Lotus Lilies

In Charles Courtney Curran’s Lotus Lilies, two women sit together in a rowboat surrounded by lotus lilies that cover most of the visible surface of a lake, its low-lying shore visible in the distance. The sky is bright with the heat of a summer day, but the women are protected from the glare by hats, diaphanous veils, and a large green parasol. The woman on the right leans out of its shade to pluck lotus blossoms, which are gathered in the lap of her companion sheltering under the parasol aglow with transmitted light.

The foreshortened perspective on the boat, cut off at the lower edge of the picture, positions the observer vicariously as a member of the boating party. The women’s comfortable disregard of our gaze suggests the ease of familiarity. Indeed, Curran’s models were his new bride, Grace Winthrop Wickham, on the right, and her cousin, Charlotte "Lottie" Ada Taylor, on the left. The setting is Old Woman Creek, an estuary of Lake Erie in Ohio, where the Wickham family owned several summer cottages. The theme of lilies likely held special significance, for Grace carried a bouquet of water lilies at the couple’s wedding ceremony that summer.

At a time of unprecedented economic and industrial growth in the United States, artists increasingly turned to the subject of genteel leisure, as in Irving Ramsey Wiles’s On the Veranda (TF 1999.152) and Frederick Frieseke’s Lilies (TF 1999.55). Here, nestled among the lotuses, the two women are in harmony with the landscape. No sign of labor or exertion intrudes on the tranquil scene; for example, the rowboat lacks oars for propelling it across the water’s surface. Little effort is required by the women to approach the oversize blossoms that rise within easy reach on all sides. The lotus lily form is echoed in the framing of Lottie Taylor’s face by her bonnet and parasol. Evoking a longstanding association between women and flowers, Curran’s image implies a correspondence between the luxuriant pale blooms and the beautiful young women to suggest both sexual purity and virtuous natural fecundity. He also hints at the contrast between traditional confinement of women and the new prospects then opening for them. In contrast to Lottie’s old-fashioned bonnet, passive posture, and modest downward gaze, Grace, sporting a fashionable boater hat (adopted from men’s headgear), breaks out of the protected sphere defined by the parasol as she reaches beyond the confines of the boat.

Although Lotus Lilies predates Curran’s first trip to France in 1889, it demonstrates his awareness of the emerging aesthetic of impressionism. Like many Americans experimenting in the new mode, he tempered bold color and free brushwork with tight academic drawing and a balanced composition. Curran thought enough of Lotus Lilies to bring it with him to Paris, where he exhibited it at the prestigious Salon of 1890. Eminent critic Ernest Hoschedé praised the painting as "the best of modernity." In making contemporary life the subject of his ambitious painting, Curran followed a new trend that elevated everyday experience over historical, literary, and mythological subjects as the theme of high art.

Exhibition, Paris Salon, Paris, France, 1890 (as Lotus Lilies of Lake Erie, United States of America). [Honorable Mention]

Thirteenth Exhibition of the Society of American Artists, Paris, France, April 27–May 23, 1891, no. 63. [exh. cat.]

American Impressionism, Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington (organizer). Venues: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, January 3–March 2, 1980; The Frederick S. Wight Gallery, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, March 9–May 4, 1980; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, May 16–June 22, 1980; The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, Massachusetts, July 1–August 31, 1980. [exh. cat.]

Life in 19th Century America, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, September 11–November 15, 1981. [exh. cat.]

Temporary Loan Exhibition, Timken Art Gallery, San Diego, California, April 3–June 20, 1982.

Down Garden Paths: The Floral Environment in American Art, The Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, New Jersey (organizer). Venues: The Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, New Jersey, October 1–November 30, 1983; Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, December 13, 1983–February 12, 1984; Henry Art Gallery, Seattle, Washington, March 1–May 27, 1984. [exh. cat.]

Masterworks in American Art from the Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, April 27–September 12, 1985.

Nineteenth Century Genre Painting from The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois, November 15, 1985–January 12, 1986.

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

1888: Frederick Layton and His World, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin (organizer). Venues: Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 8–August 28, 1988.

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1989.

Triumph of Color and Light: Ohio's Impressionists and Post Impressionists, Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio (organizer). Venues: Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio, February 6–May 15, 1994; The Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, March 12–April 30, 1995. [exh. cat.]

Selected Works from the Collections: Two Hundred Years of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 12–August 27, 1997.

Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900 (Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2000. [exh. cat.]

