Carl Gutherz Works at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art

Friday, 22 December 2006 14:33

Memphis, Tennessee - The Memphis Brooks Museum of Art is pleased to present a selection of works from the permanent collection by Carl Gutherz (1844-1907).  Gutherz, a Swiss-born American artist, was among the small group of Tennessee painters who took up residency in Paris in the last quarter of the 19th century.  Gutherz spent his adolescent and early adult years in Memphis, taking portrait commissions and designing costumes, invitations, and floats for the annual Memphis Mardi Gras.  While in Memphis, he met and wed Kate Scruggs, with whom he had two daughters and a son.

Gutherz received his initial training at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris from in 1870.  Upon his return to the United States he became an art instructor in St. Louis, helping to establish the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts.  During his second tenure in Paris (1884–1896) he attended the Académie.  In 1906, Gutherz produced a design for an arts and sciences pavilion that was the basis for the development of Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, now the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art.

The Brooks extensive collection of Gutherz work was given to the Museum by the artist's son, Marshall Goodheart, in 1968 and 1986.  This collection will be featured in an upcoming catalog, scheduled to be published in the summer of 2008.  This catalog project is supported by a 2006 federal grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

The Gutherz exhibition, which consists of 16 paintings and 2 drawings, will remain on display at the museum through January 15, 2007.

Visit Memphis Brooks Museum of Art at : www.brooksmuseum.org/