HYBRID IN-PERSON AND ONLINE PROGRAM

'A Summering Maker Place:' F. Holland Day's Nubians and the Limits of American Progressivism

Lori Nel Johnson, Ph.D., associate professor of art history, Morgan State University

Reception 1 - 1:30 pm 

Recent biographies of pictorialist photographer F. Holland Day (1864-1933) have lauded him as a modern master for his contributions to American art and his progressive values, particularly around gay rights, immigrant rights, and the urban poor. However, this talk will critically examine Day's philanthropic work at Little Good Harbor (LGH), his summer residence in Five Islands, Maine.

For nearly two decades, Day hosted a diverse array of American society—from affluent friends to impoverished immigrant youths. Yet, despite the appearance of a classless utopia at LGH, one group was notably excluded: Blacks. Historians often overlook this absence beyond Day's domestic staff, which not only normalizes their marginal presence in modern spaces but also ignores their contributions to American modernism, including those outside designated Black periods like the Harlem Renaissance. This talk investigates the social, linguistic, and historical processes that facilitated the exclusion of Blacks from LGH and from the narratives of Pictorialism, Arts & Crafts, and Symbolism.

$15 fee for guests and subscribers (no fee for members)