The exhibit “Art of Our Time:Selections from the UlrichMuseum of Art” juxtaposes
works of art that are rarely seentogether. This exhibition of highlightsfrom Wichita State University’scampus museum, on view at theMitchell Gallery from August 26 toOctober 14, presents examples of keyartistic styles and movements—realism, cubism, surrealism, abstractexpressionism, pop, minimalism, andpostmodernism. One can study theseartworks chronologically as a telling ofthe canonical story of Western arthistory since the late 19th century, oras surprising groups of artworks—stylistically dissimilar and historicallydistant—that inspire engaging conver-sations on specific themes within thatlarger narrative.
Unexpected yet meaningfulconnections abound; for instanceconsider Robert Henri’s Gregoritawith the Santa Clara Bowl (1917),Diane Arbus’s Lady Bartender atHome with a Souvenir Dog, NewOrleans (1964), and Dana Schutz’sMissing Link Finds Superman (2006).Observing them in conversation withone another reveals a range of distinct,yet overlapping, perspectives on howthese artists engage with theirsubjects—whether real or imagined—when those subjects are other people.
The modernist portrait painter RobertHenri consciously sought to capturehis personal interactions with hissitters. In a letter to his students atNew York’s Art Students League, headmonished: “Realize that your sitter
has a state of being, that this state ofbeing manifests itself to you throughform, color and gesture . . . that yourwork will be the statement of whathave been your emotions.”
A B O U T T H EG A L L E R Y
The Mitchell Gallery in Mellon Hall, on thecampus of St. John’s College in Annapolis,Maryland, was established as a center oflearning for all who wish to deepen their understanding of the visual arts. TheMitchell Gallery serves the greaterAnnapolis area with the only fullysecured, climate-controlled fine arts facility in Anne Arundel County.
H o u r sDuring scheduled exhibitions, the gallery is open Tuesday-Sunday, 12-5 p.m. and Friday, 7-8 p.m. There is no admission charge.
Docent-led tours are offered onThursdays from 12-3 p.m. Group toursare available. For information call 410-626-2556.
S t a f fDirector: Hydee Schaller
Executive Editor: Kathy Dulisse
Editor: Patricia Dempsey
Chairman, Faculty Advisory Committee:Thomas May
Chairman, Mitchell Gallery Board of Advisors: Dennis Younger
Art Educator: Lucinda Dukes Edinberg
Exhibit Preparator: Sigrid Trumpy
Graphic Designer: Jennifer Behrens
website: www.stjohnscollege.edu
Funding and support for Mitchell Gallery exhibitions
are provided in part by Anne Arundel County, the
Arts Council of Anne Arundel County, the City of
Annapolis, The Helena Foundation, the Maryland State
Arts Council, the Estate of Elizabeth Myers Mitchell,
Mitchell Gallery Board of Advisors, Members of the
Mitchell Gallery, the Mitchell Gallery Endowment,
Mitchell Gallery Next Generation Committee,
the National Endowment for the Arts, the Lillian
Vanous Nutt Mitchell Gallery Endowment, and the
Clare Eddy and Eugene V. Thaw Fine Arts Fund.
E X H I B I T S
ART OF OUR TIME:
SELECTIONS FROM
THE ULRICH MUSEUM OF ART
August 26-October 14
KNIGHTS, CROOKS AND HEROES:
THE ART OF AMERICAN
ILLUSTRATION
October 27-December 15
N E W S F R O M T H E M I T C H E L L
G A L L E R Y A T S T . J O H N ’ S
C O L L E G E
Continued on page 2
ARTLINEVol. 21, No. 1 Fall 2011
Knights, CrooKs and heroes: THE ARTOF AMERICAN ILLUSTRATIONOctober 27-December 15
During the Golden Age ofIllustration (1890-1935),books and periodicals were
the major source of publicentertainment. Writers andillustrators had prominent,celebrated roles in this era.
“Knights, Crooks and Heroes: TheArt of American Illustration,” a newexhibit at the Mitchell Gallery,presents 45 paintings and drawings,culled from two private collections,the Kelly Collection of AmericanIllustration and the Robert Horvath
Collection andtwo additionalcollectionsthrough thegenerosity of JohnSchoonover,president ofSchoonoverStudios, Ltd.Although manyof the artistswere known for
By Lucinda Edinberg
FEATURED EXHIBITIONSEmil Carlsen, Barnacled Rocks, ca. 1900–30. Oil on canvas. Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Wichita. Gift of Charles H. Drummond.
