Post by Okwes on May 30, 2006 15:39:57 GMT -5
Collection of American Indian dolls on exhibit
The Daily Press
Friday, May 19th, 2006 10:26:16 AM
www.ashlandwi.com/dailypress/index.php?sect_rank=4&story_id=20965\
3
Nearly 200 rare American Indian dolls will be on exhibit at the Madeline
Island Museum this summer. Small Spirits: The Crandall Collection of
American Indian Dolls is on loan to the museum from Jean Dyer Reese,
granddaughter of Wisconsin pioneer photographer H. H. Bennett. Bennett
started a photography studio in Kilbourn City, Wisconsin (now Wisconsin
Dells) shortly after the Civil War and began taking pictures of the
Ho-Chunk people who had called the region home for centuries before
European contact. Bennett's daughter, Nellie Crandall, also took a
strong interest in Native American culture and, in particular, their
arts as expressed through handcrafted, traditional dolls.
In 1920 Crandall began collecting American Indian dolls with the goal of
broadening the scope of her collection to eventually include dolls
representing the artistry of every tribe in North America. She continued
to collect until her death in 1951, whereupon her daughter Lois Musson
continued collecting. Both Crandall and Lois Musson meticulously
documented the names of the doll makers and the tribes they represented.
By the time of Musson's death in 1972, the collection contained nearly
500 dolls.
The Crandall Collection was acquired by the Wisconsin Alumni Research
Foundation which employed doll experts to catalog and photograph each
doll in the collection. In time, the collection reverted to the Bennett
family — Jean Dyer Reese and her husband Oliver Reese.
Comprised of 200 dolls from the Crandall Collection and representing
most of the tribes of North America, the Small Spirits exhibition was
previewed at the H. H. Bennett Historic Site in Wisconsin Dells from
2003 to 2005. Of particular interest are those dolls made by artists
representing northeast woodland tribes, like the Ho-Chunk, Menominee,
Ottawa, Mahican, Cayuga, Seneca and Mohawk, since the doll making
traditions of these tribes reflect the cultures and environments found
throughout the northern Great Lakes region.This showing at the Madeline
Island Museum is only the second time the collection has been on public
display.
The Museum opens for the 2006 season on Saturday, May 27 and will be
open through October 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For additional
information on the Small Spirits exhibit, summer programs, admission
rates or group tour opportunities, call the museum at 715-747-2415 or
visit the Museum's website - www.wisconsinhistory.org/madelineisland.
The Daily Press
Friday, May 19th, 2006 10:26:16 AM
www.ashlandwi.com/dailypress/index.php?sect_rank=4&story_id=20965\
3
Nearly 200 rare American Indian dolls will be on exhibit at the Madeline
Island Museum this summer. Small Spirits: The Crandall Collection of
American Indian Dolls is on loan to the museum from Jean Dyer Reese,
granddaughter of Wisconsin pioneer photographer H. H. Bennett. Bennett
started a photography studio in Kilbourn City, Wisconsin (now Wisconsin
Dells) shortly after the Civil War and began taking pictures of the
Ho-Chunk people who had called the region home for centuries before
European contact. Bennett's daughter, Nellie Crandall, also took a
strong interest in Native American culture and, in particular, their
arts as expressed through handcrafted, traditional dolls.
In 1920 Crandall began collecting American Indian dolls with the goal of
broadening the scope of her collection to eventually include dolls
representing the artistry of every tribe in North America. She continued
to collect until her death in 1951, whereupon her daughter Lois Musson
continued collecting. Both Crandall and Lois Musson meticulously
documented the names of the doll makers and the tribes they represented.
By the time of Musson's death in 1972, the collection contained nearly
500 dolls.
The Crandall Collection was acquired by the Wisconsin Alumni Research
Foundation which employed doll experts to catalog and photograph each
doll in the collection. In time, the collection reverted to the Bennett
family — Jean Dyer Reese and her husband Oliver Reese.
Comprised of 200 dolls from the Crandall Collection and representing
most of the tribes of North America, the Small Spirits exhibition was
previewed at the H. H. Bennett Historic Site in Wisconsin Dells from
2003 to 2005. Of particular interest are those dolls made by artists
representing northeast woodland tribes, like the Ho-Chunk, Menominee,
Ottawa, Mahican, Cayuga, Seneca and Mohawk, since the doll making
traditions of these tribes reflect the cultures and environments found
throughout the northern Great Lakes region.This showing at the Madeline
Island Museum is only the second time the collection has been on public
display.
The Museum opens for the 2006 season on Saturday, May 27 and will be
open through October 7 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. For additional
information on the Small Spirits exhibit, summer programs, admission
rates or group tour opportunities, call the museum at 715-747-2415 or
visit the Museum's website - www.wisconsinhistory.org/madelineisland.