A time of peace, exquisitely rendered, at the Coolidge Center

Friday, August 26, 2005
A time of peace, exquisitely rendered, at the Coolidge Center

By LAURA POPE
Arts Writer

Gov. Benning Wentworth, as a leading member of early Portsmouth high
society, no doubt exulted in the luxurious 52-room splendor of his
sprawling mansion perched on Portsmouth's Little Harbor in the 18th
century.

Meanwhile, a world away in Japan, the populace were in the midst of
a new, pleasure-driven Edo period (1598 ¿ 1854), sparked by the rule
of a new Shogun who closed the borders of the heretofore war-ravaged
nation that soon became prosperous and peaceful.

Tying these two far-flung, 18th century societies together — the new
colony in New Hampshire and the ancient one in Asia, came swiftly to
Dody Kolb, the director of the Coolidge Center for the Arts, located
steps away from Benning's homestead, now called the Wentworth-
Coolidge mansion.

"I thought about the Portsmouth Peace Treaty and then quickly linked
that to the peaceful era of Japan that unfolded during the time Gov.
Wentworth lived here," recalled the North Hampton art historian,
collector and curator. "I thought of peace evolving across the
waters; the 1905 peace treaty itself here in Portsmouth and the
peace that took hold of a warrior nation. As the prints were
evolving in Japan from the 1600 to 1800s, the Wentworth mansion went
up here. It seemed a good fit; the show is about peace and what
people do in a time of peace."

The result of Kolb's brainstorm is an ambitious exhibit of 50 to 60
prints rendered by as many as 20 artists called "Peace and the
Pursuit of Pleasure" which opens Sunday, August 21 through September
5. Additionally, Kolb has added several informational panels to
supplement the prints. These panels will inform viewers about
printmaking techniques of the period and specific artists
represented in the exhibit.

Surviving artifacts of this age in the form of Japanese woodblock
prints ¿ called Ukiyo-e — depict figures such as sumo wrestlers,
kabuki actors and courtesans, surface as rare and distinct
expressions of art "showing the many pleasures enjoyed by this
society during the 18th and 19th centuries, a time of peace."

Created through the "concerted effort of artist, woodblock carver,
printer and publisher," said Kolb, "these prints reflect a fleeting
world when the emerging middle class pursued harmonious and festive
activities." During this peaceful period of time, samurai were still
the prevailing class, though merchants suddenly came into view as
the leading edge in a new wave of middle class professions.

How Kolb came to know about this particular era speaks to her long
association with Japanese art. The daughter of English parents, Kolb
studied art history and painting at three colleges, including King's
College in Cambridge. In the 1970s, she fell in love with Edo period
Japanese woodblock prints when her son, working at the antiques show
at Brimfield, spotted them in the adjacent booth.

"I bought two prints at that time by famed artist, Ando Hiroshige
(1707 ¿ 1858). This immediately opened my eyes to this wondrous
world. I was enthralled with the colors, forms and images of
another, more exotic life. Eventually, I researched the UNH
collection of Japanese prints in the mid-1980s as they have a
fabulous collection with a strong theatre or kabuki component."

A whopping 80 percent of the Coolidge show is taken from Kolb's own
collection of Edo prints; the remainder were loaned by collectors
she met over the decades.

The avid collector has long been a presence in the Seacoast and
state, serving 10-year terms on the UNH Art Gallery Board of
Advisors and on the Advisory Council for the Currier Museum of Art
in Manchester.

Sitting in her office at the Coolidge Center, Kolb enjoys a good
laugh remembering her one month of retirement before taking the role
as director of the art gallery.

"I had worked for years as the art consultant to the Home Center and
Rye and had retired for 30 days," she reminisced. "Then four years
ago, Sumner Weinbaum came looking for me. This gallery had served as
the carriage house to the Wentworth mansion but when I arrived it
sported a dirty, cement garage floor." The spacious gallery where
Kolb presides is home to several exhibits each year, featuring most
prominently the works of noted painters.

Extolling the beauty of Ukiyo-e prints made possible by Tokugawa
Shogun Iayasu, Kolb enthuses: "These prints represent art made for
masses, art that was sold on street corners." She added that when
Commodore Perry arrived in Japan in 1854, after the ports had re-
opened, the unified style of the Edo period came to an end. "Once he
arrived, the prints and many other Japanese art forms
were 'discovered' in the West and so began the great exporting of
goods, changed often to suit western tastes."

Her particular fondness for the works of Hiroshige are evident. "I
like the quiet eye and the solace you find in his work. He reveals
an insightful, quiet nature in his prints while the others are much
more ebullient."

This rare, 15-day showing of Edo prints at the Coolidge Center for
the Arts, taken together with the display of lithographs (War and
Peace: Images from the Russo-Japanese War, 1904-05) at the
Portsmouth Athenaeum and the Peace Show at the Levy Gallery, will
give art lovers a broad spectrum of displays to ogle during the
Peaceful Month of August, designated as such to honor the Treaty of
Portsmouth, which ended the war between Japan and Russia."

Kolb is following up the Japanese print exhibit with one
entitled "The Power of the Print" which will display all formats in
printmaking from block and etching to mixed media.


The Coolidge Center for the Arts opens daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
and welcomes the public to attend, free of charge. There are guided
tours of the displays on Wednesdays at 1 p.m. and by appointment for
large groups. The Coolidge Center for the Arts is located at 375
Little Harbor Road in Portsmouth, 436-6607.