Art History

Skylar Fein Exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum

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A recent work by Skylar Fein titled Black Lincoln for Dooky Chase will be on view at the Brooklyn Museum through August 2011 as the centerpiece of an installation including related works from the permanent collection. In Fein’s 2010 work he overlays a silhouette portrait of Abraham Lincoln on a panel created to resemble an old wall menu from Dooky Chase, a well-known New Orleans Creole and soul food restaurant.

Painted in acrylic on plaster and wood, Fein’s portrait will be displayed alongside such works as an 1871 marble bas-relief profile of Lincoln, early nineteenth-century cut-paper silhouettes by French artist August Edouart, and Kara Walker’s 2005 Cotton Hoards in Southern Swamp (from Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War).

Skylar Fein, a resident of New Orleans since 2005, believes that Lincoln’s opposition to slavery was shaped by a trip that he took as a teenager to New Orleans, which was then the center of the slave trade. Fein’s use of the silhouette taps into a long visual tradition, examples of which are included in the installation.

The silhouette was popularized in eighteenth-century Europe and soon caught on in the United States. Figures and profile portrait heads were cut from black card and set against a white ground or, in some instances, painted on glass. Evocative of the antebellum period and offering a graphic contrast of black and white the silhouette has inspired explorations of racial issues by contemporary artists such as Fein and Kara Walker.

A native of New York, Skylar Fein (born 1968) was a participant in Prospect.1 New Orleans, the 2008 biennial curated by Dan Cameron. His Remember the Upstair Lounge, a multimedia installation about a disastrous 1973 New Orleans fire at a gay bar that killed thirty-two and injured dozens, received broad critical acclaim. His work has been the subject of solo exhibitions, including the 2009 exhibition Skylar Fein: Youth Manifesto at New Orleans Museum of Art, and is represented in public and private collections.

Image: Skylar Fein (American, born 1968). Black Lincoln for Dooky Chase, 2010.

Mohawk-Hudson Artist Call for Entries

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The Albany Institute of History & Art has issued a call for entries for the 2011 Exhibition by Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region, which the museum will host from July 9 through September 4. Entries are due by April 25, 2011. Established in 1936 and celebrating its 75th year, the Mohawk-Hudson Regional is one of the longest-running regional exhibitions in the country. This annual, juried exhibition occupies a major role in the history of contemporary art activity in the Upper Hudson Valley.

Highlighting the work of artists working within a 100-mile radius of Albany and Glens Falls, The Regional rotates every three years among the Albany Institute, the University Art Museum at the University at Albany, and The Hyde Collection. The Regional has become a barometer of contemporary art, as well as a means of support for emerging and established artists in the Capital District. Local arts patrons and businesses provide cash prizes and gift certificates that the juror awards to selected artists.

The juror for the exhibition is Holly Hughes, an artist, working in painting, printmaking, and ceramics, with studios in New York City and Columbia County. Hughes is a Professor at the Rhode Island School of Design and has extensive visiting-artist experience at other institutions, and as a teacher, lecturer, critic, juror, and curator. Her work––represented in numerous public collections––has been exhibited nationally and internationally, and reviewed in publications such as ARTnews, Art Forum, Art in America, and The New York Times.

For more information about the exhibition, call (518) 463-4478 or visit www.albanyinstitute.org. Downloadable entry forms are available on the website.

New President of Farmers Museum, NYSHA

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The election of Dr. Paul D’Ambrosio as President of The Farmers’ Museum/New York State Historical Association was announced yesterday by Jane Forbes Clark, Chairman of The Farmers’ Museum, Inc. and Dr. Douglas E. Evelyn, Chairman of The New York State Historical Association, effective April 1, 2011.

Dr. D’Ambrosio succeeds D. Stephen Elliott as President and C.E.O. Mr. Elliott, who served nearly six years as President, has been appointed Director and Chief Executive Officer of The Minnesota Historical Society.

In a joint statement, Jane Forbes Clark and Douglas Evelyn said, “although we are sorry that Steve Elliott is leaving Cooperstown after six very productive years, we have a most capable successor in Paul D’Ambrosio. Paul’s leadership, experience and creativity have been on ample display at The Farmers’ Museum and The Fenimore Art Museum, and we are fortunate to have such a worthy and skilled museum professional within our ranks to promote to our highest administrative position.”

Mr. Elliott stated that “it has been an honor to work with the very capable and dedicated staffs of the New York State Historical Association and The Farmers’ Museum and I look forward to applying what I have learned from my colleagues in Cooperstown to my forthcoming work with another of America’s premier history institutions.”

Paul D’Ambrosio has been associated with The Farmers’ Museum, The New York State Historical Association and its Fenimore Art Museum for 26 years. He has been Vice President and Chief Curator since 1998 and has been responsible for organizing and traveling exhibits, acquisitions, publications, research, academic study and the care of objects. Dr. D’Ambrosio has also taken the lead role in the adoption of the many new forms of social media at the Museums, thereby making their collections and programs open and accessible (see his blog). In addition, he is an Adjunct Professor of Museum Studies at the Cooperstown Graduate Program, a Member of the American Folk Art Society and has served as a Museum Panelist for the New York State Council on the Arts.

