Madonna
Ilse Martha Bischoff, American, 1901 - 1990
1940s
Oil on canvas
Overall: 36 1/8 × 32 in. (91.8 × 81.2 cm)
Frame: 42 × 37 1/2 in. (106.7 × 95.3 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of the artist
P.961.194
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
20th century
Object Name
Painting
Research Area
Painting
On view
Inscriptions
Signed, lower right: Ilse Bischoff
Label
Religious iconography can be reinterpreted and transformed by the artist’s hand, as demonstrated by this painting. Instead of the traditional Virgin Mary and Christ Child, Bischoff depicts an unidentified African American woman and her daughter under the title Madonna. With vivid color and expressive brushwork, Bischoff lends the pair both dignity and agency, challenging the racial and social boundaries of 1940s New York, where she likely completed the work. The mother’s hat and the daughter’s hairband are rendered in careful detail. The mother’s white blouse frames the child’s face, enveloping her in its warmth and emphasizing the daughter’s solemn, contemplative gaze.
From the 2026 exhibition Nurturing Nationhood: Artistic Constructions of America, 1790-1940, curated by Haely Chang (Jane and Raphael Bernstein Associate Curator of East Asian Art), Evonne Fuselier (Hood Museum Board of Advisors Mutual Learning Fellow), Michael Hartman (former Jonathan Little Cohen Curator of American Art), Elizabeth Rice Mattison (Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art), and Ashley B. Offill (Curator of Collections)
Exhibition History
American Paintings from the Dartmouth Collection, 1910-1960, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 17-April 12, 1998.
Nurturing Nationhood: Artistic Constructions of America, 1790-1940, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire; February 7-August 29, 2026.
Publication History
Hommage a la Femme Noire, Vol.5 . Simone Schartz-Bart, Les Editions "Consulaires", 24 Rue Saint Gilles, 75004, PARIS.
Dean, Stephanie. "The Mother's Voice", A Video Tape Presentation for partial requirement of MALS Degree, Dartmouth College
Provenance
The artist (1901-1990), Hartland, Vermont; given to present collection, 1961.
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