Art Becomes Life 

NHS’s advanced art students had their art put on display for the public at the Day House in Norwood on Nov. 2 and 3. Their art was inspired by the life of F. Holland Day, an art pioneer and Norwood native who contributed to the history of art in the United States. 

The Day House is a nationally registered building of the Norwood Historical Society. It was built in 1856 and renovated by the Day family in the 1890’s. F. Holland Day traveled throughout Europe and was inspired by European art and architecture. The society has preserved the house and its artifacts from when the Day family lived there. Bryan Burns, the Treasurer of the Norwood Historical Society, explains how “the feel of the house is meant to be the turn of the century” because of Day’s inspiration of European style. 

Burns also explains how Day had “an artistic vision for the house. He sent marble home from Europe to make the fireplace.” 

The house contains artifacts from when the Day family lived there, but also collections of materials that families of Norwood have donated over the years. “We collect things that represent the 20th century and accept donations of World War II area materials and things up until the 1970’s. It's all from a range of families.” 

Art students were given a tour of this Norwood Historical Society building to get a feel for what F. Holland Day’s life was like. The students went on a field trip to the house and were able to take their photos that would become their pieces.  The higher-level classes got to showcase their art, ranging from photography to portraits to drawings and more. According to the NHS Art-department head, Mrs. Mead McGrory, there will be approximately 50 students having their art showcased. This is the 11th Art Exhibit that the NHS Art Department and Norwood Historical Society have held in the Day House. 

Tara Bilotta, an NHS senior art student, describes how F. Holland Day was known for his progressive photography and portraits during a time when “people of color were marginalized. He essentially gave them a voice through his photography.” 

Chloe Ronco, another NHS senior art student, enrolled in multiple advanced art classes with Bilotta had her portrait of a girl in front of a window in F. Holland Day’s house showcased. Day was known for portraiture which is why they both chose this particular art form. Bilotta had a portrait of a girl in front of one of the mirrors in the living room area of the Day House. Her portrait showed perspective, a technique learned in her class, and the subject was her friend of Filipino heritage. This was fitting of Day’s theme of portraying minorities in his work. They both strived to express the themes that were present in his photography in their own works, such as beauty, race, and class. 

This was Ronco and Bilotta’s second Day House exhibit where Ronco believed that “this year we have a lot more experience going into this show. Bilotta agreed because the class has taught them “how to edit our photos and make them look the best they could be.”

Mrs. Mead McGrory is excited for her students’ art to be displayed. She is also glad that the students learned about F. Holland Day because he is a “unique tie to some major, local, art, historical figure that has a real connection to art history.” Her advanced classes are working thematically as Day did in his artwork. There was diverse art, including themes of portraiture, allegory, and character, as Day dressed people up as other people. This has challenged her advanced students to “take a theme of Day’s work and create a representation of that theme.” 

The show, open to the public, allowed people to see the art students’ work, but also take a free tour of the intricate, labyrinth-like house with multi-level floors. The art, artifacts, and collections were all put on display. A photograph by a student of a specific object of the house would be next to that object in the exhibit. This allowed the public to see how the photographs compared to objects in reality. There was also a blurb next to each piece of art explaining how it represented F. Holland Day’s life and what theme they chose to use in their art. Mrs. Mead McGrory was in charge of setting up the display like this as she wanted the exhibit to be “an adventure to wander throughout the house and find all of the artwork” with a map given. 

Burns hopes that this exhibit allowed art students to “see the historical depth to the kinds of work that they do and that their ideas, while they are creative and original, fit within a pattern. It’s good to be aware of what’s come before you and what happened right here in Norwood.” Burns is excited that the public and the students will be able to know more about Day’s life and contributions to art itself.  

Mrs. Mead McGrory also hopes that her students’ have gained insight and appreciation for Day’s work as well. “People [in the United States at the time] saw that art was a documentary and not artistic. It was like a machine. You take something and you replicate it. It was a machine not an art form. Day wanted people to see it as an art form.”