Selections from the Permanent Collection: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, March 10–July 1, 2001.

(Re)Presenting Women, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 16, 2001–January 13, 2002.

D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.

A Place on the Avenue: Terra Museum of American Art Celebrates 15 Years in Chicago, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, November 16, 2002–February 16, 2003 (on exhibit extended run: November 2, 2002–March 2, 2003).

Copley to Cassatt: Masterworks from the Terra Collection, New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, and Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain, Connecticut, September 5–December 7, 2003.

A Narrative of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 13–October 31, 2004.

Expanded Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, April 15, 2005–June 2007.

Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, July 15–October 31, 2007.

Le Temps des loisirs : peintures américaines (At Leisure: American Paintings), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 31, 2008.

Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, June 2009–July.

Impressionist Gardens, National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland and Museo Thyssen-Bormemisza, Madrid, Spain (organizers). Venues: National Gallery of Scotland, Edinburgh, Scotland, July 31–October 17, 2010; Museo Thyssen-Bormemisza and Fundación Caja Madrid, Madrid, Spain, November 23–February 27, 2011. [exh. cat.]

Angels and Tomboys: Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art. Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey (organizer). Venues: Newark Museum, Newark, New Jersey, September 12, 2012–January 6, 2013; Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Memphis, Tennessee, February 16–May 26, 2013; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, June 28–September 30, 2013. [exh. cat.]

Charles Courtney Curran: Seeking the Ideal, Dixon Gallery and Gardens, Memphis, Tennessee (organizer). Venues: Dixon Gallery and Gardens, July 27–October 5, 2014; Frick Art & Historical Center, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 1, 2014–February 1, 2015; Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, South Carolina, February 20–May 17, 2015.[exh. cat.]

Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, June 2015–September 2018.

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865–1945 Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art (organizers). Venue: Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, September 28, 2018–January 6, 2019. [exh. cat.]

Galleries of American Art with Loans from the Terra Foundation for American Art Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, February 2019–present.

Hoschede, Ernest. "Breland de Salon." N.p. (1890): 99. [Honorable Mention, Paris Salon]

Society of American Artists B91, no. 63 (n.d.).

"In the Art Palace." Sunday Inter Ocean (October 15, 1893). Text (as The Lotos Flower).

Sun and Shade (1895). Pl. XIII (as The Lily Pond)

Gerdts, William H. American Impressionism. (exh. cat., Henry Art Gallery). Seattle, Washington: Henry Art Gallery, University of Washington, 1980. Text p. 129 (checklist); ill. p. 90 (color).

Schulze, Franz. "Terra Incognita: A New Museum of American Art." Art News 79:10 (December 1980): 84–87. Text p. 87; ill. pp. 84–85 (color).

Russell, John. "Delayed Impressions." Art in America 69 (January 1981): Text pp. 96–101; ill. p. 100.

Sokol, David M. Life in 19th Century America: An Exhibition of American Genre Painting. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Evanston, Illinois: Terra Museum of American Art, 1981. Text p. 39; fig. 68, p. 38 (color).

"Ability to Swap is Rewarding Art." The San Diego Union (April 3, 1982): ill.

Hoffman, Andrea. "Art." The Tribune. San Diego (April 12, 1982): E-2. Text p. E-2; ill. p. E-2 (black & white).

Adams, Henry. "Private Collector to Public Champion." Portfolio Magazine 5:1 (January/February 1983): 48–53. Ill. p. 49 (color).

Gerdts, William H. Down Garden Paths: The Floral Environment in American Art. (exh. cat., The Montclair Art Museum). Cranbury, New Jersey: Associated University Presses, 1983. Text pp. 103–104, 134 (checklist); ill. p. 31 (black & white).

Williams, Reba White. "Flower Painting Then and Now." American Artist 48 (May 1984): Ill. pp. 36–37.

Sokol, David M. "The Terra Museum of American Art, Evanston, Illinois." The Magazine Antiques 126:5 (November 1984): 1156–69. Pl. XIX, p. 1163 (color).

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-135, p. 244 (color).

Mundy, James et al. 1888: Frederick Layton and His World. (exh. cat., Milwaukee Art Museum). Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Milwaukee Art Museum, 1988. Text p. 46; ill. no. 5, p. 47 (color).

"Lotus Lilies," Charles Courtney Curran. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, October 1989. Ill. (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Lasting Impressions: American Painters in France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 34; fig. 19, p. 34 (black & white).

