Historic painting now on display at Riverview

Tuesday, April 13, 2004

The portrait of little Lottie Wright, who died at only 12 years old of typhoid fever in 1888, could have been given to any number of museums. The portraits painter, Carl Gutherz, is known for painting Confederate States of America President Jefferson Davis, Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee and the ceiling of the Congressional Reading Room in the Library of Congress. His paintings have been shown in The Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., at The Speed Art Museum in Louisville and at the Old Capitol Museum of Mississippi History, in addition to many other places. But the owner of Lotties 1881 portrait, Pat Wright Strati of Fairfax, Va., wanted a real home for the painting of the little girl, who was a distant relative. So she gave the portrait to Riverview at Hobson Grove, Bowling Greens only historic house museum. Basically, Im a country girl, and this is off the beaten path and off the hubbub of a major city, she said. Strati knew about Hobson Grove because years ago she roomed at Stevens College in Columbia, Mo., with George Anna McKenzie, who lives here and is a descendent of the family who built Riverview. When she mentioned to McKenzie that shed like to donate Lotties portrait to Riverview, McKenzie was touched. We have been friends a long time and its a very good present, said McKenzie, who is a member of the Riverview Commission that oversees business matters for the home. Im so honored that they would want us to have this. Strati brought the portrait to Riverview on April 2. It was quickly hung in the dining room. As McKenzie and Strati looked at the painting that day, McKenzie said, I just think its absolutely beautiful. Strati looked at McKenzie, and back at the portrait, and said, Lottie always reminded me of you. Riverview Director Sam Terry said the painting is a perfect fit for the old home, which was once saved from destruction by the Confederate Army because Union-sympathizing owner Atwood Hobson allowed the Confederates to store munitions there during the winter of 1861-62.We are delighted to have this wonderful painting come into our collection, Terry said. Its certainly one of the most quality pieces of art we have in the home, and certainly its from the period in which the Hobson family lived in the home. Atwood and Julia VanMeter Hobson began building Riverview in the 1850s. Construction was halted by the Civil War, but the home was completed in 1872.Terry said items now being accepted into Riverviews collection, which includes many original Hobson family pieces, must be from the period in which the home was built and when Julia and Atwood Hobson lived there. Last week, he showed what he considers some of Riverviews most interesting pieces. One was a landscape of the old Bowling Green Water Works, painted by Julia VanMeter Hobsons niece, Juliet Price, in 1892.Prices aunt Julia wanted to support her being an artist by a profession, so she underwrote her activities, Terry said. Julia Hobsons support of her niece as an artist was very forward thinking in a time when women were rarely encouraged to have professions, much less those in art, Terry said. Besides that, Juliet Price was a real character. At Western (Kentucky University), there is a portrait of Juliet Price in her studio. Shes sitting in a huge wicker chair very Victorian, Terry said. Theres a bear-skin rug on the floor and Price is surrounded by copies shes done of works by the old masters, as well as Japanese fans. Another interesting portrait at Riverview is of Atwood Hobsons uncle, Jonathan Hobson, the first of the family to come to Bowling Green, from Greensburg in the 1830s, Terry said. But the neat thing about Uncle Jonathan is that he was county court clerk and circuit clerk, and in his will in the 1860s, he freed his slaves. A portion of the proceeds from his estate were to pay for those slaves to have passage to Monrovia in Liberia. Terry doesnt know if the slaves ever got there, but he said the tale is interesting because it reminds him of the story of Warren County slave owners Joseph Rogers Underwood and Elizabeth Cox Underwood, who sent their slaves to Africa. While the Underwoods gesture was noble, the final result was unfortunate, Terry said, because the slaves couldnt cope with the climate and food there, and most of them ended up dying. Family portraits abound at Riverview. One, by Atwood and Julia Hobsons granddaughter, Margaret Hobson, is of her father, William Hobson. The photograph on which Margaret Hobson based the painting shows her father in his Union Army uniform. Margaret Hobsons touch is on a few Riverview pieces, including a pair of once broken Old Paris vases she repaired and gilded herself. Terry said Margaret Hobson, who never married, was an unclaimed treasure, as were many members of the Hobson family who never married for various reasons. Original photos of such family members can be seen at Riverview, some in original photo albums. Photos were something to be treasured during the time Riverview was in its heyday, Terry said. Most people couldnt afford to have photographs. Other Hobson family pieces include the dining rooms Empire table, chairs and sideboard, which McKenzie donated. The Hobson familys piano is displayed in the homes front parlor, where a turtle top table sits with a carved dog on its stretcher. While the table is not a family piece, Terry finds it interesting because it is representative of the fact that the Victorians loved to bring nature indoors. It was a very popular phase, he said. The Victorians love for bringing nature inside resounds throughout the old home. A pair of vases in the upstairs hall are hand-painted with tiny birds nests. Terry said the vases are also interesting because they came from Smiths Grove and were a Christmas gift in 1887 from Thomas W. Allen and his sisters, Hattie and Ethel, to their parents. Thomas daughter, Louise Allen Greene of Smiths Grove, gave these to the house, Terry said. Many of the pieces in the home are gifts. A young couple from Scottsville had inherited the hair receiver from a grandmother, Terry said as he showed off the small piece in a bedroom. Women of the era often saved their hair in small receptacles and wove it into jewelry. They noticed we didnt have one and a few weeks later brought it to the house. The receiver sat in a room that held a mix of items that had been given by Hobson family members and community members, and items that had been bought especially for the home. Items bought especially for Riverview include a daguerreotype of a child and dog but the picture obscured another treasure. When we acquired this piece in 1991, it seemed a little loose in its case, and what was behind it was this photograph of a Union soldier, Terry said, showing both pictures. Its quite valuable. Another piece bought for the home is a foot stool that boasts legs made of horns. While some consider it tacky, Terry said, its just the kind of thing that makes Riverview more than a museum. Horn furniture was a fad, he said. You take such things out of here, and its not a real home. Riverview at Hobson Grove is open for tours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 for adults, $2.50 for students, $10 for families and free for children younger than 6. Discounts are available for groups of 20 or more. But groups must schedule tours a week in advance. For more information about Riverview at 1100 W. Main Ave., call 843-5565. Daily News ·813 College St. ·PO Box 90012 ·Bowling Green, KY ·42102 ·270-781-1700