R.W. Norton Art Gallery Newsletter : December 2008

If you or someone you know has something interesting to share with our readers (a visit to a museum or garden, an art book to recommend, or a communication with an artist) please let us know! Write your article, forward it to me as an email attachment to www.rwnaf.org/contactus, and your article (cited by you) may be included in a future newsletter issue. Please note that the editor of Around the Gallery has the right to modify or decline submitted articles if unsuitable for our purposes. Unless otherwise noted, all articles are written by Kristi Kohl, Staff Researcher.

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FEATURED ARTIST: Josiah Wedgwood

FEATURED ARTWORK: The Garden Party

DID YOU KNOW?

This month the R.W. Norton Art Gallery is hosting, “The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century”, a juried collection of paintings by the members of the International Guild of Realism. The title of this exhibition cannot help but raise the simple question, why the “new reality”? What happened to the old one? The prevailing view for centuries was that art was the result of careful craftsmanship representing a heightened reality to evoke an emotional response and/or express a theme or story. Then came the Romantic Age, and with it the reassessment of the artist as less a craftsman than an (often misunderstood) individual with a unique form of expression. Artists began to take a more painterly approach to their work, using loose brushwork and bold colors to develop expressive, individualistic styles that resulted in works like Delacroix’s Liberty Leading the People and Turner’s Ulysses Deriding Polyphemous. As photography usurped the role of replicating reality, painters like the Impressionists began to refine art to its essentials, focusing on the manipulation of color and light. The Modernists who followed them pared the image down even further, focusing on elements of form, volume, line, and color to the point of abstraction. Then, in the early 20th century, the Dadas, with Marcel Duchamp’s readymades and other innovations, refined art to the realm of the metaphysical – art was no longer about the object, or even the depiction of the object – it was about the concept in the mind of the artist and the interaction between that and the audience.

As execution became less important to the process, craftsmanship of the kind expected from artists ranging from the Old Masters to 19th century academics often fell by the wayside. However, in the late 20th century, a backlash against abstract and conceptual art began. Many artists began to embrace concepts and techniques borrowed from older masters. Thus was born the International Guild of Realism in 2002. The founders began by clarifying the number of styles they felt fit under the realist umbrella, including classical realism (ranging from the Renaissance Old Masters to Courbet) and extending to contemporary styles such as trompe l’oeil, photorealism, surrealism, and super-realism. The one thing common to all of these artists is the element stressed by Guild member Benjamin Orozco Lopez of Mexico: “The most important thing about the Guild is that we are a big group of artists who glorify the values of craftsmanship, which has almost been lost in modern painting.”

For this exhibition, selected artists are required to cite the example of an Old Master or other Realist painting which helped inspire their own in either theme or technique. However, while they may borrow their style or technique from the Old Masters, they are all determined to create an expression of their own contemporary world, including other styles of art as well. Kolbjorn Haseth, for instance, admits a debt to abstraction as well as realism in his landscape, The Colour Gray: “The massive rock on the right meets us like an abstract image, and had to be balanced with a more interesting area to the far left . . .” And while George Gonzalez’s still-lifes and trompe l’oeil paintings capture contemporary, often mundane objects, he also draws inspiration from a diversity of predecessors ranging from Mannerists to surrealists.

Other Guild artists have more allegiance to specific schools of the past. Damon Denys admits, “My first love was the paintings of the British classicists and romantics of Victorian England,” while Bryce Cameron Liston is equally clear about his debt to academic artists: “Inspired by 19th century artistic values, I traveled abroad to study first hand, the works of artists such as Waterhouse, Bouguereau, Gerome and Tadema. It is important to me to keep alive what these and other artists like them were doing.” Another inspiration for the new realists is the 17th century golden age of Dutch and Spanish masters. A still-life artist like Grace Kim echoes the concerns of the 17th century Dutch masters, saying, “Although my subjects are often what appears to be simple flowers and fruit, I always see something unique and beautifully complex and intricate in all that exists in this world.” Cuban artist Jorge Alberto admits, “My paintings spring from a life-long fascination with lighting and how light affects mood . . . I take inspiration from the 17th century painters, like Caravaggio, Velasquez and Ribera, emulating the strong use of lighting contrast so evident in the work of these masters.”

