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The Intricate Art of Miniature

August 5th, 2023

The Intricate Art of Miniature

By Yvonne Wright • The Current Contributing Writer

Have you ever gone to see a fine art exhibition that requires a magnifying glass to fully appreciate its content? If yes, you will concur that there is something very gentle, elegant and undeniably precious in a form of art that can be enjoyed and collected for its exquisitely small dimensions. Requiring a close proximity of viewing (sometimes with the aid of a magnifying glass) such works provide an intimate encounter with a world of artistic expression that is full of minute details, delightful narrations and clever aesthetic articulations achieved by artists who specialize in small-size analytical works – ushering in their viewing audiences most genuine respect mixed with amazement.

Traditionally, it would not be a true miniature painting, drawing, engraving or sculpture, if it did not fit in the palm of one’s hand, frame included. Requiring the same, or often greater, technical skills and proficiency of mediums as demanded of larger, ‘full-size’ works, these little gems are created with the finest small brushes, specialized technical pens or miniature chisels available, and are therefore sought after and highly valued for their characteristic attention to detail.

In the European tradition of figurative art, the genre of miniature painting has been continuously practiced for centuries, dating back to the monastic artists (scribes) of the Middle Ages who were particularly adept at ornate calligraphy within which elaborate biblical illustrations were inserted. During the Renaissance a strong tradition of miniaturized portraiture developed at the noble courts, preceding in their collective formats today’s family albums.

In the age of colonial conquests, wealthy European military men, sailors and diplomats carried with them treasured miniature depictions of their loved ones painted on vellum, ivory, enamel or cardboard; while their wives often commissioned likenesses of their husbands to be worn as necklaces or brooches adorned with jewels. Many exceptional miniature artists worked for the aristocratic courts, leaving an enduring legacy of craftsmanship and aesthetics that has been inspiring successive generations. In time, collections of miniature portraits, mounted on walls in clusters, became fashionable and sought after expressions of wealth and sophistication by a burgeoning middle class.

The industrial revolution, with its technological progress, introduced photography to the mix. More affordable than painting or engraving, early daguerreotype portraits provided a platform for a new type of miniature art, although not specifically intended. By the second half of the 19th century, color photography was invented – both events inadvertently stalling a once thriving industry of traditional miniature portraits, in favor of photographs. And yet, the aesthetic value of fine art miniatures has survived the upheavals of time, by introducing new subject matter (outside portraiture) and techniques to modern audiences.

Mary Roberts, active in South Carolina in the late 1740s is considered the earliest American artist on record to paint miniature portraits professionally. By the end of the 19th century there were approximately 4000 miniaturists working in America, many of whom were women – signifying the revival of miniature art as a popular genre.

Many miniature art societies have sprung up over the decades across the United States – all cultivating their own traditions of annual shows and art patronage. The Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C. (MPSGS) is the oldest and most prestigious miniature art society in North America, founded by an American portrait miniaturist Alyn Williams in 1931, and only the second oldest in the world, after the Royal Miniature Society of London, UK. The Miniature Art Society of Florida (MASF), a relatively ‘new kid on the block’ was founded in 1974 in Clearwater, and soon became the second most prestigious miniature art society in the US and an acknowledged leader in the global resurgence of interest in this ancient art form – generously contributing to educational programs and scholarships.

As an art historian, my passion for small-scale paintings extends beyond sensorial appreciation. I am also a fine art artist, who enjoys creating miniature paintings, and who, over the years, has won artistic awards at international miniature shows. My painting “Afternoon Tea” was inspired by Jim Thorpe’s Victorian heritage. The idea was to capture the richness of textures and the overall atmosphere of Victorian lifestyle as represented by a new generation of young women about to challenge the status quo – the existing state of social constraints placed upon them. Hence, it connotes a sense of defiance. In 2022 my work was awarded Third Place in Portraiture by The Miniature Painters, Sculptors & Gravers Society of Washington, D.C.

