Eudora Welty in New York
August 21 - November 15, 2001
Stairwell Gallery
Opening events, all of which are free and open to the public:
5:00 Reading of Eudora Welty's "Petrified Man" by Catherine Nowicki
5:30 Lecture by Welty Scholar Suzanne Marrs
6:30 Reception
Eudora Welty in New York features fifty black-and-white photographs by Eudora Welty, one of the 20th century's greatest American authors. The photographs illuminate the artist's ties to New York City at the outset of her professional career. It includes a re-creation of Welty's first solo exhibition of her Mississippi photographs, mounted in New York City in 1936, as well as a dozen of her New York images, capturing American in the depths of the Great Depression and revealing a compassion and sensitivity towards her subject that became a hallmark of her writing.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Book Signing in the Gift Shop this weekend
Book signing by local authors Lori Leger and Cleveland Payne
Saturday, Aug. 22
1:00 pm to 3:30 pm
LRMA Lobby
Lori Leger will be signing copies of The Night Walker
Description
The Night Walker is a love story like no other. Written for men and women alike, this story takes the reader into the Klamoth Mts. living through the life of Bigfoot who is in fact a shapeshifter. The reader will be whisked away through the trials of murder, poaching, kidnapping and..love. It will make you wonder is Bigfoot a real hero or a monster.
About the Author
Lori born in Sep. of 1969, was raised in Richton, Ms. but has lived with her husband and three daughters in Laurel for over twenty years. She has always been intrigued with Indian folklore due to her Grandfather being full blooded Choctaw. She enjoys reading love stories by her favorite author Cassie Edwards. These two aspects along with her interest always being piqued by Bigfoot stories brought her to combining the three into this wonderful new love story full of action, terror, and heartbreak to reach out to all readers, man and woman alike. Lori says her dream is to have people read her books and feel as though they are there themselves.
Cleveland Payne will be bringing his latest book.
About the author:
Cleveland Payne is a lifelong resident of Laurel, Mississippi, and a 1957 graduate of Oak Park Vocational High School where he was a star athlete. As a result, he was inducted into the Oak Park Hall of Fame in July 2000. Payne received his undergraduate degree from Rust College in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1965.
While at Rust, although majoring in the social sciences, his talent for writing was discovered by his English instructor, who encouraged him to write as much as possible. He enjoyed writing, but with his busy schedule as a basketball player and track star, there was little time to pursue this interest.
His journey as an author started to take direction while completing his graduate work at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) in Hattiesburg. Although he had a wide range of interests, he eventually discovered a great affinity for history and research. In 1982, he became the first student to earn a Specialist in History at USM in the new degree program. His thesis, "Laurel: A History of the Black Community 1882–1962," was refined and published as his first book.
Payne is the author of nine other books. They include The Oak Park Story: A Cultural History (1988), A History of Black Laurel (1990), From Kemper to California—The Long Journey (1992), The Road to San Antonio: The Journey of Career Airman Johnny Hearn (1995), Laurel Remembrances (1996), The Defining Moment (2000), The House on the Boulevard (2002), and The Silver Pendant (2006). The Long Drive (2008) is Payne's tenth book and is his fourth novel featuring his adventurous protagonist, Slim McCall.
On February 14, 2000, his hometown of Laurel honored him with the Millennium Medallion in recognition of his lifelong commitment to illuminating the beauty of life in Laurel through his lyrical writings and memoirs.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Looking Forward to Fall at LRMA
It’s hard to believe with the August heat still going strong, but fall is right around the corner. The kids are back in school, football season will be underway soon, and there are new and exciting programs happening at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. Home School Fridays will start up again this month, with the first class on Friday, August 28. These free classes are for home schooled children of all ages, and take place on the fourth Friday of every month from 1:00 P.M. to 4:00 P.M. in the Museum Annex. This is a great time for kids and parents to socialize and create a fun art project.
There are two wonderful new shows up at LRMA right now. The first is Moe Brooker: Carelessly Exact, which features large, colorful, abstract works by African-American artist Moe Brooker. Mr. Brooker is a working artist, and visited the museum last week for a lecture, workshop, and the opening reception for his show. You can see these impressive works on display in the LRMA Lower Level Galleries until November 8. Starting at the end of this week, you can also enjoy Eudora Welty in New York, a show of photographs taken by Eudora Welty. This show commemorates the 100th anniversary of Eudora Welty’s birth and will be available for viewing in our Stairwell Gallery until November 15.
Next week, on August 25, the LRMA Guild of Docents and Volunteers will host its annual Guild Membership Coffee. This invitation-only event is held each year to introduce potential Guild members to current members and to acquaint them with the purpose of the LRMA Guild. The Guild is a vital part of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, with members volunteering for virtually every event held at the museum throughout the year. The Guild Docents also give tours every day that the museum is open. If you are interested in more information on how to join this prestigious organization, please call the museum at (601) 649-6374.
Pottery classes will be offered for children and adults this fall at the museum. The children’s pottery class will be on Tuesday afternoons in September, beginning on September 1 and running through September 22. Children who are currently in Kindergarten to 6th grade can participate. Kids will learn the basics of working in clay, both hand building and throwing on the potter’s wheel. The class will be from 3:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. in the Carriage House Studio on Seventh Street. Adults can enjoy pottery this October on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. This class will be taught by local ceramic artist Byron Myrick and participants will work exclusively on the potter’s wheel. For more information about any of these programs, or to sign up for a class, call the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at (601) 649-6374.
There are two wonderful new shows up at LRMA right now. The first is Moe Brooker: Carelessly Exact, which features large, colorful, abstract works by African-American artist Moe Brooker. Mr. Brooker is a working artist, and visited the museum last week for a lecture, workshop, and the opening reception for his show. You can see these impressive works on display in the LRMA Lower Level Galleries until November 8. Starting at the end of this week, you can also enjoy Eudora Welty in New York, a show of photographs taken by Eudora Welty. This show commemorates the 100th anniversary of Eudora Welty’s birth and will be available for viewing in our Stairwell Gallery until November 15.
Next week, on August 25, the LRMA Guild of Docents and Volunteers will host its annual Guild Membership Coffee. This invitation-only event is held each year to introduce potential Guild members to current members and to acquaint them with the purpose of the LRMA Guild. The Guild is a vital part of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, with members volunteering for virtually every event held at the museum throughout the year. The Guild Docents also give tours every day that the museum is open. If you are interested in more information on how to join this prestigious organization, please call the museum at (601) 649-6374.
Pottery classes will be offered for children and adults this fall at the museum. The children’s pottery class will be on Tuesday afternoons in September, beginning on September 1 and running through September 22. Children who are currently in Kindergarten to 6th grade can participate. Kids will learn the basics of working in clay, both hand building and throwing on the potter’s wheel. The class will be from 3:30 P.M. to 5:00 P.M. in the Carriage House Studio on Seventh Street. Adults can enjoy pottery this October on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:00 P.M. to 8:30 P.M. This class will be taught by local ceramic artist Byron Myrick and participants will work exclusively on the potter’s wheel. For more information about any of these programs, or to sign up for a class, call the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at (601) 649-6374.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Fall Children's Pottery
If you are looking for a great after-school activity for your child this fall, sign them up for Children's Pottery at LRMA! This is a fun opportunity for your child to create original art. Participants will create hand-built projects as well as learn to throw on the potter's wheel. The class will be held on Tuesday afternoons beginning on September 1 through September 22. It goes from 3:30-5:00 P.M. in our Carriage House Studio on Seventh Street. If you are interested in registering your child, just call the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at (601) 649-6374.
Monday, July 27, 2009
MISSISSIPPI INSTITUTE OF ARTS & LETTERS: Thirtieth Anniversary Exhibition
As part of the 30th anniversary celebration of the Mississippi Institute of Arts, LRMA has organized an exhibition featuring MIAL award winners in Visual Art and Photography over the past 30 years. The exhibition will be a virtual "Who's Who" of Mississippi artists, including William Dunlap, Sam Gilliam, Birney Imes, Mildred Wolfe, Maude S. Clay, Eudora Welty, Wyatt Waters, and Charles Carraway. Your chance to revisit three decades of some of the best artists Mississippi has to offer is almost over! The show closes on Sunday, August 2.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Sister Cities Artist Exchange: Laurel, MS and Shelby, NC
“Sister Cities Artist Exchange”
June 11 - August 2, 2009
This summer, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art and the Cleveland County Arts Council of Shelby, North Carolina have organized a juried cooperative exhibition. The Shelby County Arts Council will host an exhibition of Laurel & Jones County artists, while the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will exhibit artists from the Shelby, North Carolina region. Shelby, North Carolina adopted Laurel as its sister city following Hurricane Katrina, and were involved in recovery efforts. Although the idea for this exhibit evolved from this relationship, art that thematically focuses on Hurricane Katrina is not the intention. The purpose of this exchange is to showcase a variety of artforms and artists from both areas. For the LRMA’s exhibition, Shelby County Arts Council invited selected artists to submit works, and co-curators Mark Brown and Jill Chancey selected works from those submissions. The resulting exhibition features a wide variety of works, including textiles, pottery, painting, and works on paper.
This exhibition closes in less than two weeks! Don't miss your introduction to a whole community of artists little-known here in South Mississippi.
The Cleveland County artists chosen for this exhibition are:
Susan Carlisle Bell
David Caldwell
Ray Clemmer
Hal Dedmond
Susan Doggett
Pat Edwards
Lynn Eskridge
Harriette Grigg
Sally Jacobs
Ron Mechling
Ron Philbeck
Bonnie Price
Chrys Riviere-Blalock
Paula Amanda Spangler
Kay Young
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
July Fourth Holiday
Please note that the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will be closed on Saturday, July 4th, 2009.
At the Museum: Connecting to Collections
In mid-June, approximately three hundred library and museum professionals converged on Buffalo, New York, for a conference sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services, a federal agency. I was one of the curators who met with and learned from conservators, collections managers, archivists, librarians, administrators, volunteers, and board members from across the nation. The goal of the conference was to raise awareness and develop strategies for conserving America’s material heritage, from great paintings and sculpture to Revolutionary War flags to the archives of community organizations.
The IMLS conferences on collections were inspired by the 2005 report, “A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections (HHI),” a project of Heritage Preservation and IMLS, which revealed that our collections of objects, documents, digital material, and living collections are not only essential to America’s cultural health, but are also imperiled and in need of swift protective action. The study’s findings, announced in 2005, are sobering. HHI concluded that almost two hundred million objects held by archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and scientific organizations in the United States are in need of conservation treatment; sixty-five percent of collecting institutions have experienced damage to collections due to improper storage; eighty percent of collecting institutions do not have an emergency plan that includes collections, with staff trained to carry it out; and forty percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budgets for preservation or conservation.