Gerdts, William H. et al. Impressions de toujours: les peintres américains en France, 1865–1915. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1992. Text p. 34; fig. 19, p. 34 (black & white).

Stott, Annette. "Floral Femininity: A Pictorial Definition." American Art 6:2 (Spring 1992): 61–77. Text pp. 63-66; ill. p. 60 (detail, color); fig. 2, p. 64–65 (color).

Keny, James M. and Nannette V. Maciejunes. "Triumph of Color & Light: Ohio Impressionists & Post-Impressionists." American Art Review (April–May 1994): 118–19.

Keny, James M. and Nanette V. Maciejunes. Triumph of Color and Light: Ohio Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. (exh. cat., Columbus Museum of Art). Columbus, Ohio: Columbus Museum of Art in association with Keny Galleries, 1994. Text pp. 37, 101–102; ill. no. 13, p. 52 (color), 142 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. An American Point of View: The Daniel J. Terra Collection. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 98, 194; ill. pp. 9 (color), 99 (color), 194 (black & white).

Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Un regard transatlantique. La collection d'art américain de Daniel J. Terra. Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2002. Text pp. 98, 194; ill. pp. 9 (color), 99 (color), 194 (black & white).

Littman, Margaret. "Terra Firma." Arts & Antiques (December 2002): 18. Text p. 18; ill. p. 18 (color).

Kennedy, Elizabeth. "The Terra Museum of American Art." American Art Review (December 2002): 126–41. Ill. pp. 132 (color), 133 (color detail).

Keny, James M. "Duveneck, et al." Timeline Magazine (March/June 2003): Text pp. 28, 52; ill. p. 28 (color).

Mauvoisin, Jacques and Gwenaëlle Ledot. Écrivins de Normandie. Saint-Lô, France: Normandie Magazine, 2007. Ill. p. 17 (color).

Willsdon, Clare A.P. Impressionist Gardens. (exh. cat., National Galleries of Scotland). Edinburgh, Scotland: National Galleries of Scotland, 2010. Text, cat. no. 35, pp. 42, 64, 152; ill. p. 82 (color).

Willsdon, Clare A. P. Jardines Impressionistas. (exh. cat., Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza and Fundación Madrid). Madrid, Spain: Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, 2010 (Spanish version). Text, cat. no. 105, p. 203; ill. p. 265 (color).

McElhinney, James Lancel. "Charles Coutney Curran." American Arts Quarterly 28:1 (Winter 2011): 37–43. Text p. 39; ill. p. 40 (color).

Conner, Holly Pyne. Angels and Tomboys: Girlhood in Nineteenth-century American Art. (exh. cat. Newark Museum). Newark, New Jersey: Newark Museum, 2012. Text, p. 169 (checklist); ill. Pl. 22, pp. 156–57 (color).

Leggio, Gail. "Angels and Tomboys: Picturing the American Girl. American Arts Quarterly 30:1 (Winter 2013): 23–3. Text p. 30, ill. p. 29 (color).

DeBerry, Linda. "Girlhood in 19th-Century American Art." American Art Review (July–August 2013): 92–97, Ill. p. 97 (color).

Faquin, Jane Ward and Maia Jalenak. Charles Courtney Curran: Seeking the Ideal. (exh. cat, Dixon Gallery and Gardens) Memphis, Tennessee: Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 2014. Ill. pp. 86-87 (detail)(color), Ill. p 88 (color) Cat. 41. Text p. 20, 88, 111, 116 (checklist).

Faquin, Jane Ward. "Charles Courtney Curran: Seeking the Ideal," American Art Review (August 2014), 26: 4. pp. 62–69. Text p. 64, 69, Cover, (detail, color) ill. p. 69 (color).

"Charles Courtney Curran: Seeking the Ideal," American Fine Art Magazine (Jan/Feb 2015), 36. Ill. p. 36 (color).

Art Across America. (exh. cat., National Museum of Korea, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Terra Foundation for American Art). Seoul, South Korea: National Museum of Korea, 2013. (English and Korean versions). Text p. 239; ill. p. 238 (color).

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865-1945. (exh. cat. Shanghai Museum with Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art). Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 2018. Text p. 72; ill. p. 73 (color).

Bourguignon, Katherine M., and Peter John Brownlee, eds. Conversations with the Collection: A Terra Foundation Collection Handbook. Chicago: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2018. Text p. 135; ill. p. 135 (color).