Sledding in Cooperstown

By: Michelle Murdock, Curator of Exhibitions

When’s the last time you went sledding? I’m fortunate to have a terrific sledding hill at my house, which my family and I use as much as possible. We especially like to sled by moonlight with our friends.

Kids in Cooperstown have sledded at today’s Bassett Hall since the late 19th century. This treasured tradition is just one of many elements that make up the community’s shared memory. Susan Fenimore Cooper, daughter of the novelist James Fenimore Cooper, founded the Orphanage in 1870. Over the years it underwent a name change, fire, and renovations, and finally closed in 1942. Since then, the building at the corner of Beaver Street and Susquehanna Avenue has been a part of the Bassett Healthcare complex, serving as a nurses’ residence, office space, and meeting place. A sledding weathervane atop the building is an all-season reminder of a continuing tradition.

Maybe there’s a park near you with a little hill you could sled down? Bundle up, gather your friends, and make a few snow angels while you’re at it!

Sledding at the Orphanage, 1913

Smith & Telfer Collection, 5-1676

What the Barley Fork Reaped…"Let’s Buy Thirteen"

By: Paul D'Ambrosio, Vice President & Chief Curator
When the New York State Historical Association Board Chairman and chief patron Stephen C. Clark hired Dr. Louis C. Jones in 1947 to lead the Association that he had brought to Cooperstown, the two of them made an unlikely team. Clark was a scion of the Singer Manufacturing Company fortune and a great collector of Post-Impressionist and Early Modern art, while Jones was an academic who was teaching English at the State College for Teachers in Albany. Jones initially did not want the job; his interests were local history and folklore. He was actually a member of a group that called itself The Society for Connoisseurship in Murder. It says a lot about Lou Jones’s personality that he was once quoted as saying “I personally like murders much better than riots. They have a kind of intimacy that the larger gatherings lack.”

Yet Jones and Clark made an effective team, with Clark providing resources and collections and Jones developing innovative educational programs and advocating for the folk arts on a national level.

Their foray into American folk art began shortly after Jones was hired, when he and his curator Janet MacFarlane were discussing a barley fork that was in The Farmers’ Museum collection. They both felt that the barley fork showed the creative side of rural folk, an appropriate adjunct to the story of folk life told at The Farmers’ Museum. It gave them the idea of mounting an exhibition of this and other hand tools that were noteworthy by virtue of their design.

Jones recalled that Mr. Clark was enthusiastic about their idea and showed an immediate understanding of what constituted American folk art. Before the tool exhibit could even be mounted, Clark asked Jones to meet him at the Riverdale estate of Elie Nadelman, the Polish-born modernist sculptor who had been collecting folk art since the 1920s. Nadelman had opened one of the first museums devoted to this material at his home. From a house overflowing with all kinds of folk art, Clark asked Jones to pick out twelve pieces for the museum. After reviewing Jones’ selections, Clark said “I agree with you on eleven of them; let’s buy thirteen.” Their choices, national in scope and of the highest quality, foresaw the future character of the NYSHA folk art collection now housed at the Fenimore Art Museum.

Sharing Christmas in Cooperstown

By: Michelle Murdock, Curator of Exhibitons
Christmas is for children, after all, isn’t it? One of my greatest pleasures at Christmas time is participating in Secret Santa events for disadvantaged families in my community.

In late 1912, the Otsego Farmer, a Cooperstown newspaper, proclaimed, “Santa Claus didn’t forget the orphans” at the Christmas party at the Village Hall. Besides gifts and treats for all, the enormous tree came to life with lights “with a wave of Santa’s hand.”

The Village Hall was located on the second floor of the Fire Hall, built in 1889 on Chestnut Street. It was an auditorium with a stage and hosted large community meetings and performances, including the Cooperstown Youth Center in the 1950s and 60s. It was demolished in 1972 to make way for the present Fire Department headquarters, still a center of community activity from voting to spaghetti dinners.