In their veneration for the Old Masters, some of the Guild artists even borrow their materials. Mark Thompson specializes in egg tempera work and etchings, admitting, “I have long been fascinated by the beauty of line and the work of the Renaissance and pre-Renaissance masters. Etchings are essentially the distillation of balance and rhythm, volume and line in a medium over 400 years old.” And artist Lee Alban actually grinds his paints from powdered pigments and prepares his canvases by hand the way the Old Masters did. Still others have learned how to incorporate the Old Masters techniques into new media. Arlene Steinberg works in colored pencil, but that hasn’t prevented her from taking inspiration from the technique and styles of Renaissance painters.

While many if not most of these artists draw from the distant past, there are some distinctly 20th century forms of realism, the most prominent of which is the one wrought by a 19th century invention – the camera. Photorealism requires the painter to create a work so detailed and precise that it replicates the effect of a photograph – craftsmanship of a very high standard indeed and which draws perhaps more than the others on the availability of modern inventions and techniques. Kory Fluckiger, for instance, “has developed his own technique of watercolor painting in which he airbrushes the background to highlight the colors in the foreground, so that the painting appears to be a magnificent photograph.” Fellow photorealist Anne Kullaf has found her work compared to Edward Hopper in its grasp of light as well as its ability to raise the mundane world to the sublime nature of art.

This is only a fraction of the artists whose unique visions and superb executions are represented in the exhibition. Fifty-six artists from nations including America, Canada, The Netherlands, Korea, Russia, France, Iceland, Romania, Norway and Finland have contributed 65 paintings to the show. While they all share a common goal, each of them has a unique vision and style in which to depict the world around them. Charter member Lorena Kloosterboer explains that while abstraction and modernism have dominated recent art, she, like her fellow realists reject the idea that their work is “unevolved”, declaring, “One only needs to visit one of our exhibitions . . . to appreciate the incredible array of exceptional Realism.”

With this in mind, the R.W. Norton Art Gallery invites you to join us for “The New Reality: The Frontier of Realism in the 21st Century.”

Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

Left: Jean-Baptiste Regnault, The Three Graces, 1794

Right: Frances Poole, Three Graces, 2006

TIPS FROM KIP

Despite the colder weather and falling leaves, there are still many chores to do to prepare the ground for winter and to get your garden ready for spring. Some of the things you need to do for your lawn and garden include:

1. Plant spring-blooming bulbs such as tulips and daffodils. As long as the ground can be easily worked, it is still okay to plant bulbs.

2. Pull up annual flowers and dispose of them. If you suspect that any of the flowers are diseased, throw them in the trash can.

3. Cut back perennial foliage to the ground.

4. To prevent weeds from getting a head start, weed.

5. Apply a winter mulch, such as pine needles, to perennials to provide warmth and to retain moisture.

6. Continue to water evergreens and small trees and shrubs to prevent damage from drying winds.

7. Empty clay or ceramic pots and store them inside to prevent possible cracking.

8. Clean, oil, sharpen, and repair all your garden tools before storing.

9. Apply a fall fertilizer or fall weed and feed to your lawn to strengthen grass roots and blades and build up disease resistance. Make the last cut of the season shorter and empty the gas tank on your lawnmower.

10. In order to prevent your lawn from dying or becoming diseased, be sure to regularly rake and dispose of leaves, preferably in a compost heap.

Completing these tasks now will assure that your lawn and garden make it through the winter and grow back greener and healthier in the spring!

Kip Dehart, Landscape Director

OUT IN THE GARDEN

Left: Betty Riley Camellia

Middle: Deloris Edward Camellia

Right: Mary Agnes Paton Camellia

Native to China and Japan, where it has a long history of cultivation, the camellia was introduced in Europe before finally being imported to America in the 1700s. During the Victorian era, camellias were interwoven into art, writing, and fashion, as well as the garden, and were no longer restricted to the conservatories of the wealthy. Knowledge of camellia care grew and the development of new varieties began to emerge with the formation of the American Camellia Society in 1945.

