The Gibbes Museum of Art to show " Prints & Drawings from the Schoen Collection" |
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| Written by Lillian Coker |
| Friday, 15 January 2010 00:16 |
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Charleston, SC – The Gibbes Museum of Art plays host to two traveling exhibitions from December 19, 2008 through March 29, 2009. Painters of American Life: The Eight will be on view in the Main Gallery and The American Scene on Paper: Prints and Drawings from the Schoen Collection will be showcased in the Rotunda Galleries. “These two exhibitions complement each other because of their focus on early 20th century American life but in two different mediums: paintings and prints. We are fortunate to be able to bring both exhibitions to Charleston simultaneously,” states Gibbes Executive Director Angela Mack. The American Scene on Paper: Prints and Drawings from the Schoen Collection Organized by the Georgia Museum of Art in Athens, this exhibition presents art that reflects the vast political, social and economic changes that occurred during the Great Depression and World War II. With images ranging from portrayals of the plight of the farm laborer to depictions of industry and the growing urban environment, The American Scene on Paper: Prints and Drawings from the Schoen Collection focuses on this important period in American art that has not had the attention it is due. “The dynamic period of American art spanning the 1930s and 1940s is an era rich in complexity and diversity,” said Jason Schoen, collector of American art. “I was captivated by the interest the artists had in American subjects. The quest for what was uniquely American inspired the artist to depict the heroic, the ordinary and the novel.”
Organized by the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia in Athens, this exhibition is supported in part by the Georgia Council for the Arts through the appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The Council is a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Landon Family Foundation, the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation, the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art, BNY Mellon Wealth Management, and Alfred Heber Holbrook Society members Mrs. M. Smith Griffith, George-Ann and Boone Knox, Mr. D. Jack Sawyer, Jr. and Dr. William E. Torres. Painters of American Life: The Eight In 1908, eight American artists organized an exhibition at Macbeth Galleries in New York that became the talk of the town. Arthur B. Davies, William Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, George Luks, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan openly challenged the National Academy of Design, which they considered out of step with progressive American art, and organized their own group exhibition. In 2008, Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art of Nashville, Tennessee, organized this centennial exhibition that celebrates the many-faceted careers of the eight artists. GIBBES MUSEUM OF ART Established as the Carolina Art Association in 1858 , the Gibbes Museum of Art opened its doors to the public in 1905. Located in Charleston’s historic district, the Gibbes houses a premier collection of over 10,000 works, principally American with a Charleston or Southern connection and presents special exhibitions throughout the year. In addition, the museum offers an extensive complement of public programming and educational outreach initiatives that serve the community by stimulating creative expression and improving the region’s superb quality of life. MUSEUM HOURS ADMISSION: Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
The approximately 50 prints, drawings and watercolors featured in the exhibition represent various manifestations of realism, whether magical, fantastic, social or romantic. Several of the artists moved from abstraction to realism as they searched for a distinctive, national voice. The art touches on the pulse of this nation with expressions that run the gamut from effusive appreciation of the beauty of place to sardonic commentary on politics and culture of the time. The diversity of style and subject suggests the astonishing energy and creative spirit that defined these years. The exhibition provides the opportunity to examine first-rate examples of the work of many of America’s most influential artists of those decades including Paul Cadmus, William Gropper, Joe Jones, Rockwell Kent, Martin Lewis, Millard Sheets and John Sloan. 