A nationally recognized expert of American Folk Art, Dr. D’Ambrosio is the author of Ralph Fasanella’s America, numerous exhibition catalogs and articles, and co-author of Folk Art’s Many Faces. He holds a B.A. from SUNY Cortland, an M.A. from SUNY Oneonta’s Cooperstown Graduate Program and a Ph.D. from Boston University. Dr. D’Ambrosio, his wife Anna and their family reside in New Hartford, New York.

The Farmers’ Museum, founded in 1943, is an educational organization devoted to presenting the lives of ordinary people and the agricultural and trade processes of rural 19th century New York State- it is one of the oldest and most popular continuously operating outdoor museums in the United States. Founded in 1899, The New York State Historical Association preserves and exhibits objects and documents significant to New York history and American culture. The Association is home to The Fenimore Art Museum that features collections of American folk art, 19th century American fine art, and the acclaimed Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art.

Photo: Paul D’Ambrosio with students form the Cooperstown Graduate Program.

Major Hudson River School Exhibition Opens

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Questroyal Fine Art in New York City has announced the beginning of its eleventh annual Hudson River School exhibition, An Untamed Nation. The show, which opened to the public March 10, features examples by America’s most beloved landscape artists of the nineteenth-century. Highlights include a sublime landscape by the 19th-century forefather of American art, Thomas Doughty, a marine masterpiece by Luminist painter Francis Augustus Silva, a vibrant Hudson River scene by Jasper Francis Cropsey, and a dramatic composition by George Inness.

Questroyal owner Louis M. Salerno said of the paintings: “After months of searching, I am happy to say that I have gathered a unique and high-quality group of paintings for this year’s exhibition. I have specialized in finding and offering Hudson River School works for over two decades now and have never displayed such a distinguished collection of nineteenth-century art as what we have for this year’s show. We have created one of our strongest Hudson River School catalogues to accompany the exhibition with thirty-two illustrations, but plan to display well over seventy-five works.”

An Untamed Nation will be on display until April2,2011. Questroyal is willing to offer a complimentary exhibition catalogue to any interested parties. Please contact the gallery via email ([email protected]) or phone (212-744-3586) to request your copy.

Admission to the exhibition is free of charge. The gallery is located at 903 Park Avenue (at 79th Street), Suite 3A & B and is open Monday–Friday from 10–6 PM and Saturday, 10–5PM.

Visit their website for more information.

Hyde Collection to Present Still Life Talk

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The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls has announced that on Thursday, March 17, 2011, the Museum will hold a lecture on still life by David F. Setford, the Museum’s executive director.

Titled &#8220Fish, Fowl, and Flowers: 20th Century Still Life from the Norton Museum,&#8221 the talk will be held in conjunction with the current exhibition at Hyde &#8211 Objects of Wonder: Four Centuries of Still Life from the Norton Museum of Art.

The exhibition brings together fifty-one works of painting, watercolor, collage, sculpture, and ceramics as well as glass pieces and textiles, spanning four centuries. The show features such famous artists as Gustave Courbet, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, Georgia O’Keeffe, Edward Steichen, Robert Mapplethorpe, and Andy Warhol. Setford, who was chief curator at the Norton throughout the 1990s, brings his specific expertise to this presentation as he was responsible for major shows at the Norton which featured 20th century artists, including Picasso, Man Ray, Dufy, and Bellows.

Setford’s lecture will highlight the different way that 20th century artists used still life as a way to grapple with the new styles of the century and will be held in The Hyde’s Froehlich Auditorium at 6 pm.

The lecture is free and open to the public. Suggested non-member donation to view the exhibition, which will be open to visitors until the start of the lecture, is $8. Seating is limited and is offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Those wishing to make reservations area asked to call 518-792-1761 ext. 17.

Illustration: Pomegranates and Fruit on Silver with Baluch Rug by James Whitbeck.

Womens Art History Program at Saratoga Battlefield

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In recognition of Women’s History Month, Saratoga National Historical Park will offer a free public program on Sunday, March 13 at 1:30pm in the visitor center, in which Park Ranger Eric Schnitzer will explore examples of artwork made by 18th century European women painters and pastellists.

Commonly heard are the famous names of European or American artists of the 18th century, such as Thomas Gainsborough and Jonathan Trumbull. But women artists of the period, equally talented and prolific, have been traditionally ignored. Ranger Schnitzer will showcase a variety of 18th century women artists, show images of their artworks, and provide short sketches about the amazing women who created them. These artworks have been rarely seen since being created over 200 years ago.

Saratoga National Historical Park is located between Rt. 4 and Rt. 32 in the Town of Stillwater, NY. For more information, please contact the visitor center by calling 518-664-9821 ext. 224 or check their website at www.nps.gov/sara

Illustration: Mary Blood Mellen (1817-1882) &#8220Field Beach, c1850s&#8221 Oil on canvas on board, 24 x 33 15/16 in. Cape Ann Museum, Gift of Jean Stanley Dise, 1970.2019-2. Courtesy Thomas Cole National Historic Site.

