Wadsworth Museum of Art Members Quarterly

Members’ Quarterly | Fall 2007

BackTo SchoolIssue

CONTENTS

2 Visitor Information

3 Letter from the Director

4 Cover Story: Back To Schoolat the Atheneum

6 Sources of Support

8 Exhibitions

14 Continuing Exhibitions

15 Traveling Exhibition

16 Acquisitions

17 Member Profile

18 Traveling Exhibitions

19 e Museum Shop

Members’ Quarterly is published bythe Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.

Art Director: Jil KrolikGraphic Designer: Virginia AnstettPhotographers: Allen Phillips, John Groo,and Jeff Sobiech.

Members’ Quarterly is generously supportedby a grant from Aetna.

On the cover:Back To School images taken from Handand Hand, and Story Book Hour events.

ErrataThe cover detail and page 5 images ofSol LeWitt’s Incomplete Open Cubesinstallation were accidentally printed inreverse in the summer issue of Members’Quarterly. We apologize to the LeWittfamily and to our members for this error.

Main Number: (860) 278-2670The Museum Cafe: (860) 838-4042TDD: (860) 278- 294Web site: www.wadsworthatheneum.orgE-mail: [email protected]

Museum HoursWednesday–Friday: 11:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.Saturday & Sunday: 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.Open until 8:00 p.m. the first Thursday ofevery month.

Closed Mondays, Tuesdays, Thanksgiving,Christmas and New Year’s Day.Closes at 3:00 p.m. the days beforeThanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.Open Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

AdmissionMembers: FREEAdults: $10Seniors (age 62+): $8Students (age 13–college student with ID): $5Children 12 & under: FREEFIRST THURSDAYS from 5:00–8:00 p.m.: $5During Festival of Trees and Traditions,an additional fee of $3 per person is added to alladmission tickets.A surcharge applies for special exhibits.

Group Tours and VisitsWith advance reservations only, groups of ten ormore are eligible for discounted admission. Pleasecall (860) 838-4046.

Film AdmissionUnless otherwise indicated, Aetna Theaterfilm admission is $9; Seniors & Studentsw/i.d.: $8; Museum Members: $7; Film BuffMembers: $3.50; Film Star Members: Free. Referto the fall film flyer film descriptions,ratings, and running times. Titles aresubject to change. Please call (860) 838-4142or visit www.wadsworthatheneum.org foran updated listing.

MembershipAnnual membership offers many bendfits,including free general admission, exhibitionpreviews, and discounts at The Museum Cafe.Call the Membership Department at(860) 838-4074.

The Museum CafeOpen Wednesday through Sunday11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.Reservations not required; however, tablesof eight or more are encouraged to call inadvance—(860) 838-4039.

Museum ShopOpen during museum hours.

Parking at the museumThe visitor parking lot is located behindthe Museum on Prospect Street. Open duringmuseum hours.

FALL 2007 02 WADSWORTHATHENEUM.ORG

VISITOR INFORMATION

MEMBERS’ QUARTERLY 03 FALL 2007

Dear Members,

This autumn will be an especially exciting time at the Atheneum, with theMuseum’s first ever benefit gala, Splendor, on Saturday, October 6. For thoseof you looking for a fun and exciting new way to explore our exhibition,Faith & Fortune: Five Centuries of European Masterpieces, the Museum willbe launching a Masterpiece Mystery Puzzle, created by famed children’s bookauthor, illustrator, and great friend of the Museum, Walter Wick. Speaking ofexcitment, the 34th annual Festival of Trees and Traditions, A Celebrationof Families will be held from December 1–9.

In this Back to school Issue of ourMember’s Quarterly we highlight ourSchool and Teacher Programs, just one aspect of the rich and varied educa-tional experiences available to museum visitors of all ages. The Atheneumhas a long tradition of innovative and exciting educational programming, andis a leader in offering programs that link the vusual arts to school curricula,especially in the field of language arts. Such programs would not be possiblewithout the support of many donors, and we give special recognition to theLincoln Financial Foundation and their generous grant for our School andTeacher Programs. We also acknowledge The Phoenix Company for theircontinued generous support of Phoenix Art After Hours: First Thursdays,which combine educational experiences, with great entertainment to helpbroaden the Museum’s audience.

On September 22, we open the exhibition again: serial practices in contempo-rary art. This exhibition celebrates Mickey Cartin’s generous gift of contem-porary art to the atheneum, combinging works of art from this gift with loansfrom his personal collection. Christopher Mir/ Matrix 157: Dreams, Memo-ries, Reflections, opens on October 4, andMagic Facade: The Austin House,opens on October 20. Taken together, all three of these exhibitions promisethat this school year, as always, will be an exciting time for all our visitors.

