Caroline Scheving is a senior who majoring in Art History. She was awarded a Spring 2019 Independent Grant which she used to conduct research on the culture of the early twentieth century and Frank Benson's dolls under Dr. Linda Merrill.
Last fall, when I returned to Emory to begin my senior year, I realized that I was in a bit of a conundrum. I had come to the conclusion that I was no longer interested in the illustrations of Robinson Crusoe, the topic I had originally chosen for my art history honors thesis. I needed to find a new subject as quickly as possible, and this time I knew I needed to choose a topic that interested me on a more personal level. After agonizing over the future of my thesis for several days, I finally recalled a conversation I had during my sophomore year with my advisor Dr. Linda Merrill. She had mentioned Frank Weston Benson’s (1862-1951) collection of paper dolls, called the Colton Family, that the High Museum of Arthad acquired in 2000. Though this collection contained over three hundred pieces, it had been locked away in storage for the past eighteen years, and little was known about the set. I was immediately intrigued by this collection, and I believed that studying it could be a gateway to learning more about the Benson family, gender roles in the early twentieth century, and the didactic nature of play.
I began my research for my thesis by studying the works and life of Frank Benson. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Benson studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Académie Julian in Paris. Upon returning to the United States, he began teaching at his Boston alma mater and quickly became a leader in the city’s art scene. He also helped establish a group of artists called the Boston School, who gained critical success for painting impressionist works of beautiful women in genteel interiors. Throughout his life, Benson received many awards for his works, and in 1914, the Boston Transcriptnamed Benson “America's Most Medalled Painter.”
Though he was a highly skilled painter, I noticed when examining Benson’s paper dolls that some of the collection’s pieces were notably less intricately detailed than others. This was the first clue that suggested that Benson did not work alone when creating this set. After reaching out to Faith Andrews Bedford, a prominent Benson historian who originally owned Benson’s paper dolls, I learned that the artist worked alongside two of his daughters, Eleanor and Sylvia, to create the Colton Family between 1903 and 1910. Together, they created the figures of five girls, two boys, three women, and one man, along with an extensive wardrobe of 297 clothing and accessory pieces all decorated with watercolor.
By the time the Bensons created the Colton Family, paper dolls were widely available in a variety of forms. Department stores even used them as a mode of advertising the latest fashions. Children’s doll sets often took the form of families, like the Colton Collection, and allowed a girl to act out the responsibilities of a mother, but there were also popular dolls who showed girls that they could pursue careers. The lack of feminine active and professional wear in the Colton Collection alludes to Frank Benson’s belief that women should aspire to be homemakers, first and foremost. However, as Benson allowed his daughters to assist in the creation of the set, he also introduced them to the possibility of pursuing careers in the arts. Thanks to Emory’s Undergraduate Research Programs I was able to find further evidence of Benson’s beliefs regarding the correct life paths for his daughters by examining his personal papers at the Phillips Libraryin Rowley, Massachusetts.
Many of the artistic and social values that Frank Benson hoped to teach his daughters through their play with the Coltons are reflected in their later life choices, suggesting that the toys children play with can have lasting impacts on their futures. Eleanor, for example, pursued a career as a portraitist. Over the years her works hung in several Boston exhibitions. With five children and sixteen grandchildren, Eleanor also took on the role of the caring matriarch, whose duties she had practiced as a child, playing with the Colton Family. Sylvia married late in life, but like her sister, she continued to engage in the art world, as she served as her father’s secretary, managing his sales and exhibitions. She also became a costume designer for the Boston Ballet. Just as she created clothing for the Coltons that suited each doll’s personality, she created designs as a costumer that conveyed each dancer’s character.
While paper dolls like the Colton Family have become less popular for children over the years, they have continued to influence new types of toys. For example, three dimensional dolls, such as Barbie, and video games, such as The Sims, have allowed new generations, including myself, to engage in the dress-up role play exemplified by the Bensons’ Colton Collection. The continuing popularity of these dress-up games shows that the desire to try out different lifestyles persists for both children and adults.
Visit the Undergraduate Research Programs website to learn more about applying for Independent Research Grants.
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