Critiquing American Modernism

One of the best parts of working on exhibitions drawn from the ZMA’s extensive permanent collection is the opportunity it provides for a look at some of the hidden gems at the museum. During the preparation of Sketching American Modernism, I discovered a painting that captured my interest. The work was the Portrait of Mrs. Helen McCoy Storer, c. 1910 by Charles Alden Gray (1857-1933). While arguably not by one of the most well-known artists in our collection, it was, at that moment, the most intriguing.

After examining the artwork, it became clearly apparent that a new frame might greatly improve, not only the visitor experience with the painting, but presented an opportunity for the museum to continue protecting and preserving artworks for exhibition and education. Visitors to a museum do not always realized how
Storer poses, relaxed on an Edwardian-style couch with a look of amusement as she stares through the curtains, as sunlight rains in through the window. Her black hair is styled in a soft chignon. Storer is dressed is a white chemise, draped in a silk, printed kimono, complete with a decorative fan in hand. The fashion choices are evocative of the Japonisme culture dominating the art scene in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries. This was the result of Japan opening trade routes to the west in 1853. This brought an influx of Japanese silks, fashionable dress, art and decorative furniture into European and American markets, inspiring artists to emulate the artistic style and themes prevalent in Japanese art.

After hanging in her Zanesville home for over fifty years, Mrs. Storer donated the work to the ZMA in 1963. In a note to Dr. Charles Dietz, she expressed how proud she was to have it at the museum and part of the collection for future generations to enjoy. Just like Mrs. Storer, we are proud to reintroduce her newly framed portrait in our Works on Paper gallery on the second floor of the