Coleman H. CaseyActing Director and President, Board of Trustees

LETTER FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR

Saturday, October 6

First Benefit Gala for the

Wadsworth Atheneum

Museum of Art

6:00 p.m. Cocktails &Silent and Live Auction:

Art work, Trips, Decorative Art,Fine Wines

8:00 p.m. Dinner10:00 p.m. Dancing

$300 per person / $600 per couple

For more information, contactMarcia Kalayjian: 860.349-3725,[email protected]

orKathy Kraczkowsky: 860-523-7661,

[email protected]

Splend0r

ranging from art to world languagesand history. The State of ConnecticutDepartment of Education recognizesthe Atheneum as a licensed provider forcaus. (Continuing Education Units),which educators must accrue to maintaintheir teaching certifications. We’ve alsopartnered with Saint Joseph College,the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum,and other organizations to teacheducators how to integrate art intotheir classroom.

These programs all share the goal ofconverting the first-time visitor into alover of museums.

Reasons teachers cite for bringingtheir students to the museum:

• reinforce learning about the Hartfordcommunity.

• validate what was being taught in theclassroom.

• integrate art and writing curriculum.• be exposed to artwork and have the

experience of visiting an art museum.

That is the assignment for HartfordPublic School fifth grade students takingpart in Hand in Hand: Art and Writing atthe Atheneum, an annual program thatmarries the skill of observation with theart of creative writing. This fall, 130students, six teachers and twelve docentswill participate in this nationally recog-nized program, which reinforces classroomlearning. Teachers tell us that they arethrilled to have a museum program thatsupports their curriculum and exposesstudents to great art.

Expository writing is a key skill forstudents. That’s why the Museum intro-duced its Art and Writing tour in 2005.During the program’s first year, morethan 500 students participated; last year,more than twice that number took part.The Atheneum also supports SocialStudies and art curricula with tours suchas Connecticut People and Places andLearning to Look. At the same time, theseprograms provide many students withtheir first opportunity to visit a museum.

Back ToSchoolat theAtheneumAn artwork is missing from the Museum!

Describe the crime scene and the missing work of art.

Our education programs offerteachers a wide range of opportunitiesto link the visual arts to curricula inlanguage arts, social studies, fine arts,history, geography, and science. TheAtheneum’s Art Matters series, forexample, integrates a gallery tour with anart activity. Local teaching artists helpstudents recognize the direct correlationbetween art on the gallery walls and theartwork that they create in the Museum’sstudio. Our high school program,The Drawing Studio, works similarly.Dedicated Hartford art students areselected by their teachers to participatein this five-part class at the Museum.Each session includes discussions aboutworks in the collection, followed bysketching in the galleries. Several of ourDrawing Studio students have wonawards and scholarships to art colleges.

Of course, educators are also learners,so the Museum provides training andresources to nurture teachers of Kinder-garten through grade twelve in disciplines

Story Book Hour caption..


• to better their understanding of ‘Pop’art and to observe different styles of art.

• learn more about Connecticut peopleand places.

• to experience art.

Just as compelling are students’comments about their visit to theAtheneum:

The Education Department hasestablished a strong relationshipwith schools and teachers aroundConnecticut. Last school year,students from 101 towns, repre-senting 213 schools in Kindergartenthrough grade twelve, visited theAtheneum for various programs.Some teachers report that they’vebeen bringing their students herefor more nearly a decade.

• Art is fun, and there are many thingsand ways you can create an artwork.

• We imagined what the pictures wereabout.

• The Docents were kind and smart.• You could see the brush strokes.• Monet, Renoir, and Hassam paintings

are very pleasant and peaceful.• The mummy was cool.

Hand and Hand.

HOTSchools Institute.

And my favorite: “I really enjoy goingto the museum and learning aboutart…trust me that at first I went tothe museum I thought it was going tobe boring.”

Dawn Salerno, Associate MuseumEducator for School and Family Audiences

COVER STORY


HotSchools Institue.


The Wadsworth Atheneum received a$45,000 grant in March of 2007 fromLincoln Financial Foundation for itsSchool and Teacher Programs: Art andLearning at the Wadsworth Atheneum.The Atheneum is grateful that LincolnFinancial recognized the importance ofthis program, as one of its past fundersmoved from the region. The appeal of theprogram was obvious to Lisa Curran,rogram Officer with Lincoln Foundationin Hartford. “The School and TeacherProgram combines two of our fundingpriority areas – arts accessibility and artseducation,” she said. “It brings Hartfordschool students to the Museum andenhances their current classroom cur-riculum. Many of the students and theirfamilies would not go to the Museumon their own.”

Lincoln Foundation also partnerswith the Greater Hartford Arts Council,whose support is invaluable to themany arts organizations in the area –including the Wadsworth Atheneum.Lincoln Foundation is working with thearts council to create Open HouseHartford on September 8 and 9. Residentsof Hartford and the suburbs will be ableto attend performances and exploremuseums and historic houses, includingthe Wadsworth Atheneum, for free.The weekend will showcase numerouslocal treasures and speaks to the coremission of the Lincoln Foundation:improving the quality of life in the areaswhere the company’s employees live

and work. We all benefit from havingLincoln Financial Group in Hartford.

