The Art of Collecting

COURSE INFORMATION

SGL Name: Nancy Alimansky

Course Meeting Times/Dates: Wednesday 11:10- 12:35

Contact information of SGL: nanalimansky@gmail.com 

ZOOM Link for Course Meetings: 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

In the Art of Collecting we will study the people who are responsible for some of the great American art collections. What motivated them to buy art? How did they decide what art to buy? What happened to their collections?

These are some of the questions we will answer in our course. We will deal with 4 different collections: The Cone sisters of Baltimore; the Stein family, (Gertrude, Leo, and Michael); Isabella Stewart Gardner; and Albert Barnes. In some cases, like the Steins, family relations fell apart and the siblings never reconciled.

We will discover different approaches to the art of collecting and some unbelievable coincidences. The Cone sisters basically bought work on their own without an advisor. However, both Isabella Stewart Gardner and Leo Stein were advised and influenced by Bernard Berenson. Much of the Stein collection eventually ended up in the Cone sisters’ collection. We will learn how and why that happened. In many cases the collectors formed strong friendships with the artists that they favored and helped to promote their careers.

In two cases, Barnes and Gardner, the collectors built a museum to show their collections. But each museum reflects a distinct philosophy about the purpose of a museum and how to display the works of art. As part of the course we will also study in depth some of the outstanding artworks that make up these collections.

Regular attendance is strongly encouraged. If you plan to miss more than three consecutive sessions, please consider another choice.

Welcome Letter

I am delighted to welcome you to The Art of Collecting. I am particularly looking forward to teaching this course in person at 60 Turner Street. Thank you for being adventuresome enough to come to campus for this course.  And don’t forget masks are always optional for this class. Our class will take place in the Gathering Space on Wednesday Second Period from 11:10 to 12:35.

I have built a google site for our course. Here is the link https://sites.google.com/view/art-of-collection

The link should take you to the home page. Please try it as soon as possible and if it doesn’t work, let me know. I will probably refer you to Dom Restivo at the BOLLI office to help you resolve any technical issues or you can call them directly.

The first book  for this class “The Cone Sisters of Baltimore-Collecting at Full Tilt” by Ellen B. Hirschland and Nancy Hirschland is a little hard to get. Students from last 2 semesters are willing to loan or sell their book to you. I am attaching the list with emails and/or phone numbers so that you can get in touch and make arrangements. Don’t wait until the last minute to get the book or you may miss out.

I have assigned two books for this class: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore- Collecting at Full Tilt by Ellen B. Hirschland and Nancy Hirschland Ramage and Isabella Stewart Gardner; A Life by Diana Greenwald and Nathaniel E. Silver. You will read the book about the Cone Sisters for the first two class meetings and the Isabella book for classes 5 and 6. For the other classes I have put extensive notes about the Stein siblings and Dr. Barnes on our google site. The site also has questions that go with all the readings. The largest number of pages for you to read is in the Cone Sisters book. By starting with that I have hoped not to burden you with too much reading during the rest of the course, although if you have been with me before you know I offer a lot of material. There are additional materials on the google site for each class, especially some really good videos that I encourage you to watch. I find the stories of these collectors to be absolutely fascinating and I hope you will, too. And I hope you will want to learn as much as possible about them and the work they collected.

Many of you have taken courses with me in the past and are probably familiar with my approach. We will study the lives of some fascinating people and look carefully at the paintings they collected. Some of the paintings will be familiar to you from previous courses but there is a lot of work you may not have seen before.

Each class builds on the previous sessions. For that reason I stipulated in the course description that you should probably NOT choose this course if you know that you will be absent for multiple sessions.

At the bottom of each week on the google site I have included images that are mentioned in the books or that we will discuss in class. It would be great if you could look them over before class so that you are familiar with them. I am looking forward to your comments and questions about the work that we will be studying.

I am also attaching a document that I like to use in thinking about works of art- "The Elements of Design and the Principles of Design." Even if you’ve read them before it’s worthwhile to look at them again. The last part of the document concerns values and it didn’t reproduce very well. So you can skip it and I’ll try to find another one to send you. Dr. Barnes also had a method he taught students to use to analyze his collection and we will use that as well. You might decide to incorporate his method in your future visits to art exhibits. I have found it really helpful.

