The Wing Sisters, Part II: Their Adult Lives
Meredith Clowse ‘26 is an Art History Major and an Archives Concentrator at Smith. This research project is the culmination of her work as the Kennedy Fellow at SCMA the 2025-2026 academic year.
In their adult lives, the Wing sisters, Adeline and Caroline Wing (go to Part I to learn more about their background) demonstrated a commitment to educating themselves and other women, and helping others through philanthropic work and organizations. They travelled extensively, and pursued work relating to these commitments. Their dedication to these values and interests helps explain their choice to donate artworks to the Smith College Museum.
One of the aspects of their adult lives which initially confused me was how they never married. I found no evidence of any long-term romantic connections in their lives. This doesn’t mean that wasn’t there. Especially considering that most of the documents I examined were from their public or more professional lives, and not places that would share their personal business. I assumed at that time, there was a pressure to marry and settle down and that the choice to not do so would require an opposing will to that pressure. However, after more research, it seems that this choice was pretty standard for women in their position at this time. This is one aspect of their lives which a 1996 article on the Wing sisters examined. According to a neighbor, who knew them and was interviewed for this piece, “‘This was a time when every family of any means had at least one unmarried daughter who saw their parents through to the end of their lives’ [...] ‘I could name a dozen such families. The Wings happened to have two’” (Down East Magazine, July 1996, 81). This explanation was seconded by the author Edger Beem, who noted that “When their parents died each in the early 1930s, both women were in their fifties, a fact which may explain why neither sister ever married” (81). Concern for their parents is a very plausible explanation, but considering how this flexibility allowed them to dedicate themselves to other pursuits, I think this decision was perhaps less about what they didn’t want and more about what they wanted to do instead.
The Wing home, 412 State Street, Bangor, Maine, photo from the Bangor Public Library.
The Wings were experienced travelers, and in addition to the fun this must have been they also used these experiences to further their education. In 1903, Adeline was reported as visiting Italy over the summer chaperoned by a member of the Smith faculty (The Bangor Daily News, 1903). While this was after her graduation, the inclusion of a Smith faculty member indicates that this could have included some study. In both of their obituaries, Adeline and Caroline were described as speaking several languages fluently, so as tourists they clearly took an interest in the languages and cultures they visited (from their obituaries in the Bangor Daily News).
The locations to which the Wings travelled are also related to the art they collected. They both traveled to and donated paintings from across Europe, and even scouted some paintings to buy during their travels. In a letter to SCMA’s director Robert Parks from Adeline Wing, dated September 30, 1956, Adeline describes how they found a “Bonnard” painting to donate to Smith in Rome. They found it in an antique shop, and had it shipped back to the United States. However, I assume that this painting was fake, or subpar in some way, as in a later letter from Mr. Robert O. Parks to Mr. Benjamin Wright (Smith College President), dated February 5th 1957, he says “the ‘Bonnard’ they bought in Rome has made them cautious, and I doubt that they will buy us any more pictures without first letting us study them here” (SCMA Archives). This plus the lack of a record of this “Bonnard” in SCMA’s collection makes me assume it was fake. However, this incident does confirm that their travels were connected with their art collecting.
Throughout their lives, the Wing sisters remained supportive of higher education for women, in ways other than their donations. They remained connected in the Alumnae Association of Smith, including hosting a meeting of the Smith College Club of Eastern Maine at their home in 1949 (The Bangor Daily News 1949, August 11). Caroline Wing was also noted as belonging to “The Bangor branch of the American Association of University Women” (Bangor Daily News, 1969, Caroline Wing’s Obituary). This organization was founded in 1881 with the goal of helping women advance in higher education and in careers. By 1949, the organization boasted “1,097 branches and more than 108,000 members,” including a branch in Bangor (AAUM website). The Wing’s involvement in the AAUM shows that they likely supported advancing women’s equality in education and in the professional world. They also contributed to individuals. In Adeline Wing’s obituary, it was revealed that she had helped fund the college education for “scores of young people” (Bangor Daily News 1966, Adeline Wing’s Obituary).
Claude Monet, Cathedral at Rouen (La Cour d'Albane), 1892-1894, oil on canvas, 45 x 37 1/2 x 3 1/2 in, SC 1956.42. Gift of the Wing sisters in 1956. (left)
Ogden Minton Pleissner, The Loire at Orleans, 1962, oil on canvas, 28 x 48 in, SC 1963.31. Gift of the Wings in 1962. (right)
Both paintings are of places in France, and while I don’t have evidence of them visiting these specific places, they traveled to the country multiple times throughout their lives.
Their religious affiliation also informed their worldview and actions. They were raised by their parents in the Unitarian Christian church, a commitment which continued for the rest of their lives. They were noted in 1942 for gifting a flag to the Unitarian church to replace the one given by their father about twenty years earlier (the Bangor Daily News, 1942). The Unitarian church in America came out of the Puritan Protestant tradition in New England (Unitarianism in America, Cooke, 16). Unitarian thinkers broke off from the Puritan traditions over the desire for increased liberalism in the church, and a rejection of the holy trinity (they viewed God as a single entity instead of a trinity). The denomination was established officially in 1825 in Boston. At this time, there was a Unitarian church in Bangor, so by the time the Wing sisters were alive, they joined a longstanding religious local community (Unitarianism in Maine, page 6).
Adeline was involved in the Women’s Alliance of the Unitarian Church. This organization was formed in 1880, out of various women’s church organizations. In the notes I found on her tenure in this organization, it seems she carried her political and social convictions about education into this religious space.
In 1917, she and a friend were noted in the newspaper as attending a meeting of the Alliance to “read papers describing their visit to Hampton Institute” (The Bangor Commercial, 06-06-1917). The most likely “Hampton Institute” they are talking about, is now called “Hampton University," a historically Black University founded in 1868 and located in Hampton, Virginia. The school was founded in part by Congregationalist ministers, which was closely connected to the Unitarian tradition, so the religious connections to this institution could have prompted this trip. It is also in line with Adeline’s interest in supporting higher education.
This involvement continued, as in 1924, Adeline was noted as speaking at a conference for the Women’s Alliance. She read a paper on “Fundamentalism vs. Modernism,” and advocated for “organized opposition” to the fundamentalist faction’s interference in education (The Unitarian register, 1924, page 646). She stated that the Fundamentalists aim to have a say in “regulating public education”, and while she acknowledges their right to do this in religious schools she argues against this involvement in public institutions (The Bangor Daily News, 1924). The change in education she mentions being recommended by this group is the “driving [of] modern scientific instruments from our schools” (The Unitarian register, 646). In this case, her religious affiliation seems to be on the “modernist” side, in a way that reinforced her beliefs in supporting education.
Throughout their adult lives, Wing sisters took advantage of their wealth and privilege to pursue their own educations and provide the same for others through philanthropy and advocacy. While they were involved in the art world during their travels, they had many other interests as well, and so their decision to become involved with the Smith College Art Museum seems to be motivated by their commitment to education more than the arts alone.
If you haven’t read about their early lives, go back to Part I!
To find out more about the Wing Sisters, a bibliography and additional resources are linked here.