Huntington Library to showcase the undiscovered trove that is early America

As the immigration debate rages, it has inevitably given rise to questions. What makes a country? How does a country stay true to the principles of its founding? Is there a fundamental difference between America and any other country? What does it mean to be American?

The answers may lie as much with artists as political figures or scholars. As John F. Kennedy asserted in October 1963: If sometimes our great artists have been the most critical of our society, it is because of their sensitivity and concern for justice, which must motivate any true artist, make him aware that our nation falls short of its highest potential.

With the new “American Made: Selections from the Huntington’s Early American Art Collections,” the Huntington Library has inaugurated its long-range series of exhibitions that explore the meaning of the American experiment. Forthcoming shows, scheduled to run into 2017, are: “A World of Strangers: Crowds in American Art,” “Y.C. Hong: Advocate for Chinese-American Inclusion,” “The Artist’s Garden: American Impressionism and the Garden Movement” and “Geographies of Wonder, Parts 1 and 2.”

“American Made” is a slender survey with a historic range that encompasses Colonial years to the Civil War. The early oil paintings vary widely in technical sophistication and thematic portrayals. Pieter Vanderlyn’s 1743 painting of a boy is naive in every sense; formal art instruction was catch-as-catch-can. A full-length portrait of General George Washington has proportional shortcomings, but he’s clearly Commander in Chief. Gilbert Stuart’s well-known bust painting of 1797 shows an older Washington, chastened by the problems of a new nation and ill-fitting false teeth.

Curator Jessica Todd Smith grew up in New Jersey, earned her M.A. at Harvard and her PhD at Yale — both in art history. She worked at Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts where, she says, “Winslow Homer’s paintings were collected practically as soon as he finished them.”

Even though early American art collections are concentrated on the East Coast, Smith thought it could be better represented. “I became passionate about it,” she says, strolling through the Huntington’s Boone Gallery, where the show sits. “There’s a whole world to explore and interpret in the early American art and crafts. I felt, and I still feel, that it’s underappreciated and underutilized. Not many Americans can name American artists of this period, and that’s a shame.”

Maybe the most consistently impressive pieces in the show are the furniture. A tall wooden chest from 1750 sits on contoured legs; its lowest drawer can be accessed while standing. Though quite utilitarian, a carved sunburst pattern shows that aesthetics and ornamentation were also concerns. The graceful curve of Samuel Clegg’s 1810 “Elastic Side Chair” is an early example of heat-shaped wood.

Smith was offered a position at the Huntington, which had a modest early American collection. “It’s the addition of the Virginia Steele Scott Foundation Collection,” Smith contends, “that’s substantially grown our holdings of this type of work. It’s tremendously exciting to explore this area of art that is so little known by most people.”

As foreign institutions have shown serious consideration of American art, is historic American a growth area? “Absolutely,” she affirms. “We see a surge in national museum attendance and there’s a real surge of interest for American historical art and artifacts. We see particular interest in contemporary California art.

“It’s exciting to see how the Huntington Collection has grown and changed and taken in new art,” Smith says. “We’ve taken on some California art and some pieces by African-American artists, and those acquisitions will allow us to mount some important exhibitions.”

The Huntington, like all institutions, has grappled with making it as welcoming and visitor-friendly as possible. “Museums don’t just house art anymore,” she asserts. “They’ve become cultural centers. I went to LACMA on a Friday night, and it was fantastic to see so many people, drawn by the music and art at a museum. I want that for the Huntington, too.”

What: “American Made: Selections from the Huntington’s Early American Art Collections”

Where: Boone Gallery, Huntington Library, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino

When: Through Jan. 4, 2016. Closed Tuesdays.

More info: (626) 405-2100, www.huntington.org
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KIRK SILSBEE writes about jazz and culture for Marquee.