Virginia Maksymowicz
Rules of Civility
September 14-October 21, 2007
Powel House Museum
Philadelphia, PA
Curated by Michelle Wilson and Robert Wuilfe
The result of a months-long residency with Landmarks Contemporary Projects, Rules of Civility is a mixed-media installation that draws its inspiration from two Elizas: Elizabeth Willing Powel and Eliza Leslie. Besides sharing similar first names, the women were roughly contemporaries, their lives having overlapped by forty-three years. They both lived in Philadelphia. And they were both very much women of their time.
Elizabeth Willing (1743-1830) was the wife of Samuel Powel, the last mayor of Philadelphia under the British Crown, and the first under the United States. The house they shared on Third Street was often visited by dignitaries of the day, including George and Martha Washington, John Adams and Benjamin Franklin. In 1793, Samuel died of yellow fever, and Elizabeth spent her remaining thirty-six years as a widow. Elizabeth was a prolific letter-writer and many of her personal papers are archived at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association in Virginia . Although a prominent member of Philadelphia society—she is credited with convincing Washington to serve a second term as president—Maksymowicz has focused her research on the portions of Elizabeth ’s correspondence that reflect the day-to-day minutiae of turn-of-the-century life.
Eliza Leslie (1787-1858) was born in Philadelphia and spent her childhood in London. Her father, Robert, was a clockmaker and a personal friend of Benjamin Franklin. The family returned to America when Eliza was twelve. Even at that early age, she loved to write but despaired of ever becoming a published author. When her father died in 1803, financial hardship caused her mother to take in boarders. Eliza went to cooking school, possibly to help with the family’s new business. These studies led her to publish a cookbook, followed by a series of children’s books, magazine articles and etiquette guides. She eventually became something of a celebrity and she received many distinguished visitors in her residence at the United States Hotel.
The Powel House installation consists of a series of open books, cast in white Hydrostone plaster, overlaid with quotations from both Elizabeth Powel’s letters and The Behaviour Book by Eliza Leslie. Images of Elizabeth, chosen from the numerous portraits painted during her lifetime, peer out from underneath the texts. The books, along with castings of 18-century shoes, quill pens and inkwells are positioned within the various rooms of the historic house, interspersed with items selected from the collection. Throughout the house, a soft female voice details the etiquette rules of middle-class society. The title, Rules of Civility, is taken from Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior, a pamphlet of good manners written by George Washington himself.
Maksymowicz has created a subtle and thoughtful environment in which to consider the rules of well-to-do society in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, especially as they applied to women. These rules went hand-in-hand with the lifestyle exemplified by the furnishings and architecture of the Powel House. We hope this project helps evoke the past in a new way, and encourages further reflection and in¬quiry. The trappings of civility have changed much since the eighteenth century. Like it or not, though, rules and expectations—both written and unwritten—continue to exert their pull on every aspect of our lives today. History is one of our best tools for knowing when to revolt and rewrite the rules ourselves.
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