An Artist’s Artist: Julius Lars Hoftrup

by Erin Doane, Senior Curator

Two different donors recently gave us paintings by Lars Hoftrup. One donated three watercolors and the other a single oil on board. It felt like an odd coincidence that these four paintings came to us in just two months’ time, so I decided I should write something about them for this blog.

The Haunted House, by Lars Hoftrup, 1947, oil on board, new donation

Upon doing some research online, I discovered that while the Swedish-born painter, who lived out most of his life in Pine City, was nationally-known in his time, there is very little about him on the internet outside of local sources. Elmira city historian Diane Janowski has a page about him and his longtime companion Armand Carmen Wargny on her website. There is also an active Lars Hoftrup and Armand Wargny Facebook group administered by Jan Kevin Liberatore. Otherwise, there are only a few very brief biographies on general art websites. Fortunately, the archive here at CCHS has a thick folder of information and a subscription to Newspapers.com.

Lars Hoftrup (standing) and Armond Wargny (seated) at Artstorp
taken by Star-Gazette photographer Wells Crandall in the mid-1940s
and reprinted in the June 1961 Chemung Historical Journal.

Julius Lars Hoftrup was born in Kjevlinge, Sweden in 1874 to parents Anders and Anna. He came to the United States with his family in 1881 when he was just six years old. At first, they lived on the top of Mt. Zoar before purchasing a farmhouse and barns on Curren Road near Pine City. The young Lars always wanted to be an artist. He got his primary education in Elmira schools then studied art in fits and starts when money was available. He attended Cooper Union in New York City briefly, worked to save more money, studied at the Art Student’s League for a time, then took a position as photographer with a small motion picture company. The company sent him to work in the Midwest and it was in Davenport, Iowa that his art career really took off.

Watercolor by Lars Hoftrup, new donation

While in Davenport, Lars became acquainted with the wealthy Mrs. Baker who bought a number of his paintings and became his first patron. With the money he made from the sales, he was able to take his first trip abroad. He traveled and painted throughout the Mediterranean, finding the South of France and Northern Africa particularly inspiring. After his journey, he moved back to New York City where he eventually became one of fifteen artists who established their own gallery called “The Fifteen Gallery.”

Play boat, Auray, France, by Lars Hoftrup, watercolor, new donation

During the summers, Lars spent his time painting at his family home in Pine City. When the Great Depression hit and the Fifteen Gallery closed, he returned to Pine City and settled there permanently. He established a studio there where he hosted artist friends and taught students. Sculptor Ernfred Anderson, another Swedish-born artist who moved to the Elmira in the 1930s, dubbed Lars’s residence “Artstorp,” meaning “art farm” in Swedish. Artstorp became a sort of mecca for established artists, watercolor enthusiasts, and students alike and Lars welcomed them all. The Elmira Art Club’s annual picnic was held there for many years.

Watercolor of Artstorp by Talitha Botsford, 1960

Many artists visited Artstorp but only one, other than Lars himself, lived there long-term. Armand Wargny was born in France in 1870. He came to the United States and studied art at the Chicago Institute. That was where he met Lars Hoftrup. The pair became close companions and in 1932, Armand moved in with Lars at his Pine City farm. According to Lars’s obituary in the Star-Gazette, “The men were such good friends that neither intruded upon the work or the mood of the other. Work over, they prepared their own meals and whiled away their evenings in artists’ talk.” Toward the end of his life, Armand became quite ill. Lars took care of him “with the loving care of a mother for her babe,” according to Rosamond C. Gaydash who spent some time at Artstorp. Armand’s death in 1947 was a severe blow to Lars.

Film of J. Lars Hoftrup and Armand Wargny
at Artstorp Studio, c. 1941

Lars continued to paint and travel. In the 1952, while in France, he underwent emergency surgery at the American Hospital in Paris. He never really regained his health after that. He returned to Pine City and died at home early in the morning on April 11, 1954. He was 80 years old. He was laid to rest in Woodlawn Cemetery. His beloved Artstorp was left mostly empty for years, only visited occasionally by the heirs of the estate. In the 1960s, vandals damaged the buildings and scrap metal scavengers looted the home and barns. In January 1972, the home was destroyed by fire. It was thought that vandals had set it ablaze.

Harbor Concarneau by Lars Hoftrup, watercolor, new donation

Long-time friend Ernfred Anderson described Lars Hoftrup as “an artist’s artist.” He was a modern impressionist working chiefly in watercolors but also in oils. The subject of many of his works was the beauty that he saw all around him on his travels throughout the United States and the world, and at home in the Chemung Valley. He once said, “real art is spiritual, not physical. It is the painter’s method of expressing emotion and is not made to sell.” His works have found permanent homes in major galleries such as the Brooklyn Museum, Cleveland Museum, Duncan Phillips Memorial Gallery, and the Arnot Art Museum, as well as right here at the Chemung County Historical Society and in countless private homes.

