Arts & Culture | New Haven Museum | Visual Arts
New Haven Museum Photos.
Outside a small room on the second floor of the New Haven Museum, the black silhouettes of two women face toward each other. The profiles depict Dorothy Cogswell (1909–2008) and her mother, Ruth McIntosh Cogswell (1885–1944)—two influential figures within the New Haven art milieu in the early twentieth century.
Profiles: Ruth McIntosh Cogswell and Dorothy Cogswell presents works from these artists—largely, a selection of cut-paper silhouettes—alongside other materials. Newspaper clippings, photographs, and works from their students, among other ephemera, paint a lively picture of the mother-daughter duo and their community. Densely hung in a single room, this information-rich exhibition shares the materials donated by Dorothy to the New Haven Colony History Society (now the New Haven Museum). It is open through December 30, 2023.
Several wall texts explain the significance of the artists. Both forged careers as artists and art educators. Both studied at Yale, though Dorothy was the first woman to receive her MFA from the Yale School of Fine Art (as it was called then). When the school opened in 1869, two women were enrolled in the first cohort of three students. In 1891, Josephine Miles Lewis became the first student—of any gender—to be awarded a BFA. Dorothy received her BFA in 1939 and graduated six years later with her MFA.
New Haven Museum Photos.
Installed clockwise around the room, the exhibition begins with several small works on paper by Ruth, alongside pieces by her students. A sketch from 1905 shows a young Ruth, painted by Minna Walker Smith (1883–1960). With her brown hair bundled on top of her head, Ruth looks serious, if not also a bit tired.
Dorothy Cogwell’s Baby Shoes, circa 1910, shows two small, brown booties, recalling a similar work of worn-out shoes by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh from 1886. Ruth’s painting matches van Gogh’s muddy palette, while another nearby work of hers titled Sunshine, 1907—also a watercolor—presents a cheerful view of a body of water through several trees, their leaves dappled with sunshine.
As the exhibition continues around the room, the focus turns to Ruth’s work as a silhouette artist. Large glass cases contain numerous examples, and several works are framed on the walls. Ruth’s unique process of cutting a folded piece of paper produced a second copy of her silhouettes. This allowed the artist to build an oeuvre of her work while also selling one copy to her customers.
Silhouettes are by nature an intimate art form. They are small in scale, usually about the size of a hand, and many capture the likenesses of children. Parents often purchased these as a keepsake, a way to document a moment in time. In an essay, reproduced in the show, Ruth articulated her belief that “The silhouette at its best should in its purity and artistry of outline above, suggest a true and characteristic portrait.”
New Haven Museum Photos.
In addition to younger subjects, Ruth also made silhouettes of many notable New Haveners, presenting viewers with a glimpse of her community. A pamphlet from the Cogswell Art Colony outlines a course of study, while naming the other instructors. Their intention was to provide a foundation of art principles “for girls of high school and college age” who wished to make art their profession.
Profiles contains an impressive body of silhouettes made by Ruth Cogswell, yet her most ambitious silhouette in the exhibition might be an unfinished work. A Study in Silhouette, 1928, shows the profile of a woman seated in a wheelchair. The intricacy of the overlapping spokes on the wheels creates a delicate network of fine, black lines, expertly cut from the paper.
As enjoyable as it may be to admire the minute details of these cut-paper pieces, the more interesting takeaway of the show is the sense of conviviality and liveliness present in the New Haven art scene during this time. Profiles comes on the heels of less fortuitous developments for two long-standing local art institutions. This summer, Artspace announced the closure of its Orange Street space. That closure followed significant turnover at the Ely Center of Contemporary Art after a former employee revealed a sex offender had been on the board.
Through the Cogwells' works and the collected ephemera from their careers, the exhibition details the many ways that this mother and daughter team contributed their entrepreneurial spirit to their communities. Both were committed to sharing their passion for art with their students. From this historical model, a viewer can glean a possible path for nurturing the arts in the present.
Profiles runs through December 30, 2023 at the New Haven Museum. Hours and more information are available on the museum’s website.