If you’ve read Geoff Johnson’s feature on Beatrice Tonnesen in the current (March) issue of Chicago Magazine, or listened to his WBEZ interview, you know that we have learned a great deal about Tonnesen’s work from the descendants of Tonnesen’s models.  In most cases, it seems, a great-aunt or a grandmother, or maybe a dimly-remembered cousin, left behind a stack of artfully composed black and white photos, all featuring that relative in his or her youth or young adulthood.  Tonnesen seems to have been in the habit of giving her models numerous photographic mementoes of their work.  Once a photo is located and can be verified as Tonnesen’s work, either through its contents or written notations, it can provide a treasure trove of clues to help us identify or date the other photos and prints in our collections, and even learn more about how the photos were created. Continue reading →

Today on the WBEZ Chicago Public Radio program Eight Forty-Eight, director and resident photographer Jason Marck talked with journalist Geoffrey Johnson about Beatrice Tonnesen’s life. Johnson tells the Beatrice Tonnesen story in the March issue of Chicago magazine (soon on the newsstand and later on the web). A podcast is available.

The associated slideshow contains all of the photos of Beatrice Tonnesen that are contained in the Beatrice Tonnesen Catalog.

Sharon Bailey, daughter of child model Virginia Waller Wicks (1913-2006), who was featured prominently in the work of Beatrice Tonnesen from about 1916-1920, recently dug an old oil painting out of her closet. The painting had hung for decades in her mother’s home, but was stored away when her mother went into assisted living. Imagine Sharon’s surprise when she found it was signed R. Atkinson Fox on the front! Perhaps even more interesting is what she found on the back. Written in what appears to be Fox’s hand is:

No. 6

Nov 16 /24

Property of Beatrice Tonnesen

RA Fox

An undated sticker indicates that Virginia’s father had it framed at Marshall Fields in Chicago. While the landscape painting is very typical of Fox’s work, I do not recognize it as anything I’ve ever seen as a published print by Fox. The inscription makes me wonder if perhaps Tonnesen, though an accomplished painter in her own right, purchased it (and five others?) as background pieces for her photographic images. Her prints do sometimes feature outdoorsy backgrounds, but, again, I don’t recognize this one in any of the published prints I’ve seen.

The images shown at right are, top to bottom: 1. The landscape; 2. A closeup of the signature on the front provided by Sharon Bailey; 3. The inscription on the back photographed by Sharon Bailey and enhanced by Sumner Nelson; 4. A scan of a photo of RA Fox by Beatrice Tonnesen with inscription by Fox. His handwritten inscription on the photo seems to me to match the handwritten inscription on the back of the painting. This bottom image is provided courtesy Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, WI. All rights reserved. Fox collectors may recognize Fox’s photo as one used by his publishers to promote the calendars on which his artwork appeared. (See page 40 in Rita Mortenson’s 1991 book R. Atkinson Fox, His Life and Work.)

(C)2009 Lois Emerson

Lee Griffin, of Oregon, has written to tell us that white-haired, bearded “Father Time” in the print of the same name shown in our Slideshow Album 5, Image 20, was his wife's great-great-grandfather, Henry Martyn Bates (1833-1902). Mr. Griffin provided the following information.

Henry was born in Hudson, Ohio and moved with his parents to Pecatonica, IL sometime in the early 1850's. His first wife, Irene Rogers, died in childbirth in 1870. His second marriage ended in divorce. There is some evidence that he had a third wife. When he arrived in Chicago is unknown, however he died there in February of 1902. Tonnesen's images of Henry appear to have been taken in the late 1890's. A diary kept by Henry's son Isaac, indicated that he had received a letter from the Tonnesen Sisters and pictures of his father in March of 1902.

Mr. Griffin also kindly sent two images of Henry that have been handed down through the family. Neither is signed, but they look to me like Tonnesen's work. Interestingly, one of the photos shows Henry with his grandson, Douglas Bates, who was born in 1893. After studying the image, I believe that Douglas may have also modeled for Tonnesen, although he lived in Detroit and probably did not visit Chicago regularly. (Go to Album 11, Image 6 to compare “The Little Musician” with the image of Douglas Bates shown here.)

Shown at right are the two images provided by Lee Griffin, the first showing Henry Martyn Bates with Douglas Bates, and the second showing Henry with a skull. This photograph seems to have been inspired by the Albrecht Duerer painting of St. Jerome.

Other images of Henry Martyn Bates can be found on this blog in: Album 2, Image 17; Album 5, Image 15; Album 6, Image 2 and Album 10, Image 21.

© 2009 Lois Emerson

A photograph by Beatrice Tonnesen found recently by the Winneconne Historical Society in Winneconne WI, features a woman dressed as an Indian maiden. This image is the central figure in an art print titled “The Dawn of Woman” by Homer Nelson, indicating that Nelson painted from Tonnesen's photo. The distinctive headband worn by the woman appears in at least one other Nelson print, leading me to believe that he was a repeat customer of the Tonnesen Studio.

Nelson is known for his many paintings of Indian maidens in outdoor settings that adorned calendars of the 1920s and ‘30s during the Golden Age of Illustration. Fueled by the popularity of the Ziegfeld Follies and other costumed dance troupes during the pre-pinup-calendar era, Indian maiden prints were all the rage then, and maintain their popularity with today's collectors.

Shown at top right is the Nelson print as seen on page 198 of the indispensable guide to calendar art, Vintage Illustration: Discovering America's Calendar Artists 1900-1960 by Rick and Charlotte Martin. Collector's Press. 1997. Image used with permission.

Shown below the Nelson print is an image of the original untitled photograph by Beatrice Tonnesen. Courtesy Winneconne Historical Society, Winneconne, WI. All rights reserved.

Copyright ©2009 Lois Emerson