 

Commemorative Quilts

by Erin Doane, curator

Quilts keep people warm and beautify their homes. They can also commemorate events. CCHS has a wonderful collection of quilts made to mark various happenings including weddings, wars, and fundraisers. Over this past summer, we had commemorative quilts on display here at the museum. Here is a sampling of those quilts.

The first quilt marks the relocation of this institution. The Chemung County Historical Society moved from 304 William Street to 415 East Water Street in 1982. CCHS members and volunteers made a quilt to commemorate the opening of the museum at its new location in the former Chemung Canal Bank building. The Historical Society’s logo and the date May 15, 1982 are embroidered near the bottom right of the quilt.

Commemorative quilt, 1982

Detail of embroidery on quilt

Other businesses and organizations appear on quilts that were created locally to recognize collaborative efforts to raise funds or to make improvements to the local community.  A heavily-embroidered coverlet highlighting some local businesses was designed by William Brownlow and embroidered by the Friendly Class of the First Methodist Church on Baldwin Street in Elmira. Each of the 13 squares represents a business or group of businesses including Dimon & Bacorn Truckmen, the Second National Bank, and J. Greener Pianos. It is possible that the businesses made financial contributions in order to be included on the coverlet.

Embroidered coverlet, c. 1912

Detail of one embroidered block

Major events in U.S. history have also been commemorated locally in little squares of fabric. During the Civil War (1861-1865), men from throughout Chemung County enlisted or were drafted into local regiments. Elmira served as a military depot and rendezvous point for western New York. Thousands of Union soldiers trained at four camps here before being sent south to fight. For many years after the war, veterans met at regimental reunions. Ribbons from those reunions were often sewn into commemorative quilts. One crazy quilt in the museum’s collection commemorates both national and local events and people involved in the Civil War. The locations of major battles are embroidered above the fans around the edge of the quilt. Names of notable generals are embroidered throughout. At its center is a memorial ribbon for Ulysses S. Grant. Other ribbons on the quilt are from reunions of the local 141^st and 161^st New York Volunteer Regiments. 

Crazy quilt, post-1888

Detail of quilt showing 161^st Regiment reunion ribbon

Many quilts were made to mark the United States Bicentennial in 1976. Genevieve Taylor of Elmira designed a quilt to celebrate the Bicentennial. Members of the community embroidered the 49 individual squares. Designs on the quilt include images from the American Revolution, national figures, and objects common in 1776 such as tin lanterns and spinning wheels. Images from local history are also shown, including John Hendy’s cabin, Mark Twain’s study, and a Westside Railroad trolley.

Bicentennial quilt, 1976

Students from 1st through 6th grade at Hendy Avenue School also created a quilt commemorating the Bicentennial as a school project. The quilt is made from fabric prints of the students’ original crayon drawings. Images commemorating the Bicentennial include the Liberty Bell, Paul Revere, and the Boston Tea Party.

Bicentennial quilt, 1976

One more, very common thing to commemorate with a quilt is friendship. During much of the 19th century, quilts were made by groups of women and given as gifts for weddings and other celebrations. Each women would produce a single square and then all the pieces were sewn together. Many friendship quilts include the signatures of those who made the quilt, dedications to the recipient, and mementos of times spent together. Abbey A. Baldwin of Southport received an autographed friendship quilt in 1851. Each of the 36 squares contains the signature of a friend or family member from Southport, Elmira, Horseheads, Corning, or Ridgebury, Pennsylvania.

Friendship quilt, 1851

Album quilts were another type of friendship quilt popular in the mid-19^th century. They feature elaborate applique designs, typically in reds, blues, and greens. This quilt was given as a gift to Mr. and Mrs. W.J. Smith by their friends in Elmira in 1860. Squares were made by 29 individuals including members of the Brace, Likes, and Fuller families. Each square has a unique pattern and is signed by its maker.

Album quilt, 1860

In 1890, the friends of Katherine Sheehan Connelly made a quilt as a gift for her wedding. Each of the 16 squares in the crazy quilt was crafted from silks and velvets that may have come from the young women’s old dresses. The squares are decorated with elaborate embroidery, monograms, and flowers. Two of the squares include silk-screened portraits of young women and others have ribbons from events hosted by the Knights of Tara Hiawatha, a local Irish social club. 