ART OF OUR TIME: SELECTIONS FROM THE ULRICH MUSEUM OF ARTAugust 26-October 14
By Emily Stamey
Continued onpage 3
Saul Tepper, The Courtroom, 1927. Oil on board. Used with permission of the Kelly Collection of American
Illustration.
ART OF OUR TIME: SELECTIONS FROM THE ULRICH MUSEUM OF ARTAugust 26-October 24
EXHIB ITHenri frequently painted bust-lengthportraits dominated by a single sitter.Using dense strokes of paint, heeschewed fine details and focused onthe subject’s facial expression. InGregorita with the Santa Clara Bowlhe carefully pieces together fourdistinct areas of color: the ochre wall,white drape, black bowl, and bluedress. These areas of minimal detaildraw attention to Gregorita’s seriouscountenance—lips gently pursed andeyes unflinchingly looking out at theviewer.
As an early modernist, Henri soughtout new subjects. Street urchins werehis models in New York City in thefirst years of the new century. Later,he broadened his scope and depictedrepresentatives of different ethnicgroups, such as Japanese Americans,Mexican Americans, and AmericanIndians. The white painter insistedthat he did not “sentimentalize overthem … I am looking at eachindividual with the eager hope offinding there something of the dignityof life.” His genuine respect andempathy, however, were not withoutromanticism. In his images of Indianchildren such as Gregorita, Henrifrequently depicted them with anobject—such as a blanket or shawlaround their shoulders—that both
identified themwith theirparticular tribeand created asense of theirvulnerability.Gregorita holdstight to a largebowl that sitsbetween herand the viewer,acting as a sortof protectivebarrier.Although shemeets theviewer’s gaze,she appears notentirelyconfident.
Like Henri,1960s photog-rapher DianeArbus waskeenly self-conscious of herrelationship to the people in herpictures. Likewise, she took aninterest in people from backgroundsdifferent than her own—transvestites,midgets, nudists, the mentallyretarded, and others frequentlyshunned as outcasts. Of herencounters, she noted:
“If I were just curious, it would bevery hard to say to someone, ‘I want tocome to your house and have you talkto me.’ . . . But the camera is a kind oflicense. A lot of people, they want tobe paid that much attention and that’sa reasonable kind of attention to bepaid.”
In contrast to Henri’s minimalbackgrounds and carefully selectedprops, Arbus allowed her subjects tocompose themselves within their ownenvironments and frequentlycaptured them in full-length shots. “Iwork from awkwardness. By that Imean I don’t like to arrange things. IfI stand in front of something, insteadof arranging it, I arrange myself.” ForLady Bartender at Home with aSouvenir Dog, New Orleans, Arbusarranged herself such that her lenscaptured the uncanny resemblancebetween the woman’s piled-high,bleached-blond hair and the roundcellophane toy poodle on her shelf.Decidedly free of the sentimentalovertones in Henri’s painting, theimage reveals the stark, unabashedscrutiny that was Arbus’s hallmark.
Unlike Henri and Arbus, contem-porary painter Dana Schutz rendersher figures not from life, but from herimagination. Nonetheless, shedescribes a meaningful relationshipwith them: “I feel that my subjects areaware that they are in the picture.They are not completelydisinterested. I think of them associal, like real people.” Shutz firstmade a name for herself in the artworld with a series of paintings,Frank from Observation, premised onthe idea that she and Frank were theonly two people remaining on earth—she the last painter and he the lasthuman subject. Missing Link FindsSuperman recalls the subtle pathosand isolation that were part of thatearlier project. A man, his head toolarge for his slight body and dressedawkwardly in a Superman costume,stands in what looks like anapocalyptic wasteland.
This figure holds a pair of leggings,the bottom half of his heroic costume.Has he just taken them off, or is heabout to put them on? Is hetransforming from or into heroic
form? Schutz underscores this idea ofambiguous transformation in thepainting’s title with “missing link,” aphrase used to describe a transitional,evolutionary form. Unlike Henri andArbus’s images, where key objects—the Santa Clara bowl or the souvenirdog—suggested something about thefigure’s personality, Schutz worksmetaphorically. In this trio ofartworks, hers rings with thedecidedly contemporary notion that—despite the ages-old and continuingquest to know one another—ouridentities remain elusive.
Gregorita, the lady bartender, andMissing Link make an unusual trio.How Henri or Arbus might respond toSchutz’s work can never be known.Schutz’s contemplation of thisspecific pair of images by herpredecessors is unlikely. Theunexpected opportunity to considerthese three artworks together is oneof the treats of an exhibition such as“Art of Our Time.” By bringingtogether the recognized gems of acollection, this exhibition allows oneto discover and reflect on previouslyunnoticed relationships among theartworks. �
Emily Stamey, the Ulrich Museumcurator of modern and contemporaryart, received her MA and PhD in arthistory from The University of Kansasand her BA in art history fromGrinnell College.
