The Museum Collection

The Fine Art Collection at Eagle Hill is eclectic, in that it has grown by way of loans, promised gifts, and donations. Its focus is on 19th century and earlier works of art, though that emphasis is not fixed and is open always to expansion. The following are some of the broad themes represented by works in the collection.

The collection will grow over time and new themes will emerge as we learn to engage with collectors who are contemplating a legacy decision and who can envisage what it will mean to have works from their own collection remain in coastal eastern Maine for the enjoyment of future generations within the Fine Art Museum at Eagle Hill, rather than being left to the vagaries of fate or ending up in the deep recesses of a major museum. Since coastal eastern Maine is a much-favored global travel destination, the experience and enjoyment of quality works of art at Eagle Hill will continue to wide-ranging consequences.

	Japanese Okimono Carvings 玉翠 ... Gyokusui Ebisu with Seabream. Ebisu is the Japanese god considered lucky for fisherfolk. There are annual Ebisu festivals to celebrate him. Note the typical "moneybag" earlobes. Okimonos are large ivory carvings that were produced in Japan during the Meiji period (1868–1912), a time when there was an ever-greater interest in Japan in European dress fashions and fine art, particularly among artists in Paris. The result was a shrinking market for smaller ivory carvings, such as Netsukes. Carvers adapted by producing larger ivory carvings for export, especially to Victorian England and America.
	Carved Wood Panels Maximilian M. Schwarzott (German/American, 1855-1926) Jewish High Priest Overseeing the Destruction of an Altar. From Deuteronomy 12:3 (King James version of the Bible) ... "And ye shall overthrow their altars and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire..." Schwarzott was a sculptor based out of New York City. This carved mahogany panel was exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1878. In 1901, two of his sculptures were included in the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, NY.
	Tibetan Repousse Works Tibetan or Nepalese Gau, or Portable Shrine Gaus are silver and copper repousse containers with imagery of various kinds, always with at least one glass window through which a presentation of a deity can be seen. The gau is secured within an embroidered pouch, with a long strap and small metal balls to attach the cover. 19th century. Tibetans and Nepalese Buddhists traditionally carried Gaus with them when on long journeys from home, so they could continue their prostrations. Gaus open like a locket and typically include prayer flags with prayers printed on them.
	Tibetan Castings Tibetan or Nepalese casting of Kubera Kubera is the Lord of Wealth and the god-king of the semi-divine Yakshas in Hindu culture. He is regarded as the regent of the North (Dik-pala), and a protector of the world (Lokapala). His many epithets extol him as the overlord of numerous semi-divine species and the owner of the treasures of the world. In Tibet, the golden mongoose is considered a symbol of Kubera's victory over Nāgas. The Nagas are divine, semi-divine deities, or a semi-divine race of half-human half-serpent beings, that reside in the netherworld (Patala) and can occasionally take human form. The notion that Kubera's treasure bag is a mongoose seems to be a Buddhist addition.
	Pen and Ink Drawings Edouard Jean Baptiste Detaille (French, 1848-1912) A French Curassier Jean-Baptiste-Detaille was a master of paintings who focused on French military motifs. This is not surprising since, he was born into a prosperous family with a military background. His father set him up with painter Ernest Meissonier who showed him finesse of execution and an appreciation for precise observation. He obtained a staff position at the start of the Franco-Prussian War (1870) which provided him with an indelible experience observing the hostilities of war.
	Genre Watercolor Paintings James Drummond (Scottish, 1816-1877) Reading Cavalier, Dated 1870 James Drummond was an accomplished painter of historical and genre subjects and is perhaps best known for his portraits of royalty, coastal scenes, fishermen, and animals. Drummond was a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Society of British artists. He exhibited with both, as well as other leading London galleries, achieving a significant measure of success. His works may be found in museums, such as the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.
	Landscape Oil Paintings William Hart (Scotish/American, 1823-1894) The Cathedral of Nature: A Respite by the Riverbank William Hart Scotland. His family immigrated from Scotland to Albany, NY. This painting has a classical "cathedral of nature" theme, by which artists sought to elevate the viewer by encouraging a reverence for nature. The vaulted effect and the high distant light source in the canopy are reminiscent of stained-glass windows in a cathedral. To the right, there is a hollow tree (a sacristy of sorts), someone gesturing holding a fishing pole (perhaps to be understood as a minister), and listener sitting on a log in the stream (likely to be considered a congregant)
	Genre Oil Paintings Joseph Miller (German, 1825-1870+) Grand-daughter Showing Handwriting Exercises to her Grandmother, Signed Munich, 1869 There are only six paintings in public records by Joseph Miller. They are all signed and dated in the 1860s and early 1870s. One of them hangs in the library room of President Theodore Roosevelt’s former summer home in Sagamore Hill, Long Island. There are no biographies and only hints of who Joseph Miller was. The few records that exist suggest that he was born in Bavaria in 1825. He was active in Munich and may have exhibited in Dresden and Berlin.
	Portrait Oil Paintings Anonymous (Belgian School, 19th C.) Portrait of a Jesuit Missionary in China. Possibly Bishop Ferdinand Hamer (1840-1900). Unsigned. The signature on the red cloth in the sitter's right-hand reads Guiliang, who was Grand Secretary to Emperor Xianfeng. The portrait dates from the time Great Britain and France were aggressively acquiring trading rights in Qing Dynasty China. Guiliang's diplomatic efforts were repulsed. Lord Elgin ordered an invasion by English and French troops, with the result tha the emperor had to flee and the Yuanming Yuan (Summer Palace) was destroyed. The Jesuits were known treaty intermediaries. Hamer was martyred in China.