Wedding quilt, 1890

Detail of a silk-screened portrait

Another silk-screened portrait

Gender Bending in the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries

by Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

Check out those bloomers!

We have a fantastic set of glass plate images in our collection of a group of friends or family in the early 20th century who seem to have been having a lot of fun swapping clothes. The men are dressed in skirts, women's hats, cloaks, accessories, and even some underpinnings. The women are in pants, men's hats, and even sport some fake facial hair. All in all, this group with their party scenes, complete with alcohol, counter some of people's preconceived notions about gender in the Gilded Age and Progressive eras. In a time we often assume is overrun with Victorian prudery, people played with gender norms and performance. The main way this manifested was in female impersonation. To be clear, this is not the same as our modern understanding of being transgender, gay, or a drag queen. Female impersonation, as discussed in this blog post, was a popular and respected theatrical specialization.

More from our glass plate negative collection

 The origins of men dressing as women in theater dates back centuries. Common in Shakespearean performances and in those by all-male troupes, female impersonation began, in part, as a necessity. Fast forward to the 19th century, and female impersonation was a staple of traveling minstrel troupes, which again, were mostly male. These roles were often played for comedic value, and in the case of minstrel shows, they often upheld racial and gender stereotypes.  

By the early 1900s, Julian Eltinge was the most famous female impersonator. Known for his uncanny portrayal of a woman in Vaudeville, on Broadway, and later in film, Eltinge was a celebrity. Eltinge toured the world, and made appearances in Elmira.

From 1918

But there were other performers, too, even if they didn't match Eltinge's fame. In 1892, Elmirans Fred Gibson and Harry Graves found fame in Vaudeville. In one act, the did "a small dude song and dance, changing in full view of the audience to a female impersonation skirt dance." Elmiran Matt Lockwood, an actor and costumer, was known for his humorous female portrayals, especially of old women. A performance by the Elmira Free Academy minstrels in 1910 featured, as its main plot point, a female impersonator who infiltrated a fraternity house. The humor came when "he unmasks to the dismay of his amiable fraternity brothers who have accorded him the most flattering courtesies." That same year, the members of Company L enjoyed a performance by a female impersonator named "Lottie Duval." The performance was so "clever" that some of the men didn't know he was a man until he took off his wig.

In 1923, the Cornell Masques performed "Listen to Me" at the Lyceum Theater, which featured student Al Force in the role of Peggy Lang. We have a composite photograph of Force in both his street clothes and his Peggy costume. The next year, former Elmiran George Bracken worked with the Neil O'Brien Minstrels, performing twice per show as a female impersonator.

Al Force as Peggy Lang

Cross-dressing in the theater served many purposes. It was sometimes about trickery, but often the actors were not really trying too hard to disguise their actual gender. And while I've focused primarily on female impersonation in this blog, male impersonation was also a popular theatrical attraction in this period. Ultimately, impersonation was supposed to be fun entertainment, and we can see from photographs like those from our collection, how this spirit of lighthearted gender-bending bled into the lives of non-actors.  

More from our collection

Cheers!

Soap Sculpture in Elmira: How You Can Be a Part of Its History!

By Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

The Chemung County Historical Society is hosting a soap carving contest to celebrate our new exhibit, Clean. It’s free and open to all ages and you can find out how to participate here: http://www.chemungvalleymuseum.org/soap-contest

But, why soap carving, you might be thinking?  It’s a pretty obscure art form to us now, but in the 1920s and 1930s it was wildly popular here and across the country.  It really took off when Proctor and Gamble promoted national soap carving contests in an attempt to sell more of their product, Ivory soap.  Soap carving was touted as an activity that was accessible for people of all ages and abilities.  It was supposed to provide a wholesome outlet for children’s energy and also serve as a low-cost medium for amateur adult artists.

If our amateur artist staff at the museum can do it, so can you.

Beginning in the mid-1920s, the Arnot Art Museum periodically displayed soap sculptures, and the popularity of such exhibits led people to call for local contests.  In 1926, the Elmira Community Service provided 100 free instructional booklets to children interested in learning soap carving.  In 1945, the Arnot Art Museum displayed sculptures created by 7^th and 8^th grade students at Elmira’s George Washington School.  The entries were then to be entered in the National Soap Sculpture Contest in New York City.  

William Lavris and Marjorie Kolb inspect entries in the 1945 Arnot Art Museum display.

Even local businesses got in on the craze: this advertisement from The Junior Shop in 1929 tells of a soap display and contest hosted at boys’ clothing store.

