Portrait in the Attic
In the late 1980s, we undertook the first inventory to document the variety of artifacts in our collection, including photographs, manuscripts, books, furniture, artwork, and much more. Each special piece not only adds richness to our spaces where community groups meet, but also brings to life the story we share with visitors who come for guided tours. Below is just a sample of the artwork located throughout Deere-Wiman House and Butterworth Center. In the future, we will add more pieces from our collection to this website, and to our Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/ButterworthCenterAndDeereWimanHouse where we often feature individual artifacts.
Tree at Overlook

by Mary Deere

Painting – 24’’x30’’, with frame – 30 7/8’’x 37’’ (991.107.1)

Mary Little Dickinson Deere (Mrs. Charles H. Deere) was born in 1841 in Newbury, Vermont and died in 1913 in New York City. She was the daughter of Gideon Dickinson and Judith Atkinson Dickinson and was raised in Chicago, Illinois, marrying Charles Deere in 1862. Her uncle was Charles Atkinson, who was one of the early founders of Moline. She possibly met Charles through her uncle. Mary raised two daughters, Anna Deere Wiman and Katherine Deere Butterworth. Like many proper Victorian ladies, we know that she knew how to play the piano and organ, do needlework and paint, all considered proper hobbies for young ladies at the time. It is not known when this painting was completed, although because of its subject, it had to be done between 1872 and 1913. Charles and Mary Deere built their new home in 1872 at 817 Eleventh Avenue in Moline. They named the home Overlook, probably because it overlooked the Mississippi River, downtown Moline and the John Deere Plow Works. The setting depicts the northern tip of the home’s lawn. Notice the Plow Works factory in the distance. No other paintings by Mary Deere are known to exist today.
Castles and Ruins

(BWC991.58.1)

Painting – 31’’ x 25’’, with frame – 36 ‘’ x 30 ‘’

This landscape painting demonstrates a traditional fascination with ruins. By contrasting the remains of the medieval castle with the more modest vernacular architecture, this artist presents us with a contrast of the past and the present. Romantic artists often used ruins as a means of igniting their own imaginations to envision what life was like in days gone by. In addition, because of their ruined state, such images help to remind us of our own mortality since some day we will be gone and consequently our architecture might also be reduced to ruins.
Cows Grazing

by J. Horves or Howes (BWC991.59.1) - 1908

Painting – 30’’ x 24’’, with frame – 41 1/8’’ x 35 3/16’’

This landscape painting falls into the Realist movement of the mid-late nineteenth century. At this time, largely fueled by the invention of photography, artists turned their attention to the everyday world around them. The motto was “be of your own time,” and be modern, rather than feeling that you need to illustrate ancient stories. Views of cows meandering through the landscape were typical of the Realist style begun by artists of the Barbizon school in France. Such images were easy to understand for a general audience and certainly, in the mid west, had a familiar appeal.
Genre Painting

by Karl Hetz (991.54.1)

Karl Hetz was born in 1828 in Kulmbach, Germany and died in 1899 in Munich, Germany. Hetz was a landscape and genre painter who primarily worked in Munich and exhibited in Hanover and Bremen prior to 1880. This painting was done in 1889, but reflects a genre tradition dating back to the seventeenth century. Genre painting, like landscape, appealed to a middle class audience that enjoyed the engaging quality of the various characters illustrated (even the dogs) and the fact that it was easy to understand, like reading an entertaining short story.
Still Life Painting

(991.31.1)

Still life was a popular type of painting, often used to embellish dining rooms, due to its focus on such still life as vases of flowers and bowls of fruit. Painters generally study still life during their training in art school. Flowers like these, reflect an interest in color and beauty and demonstrate the artist’s ability to capture nature. Often, too, flowers in various stages of development are used as metaphors for the human condition, traceable in its flowering from youth through old age.
Charles I

by Sir Antony Van Dyck (991.55.1) Reproduction

Antony Van Dyck was born in 1599 in Antwerp and died in1641 in Blackfrairs. This famous portrait of Charles I, King of England, is one of the great masterpieces by Sir Anthony Van Dyck who was the official painter to the king. This portrait demonstrates the seventeenth century Baroque style, characterized by rich brushwork, vibrant colors and dramatic compositions. The king looks over his kingdom and seemingly directly at the viewer as well. His authority is reinforced by his position and by the fact that he is hierarchically above all others, even the horse seems to bow to his magnificence. This copy of the original painting was probably done in the nineteenth century. Many art collectors purchased copies of museum pieces in order to embellish their own interiors and to demonstrate their knowledge of art history. In turn, many budding young artists provided these copies as they used the copy work as a means of learning from the Old Masters.
Josiah Little

by John Wesley Jarvis (991.57.1) possibly a copy

John Wesley Jarvis was born in England in 1780 and died in New York in 1840. He was a portraitist, miniaturist, sculptor and engraver. This American portrait demonstrates the Baroque tradition of providing a swag of drapery on one side, like opening a curtain on a stage set, and a landscape background in the distance, presumably representing the sitter’s estate. Portraits like this were often commissioned by Americans in order to establish a family tradition and traceable dynasty for future generations, similar to European precedents. Josiah Little was born at Newburyport, Massachusetts in 1747 and died in 1830. He was the great-grandfather of Mary Little Deere, Katherine Deere Butterworth’s mother.
Katherine Deere Butterworth

by John Doctoroff (991.53.1)