The Snow Goose Gallery, located in the heart of historic Bethlehem at 470 Main street proudly carries on the tradition of classic miniature at its best, expressed annually through the gallery’s international miniature art shows. This year, from May 7th through June 10th, a staggering 432 works are on display, sent to Pennsylvania from as far away as Australia and South Africa, Europe, and across the United States to participate in “the Art of Miniature” the 31st Invitational Exhibition of Fine Art in Miniature from Around the World and representing the genre of landscape, still life, portraiture, architecture, and animals.

The gallery owner, Mary Serfass, is a highly accomplished miniature artist herself with a Bachelor degree in fine art. She is also a signatory member of a highly coveted art organization, the Miniature Artists of America (MAA), an elite group spanning the globe that honors outstanding professionals in American miniaturism. Mary embraces the tradition of elegant and uplifting drawings depicting the natural world, often enhanced by touches of sterling silver, 24 karat gold, and/or a variety of other precious metals subtly incorporated into her designs.

If you haven’t yet experienced the pleasure of looking at this superb collection, a visit to the Snow Goose Gallery in Bethlehem is a must. With a magnifying glass in-hand (supplied by the gallery) I encourage you to spend a quiet time in admiration of these unique masterpieces. Observe their compositions, textures and exquisite detail, because they were created by artists of exceptional skills. And if you are looking to invest in art for the first time, expand your existing collection, or buy that special gift for a friend who has absolutely everything…. think small, think miniature and start supporting (if you haven’t done so already) the artists of miniature and their meticulously hand-crafted gems in oils, watercolors or inks, etched, sculpted or enameled with an infinite patience and love of their craft that will fill you with wonder.

A Tale of Beautiful Adonis

February 8th, 2022

A Tale of Beautiful Adonis

Ancient cultures are imbued with artistic depictions of stories and myths about love, often played out in the relm of the supernatural and mystical. Whether immortalized in poems, carved in stones as architectural embellishments, etched in clay pottery, or depicted in paintings, human enjoyment of celebrating, and in some way, emotionally re-living the legends of lovers whose tragic circumstances wouldn’t allow them to be together, crosses the boundaries of time and civilizations, inspiring generations of romantics across millennia, right into our modern times. Being in love is a state of existence that envelopes a wide range of meanings and expectations, best expressed in action; hence, how one feels about someone is most evident in what one does to make that person feel special, adored and desired - a conundrum if not reciprocated…

It is not unusual, but perhaps unconventional today, to refer to a handsome young man as an Adonis. Originating in Greek mythology, it is a well meant complement that refers to a young man of strikingly fine features, rippling muscles, and a hint of overconfidence. Made popular throughout the Hellenic world, the story of Adonis (the eternally youthful god of beauty and desire) and his relationship with Aphrodite (the goddess of love and beauty), had its roots in the ancient civilization of Phoenicia, later appropriated with minor differences by the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans, as a universal story of lust and jealousy, and the struggle between love and death.


Adonis is the archetype of a handsome youth, born to the equally beautiful Myrrha, daughter of King Cinyras of Cyprus. It was King Cinyras, who inadvertently angered the extremely vain and self-absorbed Aphrodite, by often boasting to his friends how beautiful his daughter was, and going so far as to claim that Myrrha was more beautiful than Aphrodite herself! Well, if one has learned anything from Greek plays and mythological legends it is that the gods residing atop Mount Olympus were an extremely jealous supernatural bunch, quick to anger, and delighting in punishing those who crossed them.

Resentful Aphrodite (known to Romans as Venus), would not allow her title as the most beautiful, to be questioned by anyone, especially mortals. After all, she was the daughter of Zeus (Roman Jupiter), the king of all the gods and goddesses of the Olympian pantheon. Therefore, she convinced her son Eros (god of physical desire, aka Cupid) to help her carry out a devious plan of revenge. By shooting an arrow through Myrrha’s heart, Eros made her fall desperately in love with her own father, impelled by insatiable lust. In the classical world, “erotic attraction was generally referred to as a kind of madness, or theia mania (madness from the gods)” and was explained with the elaborate metaphor of one’s heart being pierced with "love's arrow” or “Eros’ dart.”

