Art and Muralism

A Closer Look at Ernest Hamlin Baker's The Activities of the Narragansett Planters

Caitlin Bass and Erin Eckhold

In Baker's The Activities of the Narragansett Planters, both the arrangement of figures and the title place a strong emphasis on the planter. Baker divides the composition into four general areas, which fit together in an elongated X formed by the slope of the hill from upper left to lower right, and by a line leading from the rocks in the lower left over the cow's back to the sweep of the large wave and the smuggler's arm in the upper right. The planter on the horse appears more or less at the fulcrum of this X. Despite his lack of physical involvement in the work, the world depicted revolves around him.

Information is not distributed equally throughout Baker's mural. Most of the landscape appears rather vague, sketched in to give the figures somewhere to stand, but otherwise of little importance. Only the elements representing identifiable landmarks, such as Tower Hill, are at all emphasized. The elements prized for their economic value, however, such as the famous Narragansett pacer or the merchant ship receive much more detailed treatment. Some of the animals, notably the oxen and some of the sheep, have clear, intense facial expressions. By adding to their visual interest, Baker draws attention to these elements, emphasizing their importance to the wealth and the identity of the early inhabitants of the Wakefield area.

Baker's treatment of the human figures is not consistent. Compared to the highly individualized figure of the planter, the slave figures appear disturbingly similar and vague. All have a certain streamlined, almost machine-like appearance, through the emphasis on their rounded muscles and their baldness (See Eugenics and Streamlining). The figures, which almost appear as one body repeated in various poses, are connected by their physical activity and their skin color. They also are linked across the composition by a kind of snaking and energetic line further emphasizing the connections between them and the animals. Only the various activities of the slaves and their relative level of dress distinguish them from each other. On the other hand, the scale of the figures and their strength and activity give them a monumentality that celebrates their power and productivity.

Throughout the mural, Baker plays with contrasts and ambivalence. Baker divides the mural into semi-autonomous scenes and states that there is no narrative connection among them. Nonetheless, Baker's compression of the forms creates a claustrophobic space. The insular quality of the scene, combined with the sense of prosperity depicted gives some clue as to why Baker would choose this particular subject. The problematic nature of South County's slaveholding past is precisely what allowed the development of a distinct culture that set the area apart from the rest of the state and New England in general. In the 1930s this exceptionality, and the heritage it represents, could serve as a source of pride and identity countering the general insecurity of the time.