John Doctoroff was born in 1894 and died in 1970. He was a Chicago portrait artist who painted many powerful and wealthy people. Katherine Butterworth’s portrait, in contrast to Josiah Little’s, is colorful and approachable. She was born in 1866 and died in 1953 and is the central character of our program, which focuses on her life as a child. Katherine was the youngest daughter of Charles and Mary Deere and the granddaughter of John Deere. She married William Butterworth in 1892. Hillcrest (Butterworth Center) was her home from 1892 until her death in 1953. In her will she created the Butterworth Trust which supports her home and the Deere-Wiman House today.
Table Top Mirror – 13th Century Mirror for Viewing Ceiling Painting

(BWC991.132.1)

24’’ x 13’’x 5’’

This piece was purchased by the Butterworths in 1917. It was specifically used to reflect and thus easily view the ceiling painting above. When the Butterworths lived in the home, the mirror always sat on a small table towards the center of the room.
18th Century Italian Ceiling Painting

This ceiling painting is believed to have been done by the Tiepolo School during the late 1700s. This school was founded by Giambastio Tiepolo, a well-known ceiling artist. After his death, Tiepolo’s sons and apprentices continued to work. This particular mural was done for a room in the home of the Dandolo family in Venice, Italy. This elegant eighteenth century history subject tells a story about the head of the Dandolo family during the 13th century and reflects the grand European manner of painting at the time. By the mid 1910s, the Dandolo palace had become the Hotel Danneli. A New York art dealer found the painting and purchased it from the hotel. Since it had been painted on a canvas attached to the ceiling, he was able to remove it in sections. Upon its arrival in the U.S., William Butterworth purchased the painting and had the library built to its exact specifications in order to install it in the ceiling above.
Pair French Bronze Candelabra

(991.632.1 & .2)

Height 37’’

These beautiful decorative art pieces originally belonged to Katherine and William Butterworth and were used in their home Hillcrest. When Mrs. Butterworth died in 1953, the candelabra were left to her nephew and his wife, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Deere Wiman. Since then, the pieces have graced the living room mantle of Overlook (Deere-Wiman House). These are done in a combination of gilt and patinated bronze and are classical in style and subject, probably representing nikes or winged victories.
Oriental Vase

(991.622.1)

Height – 14’’

This vase is seen in a circa 1900 photograph taken inside Overlook (Deere-Wiman House). Oriental porcelain was in great demand in the late nineteenth century, both in Europe and America, after Commodore Perry’s reopening of trade with the East, following years of isolation. The dragons, often representing good luck in Asian symbolism, are colorful and decorative and might also stand for male and female counterparts by virtue of their contrasting positions and colors. The background consists of stylized cloud motifs, which may indicate that these magical creatures might be located in the celestial world.
18th Century Japanese Screen

(991.15.1)

length 92’’x width 68 5/8’’

It is not known when this embroidery entered the collection. It may have been purchased either by the Charles Deere family or the Charles Deere Wimans. Records show that members of both families traveled to the Orient and purchased oriental art through art dealers. The screen illustrates a beautifully stitched landscape with bamboo growing along a stream which is populated by graceful birds. Japanese screens, like porcelain, were popular collector’s items at the time.
Apache Harvest

by Alexander F. Harmer (BWC991.61.1) - 1903 (991.11.1) With frame – 35’’x 47 3/16’’

Alex Harmer was born in Newark, New Jersey in 1856 and died in Santa Barbara, California in 1925. He studied art in the late 1870s and re-enlisted in the army in 1881. While serving in the west he was able to illustrate the Apache wars for Harper’s Weekly, and for John G. Bourke’s An Apache Campaign in the Sierra Madre. Many of the sketches made during his years with the army were later made into oil and watercolor paintings. In the 1890s he settled in Santa Barbara where his interests changed to painting Mission Indians, Missions in general and portraits of old California families. The Butterworths and the Wimans had homes in the Santa Barbara area beginning in the late 1890s and this is probably how they became interested in Harmer’s work. The painting Apache Raiders depicts the Chiricahua Apache Indian.