As the spell took hold, a disguised Myrrha tricked her father into consummating the union, but the king was outraged and threatened to kill her upon realizing the betrayal. To save herself and the baby she was now carrying, Myrrha pleaded with the gods to change her appearance into something other than human, which they granted, and she was transformed into a myrrh tree. Incredibly, nine months later the tree simply split open and a baby boy was born.
 Watching the events of Adonis's birth, a now remorseful Aphrodite became charmed by the mortal boy's natural beauty and became devoted to him. Wanting to keep the baby safe, she entrusted the queen of the Underworld, Persephone, with raising the boy. However, as the young Adonis grew older and became progressively more attractive, the queen couldn’t help but to fall madly in love with the handsome youth, and when the day came for Adonis to return back to Aphrodite, Persephone refused to let him go.

Zeus had to intervene in the squabble, and it was decided that Adonis would spend four months of the year with Persephone who raised him, four months with Aphrodite who adored him, and the remaining four months with whomever he wished. Adonis chose Aphrodite, revealing for the first time his heart’s true desire. In Greek mythology, the myth of beautiful Adonis is always intertwined with his eternal love for the alluring Aphrodite. While the two lovers were together, the sun shone brightly upon the land, the soil was kind to the people, flowers bloomed and fruits ripened.


Arguably, one may suppose that the eternally youthful and immortal goddess of love, Aphrodite, could be in fact hundreds of years older than Adonis, but in the ancient mythologies age didn’t matter, and their love story wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the circumstances which brought them together. In many ways, Adonis’ handsome looks were his curse and undoing, because they triggered a rage of strong emotions, from love and adoration to jealousy and resentment, in those who met him. Described as androgynous, he was said to be also loved by other gods like Apollo, Heracles and Dionysus. 


Renowned for his hunting skills, Adonis enjoyed, more than anything, the sport of seeking, pursuing and capturing animals, and the kinship with wildlife it provided - in spite of Aphrodite’s constant pleading to stop the dangerous fun (because she couldn’t bear the thought of losing him in a tragic accident). A particularly prudent worry, when one considers the ancient practice of hunting a challenge of strength and fitness for hunters equipped only with long spears or bows. On one such hunting adventure in the Afqa forest near the city of Byblos, Adonis was badly hurt by a wild boar and bled to death from his injuries in the arms of Aphrodite, who tried to save him by administering a magical nectar into his wounds, to no avail. As his blood blended with the nectar and poured into the soil, beautiful flowers sprang up from the ground. It is believed that the scent of Anemone flowers matches the aroma of Aphrodite’s nectar, and their color Adonis’s blood. When some of his spilled blood reached the nearby river, its water also turned red. Even today, the phenomenon of the Abraham River (also known as the Adonis River) in the Keserwan-Jbeil Governorate of Lebanon flowing red continues. Each February, “due to the volume of soil washed off the mountains by the heavy rains,” the beautifully meandering river appears as if filled with blood.


In one version of the story, Artemis (worshiped by Romans as Diana), the goddess of wild animals, the hunt, vegetation and chastity, is accused of plotting to kill Adonis by sending a wild boar to attack him, because she became jealous of Adonis's skills as a huntsman, surpassing hers. 
 In another version, it was Ares (aka Mars), the handsome god of war and Aphrodite's one time lover, who became jealous of her infatuation with the mortal, and to eliminate competition he transformed himself into a wild boar and attacked Adonis.