So now, I encourage you to help us revive this once popular art form.  You don’t need to have any artistic background or special ability.  It can be done with a basic kitchen butter knife or you can come to the museum and use our special carving tools during our open carving workshop hours (see here for those times: http://www.chemungvalleymuseum.org/soap-contest).  Your work will be on display at the museum and you could even win a prize.  And it’s free.  Give it a try and you might just uncover a secret talent you never knew you had!

When Needle, Thread, and Fabric Meet

by Erin Doane, curator

Embroidery is described as the handicraft of decorating fabric or other materials with needle and thread or yarn but it is so much more than that. It is a creative expression and a labor of love for many. The art of embroidery has been around for thousands of years as have the most common stitches - chain stitch, buttonhole or blanket stitch, running stitch, satin stitch, and cross stitch. What most likely began as a way to repair or reinforce clothing has truly become an art form. The complexity and beauty of some embroidered pieces is astonishing yet the craft is still accessible to people of all ages and skill levels.

If you want to see a wonderful collection of works of embroidery, visit the museum for When Needle, Thread, and Fabric Meet: Embroidery by the Chemung Valley Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America. Over 60 pieces of embroidery by ten members of the chapter are on display now through September 30. There will also be a special reception this Thursday, August 20 from 5:00 to 8:00pm where you can meet and speak with some of the embroiderers. This event is free and open to the public.

When Needle, Thread, and Fabric Meet, on display at the 
Chemung Valley History Museum through September 30, 2015

The museum has a fairly large collection of embroidered pieces ranging from samplers and other decorative wall hangings to embroidered clothing and accessories. From as early as the mid-18^th century, creating samplers with the alphabet, flowers and other decorative motifs was part of a girl’s education. By the late 19^th century, samplers began changing into decorative, pictorial wall hangings like cross-stitch samplers of today.

Sampler on linen from 1833

Needlepoint sampler on canvas, mid-19^th century

Cross-stitch sampler made by Talitha Botsford

Doing needlework on perforated paper was very popular in the 1870s. Bookmarks and wall hangings with mottoes and biblical sayings were commonly made out of the paper. It was a relatively inexpensive material and sometimes was made with pre-printed patterns.

Embroidered perforated paper bookmark, late 19^th century

Embroidered perforated paper wall hanging, late 19^th century

Embroidery on perforated paper, perhaps made for a box lid, mid-late 19^th century

Embroidery is not limited to just purely decorative pieces. Throughout history, and even today, many practical items have been embellished with needle and thread. Household items like bedding and doilies are often embroidered by hand and by machine. Embroidery is also widely seen on clothing and accessories.

Crazy quilt with embroidered decorations, 1900

Embroidered doily, early 20^th century

Keepsake pillowcase with embroidered signatures of 
members of Elmira Free Academy class of 1910

Silk fan with painted and embroidered design, 1870

Machine-knit stockings with hand-embroidered design, 1890s

Child’s apron with embroidered flowers, c.1880

Blue chiffon dress with beaded embroidery, 1925

Do you like to embroider? Have you never done it before but want to give it a try? You might want to check out the Chemung Valley Chapter of the Embroiderers’ Guild of America (EGA). The group meets every third Wednesday of the month from September through June at 6:30pm at the Steel Memorial Library in Elmira. The mission of the EGA is to stimulate appreciation for and celebrate the heritage of embroidery by advancing the highest standards of excellence in its practice through education, exhibition, preservation, collection, and research.

Keep the Home Fires Burning

by Rachel Dworkin, archivist

            One day in November 1915, Lena Gilbert Brown Ford received a phone call from the young composer Ivor Novello at her London home.  World War I was raging across Europe and Novello wanted to write an inspirational, patriotic tune before joining the Royal Flying Corps.  Working together, with Ford on lyrics and Novello on music, the two wrote “Keep the Home Fires Burning,” one of the most popular songs of the war, in a half-an-hour.  By 1918, the song had sold over 2 million copies and been translated into seven languages including French, Russian, Italian, Welsh and, bizarrely enough, German.    

'Keep the Home Fires Burning' sheet music

 

 

 

            Lena Gilbert Brown was born in Elmira in 1870, the daughter of James L. Brown, a prosperous tobacco dealer and his wife, Antoinette.  From a young age, Lena enjoyed giving poetry readings and even once swooned after an especially epic reading of the chariot scene from Ben Hur.  She graduated Elmira College with a B.A in 1887 and an M.A. in 1892.  Shortly after graduating she married local physician Harry Hale Ford and the couple had a son, Walter.  Unfortunately, it turned out that, to quote her obituary, “Mrs. Ford’s temperament was not suited for married life” and she ended up taking Walter and going to Europe.  There, she tooled around France and Italy for a while before settling in London. 

