NATIVE LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The Davis Museum at Wellesley College is located on the ancestral and unceded tribal lands of the Massachusett people. We acknowledge the continuing presence of the Massachusett, and their relatives and neighbors, the Wampanoag and Nipmuc peoples, and pay respect to Indigenous elders past and present.
DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE
Dear Friends of the Davis,
The vantage of 2020 provides a special opportunity to reflect—not only on the past year, but also on the decade that closes with it. This feels especially momentous for me, as I celebrate the 10th anniversary of my tenure at the Davis Museum. I am filled with pride to see today’s Davis: an institution entirely transformed, driven by core values of diversity, inclusion, excellence, and ingenuity in support of Wellesley’s mission, with a staff committed to criticality, integrity, and action.
This decade was one of numerous growth milestones at the Davis. Most notable was the Davis. ReDiscovered, the reinstallation of our signature Rafael Moneo building in the fall of 2016. Predicated on three years of research and planning, it was a project of colossal ambition and tremendous teamwork that reshaped the galleries, deepened interpretation through new scholarship, and doubled the number of works on view. Reflecting our commitment to students, the building remained open to class visits throughout the process. The project also allowed us to bring to the fore the generosity of generations of donors, whose gifts of works of art and funds have supported the excellence of Wellesley’s liberal arts mission since the College’s founding in 1875.
Since 2010, the Davis collections have grown by 3643 works of art—including an astonishing 2613 gifts—to some 15,000 objects. I am particularly proud of our successes in enriching the global diversity and breadth of representation in our collections, and thereby expanding the art historical narratives on view in our galleries and available for study. We also have significantly enhanced access to the collections—making the database open to all via the Web, and expanding into technologically-enhanced realms by way of a new “virtual exhibition” platform and a bespoke Davis Museum mobile app.
Today, the quality of our holdings is recognized worldwide: from January 2010 through December 2019, the Davis sent 77 works out on loan to major museums in the U.S. and abroad, increasing the visibility of Wellesley’s outstanding collecting history and amplifying our connection with new audiences.
Through a schedule of inventive exhibitions and programs, the Davis has hosted dozens of luminaries—artists like El Anatsui, Eija-Liisa Ahtilla, Tony Matelli, and Fatimah Tuggar, among many others. Special projects, like “ART-LESS: The Davis Without Immigrants,” have brought the Davis laudatory international attention. Our award-winning publications, undertaken with the team at Stoltze Design, have proved especially successful via new partnerships with Yale University Press, MIT University Press, the University of Texas Press, and Hirmer Verlag.
During the last ten years, thousands of Wellesley College students have been at the core of our mission: they learn from original works of art in our galleries, participate in public programs, and benefit from the many unique opportunities we have designed to connect them deeply with art, to train them for careers, and to prepare them for lifetime advocacy—including the Davis Museum Student Advisory Committee (DMSAC), the Davis Museum Summer Internship Program, the Davis Student Guide Program, the Student Visitor Assistant (SVA) Program, the Eleanor P. DeLorme Museum Summer Internship, and the Liliane Pingoud Soriano ’49 Curatorial Fellowship.
Looking back at this decade, I think of Wellesley’s visionary Alice Van Vechten Brown, who imagined in 1901 a future at Wellesley: “… when the Art Building shall become a well-equipped museum, which shall serve its neighborhood as, on a larger scale, the South Kensington Museum does London: a place for classes and students, surely, but also a place in which the public may linger and enjoy; a place to bring children, and in which teachers may study; a model to every college student of what a museum may do for any town in the land.” Van Vechten Brown’s words were both aspirational and prescient, and it fills me with pride to see that today’s Davis has not only met but exceeded her vision.
As 2020 rises before us, we face ever-tightening budgets and the many difficult decisions they necessitate. More than ever, I am grateful to all of our donors for your generous support of the Davis Museum. Your commitment ensures that we remain a vital resource at the heart of our community—for the students, faculty, and staff of Wellesley College, for the families of Greater Boston, and for scholars and life-long-learners the world over.
The Davis is extremely lucky to have the support of Wellesley Friends of Art—“advocates for art on campus since 1965”—dedicated volunteers around the country and the world who spread pride in the Davis and sustain our efforts in every area through their fundraising. I am grateful to the entire FOA community, and extend special thanks to Eileen Conroy '75, Chair of the Friends of Art National Committee, for her leadership.
My great thanks to the Davis staff whose skills, passion, and intensely collaborative spirit ensure that the institution thrives. I would like to particularly commend Sarina Khan-Reddy, Media Specialist, for developing the Year in Review site, and all of the staff and students who contributed to its contents.