Fortunately, although LRMA has some objects needing conservation, we do have safe storage, an emergency plan, and a modest budget for conservation and preservation. Here at the Museum, we hold artworks and local history archives in trust for the public, and we take very seriously our responsibility to ensure that they exist in good condition for future generations. To do that, we give priority to providing safe conditions for the collections we hold in trust; we have staff assigned specifically to the care of collections; and we take responsibility for providing the support that will allow these collections to survive. These general policies are in keeping with the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index.
The term “conservation” often brings to mind images of a laboratory with a conservator painstakingly testing paint chips, restoring lost paint, or re-weaving textiles. I learned at the conference that many young conservators credit the movie “Ghostbusters II” and Sigourney Weaver’s character’s job as a painting restorer for their first awareness of the profession. However, the term also more generally refers to the safe storage of artworks in museum-quality materials in a building with a controlled climate, good security, and art-safe lighting. Many of these elements are invisible to the general public, but they are a central concern for those of us responsible for the well-being of collections. They can also be rather expensive, which is why so many collections across the nation are at risk. Preserving our nation’s heritage is expensive and time-consuming, but all around you are library and museum professionals dedicated to doing just that.
For more information about the Heritage Health Index, visit the website http://heritagepreservation.org/hhi/. Information about the Institute of Museum and Library Services can be found at www.imls.gov.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sunday. For more information about exhibitions, tours, and programming, call 601-649-6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.
Jill R. Chancey, PhD, is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
The IMLS conferences on collections were inspired by the 2005 report, “A Public Trust at Risk: The Heritage Health Index Report on the State of America’s Collections (HHI),” a project of Heritage Preservation and IMLS, which revealed that our collections of objects, documents, digital material, and living collections are not only essential to America’s cultural health, but are also imperiled and in need of swift protective action. The study’s findings, announced in 2005, are sobering. HHI concluded that almost two hundred million objects held by archives, historical societies, libraries, museums, and scientific organizations in the United States are in need of conservation treatment; sixty-five percent of collecting institutions have experienced damage to collections due to improper storage; eighty percent of collecting institutions do not have an emergency plan that includes collections, with staff trained to carry it out; and forty percent of institutions have no funds allocated in their annual budgets for preservation or conservation.
Fortunately, although LRMA has some objects needing conservation, we do have safe storage, an emergency plan, and a modest budget for conservation and preservation. Here at the Museum, we hold artworks and local history archives in trust for the public, and we take very seriously our responsibility to ensure that they exist in good condition for future generations. To do that, we give priority to providing safe conditions for the collections we hold in trust; we have staff assigned specifically to the care of collections; and we take responsibility for providing the support that will allow these collections to survive. These general policies are in keeping with the recommendations of the Heritage Health Index.
The term “conservation” often brings to mind images of a laboratory with a conservator painstakingly testing paint chips, restoring lost paint, or re-weaving textiles. I learned at the conference that many young conservators credit the movie “Ghostbusters II” and Sigourney Weaver’s character’s job as a painting restorer for their first awareness of the profession. However, the term also more generally refers to the safe storage of artworks in museum-quality materials in a building with a controlled climate, good security, and art-safe lighting. Many of these elements are invisible to the general public, but they are a central concern for those of us responsible for the well-being of collections. They can also be rather expensive, which is why so many collections across the nation are at risk. Preserving our nation’s heritage is expensive and time-consuming, but all around you are library and museum professionals dedicated to doing just that.
For more information about the Heritage Health Index, visit the website http://heritagepreservation.org/hhi/. Information about the Institute of Museum and Library Services can be found at www.imls.gov.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open from 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sunday. For more information about exhibitions, tours, and programming, call 601-649-6374 or visit www.LRMA.org.
Jill R. Chancey, PhD, is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Guest Blogger: Mandy Buchanan
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Education staff is busy preparing for the many classes and art activities to be offered at LRMA this summer for children and adults.
We are offering a five-week oil painting workshop with artist David Wilkinson. This class is offered for middle school to college-aged students. This workshop begins Wednesday, July 1 from 9:oo am until noon and will continue every Wednesday morning in July.
Artist Sharon Howard will be teaching an introductory still life painting class for adults. These classes are offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings July 21,23,28 & 30 from 9 am until 11 am.
Summer Art Camp will be offered July 14 - 17 for children in grades Kindergarten- 6th grade. Grades K-3 will be meet from 10 a.m. until noon and grades 4- 6 will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. The theme for this year’s camp is “Under the Sea.” Participants will create colorful sea art including sea shell pottery, fish sculptures, mosaics and seascape paintings. For prices and additional information on these classes, please call the Museum at 601.649.6374.
The LRMA Education staff is still offering Free Family Art on Wednesday afternoons through July 1 from 1 until 4 p.m. in the Museum Annex. No reservations are required for this activity. Don’t miss out on this fun make-and-take art program!
Mandy Buchanan is the Curator of Education at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
We are offering a five-week oil painting workshop with artist David Wilkinson. This class is offered for middle school to college-aged students. This workshop begins Wednesday, July 1 from 9:oo am until noon and will continue every Wednesday morning in July.
Artist Sharon Howard will be teaching an introductory still life painting class for adults. These classes are offered Tuesday and Thursday mornings July 21,23,28 & 30 from 9 am until 11 am.
Summer Art Camp will be offered July 14 - 17 for children in grades Kindergarten- 6th grade. Grades K-3 will be meet from 10 a.m. until noon and grades 4- 6 will meet from 2 until 4 p.m. The theme for this year’s camp is “Under the Sea.” Participants will create colorful sea art including sea shell pottery, fish sculptures, mosaics and seascape paintings. For prices and additional information on these classes, please call the Museum at 601.649.6374.
The LRMA Education staff is still offering Free Family Art on Wednesday afternoons through July 1 from 1 until 4 p.m. in the Museum Annex. No reservations are required for this activity. Don’t miss out on this fun make-and-take art program!
Mandy Buchanan is the Curator of Education at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Thursday, June 04, 2009
Guest Blogger: George Bassi
Next Saturday, the cultural eyes of Mississippi will be focused on Laurel and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art as we host the 30th anniversary celebration of the Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters. The celebration not only includes an awards dinner but also an exhibition featuring MIAL award winners in Visual Art and Photography over the past 30 years.
Drawn from both public and private collections, this exhibit will be on view June 13 – August 2, 2009, at LRMA and will be a virtual “Who’s Who” of Mississippi artists, including works by William Dunlap, Sam Gilliam, Birney Imes, Mildred Wolfe, Maude S. Clay, Eudora Welty, Wyatt Waters, and Charles Carraway. The list of award recipients is a strong reflection of the talents of Mississippians and the artistic heritage of our state.
The Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters was founded in 1978 by a few discerning individuals, including former Governor William Winter and Dr. Cora Norman, both of Jackson; Dr. Aubrey Lucas and Dr. Noel Polk, both of Hattiesburg; and Mrs. Keith McLean of Cleveland. They knew that among Mississippi's greatest riches are our artists, writers, and musicians, who must be supported, nurtured, and recognized.
The prestigious awards, first made in 1980, are presented in seven categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Visual Art, Musical Composition (Concert), Musical Composition (Popular), Photography, and Poetry.
The Institute's juried competition is one of a kind in the state. Carefully selected judges, chosen from out of state, are prominent in their fields. Supported by Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning, MIAL is privately funded, self-perpetuating, and non-profit.
Those being recognized this year include two Lifetime Achievement winners: painter Marshall Bouldin and writer Elizabeth Spencer. Other 2009 MIAL winners include Howard Bahr (Fiction), Steve Rouse (Music Composition – Classical/Concert), 3 Doors Down (Music Composition – Contemporary/Popular), Douglas A. Blackmon (Nonfiction), Jane Rule Burdine (Photography), Brooks Haxton (Poetry), and H. C. Porter (Visual Arts).
A highlight of the events on Saturday will be readings and book-signings at 4:00 p.m. by this year’s winners in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and visual art, as well as the two lifetime achievement honorees. The readings and signings will be held in the Museum lobby and are open to the public.
The MIAL Awards Dinner will be held at LRMA this Saturday, June 13, beginning with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Lower Level Galleries followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the American Gallery. Tickets for the Awards Dinner are $50 per person; call the museum at 601-649-6374 for more information.
George Bassi is Director of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Drawn from both public and private collections, this exhibit will be on view June 13 – August 2, 2009, at LRMA and will be a virtual “Who’s Who” of Mississippi artists, including works by William Dunlap, Sam Gilliam, Birney Imes, Mildred Wolfe, Maude S. Clay, Eudora Welty, Wyatt Waters, and Charles Carraway. The list of award recipients is a strong reflection of the talents of Mississippians and the artistic heritage of our state.
The Mississippi Institute of Arts and Letters was founded in 1978 by a few discerning individuals, including former Governor William Winter and Dr. Cora Norman, both of Jackson; Dr. Aubrey Lucas and Dr. Noel Polk, both of Hattiesburg; and Mrs. Keith McLean of Cleveland. They knew that among Mississippi's greatest riches are our artists, writers, and musicians, who must be supported, nurtured, and recognized.
The prestigious awards, first made in 1980, are presented in seven categories: Fiction, Non-fiction, Visual Art, Musical Composition (Concert), Musical Composition (Popular), Photography, and Poetry.
The Institute's juried competition is one of a kind in the state. Carefully selected judges, chosen from out of state, are prominent in their fields. Supported by Mississippi Institutes of Higher Learning, MIAL is privately funded, self-perpetuating, and non-profit.
Those being recognized this year include two Lifetime Achievement winners: painter Marshall Bouldin and writer Elizabeth Spencer. Other 2009 MIAL winners include Howard Bahr (Fiction), Steve Rouse (Music Composition – Classical/Concert), 3 Doors Down (Music Composition – Contemporary/Popular), Douglas A. Blackmon (Nonfiction), Jane Rule Burdine (Photography), Brooks Haxton (Poetry), and H. C. Porter (Visual Arts).
A highlight of the events on Saturday will be readings and book-signings at 4:00 p.m. by this year’s winners in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, photography, and visual art, as well as the two lifetime achievement honorees. The readings and signings will be held in the Museum lobby and are open to the public.
The MIAL Awards Dinner will be held at LRMA this Saturday, June 13, beginning with a reception at 5:30 p.m. in the Lower Level Galleries followed by dinner at 6:30 p.m. in the American Gallery. Tickets for the Awards Dinner are $50 per person; call the museum at 601-649-6374 for more information.
George Bassi is Director of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Adult Education Summer Classes
Parents have been busy signing their children up for our summer art classes at the museum, but don't forget to sign yourself up for something fun, too! Starting on June 2, local teacher and artist Sharon Howard will offer a four-day adult oil painting class. Participants will learn how to paint a landscape in oil. She will teach another four-day class the last two weeks in July in which participants will again work in oils, this time creating a still-life. We are also offering an adult ceramic class in June, taught by Byron Myrick, JCJC instructor and member of the Mississippi Craftman's Guild. The class begins on June 9 and will meet on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6-8:30 for three weeks. Mr. Myrick will teach participants how to create hand-built vessels with interesting textures. Don't miss your chance to work with this acclaimed Mississippi artist. Come on by the museum and spend your summer with us!
