand Cane
Take a Trip to Desoto Parish
Take a Summer Trip to Second Hand Rose Antiques in Minden
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Melrose Plantation 
Take a Trip to Ed Lester Farms and a Random Antique Stop
Take a Trip to the Norton Art Gallery and the Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit
Take a Trip to Natchitoches to See the Christmas Lights
Take a Trip to the Third Annual BAFB Oktoberfest
Take a Trip to Natchitoches and Oakland Plantation
Take a Trip to Jefferson, Texas
Oktoberfest at BAFB
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Sunday, April 10, 2011

Take A Trip to the R. W. Norton Art Gallery for the Great Masters of Cuban Art Exhibit

Steve and I took a drive over to the R. W. Norton Art Gallery this afternoon to check out the Great Masters of Cuban Art exhibit.  It features rare paintings from the Cuban Colonial period (1800-1898) and the Republican period (1902-1958).  I highly recommend it if you're in the area.

The Norton has 85 paintings that have not been available to the public for over a half a century.  The brochure that we picked up explained that Roberto Ramos and his brother, many years ago in Havana, helped an elderly neighbor move.  To thank them, the elderly neighbor gave them "a small piece of artwork by an artist that the elderly man claimed was quite famous."  It was by Carlos Sobrino y Rivero (1909 - c.1980).  The brothers were fascinated by the painting but their attempts at research were futile because Sobrino had left Cuba after Castro seized power.  Because of this Sobrino and his work "had been baned by a government whose ideology and laws penalize those who wish to seek exile."

The Cuban government squashed all mention and documentation of this artist who had won the National Prize for Painting in 1959.  Many other artists of the Republican era suffered the same fate, according to the brochure.

In fact, "the Cuban communist system banned all individual liberties soon after its inception in 1959, and the purchase, sale, or collection of art was declared illegal."

According to the literature, by the end of the 1980s, the Ramos brothers had collected ten paintings.  In 1990 they decided to leave Cuba.  They got a twenty-four foot wooden boat and hid their small collection of paintings in the ceiling:

They sailed for two days without land in sight.  Then, they ran out of fuel and were left to drift.  Two more days passed and they found themselves without food or water.  To make matters worse, a storm broke, causing turbulent seas with waves reaching fifteen to twenty feet, which threatened to capsize the small vessel.  With little hope of survival remaining, they were finally spotted by the US Coast Guard and brought to shore as immigrants.

According to this site, the Ramos brothers were taken into custody and their paintings disappeared.  When the brothers were released they tracked the paintings to a gallery in Coral Gables which had sold them.  Mr. Ramos tracked down the buyers and convinced them to return the paintings.

In America the Ramos brothers were finally able to study Cuba's true history and were shocked to learn of the liberties in Cuba before Castro.

In the 1990s the Cuban government needed cash so they finally established galleries where tourists could buy some of these old masterpieces.  Eventually they ended up in Europe, America and Latin America.  "Artworks from the colonial period were scarce because of their deteriorated condition."  Many of the paintings from the Republican era were similarly degraded but the Ramos brothers worked to restore what they could.

They based their criteria for collecting these works on the historical significance of each artwork and how each piece fit within the development of art and painting in Cuba.  Also considered were the contributions that the artists had made to Cuba's cultural advancement as well as to the establishment of its national identity.

The huge painting, Finlay's Triumph, greets you as you walk into the museum.  It's over 15 feet high, I'd guess.  The painting had "originally been attached to the wall of the Cuban Presidential palace" and Castro ordered it destroyed.  The man who was to do the deed couldn't make himself destroy the painting, however, and he hid it.


"Fragments of the Cuban Presidential Palace wall are still adhered to the back" of the canvas; it took over two years to restore the painting which depicts Dr. Walter Reed and men from the US Military Yellow Fever Commission as they visit Dr. Carlos J. Finlay in Cuba.  "Finlay was the Cuban doctor that discovered that the mosquito was the transmitting agent for yellow fever." 

It's a stunning painting.  Castro was offended by the military uniforms, however, and thus his order to have it destroyed.  Luckily, it wasn't.

I liked this portrait; the lady isn't named but is only identified as a likely member of the aristocracy:



Steve liked this one by Hernandez Giro from around 1920 which depicts Colonel Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders:


I thought this one of a wedding was whimsical and fun:



And I liked this one which is supposed to be "a country retreat":


This is another huge canvas, although not as large as Finlay's Triumph.  It's called La Rumba by Antonio Sanchez Araujo:


This one is called Yumuri Valley by Antonio Rodriguez Morey.  It's dated 1919.



And finally this one, Guateque by Angel Valdez, dated around 1940:


The only thing that surprised me was that there weren't more seascapes or coastal images, but I guess that's my own stereotype or expectation...I was expecting Hemingway's Old Man and the Sea sort of images.  Primarily the paintings depict the way of life in their appropriate time periods and the way people lived.  They're colorful, whimsical, fanciful, serious, and introspective.  Some are strange and mystical while others are more traditional.  All in all, they're all worth a trip to the Norton to see!


(Quoted information in this post comes from the literature obtained at the exhibit which cites Great Masters of Cuban Art:  Ramos Collection / Grandes Maestros del Arte Cuba- no:  Coleccion Ramos by Zeida Comesanas Sardinas)

Related:  More from the SIGIS Take a Trip ... series.
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