June 27, 2024 • 13 mins
Dr. Sarah Woodbury, Curator of Art at the Barry Art Museum and host Louisa Maxwell delve into the life and legacy of Martha Jenks Chase. Dr. Woodbury takes you through the "Progressive Kindness" exhibition at the Barry Art Museum, highlighting how Martha's progressive values and medical background fuelled her creations. Uncover the profound impact of Martha's work on both nursing education and children's intellectual growth, as we explore the intersection of art, medicine, and social reform.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:09):
Welcome to the Doll Podcast.
I'm your host, louisa Maxwell.
It's part two of our podcastabout a very special American
doll maker, martha Jenks Chase,who used dolls as tools of
social change and innovation.
Although she was born in theVictorian era, martha was an
advocate of progressiveprinciples, supporting the
(00:31):
rights of women, workers andacknowledging that human rights,
equality and welfare wereprinciples that everyone should
enjoy.
In our last episode, we exploredhow she brought these
principles into the realm ofdoll making, starting a company
that would benefit her communityfor almost 100 years.
Martha Jenks Chase is thesubject of the current
(00:54):
exhibition at the Barry ArtMuseum in Norfolk, Virginia, USA
.
In part two, we explore Chase'slife and times and her social
contribution with my guest, DrSarah Woodbury.
Curator of Art at the Barry ArtMuseum, Sarah has curated the
museum's exhibitions on dollsand automata since 2020.
(01:16):
Sarah, welcome to the DollPodcast.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Thank you and, as always, it's a pleasure to be
here.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Sarah the Barry's exhibition is called Progressive
Kindness.
How does this describe MarthaChase's philosophy and the dolls
she was inspired to create?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, the title ties very much into Martha Chase's
philosophy as a progressive erareformer era reformer.
During the late 19th and early20th centuries, a lot of middle
class and upper class womenespecially became interested in
social concerns of the day, andwith Martha Chase in particular.
(01:54):
Her concern was with publichealth and she saw making dolls
as a way of addressing publichealth issues, not only in terms
of hygiene but especially withher hospital training dolls
education.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Well, all these values she put together created
a product that was very much indemand.
She not only made baby dolls,child dolls, but then she began
to make literary characters,which again was something that
would stimulate her youngaudience of children.
Are some of her storybook dollsincluded in the exhibition?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yes, I'm very glad you asked that because we do
have in the Berry Art Museumcollection examples from the
Alice in Wonderland set and ifyou come to the museum you'll be
able to see that set on view.
And they're marvelous dolls.
They look very different fromsome of the other public health
dolls and the children's dollsbecause they are representing
(02:48):
these fantastical characters.
We have Tweedledum andTweedledee, for example, and
other characters in the group.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Martha Chase stressed the educational aspect of her
dolls.
How were her dolls used inschools for educational purposes
?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, one of the most fascinating dolls that she
created, in my opinion, were thehospital training dolls, and
these were actually geared foradults, particularly nursing
students, and these werelife-size dolls that essentially
were the precursors of thetraining mannequins we see in
hospitals today, so they weredesigned for basically learning
(03:25):
how to do different types ofmedical procedures.
You would not only wash thedolls, but you could practice
giving them injections, forexample, or other basic nursing
procedures.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Coming from a medical family, she manages to make
this a wonderful, useful tool,and yet it is a life-size doll,
exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
What I find so interesting about the story of
the doll is it really shows howMartha Chase is using her
expertise to make a contributionto the medical field as a woman
.
As we all know, in the 19th andearly 20th centuries it was
very difficult for women to goto medical school because of
social constraints.
At the time, the idea thatbeing a doctor was not an
(04:06):
appropriate profession for awoman was very prevalent at the
time.
Martha Chase has this medicalfamiliarity due to her
upbringing and her marriage andwhatnot, but by working on dolls
more specifically, it's a wayof contributing to the medical
field, arguably in a way thatwas more long-lasting than
becoming a doctor in her ownright, because she developed
(04:28):
these dolls that then were usedin hospitals across the country
and subsequently influencedmannequin design and hospital
training to this day.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
It must have saved lives.
Today we use them to learn CPR,all kinds of emergency
procedures the way we're linkingMartha Chase with her
progressive values, and I thinkthat's one of the things that's
really interesting about thisexhibition.
Do you think she managed tomake that meaningful progressive
social statement that shewanted to in the beginning?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
for children that could be played with and cleaned
.
But to me what's so strikingabout her legacy is the
long-term impact on the medicalfield in terms of training.