In response to his daughter’s inconsolable laments, Zeus stepped in once again and determined that Adonis should only spend half of each year in the land of the dead, thereby creating a cycle of Adonis’ death and resurrection as representative of the decay and revival of plant life, reflecting the agricultural seasons of early Mediterranean civilizations. Adonis became worshipped as a god of grain crops and perpetual renewal, fertility, and beauty – a male counterpart for Aphrodite – whose love story contains elements of tragedy and happiness. The late nineteenth-century Scottish anthropologist, Sir James George Frazer, claimed that Adonis was just one example of the archetype of a "dying-and-rising god" found throughout all cultures. 


The myth of Adonis has been a source of great inspiration for many poets, painters, sculptors and historians, leading to its widespread use as a major theme in literary and intellectual productions. One of the most influential works in Western culture is Shakespeare’s erotic narrative poem Venus and Adonis (1593) which retells the courtship of Venus (Aphrodite) and Adonis, as originally described by the Roman poet Ovid in Metamorphoses, Book X. Venus's desperate love for Adonis has become an inspiration for many literary portrayals of courtships in Elizabethan literature, and the most popular story of all Shakespeare’s works published within his lifetime. 


This highly decorative, art deco style color lithograph “Adonis and Aphrodite” by the French illustrator, Georges Barbier (1882-1932), narrates the pivotal moment of Adonis’ embarking on his last hunting trip, bow in hand. Worried Aphrodite begs him stay and abandon his plans, but her plea is to no avail, as Adonis loves hunting almost as much as her. The call of the wild beckons him, and his destiny quickens its arrival… 


Eternal Love! A powerful feeling too difficult to describe but one that creates an unbreakable bond of unwavering devotion between two soulmates destined for each other. Once broken, it inflicts a deep wound into the heart that never heals. And yet, only very few are lucky enough to experience it…

St. Nicholas Fearsome Companions

January 10th, 2022

St. Nicholas Fearsome Companions

As cold December breezes serve a final blow to lingering memories of summer, with chill and snow comes a heart warming anticipation of Christmas. Expectations are high and for the most part traditional, comforting and reassuring; filling our hearts with a sense of happy togetherness and a hope for joyful feasting ahead. Urban, and rural communities alike, are set aglow during this time of the year, with strings of lights decorating streets, buildings and trees, piercing through wintery darkness with a friendly glow.
 The abundance of visual stimuli intensifies with the first signs of lavishly decorated evergreens. Some can be visible through the windows of residential neighborhoods (seemingly inviting us in, with a promise of warm hospitality), while others, splendidly decorated, compete for our attention in public spaces. Soon, there will be sounds of happy caroling thrown into the mix of lively community hustle and bustle - all heralding to the world a season marked, for the most part, by a pleasantly plump, white-bearded Santa in a red suit.

Accustomed to his gregarious presence and genuinely enjoyed by generations of children in the United States awaiting his arrival the days before Christmas with pleasurable expectations, the gift-bearing Father Christmas/ a.k.a Saint Nick/ a.k.a Santa Claus usually makes his way down through the chimney when everyone is asleep to deliver the goods. As a purely fanciful character (dressed in a red jacket garnished with white fur, loosely fitting red pants, bootstrap leather boots and a wide leather belt around his belly), Santa has evolved relatively recently from the legendary Saint Nicholas, the 4th century Bishop of Myra, and a patron Saint of sailors, merchants, repentant thieves and children. Born to wealth, he was credited in his lifetime for ubiquitous generosity and kindness, and is often portrayed in liturgical garments of the early Christian Church. The tradition of St. Nicholas as the benevolent gift-giving bishop was brought to North America in the early 1600s by Dutch settlers, who celebrated Sinterklaas on the 6th of December with a simple gift-giving tradition to “preserve a Christmas Day focus on the Christ Child,” offering a spiritual dimension to gift-giving. After years of mispronunciation, the Anglicized version of Sinterklaas turned into Santa Claus.

