The Art of History - Collecting History

         In the aftermath of the Philadelphia Centennial of 1876 Americans seem to have discovered that they had a rich cultural history.  From that time, a craze for collecting “antiques” swept the country, gathering a range of objects from the humble (quilts, samplers, tools) to the grand (silver, portraits, furniture).  This installation of paintings, porcelain, furnishings and memorabilia brings together a body of material culture reflecting the inherited (made on site), and cultivated (acquired from elsewhere), tastes of late 19th century Kentucky. 

When acquired, many of these objects served the antiquarian’s passion to possess the reality of history, insuring a connection to the past which oral tradition and the written word failed to satisfy.  From the vantage of our time, we can now see that these objects also deserve to be considered from a connoisseur’s point of view, rising or falling in critical estimation based on the formal values of skill in production and rarity of type.

Works exhibited are installed in a period setting meant to evoke the revivalist spirit of the 1880s and 90s.  While the late Victorians in England and America did not invent history, they did collect it to embellish their homes, clubs, churches, museums and fledgling historical societies.  Accordingly, much of the furniture is in the antique taste: rococo revival sofa reminiscent of the works of Meeks and Belter, a breakfront display cabinet in the style of William Kent of England, two flip top tables in the taste of Duncan Phyffe and four parlor chairs in the style of the court of Louis XVI. 

Long known for an outstanding collection of manuscripts, maps, rare books and documents, The Filson Historical Society has been the library of choice for many historians and genealogists in the region, and indeed, the nation.  However, throughout its long history, The Filson has also attracted other gifts, including a stunning assortment of Ohio River Valley portraiture.  Explorations of the permanent museum collection are now revealing other treasures. 

          Perhaps some of these were given because of an obscure association… perhaps a plate from which Lafayette supped in Louisville or a silver mug from which Henry Clay drank punch at a post-election wake.   Now, those associations can provide the background to a more assertive history of taste. Once fully considered, it is altogether likely that The Filson Historical Society has the material culture to create truly viable displays that offer the denizens of the Ohio River Valley a definitive view of taste, a source for the patterns of creating and collecting, and the illumination of style in the near and distant past.

It may well be that the past calls out of nostalgia and is answered in sentiment.  But the contentions between the florid antiquarian and the severe connoisseur can be brought to a middle ground in true Kentucky fashion.  To quote New Englander, Emily Dickinson, “Look back on time/with kindly eyes/he doubtless did his best.  How slowly sinks/that setting sun/in human nature’s west.”

The exhibit is open Monday – Friday from 10 AM to 4 PM.
The exhibit runs from November 11, 2004 – May 13, 2005.

The Filson Historical Society
1310 South Third Street - Louisville, KY 40208
Phone: (502) 635-5083 Fax: (502) 635-5086