Both of these paintings represent late nineteenth century fascination with Native American Indians and their settlements and habits. By this point in time, following Manifest Destiny, a wistful romanticism developed toward the Old West and a feeling that it, like the Indian way of life, was destined for extinction. Images like these as well as those by artist George Catlin focusing on Indian genre scenes are in sharp contrast to the cowboy-oriented imagery done by Frederick Remington at the same time.
Marble Bust of John Deere

by Leonard Wells Volk (991.568.1) - 1884

Height – 32’’

Leonard Wells Volk was born in Wellstown (now Wells), New York in 1828 and died in Osceola, Wisconsin in 1895. His father was a marble-cuter in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Volk worked there from 1844-48. He then moved to St. Louis, Missouri where he was engaged in marble work and sculpture. His wife’s cousin, Stephen Douglas, helped to pay for Volk’s studies in Rome. Upon his return, he operated the Rock Island Marble Works and then established himself in Chicago in 1857. He was active in founding the Chicago Academy of Design. Volk is best known for his statues of Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas.

This bust was done in the fashionable neoclassical style of the day, complete with Roman toga, lending a grand historical context in contrast to the realistic detail of the face. Besides the bust of John Deere, Volk also completed the thirty-three foot Civil War monument, located on the courthouse grounds near Centennial Bridge in Rock Island. This monument was dedicated in 1869.

John Deere’s portrait was completed in 1884, just two years before his death. He was born in 1804 and died in 1886, and invented his self-scouring plow in 1836. Deere was president of Deere & Company from 1836 until 1886. The bust has been in Overlook (Deere-Wiman House) at least since 1900. It can be seen in a circa 1900 photograph of the library, displayed exactly where it can be seen today.
Mary Deere Portrait

by Ferraris (991.21.1)

Mary Little Dickinson Deere was born in Newbury, Vermont in 1841. She married Charles Deere in 1862 and died in 1913. She was Katherine and Anna’s mother and her formal portrait may be contrasted with Katherine’s later portrait. Also, this work represents a more traditional style of American portraiture versus the marble bust portrait of her father-in-law, John Deere, done in the European classical style.
Birds of America

by John James Audubon

American Flamingo – Plate #375 - 28’’x 41’’ framed
White Headed Eagle- Plate #14 – 28’’x 41’’ framed

The 1860 Bien Edition of Audubon’s Birds of America is one of the first successful uses of the chromolithographic process of printing. The wonderful vibrant colors are typical of this medium. This edition was instigated by Audubon’s sons seven years after their father’s death. Julius Bien, a New York printer, was a pioneer in the field of chromolithography. He transferred the images from the original copper plates onto lithographic stones. The Civil War brought production of the Audubon prints to a halt, so only 150 plates were completed.

Charles Deere probably purchased the Audubon prints in the 1870s. These works were viewed both as works as art as well as scientific studies of nature. Just as American landscape appealed to Romantics who saw it as an unspoiled paradise, so were American birds and animals seen as new aspects of nature to explore. Audubon traveled along the Mississippi River in order to study the various types of birds, ultimately producing an encyclopedic view. The Flamingo is composed within a highly innovative vertical composition while the White Headed Eagle presents this important American symbol, horizontally standing over its prey. It was important to Audubon to show his birds in naturalistic poses and settings.
19th Century Portrait of a Lady

(BWC991.95.1) artist unknown

Painting – 32’’x 39’’, with frame – 38’’x 45’’

This painting originally belonged to Mrs. John Deere Cady and was a gift to the Butterworth Center. Mrs. Cady was a cousin to Mrs. Butterworth. It is believed that the woman in the painting is not a Deere family member, but just a portrait of an unknown woman. It is a pleasing and attractive view of a lovely and unknown Victorian period lady.
Miniature Portraits

992.181.1 – height 4’’ x width 3’’ (on back of portrait is written Louise de ?)

992.182.1 – height 5 7/8’’ x width 3 13/16’’ (on back of portrait is written St. Gille’s)

992.184.1 – height 6 3/8’’ x width 4’’(signed front right corner of portrait – Riviere)

All three miniatures are in circa 1900 French frames. Several of the miniatures in the Deere-Wiman House collection appear in a 1900 photograph of Mary Deere’s parlor. Miniatures like these were popular collectibles in the late nineteenth century and generally were tiny copies, hand painted on ivory, of eighteenth century Rococo paintings. The frames are usually made of gilt bronze with enamel, crystal and/or semi-precious stones. The tradition of miniature portraiture dates back to the Elizabethan Renaissance, flourishing in American 18th and 19th century portraits of loved ones. The medium was ultimately replaced by the quicker and less expensive methods of photography. These pieces, however, are not from the American portraiture tradition, but instead from the tradition of reproducing famous European works of art.
Beaded Purses

993.49.1 – length 13’’ x width 8’’, beaded purse with beaded fringe along bottom edge. In the center of the front side the beadwork depicts a castle. Mrs. Katherine Butterworth probably purchased the purse in Paris in 1905.