This woody evergreen quickly adjusted to the climate of the Deep South since its introduction over 200 years ago. According to the website for Green Nurseries (http://www.greennurseries.com), the camellia has become “an anchor of Southern gardens...representing the grace and charm associated with the Old South.” Camellias yield a wide range of bloom sizes, shapes, colors, textures, and fragrances. With so many varieties to choose from, Landscape Director Kip Dehart had a difficult time limiting herself to the 30 varieties that are being added to the Norton gardens. Some varieties being planted along the trail (dubbed Camellia Path) that runs behind the hydrangea beds and the Mountain Silverback statue include:

Betty Sheffield Funny Face (pale pink bloom with deep pink stripe)
Mary Agnes Paton (light pink bloom with deep pink outer petals)
Swan Lake (large white bloom)
Shalimar Sunset (medium to large dark red bloom)
Purple Dawn (dark pink bloom with purple)
Bobby Fain (bright red bloom with red vein)
Pink Perfection (large, showy pink bloom)
Mary Ann (deep pink bloom)
Deloris Edward (deep pink bloom)
Betty Riley (light pink bloom)

Camellias do well in dappled shade since the foliage may burn in full sun. In the summer, be sure to mulch the bush to retain moisture and to keep roots cool. They prefer acidic, well-drained but moist soil and need to be planted high (trunk base well above the soil line) in a protected climate (Zones 7-10), free from extended heavy freezes.

VOICES FROM THE ARCHIVES: Katherine Brakhage, WWII Civilian B-24 Riveter

“I riveted the metal together so that the wings could be made. And that attitude, at that time, of the people in the class I was in was wonderful. We wanted to help our country. We wanted to help the men that were overseas. And the war. So our country would come out okay. Also at that time we had to have coupons in order to buy meat in the grocery store. And people were chipping in together to try to help our country. It was a wonderful attitude.”

Those are the words of Katherine Brakhage of Minden, who fought the war with a rivet gun at an aircraft assembly plant in Wichita, Kansas. Working night and day, this “Rosie the Riveter” shaped the wings of victory in World War II. Katherine is among more than 400 men and women from the Shreveport area who graciously gave their time to tell us their life stories of service and sacrifice. We’re preserving those stories as part of our Oral History Project, an ongoing effort to interview members of the World War II generation, along with veterans of future American conflicts. We also want to hear from eyewitnesses and participants in the civil rights struggle, as well as those who shaped the musical heritage of the city and the nation.

Click here to view additional photographs and to listen to the audio of the interview with Ms. Brakhage.

If you or someone you know would like to share stories with us, please call (318) 865-4201, or contact ohp@rwnaf.org.

BEHIND THE SCENES: Jennifer DeFratis, Tour and Special Events Coordinator

Jennifer DeFratis joined the Norton in July of 2006. Back then, she was a humble receptionist who had retreated from five years in the world of professional children’s theater to get a “real job.” When asked if she wanted to participate in the tour program of the Norton, she enthusiastically said yes. Soon after, the Norton having expanded to the point that a general tour was no longer feasible, Mrs. DeFratis, in cooperation with the Director of Research and Rare Collections, Everl Adair, created a total of 20 core tours highlighting different portions of the Gallery’s collection and stepped into a new position as the Tour and Special Events Coordinator. Ranging from the very broad (the American History Tour gives an impressive overview of much of the Norton’s extensive American collection) to the very specific (the 19th Century French Art Sculpture Tour), the group tours are intended to educate, inspire, and promote the museum’s amazing permanent collection.