Lena Gilbert Brown Ford

            While living in London, Ford became friends with George W. James, the editor of The Anglo-American, who encouraged her to get into journalism.  For the next 22 years, she wrote columns for his paper as well as The Irish Independent.  She also was an editor for Madame, Pears Cyclopedia and The Lady of Fashion.  In addition to her work in journalism, she was also a well know poet. 

            At the outbreak of World War I, Ford was living in London with her widowed mother, Antoinette Brown, and her son Walter.  She helped to organize a series of concerts to benefit soldiers’ hospitals and even opened her house as a convalescent home.  On March 7, 1918, Ford and her son were killed when her house was leveled by a German air raid.  They were the first American civilian casualties of the war.  Her mother was seriously wounded, but pulled to safety by a brave housemaid.  The Fords were both buried in London but Elmira College built a memorial fireplace in her honor in Hamilton Hall. 

 

Costumer Matt Lockwood and His "Museum" of Curiosities

by Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

In my last blog I told the story of Henry Clum, the early meteorologist and "weather prophet."  Well, this week I'm going to continue our examination of Elmira's more eccentric figures by discussing Matt Lockwood, Clum's best friend.  Matt Lockwood stole the aellograph out of Binghamton after Clum's death and then donated it to the museum, but there is so much more to his story than that.  Lockwood was best known as the costumer for the Lyceum Theatre in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Matt Lockwood

Lockwood letterhead from 1897

Matt's parents, John and Electa Lockwood came to Elmira by ox cart from Vermont in 1850.  The Lockwoods had six children, three of whom died as young children (daughter Mary died in infancy, son Hollis drowned in the Chemung River at age 3, and Robert drowned in the Chemung Canal as a small boy).  James Matthew Lockwood, known as Matt, was the eldest child.  His two surviving sisters were Jane and Abbie. 

John Lockwood

Electa Lockwood

Jane Lockwood

Abbie Lockwood

 After the Civil War, young Matt Lockwood and his cousin George Roberts joined the Byron Christy Minstrels, a blackface group.  He later also was affiliated with a local minstrel troupe, the Queen City Minstrels in the 1870s.  While we now recognize how offensive and racist blackface performances are, during the 19th century they were very popular.

Matt Lockwood in blackface during a minstrel performance

Lockwood maintained an affinity for minstrel performances throughout his life and had a large collection of items used by minstrel performers.  Many of these items were donated to the Chemung County Historical Society after Lockwood's death.


Blackface mask used in a minstrel performance, from the Matt Lockwood collection

Large shoe used by George Christy, son of the founder of Christy's Minstrels

Slapsticks used in a minstrel show

After his minstrel days, Lockwood became the costumer and prop manager for the Lyceum Theater.  This is the role for which he was best known.  In this capacity, Lockwood fabricated any props that traveling show groups would need, created costumes, and did set design.  He was also frequently employed by other theater groups in Elmira and surrounding, the Rorick's Glen theater, and Elmira College. 

Interior of the Lyceum Theater

Through all of his work and the personal connections he made with actors (he must have known DeHollis and Valora), Lockwood amassed a large collection of theater objects and ephemera.  His famous costume, prop, and studio rooms were filled from floor to ceiling with theater history.  Among his collection were items like a playbill and cape from Ford's Theater on the night of Abraham Lincoln's assassination.  He also had large collections of firearms, clothing, and handbills. 

Cloak from the Lockwood costume collection

In fact, in the 1890s his expertise and collection of handbills and theater programs once helped the Buffalo police in a criminal investigation.  When a suspect claimed that he was at the theater in Elmira on the night of his alleged crime, Lockwood provided the playbill that proved the show did happen on that night.  The police summoned him to Buffalo, where Lockwood was able to grill the suspect on the details of the plot and stage design.  The suspect provided answers that matched Lockwood's knowledge and was released.

Lockwood's work shop curios at the Lyceum

Lockwood's costume and prop room

Lockwood at work in his studio

Lockwood never married and lived and worked with his sisters for the duration of his life.  He was known for his generosity and had many friends (Henry Clum being one of them).  He served as a volunteer fireman for over 30 years.  At the end of his life, he went mostly blind from cataracts.  Still, his sisters helped him continue his work at the theater.

In 1924, Lockwood fell ill with uremic poisoning and heart trouble.  Even in his final days, he joked with nurses and visitors.  He died on September 11, 1924 at age 76.  Lockwood was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery.  The community mourned the loss of their beloved "old costumer."  Dan Quinlan, a friend of Lockwood and well-known local performer, wrote a beautiful tribute that was printed in the Elmira Telegram.  Perhaps my favorite line is, "Matt always believed that a laugh at any time was better than a groan."