As ever, my gratitude to Dr. Paula Johnson, President of Wellesley, and to Andy Shennan, Dean and Provost of the College, for their enduring support of the Davis Museum.
Lisa Fischman
Ruth Gordon Shapiro ’37 Director
STAFF & their Davis favorites
Lisa Fischman Ruth Gordon Shapiro ’37 Director
LF: I have many, many favorites in our collections. That said, I am partial to Tim Okamura’s Loading (2011). I arrived at the Davis in early 2010 to find that there was no portrait painting of a person of color in our collections. This purchase took a small first step toward filling that gap. It also marks my ongoing commitment to the global diversification of our holdings, and the enrichment of representation across the permanent collections galleries.
Amanda Gilvin Sonja Novak Koerner '51 Senior Curator of Collections and Assistant Director of Curatorial Affairs
AG: This Asante Kwasiada Adinkra, or Sunday cloth from the 1930s or 1940s (2018.21), was intended to be a stunning garment worn by a man like a toga. Each of the symbols refers to multiple stories and proverbs, making it not just a work of dress and visual art, but also of oral literature.
Bryan Beckwith Security Supervisor
BB: My favorite work at the Davis is Mount Washington from the Valley of Conway, 1851 by John Frederick Kensett.
Mark Beeman Manager of Exhibitions and Collections Preparation
MB: Helping to keep the Davis clean and presentable for our visitors is one of my responsibilities, so I enjoy Tony Matelli Weed #386 for the humor it uses to disrupt your expectations when visiting the galleries.
Helen Connor Assistant Registrar for Exhibitions & Digital Resources
HC: Every time I walk by Francis Cotes, Portrait of Miss Anne Dutton I am struck by how beautifully rendered the details on the dress are—from the folds, to the sash and the jeweled pin on her arm. But just as striking is her pose, as if she has no interest whatsoever in what is happening around her. What, or perhaps who is she thinking about?
Carrie Cushman Linda Wyatt Gruber ’66 Curatorial Fellow in Photography
CC: One of my favorite objects in the collections is Julianne Swartz’s Camera Less Video (Horizontal) (2011). Its unexpected placement in front of a window next to the elevator on L4 makes great use of the Moneo building’s many nooks and crannies, while drawing visitors’ attention to the beautiful campus landscape that surrounds the Davis. The inverted view that we see through the device reminds us of how fundamentally different human vision is from that of the camera and thereby interrogates photography’s claims to objectivity and truth.
Karen McAdams Friends of Art Coordinator
KM: My favorite piece in the Davis Museum collections is The Family, Luzzara, Italy, from Portfolio IV by Paul Strand. While studying photography in college I fell in love with Strand’s work, specifically his portraits that show a true purity. In this family portrait, I am struck not only by the overall beauty of the composition, but also by the relaxed nature of the subjects, juxtaposed against the dominant yet seemingly caring presence of the dark matriarchal figure in the doorway.
Arthurina Fears Curator of Education and Programs
AF: When I first came to the Davis, I was immediately drawn to Kara Walker's Nat Turner’s Revelation (An Important Lesson from our Negro Past You Will Likely Forget to Remember), an installation of projected light, painted glass slides, and a hand-cut silhouette. This immersive work of powerful imagery includes not only Walker's iconic silhouette paper cuts, but also explores historical themes of race, identity, and power found throughout her body of work.
Sarina Khan-Reddy Media Installation and Production Specialist
SKR: After traveling to Sanchi in Central India to see the Goddess Yakshi, I ask the question how is Indian art presented to the Western world? Having studied Pre-Vedic culture in the Indus Valley, these erotic statues at the tops of temples, were never meant to be seen with such clarity, close up as a sexual body, a rarified Western object. Although this is just the Lower body of a Yakshi, I can imagine her at the top of the Gate at Sanchi, where the pilgrim would be “Seen” by the Goddess who is embodied in this figure Yakshi.
Alicia LaTores Friends of Art Curatorial Research Assistant
AL: I am particularly attached to the terracotta Allegory of Minerva Freeing Chained Mankind on view in the Rococo Gallery on L4. Most likely a model for a larger work, the visible working of the clay is dynamic and there are so many enchanting details, such as the adorable owl perched behind the figure of Minerva.
Bo Mompho Collections Manager and Head Registrar
BM: As I gaze at the fifth-century Antioch mosaic that is the centerpiece of our Ancient Mediterranean Gallery, I can’t help but look past its intricate and colorful design and think about the tremendous work that was required to move this approximately eight-ton object from the wall of the Museum’s fifth floor to its current location on the second floor. It took years of planning and was an incredible feat of engineering to witness.