Guided group tours are available Tuesday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but Mrs. DeFratis felt the working public was being denied a unique experience. Thus, the First Saturday Tours were born. Also written in collaboration with Everl Adair, these thematic tours explore different facets of the collection, such as the glass making process and glass art pieces in this month’s Art of Transparency Tour or true tales of artistic bad boys and the women who swooned over them in February’s Scandals and Vandals tours. Certainly entertaining and thoroughly educational (The Perils of Pigments tour explained how artists actually made their paints in centuries past), these tours are available the first Saturday of every month at 2 p.m. All tours meet in the lobby and are absolutely free.

As Special Events Coordinator, Mrs. DeFratis is also responsible for handling the arrangements for specific public events sponsored by the Norton, such as the painting demonstration given by film director and award-winning artist George Gallo and the lecture on songs of World War I given by Michael Lasser, NPR music expert, in association with the “Snoopy as the World War I Flying Ace” exhibition. Thanks to Mrs. DeFratis’s efforts, the Norton will continue to develop both the quality and quantity of these events in the future.

Jennifer DeFratis, Tour and Special Event Coordinator
Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

FEATURED ARTIST IN THE COLLECTION: Josiah Wedgwood

Born July 12, 1730, the 13th of 13 children in a family of potters in Burslem, Staffordshire, England, Josiah Wedgwood (1730-1795) became an undisputed genius in the field of pottery, producing works that graced both the tables of kings and those of the common man. Though a childhood bout with small pox left him with a crippled right knee, preventing him from turning a normal potter’s wheel and denying him a partnership in the family business, it did not keep him from launching a business of his own based on thousands of experiments developing new types of pottery.

The first of his successful experiments led to a new development in earthenware with a special glaze which became known as Queen’s Ware when it caught the eye of Queen Charlotte who ordered a set for the royal table. Since this pottery could be made quickly and efficiently, it was affordable to all but the poorest in England. The porphyry vases on display in the Wedgwood Gallery are examples of a type of Queen’s Ware.

With the phenomenal success of Queen’s Ware, Wedgwood was able to open a bigger and better shop. Some of his greatest innovations were Jasperware (in which the color extends throughout the piece), Parian ware (which looks like fine marble, but is actually very fine porcelain), Majolica (noted for its bright colors and bold designs), and Enamelware (made to withstand high temperatures). The Portland Vase, based on an original Greek vase and requiring four years to complete, was Wedgwood’s masterpiece. To construct the image of the cut-out on the Greek vase, he instead created two layers, adding a Jasperware overlay to imitate the original design.

In addition to being an innovative designer and manufacturer, Wedgwood was also a social reformer, considered liberal for his time. A noted abolitionist, he designed a Jasperware medal for the Slave Emancipation Society, and his wife held anti-slavery meetings at their home. The Wedgwoods had another claim to fame as well; one of his daughters married the well-known Erasmus Darwin and gave birth to the even better known Charles Darwin, the pioneering naturalist who developed the theory of evolution in his book On the Origin of Species (1860).

Examples of the styles and types of pottery discussed in this issue can be seen in the Wedgwood Gallery at the Norton. Please visit us and discover the beautiful achievements of this remarkable man.

Museum Staff

Portland Vase

FEATURED ARTWORK IN THE COLLECTION: The Garden Party by Judy York

The R. W. Norton Art Gallery has the privilege of owning one of artist Judy York’s traditional oil paintings, The Garden Party (1988). York’s love for images of 18th and 19th century England and her interest in the history of costumes (she admits to having a closet full of original costumes) inspired her to gather a group of artist friends in era costumes for a photo shoot at the Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, New York. York’s artist husband took photographs of the group that she later used to paint The Garden Party.

Although most of York’s early work consisted of traditional oil on canvas paintings, most of her current work consists of computer illustrations for romance and fantasy book covers (fantasy is her true love, but most of her illustrations are for romance novels). Instead of painting with oils as she did in The Garden Party, she now paints with the computer. However, she still relies on photography when composing and illustrating her book covers. She was introduced to digital illustration in the early 1990s when computer art programs were emerging and the Photorealism art movement was returning to the American art scene. To many viewers, The Garden Party is photographic in detail; however, York does not believe it is photorealistic. Although York relies on photographs for her compositions and accurate detailing, she modestly claims her style would have to be “tighter” and even more precise in order to be considered photorealistic. She also states that many Photorealist artists omit all emotional expression from their work, whereas “emotion is everything” to her.

