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.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
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.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Reminder - Peoples of the Plateau
Tonight, July 31, 5:30 - 8:00 pm, we have a lecture by exhibition curator Steve Grafe, followed by a reception.
Tomorrow, Friday August 1, basket scholar Dawn Glinsmann will speak at 10:00 am, followed by Wasco weaver Pat Courtney Gold at 11 am. Ms. Gold will present a demonstration and trunk show at 2:00 pm as well.
All events are free and open to the public.
See you there!
Tomorrow, Friday August 1, basket scholar Dawn Glinsmann will speak at 10:00 am, followed by Wasco weaver Pat Courtney Gold at 11 am. Ms. Gold will present a demonstration and trunk show at 2:00 pm as well.
All events are free and open to the public.
See you there!
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Summer Birthdays
Liz had a birthday recently, and was the last to wear the birthday tiara for a while.
Why, you ask? Because everyone's worn it now. It's time for a change. Wes bravely accepted the challenge, and models here the giant origami samurai hat:
I'm not sure anyone else will be willing to model kung fu hands, but if I can tweak the fit a little bit, it'll be this year's birthday hat.
Why an origami samurai hat? Because it was one of our hands-on kid projects for the Floating World exhibition.
Which, by the way, is over and done.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Guest Blogger: Donnelle Conklin, Librarian
The Lauren Rogers Museum of Art Library will display a selection of bookplates from its collection in November and December. The Library boasts a collection of over 2,000 bookplates, many collected during the 1920s and 30s by Ms. Ella Bradley, the Museum’s first librarian. Others were acquired from a donation from the collection of Mrs. Katherine Loveland. Most of the bookplates were produced sometime between 1890 and 1940, the period considered the “Golden Era” of bookplate design. The Library also houses a large number of books on the subject, and many will be available to visitors who would like to learn more about the variety and history of the bookplate.
The exhibit will be located in two glass cases located in the Museum lobby and will run through January.
Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Guest Blogger: Allyn Boone
The
LRMA members are first to receive information about exhibitions and programs. They receive personal invitations to Museum activities as well as a subscription to the LRMA News, which describes upcoming opportunities and provides information about art, artists and other timely topics.
LRMA is known throughout the nation for its world-class collections and exhibitions, which bring thousands of visitors to our community each year. Your LRMA membership shows that you support the cultural well-being of our city, state and region.
This year, in addition to joining the Museum, community residents will also be able to help school children visit LRMA. The Museum has begun an Adopt-A-Bus program to help schools defer the high cost of transportation, which threatens to keep children from taking field trips.
Members may add a gift of $25, $50, $100 or other amount to their membership contribution. The funds will be used to provide transportation stipends for schools that bring students to LRMA for tours and activities. We are certain that this program will make a difference by increasing the number of students who are able to visit the Museum and experience the visual arts.
Membership is an important source of income for LRMA. Through the membership program, LRMA is able to offer exhibitions of regional and national significance while meeting the needs of the children and families of our area. We send Art Trunks to teachers throughout the state, sponsor Third Grade Tours for children of our community and nearby counties, and provide special programs for children of the Laurel Housing Authority and other groups. We offer Heritage Arts Festival and the Very Special Arts Festival, along with a host of other events, through the generosity of our members and supporters.
Please consider becoming an LRMA member. Membership will connect you directly with our exhibitions, programs, permanent collection, and other activities.
The
Monday, June 30, 2008
Guest Blogger: Tommie Rodgers
At the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, we have the opportunity to look back at Laurel’s history in the making, as well as the personal glimpses into life in the early 1920s. While the Museum is abundant with photographs, letters, and historical documents that share important days in the lives of Lauren Rogers, his parents and grandparents, we can only imagine how life would have been different if Lauren had lived past the youthful age of twenty-three.
Museum photographs provide images of an oak tree-lined dirt road we now call Fifth Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. George S. Gardiner built the massive white house seen in the same image. The stately home now serves as St. John’s Day School.
The Museum’s founding family documents mark the era of growth in the timber industry, the founding of the Laurel Presbyterian Church, as well as the building of local schools and parks evidenced in the Catherine Marshall (Mrs. George S.) Gardiner papers.
Lauren Rogers’ great-aunt Catherine Marshall (Mrs. George S.) Gardiner left behind her legacy with not only her Native American Basket Collection, but also her desire to preserve the history she was making. Letters from Native American dealers and other collectors show us how harsh life could really be for Native weavers living in the early 1900s.