Olana to Host Irish History Themed Tours

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Events such as the Irish Potato Famine of the 1840s and 1850s led to a major influx of Irish immigrants to the United States in the mid-nineteenth century. Like many other families in this area, the Churches hired numerous Irish immigrants for their staff at Olana during the years Frederic Church lived on this property (1860-1900).

Two of the longest-serving employees were the Churches’ coachman and head cook, Michael and Jane McKenna – a brother and sister – both of whom were employed here for over a quarter-century. Olana will present special Irish-themed tours Friday-Sunday, March 11-13 & 18-20, at 10 and 11AM, 12, 1, 2 & 3PM.


Photo: Frederic Church’s coachman Michael McKenna is shown here with one of the Church’s horses. Collection Olana State Historic Site, NYS OPRHP.

Met Archives Make Art History Collection Available

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives has announced that a newly processed collection is now open for scholarly research, The Henry Gurdon Marquand Papers, 1852-1903 (bulk, 1868-1903). New York financier Henry Gurdon Marquand (1819-1902) was a member of the Provisional Committee to establish a museum of art in New York City (1869), an early Trustee of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (1871-1902), Treasurer (1883-1889), and its second President (1889-1902).

For over three decades Marquand spent his fortune carefully acquiring artwork to decorate his Madison Avenue mansion and to enlarge the Metropolitan’s then modest holdings. The Henry Gurdon Marquand Papers contain correspondence with artists and dealers, receipts, inventories, and notes that document his activity as an art collector and patron of The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The bulk of the correspondence is with the British artists George Henry Boughton and Frederic Leighton, and dealers, Martin Colnaghi, Charles W. Deschamps, Wolfgang Helbig, Robert Jenkins Nevin, John Charles Robinson, H. Herbert Smith, and Thomas Humphry Ward. Most dates from 1868-1898, Marquand’s most active period of commissioning and collecting works of art for his home and for eventual donation to the Metropolitan.

The Finding aid is available online as a pdf.

The objective of The Metropolitan Museum of Art Archives is to collect, organize, and preserve in perpetuity the corporate records and official correspondence of the Museum, to make the collection accessible and provide research support, and to further an informed and enduring understanding of the Museum’s history. Archives holdings include Board of Trustees records, legal documents, Museum publications, office files of selected Museum staff, architectural drawings, press clippings, and ephemera. The Archives is accessible to Museum staff and to qualified scholarly researchers at the graduate level and above. Requests for access should be sent via email, and should include a brief summary of the research project, an outline of sources already consulted and a curriculum vitae or resume. Access is granted at the discretion of Archives staff, and certain materials may be restricted. The archives can be contacted via e-mail at: [email protected].

Photo courtesy Wikipedia.

@metmuseum.org>

Hyde Collection to Feature New Acquisitions

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The Hyde Collection in Glens Falls, Warren County, has announced the opening on March 8 of its newest exhibition – What’s New? Acquisitions from 2008 to 2010.

The exhibition, which will be on display through May 29, features approximately twenty-four works of art acquired by The Hyde Collection between 2008 and 2010. During this period, the Museum accessioned an unprecedented ninety-six objects into its permanent collection through bequests, gifts, and purchases from a variety of donors and sources.
 
What’s New? highlights a selection of these recent additions, many of which introduce artists who have not been represented in the collection to date. The exhibition also emphasizes the variety of media in which these artists worked. Featured are such works as the monumental etching, The Gate Of Venice from 1888, by the American artist Thomas Moran (1837-1926) and a stunning Pond Lily Lamp from the Tiffany Studios, dating to the early-twentieth century. Also on display are a luminous watercolor by the American modernist Arthur Dove (1880-1946) from 1934-35 and an early engraving by the German Renaissance master Albrecht Durer (1471-1528).

The works will be on view in the Hoopes Gallery and in the Education Wing of the Museum. The exhibition is curated by Erin Coe, chief curator, and Jayne Stokes, associate curator of The Hyde Collection.

Two Artists in Dialog: Tantillo-Whitbeck

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The Opalka Gallery at The Sage Colleges (140 New Scotland Ave., Albany) will play host to &#8220Two Artists in Dialog: Tantillo-Whitbeck: A Discussion of Contrasting Styles from a Common Source&#8221 on Sunday, March 13, 2011 at 2pm.

Themes from the 17th Century Dutch animate the work of both Len Tantillo and James Whitbeck. Yet, the two manifest their work in contrasting styles. These two unique artists will describe the motivation that inspires their work, and the process they follow to a final outcome.

Len Tantillo is well established with his work depicting historical moments of the Hudson Valley in a panoramic landscape style. James Whitbeck, a native of the Berkshires, is establishing himself with work evocative of the 17th century Dutch masters in still life.

Online registration is available here, or you can call (518) 443-1609.

Illustration: Bay of Manhattan by Len Tantillo & Pomegranates and Fruit on Silver with Baluch Rug by James Whitbeck.