Caroline M. Galt undeniably qualifies as a Founding Sister. In addition to her own illuminating research and contributions as a professor in the Classics Department, Galt’s passionate belief in the power of art to teach introduced a hands-on method of learning that continues to thrive across disciplines in the Mount Holyoke College Museum today.
“A gentlewoman and a scholar”
Caroline Morris Galt was born on November 7th, 1875 in Aurora, Illinois to an American father, Thomas Galt, and Jennett McFarland Galt, who was from Scotland. Galt graduated from Bryn Mawr College in 1897 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Greek. Her first year of college, 1893, marks the year of the Columbian Exposition, also referred to as Chicago’s World Fair. This event not only served to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the new world, it aimed to promote Neoclassical principles of architecture, deemed to be the most valuable artistic medium at the time. The Columbian Exposition clearly ignited Galt’s passion to study the Classics, and ultimately devote her life to the field. After graduating from Bryn Mawr, Galt jumped into teaching at the Pennsylvania College for Women in Pittsburg. She was a Professor of Latin for five years and eventually made her way to Mount Holyoke in 1903. Prior to her arrival at Mount Holyoke, Galt took graduate level classes in the Classics at the University of Chicago, and successfully deepened her knowledge of the ancient world.
Contributions to Mount Holyoke College
During her time at Mount Holyoke, Galt contributed significantly to make the Classics Department what it is today, along with aiding the growth of other disciplines. When Galt first came, she began as a reader in Latin, but very rapidly made herself a home in the Archaeology and Greek Departments, within the larger Classics Department. One year after her arrival at the college, she became a professor in the Latin Department and six years later, she became Associate Professor of Latin. Galt spent the summers of 1908 and 1909 at Columbia University in New York City, pursuing graduate studies. In 1910, she was presented with a life changing opportunity to study for the academic year at the American School of Classical Studies in Rome.
Following her studies in Italy, Galt brought new insights and knowledge from Rome to Mount Holyoke. As her interests became more concentrated, she shifted her alliance with the Latin Department to join the Archaeology Department, where she served as an Associate Professor in 1913. That year marked a milestone in the Geology Department when Mignon Mignon Talbot paleontologist and colleague, unearthed the Podokesaurus Holyokensis, believed to be one of the earliest known dinosaurs in the eastern United States and put both Talbot and Mount Holyoke on the map in paleontological studies.
She taught at Mount Holyoke for ten years, and taught a variety of courses, such as: Greek Sculpture and Architecture, Aegean Archaeology, Roman Archaeology, the Topography of Rome, Greek and Roman Numismatics, Vase Painting, and Greek Drama. Galt expanded her interest in the Classics beyond the confines of the classroom and joined a number of different Classics related groups in the area. She was a devoted member of the Classical Association of New England (CANE), American Numismatic Society, and the American Association of University of Professors. As a member of these different societies, she had the opportunity to present at seminar meetings on the subject of her travels in Sicily, Italy, as well as her archaeological studies on “The Romans in Egypt.” Furthermore, Galt served as a sponsor to the Society of American Fellowships in French Universities, where she would attend boards and councils.
While In Athens
Galt devoted much of her time to the School of Classical Studies in Athens as an avid member of the managing committee from 1915 to 1937. She was also on the executive board from 1920 to 1922. While on the managing committee, she worked alongside elected representatives who shared her desire to improve the School of Classical Studies in Athens. In 1917, Galt took a second year of absence and returned to Columbia University to study for an entire year. Although she had planned on completing her master’s degree, she was unsuccessful in her attempts.
From 1920 to 1922, Galt worked on the managing committee for the School of Classical Studies in Athens, along with other elected representatives. While serving as Associate Professor of Greek and Archaeology in 1923, she taught classes and published articles. Her most renowned, “A Bronze Statuette” of 1929, cast a spotlight on Mount Holyoke’s most cherished ancient sculpture. In 1926, Galt had the privilege to be the Annual Professor at the American School of Classical Studies’ in Athens, and conduct research on types of archaeological dig site and their artifacts. Additionally, as an Annual Professor, she could interact and work with students closely, thus developing stronger connections and forging lasting relationships. When Galt returned from her year in Athens, she earned a full Professorship of Archaeology and Greek, and taught until she passed away from cancer on January 17, 1937.
Another important contribution was her establishment of the Friends of Art program in 1931, which has made its mark on the college. The program has expanded exponentially, and has brought a plethora of exhibitions and collections to the college’s art museum in the process. Both students and individuals from the public sphere are encouraged to join the program, in hopes to preserve and cultivate their appreciation of the arts. Galt did not only play a key role in the realm of academics and in the development of the museum, she also served as Mount Holyoke’s House of Dean for Safford Hall from 1935 to 1936. Additionally, she served as Marshal of the College from 1929 to 1936, thus demonstrating her love and eternal devotion to the college.
The Bronze Statuette
The Bronze Statuette remains one of the most prized possessions in Mount Holyoke’s collection. In her article “A New Treasure in Dwight Hall”, Galt’s rich, evocative language and style of writing truly brings her find to life. It is worth prefacing that the purchase of the statuette was made possible by the Nancy Everett Dwight Fund, which also funded a number of other pieces in the Mount Holyoke collection. By providing a brief history of what the world in 470 BCE looked like, she only paints a picture, she transports the reader into another world, another time. She predicts the statue to hail from Piali, a modern village situated in the ancient site of Tegea in Arcadia. In spite of providing a thorough and irreproachable account of the bronze statuette, there remains an ounce of doubt on her part regarding who the artist was, or even the school to which the artist belonged to.