One reason why Martha Chase wasable to make a contribution to
society the way she did wasn'tjust her familiarity with the
(05:22):
medical field but also herrelative privilege as a white
woman of relative means livingwithin a New England community
under a well-regarded family.
That was part of what compelledher to embark on these
progressive reforms throughDahl's was that she was in a
position of privilege and waslooking at working classes and
(05:45):
other members of society andasking, well, how can I use my
position of wealth and relativepower to make a difference?
And her response was throughthe dolls.
Even if with like the medicaltraining dolls, we don't
immediately recognize the legacyof that, but just having the
presence of those trainingmannequins and how they have
educated generations of nursesand doctors and other
(06:08):
practitioners.
That's how we experiencedMartha Chase.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
The guest curator for this exhibition of Martha
Chase's work was artist BrettDay-Windham, a multimedia artist
who has exhibited throughoutthe United States.
How did Brett view the work ofMartha Chase?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Brett got really involved in the research and
writing of this exhibition,partly because of the craft of
the dolls but also the Pawtuckethistory and medical connections
and as a fellow motherconnecting with Martha Chase as
a parent and a creative and abusinesswoman and all of that.
I know that all really resonatedwith her.
(06:47):
And plus it brings a differentperspective to the exhibitions.
You know, when you have onecurator, take care of everything
, even though it's a differentsubject matter, and you try to
approach it differently.
Everybody has a distinct voiceso you can start to recognize
the style of a curator after awhile.
But bringing in a guest curatorbrings a different
interpretation to the works.
She curated the showdifferently than I would have
(07:09):
and I think that's a wonderfulthing.
But she's also got a deepunderstanding of the sense of
place with Pawtucket.
But she grew up in the sametown so she has this intimate
connection with the town and itshistory and its sense of place
and that definitely informed theexhibition for the better,
because it is so intimately tiedto this sense of place.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, it's amazing to think about how important this
sense of place is, this sense ofbeing rooted in a community,
and that Brett's voice iscontinuing the story of Martha
Chase.
So tell me, when people go tosee this exhibition of Martha
Chase's work, what's included ofMartha's legacy?
Are any of the medical dollsthere?
Speaker 2 (07:51):
So, like all of the Berry Art Museum's intimate doll
exhibitions, it's a relativelysmall collection that we have on
view, but it enables us to do adeep dive into each of the
dolls.
So what viewers will see are acombination of dolls from the
museum's permanent collection,some of our own Arthur Chase
holdings.
Yes, we do have an example of amedical doll on view.
(08:12):
It's not an adult size, it's achild-sized one, but it's
noticeably larger than the otherplay dolls on view.
One thing that may strikeviewers when they come to the
show is that the lights may seemespecially more dim than usual,
and that was very much adeliberate choice because these
are light sensitive objects.
So if you go in, don't bealarmed if the light seems low.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
That's just the level we're keeping it at to help
preserve these objects.
Well, that's something that'svery common when we go to
exhibitions today, because,after all, the paint is affected
, the color is affected, oh yes.
And we want these thingspreserved for future generations
.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Oh, definitely.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
So what's the big difference when you look at that
child-sized training doll,which had such a great purpose?
What's the big differencebetween that and one of her
dolls that she meant as a playdoll?
Is there a change in expressionor features?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Having looked at the doll myself, I would say with
the medical doll there'sprobably a little less emphasis
on the individual facialfeatures.
They're still there and they'restill lovely and whatnot.
But since the emphasis isreally on using the doll for
training purposes, having ahighly expressive face is not
quite a priority in the same wayas it is with some of the play
(09:26):
dolls, but it's stillbeautifully painted.
Throughout the history of thesemedical dolls they were
periodically updated so asprocedures became more
sophisticated or demandincreased, additional apertures
and so forth would be added tothe dolls so that they would
still be relevant to subsequentgenerations.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Do they have apertures where you could take
their temperature?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yes, and the advertisements are a really
fascinating part of theexhibition for that reason,
because they're helping to shapethe public image of these dolls
.
So what we have on view, justto clarify, are reproductions of
some of the advertisements, soyou'll find those in the display
cases as well as on some of thelabel texts, and they really
help to contextualize thesedolls within the early 20th
(10:12):
century in terms of what was ofinterest to these prospective
consumers the way she wasthinking about her dolls in a
way that she wanted people tounderstand that these dolls were
part of the progressiveprinciples.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Would you say that too?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I like to think that, on a practical level, it was
good for the economy, of course,but it was also an important
bolster to the medical field.
You're using the same types ofmaterials as being produced by
these other local medicalproducers, so it's this sense of
continuity within the communityand a source of local pride in
terms of not only are weproducing these medical
(10:50):
materials, but also these reallyimportant dolls.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
What do you think Martha Chase's work is telling
us today?