	Nazarene Movement Oil Paintings Johann von Schraudolph (German, 1808 – 1879) St. Agnes Agnes was a member of the Roman nobility, born in AD 291 and raised in an early Christian family. Because she refused her suitors, she suffered martyrdom at the age of 12 or 13 during the reign of Roman emperor Diocletian. She is shown holding the martyr's palm. The Nazarenes were a group of early 19th-century German Romantic painters who moved to Rome with the goal of reviving spirituality in art. They exerted considerable influence on the Pre-Raphaelite movement.
	Old Master Paintings Lombard School. Northern Italy, late 16th–early 17th Century The Mystical Marriage of St. Catherine of Alexandria with Christ as an Infant In Christian tradition, bridal theology, also referred to as mystical marriage, is the New Testament portrayal of communion with Jesus as in a marriage. Virgin saints went through a mystical marriage ceremony with Christ in the presence of the Virgin Mary, consecrating themselves and their virginity to him. Though eventually martyred, St. Catherine converted many of her captors to Christianity. The martyr's palm is lying in front of her.
	Memento Mori Paintings Johann Carl Heinrich Kretschmar (German, 1769–1847) Beware the Passage of Time This is a “memento mori” genre painting, in which death as a theme is represented in the figure of the an aged grandfather. While the sound of the ticking pocketwatch is only intriguing to the grandson, to the grandfather it marks the relentless passage of time. By means of an upraised finger, he seems to be trying to warn his grandson that he too should be mindfull that time is something precious and that one should not squander one’s life with diversions. Kretschmar's finest paintings are portraits.
	Etchings and Engravings Jean Barbault (French, 1718-1762), after a painting by Francesco Solimena (Italian, 1657 – 1747) Christopher Columbus Arriving in America Barbault was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker, who worked in Rome for most of his life. This print shows the arrival of Columbus in America, with his ships in the background. He and his lieutenant are shown kneeling in awe of what they have discovered. A priest in the far background is blessing the moment. A soldier, with a haughty glance and hand on his hip is ready to pillage. The painting frm which this print was based, is in the Museum of Fine Arts in Rennes, France.
	Japanese Woodblock Prints Ganki (Approx. 1850) Hermit (Gama Sennin) and Toad Ganki is one of the prominent artists of the age of Soh. The Japanese legend of Gama Sennin ("Toad Immortal") is based upon Chinese story of Liu Hai, a fabled 10th-century alchemist who learned the secret of immortality from the Chan Chu ("Three-legged Money Toad"). Gama Sennin is a benign sage with magical knowledge about medicines. He is always accompanied by a toad and he can assume the shape of the toad himself. He is thought to be able to release his spirit from his body, metamorphose, and fly with the aid of his companion.
	Plant and Animal Portraits Ann Maria Hussey (English, 1805-1852) Amanita muscaria (print) Anna Maria Hussey had an interest in natural history and knew Charles Darwin at nearby Down House. One of her brothers became tutor to Darwin's sons. She and her younger sister developed an expertise in fungi by sending specimens to Rev. Miles Joseph Berkeley, the leading mycologist of the day. Hussey's approach to mycology came from the artistic end, rather than scientific end.
	Bronze Sculptures Henri Louis Levasseur (French, 1853-1934) "Gloria Natura" (The Study of Nature is divinely inspired) Henri Louis Levasseur's career as a sculptor centered in Paris. His works are found throughout major collections in Europe. This sculpture is an allegorical composition, popular in mid- to late-1800s Europe and America. It depicts a scholar deeply engaged in the study of natural history, in this case, botany. This can be seen from the oak branch leaning up against the books to the left. The winged figure is standing on these books and is leaning over the scholar, as though guiding him.
	Alabaster Sculptures Emilio P. Fiaschi (Italian, 1858-1941) Musician/Composer with a Lyre, Following her Muse. Alabaster. Emilio P. Fiaschi was a native of Volterra in Tuscanny, and attended the prestigious Accademia di Belle Arti in Florence from 1883–1885. He was an accomplished sculptor of marble and alabaster and gained a fine reputation in the accomplsihed and competitive Florentine art community for his technical skill and mastery of sculptural composition. His works followed in the grand Renaissance tradition of such masters as Donatello (1386-1466), Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), and Giambologna (1529-1608). He was adept at depicting a wide range of textures, not an easy task in the unforgiving and rigid medium of marble. This is evident in this sculpture when one compares the smoothness of the woman's skin with the roughness of the stone upon which she is sitting. Specializing in classical and genre scenes and portraits of women, Fiaschi completed numerous private and public commissions.
	Porcelain and Parian Sculptures Charles Bell Birch, British (1832–1893) Wood Nymph. Parian bisque figure of a female, seated, with a standing deer and fawn in her lap. The marble-like beauty of Parian Ware captivated artists and collectorsVictorian England. In some respects, it allowed the middle classes to possess articles of high art. Victorians welcomed Parian's inexpensive, small-scale copies of busts of literary and political figures, as well as decorative vases, boxes and pitchers, thus adorning their homes with these ornaments to show their gentility. It has been observed that Parian ware had the same effect on greatly expanding the viewership and ownership of statuary as the had the invention of the popular print to the more exclusive medium of painting.