Monday, May 18, 2009
This Friday will be the last Home School Friday until August. We're winding down the school year and getting ready to gear up for the summer here at LRMA. For those who are looking for something to entertain the kids this summer, don't forget about our Free Family Art Wednesdays in the museum Annex. You can stop by any time between 1 PM and 4 PM, beginning on June 3 to create a free make and take art activity. The last Free Family Art will be on July 1. Hope to see you there!
Friday, May 08, 2009
Guest Blogger: Angie King
Looking Forward to the Summer at LRMA
With just two weeks of school left, children and parents around Jones County are looking forward to summer and the opportunities it brings. At the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, we have plenty of activities for adults and children to enjoy this summer. The official LRMA kickoff to summer will take place on Friday, June 5, when we will host Blues Bash on the front lawn. A ticket to this evening event includes a barbeque dinner from the Smokehouse of Laurel, free soda, and hours of great music and dancing on the front lawn. This year’s entertainment will be Don McMinn and Nighttrain. Tickets are $20 for museum members and $25 for non-members. Call the museum at (601) 649-6374 to reserve your ticket, and be sure to pick up a t-shirt as well.
In June, we have a full schedule of classes for all ages. Every Wednesday in June, and continuing through July 1, the education staff will offer a Free Family Art activity for children in the museum Annex from 1-4 P.M. This is a great opportunity to just walk in and make a free art activity to take home with you. For children who are entering kindergarten through sixth grade, we offer a four-day pottery camp where kids can learn how to create ceramic art pieces and throw on the pottery wheel. Adults can also explore clay with notable local artist and JCJC instructor Byron Myrick in a course that runs for six evenings throughout the month. Also for adults, we are offering a four-day landscape oil painting course taught by local artist and South Jones High School art teacher, Sharon Howard.
The month of July has more in store for art lovers. Students from middle school to college can sign up for a fun five week oil painting class with artist and Southern Miss professor David Wilkinson. Participants will learn basic oil painting and mixed media techniques. Younger children, from kindergarten to sixth grade, will love this year’s “Under the Sea” Art Camp. This four-day camp will feature numerous projects, including painting and collage. At the end of the month, Sharon Howard will offer another adult oil painting class, this time to learn how to paint a still life. This class is designed for the beginner, or to expand a student’s knowledge learned during the first oil painting course.
All summer long the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has something to offer for people of all ages. If you are staying in town this summer, we have a class for you, or you can stop by just to enjoy the art. To find out times and costs for art classes, please call the museum at (601) 649-6374 or look on our website at www.lrma.org.
Angie King is Education Outreach Coordinator at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
With just two weeks of school left, children and parents around Jones County are looking forward to summer and the opportunities it brings. At the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, we have plenty of activities for adults and children to enjoy this summer. The official LRMA kickoff to summer will take place on Friday, June 5, when we will host Blues Bash on the front lawn. A ticket to this evening event includes a barbeque dinner from the Smokehouse of Laurel, free soda, and hours of great music and dancing on the front lawn. This year’s entertainment will be Don McMinn and Nighttrain. Tickets are $20 for museum members and $25 for non-members. Call the museum at (601) 649-6374 to reserve your ticket, and be sure to pick up a t-shirt as well.
In June, we have a full schedule of classes for all ages. Every Wednesday in June, and continuing through July 1, the education staff will offer a Free Family Art activity for children in the museum Annex from 1-4 P.M. This is a great opportunity to just walk in and make a free art activity to take home with you. For children who are entering kindergarten through sixth grade, we offer a four-day pottery camp where kids can learn how to create ceramic art pieces and throw on the pottery wheel. Adults can also explore clay with notable local artist and JCJC instructor Byron Myrick in a course that runs for six evenings throughout the month. Also for adults, we are offering a four-day landscape oil painting course taught by local artist and South Jones High School art teacher, Sharon Howard.
The month of July has more in store for art lovers. Students from middle school to college can sign up for a fun five week oil painting class with artist and Southern Miss professor David Wilkinson. Participants will learn basic oil painting and mixed media techniques. Younger children, from kindergarten to sixth grade, will love this year’s “Under the Sea” Art Camp. This four-day camp will feature numerous projects, including painting and collage. At the end of the month, Sharon Howard will offer another adult oil painting class, this time to learn how to paint a still life. This class is designed for the beginner, or to expand a student’s knowledge learned during the first oil painting course.
All summer long the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has something to offer for people of all ages. If you are staying in town this summer, we have a class for you, or you can stop by just to enjoy the art. To find out times and costs for art classes, please call the museum at (601) 649-6374 or look on our website at www.lrma.org.
Angie King is Education Outreach Coordinator at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Guest Blogger: Allyn Boone
An outstanding permanent collection, nationally significant exhibitions, and an award-winning education program have made the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art one of the best mid-sized museums in America. And, unlike many museums in the country, LRMA provides broad access to its artwork and programs through a generous policy of open admission and free activities.
The Museum’s founders felt that LRMA should be a gift to the community, and they wanted to ensure that no one would be turned away because of cost. Since opening in 1923, LRMA has never charged an admission fee, and most of its programs and activities are open to the public at no charge.
This practice is possible in part because of the generosity of LRMA members. Membership levels range from $15 for a Student membership to $2,500 for Laureate members. Each category offers specific benefits, and there is a membership category to fit every budget.
LRMA members receive personal invitations to exhibition openings, studio classes, trips, lectures, concerts, and other activities offered by LRMA. Some membership categories receive discounts on trips, education classes, and Museum Shop purchases, while others receive complimentary tickets to the annual LRMA Gala.
All members receive a subscription to the LRMA newsletter, which is an excellent source of information about the Museum and its collection, exhibitions, and programs. Additionally, members have the satisfaction of knowing that their contributions enable LRMA to introduce thousands of children each year to the transformative power of the visual arts.
A new program called Adopt-a-Bus allows LRMA members to help school groups visit the Museum. In conjunction with their membership donation, members can make an additional contribution which is used to provide transportation stipends for schools bringing students to the Museum for tours and activities. The LRMA Adopt-a-Bus fund ensures that school children are able to visit LRMA despite rising transportation costs.
Membership is the cornerstone of LRMA support. From caring for the collections to presenting masterworks by legendary artists to creating learning opportunities for children and families, membership allows LRMA to achieve the level of excellence for which the Museum is known throughout the country. We consider our members to be our partners, and we invite you to join with us for an exciting year of top-quality collections, exhibitions, and education programs.
For more information about LRMA membership, please call 601-649-6374 or visit the LRMA website at www.LRMA.org.
Allyn Boone is Director of Development at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
The Museum’s founders felt that LRMA should be a gift to the community, and they wanted to ensure that no one would be turned away because of cost. Since opening in 1923, LRMA has never charged an admission fee, and most of its programs and activities are open to the public at no charge.
This practice is possible in part because of the generosity of LRMA members. Membership levels range from $15 for a Student membership to $2,500 for Laureate members. Each category offers specific benefits, and there is a membership category to fit every budget.
LRMA members receive personal invitations to exhibition openings, studio classes, trips, lectures, concerts, and other activities offered by LRMA. Some membership categories receive discounts on trips, education classes, and Museum Shop purchases, while others receive complimentary tickets to the annual LRMA Gala.
All members receive a subscription to the LRMA newsletter, which is an excellent source of information about the Museum and its collection, exhibitions, and programs. Additionally, members have the satisfaction of knowing that their contributions enable LRMA to introduce thousands of children each year to the transformative power of the visual arts.
A new program called Adopt-a-Bus allows LRMA members to help school groups visit the Museum. In conjunction with their membership donation, members can make an additional contribution which is used to provide transportation stipends for schools bringing students to the Museum for tours and activities. The LRMA Adopt-a-Bus fund ensures that school children are able to visit LRMA despite rising transportation costs.
Membership is the cornerstone of LRMA support. From caring for the collections to presenting masterworks by legendary artists to creating learning opportunities for children and families, membership allows LRMA to achieve the level of excellence for which the Museum is known throughout the country. We consider our members to be our partners, and we invite you to join with us for an exciting year of top-quality collections, exhibitions, and education programs.
For more information about LRMA membership, please call 601-649-6374 or visit the LRMA website at www.LRMA.org.
Allyn Boone is Director of Development at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
At the Museum: Thomas Sully, Portrait Painter
One of the leading portraitists in 19th century America was Thomas Sully (1783-1872), whose Ideal Head (c.1850) hangs in the American Gallery at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art. Sully was born in England but emigrated to the United States at age nine. He studied miniature painting with his elder brother after a failed apprenticeship in accounting, and went on to study briefly in England, but was primarily self-taught. There were no art academies in the U.S. in his youth, so he learned by copying the works of others. In fact, an early work was a copy of one of Gilbert Stuart’s famed portraits of George Washington. Like Stuart, he became a painter of presidents, including Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, and John Quincy Adams. He also, famously, painted a young Queen Victoria shortly after her ascendency to the throne of England in 1837. Perhaps even more famously, it is his portrait of Jackson that we see on the U.S. twenty-dollar bill today.
Sully was a hard-working and level-headed businessman, and very prolific both personally and professionally. The over 2,500 paintings he produced supported a family of nine (three step-children and six more). Although Sully never attended formal art training, both Gilbert Stuart and Benjamin West served as mentors. West, an American expatriate living in England, took the young Sully under his wing, wrote letters of introduction, and promoted his career wherever he could. West’s two portraits in the Museum collection, Mr. J. Fall and Mrs. Magdalen Whyte Fall, date to rather earlier than West’s interaction with Sully, but are typical of West’s work. West’s decision to paint his subjects in the dress of the day rather than imaginary Greco-Roman attire was revolutionary at the time. Sully followed this trend in most of his portraits, but the young woman portrayed in Ideal Head wears a dark green velvet drape that treads the borderline between classical and contemporary. Sully, like Stuart and West, was attentive to the individual features of his sitter. However, he did write that, “...I know that resemblance in a portrait is essential; but no fault will be found with the artist (at least by the sitter) if he improve the appearance.” Always the businessman, Sully knew that pleasing his sitters - and perhaps their vanity - was essential to building up his clientele. The Museum’s sensitive image of a young rosy-cheeked woman, draped in velvet and seated before an idealized landscape, may have been a commissioned portrait, but if it was, her name has been lost to history. On the other hand, this may be one of a number of works Sully produced depicting “ideal” physical types. Unless and until we know the sitter’s name, this work is titled to reflect that possibility.
