Arts and Letters: The Baker Family Papers

SUMMER 2009 89 S urviving correspondence between family members is among the most beneficial material for personalizing the distant past and recreating the lives and thoughts of our ancestors. These descriptions of everyday activities and interests enliven a historical context for the modern reader and offer a personal perspective on past events. The Cincinnati Historical Society collection holds 171 letters that are especially illuminating, outlining the activities of the family of John Baker (1793-1857) and his wife, Esther Baker (1796-1872), and children from 1812 to 1874.1 From their home at the corner of Fourth and Walnut Streets, the Bakers witnessed the development of the Cincinnati College (now the University of Cincinnati), western urban expansion, and many political and social events that affected lives in the Queen City during the first half of the nineteenth century. Most of the missives that survive in this collection were written as the result of the extended overseas studies undertaken by the Bakers’ eldest son, Nathan Flint Baker (1820-1891), in the 1840s and early 1850s. He managed to save monthly letters from family and friends in Cincinnati throughout his life, which the family of his sister , Julia, preserved in part to offer insights to like-minded peers into the undertakings of a young artist learning the discipline of sculpture in Italy. Baker was among a notable group of Cincinnatians who began to pursue careers in the fine arts in the late 1830s and early 1840s, when the town was the cultural capital of the West. Although overshadowed by others, he would undertake a number of lifesized figures and busts that can still be enjoyed today, including an ambitious project to sculpt a marble representation of Cincinnatus, the legendary namesake of the city. Nathan Baker’s artistic activity appears to have begun in earnest after his graduation from Cincinnati College. By March 1842, he The Baker Family Papers Arts and Letters: Portrait of Nathan Flint Baker (1844-45). Oil on canvas. Attributed to Emanuel Leutze (1816-1869). CINCINNATI MUSEUM CENTER ARTS AND LETTERS: THE BAKER FAMILY PAPERS 90 OHIO VALLEY HISTORY had created expressive stone busts of his father and his grandfather, Hezekiah Flint. He soon recognized, however, that his skills could be greatly elevated by studying in Italy, where the Cincinnati sculptors Hiram Powers and Shobal Clevenger had been working for a number of years. With a letter of introduction gained from art patron Nicholas Longworth, on June 17 Baker left Cincinnati for Europe. The messages that Baker wrote to his family in September and October 1842 indicated his desire to stay a year or two in Italy “to perfect himself in the art of statuary”and noted that he had obtained moderately large living quarters in Florence. He was already actively working on several busts. Minor Kellogg, another Cincinnati sculptor studying in the circle of Powers,believed that Baker was proceeding too rapidly and would be better served by first studying principles .2 Working at his own pace,Nathan competed at least one head in clay that he thought successful enough to consider rendering in marble by the end of the year. By early spring he had begun a statue of an athlete throwing a ball. The Cincinnati Museum Center collection makes evident that the regular financial support of his father, who owned real estate and residential buildings throughout Cincinnati, made possible the continuation of Nathan’s studies. The tone of the letters family members sent to Italy nonetheless reflect their dismay about delays in monetary transfers and their desire to learn Nathan’s plans. An abundance of news about the activities of people in town and the prospects of family friends also fill the correspondence. By the end of September 1843, Baker and fellow sculptor, Henry Kirke Brown, decided to relocate their studios to Rome, believing the resources and growing artistic colony there would nurture their creative process. Upon his arrival in Rome, Baker spent his first days collecting his thoughts and visiting sites and ancient relics during daily walks. A letter that he wrote to his friend, Eli Taylor, relates the impact that the city’s elements had upon him. When discussing the Forum and its classical associations...