Martha Ann (sometimes Anne) Honeywell (1786–1856) was an American disabled artist who produced silhouettes and embroidery using only her mouth and her toes, often in public performances.
Martha Ann Honeywell | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1786[1] |
| Died | 1856 (aged 69–70)[1] |
| Known for | Silhouettes and embroidery |
Early life edit
A native either of Lempster, New Hampshire,[2] or of Westchester, New York,[1] Honeywell was born without hands or forearms, and had only three toes on one foot.[2] One of her advertisements claimed she stood only three feet tall.[3]
Career edit
Honeywell was known for her silhouettes, paper cutouts, needlework, and penmanship. She became a public performer around the United States, displaying her talents. During one such display, recorded by diarist William Bentley, she threaded a needle and embroidered with her toes and mouth; balanced scissors with her mouth and arm stump to make paper cutouts; and wrote a letter with her toes. Besides silhouettes, another of her specialties was a cutout with a handwritten version of the Lord's Prayer at its center.[4]
Many of her public appearances are documented in newspaper advertisements. According to these she would perform three times a day, each show lasting two hours and costing fifty cents a ticket. One broadside indicates silhouettes would be cut in a few seconds for twenty-five cents, half-price for children. Honeywell appeared in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1806 and 1809; Charleston, South Carolina in 1808 and 1834–5; in New York City in 1829,[5] and in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1839. She was in Boston in 1806.[2] In 1832 she is recorded as having appeared in Richmond, Virginia.[6] A broadside also indicates that she traveled to Europe, where her work was well received.[7] On many occasions, Honeywell appeared in the company of another, similar disabled artist, Sally Rogers.[8]
Collections edit
A paper cutout by Honeywell featuring the Lord's Prayer, dating to around 1830, is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[9] The New-York Historical Society also has a Lord's Prayer cutout by Honeywell.[4] An undated silhouette of a lady is owned by the Smithsonian American Art Museum.[10] The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum owns another cutout with the Lord's Prayer[11] as well as a broadside advertising her work.[12] Two of her silhouettes are owned by Historic Deerfield.[8] A silhouette of E. Tupper is held by the American Antiquarian Society.[13] The historical society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania owns an example of her work as well.[14] A group of silhouettes by Honeywell were featured in a 2001 exhibit called "Ordinary Folks, Extraordinary Art" at the Macculloch Hall Historical Museum in Morristown, New Jersey.[15]
References edit
- ^ a b c "Disability History Association Podcast Interview with Laurel Daen December 2018" (PDF). Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ a b c Gerard C. Wertkin (August 2, 2004). Encyclopedia of American Folk Art. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-95614-1.
- ^ "Silhouette Artists Born Without Arms ©". Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ a b "Meet Martha Ann Honeywell, the Silhouette Artist Who Captivated 19th-Century America". Behind The Scenes. January 14, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
- ^ "Peale's Museum (advertisement)". The Evening Post. August 13, 1828. p. 3. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Raleigh Lewis Wright (1983). Artists in Virginia before 1900: an annotated checklist. University Press of Virginia. ISBN 978-0-8139-0998-1.
- ^ Daen, Laurel (May 24, 2017). "Martha Ann Honeywell: Art, Performance, and Disability in the Early Republic". Journal of the Early Republic. 37 (2): 225–250. doi:10.1353/jer.2017.0019. S2CID 148600862. Retrieved March 24, 2019 – via Project MUSE.
- ^ a b "Collections Database". museums.fivecolleges.edu. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "Cut-paper Card with The Lord's Prayer, ca. 1830 Martha Anne Honeywell". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Archived from the original on July 15, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "Lady". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "Colonial Williamsburg Online Collections". emuseum.history.org. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "Colonial Williamsburg Online Collections". emuseum.history.org. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "E. Tupper · Silhouettes: An Illustrated Inventory of the American Antiquarian Society". Americanantiquarian.org. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ "M. A. Honeywell | Found in Collection". July 2, 2014. Retrieved March 24, 2019.
- ^ Filler, Marion (November 2, 2001). "Exhibit Celebrates the Art of Ordinary Folk". Daily Record. p. 77. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
External links edit
- Daen, Laurel Richardson, "Art/Self: Martha Ann Honeywell and the Politics of Display in the Early Republic" (Master's thesis, College of William and Mary 2011).