Streeter garden, Kingfield, ca. 1910
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Curated by Tilly Laskey based upon scholarship by Marius B. Péladeau and the Stanley Museum. The Stanley Museum owns the Chansonetta Stanley Emmons Photographic Collection, currently on deposit at Maine Historical Society. Much of the collection was gifted to The Stanley Museum by Chansonetta Stanley Emmons' nephew, Raymond Stanley after Dorothy Emmons' death in 1960. Raymond recovered as many of the photographic collections as possible when Dorothy’s widowed husband Irl Whitchurch was cleaning out their home in Kingfield.
The collection includes approximately 1600 items encompassing glass plate negatives, glass lantern slides, and photographic prints. Maine Historical Society is in the process of digitizing these images, available on MaineMemory.net.
This exhibition was installed at Maine Historical Society from September 28, 2022 to March 31, 2023.
Chansonetta Stanley Emmons self portrait, Newton, Massachusetts, 1904
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Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Chansonetta Stanley Emmons (1858-1937) began her career as a painter and art teacher, but found her true calling in 1897 with the burgeoning artform of photography. Using the glass dry plate technology invented by her brothers, twins Freelan (FO) and Frank (FE) Stanley, Emmons documented the lives of people in rural and agricultural regions.
Originally from Kingfield, Maine, Emmons also lived in the Boston suburbs for over 50 years. Upon the sudden death of her husband James N.W. Emmons in 1898, Emmons raised their young daughter Dorothy Emmons (1891-1960) as a single mother. Chansonetta took Dorothy, who became her mother’s subject and student, on long journeys by car to far-flung places like Europe, Canada, and the American West, returning each summer to Chansonetta’s childhood home of Kingfield—while taking hundreds of black and white photographs along the way. Later, Chansonetta and Dorothy hand-painted about 500 glass lantern slide images that they presented with lectures to churches, educational meetings, and communities across New England.
In comparison to today’s candid digital snapshots, photography in the glass plate era required extensive staging and patience. Chansonetta set her subjects in domestic interiors and agricultural landscapes, posing them in performative scenes reminiscent of 17th century paintings. Often described as recalling a bygone era, Chansonetta’s photographs did indeed stage antiques from the past, but also documented typical rural life in Maine complete with old and new elements between 1898 to 1930, during a time of rapid change.
Chansonetta Stanley Emmons was born in rural Kingfield, Maine where she lived until she went to college. She attended Western State Normal School in nearby Farmington where she studied education and art, and in 1885 moved to the Boston region where she found work teaching drawing and sketching. She became known for her talent of painting miniature portraits.
Emmons began working in earnest as a photographer at the age of thirty-nine, after the death of her husband. She studied with her brother, photographer FE Stanley who had a portrait studio in Lewison-Auburn. Frustrated with the process of wet-plate technology, FE and his twin brother FO Stanley created a dry plate photography process, which they patented in 1885. They later invented the Stanley Steamer automobile. The proceeds from the glass plate and car patents allowed the Stanley brothers to financially support Chansonetta and her daughter, Dorothy.
Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, Charleston, South Carolina, 1926
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Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Chansonetta Stanley Emmons’s decision to dedicate her creative output to photography was unconventional but not unique for a woman. Because her brothers supported her financially, Chansonetta and Dorothy were free to explore the world through photography and art, without being bound to commissions like commercial photographers.
Chansonetta purchased a heavy, Century brand camera in 1904, and used it her entire career. Shutter speeds took between 1/25 of a second up to 3 seconds to imprint on the 5 x 7 inch glass plate negatives. To get a clear image, photographers counted off the time aloud for subjects to stay still
Dorothy Stanley Emmons
Dorothy Emmons with candle, Kingfield, ca. 1902
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Dorothy Stanley Emmons (1891-1960) was the only child of Chansonetta Stanley Emmons and James N.W. Emmons. After James died in 1898 from blood poisoning, Chansonetta raised seven-year-old Dorothy on her own. Dorothy was Chansonetta’s constant companion, collaborator, and frequent subject.
