A View From the Stacks: Walter Chrysler Jr. Was Not the Only Collector in the Family…

After leafing through Jean Outland Chrysler’s records in our library last week, this week I turned to four heavy folders sitting next to her files. These folders were chalk-full of documentation on Edgar and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch. Bernice was Walter’s older sister, and like Walter, made a significant impact on the art world. She and her husband, Colonel Edgar Garbisch, compiled a very impressive naïve art collection, a personal collection which is still considered to be one of the most extensive in the United States.

As an inseparable duo, Ed and Bernice were known for doing everything as a team. They gained the reputation for being generous and friendly, taking an active interest in collecting art together. In one interview, Ed stated, “We pick our art as we do everything else – together” (Palm Beacher, 1975).

The couple became very passionate about collecting art, maintaining much of it in their beautiful Cambridge home, Pokety Farms. Although they had an impressive Impressionist collection, they were particular charmed by American naïve paintings.

As an art history major, I admit that before this week I did not have much knowledge of naïve art. But as I read more about it, I quickly began to understand why it greatly charmed Ed and Bernice. Colonel and Mrs. Garbisch were inspired by the paintings’ ability to capture early-American daily life in a genuine way. Thought to generally be done by self-taught artists, naïve art typically takes on the form of genre-painting, implementing a strong use of color and flat detail.

Regarding their introduction to American naïve paintings, Colonel Garbisch remembered, “we saw in these works of art those unique qualities of simplicity, forthright directness, and creative vitality in color and design which set them apart as being indigenous to our country” (Palm Beach Life, 3/1967). They found much pride in collecting this type of art, which they saw as a celebration of our past as a nation.

So, while Walter may have been the largest art collector in the Chrysler family, Bernice was not far behind. Currently at the Chrysler, over ten works from the Garbisch collection of naïve painting are on display. These include Edward Hicks’s famousWashington at the Delaware (oil on canvas, 1849) and Joshua Johnson’s Mrs. Abraham White & Daughter Rose (oil on canvas, c. 1808-09). Make sure you stop by to take a look at these charming examples of American folk painting!

 - Jamie Sawyer, 2011 Library Archives Intern






Washington at the Delaware (oil on canvas, 1849)











Mrs. Abraham White & Daughter Rose (oil on canvas, c. 1808-09