For me personally, the most interesting piece, both symbolically and visually, is the Dred Scott banner. It also just so happens to be the first piece in the exhibition that I worked with. Dred Scott (1799-1858) and his wife Harriet are known for the series of lawsuits with the St. Louis Court. As shown on the banner, they filed for the first time in 1846 and lost in 1847. They filed again in 1854, but lost this second time. Won in 1850, lost in 1852, and then faced the Supreme Court in 1857 which resulted in the infamous Dred Scott decision which denied them their freedom. However, as shown on the bottom of the banner, the Scott family ultimately gained their freedom in 1857 after years of fighting when they were bought and then freed by the Blow family. Something I find interesting about this piece is how the date of each lawsuit is placed next to a curve or twist in the legs. A metaphor for each lawsuit being a twist in their lives and a divergence from gaining their freedom. However, by the end of this twisting and turning, Dred Scott lands on his feet and becomes freed as represented by the date of their freedom under the grounded and stable feet. As Lesley Dill states about this piece, “the banner reflects the twists and turns of their lives, like a river finding its true course,” and I could not say this better myself. 

Clara Kennedy 

Class of 2025

When cataloging these works, it is important to be meticulous and take one’s time. In the database I record the date, title, dimensions, medium, and support. I also write a description of the piece using specific depictive vocabulary. One of the most important aspects of this task is to fill out a conservation report, which is an updated description of the piece’s condition. This is where I must look intensely for any damages to the piece such as discoloration, foxing, creasing of the paper, paint cracking, smudges, or fingerprints. A valuable aspect of this task to me personally is my new knowledge of the vocabulary used in the real art world that I will be able to use and understand when I begin my career after college. 

I came into this internship with the certainty that I want to have a career in the art world, whether it be an art curator or an art dealer. This internship has given me the opportunity to immerse myself in museum life. Every day, I have hands-on experience with curators and exquisite pieces of art. That is why I appreciate my cataloging work so much. While the task may seem tedious, when cataloging I am able to really see the work up close and personal. I have learned so much about different mediums and how they work on paper and how to analyze the condition of a piece. One aspect of cataloging dozens of pieces from the same artist that I find fascinating is that I am able to put myself into Bernard Langlais’ mind. I am flipping through his sketchbook, so I can track what topics and mediums he becomes interested in and when the fascination begins and ends for him. After working exclusively with his art, I am able to recognize his tendencies and patterns with forms, colors, and content. 

Of the numerous works on paper by Bernard Langlais that I have worked with since January, there were many that caught my attention. However, in this blog post I decided to focus on three head portraits made from oil paint and crayon on orange construction paper. Officially, these paintings are untitled, but I call them “the big heads” and chose them because they are a great example of Langlais’ true range and talent as an artist in depicting such different emotions and figures using the same support, medium, and color palette.

These three “big heads” are so similar, yet so different. They can be presented together, yet can stand on their own. All of them are painted on this orange construction paper which must have been a fleeting fad for Langlais as there are only a handful of these paintings on orange construction paper before he switches back to regular sketch paper. He uses the same color palette of light blue, white, and a brick red/orange oil paint and black crayon outlines. The same ingredients are used for all three heads, but each one has distinct features and depicts different emotions. 

The head on the left (2013.19.64) is simpler than the other heads, but despite the fact that this head was made only with two colors of paint and a black crayon, I believe it is the most expressive face. The prominent worry lines on his forehead, furrowed brow, crumpled eyes, and stiff bottom lip depict that the figure is worried, concerned, confused, or contemplating something very important. 

The center head (2013.19.62) projects the angriest emotion. This is due to the fact that the figure’s eyebrow is arched very sharply, his lips are pursed, and Langlais uses the most burnt orange paint in this image, contributing to a more fiery mood. In this portrait, Langlais focused on the eyes. The very large eyes sit almost diagonally, which emphasizes the arch of the brow even more. The combination of the intense eyes and brows mixed with the brick red paint creates a sense of intensity burning from within this figure. This image also continues past the neck down to the chest unlike the other two portraits and this figure seems to be wearing a collared shirt. 

The head on the right (2013.19.63) has the most accentuated and distorted features. His eyes stand out to me the most because they are so large and perfectly circular. There is no presence of an eye socket, so this feature is very two dimensional. The shape of the figure’s head is almost completely rectangular, leaving little to no distinction between the head and neck. The little smirk on the subject’s face delights me. Langlais makes the figure’s lips curl at the ends creating

smile lines and even paints the lips with that same red brick color bringing more warmth into his smile. 

I appreciate that Langlais focused on different features for each head. In the left painting, it is clear that he spent much more attention to detail on the ear and eyes. However, in the right piece he paid almost no attention to the ear and focused more on the chin/mouth area. Each head has incredibly different features and depicts such different emotions despite such similarities in subject matter, support, and color scheme. I find the use of unconventional color and facial features so fascinating because the character’s emotions are so human. Such clear moods and emotions are depicted through minimal color and naturalistic detail. 