In 1931, the Coca-Cola company commissioned artist Haddon Sundblom to create an image of a wholesome, but fun, Santa Claus to promote their products. Inspired by Clement Moore’s 1822 poem, the image of a pleasantly plump elderly gent in a red suit was born, setting the standard for future renditions. Interestingly, in recent years there has been a resurgence in popularity of a sinister looking companion to St. Nicholas…. his legendary dark servant, Krampus, who haunted European children for centuries. According to Patrick Donmoyer of the Pennsylvania German Cultural Heritage Center at Kutztown University, the character of Krampus sprang from ancient pagan traditions deeply rooted in Austrian and German folklore, still very much present in European Christmas celebrations today. During reenactments of St. Nicholas’s Christmas visits dressed in bishop’s vestments and mitre, the shadowy presence of Krampus “provides the counterpoise of punishment” as a grizzled companion to the kind and generous bishop.

Donmoyer remarks that American children should consider themselves lucky for not living in Austria, because it is there that a ghoulish Krampus is said to wander the streets and knock on doors in search of badly behaved children to punish them. Early December, one can expect to encounter a terrifying masked figure with horns wandering about with a bundle of sticks scaring local communities. In 2011, residents of the greater Philadelphia area started their own Krampuslaaf parade, inspired by the dark side of European holiday traditions, catering to a diverse, theatrical young audience with a taste for heavy metal music and neopaganism; today continuing as part of the Parade of Spirits (a.k.a der Geischderschtrutz), that includes other aspects of Germanic lore and similar traditions from cultures around the world. Good and jolly old Santa has dominated the American Christmas scene for over a century, but his domain seems to be decreasing of late, as many Americans begin to seek holiday thrills outside their traditional cultural milieu. Intrigued by unconventional options, they delight in strange processional displays of revelers in horned costumes, whose punitive, terrifying looking characters, sometimes appear together with St. Nicholas, who brings the gifts.

Few Pennsylvanians may be aware today that “the commonwealth is the New World point of origin of an equally legendary and fearsome figure known to the Pennsylvania Dutch as the Belsnickel.” An archetype of the Wild Man, popular throughout Europe, he is typically clad in furs, dressed in patched and tattered clothes, masked, smeared in soot, carrying a whip and waving a bundle of birch switches. Crowned with horns, the Belsnickel serves as both the bearer of gifts and an agent of punishment in the Pennsylvania Dutch Christmas tradition. Long before Santa Claus, a neighbor or member of the family would play the role of the Belsnickel, but kept his identity secret from the children, who were meant to be delighted and terrified at the same time by his visitation, in an effort to prepare them for the coming of Christmas.

“In a time when presents were sparingly given,” explains Donmoyer “the Belsnickel rewarded well-behaved children with nuts, cookies or candy, while children prone to roguery were threatened with the switches. The Belsnickel distributed the candy by throwing it across the kitchen floor, and this practice served as a test of sorts. If children practiced restraint, they were rewarded. If they were too eager or greedy in reaching for it, […] they received the Belsnickel’s wrath.” Which was often a frightening experience for the children, but humorous for the adults.
As Donmoyer’s research indicates, visits from the Belsnickel were not exclusive to rural Pennsylvania: “The urban phenomenon was further enhanced by the belsnickelers’ use of the railroad to travel incognito into neighboring towns.” As reported by the Harrisburg Telegraph on December 26, 1879: “Bellsnickels in the most outlandish costumes were out in droves. They infested the stores and played on antique instruments as a prelude to passing round the hat, and generally departed with a parting salute on their tin horns. Some were quite proficient as musicians…but the majority were simply frightful….We regret to say that some of them were the worse for liquor.”

