The Birmingham Museum of Art Shows Indian Sculpture from the Callaghan Collection

Written by Sandeep Gavaskar Tuesday, 21 June 2011 23:04

Birmingham, AL.- The Birmingham Museum of Art is proud to present the first showing of Indian sculpture from the collection of the Callahan family. Over twenty sculptures in stone and bronze depict a variety of Hindu and Buddhist deities that date from the second through the eighteenth centuries. These include a rare third century image of Hariti, the Buddhist protector of children, to an elegant sixteenth century image of The Dancing Shiva (Shiva Nataraja). The Callahan family collection shows the great diversity of Indian iconography and the brilliance of Indian craftsmen.

"Faces of India: Sculpture from the Callaghan Collection" includes 23 sculptures in bronze and stone from the second through 18th centuries, including a 16th century image of Shiva Nataraja, dancing Ganesha, Narasimha, etc. Related events include a yoga program, classical Indian music, lecture on sacred arts and spiritual rituals of India, classical Indian films, dance and music from India. Applauding BMA for exhibiting Hinduism focused art, Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada (USA) today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

Founded in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art has one of the finest collections in the Southeast USA supported by a strong educational program designed.  The facility encompasses 180,000 square feet, including a splendid outdoor sculpture garden.

Spanning the late 18th through mid-20th century, the Museum’s collection of American painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts features paintings by Gilbert Stuart, Childe Hassam, and Georgia O'Keeffe; sculptures by Hiram Powers and Frederic Remington; and important decorative pieces by Tiffany Studios and Frank Lloyd Wright. Since its doors opened to the public in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art has collected and exhibited the art of Alabama. Among the earliest works to enter the collection were paintings by significant Alabama artists including the miniaturist Hannah Elliott and the landscapist Carrie Hill. In addition to collecting the works of academically trained native artists, the Museum has built an impressive collection of folk art, including painting, sculpture, quilts, and pottery. The Museum’s Asian art collection started with a gift of Chinese textiles in 1951 and today, with more than 4,000 objects, is the largest and most comprehensive in the Southeast. The collection hails from China, Korea, Japan, India, and Southeast Asia, featuring the finest collection of Vietnamese ceramics in the U.S., as well as outstanding examples of Buddhist and Hindu art, lacquer ware, ceramics, paintings, prints, and sculpture. Highlights include a rare Ming dynasty temple wall and Tang dynasty tomb figures from China; Jomon period pottery from Japan; and contemporary works such as The Grand Residence, considered by Chinese painter Wu Guanzhong among his most important works. The Contemporary Art collection features painting, sculpture, video, photography, works on paper, and installation art that illuminate movements and trends from the 1960s to the present, by renowned artists such as Joan Mitchell, Andy Warhol, Bill Viola, Lynda Benglis, Kerry James Marshall, Callum Innes, Grace Hartigan, Larry Rivers, Louise Nevelson, Frank Fleming and Philip Guston, as well as works by a younger generation who are defining the new century. Among the highlights of the European art holdings are Renaissance and Baroque paintings, sculpture and decorative arts dating from the late 13th century to c.1750, with works by Pietro Perugino, Antonio Canaletto, and Paris Bordone. Other strengths include 17th-century Dutch paintings by Jacob van Ruisdael, Ferdinand Bol, and Balthasar van der Ast; British 18th-century painting, with portraits by Thomas Gainsborough and Thomas Lawrence; and 18th- and 19th-century French paintings by Francois-Hubert Drouais, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Mary Cassatt, Gustave Courbet, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. The museum features a large installation of Native American arts. The collection features stunning objects from Meso-America, Central America, and the Northern Andes. Highlights from Meso-America include Zapotec ceramics, objects related to the ballgame, Maya figure sculpture, ceramics and jewelry, Aztec stone sculpture, and West Mexican figural tomb sculpture. Cultures of ancient Costa Rica, Guatemala, and Panama are well represented: works include gold jewelry, metates, censors, volcanic stone figure sculpture, and ceramics. Northern Andean objects include Sican ceremonial gold vessels and tumi, ceramics from the Moche, Chimu, Chancay, and Vicus cultures, Incan keros and mummy masks, and Peruvian textiles. Visit the museum's website at ... http://www.artsbma.org

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