If you come to the Norton to view The New Reality exhibition, be sure to take a look at York’s Garden Party (also in the North Wing), and decide for yourself whether or not it is photorealistic.

CAN YOU GUESS THE TITLE AND ARTIST?

If you can be the first to guess the title and artist for the detail of a piece of artwork (below) at the Norton, you will receive a $25 check from the Gallery! To submit your answer, please click here. The correct answer and winner will be featured in next month’s newsletter. The same individual cannot win a prize in two consecutive months.

Answer to the December 2008 newsletter:
The painting featured in last month’s newsletter is entitled Seasonal Greeting: Cardinal (1990) by John Seerey-Lester, a world-renowned wildlife and landscape artist. Seerey-Lester was born in Manchester, England and studied art at Stafford Technical College in Lancaster. He worked in advertising and publishing for ten years before becoming a professional artist and moving to the United States. His works have been featured in many exhibitions including the prestigious Leigh Yawky Woodson Art Museum’s “Birds in Art” and “Wildlife: An Artist’s View” shows held in Wausau, Wisconsin. He has traveled world wide to observe animals in their natural habitat, including China, Africa, Antarctica, South and Central America, and India. Besides teaching art, Seerey-Lester devotes much of his time to wilderness and wildlife preservation by providing paintings and limited edition prints to aide non-profit conservation organizations. You can see Seasonal Greeting: Cardinal in our South Wing Corridor.

DID YOU KNOW?

Some of the artists featured in the Norton provided the inspiration for the preservation of such natural wonders as Yellowstone and Yosemite. Thomas Moran, an English immigrant and early advocate for a national parks system in the mid-1800s, embraced the American landscape. His paintings of Yellowstone were exhibited to Congress as part of the motivation to pass the National Parks Act. In 1872, Congress declared the Wyoming landmark a National Park.

Albert Bierstadt, a German immigrant and one of the most popular artists of the mid-19th century, also painted the American West, giving Americans in the pre-photography times their first glimpse of the region. Like Moran’s images of the West, Bierstadt’s paintings of Rocky Mountain landscapes provided the inspiration to preserve and protect wilderness for future generations. Bierstadt’s works at the Norton include Morning in the Rocky Mountains, Yellowstone Falls, and Yosemite Valley. The Norton features Moran’s Sunset, La Rita, New Mexico and Deep in a Forest.

Albert Bierstadt, Morning in the Rocky Mountains, 1862,
19th Century Landscape and Lifestyle Gallery

Albert Bierstadt, Yosemite Valley, 1862,
Oval Gallery

Thomas Moran, Sunset, La Rita, New Mexico, 1902, American Art Gallery

FOR THE KIDS

With cooler weather upon us, many mammals are getting their dens ready for their long winter hibernation. While some, like bears and squirrels, do hibernate, many mammals, like deer and rabbits, don’t sleep through the winter. Come to the Norton this winter, look at the animals in our art, and guess which ones hibernate and which do not. Some of the many paintings and sculptures of hibernating mammals include Charles M. Russell’s bear sculptures on display in both Russell Galleries, and Lloyd Atkins’ Squirrel (1963) in the Steuben Collection in the South Wing. A few examples of animals that do not hibernate are portrayed in Carl Brenders’ Bunnies and Berries (1989), a painting which features three young cottontails under a blackberry bush (on display in the South Wing Corridor), and Antoine Louis Barye’s rabbit and deer sculptures in the Tapestry Gallery.

FROM THE VAULTS: Cartographer Herman Moll's New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain

The R. W. Norton Art Gallery owns some celebrated treasures when it comes to maps. For instance, Cartographer Herman Moll’s A New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain...Containing Newfoundland, New Scotland, New England, New York, New Jersey, Pensilvania, Maryland, Virginia and Carolina (1715) is regarded as one of the most celebrated efforts at documenting the boundary disputes in the American colonies between Great Britain and France. It is also thought to be the first postal map of the colonies as it describes postal routes through the territories. Also known as the Beaver Map, the renowned inset scene depicts beavers building dams in front of Niagara Falls.