Less fearsome than the Krampus, belsnickeling in Pennsylvania was an opportunity for people, especially youths, to override some of the normal rules of social order, providing a communal context for releasing social tension, exploring alternate identities, and breaking the mold of the mundane. By the early 20th century, most Americans were expecting visits from Santa Claus, rather than the Belsnickel, or Krampus, who were eclipsed and generally faded from the Christmas holiday narrative in the United States; and yet, they persist in numerous community celebrations, festivals and Christmas markets throughout Berks, Lebanon, Lancaster, Lehigh and Montgomery counties, to terrify and delight thousands of Pennsylvanians each year. A growing number of Pennsylvanians appear to find the Belsnickel or Krampus persona to be a deliciously exotic and more exciting experience than benign visits with Santa Claus in local shopping malls. These characters once again provide an opportunity for upending social imperatives, and for challenging the predictability of a holiday fraught with social expectations, reflecting a tension between traditional values and an increasingly homogenized American Christmas experience. If interested in the tradition, check out the Black Forest Krampustnacht Festival in Jim Thorpe, PA, to be celebrated on Saturday, December 4th at Kemmerer Park, between 1 pm and 6 pm.





The First Thanksgiving

December 16th, 2021

The First Thanksgiving

Customarily, Thanksgiving, as a national day of relaxation and culinary festivity is set aside by the law of the land on the fourth Thursday in November, during which time many social activities and responsibilities (from work to schooling) are suspended, allowing citizens (if possible) a time off to enjoy their most revered, family-centric holiday next to Christmas. Honored today primarily as a civic, rather than religious gathering, it incorporates spiritual and social components of early Thanksgiving rituals that brought families and communities together for centuries in a joyous celebration of the land that fed them, and the God that brought them here; in 1789, formally declared by George Washington as “A Day of Thanksgiving” and a national holiday, with the first turkey ceremonially pardoned by Abraham Lincoln in 1864. 


In art, most of the early depictions of Thanksgiving contain placid references to a traditional New England home and landscape, communicating to contemporaries the idea of gratitude for the plentiful harvest, happy togetherness, and hope for an abundant year ahead. In time, however, a growing interest in historical genre paintings in the United States (reaching its zenith in the early 1900s), inspired a new wave of historical painters, who, as the demand grew, introduced expertly executed reconstructions of the nation’s past - particularly, romanticized compositions of the Pilgrims in the New World, to reflect the prevailing taste among art collectors at the time. Traditionally regarded as the highest form in Western art, historical paintings inadvertently played a very important role in establishing a main stream narrative of various national events, prevailing to this day.

According to art historians “The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1621” executed in oil on canvas by Pennsylvanian artist Jean Leon Gerome Ferris, epitomizes the popular demand at the time for works depicting paramount moments in US history. Completed in 1912, as a part of the artist’s ambitious project of 60 large Pageant of a Nation series of works, it illustrates the iconic meal between the early English settlers (the Puritans) and representatives of America’s indigenous peoples (the Wampanoags), set in what is today New England, and narrates their first successful harvest in a spirit of intercultural friendship. Set outdoors on a land overlooking the ocean, a mixed company of Pilgrims awaits the meal. The central figure in the painting, an elegantly dressed young woman appears to be serving food to a group of Wampanoag men squatting on the ground; she is leaning forward, in a gesture of friendship, offering a platter of roast turkey(?) to the invited guests. Behind her, a man dressed in black fineries is holding a bowl (of turkey stuffing?) appearing deeply in his thoughts. No one else seems to be eating, except for a little girl in the foreground, who perhaps symbolizes future generations of Americans born into a much better life. Gathered around a large wooden table (rendered quite accurately, as if transported to the American wilderness straight from one of Rembrandt’s paintings) are other Pilgrims standing around and chatting, while two of their women busy themselves with preparation of additional food for the assembled company. Far in the distance, more male settlers are engaged in conversation, while another smartly dressed female colonist gracefully welcomes a young Wampanoag woman to join in the festivities. The whole feeling of the painting is one of a party, a light-hearted BBQ-like gathering among neighbors, friendly and relaxed, rendered with particular attention to costumes, textures and colors.

