A Labor of Love © - Preface and Introduction

Preface

Vinnie Ream's story has special meaning today. In times when most people seem to be less important to the world in which they live, it is good to show that we control our own destiny. Despite her small stature, Vinnie made significant statues. She showed that anyone can forge a noble legacy despite the odds. She helped set new precedents in naturalism with portraits of Abraham Lincoln and many other notables. She gained praise as well as notoriety from a vociferous press and was ostracized by American art cliques. In a much less media-intense time than now, she became famous as one of the first women sculptors. Her name almost became a household word, but today seems strangely and unfairly forgotten in the world.

She was a woman of famous firsts. Vinnie Ream was the first woman and the youngest artist to ever receive a United States Government commission for a statue. She later built Washington's first major monument to an American naval officer and designed the first free-standing statue of a Native American to be placed in the United States Capitol Building in Washington. She was also one of the first women to be employed by the Government in the United States Postal Service. During a career that spanned over half a century, she knew five American presidents and modeled over 80 important luminaries from our nation's most turbulent era.

Vinnie Ream's environment was controversial and one of political intrigue. Perceptions about her lobbying and notions about the relative importance of her work have varied widely over the years since she died. Some enterprising manipulators of the media used every reason except art talent to explain the success she appeared to enjoy. Depictions of her ran the gamut from that of an innocent "child of genius" or "prairie Cinderella," to that of a coquettish and conniving "wench," perceptions that perhaps reveal more about the writers than their subject!

Vinnie provided the inspiration for many diverse legends; from a character in the first epic motion picture ever made, to that of an intrepid young girl who had the political clout and audacity to save a president. In truth, she had a charisma and a winning way that made an indelible impression on everyone she met. She had a rare combination of talent, tenacity, courage, personality, grace, and beauty. Many people admired this and became her allies. The Danish literary critic Georg Brandes wrote, "She has communicated to me a something good and simple that one cannot see too much of and that one scarcely ever sees at all."

Being related to the Ream family through both of my parents, I had often heard stories of this legendary ancestor while growing up in Bloomington, Illinois. Of course, Central Illinois is the Land of Lincoln and Vinnie Ream's work seemed to hold an even greater significance for us. When I grew older, I did more research. I was dismayed to read the wrong and misleading information that had been published. No doubt some of these writers were well-intending but often became immersed in their own prose, substituting fiction for fact.

Of a more destructive nature was the ridicule from self-proclaimed art critics. They belittled Vinnie with bristling tirades about her youth, her gender, her western upbringing and her lack of training. Some said her work was really done by men, a distortion that was also slung at another woman sculptor of the time, Harriet Hosmer. Vinnie took it well, without retaliation and without lowering herself to the level of her detractors. She also had many good reviews. This shows that ideas about art can be highly subjective and suggests that some unscrupulous critics had covert motives that went beyond the mere criticism of art.

This book is an overview of Vinnie Ream's life and career. The subject has been complicated by few known holographic writings and little firsthand information. An in-depth analysis of her letters is beyond the scope of this work because of the massive volume of correspondence Vinnie received and because relatively few letters written by her are known to exist. This is not a "tell all" biography, but it tells the story. I have made no conscious attempt to present a Freudian psychological profile of the artist, or analyze her "sexuality" or write a "feminist biography." These are elements that may be expected by some readers, but we have been cautious about drawing too many conclusions about Vinnie's personal life from material that is from a time that is very far removed from our own.

Some space is being allocated to topics that seem more relevant, such as events surrounding the Civil War and the impeachment of Andrew Johnson. The artist's involvement in that pivotal history warrants careful examination and it seemed necessary to denote some key political events of the period. The political experiences of Vinnie's father with Doty and Dodge in early Madison were included to help explain the early Ream family environment. From this, some insight can be gained regarding how the artist acquired her political philosophy. It also seemed important to show how the family interacted with Native Americans and study their influence on the artist. The background on Sequoyah and the Cherokee factions was included to give more insight on Vinnie's statue of Sequoyah and this fascinating but neglected topic. To simplify things, we have tried to present this entire story in a basic chronological order with a minimum of backtracking.

Vinnie Ream's influence on American politics, art and culture has seldom received the analysis it deserves. We have attempted to give it some level of study by including a variety of material from a wide spectrum of perspectives to the extent feasible in limited space. For this reason, and because of the complex nature of the subject, many speeches, letters, newspaper stories and congressional debates are given here in their original uncut form whenever possible. This has been done deliberately to let the historical characters speak for themselves and to allow readers to interpret the original material from their own experience. The fine writing and speeches by the great writers and orators of the past helps tell the story very well, but it is important to understand the historical context within which these events occurred. To meet that end, some background information has been included on the times and the people--which may help to establish the characters in this drama to some meaningful level.