Because of course, now thereare beautiful dolls to collect,
but how are they continuing totell a story about progressive
values?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I think they do.
I know for a lot of collectorstoday, the emphasis is on the
craft of these dolls, theexquisite quality of their
paintings and their constructionand whatnot, and part of that
is connoisseurship, which issomething you see throughout
collecting, looking for the bestexamples and whatnot, and part
of that is connoisseurship,which is something you see
throughout collecting, lookingfor the best examples and
whatnot.
But the materials and how theywere constructed also speak to
(11:30):
the interests of that time,especially when it comes to
dolls.
Seeing what is it actually madeout of can tell us so much
about what was of interest totheir makers, as well as the
consumers who purchased thesedolls and gave them to their
children.
And knowing the intimateconnections between these dolls
and medical care in the form ofthis stockinette, I think is
(11:53):
what really resonates with a lotof viewers today, in addition
to the exquisitely painteddetails.
And it reminds us of how dollsaren't just playthings.
They are objects that reflectthe concerns of their time and
continue to shape us today.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Throughout the history of doll making, we see
innovation as a reflection ofwhat is happening in society,
and this exhibition at the BarryArt Museum not only showcases
Martha Chase's inspiration tocreate a play doll that was
tactile, unbreakable and fun,it's also the story of a
community of artists andcraftspeople that the dolls
(12:31):
built in Rhode Island.
Thank you, Sarah Woodbury, forsharing the story of Martha
Chase with us today.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Thank you.
As always, it's a pleasure tobe here to share what we've been
up to.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Tell us, sarah, how long the exhibition is being
held at the Barry Art Museum andwhere can we learn?
Speaker 2 (12:48):
more about it.
The exhibition will be upthrough July 28th of 2024, and
you can learn more about theexhibition by going to the Barry
Art Museum's website.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Thank you again, sarah, for joining us on the
Doll Podcast.
To learn more about MarthaJenks Chase and the exhibition
at the Barry Art Museum, go toour website wwwdollpodcastcom.
The Doll Podcast is a productof Niche Media Productions.
(13:19):
The Doll Podcast copyrightLouisa Maxwell 2024.
All rights reserved.
Welcome to the Doll Podcast.
I'm your host, louisa Maxwell.
It's part two of our podcastabout a very special American
doll maker, martha Jenks Chase,who used dolls as tools of
social change and innovation.
Although she was born in theVictorian era, martha was an
advocate of progressiveprinciples, supporting the
(00:31):
rights of women, workers andacknowledging that human rights,
equality and welfare wereprinciples that everyone should
enjoy.
In our last episode, we exploredhow she brought these
principles into the realm ofdoll making, starting a company
that would benefit her communityfor almost 100 years.
Martha Jenks Chase is thesubject of the current
(00:54):
exhibition at the Barry ArtMuseum in Norfolk, Virginia, USA
.
In part two, we explore Chase'slife and times and her social
contribution with my guest, DrSarah Woodbury.
Curator of Art at the Barry ArtMuseum, Sarah has curated the
museum's exhibitions on dollsand automata since 2020.
(01:16):
Sarah, welcome to the DollPodcast.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
Thank you and, as always, it's a pleasure to be
here.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Sarah the Barry's exhibition is called Progressive
Kindness.
How does this describe MarthaChase's philosophy and the dolls
she was inspired to create?
Speaker 2 (01:34):
Well, the title ties very much into Martha Chase's
philosophy as a progressive erareformer era reformer.
During the late 19th and early20th centuries, a lot of middle
class and upper class womenespecially became interested in
social concerns of the day, andwith Martha Chase in particular.
(01:54):
Her concern was with publichealth and she saw making dolls
as a way of addressing publichealth issues, not only in terms
of hygiene but especially withher hospital training dolls
education.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
Well, all these values she put together created
a product that was very much indemand.
She not only made baby dolls,child dolls, but then she began
to make literary characters,which again was something that
would stimulate her youngaudience of children.
Are some of her storybook dollsincluded in the exhibition?
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yes, I'm very glad you asked that because we do
have in the Berry Art Museumcollection examples from the
Alice in Wonderland set and ifyou come to the museum you'll be
able to see that set on view.
And they're marvelous dolls.
They look very different fromsome of the other public health
dolls and the children's dollsbecause they are representing
(02:48):
these fantastical characters.
We have Tweedledum andTweedledee, for example, and
other characters in the group.
Speaker 1 (02:55):
Martha Chase stressed the educational aspect of her
dolls.