Other documents share the memorial services that were held for some of these early Laurelites. One such individual was Wallace Brown Rogers. Very little is known about Mr. Rogers other than he was Lauren’s dad. He worked quietly and tirelessly behind the scenes to help provide the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art its institutional stability and artistic heritage. We credit him with the building of the Japanese woodblock print collection and we have been recently introduced into his world of collecting in the 1920s.
On Wednesday, June 25 at 1:30 p.m., the community had the opportunity to hear a lecture by the essayist for the Museum’s newest publication The Floating World.
Dr. Hans Bjarne Thomsen of The University of Zurich presented a lecture titled "Images of the Floating World: Placing the Ukiyo-e Collection of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art." Dr. Thomsen researched the Museum’s collection of letters penned by Frederick Gookin to Mr. Rogers and has studied other collections amassed in the early 1900s by Gookin.
The Museum’s catalogue shares much information about collecting at that time and provides the reader with the knowledge that the founding family members excelled in drawing together a rich collection of fine art with the quality that can rarely be amassed today.
While Mr. Rogers went about his tasks without fanfare, his life was memorialized by Mr. W. S. Welch on the September 9, 1943 meeting of the Trustees of the Eastman Memorial Foundation. The statement began, "The great heart of Wallace Brown Rogers has ceased to beat. The love and esteem that we had for him will live always in the hearts of all of us.
His splendid mind was always at work on some project for the advancement of the interests of the community in which he lived. He was always generous. He was generous not only with the material things he possessed, but he was generous in what is vastly more important. He was generous with his very great talents and with his time. He was a thinker–an original thinker; and he never took things for granted."
The statement continues with more beautiful accolades than one could expect. "He was endowed with qualities of leadership and with a desire to be of service in the most self-effacing manner. He was always ready to give credit to another for what he alone had accomplished."
We thank Mr. Rogers for his foresight and generosity and for the legacy of this great collection representing beautiful images of Japanese culture.
The exhibition and catalogue are generously sponsored by Evelyn and Michael Jefcoat.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
[Originally published in the Laurel Leader-Call]
Museum photographs provide images of an oak tree-lined dirt road we now call Fifth Avenue. Mr. and Mrs. George S. Gardiner built the massive white house seen in the same image. The stately home now serves as St. John’s Day School.
The Museum’s founding family documents mark the era of growth in the timber industry, the founding of the Laurel Presbyterian Church, as well as the building of local schools and parks evidenced in the Catherine Marshall (Mrs. George S.) Gardiner papers.
Lauren Rogers’ great-aunt Catherine Marshall (Mrs. George S.) Gardiner left behind her legacy with not only her Native American Basket Collection, but also her desire to preserve the history she was making. Letters from Native American dealers and other collectors show us how harsh life could really be for Native weavers living in the early 1900s.
Other documents share the memorial services that were held for some of these early Laurelites. One such individual was Wallace Brown Rogers. Very little is known about Mr. Rogers other than he was Lauren’s dad. He worked quietly and tirelessly behind the scenes to help provide the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art its institutional stability and artistic heritage. We credit him with the building of the Japanese woodblock print collection and we have been recently introduced into his world of collecting in the 1920s.
On Wednesday, June 25 at 1:30 p.m., the community had the opportunity to hear a lecture by the essayist for the Museum’s newest publication The Floating World.
Dr. Hans Bjarne Thomsen of The University of Zurich presented a lecture titled "Images of the Floating World: Placing the Ukiyo-e Collection of the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art." Dr. Thomsen researched the Museum’s collection of letters penned by Frederick Gookin to Mr. Rogers and has studied other collections amassed in the early 1900s by Gookin.
The Museum’s catalogue shares much information about collecting at that time and provides the reader with the knowledge that the founding family members excelled in drawing together a rich collection of fine art with the quality that can rarely be amassed today.
While Mr. Rogers went about his tasks without fanfare, his life was memorialized by Mr. W. S. Welch on the September 9, 1943 meeting of the Trustees of the Eastman Memorial Foundation. The statement began, "The great heart of Wallace Brown Rogers has ceased to beat. The love and esteem that we had for him will live always in the hearts of all of us.
His splendid mind was always at work on some project for the advancement of the interests of the community in which he lived. He was always generous. He was generous not only with the material things he possessed, but he was generous in what is vastly more important. He was generous with his very great talents and with his time. He was a thinker–an original thinker; and he never took things for granted."