Thomas Sully lived and worked in Philadelphia, then the largest city in the United States. He was influential in the development of his younger Philadelphia contemporary, John F. Francis, whose Still Life With Strawberries and Cream (c.1850) also hangs in the Museum’s American Gallery. Francis began his career as an itinerant portrait painter but decided to specialize in still life. He was also friendly and collegial with the Peale family. Charles Willson Peale assisted him by introducing him to Gilbert Stuart and other important American painters. His younger brother, James Peale, painted the Portrait of Nicholas Brewer II in the Museum collection. These interconnections may seem like strange coincidence, but in fact America was a much smaller place, and the art world even smaller.
Jill R. Chancey, PhD, is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Sully was a hard-working and level-headed businessman, and very prolific both personally and professionally. The over 2,500 paintings he produced supported a family of nine (three step-children and six more). Although Sully never attended formal art training, both Gilbert Stuart and Benjamin West served as mentors. West, an American expatriate living in England, took the young Sully under his wing, wrote letters of introduction, and promoted his career wherever he could. West’s two portraits in the Museum collection, Mr. J. Fall and Mrs. Magdalen Whyte Fall, date to rather earlier than West’s interaction with Sully, but are typical of West’s work. West’s decision to paint his subjects in the dress of the day rather than imaginary Greco-Roman attire was revolutionary at the time. Sully followed this trend in most of his portraits, but the young woman portrayed in Ideal Head wears a dark green velvet drape that treads the borderline between classical and contemporary. Sully, like Stuart and West, was attentive to the individual features of his sitter. However, he did write that, “...I know that resemblance in a portrait is essential; but no fault will be found with the artist (at least by the sitter) if he improve the appearance.” Always the businessman, Sully knew that pleasing his sitters - and perhaps their vanity - was essential to building up his clientele. The Museum’s sensitive image of a young rosy-cheeked woman, draped in velvet and seated before an idealized landscape, may have been a commissioned portrait, but if it was, her name has been lost to history. On the other hand, this may be one of a number of works Sully produced depicting “ideal” physical types. Unless and until we know the sitter’s name, this work is titled to reflect that possibility.
Thomas Sully lived and worked in Philadelphia, then the largest city in the United States. He was influential in the development of his younger Philadelphia contemporary, John F. Francis, whose Still Life With Strawberries and Cream (c.1850) also hangs in the Museum’s American Gallery. Francis began his career as an itinerant portrait painter but decided to specialize in still life. He was also friendly and collegial with the Peale family. Charles Willson Peale assisted him by introducing him to Gilbert Stuart and other important American painters. His younger brother, James Peale, painted the Portrait of Nicholas Brewer II in the Museum collection. These interconnections may seem like strange coincidence, but in fact America was a much smaller place, and the art world even smaller.
Jill R. Chancey, PhD, is curator of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Adult Pottery Class in April
Don't forget that Mother's Day is right around the corner, and what could be better than a hand-made gift? Beginning next week, on April 7, LRMA will hold an adult pottery class throughout the month of April. The class will be held on every Tuesday evening in April from 5:00-7:00 PM in our Carriage House Studio. This class is a lot of fun and is great for people who have never worked in clay or people who are experienced. We will make hand-built clay projects as well as work on the pottery wheel. Mandy Buchanan and Angie King will instruct this four-week class. This is a fun and relaxing way to spend your evenings, so join us at adult pottery and get your hands dirty!
Friday, March 27, 2009
Reminder: Mississippi Art Faculty Juried Exhibition
The last day to see the MAFJE is this Sunday, March 29!
Thursday, March 19, 2009
More Spring Break photos: Audubon Zoomobile and Smokey the Bear
Smokey the Bear made an appearance!
The Audubon Zoomobile folks came to visit with two snakes, a parrot, a hedgehog, and a rat for kids to look at and maybe even touch. This snake had beautiful iridescent scales:
The Audubon Zoomobile folks came to visit with two snakes, a parrot, a hedgehog, and a rat for kids to look at and maybe even touch. This snake had beautiful iridescent scales:
Spring Break Art Festival
The weather cleared up and the sun came out just in time for all to have a grand time at the Spring Break Art Festival, which happened to also be on St. Patrick's Day. The theme was Green: green for the Irish, and green for the environment.
The Blues Rangers rocked the house, er....rocked the *lawn*:
Most people made hats out of recycled newspaper, but these kids opted for paper airplanes instead:
Guild member Allison Travis helps young visitors decorate their lucky shamrocks:
Mandy Buchanan (pictured) and Angie King painted faces:
Becky Jackson, Brittany Avera, and Jo Lynn Helton run the Bottlecap Necklaces table, where kids recycled decorated bottlecaps:
The Blues Rangers rocked the house, er....rocked the *lawn*:
Most people made hats out of recycled newspaper, but these kids opted for paper airplanes instead:
Guild member Allison Travis helps young visitors decorate their lucky shamrocks:
Mandy Buchanan (pictured) and Angie King painted faces:
Becky Jackson, Brittany Avera, and Jo Lynn Helton run the Bottlecap Necklaces table, where kids recycled decorated bottlecaps:
Monday, March 09, 2009
Spring Break activities here at the LRMA
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art plans Spring Break Activities -
Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will hold a Spring Break Festival Tuesday, March 17 from 1 - 3 p.m. on the Museum's front lawn. The Audubon Zoomobile is making a return visit this year and will showcase a variety of exotic animals and the Blues Rangers from DeSoto National Forest will provide music. Art activities will feature recycled materials such as newspaper hats and decorated paper owls, and a St. Patrick's day shamrock activity. The festival is free and open to the public and intended for the whole family.
The Museum will also hold its annual "Spring Break Art Break" classes March 18 - 20 for children age kindergarten through sixth grade. Recycling will be the theme as participants create cereal box art, soda can piggy banks, and other recyclable treasures. The schedule will be 10:00 a.m. until noon for kindergarten through third grade and 2:00 until 4:00 p.m. for fourth through sixth grade. Classes will be held in the Museum Annex. Cost is $35 per child for LRMA members and $45 for non-members. As space is limited, reservations will only be held with payment. For more information or to register for classes call the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art at 601-649-6374.
Thursday, March 05, 2009
Guest Blogger: Tommie Rodgers
More on Fakes and Forgeries
In my last article, I discussed my encounters with fake artwork and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art’s investigation into two paintings acquired in the early 1990s along with works on paper offered as recent gifts. I would like to continue the discussion of why forgers forge.
The issue of forgery has been a quiet subject in the museum community until recent times. Museums across the country have accepted fakes into their collections for decades. Every museum from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art have fallen victim to forger’s attempts to be included in these fine art collections. Staff members have had to learn to be investigators and to pursue their own investigations of questionable artwork.
Forgers are not unlike other criminals in that they may get their rush from the act of deception. While there are self-proclaimed artists on every street, the forger’s own art usually has been rejected somewhere along the way. The forger then begins to pursue vengeance with his scams of smoke and mirrors.
The desire to be praised and recognized as a fine artist drives them to do whatever it takes to be included in a reputable museum or to see their work sold alongside artists of national or international recognition. To those forgers, money is not the issue, although it may play a role in their activities.
To others, it’s all about the money, and the money seekers are not really interested in creating the finest quality. They are more interested in a quick job to get quick cash.
There are some typical characteristics of forged artwork. Most are small in size and are claimed to be executed by artists who are marginally recognizable. The theory is that one would want to forge work by an artist who has already been accepted in the art market but one would not want to go overboard by creating works in the name of an internationally recognized artist such as Monet or Picasso. This mistake would send out red flags to the masses and experts would discredit the work quickly. The IRS is also more likely to audit donations with high dollar values.
Forgers may begin like most artists do in their training. Drawing is the most basic of training with painting and sculpture being more difficult to master. Not only does the forger have to learn to execute a quality painting, but they have to research and know the artists materials and techniques and how they were used, before they begin. This all takes time, research, and experiments.
There are numerous publications that discuss ways in which forgers work and why they pursue their craft. For instance, a newly published book called The Forger’s Spell by Edward Dolnick discusses the experimentation that Han van Meegeren performed during the 1940s trying to replicate a 17th century crackled surface. He experimented with a mixture of Bakelite (the first plastic invented in 1907 by Leo Baekeland), turpentine, linseed oil and pigments and made numerous failed attempts at baking the painted surface, each time hoping for the experiment to work.
One day he left his home and the oven unattended for an extended period of time. When he returned, he found that the painted panel experiment worked. He was overjoyed to see that it was possible to create a forgery of a 17th century painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer.
According to Dolnick, an oil painting will not only dry but harden. Drying can takes weeks but hardening can take years, even up to a century. A newly executed oil painting can be rubbed gently with a cotton swab soaked with rubbing alcohol and the color will appear on the swab. A completely hardened oil painting and a painting created with Bakelite will show no color in this test. Van Meegeren was aware that he needed to pass this first hurdle in his quest to create a convincingly-faked Vermeer.
Van Meegeren fooled experts, museum directors, and wealthy collectors as well as officers of Hitler’s regime. He went so far as to purchase a 17th century painting from an antique store, scrape off the old paint and began a new painting using the Bakelite material. Of course, he had other tricks up his sleeve to further age the newly baked plastic. As World War II came to an end, so did van Meegeren’s secret. His trial began in October of 1947 and van Meegeren died on December 30, 1947, at the age of 58. He never served a day of his one-year sentence.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
In my last article, I discussed my encounters with fake artwork and the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art’s investigation into two paintings acquired in the early 1990s along with works on paper offered as recent gifts. I would like to continue the discussion of why forgers forge.
The issue of forgery has been a quiet subject in the museum community until recent times. Museums across the country have accepted fakes into their collections for decades. Every museum from the Metropolitan Museum of Art to the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art have fallen victim to forger’s attempts to be included in these fine art collections. Staff members have had to learn to be investigators and to pursue their own investigations of questionable artwork.
Forgers are not unlike other criminals in that they may get their rush from the act of deception. While there are self-proclaimed artists on every street, the forger’s own art usually has been rejected somewhere along the way. The forger then begins to pursue vengeance with his scams of smoke and mirrors.
The desire to be praised and recognized as a fine artist drives them to do whatever it takes to be included in a reputable museum or to see their work sold alongside artists of national or international recognition. To those forgers, money is not the issue, although it may play a role in their activities.
To others, it’s all about the money, and the money seekers are not really interested in creating the finest quality. They are more interested in a quick job to get quick cash.
There are some typical characteristics of forged artwork. Most are small in size and are claimed to be executed by artists who are marginally recognizable. The theory is that one would want to forge work by an artist who has already been accepted in the art market but one would not want to go overboard by creating works in the name of an internationally recognized artist such as Monet or Picasso. This mistake would send out red flags to the masses and experts would discredit the work quickly. The IRS is also more likely to audit donations with high dollar values.
Forgers may begin like most artists do in their training. Drawing is the most basic of training with painting and sculpture being more difficult to master. Not only does the forger have to learn to execute a quality painting, but they have to research and know the artists materials and techniques and how they were used, before they begin. This all takes time, research, and experiments.