Recent events in American politics are reminiscent of the Johnson impeachment and the hard ball era in which much of this story happened. If it is true that history repeats itself, some lessons can be learned. Much of this book involves Abraham Lincoln and Vinnie Ream's statue of the famous president. Despite the example set by Lincoln, American politicians have not always followed the spirit of Lincoln to act "With malice toward none; with charity for all." The backbiting and the demagoguery is still among us. Despite over a century of what we laughingly call progress, the elements of greed, avarice, power and hate are still alive and well. Vinnie Ream and Lincoln showed that there is a way to rise above the muck and mire. Abraham Lincoln had a profound influence on Vinnie. Much can be learned by a study of their similar religious beliefs, their personal traits and their approach toward others.

This book tries to go beyond a conventional biography because a life can be a complex mosaic. Above all, perhaps, it is a book about choices and shows that anything laudable seldom comes easy. Everything good or bad ultimately has its price. Something truly worthwhile is often "a labor of love" to realize. Vinnie used this Biblical expression to describe the ordeal of creating her statue of Lincoln. Some may say the saying is hackneyed and cliched, but from the start the quote caught my fascination and the title stuck. It's almost as though Vinnie wrote her own title and it was there waiting for someone to discover. It seemed very much in keeping with her own personal attitude toward life and work, and reflected my own personal odyssey in compiling this volume. I have made a deliberate attempt to include quotes and vignettes in this volume that help complement and advance this theme.

In surveying literature about Vinnie Ream, it appeared that no documented, comprehensive volume existed about her life and work. A complete study has been impossible because much of her art is lost or undiscovered. I have tried to explain her career and present a diligent assessment of her art with the hope that it can be a springboard for more research into the work of neglected artisans. We proudly present a unique study to give future generations and those who care about history an opportunity to know this great woman--and to give the framework to help judge for themselves the measure of Vinnie Ream's life and talent.

Glenn V. Sherwood - Longmont, Colorado

Introduction

Vinnie Ream was a discovery for me. At one time, I often passed a library that contained her portrait unaware she had attended the same girls<@146> school ninety years before. I first learned about this artist in 1974 after seeing her picture in a book titled Mathew Brady, Historian With a Camera. The caption simply said that she was "a sculptress and government clerk who had a studio in the basement of the Capitol." The photograph showed a small, bright, young woman with masses of curly hair. Her dress had long sleeves, a velvet trim and a lace collar. She wore a patterned shawl, a large cameo with a velvet ribbon and a squash blossom necklace with matching earrings. Her expression was a mixture of mischief, innocence and sadness.

I think it would have been easier in those younger days had I known about Vinnie Ream's existence. She was a talented and largely self-taught artist. I decided to research her life. The more I researched her career, the more clearly I saw how she took charge of her life from the time she was a small child and made use of every opportunity. She supported herself, and at times her parents, from the time she was a young woman. She was tiny, quick and a formidable lobbyist. She always demanded fair payment for her work until she married Richard L. Hoxie, an army officer. Afterward, she volunteered her services in charity work for the blind and in helping art students. Vinnie Ream was the only major woman artist to marry and have a child in her time. Her marriage, which took place in 1878, was a success. Her husband was often supportive of her career, and she was supportive of his work in the army. Despite the constant moving associated with military life, Vinnie did some of her most creative writing in correspondence and entertained on a large scale receiving a wide range of international dignitaries.

She was one of the few women artists who gave speeches that still remain and was often quoted in the press. In a 1909 address in Toronto, Vinnie Ream stated that "women have at last burst their bonds" and said that women could have both a family life and professional careers, an idea ahead of its time. Her life was often called "a romance," but in the same Toronto speech, she said it had been so happy she expected that a "terrible storm" would surely break.

That storm did break in about 1890 when Vinnie's bright little boy Richie was accidentally shot by a playmate. An air gun pellet became lodged in the boy's brain which caused a permanent injury. Although his parents provided every opportunity for development, he eventually had to be institutionalized where he later died. From my work with the handicapped, I know their trials. Vinnie tried to hide the disappointment and gave her son the greatest understanding which revealed her true character as a caring person. Vinnie was no stranger to hard times. During the Civil War she helped in the war hospitals and wrote letters for wounded soldiers. She often sang in benefit concerts for war relief and her generosity became legendary.

During the last part of her life, Vinnie Ream returned to sculpture. Near the time of her death, she began a statue of Sequoyah. In a way, Sequoyah was a memorial to the Native Americans she had known in her youth. Her first serious sculpture had been a likeness of an elderly tribal chief. Shortly before her death, Vinnie seemed to know the end was near and told a visiting reporter: "As the first sculpture I ever made was one of an Indian, so will the last one be, I believe." Years later, her namesake was the first woman named to the Chickasaw Tribal Council. Vinnie would have been proud.

Carolyn Berry Author of Vinnie Ream: Portrait of a Young Sculptor