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07/16/2023 08:06 AM

Mother/Daughter Duo at the Heart of the Art Scene


“Profiles: Ruth McIntosh Cogswell and Dorothy Cogswell’ to Open at New Haven Museum

New Haven’s vibrant art scene has a long and storied history, and the New Haven Museum’s newest exhibition, “Profiles: Ruth McIntosh Cogswell and Dorothy Cogswell,” highlights two women at the heart of it a century ago. Using works by the Cogswells and the students they inspired, “Profiles” illustrates a small portion of a pivotal time in the Elm City. The exhibition will open at the New Haven Museum on Thursday, July 12, and remain on view through Dec. 30.

Ruth McIntosh Cogswell (1885-1944) grew up in New Haven and attended the Yale School of Fine Arts in 1905-06. She was an art educator and artist renowned for her intricate silhouette work. Her daughter, Dorothy Cogswell (1909-2008), was the first woman to earn an MFA from the Yale School of Fine Arts and later served as chair of the Department of Art at Mount Holyoke College. The exhibition’s photographs, watercolors, pencil drawings, and silhouettes give a glimpse of the New Haven arts scene in the early 20th century and allow present-day audiences to consider the role women played in establishing the New Haven arts community that exists today.

Ruth McIntosh Cogswell - Dorothy Cogswell, 1925, Dorothy Cogswell (1909-2008) Ruth McIntosh Cogswell, 1926
Miss Tuttle-Dorothy Cogswell at 21 years old,1930
Minna Walker Smith-Sketch of Ruth Cogswell in Art School, c. 1905