993.54.1 – length 10’’x width 7’’, beaded purse depicting roses with a silver engraved clasp and a chain handle. A tag, found with the purse, states that Mary Deere purchased the piece from an antique dealer in Holland, in 1878.

Clothing and accessories of the time were often handmade and demonstrated beautiful artistic detailing, as seen in these purses. Even in this period of time, antiques were valued for their historic importance as well as the understanding that they were rare and perhaps better made than contemporary pieces. Museums today value such functional pieces and exhibit them often.
Fans

993.10.1 – length 9 5/8’’
This fan probably belonged to Mrs. Katherine Deere Butterworth. It is made of black lace with silver sequins and consists of a front and back guard stick with 16 blades.

988.10.1 – length 11 7/8’’, circa 1888?
This piece was purchased from Black, Starr & Forest, New York. A fan is made up of a front guard stick, blades and a back guard stick. This fan has a front and back guard made of mother-of-pearl and has 14 blades. On the front guard is a gold fleur-de-lis and the monogram AD (probably Anna Deere, the daughter of Charles Deere). On the back guard is another gold fleur-de-lis and a deer’s head. The fan opens up to show a hand painted scene of a man kissing a lady’s hand.

Fans, like purses, were favorite decorative accessories for women. In an age of elaborate costumes and before the advent of air conditioning, they certainly served an important practical function as well. Such detailed pieces obviously go far beyond their practical function and make them decorative art objects in themselves.
Sampler (989.108.1)

22’’x 18’’

This needlework was stitched in 1800 by fourteen-year-old Mary Little (an ancestor of Mary Little Deere) who lived in Newburyport, Massachusetts. This town was a flourishing center for girls’ finishing schools. Completing a sampler during a stitching class was an important part of a young lady’s education. This sampler is recognized as one of three important samplers done in Newburyport in 1799, 1800 and 1801. They are all similar in design. Each bears the trademark of a teacher’s imagination, stimulated by commerce with the tropics. All show black slaves waiting upon gentlemen and ladies and have orange trees and other tropical features. Perhaps one girl a year was allowed to use this subject as a reward for her deftness with the needle.
Grandmother’s Trunk

by Alex F. Harmer (991.28.1)

Painting – 20’’x 16’’, with frame – 28’’x 24’’

Alex Harmer was born in 1856 and died in 1925. He was primarily known for his paintings of Apache and Mission Indians, as illustrated earlier. This genre scene represents a fascination with exploring old objects from the past. It is this painting, which in our story inspires young Katherine to go up to the attic with her friends to see what kinds of treasures from her ancestors await her.
The Road-Winter

by Currier & Ives (991.110.8)

Print – 12 3/8’’x 10’, with frame – 13 11/16’’x 11 3/16’’

The firm of Currier & Ives is considered the most famous lithography company in America, founded by Nathaniel Currier in 1834. In 1852 Currier hired James Merrit Ives and made him a partner by 1857. Many of their lithographs were reproduced from original paintings by leading artists of the day. The relatively cheap and easily mass-produced prints made them affordable to the greater public. They were extremely popular and collectible images in their own time and they are important to our time as well since they allow us to instantly view the American mid-nineteenth century world.
American Railroad Scene

by Currier and Ives (BWC991.110.3)

Print – 17’’x 12’’, with frame – 18 1/8’’ x 13 1/8’’

The firm of Currier & Ives is considered the most famous lithography company in America, founded by Nathaniel Currier in 1834. In 1852 Currier hired James Merrit Ives and made him a partner by 1857. Many of their lithographs were reproduced from original paintings by leading artists of the day. The relatively cheap and easily mass-produced prints made them affordable to the greater public. They were extremely popular and collectible images in their own time and they are important to our time as well since they allow us to instantly view the American mid-nineteenth century world.
Etching of Abraham Lincoln

by Henry Taylor, Jr. (991.20.1)

With frame - 22’’x 20’

In the history of American portraiture, two subjects seemingly had an inexhaustible demand: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. In the time of Washington, oil painting copies of famous portraits satisfied a ripe market for artists like Gilbert Stuart. With the advent of cheaper printing media and photography, as well as the emotion stirred by his assassination, images of Abraham Lincoln by various artists like Henry Taylor, Jr. were very popular and readily available to the public.
Unknown Woman Portrait

(991.37.1)

Painting – 24 3/8’’x 27’’, with frame – 28 1/8’’ x 31’’

This early nineteenth century American portrait is the main subject of our Portrait in the Attic program. Her identity is unknown, but it is presumed that she must be a Deere family ancestor. Her elaborate hairdo demonstrates a certain social position as does the quality and detail of her clothing and jewelry. She holds a book, perhaps indicative that she is well-educated, or if religious in nature, that she is pious. Her facial expression is open and intelligent and she will hopefully inspire some interesting stories from our visitors.
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