In 1998, Philadelphia-based LincolnFinancial Group established a presencein Hartford when it acquired the Aetnaand Cigna life insurance businesses.Hartford became the headquarters forLincoln Financial’s life and annuitybusinesses until 2006, when Lincolnmerged with Jefferson Pilot Financial,based in Greensboro, North Carolina.Today the Hartford office is considered a“center of excellence” for Lincoln’s lifeunderwriting operation.

Lincoln Foundation focuses its philan-thropic efforts in three priority areas –arts, education and human services. TheFoundation’s funding targets programs in

Arlington, IL; Atlanta; Charlotte; Concord,NH; Fort Wayne, IN; Greensboro, NC;Hartford, Omaha and Philadelphia.Charitable Contributions Committeeshave been established in each city toreview grant applications and determinewhich nonprofit organizations willreceive Lincoln Foundation support. Eachcommittee meets three times a year todiscuss grants within one of the focusareas. The committee is composed oflocal employees and has grant-makingautonomy up to $50,000. Any grants thecommittee approves of $50,000 or moremust receive the additional approvalof the Foundation board in Philadelphia.That board comprises six members ofthe senior management team.

Lincoln Financial Foundation


will discover that images from popularculture today –such as dragons, dragonslayers, skulls, princesses, knights inarmor, and exotic treasures– are alsofound in paintings that are hundreds ofyears old. We hope that their journeythrough the galleries to find the riddle’ssurprising thief will inspire many returnvisits to the Atheneum.

Self contained in a fold-out map, thepuzzle will include the thief ’s story,rhyming clues and picture clues, and agrid to enter letters to decode a messagethat reveals the thief ’s identity. It isintended for ages six and up; Wick expectsthat it will work best when children andadults solve it together.

During their quest, viewers of all ages

Children’s book author and illustratorWalter Wick is no stranger to inquisitiveminds and people who like to explore.Wick, an artist for more than thirty years,is known for his I Spy and Can You SeeWhat I See picture puzzle books. Duringthe last five years, while traveling, he hassearched around the world for works byRenaissance artists. This experience hasmade him ever more “astounded” bythe depth of the Atheneum’s collection.So it is not surprising that he immediatelysaid “yes”when Linda Roth, the Charles C.and Eleanor Lamont CunninghamCurator of European Decorative Art,asked him to create a puzzle for the Faithand Fortune exhibition.

Wick initially envisioned an I Spy–style search-and-find puzzle. Afterconversations with the curators and theMuseum’s education department,however, the idea evolved, and “To Catcha Thief: A Masterpiece Mystery” wasconceived. The puzzle (a work inprogress as of this writing) will takechildren and adults through the galleriesof Faith and Fortune in search of a thiefwho provides clues to his identity ashe narrates a story in rhyme:

Long ago, way back in time,I lived a wicked life of crime.

Of what I did, I will be brief,To put it straight, I was a thief.

From house to house, from street to street,I’d steal so that I could eat.

Who am I? You might ask;Precisely! That’s your task.

The evidence is in plain view,For the artist’s hand is sure and true.

Masterpiece mystery puzzlecreated for Faith and Fortune

caption

Walter Wick

SOURCES OF SUPPORT

again: serial practices in contemporary artSeptember 22 – December 31, 2007

tin cans, reading glasses, and other foundobjects; a number of serially organizedartist’s books, including Ed Ruscha’sThirty Four Parking Lots and EveryBuilding on the Sunset Strip, and OnKawara’s I Met, a record of every personhe met during a period of twelve years;and a lengthy correspondence artproject by Jonathan Monk: Guessing YourGrandmother’s Name.

The works that make up the againexhibition display a serial practice withroots in the earliest daguerreotypes,which catalogued collections of books,fossils – even other photographs.Although the media and subject matterdiffer, these works are windows to theprocess of artistic creation. Together, theyilluminate both what is unique about eachartist, and what is shared by the group.

Ash Anderson, exhibition co-curator

again: serial practices in contemporary art isco-curated by Ash Anderson, PhD candidate at YaleUniversity, and Steven Holmes, curator of theCartin Collection.

issues. Devlin carefully eliminates herpresence from each photograph, provid-ing only a simple explanatory title, leavingviewers to search for authorial intent.

Arnold Odermatt’s images of wreckedcars in the Swiss canton of Niedwaldenalso suggest violence, but in starklyincongruous surroundings. His 1965photograph Buochs, which was createdduring his four decades of work as apoliceman, transformed Odermatt intoan internationally recognized artist afterhis retirement.