There are numerous publications that discuss ways in which forgers work and why they pursue their craft. For instance, a newly published book called The Forger’s Spell by Edward Dolnick discusses the experimentation that Han van Meegeren performed during the 1940s trying to replicate a 17th century crackled surface. He experimented with a mixture of Bakelite (the first plastic invented in 1907 by Leo Baekeland), turpentine, linseed oil and pigments and made numerous failed attempts at baking the painted surface, each time hoping for the experiment to work.
One day he left his home and the oven unattended for an extended period of time. When he returned, he found that the painted panel experiment worked. He was overjoyed to see that it was possible to create a forgery of a 17th century painting by the Dutch artist Johannes Vermeer.
According to Dolnick, an oil painting will not only dry but harden. Drying can takes weeks but hardening can take years, even up to a century. A newly executed oil painting can be rubbed gently with a cotton swab soaked with rubbing alcohol and the color will appear on the swab. A completely hardened oil painting and a painting created with Bakelite will show no color in this test. Van Meegeren was aware that he needed to pass this first hurdle in his quest to create a convincingly-faked Vermeer.
Van Meegeren fooled experts, museum directors, and wealthy collectors as well as officers of Hitler’s regime. He went so far as to purchase a 17th century painting from an antique store, scrape off the old paint and began a new painting using the Bakelite material. Of course, he had other tricks up his sleeve to further age the newly baked plastic. As World War II came to an end, so did van Meegeren’s secret. His trial began in October of 1947 and van Meegeren died on December 30, 1947, at the age of 58. He never served a day of his one-year sentence.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Mississippi Art Faculty winners
Best in Show:
Brent Funderburk, Mississippi State University
Nightwatch, 2006
Awards of Excellence:
Chatham Meade, William Carey University
Yellow Springs Pink, 2007
Albert Sperath, University of Mississippi
African Rain, 2006
Christopher Brady, East Central Community College
Ray, 2008
Please note: All images are copyright the artists; DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
Brent Funderburk, Mississippi State University
Nightwatch, 2006
Awards of Excellence:
Chatham Meade, William Carey University
Yellow Springs Pink, 2007
Albert Sperath, University of Mississippi
African Rain, 2006
Christopher Brady, East Central Community College
Ray, 2008
Please note: All images are copyright the artists; DO NOT REPRODUCE WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Coming soon: Mississippi Art Faculty Juried Exhibition
Mississippi Art Faculty: Juried Exhibition
February 20 - March 29, 2005
LRMA is hosting a juried exhibition open to all full-time and part-time art studio faculty at any Mississippi college or university (two-year or four-year). By bringing art teachers together we hope to see what direction art in Mississippi is taking, and to showcase the diversity of art in Mississippi today. Today's art professors work in all media, from the traditional oil on canvas to digital, film, and installation, so this show promises to have something of interest for anyone interested in contemporary art and artists. The exhibition will be juried by Joseph W. Lampo, Deputy Director of Programming and Curator of Paintings, Prints, and Photographs at the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR.
The opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m.
The artists selected for the exhibition are:
Delta State University
Robyn Moore
East Central Community College
Christopher Brady
East Mississippi Community College
Terry Cherry
Hinds Community College
Melanie Atkinson
Paula Duren
Randy Minton
Jones County Junior College
Mark Brown
Byron Myrick
Meridian Community College
Terrell Taylor
Millsaps College
Brent Fogt
Mississippi College
Becky Barnett
Stephanie Busbea
Bart Rainey
Albert Smathers
Mississippi State University
William Pittman Andrews
James Davis
Brent Funderburk
Marita Gootee
Christopher W. Luhar-Trice
Soon Ee Ngoh
Robert Ring
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Ashley Chavis
Eunika Rogers
University of Mississippi
William N. Beckwith
Lou Haney
Robert Malone
Sheri Fleck Rieth
Albert Sperath
Carlyle Wolfe
University of Southern Mississippi
Deanna Douglas
Janet Gorzegno
James Meade
William Carey University
Chatham Meade
February 20 - March 29, 2005
LRMA is hosting a juried exhibition open to all full-time and part-time art studio faculty at any Mississippi college or university (two-year or four-year). By bringing art teachers together we hope to see what direction art in Mississippi is taking, and to showcase the diversity of art in Mississippi today. Today's art professors work in all media, from the traditional oil on canvas to digital, film, and installation, so this show promises to have something of interest for anyone interested in contemporary art and artists. The exhibition will be juried by Joseph W. Lampo, Deputy Director of Programming and Curator of Paintings, Prints, and Photographs at the Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR.
The opening reception and awards ceremony will be held on Sunday, February 22, at 2:00 p.m.
The artists selected for the exhibition are:
Delta State University
Robyn Moore
East Central Community College
Christopher Brady
East Mississippi Community College
Terry Cherry
Hinds Community College
Melanie Atkinson
Paula Duren
Randy Minton
Jones County Junior College
Mark Brown
Byron Myrick
Meridian Community College
Terrell Taylor
Millsaps College
Brent Fogt
Mississippi College
Becky Barnett
Stephanie Busbea
Bart Rainey
Albert Smathers
Mississippi State University
William Pittman Andrews
James Davis
Brent Funderburk
Marita Gootee
Christopher W. Luhar-Trice
Soon Ee Ngoh
Robert Ring
Northwest Mississippi Community College
Ashley Chavis
Eunika Rogers
University of Mississippi
William N. Beckwith
Lou Haney
Robert Malone
Sheri Fleck Rieth
Albert Sperath
Carlyle Wolfe
University of Southern Mississippi
Deanna Douglas
Janet Gorzegno
James Meade
William Carey University
Chatham Meade
Guest Blogger : Tommie Rodgers
Fakes, Forgeries and Copies, Oh My!
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to see and learn about fakes and forgeries in the art market. Like all museums, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has unknowingly acquired artwork that is fake - meaning that the objects were created by someone other than the signature states. For ethical reasons, museums do not want to put these pieces back into public circulation, so the works are generally used to teach connoisseurship or used for the practice of conservation treatment.
My first forged encounter was with a painting that was supposedly by George Luks who was one of “The Eight” and should have been painted around 1920. This painting was purchased in the early 1990s at an auction in New Orleans. The painting is a portrait of a young man and the quality and condition are convincing enough. No one suspected its authenticity until a museum friend heard of the purchase and alerted the staff. We looked at the painting under a black light (one that fluoresces) and could see where new paint had been applied over old, but that evidence only shows that a conservator, restorer or forger had worked on the piece. There was a nagging feeling that the subject matter didn’t quite match the other work done by Luks but still no evidence. A few years later, we located and contacted the Luks expert and she confirmed our suspicions.
Another encounter was the gift of a small landscape supposedly painted by George Inness. The gift was delivered with no paperwork and the donor was impossible to contact after the delivery. This point may not mean much to most people, but a paper trail is important to establish the provenance (history of ownership) of the work, its value, and the evidence of ownership.
No one really suspected deceit; we thought the donor was just being difficult. It was not until Dr. Michael Quick, the expert on the work of the 19th century painter George Inness came to visit LRMA to see our authentic painting by Inness that we learned a very simple fact. Dr. Quick asked to remove both paintings from their frames so that he could see the backs. The small painting was painted on hardboard and not just any hardboard - it was painted on Masonite.
We know that Masonite was invented here in Laurel in 1924 and was unavailable to artists in 1890, which is the date assigned to the painting. Many artists have painted on wooden panels for hundreds of years but there were no mechanically-made indentions on the back until Masonite came along. (Please note that the painting Close of a Rainy Day by Inness hangs in the American Gallery and is definitely authentic.)
Not until recent years have I thought that other objects would be of interest to forge. We have encountered “faked” wooden African artifacts. The forger’s trick is to accelerate the age of the wood by placing it in a smoke pit. The piece will darken in color and will smell like smoke. If the outer layer of wood is scratched on bottom, a person can tell if the wood is old or new.
I’ve recently read of Native American baskets in the California region that are being faked and sold as old baskets from extinct tribes or from tribes who no longer have weavers. The baskets are newly made for little money and then “doctored” to age them. Weaving a basket for fraudulent purposes is too much work to not get recognition for it. Obviously, there’s a middle man somewhere making a lot of money.
Our most recent encounter of forged artwork have been offerings of late 19th and early 20th century drawings. Most of the originals can be traced to auction sales. The forger’s trick here is to use old paper (probably the inside leaves of old books) and with a pretty good hand and eye, the forger copies the image in front of him.
We’ve become quite good at detecting these fakes. The Internet and auction catalogues allow for us to find the originals or least similar images by the signed artist. The two are never exactly alike. A jeweler’s loupe is a handy tool and one can see more details than with a magnifying glass. It will also allow a person to see if a document has been “doctored” or if the piece has been photomechanically reproduced (for example, a poster print). A black light is helpful to see where paintings have been touched up.Artists’ signature books are good research tools to compare signatures. And, certainly the inspection of the materials used and their appropriateness to their time period is helpful in determining the correct age.
In closing, I recommend that the buyer should beware! Don’t collect things that you know nothing about and deal only with reputable dealers and galleries. And to forgers, these tools along with world-wide professional communications are here to stay. Your talents could better be used elsewhere.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Over the years, I have had the opportunity to see and learn about fakes and forgeries in the art market. Like all museums, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art has unknowingly acquired artwork that is fake - meaning that the objects were created by someone other than the signature states. For ethical reasons, museums do not want to put these pieces back into public circulation, so the works are generally used to teach connoisseurship or used for the practice of conservation treatment.
My first forged encounter was with a painting that was supposedly by George Luks who was one of “The Eight” and should have been painted around 1920. This painting was purchased in the early 1990s at an auction in New Orleans. The painting is a portrait of a young man and the quality and condition are convincing enough. No one suspected its authenticity until a museum friend heard of the purchase and alerted the staff. We looked at the painting under a black light (one that fluoresces) and could see where new paint had been applied over old, but that evidence only shows that a conservator, restorer or forger had worked on the piece. There was a nagging feeling that the subject matter didn’t quite match the other work done by Luks but still no evidence. A few years later, we located and contacted the Luks expert and she confirmed our suspicions.
Another encounter was the gift of a small landscape supposedly painted by George Inness. The gift was delivered with no paperwork and the donor was impossible to contact after the delivery. This point may not mean much to most people, but a paper trail is important to establish the provenance (history of ownership) of the work, its value, and the evidence of ownership.
No one really suspected deceit; we thought the donor was just being difficult. It was not until Dr. Michael Quick, the expert on the work of the 19th century painter George Inness came to visit LRMA to see our authentic painting by Inness that we learned a very simple fact. Dr. Quick asked to remove both paintings from their frames so that he could see the backs. The small painting was painted on hardboard and not just any hardboard - it was painted on Masonite.
