The delightful AGM has concluded and, aside from my over-loaded brain, the event was better than I could have imagined, after all the special problems of the covid era. A brilliant array of speakers and topics kept us busy and fulfilled. Gillian Dow joined us on screen from England, speaking on Theatre and Theatricality, or Jane Austen and Learning the Art of Dialogue: Very engaging analysis of how Austen created such realistic characters and scenes.
The Art Institute of Chicago had an open house in several galleries where we could talk with curators about the art of the Jane Austen era. Below left, J.M.W. Turner seascape; right, Sarah Dupont by Thomas Gainsborough, 1777-79.
Above left, Lady Sarah Bunbury Sacrificing to the Graces,
Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1763-65; right, Stoke-by-Nyland, John Constable, 1836. Below, among the decorative arts; left, Gaming Set, c. 1735, Du Paquier Manufactory; right, Anti-Slavery Medallion, 1787 Wedgwood. Middle row left: Brand Cabinet, c. 1743, design by Horace Walpole, William Hallet, cabinet-maker; right, Library Ladder 1782, William France (English, 1759-1838), made for Badminton House, Gloucestershire
Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1763-65; right, Stoke-by-Nyland, John Constable, 1836. Below, among the decorative arts; left, Gaming Set, c. 1735, Du Paquier Manufactory; right, Anti-Slavery Medallion, 1787 Wedgwood. Middle row left: Brand Cabinet, c. 1743, design by Horace Walpole, William Hallet, cabinet-maker; right, Library Ladder 1782, William France (English, 1759-1838), made for Badminton House, Gloucestershire
Above, left, King Vulture 1734, Meissen Porcelain Manufactory, modeled by Johann Joachim Kandler, German 1706-75; right, Table Centerpiece, gilt bronze 1768, Denis Rene Gastecloux, London. Below, The Emporium, display of Jane Austen's Regency World magazine with a life size cut-out of Tim Bullamore, publisher, substituting in the Age of Covid.
Below, Victoria poses with speaker Devoney Looser at a Plenary Session.
Dr. Looser, JASNA's North American Scholar, spoke on Sisters and the Arts: Austens, Porters, & Beyond, comparing Writer Jane Austen and her sister Artist Cassandra Austen with Jane and Anna Maria Porter, both novelists. Adding to the fascination of the topic is the anticipation of reading the Porter novels with which I was completely unfamiliar.
The third plenary talk was presented from England by Desmond Shawe-Taylor, Surveyor of the Queen's Pictures: The Prince Regent: Jane Austen's Royal Fan. He related the story of how Prince George and his librarian, James Stanier Clarke, requested Jane Austen to dedicate her next work to the Regent. Although Miss Austen did not like him at all, she dutifully did so in the case of Emma. Mr. Shawe-Taylor went on to discuss how the Prince Regent, later George IV, although disliked by the public and considered a spendthrift and even a glutton, was a man of excellent taste who acquired many outstanding pictures which still adorn the Royal Collection, including many Dutch and Flemish Works such as the painting below, The Ship Builder and his Wife, 1633, by Rembrandt van Rijn.
I attended several excellent breakouts and special interest sessions, a wealth of experience I will recall for years to come. But I cannot finish without mentioning the costume promenade at the banquet. Below, one of our favorite outfits.
The weekend was polished off with a musicale of selections chosen from the Austen family collection by Maestro Stephen Alltop and Soprano Josefien Stoppelenburg who enchanted us with their performance, but I'm sorry my picture is so distant. Their final selection was a vigorous version of The Battle of Prague, leaving all of us in laughter.
And finally a few of our JASNA-Wisconsin delegates joined up for a last-minute photo.
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