Stamey will give a lecture entitled “GoFigure” in the gallery on September 21at 7:30 p.m.
a man, his head too large for his
slight body and dressed awkwardly in
a superman costume, stands in what
looks like an apocalyptic wasteland.
A fully referenced version ofthis article can be found atwww.stjohnscollege.edu/eventsand click on “Art of Our Time.”
Diane Arbus, Lady Bartender at Home with a Souvenir Dog, New Orleans, 1964. Gelatin silver print on paper.
Collection of the Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Wichita, Museum Purchase.
Dana Schutz, Missing Link Finds Superman, 2006. Oil on canvas. Collection of the Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita State University, Wichita,
Museum Purchase.
Continued from front page
their magazine covers and ads, theirworks chosen for this exhibition arefrom books and stories that wereoften serialized. Illustrations forclassic novels, such as LesMisérables, The Count of MonteCristo, An Old Fashioned Girl, andThe Scottish Chiefs, are representedby artists Dean Cornwall, HarveyDunn, J.C. Leyendecker, HowardPyle, Mead Schaeffer, FrankSchoonover, Jessie Willcox Smith,N.C. Wyeth, and others.
These illustrators experiencedalmost limitless opportunity whenassociated with the fine writers ofthe day. In many ways, theseillustrators represented Americanideals. “In their work they offeredwhat was wanted by the publishers,and displayed the diversity and rangeof the industry they served: thepublic wanted to be entertained byromantic tale of adventure, chivalry,
and valor that demanded theservices of narrative, historicalillustrators…” notes Susan Meyer in,“America’s Great Illustrations(1978).
The artists used a range oftechniques, but the color processesallowed painters, such as Wyeth,Pyle, Schoonover, Schaeffer, Smithand others, to show the breadth oftheir artistry. In addition,advancements in technology lent
themselves to improved pictorialreproductions of the artists’ workswhich in the 1880s had been limitedto wood engravings. With theintroduction of the rotary press andhalf-tone photo engraving processes,publishing companies enjoyed anunprecedented success. Americanpublishers, such as CharlesScribner’s Sons and Houghton,Mifflin and Co., and magazinesincluding Collier’s Weekly, McCall’s,McClure’s, and Saturday Evening
Post, competed for the limitednumber of illustrators available.
While all of these artists were proudof their American roots, there wasdisagreement among them about thevalue of illustration. Illustrator Pylefelt that the best in illustrationwould certainly qualify as fine art,while Wyeth was plagued by self-doubt and remorse about his career.Many of the artists in this exhibitionreceived academy training and
struggled with the label ofillustrator, as opposed to that of afine artist. This rift between fine artand illustration has widened in thedecades since.
This golden age of artistry andproduction ended with the GreatDepression and the fascination andlove for these works almostdisappeared. In the last few decadeshowever, interest in these artists hasrevived. Private collectors, such asRichard Kelly, Robert Horvath, andJohn Schoonover demonstrate thepassion and keen appreciation thatthis era of American illustrationdeserves. �
Knights, CrooKs and heroes: THE ART OF AMERICAN ILLUSTRATIONOctober 27-December 15
Continued from front page
NOTES
Two noted collectors, RichardKelly, of the Kelly Collection ofAmerican Illustration, and RobertHorvath, of the Robert HorvathCollection, will share insights ontheir personal journeys ascollectors. They will speak at theMitchell Gallery on November 1 at7:30 p.m. Many of the works theyhave collected will be on view in the“Knights, Crooks and Heroes”exhibition.
Richard Kelly is a private investorwho received his master’s inmuseum studies from GeorgeWashington University. In the late1980’s, Kelly founded the KellyCollection of American Illustration.His collection garnered him
mention in Art and Antiquesmagazine as one of America’s top100 collectors in 1995 and 1996.Kelly has mounted numerousmuseum exhibitions (including twoat Asheville School), and lentnumerous works to institutionsacross the country. “Stories to Tell:Masterworks from the KellyCollection of Illustration” was wellreceived by critics and the publicwhen it appeared at the DaheshMuseum in New York City in 2006.
Kelly catalogued more than 3,000drawings from the Joseph PennellCollection while working as avolunteer at the Library ofCongress. Kelly continues hisphilanthropic work by serving on
the boards of a number of non-profit organizations. He is currentlychairman of the Fine Arts AdvisoryPanel of the Federal Reserve andsecretary of the Museum TrusteeAssociation. He also serves on theboard of the Rockwell Museum, theSchoonover Fund, The MuseumTrustee Association, and otherorganizations. He and his wife,Mary, live in Great Falls, Virginia.