We know that Masonite was invented here in Laurel in 1924 and was unavailable to artists in 1890, which is the date assigned to the painting. Many artists have painted on wooden panels for hundreds of years but there were no mechanically-made indentions on the back until Masonite came along. (Please note that the painting Close of a Rainy Day by Inness hangs in the American Gallery and is definitely authentic.)
Not until recent years have I thought that other objects would be of interest to forge. We have encountered “faked” wooden African artifacts. The forger’s trick is to accelerate the age of the wood by placing it in a smoke pit. The piece will darken in color and will smell like smoke. If the outer layer of wood is scratched on bottom, a person can tell if the wood is old or new.
I’ve recently read of Native American baskets in the California region that are being faked and sold as old baskets from extinct tribes or from tribes who no longer have weavers. The baskets are newly made for little money and then “doctored” to age them. Weaving a basket for fraudulent purposes is too much work to not get recognition for it. Obviously, there’s a middle man somewhere making a lot of money.
Our most recent encounter of forged artwork have been offerings of late 19th and early 20th century drawings. Most of the originals can be traced to auction sales. The forger’s trick here is to use old paper (probably the inside leaves of old books) and with a pretty good hand and eye, the forger copies the image in front of him.
We’ve become quite good at detecting these fakes. The Internet and auction catalogues allow for us to find the originals or least similar images by the signed artist. The two are never exactly alike. A jeweler’s loupe is a handy tool and one can see more details than with a magnifying glass. It will also allow a person to see if a document has been “doctored” or if the piece has been photomechanically reproduced (for example, a poster print). A black light is helpful to see where paintings have been touched up.Artists’ signature books are good research tools to compare signatures. And, certainly the inspection of the materials used and their appropriateness to their time period is helpful in determining the correct age.
In closing, I recommend that the buyer should beware! Don’t collect things that you know nothing about and deal only with reputable dealers and galleries. And to forgers, these tools along with world-wide professional communications are here to stay. Your talents could better be used elsewhere.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
birthday headgear
For some reason, people continue to prefer the tiara to the Birthday Samurai Hat. I have no idea why that would be the case.
Here's Simone celebrating:
Here's Simone celebrating:
Art Talk Today, Thursday, January 15
Wyatt Waters, watercolor artist, will be speaking in our Lower Level Galleries today at noon. We provide drinks and cookies, and you can bring your bag lunch if you'd like.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
A joyous and prosperous new year to all!
Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)
Number 98: Ryogoku (Fireworks at Ryogoku), 1858
Series: Meisho Yedo Hyakkei (One Hundred Famous Views of Edo)
LRMA 28.74
Monday, November 24, 2008
Holiday Hours
We will be closed this Thursday, November 27, for Thanksgiving, but we are open on Friday and all weekend.
We are also going to be closed on December 5-7 for our annual Gala.
Other closing dates:
December 24, 25, 31, and January 1.
If you've got family in town and y'all are looking for something to do, come on in.
We are also going to be closed on December 5-7 for our annual Gala.
Other closing dates:
December 24, 25, 31, and January 1.
If you've got family in town and y'all are looking for something to do, come on in.
Guest Blogger: Holly Dodd, Director of Marketing
At the Museum: LRMA a Hub of Holiday activity
As you watch your calendar rapidly filling with seasonal events and holiday parties, don’t forget to include your local museum and all it has to offer this time of year.
To kick off your holiday shopping with a flare, the LRMA Gift Shop will have a Holiday Open House on Tuesday, November 25. Along with unique items such as eclectic glassware and handcrafted pottery and baskets, there will be book signings by four Mississippi authors, including noted chef Martha Foose of Greenwood. There will also be a trunk show by jewelry artist Robbin Lee.
If the holidays inspire you to dance the night away, make plans to attend the Museum’s black-tie Gala on the evening of Saturday, December 6. The Can Can Ball: A Hip Cool Pop Art Gala will highlight the atmosphere of the 1960s Pop Art movement, made famous by artists such as Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.
Not only will the decorations be candy for the eye and the food and music fabulous, but Gala patrons will be in for a real treat with the Live Auction. There will be lavish trips for the savvy traveler - one to the enchanting Emerald Isle and one to Nantucket for a week’s stay in a Victorian farmhouse. Ladies will swoon over a stunning diamond and pearl drop necklace from Juniker Jewelry of Jackson and can go home with their very own piece of jewelry created by Laurel native, Emily Ruffin of Taos, New Mexico. If something from the Far East strikes your fancy, then you’ll want to place a bid on an Oriental chest from S.D. Bateman Fine Furnishings. For the art collectors in the crowd, there will be works by Mississippi artists Pryor Graeber, Jackie Meena, Holly Wilson, and the late Lynn Green Root, as well as a watercolor by south Alabama artist Jo Patten. To attend the Gala, you need to be a member of LRMA at the Sponsor level or above. Call or stop by the Museum to become a member or to purchase your tickets.
If you’re looking for just one more outing for the kiddies during "the most wonderful time of the year," LRMA has you covered. There will be a free "Mommy and Me" holiday art activity Thursday, December 11, for little ones, and the following Thursday, December 18, there will be a Christmas Art Class for children in grades K - 6. There is a fee for the latter, so you’ll need to call the Museum to sign up.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is at its busiest and best during the holidays, and we hope you will make it the hub of your holiday outings.
LRMA is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel and is open 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, call LRMA at 601-649-6374 or visit the Museum’s website, www.LRMA.org.
As you watch your calendar rapidly filling with seasonal events and holiday parties, don’t forget to include your local museum and all it has to offer this time of year.
To kick off your holiday shopping with a flare, the LRMA Gift Shop will have a Holiday Open House on Tuesday, November 25. Along with unique items such as eclectic glassware and handcrafted pottery and baskets, there will be book signings by four Mississippi authors, including noted chef Martha Foose of Greenwood. There will also be a trunk show by jewelry artist Robbin Lee.
If the holidays inspire you to dance the night away, make plans to attend the Museum’s black-tie Gala on the evening of Saturday, December 6. The Can Can Ball: A Hip Cool Pop Art Gala will highlight the atmosphere of the 1960s Pop Art movement, made famous by artists such as Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns.
Not only will the decorations be candy for the eye and the food and music fabulous, but Gala patrons will be in for a real treat with the Live Auction. There will be lavish trips for the savvy traveler - one to the enchanting Emerald Isle and one to Nantucket for a week’s stay in a Victorian farmhouse. Ladies will swoon over a stunning diamond and pearl drop necklace from Juniker Jewelry of Jackson and can go home with their very own piece of jewelry created by Laurel native, Emily Ruffin of Taos, New Mexico. If something from the Far East strikes your fancy, then you’ll want to place a bid on an Oriental chest from S.D. Bateman Fine Furnishings. For the art collectors in the crowd, there will be works by Mississippi artists Pryor Graeber, Jackie Meena, Holly Wilson, and the late Lynn Green Root, as well as a watercolor by south Alabama artist Jo Patten. To attend the Gala, you need to be a member of LRMA at the Sponsor level or above. Call or stop by the Museum to become a member or to purchase your tickets.
If you’re looking for just one more outing for the kiddies during "the most wonderful time of the year," LRMA has you covered. There will be a free "Mommy and Me" holiday art activity Thursday, December 11, for little ones, and the following Thursday, December 18, there will be a Christmas Art Class for children in grades K - 6. There is a fee for the latter, so you’ll need to call the Museum to sign up.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is at its busiest and best during the holidays, and we hope you will make it the hub of your holiday outings.
LRMA is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel and is open 10:00 a.m. until 4:45 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 until 4:00 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. For more information, call LRMA at 601-649-6374 or visit the Museum’s website, www.LRMA.org.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Very Special Arts Festival
It's that time of year again! This past Friday, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art staff, along with the LRMA Guild, the Laurel Arts League, and the Laurel Junior Auxiliary, held the annual Very Special Arts Festival. This year's festival theme was "Superhero Spectacular" and spectacular it was! The kids created their own superhero capes, masks, mini-superheroes, and self-portraits. They also had their faces painted and took pictures with life-size painted superheroes. This festival is such a great program because it is only for students in special education, a group that is often overlooked and underserved. About 200 students participated, making this year's event a great success and a whole lot of fun!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Where does your candidate stand on the arts?
Arts Vote 2008 has gathered a tidy collection of links to the arts policies of the two main presidential candidates:
Arts Vote 2008
They also have created a checklist:
Arts Positions of the 2008 Candidates
It would be nice to know what the third party candidates have to say about arts funding, come to think of it.
Here's the Green Party Platform on the arts, scroll down the page to Section E.
And, unsurprisingly, the Libertarian Party has nothing to say about the arts in their platform, since they don't believe the federal government should be funding much of anything: Libertarian Platform.
Are there any other third party candidates I am missing? Let me know in comments, and I'll add a link.
Arts Vote 2008
They also have created a checklist:
Arts Positions of the 2008 Candidates
It would be nice to know what the third party candidates have to say about arts funding, come to think of it.
Here's the Green Party Platform on the arts, scroll down the page to Section E.
And, unsurprisingly, the Libertarian Party has nothing to say about the arts in their platform, since they don't believe the federal government should be funding much of anything: Libertarian Platform.
Are there any other third party candidates I am missing? Let me know in comments, and I'll add a link.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Catching up on Summer Birthdays
Donnelle and Donna were offered several options, and chose to stick with the more traditional Birthday Tiara:
Our new office assistant Brittany, on the other hand, plunged forward into the future and chose the Non-Traditional Birthday Samurai Hat:
Our new office assistant Brittany, on the other hand, plunged forward into the future and chose the Non-Traditional Birthday Samurai Hat:
Sunday at the Museum with Sondheim
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will host the second installment of the 2008-09 Sunday Concert Series presented by The University of Southern Mississippi Symphony Orchestra Sunday, October 12 at 2 p.m. in the LRMA American Gallery.
The concert "Sunday in the Museum with Sondheim" will feature soprano Maryann Kyle performing music by Stephen Sondheim. Kyle will be accompanied on piano by Theresa Sanchez.
Maryann Kyle is Assistant Professor of voice at USM. A native Mississippian, she has appeared as a soloist with the University of Illinois Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, CamerOper Ensemble, Chattanooga Symphony, Louisiana State University Symphony, the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, and the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Some of Kyle’s major opera roles have included Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Mrs. Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, the Countess and Susannah in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Musetta and Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme, the title role in Floyd’s Susannah, and the Evil Queen in the premiere performances of Zaninelli’s Snow White.
Theresa Sanchez has presented recitals in the United States, Canada, and Europe and has performed as a soloist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. She has been on faculty at Jones Junior College since 1995. Sanchez performed in the International Music Institute in Pontlevoy, France, and joined the Touring Artist Roster of the Mississippi Arts Commission in 2003.
The concert is sponsored by Tim Lawrence of Smith Barney, Inc. in Jackson and is free and open to the public.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel. For more information, call 601-649-6374 or visit the Museum’s website at www.LRMA.org.
