The Akron Art Museum Will Display "Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism"

Written by Eric Jamieson Tuesday, 18 October 2011 23:38

Akron, OH.- The Akron Art Museum is proud to present "Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism", on view in the Karl and Bertl Arnstein galleries from October 29th through February 5th 2012. "Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism" offers a broad survey of landscape painting as practiced by leading French artists from Gustave Courbet to Claude Monet and their most significant American followers including Childe Hassam and John Singer Sargent. This exquisite exhibition of more than fifty paintings will include many of the finest examples of French and American impressionist landscapes from the collection of the Brooklyn Museum as well as American impressionist paintings from the Akron Art Museum.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to showcase highlights from the Akron Art Museum’s collection of American impressionist paintings alongside French and American masterpieces from the Brooklyn Museum,” said Curator of Exhibitions Ellen Rudolph.  “Featuring works from the 1850s through the 1920s, this exhibition allows us to present not only examples of high impressionism but also the wide range of stylistic developments in landscape painting that preceded and followed the impressionist movement. We will also explore some of the key cultural and historical trends centered on industrialization that influenced the development of impressionism.” The breadth of works included in Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism tells the story of the development of French impressionism and its impact on American painting during a period when industrialization and technological advances were radically altering the face of the landscape, a phenomenon that artists responded to in highly personal ways. Artists forged strong relationships on both sides of the Atlantic through individual friendships, artist colonies and new artist groups, which afforded the artists a sense of community and belonging in a rapidly changing world. The Akron Art Museum is the final venue for Landscapes from the Age of Impressionism. This dazzling exhibition has been on tour since 2007 and will return to the Brooklyn Museum after its presentation in Akron.


The Akron Art Museum first opened its doors on February 1, 1922 as the Akron Art Institute. Since then, it has continued to enrich the lives of those in Northeast Ohio and beyond through modern art. Art made from 1850 to 1950 graces the C. Blake McDowell, Jr. Galleries. On view are outstanding examples of turn-of-the-twentieth century realism and American impressionism including paintings by Childe Hassam, Frederick Frieseke, William Merritt Chase and Ohio's own Frank Duveneck. Many of these works came from the collection of the museum's co-founder Edwin C. Shaw. One gallery explores modernism and regionalism in northeast Ohio from the 1910s to 1950, and another is devoted to William Sommer, this region's most important historical artist. The Akron Art Museum is the only place in the nation where Sommer's work is on permanent view. Art created since 1950 is featured in the Sandra L. and Dennis B. Haslinger Family Foundation Galleries. The eclecticism of style in late 20th century art is revealed through examples of postmodern painting and sculpture, photorealism, Pop art and works that continue surrealist and expressionist approaches. Galleries are organized thematically, an example being artists' varied representations of the human body. On view are 'Linda' by Chuck Close, a monumental early painting; the witty silkscreen painting 'Elvis' by Andy Warhol; and Ohio carver and preacher Elijah Pierce's animated relief sculpture 'The Wise and Foolish Virgins and Four Other Scenes'. Other spaces explore both the subtlety and power of abstraction. Masterpieces by Donald Judd, Jackie Winsor and Sol LeWitt present an elegant vision of space ordered through geometry. Frank Stella's enormous Diepholz (which is both painting and sculpture) and African artist El Anatsui's shimmering wall hanging made from hundreds of liquor bottle caps, address abstraction through a more emotional or instinctual world view. A separate room in the Haslinger Family Galleries is devoted to the first work of installation art to enter the museum's collection - Atrabiliairios (Defiant), by Colombian sculptor Doris Salcedo. The piece's elegantly ordered rectangular niches belie its visceral content and materials related to the politics of Colombia. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.akronartmuseum.org

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