Robert Horvath has a master’sdegree in fine art as well as libraryscience; he became director of theTalbot County Library System in1998. In 2007, he was appointed tothe National Council of the NormanRockwell Museum in Stockbridge,Massachusetts. He now serves onthe board of the Norman Rockwell
Museum. Horvath has a long-timeassociation with AmericanIllustrative Art, and has contributedto several books on the subject.
In addition to being an avidcollector, Horvath is an artist with aspecial interest in painting historiccityscapes and rural landscapes. In2001, he completed a mural of anEastern Shore waterfront scene forthe Talbot County Free Library inEaston, Maryland. Recently,Horvath completed a mural for thenew library in St. Michaels. He hasalso created a series of limitededition prints depicting scenes inthe mountains of WesternPennsylvania. He and his wife,Lynne, live on Maryland’s EasternShore. �
NOTED COllECTORS TO SPEAK AT GAllERy
N.C. Wyeth, Bruce on the Beach, 1921. Oil on canvas. Courtesy of the Kelly Collection of American Illustration.
“although i’ve always been an innate
collector, i didn’t have any original art
until the early 1970s, when i bought a
doonesbury comic strip from the Jane
haslem gallery in Washington, d.C.
shortly thereafter, Bob Lewis, a friend
from my apartment building,
introduced me to science fiction and
fantasy art, as well as a wider range of
cartoon and underground comic
illustrations”... “We decided to collect
only works by american illustrators
whose careers had peaked between
1890 and 1935, excluding those who
had later become better known as
fine artists (e.g., glackens, sloan, or
shinn). We made a conscious decision,
for aesthetic reasons, not to collect
any pinup or pulp art, even if it was in
our period.”
— Richard Kelly
i purchased my first schoonover, and
my first illustration, for $125 in 1968.
i was all of 26 years old and had no
idea where this purchase would lead
me!... illustration is a vocation, an
avocation, a passion and in my case a
love affair that began as a small child
having the story of King arthur read
to me and looking at n. C. Wyeth’s
painting of the Lady of the Lake. it
has never diminished and glows each
day as i look at these wonderful
pieces of art that are a very
important part of my life.”
— Robert Horvath
gaLLery MeMBerstraVeL to thedordogneLast spring, 20 participants in the firstMitchell Gallery travel programsojourned to France’s Dordogne RiverValley, a world of rich culture andhistory, lush landscapes and goldenstone villages. Among many highlightsthey visited the spectacular cave art ofRouffignac, Lascaux, and Cap Blanc—all three UNESCO World Heritagesites. To learn more about the the trip,visit www.stjohnscollege.edu, click onEvents, then Mitchell Gallery andTravel Programs. For moreinformation on the next gallery traveltrip, contact Pamela McKee at 410-263-2610 or [email protected].
The Mitchell GallerySt. John’s CollegeP.O. Box 2800Annapolis, MD 21404-2800
Non-profit org.U.S. Postage
PAIDAnnapolis, MDPermit No. 120
How
ard P
yle, W
hy Don’t You E
nd It?, 1900. O
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ourtesy o
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art oF our tiMe: seLeCtions
FroM the uLriCh MuseuM oF art
august 26-oCtoBer 14
september 18 Sunday Afternoon Tour. Art
Educator lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of the
“Art of Our Time” exhibition, at 3 p.m.
opening reception
september 18 Opening Reception & family
Program. Art Educator lucinda Edinberg will
lead a tour of the “Art of Our Time” exhibit
followed by a hands-on workshop from 4 to 5:30
p.m.
september 21 lecture. “Art of Our Time”
curator, Emily Stamey, will give a lecture entitled
“Go figure” at 7:30 p.m.
october 5 Seminar. Artist Ebby Malmgren and
St. John’s tutor David Townsend will lead an
exhibit-related seminar, “To look, To See” at
7 p.m. Space is limited. Registration is required.
Call 410-626-2556 to register.
october 6 Book Club. Join members of the
Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a tour of “Art of
Our Time,” followed by a discussion led by Justin
Horm and tutor David Townsend, from 2:30 to
4:30 p.m. The readings are: “Renascence” and
“The Ballad of the Harp-Weaver” by Edna St.
Vincent Millay; “Red Wheelbarrow” by William
Carlos Williams; “Howl” (Part 1) by Allen
Ginsberg; “Superman” (lyrics) by the musical
group, five for fighting. These poems and lyrics
may be found on the Internet. Registration is
required. Contact Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530
october 12 Art Express. Art Educator lucinda
Edinberg will give a lunchtime gallery talk on the
“Art of Our Time” exhibit from 12:15 to
12:45 p.m. Juice and sodas will be provided.