Other exhibition highlights include: asuite of sexually charged portraits by JoeOvelmann –Marine Corps Uniformc. 1970 – depicting twenty-three differentmen dressed in a uniform belonging tohis father; small black-and-white portraitstaken by the Malian photographerMalik Sidibé in the decades following hiscountry’s independence, each displayedin a colorful hand-painted frame; Czechphotographer Miroslav Tichy’s mysteriousphotographs of women– blurred imagestaken with cameras built by hand from

This fall the Wadsworth Atheneum cele-brates a gift from collector Mickey Cartinwith a special exhibition featuring morethan100 works of art, including highlightsfrom the gift and loans from The CartinCollection. Spanning the latter half ofthe twentieth century, this exhibitionoffers a rich cross-section of methods andideas, and comprises traditional andcontemporary photographic media,artist’s books, and correspondence art.

Although the artists featured in againemploy different media and explorediverse subjects, they share a methodol-ogy, whereby numerous aspects of achosen subject are recorded sequentiallyover time (in some cases over a periodof decades, in others a mere hour). Thisprocess not only yields a more dimen-sionally accurate record of the subject, itimbues an intensely personal connectionand visual power.

Photographer Roger Ballen has spentdecades documenting the inhabitants ofsmall working-class towns in SouthAfrica. His images are an arresting com-bination of surreal expression and socialdocument, in the tradition of WalkerEvans and Dorothea Lange. The 1993double-portrait Dresie and Casie, twins,Western Transvaal, for example, displaysBallen’s typically inquisitive, sympatheticgaze, illuminating both a unique personalmoment and an abundance of largersocial problems.

Lucinda Devlin’s work also straddlesdocument and visual expression. Herlarge, striking prints, such as ElectricChair, Holman Unit, Atmore, Alabama,1991, are saturated with color and graphi-cally enticing, but their subject matterengages divisive moral and political

Lucinda Devlin. Electric Chair, Holman Unit, Atmore, Alabama,1991. Color photograph. Gift of Janice and Mickey Cartin,2004.31.22.

Roger Ballen. Dresie and Casie, twins, Western Transvaal, 1993.Selenium toned gelatin silver print. Gift of Janice and Mickey Cartin,2004.31.3


The Cartin Collection began in1988 with the purchase of a singlepainting: a small work by theobscure, self-taught artist John Kane.That work soon was accompaniedby a second painting by Kane, andthrough reading, looking at art,and spending time with artists, theobsessive gene that drives mostcollectors was switched on inMickey Cartin, a Hartford nativeand longtime supporter of theAtheneum. The Cartin Collectionnow holds approximately 2,400objects by more than 400 artists,ranging from fifteenth-centurypaintings from Early Netherlandishmasters, such as Jan Provost andthe Master of the Tiburtine Sybil, toworks by a diverse group ofmodern and contemporary artists,including Sol LeWitt, AgnesMartin, Tony Smith, Wim Delvoye,Tom Sachs, and Josef Albers. Atany given time, as many as 40museum exhibitions around theworld include a work borrowedfrom the collection.

With the hiring of its firstcurator, Steven Holmes, in 2005,The Cartin Collection began todevelop its own exhibition program,designed to make its worksaccessible to new audiences. In thetwo years since, it has producedeight exhibitions (Hartford andNew London Connecticut; Miami,New York, and Paris). Some tookplace in traditional venues; otherswere installed in vacant storefrontsor empty warehouses, and werefree and open to the public.

The exhibition is made possible bythe members of the ContemporaryCoalition and The Larsen Fundfor Photography.

(above) Frank Breuer. Untitled, 1995.C-print, 15 3/4 x 11 3/4 in. Gift ofJanice and Mickey Cartin, 2004.31.68.

Arnold Odermatt. Buochs, 1957. Black and white photograph. Gift of Janice and MickeyCartin, 2004.31.33.

EXHIBIT IONS


Christopher Mir / MATRIX 157:Dreams, Memories, ReflectionsOctober 4 – January 6, 2008

Mir often revisits motifs within his work,and he is particularly interested increating scenes of a futuristic spirit world,such as depicted in Day One (2006),where two men and a woman stand onthe shores of a rocky coast amidst apost-apocalyptic landscape. Who arethese wanderers, and why have theygathered along the desolate shore? Mir isreluctant to answer such questions,leaving us to revel in the uncertainty ofhis spectacularly strange compositions.

Chris Mir was born in 1970 andreceived his M.F.A. in painting fromBoston University School for the Arts in1998. His work is represented in thepermanent collection of the YaleUniversity Art Gallery, and has beenfeatured in solo exhibitions at RAREGallery, New York, and group exhibitionsat ArtSpace New Haven, The AldrichContemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield,and Galeria Senda, Barcelona. ForMATRIX 157, Mir will present a selectionof his paintings from 2006 and 2007.

Joanna Marsh, guest curator

Made possible by the members of theContemporary Coalition.