Dorothy attended Wellesley College, and studied painting in Ogunquit with American impressionist Charles Woodbury. After graduating in 1914, Dorothy returned to Chansonetta’s side as her assistant and chauffeur. After Chansonetta lost her hearing abilities in 1920, Dorothy was her mother’s translator.
Dorothy Emmons worked as a painter, illustrator, and author. She married twice, later in life—first to Harry Stoddard (1881-1943) in 1941, and later to Irl Goldwin Whitchurch (1889-1969) who she preceded in death.
Portraits by Chansonetta Stanley Emmons
Young woman in Charleston, South Carolina, 1926
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
"Aunt Hannah and Aunt Abigail," Kingfield, ca. 1898
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Making portraits involves a relationship based on shared trust between the subject and the artist. Chansonetta Stanley Emmons’ photographic work contains numerous portraits, but not what many consider “formal” portraits. Chansonetta’s intimate portraits catch her subjects in their familiar settings, with natural light. While they are highly posed, they are not contrived in a studio, as were commercially created photographic portraits of the same time period.
Although she was described as being a shy person, Chansonetta’s biographer Marius B. Péladeau noted that family and friends remembered her as charismatic, earnest, and interested in people. Perhaps it was easy to convince her relatives and neighbors in Kingfield and New Portland to pose for her, but how did Chansonetta create trust with African American tenant farmers and people outside of her immediate community?
Chansonetta’s portraits of women are glimpses into their everyday lives. During her 1926 trip to South Carolina, Chansonetta made photographs of many women—some tenant farmers working in fields, some hired maids in towns, and many of young women and children. Portraits of family members in Kingfield and New Portland are similarly respectful and intimate.
Chansonetta’s ability to make images that were collaborative—where the person in the photograph is just as important as the composition and light—produced powerful and lasting works of art.
Mr. Felder, Charleston, South Carolina, 1926
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Emery H. Butts, New Portland, ca. 1900
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Mother and children, Charleston, South Carolina, 1926
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
A Painterly Photographer
Farmer’s child, Marlborough, New Hampshire, ca. 1900
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Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Tristam C. Norton shelling corn, Kingfield, 1901
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Because it was the only light source available to her, Chansonetta Stanley Emmons used natural light for her photographs, masterfully placing white elements to accent her compositions. Her photographs were often noted as being painterly, dreamy representations of a scene.
Chansonetta’s art training and access to Boston museums likely exposed her to works by 17th century artists such as Vermeer and Rembrandt, potentially influencing her work. Both painters were masters of light, and like Chansonetta, concentrated on domestic interiors. The concept of chiaroscuro is also evident in Chansonetta’s artistic choices. Chiaroscuro is an art historical term referring to the use of light and dark to create the illusion of three-dimensional volume on a flat surface. The Italian term translates to "light-dark" with chiaro meaning bright or clear and scuro meaning dark or obscure.
Chansonetta employs chiaroscuro effects in her photographs, blacking out large portions of the background and brightly illuminating certain foreground subjects with raking light from windows, creating dramatic effects and centering the focus on her subjects. Chansonetta developed, printed, and matted all of her photographs, allowing her to customize each print. In 1933 Chansonetta said, “I think no one but myself would ever have the patience to print from many of my most interesting plates.”
Black and white photographs transformed by hand painting
Uncle Tristam at the well, Kingfield, ca. 1900
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Uncle Tristam at the well, Kingfield, ca. 1900
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Creating photographs with a bulky camera, natural light, glass plates, and slow emulsion speeds required careful planning. Chansonetta posed her subjects as if they were unaware of her presence, but these photographs are the result of hours of preparation.
By 1920, Chansonetta and Dorothy developed the slideshow of 103 glass lantern slides they hand tinted with color. Chansonetta ran the projector, and Dorothy narrated. These “Magic Lantern” shows were popular forms of visual entertainment before moving pictures became more widespread.