“The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1621” became an overwhelming success, along with the rest of the 60 works in the series, soon to be exhibited in a number of prestigious locations: from Independence Hall (1913-1930), Congress Hall (1916-1918) and Old City Hall (1931) in Philadelphia, to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Almost unanimously, art critics at the time prized Ferris’s work for “reflecting meticulous research of the material culture and historical accounts.” Many were impressed with the artist’s acute rendition of Edward Winslow (one of the original travelers on the Mayflower in 1620, whom he placed in the far right of the composition holding a document), and also for including a tail-wagging water spaniel in the forefront (as it apparently also arrived on the ship that year). Many critics asserted that Ferris’s painting “depicts the idea of generosity, the only true kind that gives from frugal resources.”

Born in Philadelphia, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863-1930) was the son of prolific portrait painter Stephen James Ferris, and Elisabeth Moran, a sister of two celebrated American painters; Edward Moran (an accomplished artist of maritime paintings), and Thomas Moran (painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School). He himself was named after Jean-Léon Gérôme, a French historical painter, whose works his father greatly admired. Ferris grew up with a conviction that painting historical narratives was truly his calling - especially, after personally meeting Gérôme, who encouraged him to paint scenes from American history. Today, most of his original works are in private collections, not often accessible for viewing; however, Ferris’s images were greatly popularized after the artist sold the reproduction rights to various publishing companies, allowing for a wide proliferation of his art through various prints, postcards, calendars, blank-backed trade cards, and so on.
 New generations of art critics, especially in the 21st century, don’t seem to share the same enthusiasm for the artist’s work; in general, they are particularly concerned with the painting’s subtle but important inconsistencies in presenting history, and what can be described as “the subversion of the dynamics of power.” In plain words, when one scrutinizes “The First Thanksgiving at Plymouth, 1621” it becomes apparent that the overall composition of the work and the arrangement of figures reverses the dynamics of the original event. By turning the Wampanoag peoples into the guests and the newly arrived settlers into the hosts of the gathering, and compositionally showing Wampanoag warriors as sitting lower than the Pilgrims, it connotes a subtle message of inferiority. Further more, the artist’s depiction of the Pilgrims suggests that they weren’t starving at the time, but had plenty of food to go around, even to share with the strangers. However, in Edward Winslow’s personal account of the 1621 Thanksgiving gathering (as described in his journal Mourt’s Relation), “Massasoit [the Wampanoag leader] arrived with ninety warriors who brought five deer after a successful hunt,” while the Pilgrims had several fowl for the three-day feast as well as a bountiful corn harvest. There were also fish, lobster, clams, berries, fruit, pumpkin and squash, as “it was a collaborative and cooperative gathering, […] not necessarily religious or even monumental in nature.” Unfortunately, he also observed “the following winter, several more Pilgrims would die from malnutrition and illness.”


It is not certain how well the artist understood the ethnic and cultural differences among America’s indigenous peoples, but the Wampanoag men are incorrectly depicted here as wearing the garments and feather headdresses of the Plains’ tribes (the Sioux). The clothes worn by the Pilgrims seem in particularly good condition, considering the limited resources they had on hand after being at sea for two months, and that the women, children and the infirm had remained on board the Mayflower for six months after arrival while the building of their homes on land was in progress. Perhaps seemingly odd to us today, was the decision of the good natured artist who “did not want the Puritans to appear drab and in sad colors.” 


In summary, however, while it may be easy to criticize and dissect a painting 100 years after its completion, it is a magnificent labor of love on the part of an artist who dedicated years of his life to immortalizing this nations most heroic moments. I don’t believe that his portrayal of the Wampanoag people was meant to be derogatory, but rather an outcome of Ferris’s historic research into the customs and behaviors of other, less familiar cultures, with an intention to make us all proud. 
 Let as remember, as we join with countless households across North America to partake in that special Thanksgiving meal on November 25th, that it should always be a celebration of victorious spirit in the face of adversity, an appreciation of the things we have, and the loved ones we are blessed to celebrate it with. May the Thanksgiving Day of 2021 be filled with that heart-warming nostalgia for simpler and better times.