Have you ever wondered about a painting you passed by quickly on a house tour? While contributing to the ambience, art sometimes fades into the background as the story of the house and its occupants unfurls. Now, however, sculptures, paintings, and other artistic items are the focal points of an additional tour at the house in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where Mary Baker Eddy lived from 1908 to 1910.
The new tour conveys Mrs. Eddy’s appreciation for 15 pieces of art, the artists who produced them, and the themes they depict. Many of these beautiful works were gifts to Mrs. Eddy from people who were grateful for healings through Christian Science, and for her discovery and leadership. Visitors learn how Mrs. Eddy and her household staff saw spiritual lessons symbolized by the art.
“Having a focus on the art was pretty special,” says Joan Miller of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, who had taken the main tour of the house last year and returned this spring for the art tour. “There was always an important message [to the art,] and Mrs. Eddy thought about what she wanted the message to be” as she directed where each piece was placed, Joan says.
One inspiration for creating the tour came when Rex Nelles, Longyear’s senior manager of historic houses, had to think on his feet to accommodate visitors’ request for a 30-minute tour (the main tour is up to two hours). They hadn’t realized that Christian Science was based on the Bible, so he walked them through several rooms to talk about Mrs. Eddy’s Bible-based art. Examples include a sculpture of David’s victory over Goliath, a print of Daniel answering the king after his night in the lion’s den, and a large painting based on the angel in Chapter 10 of the book of Revelation.
After that spontaneous tour, Rex recalls, one of the visitors said, “I really get it now! Mrs. Eddy loved the Bible, and she was a good, Christian woman.”
Shepherding is one theme on the art tour that stood out to Lesleah De Frisco, a visitor from Roslindale, Massachusetts. She loved seeing a painting of a shepherdess with her sheep, by Susan Schenk, a Christian Scientist with whom Mrs. Eddy corresponded. “There’s so much symbolism in it, with the sheep following and going uphill ‘all the rugged way,’” Lesleah says, quoting from a poem of Mrs. Eddy’s titled “‘Feed my Sheep.’”
The David and Goliath sculpture in the back parlor also stands out to many visitors. Several have commented that the depiction of David with one foot on the head of Goliath is symbolic of complete victory, and that in Christian Science it can represent conquering any belief in a power opposed to God.
Mrs. Eddy “had to have a tremendous amount of courage to go forward during so many challenges in her life. David appeared to be ill-equipped for the battle and yet completely rose to meet Goliath,” Lesleah says.
Much of the art in the house is modest but packed with meaning. “We don’t have any Rembrandts,” says Longyear tour guide Autumn Forsberg, but visitors can expect “to gain that insight into how Mrs. Eddy viewed [her art] pieces, and how [they helped] to uplift and inspire … herself and her staff and visitors to the home.”
For more information or to make a reservation: Chestnut Hill Artwork Tour — Longyear Museum