Each week we will be discussing various works. Keep in mind that your reaction to any particular work is subjective. There is no right or wrong answer. I hope you will expand your appreciation and understanding of the art that these colorful individuals collected.

Finally, since I don’t want to miss a second of class time, can you send me a few introductory sentences about yourself that I can post on the introductory page of our google site. Maybe you could include how long you’ve been at BOLLI, what you do or did professionally, and whether you do any art work. Please send your comments as soon as possible so that I can post them on the Introductory Page of our google site.

Please let me know that you have received this welcome email.

Take care and stay well.

Nancy

nanalimansky@gmail.com     617-244-2570 cell 617-320-6244

The Elements of Design and the Principles of Design

Getting to Know You

Here is the information participants wrote about themselves

John Godine

I grew up in Montreal, but my wife and I have lived in the Boston area since 1967. I joined BOLLI two years ago as I was tapering down my career as an endocrinologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Of all the arts, I am least knowledgeable about painting and drawing, but the pleasure that I derive from going to a gallery has expanded as the pace of life has slowed. I can draw a straight line if a ruler is handy.

Helen Abrams

"I’ve been in Bolli for approx 15 years and taking art classes has been a highpoint.  Growing up in NYC, I get to visit art museums galore as my mom was a passionate art goer.  Although I had a career in health care, I have most enjoyed volunteering at Mount Auburn Cemetery, both as a docent and a tour guide.  One of my favorite tours is about the many artists buried in the cemetery from the 19th century (Winslow Homer) to the present (Elsa Dorfman)." 

Lori Edelson

I’m Lori Edelson, and this is my second year at BOLLI. I live in Wayland and am a retired CPA. I have no background in art, but I’m looking forward to learning about the art of collecting. 

Laurel Brody

Have been at BOLLI for 13 years but took a break during COVID.  I've taught lit courses, here, for 9 semesters and will continue in the Fall .

My professional life was as a teacher in the inner city, and on faculty at two universities .

When my hands worked,  I would paint, do large scale mosaics and sketch.

Paula Noe

I have been a BOLLI member for about 3 years now, and i love having the opportunity to delve deeply, to learn something new....i am not an artist or performer (except for childhood piano, and my son and my grandson each have their own bluegrass bands),  and i love the arts - theater, music, visual arts - and try to take advantage of the Boston culture scene.  I also believe strongly that the arts elevate and inspire us, especially in difficult times. I am a former (collaborative) Family Law attorney, and, after retiring in 2013, I spent a wonderful year in Italy, enjoying the art everywhere....

Shawn Mamros

My name is Shawn Mamros.  My wife Judy (jcalabro11@msn.com) and I both registered for your course, and fortunately we were both accepted in the lottery!  Judy is much more of an artist than I am, but we both appreciate art and have gone together to many art museums, including the Gardner museum in Boston and the Barnes Collection in Philadelphia, so we're familiar with both places and the art housed there.  This will be my first BOLLI class; Judy has been to a couple of others before.  I am a retired software engineer, having specialized in computer networking and communications.  I am also an alumnus of MIT campus radio station WMBR Cambridge, where I currently serve on its board of trustees as treasurer.

Linda Fentiman

To introduce myself:  I am a retired professor of law, specializing in health law, criminal law, and contracts.  I took several art history courses as an undergraduate but that was a long time ago.  I have recently moved to the Boston area.  I previously lived here in the 1980s and 1990s.  This is my first year at BOLLI and I have enjoyed it very much.  This is also my first year taking studio art courses at the Museum of Fine Arts, which I'm finding very rewarding.  My other artistic endeavors include knitting and sewing.

Dale Pollock

My career has been a bit of a jumble ranging from community organizing in New York  to appraising silver and jewelry in the New England area. I was a guide at the MFA Boston for over 20 years providing visitors with tours designed to make them feel at home in the company of the art and artists. As an aside, my daughter Lindsay Pollock authored a book about the pioneering gallerist Edith Halpert. It contains references to collectors from the perspective of  a dealer. It is entitled “ Girl with The Gallery”. My courses at Bolli have been all online and a life saver during these difficult times.