When the velvet veil was removed to reveal the most recent addition to the Katherine Dunham collection at the Missouri History Museum, eyes lit up and hearts must have melted as the portrait showed Ms. Dunham in her early years. Apparently after a long day of dance, she is slumped on a bench with her arms folded and legs open with exhaustion.
The piece is just one of several items that will be displayed in honor of the dance and anthropology pioneer, starting November 2 at the Missouri History Museum.
“I hope people look at this painting – at the eyes, the smile, the face – and come away with a powerful sense of who she was,” said Robert Archibald, president and CEO of the Missouri History Museum.
“We think it’s an important piece because it portrays somebody who was not only internationally famous, but somebody who dedicated a huge chunk of her life to the St. Louis area – especially to East St. Louis.”
Unlike many of the images that capture Dunham in motion, the portrait dubbed by the museum as Katherine at Rest illustrates her after the action – after she had poured her muscles and joints into a dance piece and was stealing a moment for her body to recover.
“The beauty and uniqueness of this painting is something that we wanted to add to our collection so that 100 years down the line, we can continue to input the African-American story in St. Louis history,” said Jacqueline Dace, associate curator for African-American exhibits at the Missouri History Museum.
It was Dace who, after months of online research on Dunham, located the piece and purchased it on Ebay for $12,500.
The painting was created by German painter Werner Philipp in 1943. It is unknown whether Dunham posed for Philipp, or just served as a mental muse. But Dunham was reportedly in the San Francisco area (where the artist worked) at the time of the painting’s creation.
Dace said when she went to pick up the painting at the antique store, “the painting was speaking to me, and it was saying, ‘I’ve finally made it home.’”
Dace says that just as the painting spoke to her, it will whisper into the spirit of a younger generation of viewers.
“This painting tells young people that there is nothing that you can’t do,” Dace said.
“It is just phenomenal the amount of work that she put into everything that she did and the people that she brought along with her – and she did this in the 1930’s and 1940’s when it was much more difficult for African Americans and females to break into these types of careers.”
At the time of the painting, Dunham’s age was estimated at 34 years, but she had already created a dance school along with establishing herself as a celebrated dancer and choreographer on stage and in film.
The painting is just one of many items in Katherine Dunham: Beyond the Dance Exhibit which will open November 2 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Dunham’s birth. There is currently an online preview exhibition at www.mohistory.org.
“The exhibit is going to look at how Katherine Dunham talked about and revealed different cultures through the art form of dance,” Dace said.
Archibald said he was a personal friend of Ms. Dunham’s beginning in 1991. His speech at the unveiling was brief but full of adulation and emotion.
Archibald said, “With her commitment to try to better the lives and provide opportunities for the people without opportunity or limited opportunities in the St. Louis, she is a model for all of us,”
Katherine Dunham: Beyond Dance will open at the Missouri History Museum on November 2. Artifacts representing Dunham’s collecting interests and dance career are currently on exhibit at the museum in the Seeking St. Louis: Reflections second-floor gallery. For more information, call (314) 746-4599 or visit www.mohistory.org.