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Life, Timesand LegacyNovember 13, 2007 – April 29, 2008

Martin Luther King, Jr. emerged as aleader during the Montgomery, AlabamaBus Boycott of 1955. With his charismaticpersonality and his unwavering determi-nation to see that all men and womenwere treated equally, he quickly rose tobecome a symbol of civil rights activism.But a mere thirteen years later, on April 4,1968, the hope of a people seemed to beextinguished as word spread that Dr. Kinghad been mortally wounded as he wasleaving the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis,Tennessee. The Amistad Center for Art &Culture presents this exhibition tomark the fortieth anniversary of theassassination of Dr. King, and to recognizehis importance to American culture.Martin Luther King, Jr.: Life, Times

and Legacy explores the social issues ofthe Civil Rights era and recognizes Dr.King’s enormous contributions throughperiod photographs – by individuals suchas Gordon Parks, Moneta Sleet, andErnest Withers – and art that was createdin response to the social, political andcultural climate of his time. Among theseworks are the iconic image Revolutionary,by Wadsworth Jarrell; paintings, such as

Jeff Donaldson’s Aunt Jemima and thePillsbury Doughboy; and sculpture,including Elizabeth Catlett’s Homage toMy Young Black Sisters.

The exhibition concludes with asection of works by contemporary artistswho explore the themes of race andinjustice in America, which encourageMuseum visitors to compare and contrastthe social climate of today with that ofthe Civil Rights era, and assess theprogress of a people, and our nation.

Rehema Barber, exhibition curator

Martin Luther King, Jr.: Life, Times and Legacy opens inconjunction with The Amistad Center for Art & Culture’sAnnual Meeting on November 13, 2007.

The exhibition is supported by the NewAlliance Foundation.

With additional support from the Connecticut Commissionon Culture & Tourism.

Christopher Mir. Day One, 2006. Oil on canvas. Collection of Malcom Nicholls.

Unidentified Artist. Martin Luther King,Jr., c. 1960. Gelatin silverprint. The Amistad Center for Art and Culture; Simpson Collection,AF 1987.1.1835.


Magic Façade: The Austin HouseOctober 20, 2007 – March 9, 2008

On October 20 the WadsworthAtheneum will open a three-part exhibi-tion focusing on the restoration of thelargest object in its collection: the AustinHouse. The exhibition culminatesdecades of research and conserving orrecreating fabrics, finishes, and objects torecapture a time when the house wasa gathering place for figures such asSalvador Dalí, Alexander Calder, AaronCopland, Buckminster Fuller, and GeorgeBalanchine, all of whom came to Hartfordto take part in the dazzling programsof the Wadsworth Atheneum’s legendarydirector, A. Everett Austin, Jr., affection-ately known as “Chick.”

From its completion in 1930, theAustin House has been the subject of apersistent urban myth—that it is nothingmore than a façade—no doubt becauseof its unique measurements: eighty-sixfeet wide, but a mere eighteen feet deep.It reality, the house is a miniaturePalladian villa, built by Chick Austin andhis wife Helen, a member of one ofHartford’s founding families, theGoodwins. Although it was modeledon a grand sixteenth-century Italian villa,its streamlined appearance is clearlythe product of a playful twentieth-century imagination.

Inside, the Austin House is a study ofcontrasts. Its first floor is decorated inbaroque-rococo style, with walls coveredin eighteenth-century fabrics, such asItalian silk brocatelle and Frenchchinoiserie toile; painted and gildedfurniture; and an elaborately carvedBavarian alcove. But Helen Austin’s secondfloor dressing room proclaims thetwentieth century with a jolt: a blacklinoleum floor, walls of different colors,chromium light fixtures, and tubularsteel furniture by Marcel Breuer.

Magic Façade will introduce Museumvisitors to the history of the house andthe Austin family. The first part of theexhibition features examples of the con-trasting rococo and modernist furnitureand decorative objects from the house,augmented by Austin family letters,photographs, books, memorabilia, andpersonal items. The second sectionfocuses on the restoration project, withexamples of the original fabrics and wall-paper that enabled the Museum to therecreate the interiors as they existedduring the period of Austin’s greatestachievements. The third sectionilluminates Austin’s dual role as innova-tive director of the Atheneum and anirrepressible artist and performer,through correspondence with suchmodernist pioneers as Gertrude Stein,Le Corbusier, and Mondrian; photo-graphs, catalogues, and theater programs;a costume designed by Austin himself;works of art he acquired for the museum;and his own paintings, watercolors andtheater designs.

The exhibition will be accompaniedby a fully illustrated book, also calledMagic Façade: The Austin House,featuring an introductory reminiscenceof Chick Austin by his friend AngelaLansbury; an essay on the Austin House,its creator and his family, by Eugene R.Gaddis; a commentary by Austin’s sonDavid Austin; an essay on the house inthe context of American architecture byRichard Guy Wilson, CommonwealthProfessor and Chair of the Department ofArchitectural History at the Universityof Virginia; and an essay by KrystynHastings-Silver, the Restoration ProjectDirector, describing the philosophyand the detective work required to bringthe Austin House back to life.

