Today I was thrilled to get my first curator-led tour of the newly-opened American Art galleries. I already had a sneak peek at the installation process a couple of weeks ago, but I still wasn’t prepared for the stunning perfection of the final product.
We started with the Hall from the Robert Hooper House, which dates back to circa 1754 and is the only period room featured in the galleries. Before the renovation, there were five period rooms, but now curators have integrated pieces from those rooms into the early galleries. With only three or four exceptions, all of the works in the installation were made for private homes, so integrating the collections gives us a sense of how people actually lived with these pieces in their daily lives.
As I walked into Hooper Hall, I was immediately struck by the bright color and texture of the paint on the walls. Now restored, to its original dimensions and colors, these are the original pine panels that made up the hall, or primary room for entertaining, in the Hooper’s house in Danvers, Massachusetts. The varnished robin’s egg-blue looks nothing like the matte-finished, smooth surfaces we expect to see in upscale homes today, but a curator explained that this painting style was typical of the era. Before gas lighting and electricity, the Hoopers would have depended only on sunlight and candles to light a room. The additional varnished sheen on the walls reflects light that would have allowed Hooper and his guests to enjoy a night’s entertainment of card games or dancing even after sunset.
Hooper was a renowned Loyalist during the American Revolution; the commander-in-chief of the British forces was once his houseguest. After the Revolutionaries won the war, Hooper lost much of his wealth. His estate was largely sold off, so the furniture we see in the room did not belong to him. Still, it is appropriate for this mid- to late-18th century setting, and we can easily imagine the portly Hooper lounging by the fire in a large wingchair like the one in our collection.
There are several exceptional pieces in Hooper Hall, but my favorite is the Desk and Bookcase, made in Boston between 1770-1790. It is made of beautifully-carved mahogany and brass, and I counted no fewer than 29 different drawers! On the back wall are also two portraits by Mather Brown of an anonymous, though certainly well-off, man and woman. Brown was a student of Gilbert Stuart, and you can see Stuart’s influence on him in these portraits.
After you walk outside the Hall from the Hooper House, turn back one last time and you’ll see John Singleton Copley’s portraits of John Barrett and his wife. Copley’s subjects were noted supporters of the Revolution and would surely not have been welcome in Hooper’s Loyalist home, so it’s fitting that their portraits hang outside the Hall as well.
After talking to curators, looking at the art, and listening to the wonderful audio guide tour, I have a much better understanding of the pieces in our incredible American collection. I’m excited to share what I have learned in the coming weeks, and excited to hear about your reactions to our new galleries!