Clara Kennedy 

Class of 2025

One aspect of the internship that I really want to focus on is the amazing element of working directly in the museum featuring such incredible exhibitions. I find it extremely inspiring to be able to do work in such close proximity to the exhibitions showing right now. Being able to take the time to walk through Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me by Lesley Dill and An Adventurous Spirit: The Jane Costello Wellehan Collection keeps me inspired in the work I do for the museum and maintain a connection to the current art on display now.

Considering my internship so far I’m incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to intern at the ŔÖ˛Ą´«Ă˝ College Museum of Art and I’m excited to see where the rest of the semester takes me. As this is my first experience in the art and museum field I owe a lot of thanks to both Dan Mills and Anthony Shostak for their great introduction to this new field of study and constant support in all aspects of my internship. Remember, we have amazing exhibitions showing right now in the museum don’t miss out and come check them out!

Over the past few weeks I (along with three other interns) have been working on the upcoming Barbara Morris Goodbody Collection which features photography. My main task is to research and write exhibition catalog entries about each of the artists which has been a challenging yet rewarding process. Challenging due to the difficulty I have been faced with in finding information about some underground artists, yet rewarding as I have learned so much about photography by studying artists and analyzing their work.

After I complete my research on an artist and their upcoming exhibited piece of art, I then compose two short paragraphs in order to illuminate readers about the context of the artwork they are looking at. Depending on the artist and their work, the information I decide to write about varies. The main things I take into consideration when writing my exhibition catalog entries include artist/object information, visual descriptions, art history, current art issues, artist/viewer perception, and interpretation. By writing about these different disciples I am able to cater my entries to the artist/artwork’s strengths as well as ensure that my writing has variety in regards to what I talk about.

Aside from the work I have done discussed above, I have also had the opportunity to intimately interact with the current exhibition featuring Lesley Dill and the works of art in storage. In fact on my first day interning at the museum, when we were learning how to carefully handle artwork, I was lucky enough to hold a Mary Cassatt and Albrecht Durer print! However, the most valuable aspect of the internship so far has been working under the tutelage of Anthony Shostak and Dan Mills. Both are extremely knowledgeable and passionate about what they do which inspires me to keep doing what I love (in terms of my passion for the arts) in hopes that I too can one day work in a museum setting.

Readings like Sontag’s prepared me with the necessary context for the research I conducted on the list of artists I was assigned. Researching many of the incredible artists I have been focused on has felt like a form of creative detective work. Some of the artists are world-renowned with extensive resumes and others require exciting, creative deep dives into research and historical archives. Each artist and their photography has left me awe-struck and truly grateful for the opportunity to learn about the photographers’ and their photographs. Through this research, I am crafting entries about the artists, grounded in the artistic and historical contexts of the work.

I have learned so much from in-person meetings with the museum staff, including Anthony Shostak, Dan Mills, and Caitlin Patton, as well as my fellow interns. I have truly appreciated the opportunity to learn directly from these leaders in the museum field, mainly improving my ability to write cohesively and effectively about artwork. Being in the museum and a part of major installations, like Lesley Dill, Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me, has been so rewarding and has deepened my interest in museum studies. Interns attend incredible events with major artists, like Lesley Dill, and are involved in the discussions within these events as well as getting unique insight into their production.

This internship has fostered so much growth for me as a writer, a student of art history, and as a person with deep interest in museum studies. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this program and am hopeful to continue this work in following semesters.

During my first day on the job, I quickly became immersed in the day-to-day activities of exhibitions staff at the museum. Working with the other interns and Education Curator Anthony Shostak, I gained an understanding of how to handle artworks in the museum’s collection. This was a practice I had never engaged in before, but was one that I immediately recognized the utility of, as I delicately separated works on paper and inspected them carefully. In the following meetings, my fellow interns and I participated in workshops on how to conduct research about artists, and learned about critical interpretation skills by touring the museum’s current exhibition, Wilderness: Light Sizzles Around Me, by globally recognized artist Lesley Dill.

All of this was in preparation for our main task throughout the semester: to craft catalog entries about artists in the Barbara Morris Goodbody Collection. The collection is a body of photographic pieces recently donated to the Museum by Barabara Morris Goodbody, a longtime Maine resident and avid art collector. For the past month, I have been independently researching and writing statements about nine photographers within the Goodbody collection. The artist that I am perhaps most interested in is Lucien Clergue, a French-born photographer who is famous for his images that capture expressive lines of light striking the nude body.

In the remainder of my internship at the museum, I hope to continue refining my research and writing skills, working with amazing pieces of art, and soaking up the priceless knowledge that the museum staff offers me.