Eugene R. Gaddis,William G. DeLanaArchivist and Curator of the Austin House

This exhibition is made possible through the generosity of theWilliam and Alice Mortensen Foundation.

EXHIBIT IONS

Interior view of the Austin House.

The Austin House.

A. Everett Austin, Jr.


Impressionists by the SeaFebruary 9 - May 11, 2008

The coast of Northern France had longbeen a popular subject for painters.Many, like Courbet and Millet, concen-trated on dramatic natural scenes whileothers such as Whistler and Isabeyshowed the local fisherman at work.With the advent of Impressionism, artistssuch as Monet and Manet paintedattractive scenes of vacationing Parisianson fashionable resort beaches, as didRenoir and Cassatt. Monet, representedby fourteen paintings in the exhibition,soon turned away from the frivolity toconcentrate on powerful scenes of purenature. The fifty works in this exhibition,many never seen before, provide asplendid survey of this exciting subject.

The exhibition is organized by the RoyalAcademy of Arts, London, The PhillipsCollection, Washington DC and theWadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art,Hartford, CT.

Supported by Farrow & Ball.

Gustave Courbet. The Shore at Trouville: Sunset Effect, 1866. Oil on canvas. Gift in honor of Helene and Max Eisner, by exchange, withadditional funds provided by the Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 2006.15.1.

Frederic Edwin Church. Coast Scene, Mount Desert (Sunrise off the Maine Coast), 1863. Oil on canvas. Bequest of Clara Hinton Gould,1948.178.


EXHIBIT IONS

caption

caption

(above) Eugéne-Louis Boudin. The Beach at Trouville, 1863. Oil onpanel. The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner CollectionFund, 1948.385.


For the Love of the Game, Raceand Sport in AmericaThrough October 21

For the Love of the Game interspersescontemporary and multimedia pieceswith early images of African Americansin sport, simultaneously acknowledgingthe joy of organized athletic endeavorsand the turbulent and emotionalelements of race, class, and identity thatsurround them.

The exhibition is generously supported by the Edward C.and Ann T. Roberts Foundation and the J. Walton BissellFoundation, with additional support provided by theConnecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.

Faith and Fortune: Five Centuriesof European MasterworksThrough December 9

Faith and Fortune pairs the Atheneum’sOld Master paintings with a rich andvaried array of sculpture and decorativearts from the permanent collection.Included are paintings by Fra Angelico,Caravaggio, Hals, Zurbarán, Canaletto,Boucher, Tiepolo, Ingres, and Delacroix,and a dazzling array of objects made ofbronze, silver, ivory, ceramics, and glass.

Presenting Sponsorship is provided by the Beatrice FoxAuerbach Foundation Fund at

Lead Sponsorship provided by The Larsen Fund, the Decora-tive Arts Council of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum ofArt, Genomas, Inc., and the David T. Langrock Foundation.

CONTINUING EXHIBIT IONS

The Langrock Foundation

Charles McGill. American, b. 1964. Old Navy Harlem, 2001.C-print 4/20. Collection of the Artist.

Michael Sweerts. Flemish, 1624-1664. Boy with a Hat,c. 1655–1660. Oil on panel. The Ella Gallup Sumner and MaryCatlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1940.198.

Pablo Picasso. The Bather, 1922. Oil on panel. The Ella GallupSumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 1931.198.

Picasso to Pop: Aspects ofModern ArtThrough November 18

Paintings, watercolors, drawings, collages,and sculptures from the Atheneum’sextensive collection examine theMuseum’s history of acquiring works bytwentieth-century innovators anddemonstrate the diversity and interna-tional reach of modern art.

Sponsorship for Picasso to Pop: Aspects of Modern Art isprovided by NewAlliance Foundation.


Exhibition in Brescia, ItalyNovember 24, 2007 – May 4, 2008

The Wadsworth Atheneum plans to lendapproximately fifty major works fromthe museum’s 19th Century AmericanPainting Collection to the Linea d’ombramuseum of art in Brescia, Italy, for anexhibition to be held from November 24,2007-May 4, 2008, entitled America!Storie de Pittura dal Nuovo Mondo.This major exhibition, and scholarlycatalogue, which will include an essay onthe Hudson River School by ElizabethMankin Kornhauser, Krieble Curator ofAmerican Painting and Sculpture,marks the first presentation of American19th century art for the Italian audience.With over 400 masterworks drawnfrom leading art museums in the UnitedStates, this promises to be a groundbreaking project, and one that willpresent the Atheneum’s collections to aninternational audience. Visitors to theWadsworth Atheneum’s AmericanGalleries will be able to see a newinstallation of 19th Century Americanwatercolors by such artists as WinslowHomer and John Singer Sargent, whichwill be installed in place of the loanstraveling to Italy.