The statement continues with more beautiful accolades than one could expect. "He was endowed with qualities of leadership and with a desire to be of service in the most self-effacing manner. He was always ready to give credit to another for what he alone had accomplished."
We thank Mr. Rogers for his foresight and generosity and for the legacy of this great collection representing beautiful images of Japanese culture.
The exhibition and catalogue are generously sponsored by Evelyn and Michael Jefcoat.
Tommie Rodgers is the registrar at the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art.
[Originally published in the Laurel Leader-Call]
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Baby's First Steps
One of our most important European artworks is Jean-François Millet's First Steps (pastel/paper, c.1858, 12 3/4" x 17"). It is currently on display in our Asian Gallery for the summer, where I have put together a little show of works on paper from the permanent collection. Since all of the Japanese prints are downstairs, I thought I'd pull out some of our more delicate works and put them up. The Whistler pastel, the Homer print, and the Millet pastel are probably the highlights of this little group.
I ran across a blog post recently about images of "First Steps" in art, which includes our Millet and an image of the van Gogh's interpretation of it:
Les premiers pas dans l’art , le dessin, la peinture : voilà un sujet qui me semble intéressant !
[tr: First steps in art, drawing, and painting: here is a subject which interests me!]
Yes, yes, it is written in French, so dust off your French 101 and practice! Or, just look at the nice pictures.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Blues Bash 2008
Over 400 people enjoyed beer, barbecue, and blues by Howl-n-Madd Perry and his band last Friday on the lawns of the Museum and the Rogers-Green House in historic Downtown Laurel.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Curating Art at Home
What about rules for decorating with art? Ideally, hang with the center at eye level or as near as possible without butting up against the furniture below. Slight asymmetry is better than strict symmetry. Think in terms of color families, composition or subject similarities rather than rigorous matching. You may want to group all of your pictures of flowers, for example, or everything with red in it, or four or five square things. These would make good groupings with perhaps unexpected results. I often find that I see an artwork differently when I hang it with new companions.
Don’t be afraid to rearrange when you get tired of your current look. You can often redecorate by shopping in your own home. Just take everything off the walls of one or more rooms and look through closets and behind doors for framed things or plaques or anything you may have stashed since you last decorated. Lean the works against the wall and start playing with them or use a large table to arrange groups. You could also measure each object, cut out a piece of craft paper in the shape of each one and tape them on the wall in the arrangement you’re considering. Rearrange until you’re happy with the look and only then start hammering nails.
You can also look for beautiful or sentimental items in your cabinets or on bookshelves and highlight them. You may have a plate or a jug hidden away that would look terrific on display. If you have a collection, honor it. Buy or make display shelving and bring out your collection of antique teacups or your family collection of embroidery or cross-stitch pieces. Children’s artwork can also be charming and need not be elaborately framed.
On the other hand, if you don’t love a piece of artwork, put it away for a while. You can always bring out that picture of a lighthouse again if you find you miss it terribly. It’s better to have a small quantity of artwork, decorative arts and photos on display that you really love to look at than a clutter of things you don’t care if you ever see again. Don’t be afraid of open spaces!
Framing doesn’t have to cost a fortune. You can certainly spend on custom framing, acid-free mats, and UV glass if you are framing a one-of-a-kind piece that is meant to last forever. In fact, I highly recommend it for original works of art. It’s sort of like making insurance payments on your new car; consider quality framing an insurance policy for your new work of art. However, if your budget is low and you’re framing something inexpensive, such as an LRMA exhibition poster, you can also find simple, reasonably priced frames at big box hobby stores. Sometimes I will buy inexpensive frames but pay extra for a nice custom mat that really suits the artwork, which is my frugal compromise. Here at the Museum, we tend to use simple frames in subtle metals or wood, painted black or white, with acid-free mats in neutral tones for contemporary works of art. If you use colored mats, you may find you need to re-mat the work in 10 or 20 years, as color trends will go in and out of style. On the other hand, at LRMA we are framing for posterity, and you are framing to please yourself.
If you are looking for art but don’t have a big budget, shop at the local frame shops, the LRMA Museum Shop and arts festivals such as Day in the Park, where you can support your local artists. You can often buy original works of art for less than the cost of framed poster-prints sold at outlets and decor stores. You can also buy inexpensive art at student shows such as those at
Jill R. Chancey, PhD
LRMA Curator
[originally published in the Laurel Leader-Call, 6/8/9]
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