This victorious athlete is made of bronze, also known as the sculptors of the fifth century B.C.’s beloved material. Although the sculpture is relatively small and measures just under nine inches in height, the perfect proportions make for a memorable and impressive statuette. Galt reveals to the reader that the youth probably held a phiale, or ceremonial saucer, in his right hand at some point. This phial would have contained a libation, poured as an offering to a Greek god, thanking him for the athlete’s success during the sacred games. Despite the speculated missing phial, the statuette is in a surprisingly exceptional condition. Along with the phial, the only other parts missing from the object are the material inset for the eyeballs and the left arm. The most significant damage is the bent right leg from the thigh down which stems from an accidental mispositioning of the statuette. Seeing that the right foot bears a majority of the statuette’s weight, the right foot should have been flat on the ground. Galt provides the reader with additional insight and sheds light on her archaeological knowledge by writing how the original position of both feet serves as an indicator of the date when the object sculpted; a time before artists had experimented with raising the heel of the foot, in order to effectively balance out the weight.
When admiring the bronze statuette more closely, it is impossible to overlook the fine detail of the head with the meticulous arrangement of the long hair in “coronet” style, with two braids and “front locks looped over a fillet with ends falling over the temples.” The hairstyle’s function is not merely an aesthetically pleasing addition, it accurately recreates the hairstyle athletes adopted in order to prevent hair from going in their face and impede on their performance during the games. The treatment of the sculpture also reveals the Phidian time period, as well as signature characteristics of the Phidian style. The overall treatment of the muscles along with the flat dry modelling both hint at the Phidian tendencies and how during this period, artists evolved from the strict and predefined to the unpretentiously exquisite. She also broadens her research by addressing the similarly impressive object in Mount Holyoke’s collection of small bronze statues: the Charioteer at Delphi, brought by Professor Kennedy.
A Lasting Legacy
Galt was an influential professor at Mount Holyoke College, whose lasting legacy is still visible today. She made lofty contributions to the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum of artifacts, mostly acquired during her trip to Athens. Seeing that she was an admirer of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian art, it is suspected that most of the pieces she donated were from Greece and Egypt, ranging from the Middle Kingdom to the 6th century. Her influence also stems from her burning desire to put the Classics Department on the map and encourage students to study the antiquity. As President Mary Woolley aptly described Galt after she passed away, “Caroline Galt was a gentlewoman and a scholar” as well as “an inspiring teacher”. Her notable legacy was celebrated in the Galt Memorial Exhibition of Ancient Art held in 1941. In fact, The New York Times (italicize title) featured an article about art collections in colleges and private collectors in the United States, which referred to the Galt Memorial Exhibition of Ancient Art. Although the show featured artifacts from Galt’s private collection, the main attraction was, unsurprisingly, the Bronze Statuette, which Galt had put made famous years earlier in her influential article of 1929.
Timeline
1875
Born on November 7th in Aurora, Illinois.
1893 – 1897
Graduated from Bryn Mawr College.
1898 – 1903
Professor of Latin at Pennsylvania College for Women.
1903
Summer Quarter University of Chicago
1903 – 1904
Reader (Latin)
1904 – 1910
Instructor (Latin)
1908 – 1909
Graduate studies at Columbia University
1910
Studied at the American School of Classical Studies in Rome.
1911 – 1913
Associate Professor (Latin)
1913 – 1917
Associate Professor (Archaeology)
1917 – 1918
Leave of Absence
1918 – 1923
Associate Professor (Archaeology)
1923 – 1925
Professor (Archaeology and Greek)
1925 – 1926
Annual Professor at the American School of Classical Studies’ in Athens, Greece.
1926 – 1929
Professor (Archaeology and Greek)
1929 –
Professor (Greek and Archaeology)
1937
Died on January 17th.
1941
Galt Memorial Exhibition of Ancient Art.
Works cited
Classics Department, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections.
“College Mourns Loss of Miss Caroline Galt,” Classics Department, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections. 1937.
Galt, Caroline. Art and Archaeology: “A New Art Treasure in Dwight Hall”, Vol. VI., No. 3, September, 1917.
“Greek Professor At Mt. Holyoke Dies in Hospital,” Holyoke Transcript, January 18, 1937.
Hart, Deanna. “A Lasting Legacy: The Contributions of Professor Caroline M. Galt”, May 7th, 2012.
Immerwahr, Sara A. “Caroline Morris Galt – 1875-1937” Mount Holyoke College Art Museum Donor Files.
Office of the Registrar Transcript for Caroline Morris Galt, File of Caroline Galt, Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections.
South Hadley Massachusetts, Archives and Special Collections, Caroline M. Galt Papers.
Talbot, Mignon. “Podokesaurus holyokensis, a new dinosaur of the Connecticut Valley” American Journal of Science, 1911, (31): 469-479.
“Women in Old World Archaeology.” Women in Old World Archaeology. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2016.
Written by Lucinda Covington, Class of 2017