The concert "Sunday in the Museum with Sondheim" will feature soprano Maryann Kyle performing music by Stephen Sondheim. Kyle will be accompanied on piano by Theresa Sanchez.
Maryann Kyle is Assistant Professor of voice at USM. A native Mississippian, she has appeared as a soloist with the University of Illinois Symphony, Mississippi Symphony, CamerOper Ensemble, Chattanooga Symphony, Louisiana State University Symphony, the Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra, and the Rome Symphony Orchestra. Some of Kyle’s major opera roles have included Fiordiligi in Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, Mrs. Ford in Verdi’s Falstaff, the Countess and Susannah in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Micaela in Bizet’s Carmen, Musetta and Mimi in Puccini’s La Boheme, the title role in Floyd’s Susannah, and the Evil Queen in the premiere performances of Zaninelli’s Snow White.
Theresa Sanchez has presented recitals in the United States, Canada, and Europe and has performed as a soloist with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. She has been on faculty at Jones Junior College since 1995. Sanchez performed in the International Music Institute in Pontlevoy, France, and joined the Touring Artist Roster of the Mississippi Arts Commission in 2003.
The concert is sponsored by Tim Lawrence of Smith Barney, Inc. in Jackson and is free and open to the public.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in historic downtown Laurel. For more information, call 601-649-6374 or visit the Museum’s website at www.LRMA.org.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Pastel Workshop next week
Landscape Pastel workshop to be held at Lauren Rogers Museum of Art
By Holly Dodd
In conjunction with its upcoming exhibit The Degas Pastel Society’s Twelfth Biennial National Exhibition, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will offer a three-day Landscape Pastel Workshop October 8 - 10.
The workshop will be taught by pastel artist and exhibition judge Terry Ludwig of Denver, Colorado.
Ludwig received his formal art education under William Mosby and Joseph Vanden Broucke at the American Academy of Art in Chicago.
His work has been featured in galleries throughout the Rocky Mountain Region and hangs in many private collections.
Students will work from photographs and on location at the Museum. The workshop will stress drawing skills, values and color.
Cost for the workshop is $275 for Degas Pastel Society members and $300 for non- members. To register contact Darlene Johnson at darlenehjohnson@yahoo.com or by calling 504-392-0215.
By Holly Dodd
In conjunction with its upcoming exhibit The Degas Pastel Society’s Twelfth Biennial National Exhibition, Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will offer a three-day Landscape Pastel Workshop October 8 - 10.
The workshop will be taught by pastel artist and exhibition judge Terry Ludwig of Denver, Colorado.
Ludwig received his formal art education under William Mosby and Joseph Vanden Broucke at the American Academy of Art in Chicago.
His work has been featured in galleries throughout the Rocky Mountain Region and hangs in many private collections.
Students will work from photographs and on location at the Museum. The workshop will stress drawing skills, values and color.
Cost for the workshop is $275 for Degas Pastel Society members and $300 for non- members. To register contact Darlene Johnson at darlenehjohnson@yahoo.com or by calling 504-392-0215.
Heritage Arts Festival this coming Saturday
Lauren Rogers to host 18th Heritage Arts Festival
By Holly Dodd, LRMA Director of Marketing
By Holly Dodd, LRMA Director of Marketing
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art will hold its 18th annual Heritage Arts Festival on Saturday, Oct. 4, from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. on the museum’s front lawn in recognition of National Arts and Humanities Month.
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This year’s festival “Sounds of the South” will celebrate Mississippi’s musical heritage. Art activities will include a music-themed mural, guitar collage, bird puppets, and macaroni tambourines. Entertainment will be provided by the Cowboy Blues Band.
Families are invited to participate in the day of arts and crafts activities. The festival is free of charge, and pizza and soft drinks will be served while supplies last.
In the event of rain, the festival will be held at Sawmill Square Mall.
Heritage Arts Festival is generously sponsored by Laurel Arts League, Neel-Schaffer, Coca-Cola of Laurel, The First, and Hughes, Inc. The festival is also supported by the Mississippi Arts Commission.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is located at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Seventh Street in Historic Downtown Laurel. For more information, please call 601-649-6374 or visit the museum’s website at www.LRMA.org.
Bronze Sculptures at the Museum
Although the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art’s American and European art collections are best known for their paintings and works on paper, the Museum does have a small but excellent group of representational bronze sculptures on display in the hallway between the lobby and the American Gallery.
Hermon Atkins MacNeil is probably best known today for his public monuments of American heroes such as George Washington and his design of the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter. However, the Paris-trained sculptor focused almost entirely on Native American subjects from about 1891 to 1910. His Chief Multnomah (about 1904) depicts a man once thought to be legendary; in fact he was a powerful 18th century leader in the area that is known today as Portland, Oregon. This image is entirely speculative, as no portraits of the man himself exist today. Our small bronze is related to one of the two figures in a lifesize sculpture known as The Coming of the White Man which is situated on a hill in Portland, Oregon, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge by which Lewis and Clark had come through the Rockies. MacNeil was also an influential teacher of sculpture at several institutions in New York City.
The Hungarian-born Louis-Paul Jonas began his career as a taxidermist, and then trained at the New York Academy of Design under sculptor Herman Atkins MacNeil. His Chief Eagle Head depicts a Sioux who was a member of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Jonas met him in Denver, which was Buffalo Bill’s home base, and arranged for a sitting. Eagle Head came by his name because of his deep set eyes and keen sense of observation, according to a letter from Jonas in the Museum files.
Anna Hyatt Huntington, like Louis Jonas, was a student of Hermon Atkins MacNeil in New York. She is best-known for her carefully researched animal sculptures. Huntington’s studies of animal anatomy and behavior are evident in her intimate look at an everyday event in a horse’s life, Feeding Time. This work was produced early in her career, when she was only 21 years old. Her work is very much in the academic vein of representational sculpture, rather than in the expressive mode that was more popular in Europe at the time. At the early age of 31 she completed her equestrian sculpture of Joan of Arc, a literally monumental accomplishment. Though troubled by tuberculosis after 1927, she would go on to create medals, small sculptures, and public monuments for nearly 70 more years. She continued to work in lighter media (such as aluminum) and to explore more modernist modes almost until her death at 97.
The academically-trained French sculptor Ary Jean Léon Bitter was a product of the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, France. His early works, such as the Museum’s See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, tend to the representational, while his later works exhibit an fluid Art Deco tendency. He specialized in animal imagery and languid female figures in bronze, though he occasionally worked at a monumental scale as well.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free; please call ahead to ensure that a docent will be available for tour groups. For information about LRMA exhibitions and programs, call (601) 649-6374 or check our website at www.LRMA.org
Jill R. Chancey, PhD
LRMA Curator
Hermon Atkins MacNeil is probably best known today for his public monuments of American heroes such as George Washington and his design of the 1916 Standing Liberty Quarter. However, the Paris-trained sculptor focused almost entirely on Native American subjects from about 1891 to 1910. His Chief Multnomah (about 1904) depicts a man once thought to be legendary; in fact he was a powerful 18th century leader in the area that is known today as Portland, Oregon. This image is entirely speculative, as no portraits of the man himself exist today. Our small bronze is related to one of the two figures in a lifesize sculpture known as The Coming of the White Man which is situated on a hill in Portland, Oregon, overlooking the Columbia River Gorge by which Lewis and Clark had come through the Rockies. MacNeil was also an influential teacher of sculpture at several institutions in New York City.
The Hungarian-born Louis-Paul Jonas began his career as a taxidermist, and then trained at the New York Academy of Design under sculptor Herman Atkins MacNeil. His Chief Eagle Head depicts a Sioux who was a member of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Jonas met him in Denver, which was Buffalo Bill’s home base, and arranged for a sitting. Eagle Head came by his name because of his deep set eyes and keen sense of observation, according to a letter from Jonas in the Museum files.
Anna Hyatt Huntington, like Louis Jonas, was a student of Hermon Atkins MacNeil in New York. She is best-known for her carefully researched animal sculptures. Huntington’s studies of animal anatomy and behavior are evident in her intimate look at an everyday event in a horse’s life, Feeding Time. This work was produced early in her career, when she was only 21 years old. Her work is very much in the academic vein of representational sculpture, rather than in the expressive mode that was more popular in Europe at the time. At the early age of 31 she completed her equestrian sculpture of Joan of Arc, a literally monumental accomplishment. Though troubled by tuberculosis after 1927, she would go on to create medals, small sculptures, and public monuments for nearly 70 more years. She continued to work in lighter media (such as aluminum) and to explore more modernist modes almost until her death at 97.
The academically-trained French sculptor Ary Jean Léon Bitter was a product of the École des Beaux-Arts in Marseille, France. His early works, such as the Museum’s See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil, tend to the representational, while his later works exhibit an fluid Art Deco tendency. He specialized in animal imagery and languid female figures in bronze, though he occasionally worked at a monumental scale as well.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open Tuesday to Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. and on Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free; please call ahead to ensure that a docent will be available for tour groups. For information about LRMA exhibitions and programs, call (601) 649-6374 or check our website at www.LRMA.org
Jill R. Chancey, PhD
LRMA Curator
Are you registered to vote?
Sunday, October 5 is the deadline to register to vote in Mississippi. This *really* means you need to submit your registration by Friday, October 3. For information on how and where to register:
Mississippi Voter Information
Mississippi Voter Information
Friday, September 12, 2008
Concert this Sunday
LRMA Sunday Concert Series - Sunday, September 14, 2008, 2:00 p.m.
American Gallery
Marcos Machado, double bass. Concerts are free and open to the public. A reception will follow the concerts.
American Gallery
Marcos Machado, double bass. Concerts are free and open to the public. A reception will follow the concerts.
Monday, September 08, 2008
More Arabian photos!
A view of the box office:
A return to the vibrant colors of the twenties - notice the Egyptian scarab:
The lobby is still being repainted. Check out the great light fixture:
Another scarab detail, with a vibrant red wall behind:
The view from the lift, which, I am telling you, was WAY UP THERE:
As you can see, all of the chairs have been removed and will be replaced. As it happens, you can help renovate the theater by "sponsoring" a new cushy chair; click here for details.
This little theater is a terrific example of 20s theater architecture and an important piece of Laurel history. I look forward to visiting in November when the renovation is complete.
A return to the vibrant colors of the twenties - notice the Egyptian scarab:
The lobby is still being repainted. Check out the great light fixture:
Another scarab detail, with a vibrant red wall behind:
The view from the lift, which, I am telling you, was WAY UP THERE:
As you can see, all of the chairs have been removed and will be replaced. As it happens, you can help renovate the theater by "sponsoring" a new cushy chair; click here for details.
This little theater is a terrific example of 20s theater architecture and an important piece of Laurel history. I look forward to visiting in November when the renovation is complete.