Images of Tristam Norton (1811-1908) include the black and white and the hand-colored glass negatives showing the difference color has on the subject.
Noonday meal, New Portland, ca. 1898
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Noonday meal, New Portland, ca. 1898
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
The black and white and hand-colored images of Chansonetta’s “Noonday Meal” feature Lucy Butts Carville, her sister-in-law Nancy J. Butts, and her brother, Reverend Emery Butts in their home in New Portland, wearing their best dresses, aprons, and waistcoat.
Nancy J. Butts wears a gigot revival puff sleeve dress popular in America in the late 1890s—therefore still fashionable in Maine in 1898. The gigot, or leg of mutton sleeve, first appeared in the 1830 and 1840s, and made a brief return in the 1890s. The formality of the outfits and table set with bone china teacups and crystal water glasses counters the metal enamel teapot held by Lucy Butts Carville.
Although the tinted lantern slide shows signs of damage, Chansonetta and Dorothy’s careful rendering of their relatives shows sensitivity and tenderness. The colored pigments on the glass metaphorically breathe life into the sitters, especially since all of the subjects in this image were deceased by the time of the hand-coloring in 1925.
The Old Table Chair
Old table chair, New Portland, ca. 1901
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Vila Walker True setting table, New Portland, ca. 1901
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
Chansonetta self-published a book, The Old Table Chair in 1909. It included her poetry and five original printed photographs. Chansonetta dedicated the book, “To the Cherished Memory of dear Old folks.”
The table chair was an actual piece of furniture that, depending on the position of the top, could be used as a table or a chair. Stanley relatives in New Portland, Vila Walker and John True, owned this piece of antique furniture when Chansonetta staged it in various positions for her photographs. Chansonetta describes the table chair in stanza one of her poem.
"Old table chair #4," New Portland, ca. 1901
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
The Old Table Chair documents three generations of a New England family on a rural farmstead—something that mirrored her own experience. The book is an early example of documentary photography showing people in their homes, doing daily work—although in these photos, they are wearing their best outfits.
The Old Table Chair
Pushed back close to the wall so gray,
It holds out its arms through all the day;
Patiently sheltering all who rest there,
Stands Grandmother’s old, red, table chair.
Long, long ago, ‘twas new and bright,
When Grandpa brought home his bride that night;
‘Twas spread out round with linen new,
And Grandma set on the dishes blue.
Joan True, New Portland, ca. 1900
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Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
The faces bend o’er it were fresh and young,
Life’s toils and endeavors were only begun;
Now I see deep marks made by restless little feet,
On its tarnished old sides and well-worn seat.
It’s now the spot where Grandma lingers,
With her basket of apples and busy fingers;
Her head has grown white with many a care,
But her dreams are sweet in the old table chair.
—Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, 1909
Emery Butts, New Portland, ca. 1901
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
About the Stanley Museum
Opened in the Stanley family's hometown of Kingfield, Maine in 1981, the Stanley Museum’s mission is to interpret the lives of the family by preserving the heritage of Stanley family genius. Francis Edgar (FE) Stanley invented the famous “Stanley Steamer” automobile, which he manufactured with his twin brother, Freelan Oscar (FO) Stanley. The Stanley Dry Plate company was also a joint endeavor of the twins. FO Stanley, along with nephew Carlton Stanley, also opened a violin making business.
Chansonetta Stanley Emmons, and her daughter Dorothy are equally important, Chansonetta for her photographs depicting rural turn-of-the-century American life and Dorothy for her paintings.
The museum uses these collections to illustrate the technical, artistic, social and economic achievements of the Stanley family and how these achievements relate to the past, present and future.
Hazel True feeding the hens, New Portland, ca. 1910
Item Contributed by
Stanley Museum on deposit at Maine Historical Society
See the Stanley Museum's collections on Maine Memory Network by clicking this link
Friendly URL: https://www.mainememory.net/exhibits/Chansonetta
