The Operative Owl: Functional Owl objects from the collection of Rowena Doyel
Born Rowena Isabelle Diggs in Winchester, Indiana, I’d always known that my mother was named after the heroine of Walter Scott’s novel “Ivanhoe.” My daughter, Nora, growing up with grandma’s vast collection of owls, preferred to think that she’d been named instead, for Rowena Ravenclaw from the Harry Potter books. And owls are certainly operative in the wizarding world; transporting mail, supplying the acronym for O.W.L. exams, and, of course Hedwig, a snowy white owl, who was among Harry’s most loyal and beloved companions.
In 1949 my parents moved to New York City from Indiana, and in 1954 to a house on 20th Street built in 1829 as a rental property on the estate of Clement Clarke Moore, founder of the Chelsea neighborhood and author of “A Visit from St. Nicholas.” My parents bought the house in 1965, and because of the association with Christmas, my father began amassing a Santa Claus collection – much of which was on view at The City Reliquary Museum during the Christmas season of 2016.
As it turns out, both of my parents were born collectors. Beginning with a painting of snowy owls purchased from a friend at the Washington Square art show in 1959, my mother’s owl collection ultimately grew to became as numerous and eclectic as my father’s Santa collection. Even following her death in 2006, thanks to friends and family, the tradition has continued, and owl objects of all kinds are still flocking to the ever-expanding collection.
Both the owl and Santa Claus collections, among others, were such an integral part of my parent’s world and personae, that they became virtually inseparable. My parents lived with and among their collected objects, and eventually, the most special and spectacular items that found their way onto their shelves, were bestowed as gifts from family, friends and, on occasion, people who hardly even knew them.
For Collector’s Night 2018, we’ve narrowed the scope of the owl collection, and have chosen to share a number of the functional owls, which we hope you’ll enjoy as much as we do. Lesley Doyel and Nick and Nora Doyel Fritsch