TRAVELING EXHIBIT ION

caption



George Laurence Nelson

The American artist George LaurenceNelson pursued his artistic career inFrance where he developed a bold andbright post-impressionist style. With theapproaching war, Nelson returned toNew York in 1914 and would laterbecome a central figure in the art colonyin Kent, Connecticut, that includedfellow-artists Robert Nisbet and EliottClark, among many other New Yorkbased painters who acquired countryhouses in Kent and who established theKent Art Association in 1922. Over thecourse of his very successful career, hebecame a leading society portrait painterand was elected to the National Academyof Design, and served as the president ofthe Allied Artists of America. In 1919,Laurence purchased a historic house inthe “Flanders” section of Kent that datedto the seventeenth century. Called “SevenHearths,” Nelson renovated the house,where he also created a studio, livingthere with his wife, the art critic Hermine(Helen) Charlotta Redgrave Nelson, andher daughter Beatrice. Nelson and hisfamily spent sixty years at Seven Hearths,and at the time of his death, he left thehouse and the contents of his studio tothe Kent Historical Society. In recentyears, the Society has engaged in placingthe artist’s most important works inmajor American museums.

The Daguerreotype is a prime exampleof the artist’s most accomplished portraitstyle. The subjects include his adopteddaughter Beatrice, who is enthralled byher grandmother, who gazes at a familydaguerreotype portrait, likely of herself.They are seated in one of the parlorsof Seven Hearths, which includes a cornercupboard filled with early 19th centuryblue and white transfer ware Britishpottery. Various antique furnishings fillthe parlor, and in the center of the table isa glorious still life of wild flowers fromthe Nelson’s famed gardens, a vignetteoften featured in his more personalportraits of family members. The colonialrevival movement, of which Nelson was

an avid student, inspires the subject ofthe portrait. The artist has juxtaposed theolder generation (his in laws) whopresent a much earlier form of photo-graphic portraiture – the daguerreotypewhich was first invented in the 1830s –to their granddaughter, who with hergrandparents is portrayed by Nelson inthe highly fashionable portrait style ofthe early 20th century. The WadsworthAtheneum is indebted to The KentHistorical Society for this important addi-tion to the collection of American art.

Elizabeth Mankin Kornhauser,Krieble Curator of American Paintingand Sculpture

ACQUISIT ION

George Laurence Nelson. The Daguerreotype, c. 1915. Oil on canvas. Gift of the Kent Historical Society, Kent, Connecticut.


Recently, we sat down with Sandra andDavid Benjamin to discuss their Museummembership and the way that art influ-ences their life.

MQ: How did your love of the artsdevelop?

Sandra: I’ve always loved visiting artmuseums. When I was a child we lived inTarrytown, New York, and I often wouldgo down to the city with my friends. Wethought we were a big deal to wanderthrough the Metropolitan Museum of Artby ourselves. Those early experiencesreally shaped my life. They motivated meto pursue an undergraduate degree inFine Arts from Syracuse University,before going on to receive a Masters ofDivinity from Yale Divinity School.David: I also went to Syracuse University,to study engineering. So it was an inter-esting combination; the engineer and theartist [laughs]. Sandy has certainly broad-ened my point of view on things, and Icredit her for introducing me to the arts.It’s been very rewarding.Sandra: When we moved to Connecticutin 1965, we joined the Museum rightaway. Back then, it was a different place –the art didn’t change as often as it doestoday. At that time, we lived in East Hart-ford, and I worked right across the streetfrom the Wadsworth at SNET Co. I madeit a point to come over at lunchtimeand enjoy the Museum most every day.

MQ: Are there specific works, or typesof work, in our collection that create aconnection for you?

David: I really connect with the HudsonRiver School paintings. I could spendquite a bit of time enjoying those works.They’re certainly some of the Museum’ssignature pieces.

Sandra: My old favorites are from thebaroque collection, because they make mefeel at home; they’re like friends up on thewall that I come and visit. That’s my emo-tional response – but artistically, I loveit all. I love the diversity of the Museum’scollection. I discover new things aboutworks all the time. It can be surprisinghow a painting that has never caught youreye before leaps out at you all of a sudden,and captures your attention. My favoriteschange all the time though. I thinkthat’s probably the way it’s meant to be.

MQ: What roles do the arts play inyour personal and family life?

Sandra: When I studied at Yale DivinitySchool I made it a point to take classes insacred art and architecture. Throughoutmy years in the ministry, I was able touse the arts as a means to help peoplebetter understand themselves, others andtheir faith.

The visual arts have a huge influenceon all of us, especially children. It hasalways been important to me to exposemy grandchildren to art at an early age.As soon as each of them was born, Iwould bring them in and show them worksthat were really big, with bright colors,especially when they were very young andtheirs eyes were just beginning to focus.