Knights, CrooKs and heroes:
the art oF aMeriCan
iLLustration
oCtoBer 27-deCeMBer 15
october 30 Opening Reception & family
Program. Art Educator lucinda Edinberg will
lead a tour of the “Knights, Crooks and Heroes”
exhibit followed by a hands-on workshop from
3:30 to 5 p.m.
november 1 Collectors Program Discussion.
Collectors Richard Kelly and Robert Horvath
will discuss their respective collections at
7:30 p.m.
november 13 Sunday afternoon tour. Art
Educator lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of
the “Knights, Crooks and Heroes” exhibition,
at 3 p.m.
november 17 Book Club. Join members of the
Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a tour of
“Knights, Crooks and Heroes,” followed by a
discussion of N. C. Wyeth: A Biography by David
Michaelis, from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. The discussion
will be led by lucinda Edinberg. Registration is
required. Contact Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530
december 7 Art Express. Art Educator
lucinda Edinberg will give a lunchtime gallery talk
on the “Knights, Crooks and Heroes” exhibit
from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. Juice and sodas will be
provided.
“ART Of THE BOOK”THANK yOU!St. John’s College is pleasedto acknowledge thefollowing people and organizations thatcontributed so generouslyto the Mitchell Gallery’srecent fundraiser “The Artof the Book.” Proceedsfrom “The Art of the Book”will help support thegallery’s educationprograms.
artistsWard Anderson
Mary J. Arthur
D.H. Banker
Rachel M. Bartgis
Martin Beadle
carol a. beane
Charlotte Berry
c l bigelow
John Bildahl
A. Aubrey Bodine
Pat Clubine
Victoria Coale
Mark Cooley
Don Dement
Oletha DeVane
Sylvia Earl
Demetrios N. fotos
Kristín Guðbrandsdóttir
Catherine Haigney
Greg Harlin
Neil Harpe
Gail Higginbotham
lisa Hill
Jean Brinton Jaecks
H. l. Jaecks
Warren Kahle
Kay Kandra
Jeanne Gentry Keck
Dan Kuhne
Joan B. Machinchick
Ebby Malmgren
Kerry McAleer-Keeler
Richard Montgomery
Stephanie Nadolski
laurie Nolan
michael b. platt
Donna f. Rhody
Camden M. Richards
Janet fry Rogers
Phyllis Saroff
Thackray Seznec
George C. Shenk, Jr.
Sigrid Trumpy
Erika H. Walsh
Gail Hillow Watkins
Scott Whitely
John P. Wise
Rob Wood
authorsTemple Cone
Barbara Klein Moss
laura Oliver
Hank Pugh
sponsorsWhat’s Up? Annapolis
Orbis Technologies
Herrmann Advertising
Whitmore Group
Corcoran College of Art +Design
CoMMittee and
VoLunteerslynn Schwartz, chairman
Mary lou Baker
Melvin Bender
Tara Clifford
Kimbra Cutlip
Kathryn Dahl
Keren Davison Dement
Kathy Dulisse
Janet Gellici
Judi Herrmann
Karen Ippolito
Carolyn Kammeier
Joan B. Machinchick
Ebby Malmgren
Nadja Maril
Cheryl Miller
Emmy Nicklin
Katharine C. Pingle
Hydee Schaller
lily Schneider
Katy Scruggs
Ibbi Schwartz
Emma Shenk
Maryanne Spencer
MusiCiansViki Garte
Andy Garte
Daniel Puckett Quartet
ContriButorsThe Annapolis CollectionGallery
Arnold farms
Art Things, Inc.
b.b. Bistro
Back Creek Books
Bay Ridge Rita’s
Bon Appétit
Caroline’s Cakes
The Chop House
Crush Winehouse
Harry Browne’s
Historic Inns of Annapolis
Hoffman CustomEmbroidery
Jalapeños
Ken’s Creative Kitchen
Kilby Cream
lemongrass
Maryland Center for theBook, a program of theMaryland HumanitiesCouncil
Paladar
Pewter Chalice
Pirate’s Cove Restaurant
Poets and Writers Magazine
Pris’ Paper
Reading Group Choices
Signcraft
Tito’s Handmade Vodka
Tsunami
Wine Cellars of Annapolis
Lynn Schwartz, event chairman, with daughter Ibbi at “The Art of the Book” reception.
Join in the Fun! support the arts! Become a member of the Mitchell gallery.
For more information call 410-295-5551
or go to www.stjohnscollege.edu/events
and click on Mitchell Gallery.