Joyce Bradley Painting Workshop
For anyone interested in learning a new hobby or becoming more skilled at an old one, LRMA is offering a painting workshop with Hattiesburg artist Joyce Bradley. Participants will paint along with her as she offers her "tricks of the trade" and her hands-on assistance. Everyone will walk away with their own oil painting and some new techniques to try at home. The class will be held on Saturday, September 27 from 10 AM-2 PM in the Carriage House Studio on Seventh Street. Supplies and lunch are provided in the fee, which is $50 for non-members and $45 for museum members. Joyce is a skilled painter and is excited to share her love of painting with others! Please go to www.theagallery.com to check out some of her work.
A visit to the Arabian Theater
A few weeks ago, several staff members walked down to the Laurel Little Theater's home, the Arabian, to visit. George Jackson and his crew were working very hard to restore the Arabian to its original neo-Egyptian glory. The Arabian originated as a 1920s Saenger-owned movie palace, and was designed by Emile Weil, who also designed the Saenger Theater in New Orleans. In the 1970s, a renovation added a stage and other equipment areas necessary to the production of live theater. The Jim Crow balcony (in other words, for African-Americans only during the years of legal segregation) was repurposed and filled with lighting and other theater equipment, as it was angled too high for a good view of the stage.
The building has seen 80 years of hard use as a movie theater, and then a live theater venue, so a thorough renovation was in order. The folks of the Laurel Little Theater organization have worked hard to raise some money and get this project on its feet. George says they are scheduled to finish in November.
George gave us a ride on the lift, which, frankly, was shaky and tall and terrifying, not to mention on a slanted floor! It gave us a great view of the original wall paintings uncovered during the recent renovations, which were the object of our visit. The paintings had not been visible for decades, as they were covered in a soundproofing material.
In this view, you can see that there are neo-Egyptian decorative paintings directly on the wall, alternating with niches with Moorish arches. Originally, each niche had a painting on canvas, but these have been taken down for restoration. We recommended finding funding to bring in a professional paintings conservator, but for the time being these terrific wall paintings will stay on display for the first time in decades. The canvas pieces will be stored until they can be conserved, and it's likely that replicas will be installed in the niches. This kind of Egyptian-influenced decoration was very popular in the 1920s, inspired by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1921. Also visible are the fantastic original light fixtures, which are still installed throughout the building:
For more information about this exciting and much-needed project, please visit the Laurel Little Theater website.
The building has seen 80 years of hard use as a movie theater, and then a live theater venue, so a thorough renovation was in order. The folks of the Laurel Little Theater organization have worked hard to raise some money and get this project on its feet. George says they are scheduled to finish in November.
George gave us a ride on the lift, which, frankly, was shaky and tall and terrifying, not to mention on a slanted floor! It gave us a great view of the original wall paintings uncovered during the recent renovations, which were the object of our visit. The paintings had not been visible for decades, as they were covered in a soundproofing material.
In this view, you can see that there are neo-Egyptian decorative paintings directly on the wall, alternating with niches with Moorish arches. Originally, each niche had a painting on canvas, but these have been taken down for restoration. We recommended finding funding to bring in a professional paintings conservator, but for the time being these terrific wall paintings will stay on display for the first time in decades. The canvas pieces will be stored until they can be conserved, and it's likely that replicas will be installed in the niches. This kind of Egyptian-influenced decoration was very popular in the 1920s, inspired by the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1921. Also visible are the fantastic original light fixtures, which are still installed throughout the building:
For more information about this exciting and much-needed project, please visit the Laurel Little Theater website.
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Guest Blogger: Tommie Rodgers
At the Museum
At the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, the end of the summer break means the beginning of school, newly installed exhibits, hurricane watching, and emergency responder tours. Certainly since Katrina, emergency preparedness has become a hot topic among Mississippi museums and libraries.
While Katrina prepped us for other emergency issues, we continue to build on our knowledge and refinement of preparedness. We have stocked recovery and cleanup supplies and maintain links to the outside world in case of disaster.
Three years ago, we began offering behind-the-scenes tours to the local fire and police departments. We have just finished the scheduled tours with the Laurel Fire Department and the Jones County Sheriff’s Department. In keeping with the theme of preparedness, the LRMA has recently installed a new security and smoke detection system and is in the process of installing a generator.
We hope the services of these organizations will never be called upon but we know the tours provide an added familiarity with every area of the building for those who might respond should a disaster be in the Museum’s future.
In addition to our visits, we have created a new disaster plan that will aid us in areas of response, recovery and rehabilitation. The Museum will soon participate in a Risk Evaluation and Planning Program sponsored by Heritage Preservation of The National Institute for Conservation.
The Museum is one of only fifteen museums from Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas that were selected to participate in a two-day site visit by a conservator and a local emergency responder. After the visit, a report will be compiled and provided to the Museum with recommendations for improved emergency response and preparation. The museums will provide feedback to Heritage Preservation concerning the process as well as gain valuable advice from these professionals. Our site visit will take place in October and will be led by Vermont conservator Mary Jo Davis and local Jones County Emergency Management Director Don McKinnon.
With the height of hurricane season upon us, it is time to check on supplies for the Museum as well as our homes. We should remember to have important papers in a safe, dry and accessible place; back up important computer documents; keep cars filled with gas; gather supplies of bottled water, canned food, non-perishables, flashlights, a battery-operated radio, batteries and hand sanitizer. Also make sure medications are in supply and take care to have items for special needs individuals such as children and the elderly. Have cash in bills of $20 or less and have a plan to contact out-of-state family members before and after an impending disaster.
In preparation for imminent hurricanes, you may soon see LRMA staff moving paintings into storage and tying down or moving outdoor sculptures. With skylights on the top floor of the building, we are prepared for water leaks with extra garbage cans and “kiddie” pools to catch water.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Call 601-649-6374 for information or check out the Museum’s website for programs, classes and exhibitions at www.LRMA.org.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
At the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, the end of the summer break means the beginning of school, newly installed exhibits, hurricane watching, and emergency responder tours. Certainly since Katrina, emergency preparedness has become a hot topic among Mississippi museums and libraries.
While Katrina prepped us for other emergency issues, we continue to build on our knowledge and refinement of preparedness. We have stocked recovery and cleanup supplies and maintain links to the outside world in case of disaster.
Three years ago, we began offering behind-the-scenes tours to the local fire and police departments. We have just finished the scheduled tours with the Laurel Fire Department and the Jones County Sheriff’s Department. In keeping with the theme of preparedness, the LRMA has recently installed a new security and smoke detection system and is in the process of installing a generator.
We hope the services of these organizations will never be called upon but we know the tours provide an added familiarity with every area of the building for those who might respond should a disaster be in the Museum’s future.
In addition to our visits, we have created a new disaster plan that will aid us in areas of response, recovery and rehabilitation. The Museum will soon participate in a Risk Evaluation and Planning Program sponsored by Heritage Preservation of The National Institute for Conservation.
The Museum is one of only fifteen museums from Mississippi, Ohio, and Texas that were selected to participate in a two-day site visit by a conservator and a local emergency responder. After the visit, a report will be compiled and provided to the Museum with recommendations for improved emergency response and preparation. The museums will provide feedback to Heritage Preservation concerning the process as well as gain valuable advice from these professionals. Our site visit will take place in October and will be led by Vermont conservator Mary Jo Davis and local Jones County Emergency Management Director Don McKinnon.
With the height of hurricane season upon us, it is time to check on supplies for the Museum as well as our homes. We should remember to have important papers in a safe, dry and accessible place; back up important computer documents; keep cars filled with gas; gather supplies of bottled water, canned food, non-perishables, flashlights, a battery-operated radio, batteries and hand sanitizer. Also make sure medications are in supply and take care to have items for special needs individuals such as children and the elderly. Have cash in bills of $20 or less and have a plan to contact out-of-state family members before and after an impending disaster.
In preparation for imminent hurricanes, you may soon see LRMA staff moving paintings into storage and tying down or moving outdoor sculptures. With skylights on the top floor of the building, we are prepared for water leaks with extra garbage cans and “kiddie” pools to catch water.
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art is open Tuesdays - Saturdays, 10 a.m. - 4:45 p.m. and Sundays from 1-4 p.m. Call 601-649-6374 for information or check out the Museum’s website for programs, classes and exhibitions at www.LRMA.org.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Hurricane Update
As you probably are aware, Laurel, MS was in the path of the eastern edge of Hurricane Gustav. We battened down hatches, moved paintings, tied down sculptures, and set our disaster plan into effect over the weekend. Fortunately, except for one leaky skylight, the museum suffered no damage. We had moved artwork out from under that part of the ceiling, so a new coat of wax on the floor will hide all signs that Gustav blew our way.
Laurel suffered high winds, scattered street flooding, a number of tornado warnings, and scattered minor power outages, but we are in much better shape than we were three years ago. We expect wind & rain for the next few days, but the worst is behind us.
I understand that the national media has gone on to other subjects, so I'd like to let our out-of-state readers know that the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, and South Louisiana are still feeling the impact of Gustav. Power is out to thousands of people, street flooding occurred throughout the region, and the entire city of New Orleans is still closed to all but first responders and medical and utility personnel. This means that many evacuees are waiting, wondering what they're going to come home to. Folks from the Gulf Coast are also being discouraged from returning until power is restored and the street flooding has receded.
We'll return to our regularly scheduled museum blogging shortly.
Laurel suffered high winds, scattered street flooding, a number of tornado warnings, and scattered minor power outages, but we are in much better shape than we were three years ago. We expect wind & rain for the next few days, but the worst is behind us.
I understand that the national media has gone on to other subjects, so I'd like to let our out-of-state readers know that the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, and South Louisiana are still feeling the impact of Gustav. Power is out to thousands of people, street flooding occurred throughout the region, and the entire city of New Orleans is still closed to all but first responders and medical and utility personnel. This means that many evacuees are waiting, wondering what they're going to come home to. Folks from the Gulf Coast are also being discouraged from returning until power is restored and the street flooding has receded.
We'll return to our regularly scheduled museum blogging shortly.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Coming Attractions
We are about to unpack and start installing "American Masters of the Mississippi Gulf Coast," featuring works by Richmond Barthé, George Ohr, Dusti Bongé, and Walter Anderson.
The exhibit opens in the Stairwell Gallery on Friday, with a reception on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm. Exhibition curator Patti Carr Black will be giving a talk in the gallery during the reception, which we are very excited about. I don't think anybody in the world knows more about Mississippi art than Patti Carr Black.
For a little more background, see Sherry Lucas' article in the Clarion Ledger.
The exhibit opens in the Stairwell Gallery on Friday, with a reception on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 pm. Exhibition curator Patti Carr Black will be giving a talk in the gallery during the reception, which we are very excited about. I don't think anybody in the world knows more about Mississippi art than Patti Carr Black.
For a little more background, see Sherry Lucas' article in the Clarion Ledger.
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