They can only grow in appreciationfor the many cultures and peoples in theworld and in tolerance for the exchangeof ideas. Not to mention they can have alot of fun.David: We love to bring them to theAtheneum for the Art Explorersprograms in the studio and StorybookHour in the galleries. It’s great to see theirexcitement as they experience newthings. It’s a well-rounded experience forchildren. I really think people shouldput it on their list of things to do.

MQ: Do you have any favoritememories from visiting the Wadsworthover the years?

David: Sandy started bringing our grand-son Sean to the Museum when he wasonly two or three months old, so he wasexposed to quite a bit of art at a veryyoung age. I remember one time webrought some relatives in for a visit, andSean was with us. He was four years oldat the time, and he had seen Sandyintroduce some of the works when shewas giving docent tours during his priorvisits. He had three or four favoritepaintings and he acted like a little docent,taking us all around to see them andtelling us about them. It was great towatch him do that.

MEMBER PROFILES

Names: Sandra and David BenjaminHometown: Tolland, Connecticut

David B. Benjamin, granddaughter Gina Carroll, and Sandra T. Benjamin

Exhibitions drawn from the Wadsworth’sextraordinary collections will be seen bynational and international audiences in2007 and 2008.

USA

Samuel Colt: Arms, Art, andInvention

October 13, 2007–January 6, 2008National Cowboy andWesternHeritage MuseumOklahoma City, OK

February 2–April 27, 2008Northwest Museum of Arts & CultureSpokane, WA

May 24–September 1, 2008Panhandle-Plains Historical MuseumCanyon, TX

Europe

Nue Welt. Die Erfindung deramerikanischen Malerei(New World. Creating An American Art)

July 21–October 21, 2007StaatsgalerieStuttgart, Germany

America! Storie di pittura dalNuovo Mondo(America! Painting the New World)

November 24, 2007–May 4, 2008Linea d’ombra museum of artBrescia, ItalyComing Soon

THANK YOU! to The PhoenixCompany for continuing their supportof Phoenix Art After Hours: FirstThursdays at the WadsworthAtheneum for a second year. ThePhoenix’s $100,000 sponsorship hashelped the Museum offer stimulatinglectures and gallery talks, and con-tributed to the vibrant mix of jazz,rock, and R&B musicians performingin our galleries, all of which broaden

TRAVELING EXHIBIT IONS

captioncaption

Detail. Samuel Colt. Number 5 Holster Pistol, 1840. Bequest of Elizabeth Hart Jarvis Colt.

the Museum’s audience. In addition,opening the galleries in the evening forfolks finishing off a day of work orothers coming into Hartford fordinner and a movie, contributes to thehealth and vitality of the downtownscene. We are pleased to have acontinued partnership with ThePhoenix Company, and look forwardto bringing you another year ofoutstanding programming.

The Phoenix pledges continued support


Holiday Box Note CardsWe have more than 100 different setsto choose from, ranging from traditionalimages to contemporary designs.There’s something for every taste!$10.95-$19.95

UglydollsSome Uglyworms are sneaky; some arecrafty; all are hungry … for knowledge,like: “Where do you keep the carrotcake?” and “How long before ice creamgoes bad?” We have Uglyworm’s friends,too – Ugly Moxy and Ugly Big Toe – inassorted sizes and personalities.$7.95-$22.00

Playmate Chess SetThis whimsical set includes 32 moldedrubber playing pieces, chessboard, and areusable carrying case. 11.5 x 11.5 inches.$33.95

Save time to stop at The Museumshop during your visit. You’llfind exquisite jewelry, exhibitioncatalogues and books, andgames and activities for every agegroup. Members receive 10% offtheir purchases.

2008 CalendarsGet organized! We have a great selectionof artist’s calendars in different sizes andstyles. $8.99-$13.99

OrnamentsSnowmen, animals, the ocean, and sports– these are just a few of the myriadthemes the ornaments on our Boutiquetrees will be sporting, from November 30to December 9. Whether you’re a seriouscollector or just looking for interestingornaments to hang on your tree, be sureto visit The Museum Shop.

MUSEUM SHOP


34th annualFestival of Trees & Traditions

“A Celebration of Families”at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

December 1 – 9, 200710:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.Closed Monday, December 3;open until 8:00 p.m. on ursday, December 6

Featuring: decorated trees, handcrafted wreaths, and tabletopdecorations arranged in Yuletide vignettes; craft activitiesfor children, and live entertainment throughout the day; specialactivities for families on Saturdays.

An additional fee of $3 per person is added to all admissiontickets for this annual fundraiser.

Photograph by Robert Benson

600 Main StreetHartford, CT 06103

Non ProfitOrganizationPostagePAIDPermit #82Hartford, CT

Wadsworth Museum of Art Members Quarterly

Documents

Transcript of Wadsworth Museum of Art Members Quarterly