Thesis: Brogan

Thesis: Olivia Brogan

Widening Perspective: An Examination of Edith Standen, the Art Secretary to the Widener Art Collection at Lynnewood Hall

This thesis studies the Widener Art Collection amassed by Peter A. B. Widener and his son Joseph during the American Gilded Age. As a new monied Philadelphian, Peter Widener used his art collection to demonstrate social status, and built a palatial family estate, Lynnewood Hall, to exhibit the collection. Both Widener men valued the ways in which art enriches the human experience and opened the private collection to the public. The motives and methods of private art collecting in the United States between 1880-1920, the creation of the Widener fortune and the stories of Peter A.B. Widener and his son Joseph are examined, as well as the creation of Lynnewood Hall to understand the specific domestic architectural context built for the Widener collection. These first examinations provide the context for Edith’s arrival at Lynnewood Hall. Finally, the life and work of Edith Standen are the focus of the thesis as a means of obtaining insight into the collection as it hung at Lynnewood Hall through its donation to the National Gallery of Art.

Historic image of Edith Standen taken during her time U.S. military as a member of the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives Program during World War II (Monuments Men and Women Foundation).

Lynnewood Hall, as it stands today (Brogan, 2017).
This thesis argues Edith Standen (1905-1998) played an influential role as Art Secretary at Lynnewood Hall by presenting the collection to the public, establishing the history and provenance of the artworks, and preparing the collection for its exhibition at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington, D.C. Today, Lynnewood Hall maintains its lavish outward appearance, but the glory of its interiors including its finely curated art collection is long gone. The work of Edith Standen serves as a means for the Lynnewood Hall Preservation Foundation, the present owner, to develop interventions to reintroduce an artful presence into the empty Gilded Age mansion. The Widener Collection will never return to hang on the walls of Lynnewood Hall, but interpretations of art presentation at Lynnewood Hall have the potential to bring back the aspects of the original feel and intention of the place.
The Van Dyck Room in Lynnewood Hall c.1910s. This gallery displayed works from the artist Anthony van Dyck, and it was likely the favorite gallery space of Peter A. B. Widener (Original source unknown).

The First Gallery in Lynnewood Hall, c.1920s—likely after Joseph Widener began to weed the collection down from a colossal number of works to only the finest pieces (Original source unknown).