16 Masterworks from The Morton D. May Collection in Saint Louis Art Museum
16 Masterworks from The Morton D. May Collection in Saint Louis Art Museum
Curated by Steven G. Alpert
Morton May was charming, irrepressible, and a thoroughly engaged art collector. His family's St. Louis based May Department Stores were justly famous in an era of personal service when family names and merchant princes were at the helm of America's most famous privately-owned department stores.
Over forty years, Mr. May gathered a prodigious collection of American and European paintings as well as art from many non-Western traditions. He also made brilliant forays into undervalued areas, and a significant number of his former pieces are now highly regarded as rare and desirable. The Saint Louis Museum of Art's collection of Morton May's treasures includes many worthy examples of Meso-American, Pre-Columbian, Polynesian, and Melanesian creations -- with an accent on Oceanic art.
Morton May's first encounter with Melanesian art is recorded in the introduction to his collection bequeathed to the St. Louis Museum of Art. After meeting John Carlbach in 1960, he noted that "it was as if a whole new world of art had opened to me, and I became convinced that art from the Melanesian islands was of the highest quality and should be ranked with that of the other great art producing areas of the world."
In this feature, we spotlight a fine Maori war canoe stern post (taurapa) and a large and impressive tiki figurehead from a fishing canoe. From the Americas, there is a mesmerizing Mixteca-Pueblo jaguar pectoral, a classic Veracruz yoke, and a Kwakwaka'waka (Kwakiutl) Dzunukwa or wild man mask from Alert Bay on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. A large and well-carved door jamb from New Caledonia is also impressive. There is also a fine Solomon Islands torso in the May collection that brings a smile as I acquired it long ago when I was a young student in New Zealand.
— Steven G. Alpert, founder of Art of the Ancestors
1
War Canoe Sternpost | Taurapa
Maori
Australasia, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Oceania
Probably early to mid-19th century
Wood
Bequest of Morton D. May
1531:1983
2
Dzunukwa Mask
Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl)
Alert Bay, British Columbia, Canada, North and Central America
c.1870
Wood with pigment, human hair, bear fur, seal skin, raffia, cloth, and metal nails
Gift of Morton D. May
269:1982
3
Figure | Adu Siraha Salawa
Nias
Sumatera Utara province, Indonesia, Oceania
19th–20th century
Wood, wax, dye, and glue
Bequest of Morton D. May
1549:1983
4
Jaguar Pectoral
Mixteca-Puebla
Tehuacán, Puebla state, Mexico, North, and Central America
c.1200–1400
Stone, shell, and wood
Gift of Morton D. May
163:1979
5
Figure | Uli
Madak
Near Mesi village, New Ireland province, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Oceania
Before 1913
Wood, pigment, plant fiber, shell, resin
Bequest of Morton D. May
1526:1983
6
Figure | Akua Ka’ai
Hawaiian
Hawaii, Polynesia, United States, Oceania
18th century
Wood and pigment
Bequest of Morton D. May
1532:1983
7
Door Board | Jovo or Tale
Kanak
Melanesia, New Caledonia, Oceania
Mid-19th century
Wood, pigment
Gift of Morton D. May
73:1977
8
Figurehead (Pakoko or Tete) from a Fishing Canoe
Maori
New Zealand, Oceania
18th to early 19th century
Wood
Bequest of Morton D. May
1558:1983
9
Mask | Lewa
Wogeo Island (Vokeo Island)
East Sepik province, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Oceania
Early 20th century
Wood
Gift of Morton D. May
170:1975
10
Breastplate | Civavonovono
Fijian
Tailevu province, Polynesia, Fiji, Oceania
c.1840–50
Whale ivory, pearl shell, plant fiber
Bequest of Morton D. May
1557:1983
11
Treasure Box | Wakahuia
Maori
Australasia, New Zealand (Aotearoa), Oceania
Early 19th century
Wood, shell, and greenstone
Gift of Morton D. May
203:1975a,b
12
Ceremonial Paddle
Hermit Islands
Manus Province, Melanesia, Papua New Guinea, Oceania
Probably 18th century
Wood, pigment
Gift of Morton D. May
198:1975
13
Frontlet
Nuxalk (Bella Coola)
Bella Coola, British Columbia, Canada, North and Central America
c.1870
Wood, pigment, copper, abalone shell, and mirrored glass
Gift of Morton D. May
272:1982
14
Yoke
Classic Veracruz
Veracruz state, Mexico, North and Central America
c.600–800
Stone
Gift of Morton D. May
356:1978
15
Palma
Classic Veracruz
Veracruz State, Mexico, North and Central America
c.600–909
Stone
Gift of Morton D. May
213:1978
16
Male Bust
New Georgia
Western province, Melanesia, Solomon Islands, Oceania
Early to mid-20th century
Wood, shell, plant fiber, resin, pigment
Gift of Morton D. May
68:1977
All artworks and images presented in this feature are the property of Saint Louis Art Museum.
© Saint Louis Art Museum