|
Listen
to Marilyn Nelson Read
her Poems from
The
Freedom Business: Connecticut Landscapes Through the
Eyes of Venture Smith
on view through June 24, 2007
Visit the Calendar for
related programs.
 The
Freedom Business features poems by Connecticut’s Poet
Laureate Marilyn Nelson that were inspired by the life of Venture
Smith (c. 1729-1805), a former slave who purchased his freedom
and that of his wife and children.
The poems are paired with paintings
from the Museum’s collection to help visitors imagine the landscapes
in which Venture traveled, toiled, and eventually triumphed. By
using the very personal media of art and poetry, the exhibition offers
an intimate approach to a complex period in Connecticut and American
history.
Many thanks to Ira Sakolsky at Riverway
Studio and Geoff Cox at NetNoise for
their help in bringing these poems to the web. Many thanks also to Marilyn Nelson's publisher, Wordsong, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, for permission to use these poems in the exhibition and on the Web site. The poems will be published in the forthcoming book, The Freedom Business: A Life of Venture Smith by Marilyn Nelson and Venture Smith (Wordsong, an imprint of Boyds Mills Press, 2008).
How I came by my name
This poem, shown without a Connecticut painting,
reminds us that Venture Smith’s story begins in Africa, before
his capture, and transport to America.
Whispered Plans (c.1751)
Gregory Smith (1880-1960) Moonlight, c.
1914
Oil on canvas, 32 x 40 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
MEG
after Leopold Senghor
Emil Carlsen, Night, Old Windham, 1904
Oil on canvas, 50 1/2 x 40 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Fat on the Fire (1752)
Bruce Crane (1857-1937) The Red Barn, 1920
Oil on artist board, 17 x 21 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of Mr. Charles T. Clark
December Moonrise
Clark Greenwood Voorhees (1871-1933)
December Moon Rise, c. 1908
Oil on canvas, 28 1/4 x 36 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Work-Song
Louis Paul Dessar (1867-1952) The Wood Chopper,
1906
Oil on canvas, 28 x 36 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of Mr. Fenton L.B. Brown
Aubade (1768)
Charles Ebert (1873-1959) Winter Evening, n.d.
Oil on canvas, 21 x 28 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Sailing to Saybrook (c.1766)
Allen Butler Talcott (1867-1908)River Island,
c. 1900
Oil on wood panel, 16 x 20 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Cows in the Shade (c. 1770)
Edward C. Volkert (1873-1935) In the Shade,
n.d.
Oil on canvas, 20 x 24 inches
Florence Griswold Museum;
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Sap Rising
Dawson-Dawson Watson (1864-1930) Early Morning
on the Farmington, c. 1894
Oil on canvas, 22 x 18 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Mingo
Charles Davis (1856-1933 )Hillside Road, Mystic,
Connecticut, 1924
Oil on canvas, 20 x 27 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Farm Garden
Worthington Whittredge (1820-1910) A Farmer’s
Garden in Simsbury, 1875
Oil on canvas, 15 x 9 5/8 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
The Incident of the Clams (c.1785)
Charles Davis (1856-1933)
Twilight over the Water, 1892
Oil on canvas, 13 x 21 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
Freedom Business (c. 1790)
Edward Rook (1870-1960) Laurel, c. 1905-1910
Oil on canvas, 40 1/4 x 50 1/4 inches
Florence Griswold Museum
Gift of The Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Company
|
