American Pop Exhibition Coming to the Crocker Art Museum

Sacramento, Calif. – From Lichtenstein to Warhol, the art of the controversial Pop Art movement will be on exhibit at the Crocker Art Museum August 16 – November 2, 2008. American Pop: Featuring Andy Warhol’s Athletes from the Richard Weisman Collection highlights 36 works drawn from major private collections as well as the Crocker’s own and probes how artistic introspection of the 1960s developed into the ultimate endorsement of 1970s celebrity.

The show includes two Sacramento artists’ unique stamp on the Pop Art movement: Wayne Thiebaud, whose painterly layering of pigment defined his vision of lunch counter confections and Barbara Spring, who turned found drift wood into cunning depictions of roast beef, sliced ham, coconut cake and petit fours.

Highlighting Pop’s ultimate expression is the exhibit’s special display of Andy Warhol’s Athletes Series. Begun in 1977 and completed in 1979, these 10 portraits capture the decade’s athletic superstars with the late 20th-century’s stamp of fame—a Warhol silk-screen.

How Warhol came to photograph and "paint" Dorothy Hamill, Muhammad Ali, Pelé and Jack Nicklaus reveals the ongoing importance of friendships between patrons and artists in contemporary art. In September, Athletes owner Richard Weisman will speak with college students about the inspiration behind the series and his career as a collector.
The exhibition demonstrates that while Warhol, James Rosenquist, Roy Lichtenstein and Mel Ramos created signature Pop works, a wide variety of often surprising artists were also drawn to explore the new subject matter. This broad adoption shows how Pop Art represented both a prevailing mood and an important influence. Critics decried the celebration of Pop, but the fast acceptance of the movement by artists and collectors alike signaled a seismic shift in American life.

American Pop is supported in part by the Kathryn Uhl Ball and Fred Uhl Ball Endowment Fund and by Mr. and Mrs. Les Lederer.

The Crocker Art Museum was founded in 1885 and continues as the leading art institution for the California Capital Region and Central Valley. The Museum offers a diverse spectrum of special exhibitions, events and programs to augment its collections of California, European and Asian artworks. The Crocker is located at 216 O Street in Downtown Sacramento. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Tuesday-Sunday; Thursday until 9 p.m. Admission is free on Sundays from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. For more information on exhibits and events call (916) 808-7000 or visit : www.crockerartmuseum.org .