How were her dolls used inschools for educational purposes
?
Speaker 2 (03:02):
Well, one of the most fascinating dolls that she
created, in my opinion, were thehospital training dolls, and
these were actually geared foradults, particularly nursing
students, and these werelife-size dolls that essentially
were the precursors of thetraining mannequins we see in
hospitals today, so they weredesigned for basically learning
(03:25):
how to do different types ofmedical procedures.
You would not only wash thedolls, but you could practice
giving them injections, forexample, or other basic nursing
procedures.
Speaker 1 (03:35):
Coming from a medical family, she manages to make
this a wonderful, useful tool,and yet it is a life-size doll,
exactly.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
What I find so interesting about the story of
the doll is it really shows howMartha Chase is using her
expertise to make a contributionto the medical field as a woman
.
As we all know, in the 19th andearly 20th centuries it was
very difficult for women to goto medical school because of
social constraints.
At the time, the idea thatbeing a doctor was not an
(04:06):
appropriate profession for awoman was very prevalent at the
time.
Martha Chase has this medicalfamiliarity due to her
upbringing and her marriage andwhatnot, but by working on dolls
more specifically, it's a wayof contributing to the medical
field, arguably in a way thatwas more long-lasting than
becoming a doctor in her ownright, because she developed
(04:28):
these dolls that then were usedin hospitals across the country
and subsequently influencedmannequin design and hospital
training to this day.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
It must have saved lives.
Today we use them to learn CPR,all kinds of emergency
procedures the way we're linkingMartha Chase with her
progressive values, and I thinkthat's one of the things that's
really interesting about thisexhibition.
Do you think she managed tomake that meaningful progressive
social statement that shewanted to in the beginning?
Speaker 2 (05:00):
for children that could be played with and cleaned
.
But to me what's so strikingabout her legacy is the
long-term impact on the medicalfield in terms of training.
One reason why Martha Chase wasable to make a contribution to
society the way she did wasn'tjust her familiarity with the
(05:22):
medical field but also herrelative privilege as a white
woman of relative means livingwithin a New England community
under a well-regarded family.
That was part of what compelledher to embark on these
progressive reforms throughDahl's was that she was in a
position of privilege and waslooking at working classes and
(05:45):
other members of society andasking, well, how can I use my
position of wealth and relativepower to make a difference?
And her response was throughthe dolls.
Even if with like the medicaltraining dolls, we don't
immediately recognize the legacyof that, but just having the
presence of those trainingmannequins and how they have
educated generations of nursesand doctors and other
(06:08):
practitioners.
That's how we experiencedMartha Chase.
Speaker 1 (06:12):
The guest curator for this exhibition of Martha
Chase's work was artist BrettDay-Windham, a multimedia artist
who has exhibited throughoutthe United States.
How did Brett view the work ofMartha Chase?
Speaker 2 (06:26):
Brett got really involved in the research and
writing of this exhibition,partly because of the craft of
the dolls but also the Pawtuckethistory and medical connections
and as a fellow motherconnecting with Martha Chase as
a parent and a creative and abusinesswoman and all of that.
I know that all really resonatedwith her.
(06:47):
And plus it brings a differentperspective to the exhibitions.
You know, when you have onecurator, take care of everything
, even though it's a differentsubject matter, and you try to
approach it differently.
Everybody has a distinct voiceso you can start to recognize
the style of a curator after awhile.
But bringing in a guest curatorbrings a different
interpretation to the works.
She curated the showdifferently than I would have
(07:09):
and I think that's a wonderfulthing.
But she's also got a deepunderstanding of the sense of
place with Pawtucket.
But she grew up in the sametown so she has this intimate
connection with the town and itshistory and its sense of place
and that definitely informed theexhibition for the better,
because it is so intimately tiedto this sense of place.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
Well, it's amazing to think about how important this
sense of place is, this sense ofbeing rooted in a community,
and that Brett's voice iscontinuing the story of Martha
Chase.
So tell me, when people go tosee this exhibition of Martha
Chase's work, what's included ofMartha's legacy?
Are any of the medical dollsthere?
Speaker 2 (07:51):
So, like all of the Berry Art Museum's intimate doll
exhibitions, it's a relativelysmall collection that we have on
view, but it enables us to do adeep dive into each of the
dolls.
So what viewers will see are acombination of dolls from the
museum's permanent collection,some of our own Arthur Chase
holdings.
Yes, we do have an example of amedical doll on view.
(08:12):
It's not an adult size, it's achild-sized one, but it's
noticeably larger than the otherplay dolls on view.