Cooperstown photographers ‘Wash” Smith and “Putt” Telfer compiled an exceptional record of the Village’s people and places for almost a century. The Smith and Telfer Photograph Collection, donated to the museum in 1951, numbers nearly 55,000 glass plate negatives. Their familiarity with Cooperstown’s people and places gave their images a natural, un-posed quality, which captures the spirit and sensibility of small town life. Through their lens Cooperstown is remembered as the classic American rural village.

Orphan’s Christmas at the Town Hall, 1912

Smith & Telfer Collection, 8-445

Tribute to An Eclectic Visionary

By: Paul D'Ambrosio, Vice President & Chief Curator
I was saddened to hear of the recent loss of folk art collector Dorothea Rabkin. She and her husband Leo built one of the most interesting and eclectic collections of American folk art assembled in the late 20th century, and it was my great privilege to know them and visit their home on a number of occasions to enjoy their company and see their amazing things. They became friends and benefactors of the Fenimore Art Museum, and we are very fortunate to have wonderful examples of the fruits of their endless scouring of the countryside in our permanent collection. It is so rare to meet someone with a vision so astute and yet so broad; a testament to the enduring cultural value of the arts that she and Leo championed.

One incident at the Rabkins’ home stands out for me. My wife Anna and I were visiting the Rabkins several years ago, and after admiring their new purchases for awhile they offered us some refreshments. Dorothea served the coffee, handing the cup first to Anna. She immediately handed the cup over to me, whereupon Dorothea’s eyes widened and a smile lit up her face. “A wife serving her husband is something you just don’t see anymore,” she said, clearly impressed. I pretended like it was a daily occurrence, of course, but it illustrated to me that beneath the surface of the Rabkins’ innovative and omnivorous collecting was a wonderfully solid and old-fashioned relationship. They truly reveled in making each other happy. I am reminded of this incident often when I think of Dorothea, an immigrant woman with a traditional outlook within the home and a far-reaching and complex cultural vision without.

You can read more about Dorthea Rabkin here.

Empire State Building by Gregorio Marzan. Gift of Dorthea and Leo Rabkin. N0104.1991

What's your favorite toy?

By: Kate Betz, Manager of Public ProgramsAll during the month of December, the Fenimore Art Museum is celebrating childhood and play through history. We've mined our collection for the best examples of historic toys--but even more exciting are the samples of today's favorite toys, made possible by the participation of second grade students from the Cooperstown Central School.

What struck me the most when reading all of the students' labels was how the simple toys are still the best. Stuffed animals, blocks, and dolls were the clear winners. Though my personal favorite--the Playdoh Fun Factory--did not make an appearance, I was still extremely proud of all the thought that the students put into their selection. On Tuesday evening, the museum was filled with students, parents, and extended family to proudly pose in front of their labels and discuss their work over milk and cookies. It was a great night and a great finish to a fun project.

Make sure to visit the museum this month to read all about their favorite toys and strike up a conversation with your own family about your "couldn't-live-without" toy from childhood.

View of Cold Spring and Mount Taurus from Fort Putnam

By: Michelle Murdock, Curator of Exhibitions

Although the winters can be brutal in upstate New York, the splendor of nearly perfect summers makes it all worth it. On many summer days when I’m driving home, cresting the hills and plunging through the valleys, I encounter scenes that remind me of this painting. The quality & angle of the light, the length of the shadows, the nature of the clouds and the variety of green are all spectacular.

This popular view from the Revolutionary-era Fort Putnam shows the village of Cold Spring, home of the West Point Foundry, the most extensive and complete iron works in the United States. The depiction of the ruins is a subtle reference to American history and to a romantic interest in antiquity.

Thomas Chambers emigrated from England to the United States in 1832. His work as a landscape and marine artist is characterized by simple outlines, bold colors, and strong forms. Some of Chambers’ subjects were drawn directly from nature while others, such as this painting, were inspired by prints. His work has been described as a departure from traditional landscape painting and is highly distinctive in terms of color and design.

View of Cold Spring and Mount Taurus from Fort Putnam, ca. 1850
Albany, New York City, or Boston, Massachusetts
Thomas Chambers (ca. 1808-after 1866)
Oil on canvas
Museum purchase N0011.1999