EXHIBITIONS
Posters on Parade
Indianapolis, IN; through August 24 At the Indianapolis Museum of Art, Paris Posters: The Art of the Streets documents the early history of a thoroughly modern art form through the work of Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alfons Mucha, Jules Chéret, and others (317-920-2659 or www.IMAMuseum.org).
Minneapolis, MN; through September 14 The Minneapolis Institute of Arts also considers posters with Paris 1900: Graphic Design in Revolt. Toulouse-Lautrec and Mucha again feature prominently among these examples of the intersection between graphic design, advertising, and art (612-870-3131 or www.ArtsMIA.org).
Expressive Prints
Springfield, OH; through June 1 Woodblock printmaker Edna Boies Hopkins trained with Arthur Wesley Dow, then went on to build an international reputation. Strong in Character, Colorful in Expression at the Springfield Museum of Art brings together prints spanning her career, which stretched from Paris to Appalachia to Provincetown, MA. The show also travels to the Provincetown Art Association and Museum (June – August) and is accompanied by a catalogue. (Springfield: 937-325-4673 or www.SpringfieldArt.Museum; Provincetown: 508-487-4372 or www.PAAM.org).
Revolutionary Niedecken
Milwaukee, WI; through July 20 Interior designer George Mann Niedecken is often remembered for his work with Frank Lloyd Wright, but that’s by no means the entire story. Educated in Europe, Niedecken brought a breath of fresh air to Milwaukee’s stagnant interiors (for instance, creating Secessionist furniture, rugs, leaded glass, and fixtures for Emma Demmer’s respectable, shingle-style Queen Anne home). A Revolutionary in Milwaukee: The Designs of George Mann Niedecken at the Milwaukee Museum of Art explores this commission and several others (414-224-3200 or www.MAM.org).
Enlightened Stickley
Cooperstown, NY; through August 10 Gustav Stickley was a leading spokesman for the Arts and Crafts movement, and the Craftsman Home was the full realization of his philosophy. In each room, furniture, built-ins, exposed structural elements, textiles, and colors all coalesced “into place as if they had grown there,” deriving beauty from simplicity, harmony, and functionality. Now on view at the Fenimore Museum of Art, Gustav Stickley: The Enlightened Home features two recreated room settings with original Stickley furnishings, illustrating how he redefined the American home (888-547-1450 or www.FenimoreArtMuseum.org).
West Meets East
Brooklyn, NY; through August 3 As 19th-century artists encountered Japanese artifacts and culture for the first time, they found new sources of aesthetic inspiration. At the Brooklyn Museum, Japonisme in American Works on Paper from the Gilded Age explores how James Whistler, Mary Cassatt, Bertha Lum, Arthur Wesley Dow, and others incorporated Japanese printing techniques, design elements, and subject matter into their own work (718-638-5000 or www.BrooklynMuseum.org).
Darwinian Debate
Evanston, IL; May 8 – August 24 Who would have thought it? In the half-century after Darwin published The Origin of Species (1859), debate raged among the likes of William Morris, Christopher Dresser, Louis Sullivan, and C.F.A. Voysey over the application of evolutionism to design. Design in the Age of Darwin: English and American Decorative Arts from William Morris to Frank Lloyd Wright at the Block Museum of Art explores the debate and shows how it set the stage for 20th-century modernism. There’s a catalogue, too, as well as an international symposium on May 17 (847-491-4000 or www.BlockMuseum.Northwestern.com).
All on the Surface
at Freer Gallery
Washington, DC; ongoing Industrialist Charles Lang Freer collected American paintings by Thomas Dewing, Dwight Tryon, and James McNeill Whistler—all of whom shared an interest in “surface beauty” rather than subject matter. By the turn of the century, Freer’s focus had shifted to Asia, but his interest in tonal, textured surfaces remained constant, allowing him to establish “points of contact” between his Asian and American collections. In February, two long-term installations opened at the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art: Surface Beauty: American Art and Freer’s Aesthetic Vision, with 12 paintings and seven pieces of Pewabic pottery, and Freer + Whistler: Points of Contact, with works chosen to highlight Freer’s philosophy of collecting and Whistler’s own East-West synthesis. Speaking of which, Whistler’s famed Peacock Room, filled with blue-and-white china, is a beloved Freer fixture in an adjacent gallery (202-633-4880 or www.Asia.SI.edu).
American Impressions
Dallas, TX; through July 20 Bluebonnets and Beyond: Julian Onderdonk, American Impressionist looks at the career of Texan Julian Onderdonk (1882–1922), one of the most overlooked landscape artists of the early 20th century. Though his lush views of meadows strewn with the state flower earned him the nickname “The Bluebonnet Painter,” his complex style makes him more than just a painter of pretty scenes (214-922-1200 or
www.DallasMuseumOfArt.org).
Yonkers, NY; June 21 – September 7 Anna Richards Brewster: American Impressionist resurrects the reputation of one of the best-known American woman artists at the turn of the century—one who, at the age of 20, won the prestigious Dodge Prize at the National Academy of Design for the best picture by a woman artist in 1890. The show will also travel to the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, OH (September 27 – December 28) and to the Fresno Metropolitan Museum, Fresno, CA (March 28 – June 14, 2009). Can’t wait? See the online exhibition at www.ARBrewster.com. (The Hudson River Museum: 914-963-4550; www.HRM.org.)
Manchester, VT; through August 11 In 1898, an art colony was born along the banks of the Delaware River north of Philadelphia, centered in the picturesque village of New Hope, in Bucks County. Painting the Beautiful: American Impressionist Paintings from the Michener Art Museum Collection brings Daniel Garber’s luminous renditions of the Pennsylvania woods, Fern Coppedge’s colorful village scenes, John Folinsbee’s moody snowscapes, and works by 12 other artists to the Southern Vermont Arts Center. Later the show will travel to the Perspective Gallery, Blacksburg, VA (September 1 – October 20) and the Michelson Museum of Art, Marshall, TX (November 10 – January 7, 2009). (Southern Vermont Arts Center: 802-362-1405 or www.SVAC.org.)
Rochester, NY; through June 15 Artists such as Childe Hassam, Maurice Prendergast, Theodore Robinson, John Henry Twachtman, and Julian Alden Weir are featured in American Impressionism: Paintings from the Phillips Collection at the Memorial Art Gallery, University of Rochester. This touring exhibition then moves to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK (November 6 – January 18, 2009) and the Sordoni Art Gallery, Wilkes-Barre, PA (January 28 – March 16, 2009).
Quick Takes
California as Muse: The Art of Arthur & Lucia Mathews, June 21 – September 7. Akron Art Museum, Akron, OH (330-376-9185 or
www.AkronArtMuseum.org).
Tiffany by Design, May 9 – August 31. Frist Center for Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (615-244-3340 or www.FristCenter.org).
Wiener Werkstätte Jewelry and Gustav Klimt: The Ronald S. Lauder and Serge Sabarksy Collections, both through June 30. Neue Galerie, New York, NY (212-628-6200; www.NeueGalerie.org).
The Quest of Beauty: Louis Comfort Tiffany’s Life and Art, throughout 2008. Charles Hosmer Morse Museum of American Art, Winter Park, FL (407-645-5311 or www.MorseMuseum.org).
Ohr Rising: The Emergence of an American Master, through June 22. San Angelo, TX, Museum of Fine Arts (325-653-3333;
www.SAMFA.org). For other venues, see
www.GeorgeOhr.org.