One thing that may strikeviewers when they come to the
show is that the lights may seemespecially more dim than usual,
and that was very much adeliberate choice because these
are light sensitive objects.
So if you go in, don't bealarmed if the light seems low.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
That's just the level we're keeping it at to help
preserve these objects.
Well, that's something that'svery common when we go to
exhibitions today, because,after all, the paint is affected
, the color is affected, oh yes.
And we want these thingspreserved for future generations
.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Oh, definitely.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
So what's the big difference when you look at that
child-sized training doll,which had such a great purpose?
What's the big differencebetween that and one of her
dolls that she meant as a playdoll?
Is there a change in expressionor features?
Speaker 2 (09:04):
Having looked at the doll myself, I would say with
the medical doll there'sprobably a little less emphasis
on the individual facialfeatures.
They're still there and they'restill lovely and whatnot.
But since the emphasis isreally on using the doll for
training purposes, having ahighly expressive face is not
quite a priority in the same wayas it is with some of the play
(09:26):
dolls, but it's stillbeautifully painted.
Throughout the history of thesemedical dolls they were
periodically updated so asprocedures became more
sophisticated or demandincreased, additional apertures
and so forth would be added tothe dolls so that they would
still be relevant to subsequentgenerations.
Speaker 1 (09:45):
Do they have apertures where you could take
their temperature?
Speaker 2 (09:49):
Yes, and the advertisements are a really
fascinating part of theexhibition for that reason,
because they're helping to shapethe public image of these dolls
.
So what we have on view, justto clarify, are reproductions of
some of the advertisements, soyou'll find those in the display
cases as well as on some of thelabel texts, and they really
help to contextualize thesedolls within the early 20th
(10:12):
century in terms of what was ofinterest to these prospective
consumers the way she wasthinking about her dolls in a
way that she wanted people tounderstand that these dolls were
part of the progressiveprinciples.
Speaker 1 (10:27):
Would you say that too?
Speaker 2 (10:28):
I like to think that, on a practical level, it was
good for the economy, of course,but it was also an important
bolster to the medical field.
You're using the same types ofmaterials as being produced by
these other local medicalproducers, so it's this sense of
continuity within the communityand a source of local pride in
terms of not only are weproducing these medical
(10:50):
materials, but also these reallyimportant dolls.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
What do you think Martha Chase's work is telling
us today?
Because of course, now thereare beautiful dolls to collect,
but how are they continuing totell a story about progressive
values?
Speaker 2 (11:07):
I think they do.
I know for a lot of collectorstoday, the emphasis is on the
craft of these dolls, theexquisite quality of their
paintings and their constructionand whatnot, and part of that
is connoisseurship, which issomething you see throughout
collecting, looking for the bestexamples and whatnot, and part
of that is connoisseurship,which is something you see
throughout collecting, lookingfor the best examples and
whatnot.
But the materials and how theywere constructed also speak to
(11:30):
the interests of that time,especially when it comes to
dolls.
Seeing what is it actually madeout of can tell us so much
about what was of interest totheir makers, as well as the
consumers who purchased thesedolls and gave them to their
children.
And knowing the intimateconnections between these dolls
and medical care in the form ofthis stockinette, I think is
(11:53):
what really resonates with a lotof viewers today, in addition
to the exquisitely painteddetails.
And it reminds us of how dollsaren't just playthings.
They are objects that reflectthe concerns of their time and
continue to shape us today.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
Throughout the history of doll making, we see
innovation as a reflection ofwhat is happening in society,
and this exhibition at the BarryArt Museum not only showcases
Martha Chase's inspiration tocreate a play doll that was
tactile, unbreakable and fun,it's also the story of a
community of artists andcraftspeople that the dolls
(12:31):
built in Rhode Island.
Thank you, Sarah Woodbury, forsharing the story of Martha
Chase with us today.
Speaker 2 (12:38):
Thank you.
As always, it's a pleasure tobe here to share what we've been
up to.
Speaker 1 (12:42):
Tell us, sarah, how long the exhibition is being
held at the Barry Art Museum andwhere can we learn?
Speaker 2 (12:48):
more about it.
The exhibition will be upthrough July 28th of 2024, and
you can learn more about theexhibition by going to the Barry
Art Museum's website.
Speaker 1 (12:59):
Thank you again, sarah, for joining us on the
Doll Podcast.
To learn more about MarthaJenks Chase and the exhibition
at the Barry Art Museum, go toour website wwwdollpodcastcom.
The Doll Podcast is a productof Niche Media Productions.
(13:19):
The Doll Podcast copyrightLouisa Maxwell 2024.
All rights reserved.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com