By Tara Mae
Art is more than a communion between artist and audience. It is a point of entry into understanding the past, assessing the present, and perhaps even informing the future. A Noble Art: A New Look at the Portraits of William Sidney Mount on display at Long Island Museum’s Art Museum (LIM) through December 15, examines this dynamic through a 27-piece exhibit.
Considered to be the premier American genre painter, William Sidney Mount (1807-1868), who was born in Setauket and spent much of his time in Stony Brook, was a prolific portraitist who expressed the emotional essence of a person and period.
Mount’s first solo show at the LIM since 2018, A Noble Art encompasses paintings, lithographs, drawings, correspondence, and other artifacts from the 19th century Long Island artist.
“Not many museums in the country have this depth of materials for a single artist, including personal effects…The exhibit showcases rich archival materials and works,” said Joshua Ruff, Co-Executive Director at the LIM and the curator of this exhibit.
LIM houses the largest repository of Mount materials. A Noble Art spotlights prize items of its collection, such as Right and Left, which has been displayed in previous shows, as well as four pieces that have not previously been on public view at the museum. Among that selection are portraits of Long Island’s reputed first millionaire Captain Jonas Smith and his wife Nancy Williamson Smith, acquired by the LIM at auction in 2022.
In addition to new acquisitions, the exhibit also reflects new information gathered in the ongoing scholarship about the 19th century Long Island native’s work, particularly his portraiture and its subjects.
“Our Mount artwork and artifacts are the jewels of our collection — something we are really fortunate to have. It has been a long time since we had an exhibit focused on Mount’s portraiture,” Ruff said. “There have been some changes in research and improvement of knowledge about the portraits’ subjects, so it feels like time to introduce them to visitors.”
A primary motivating factor for assembling this exhibit is the new details that have been excavated about the individuals immortalized in Mount’s paintings. In recent years, especially with the publication The Art of William Sidney Mount: Long Island People of Color on Canvas by Katherine Kirkpatrick and Vivian Nicholson-Mueller, particular attention is being paid to the Black and Indigenous people who Mount represented rather than caricatured.
“These are sensitive, not stereotypical portrayals…when you really look, there is a lot going on, like subtle symbolic references to the backgrounds of his subjects and nuanced details,” Ruff said.
From an artistic family, Mount’s most well-known portraits are frequently of people he knew, and their warmth adds elements of intimacy and liveliness. His portraits convey both dynamically diverse and culturally unifying insights into the persons, settings, and circumstances of Long Island during the 1800s.
A Noble Art even offers context for Mount’s own kin. His family portraits from the 1840s provide a glimpse at a creative clan and further emphasize his progression as an artist. Mount’s sister Ruth and niece Evalina were talented artists in their own right. Mount’s brother Shepard was also a portraitist, and the show features one of his pieces.
Yet, the heart of the exhibit remains Mount’s ability to forge a connection between creator, subject, and observer. Personable renderings illuminate the evolution of Mount’s artistic intricacies, spanning decades of his work from a self-portrait made when he was 21 years old to two of the three members of his musician series: The Banjo Player and Right and Left. (The third painting of this trio, The Bone Player is on display at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston.)
His work invites the viewer to appreciate an eternal moment and recognize enduring humanity. “With portraiture you might anticipate an element of sameness, but if you really look at Mount’s portraits there is a lot happening within them. We are excited to share this opportunity for discovery with the public,” Ruff said.
The Long Island Museum is located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook. Hours are Thursday to Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 adults, $10 seniors and students, children under age 6 are free. For more information, call 631-751-0066 or visit longislandmuseum.org.
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