James Oles Curator / Senior Lecturer in Art
JO: One of my favorite objects is our Maya ceramic figurine, a standing man with an ornate headdress and a feathered disk, perhaps part of his ritual costume or a ceremonial shield, that preserves some of its original blue paint. It dates from sometime in the 7th or 8th centuries CE; when acquired everyone believed it was probably from the island of Jaina, on
the west coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, but recent scholarship shows these were made all over the Maya world, often in sets, and may have been used to educate elite children about different social roles. The man's face is an extraordinary portrait, and this one of the finest such sculptures in any US museum.
Alyssa Wolfe Assistant to the Director
AW: The portrait of Mary by Gertrude H. Fiske is one of my favorite objects in the Davis collections. I see something of myself in Mary's matter-of-fact expression, practical braids, and simple pose, contrasting with her brilliant, plaid apron and the detailed wallpaper background.
Steve Perkins Manager of Museum Security and Visitor Experience
SP: My favorite work in the Museum's collections is the "Laughing Fool", an oil painting on panel attributed to the Netherlandish artist Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen. It is a meticulously crafted depiction of a man dressed as a “fool,” or jester, who is laughing as he peers through his fingers at the viewer. In his other hand he holds a pair of spectacles. I like to think it is a self-portrait of the artist and his struggle to “see.”
Joe Zucca Security Supervisor
JZ: My favorite painting is Friends in a Storm Approaching, by James McDougal Hart, because I love animals and nature. Artistically I appreciate the light and darkness presented in the clouds and the reflection on the water.
Craig Uram Assistant Preparator / Collections Care Specialist, June 2015 - Aug 2019
Kara Schneiderman Associate Director for Operations and Collections Management, June 2018 - Dec 2019
Student Employees: Fatima Aslam ’22, Elana Bridges ’20, Christine Burns ’20, Jamie Clark ’23, Eunbie Coe ’20, Kate Davies ’19, Stephanie Fan ’22, Soobean Jo ’19, Charlie Kasper ’19, Yanni Li ’20, Neha Rajbhandary ’21, Leafia Sheraden-Cox ’20, Eliza Zizka ’22
Summer Interns: Maddy Allan-Rahill ’20, Karina Alvarado ’20, Elana Bridges ’20, Nancy Chu ’21, Kate Davies ’19, Stephanie Fan ’22, Irene Galarneau ’19, Sarah Kain ’20, Juna Lee ’21, Megan McNally ’20, Aviv Shimoni ’21
Student Guides: Emma Bachman ‘22, Kai Barreras ‘22, Anna Cauthorn '19, Karissa Coleman ‘23, Eunbie Coe ‘20, Kate Davies '19, Genevieve Fisher ‘21, Alexandra Fitzgerald ‘22, Regina Gallardo ‘23, Sarah Guise ‘20, Charlie Kasper '20, Sabrina Koseki ‘22, Rita Lyu ‘23, Mable Peach ‘23, Chloe Ratte ‘23, Megan Ruppel ‘20, Lance Silberstein ‘21, Sarah Stover ‘20, Zoe Taylor ‘23, Destiny Zhu ‘21
Student Visitor Assistants: Caroline Alt ’21, Caroline Baldacci ’22, Ashley Bisram ’22, Kristen Chang ’20, Katie Dretler ’22, Margarita Forbes ’20, Paola Gonzalez ’20, Kaori Hayashi ’20, Mariela Flores Hernandez ’22, Kayla Kane ’22, Kenza M’Haimdat ’21, Ella Mints ’22, Cassandra Morales ’20, Steffany Poveda-Solorio ’20, Cassiana Robinson ’22, Ryan Rowe ’23, Fatima Santana ’20, Alexandra Jones Twaddell ’20, Jaeda Velasquez ’20, Larissa Walker ’22
DMSAC: Abby Lindsay ’20 (DMSAC Co-Coordinator), Caroline Alt ’21 (DMSAC Co-Coordinator), Christine Burns ’20, Sophie Christiano ’21, Katie Dundes ’20, Stephanie Fan ’22, Regina Gallardo ’23, Iris Haastrup ’22, Kate Hall ’22, Melissa He ’21, Sarah Kain ’20, Jane Kinsella ’22, Megan McNally ’20, Ella Mints ’22, Corinne Muller ’21, Mable Peach ’23, Maddy Allan-Rahill ’20, Ixchel Ramirez ’21, Kiana Stacy ’20, Hana Sugioka ’21, Deana Weatherly ’22, Carissa Wong ’21, Ava Yokanovich ’22