Herman Moll (1654-1732) was one of the most significant cartographers in London in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. It is believed that Moll moved to London in 1678 from Germany or Holland and worked as an engraver for Moses Pitt, a bookseller and printer notable for the production of his Atlas of the world. Beginning in 1689, Moll owned his own London shop. His maps began to appear during Queen Anne’s reign and continued to flourish during the British Enlightenment. Moll’s 1697 Map of the World depicts English buccaneer and sea captain William Dampier’s 1679-1691 voyage around the world. His first Atlas containing a map of North America was published in 1710. Moll also provided maps for Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe and the Map of Lilliput for the 1726 edition of Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels. Moll’s maps, charts and globes were considered graphic masterpieces due to his strong sense of design and engraving skills. Collectors today appreciate his maps’ design, their detailed reference notes, and their surprisingly accurate coastline of much of Europe. Equally notable is his famously inaccurate depiction of California as an island.

Left: New and Exact Map of the Dominions of the King of Great Britain

Right: Inset of New and Exact Map of the Dominions of theKing of Great Britain depicting beavers building dams in front of Niagara Falls.

Note: Items featured in From the Vaults are currently not on display.

WORTH QUOTING:

A painter paints the appearance of things, not their objective correctness, in fact he creates new appearances of things.

-- Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

WORTH THE TRIP: Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden

Kip Dehart, landscape director for the Norton, recently visited the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, a 5-acre site adjacent to the New Orleans Museum of Art in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden is a collaborative community effort that includes 57 sculptures by artists from around the world. The Besthoff Foundation donated 44 of the sculptures to the site. The remaining sculptures are museum purchases or gifts from other donors. The collection includes work by some of the great master sculptors of the 20th century (Antoine Bourdelle, Henry Moore, Jacques Lipchitz, Louise Bourgeois), as well as younger, contemporary sculptors (Kenneth Snelson, Allison Saar, Joel Shapiro, Jean-Michel Othoniel). Kip encourages you to visit the Besthoff Sculpture Garden to relax and walk along the meandering footpaths.

Sculpture Garden hours:
Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
Free Admission

EDUCATIONAL TOURS, PROGRAMS AND PROJECTS

FIRST SATURDAY TOURS

Regularly scheduled tours are offered on the first Saturday of every month at 2:00 p.m. No reservation is required for these First Saturday Tours. Groups of 10 or more are asked to call ahead so preparations may be made to accommodate the group on these particular tours. All tours, like admission to the Gallery, are free to the public. The next First Saturday tour on January 3, 2009 is The Art of Transparency: Glass-Making. Originally rare and expensive, glass has always drawn the eye with both its brilliance and transparency. This tour will explain the glass-making processes with a PowerPoint presentation and an exploration of works in the Gallery, including our extensive Steuben collection.

GROUP TOURS
Eighteen group tours are offered at the Norton ranging from the 19th Century French Art History Tour to the Cowboy Artists Tour. Group tours are available by appointment year-round for groups of 10-30 and last approximately 45 minutes.

OUTREACH PROGRAM
The purpose of the community Outreach Program is to take art and art education to people through interactive presentations. Community presentations consist of power point presentations to civic groups and schools.

For more information on the programs offered or to schedule a tour or presentation, click here.

ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
The R.W. Norton Art Foundation is pursuing interviews with those who were involved in America's effort to win World War II, whether in the military or on the home front. Each interview will be digitally recorded by the Gallery to be stored and used for historical purposes, and each interview subject will also be given a copy of this recording to share and preserve his or her memories for family and friends.

If you are interested in participating in or would like more information about the Oral History Project, please click here.

SUGGESTIONS AND IDEAS?
To offer us feedback or to suggest what you’d like to see in upcoming issues, please click here.

GALLERY LOCATION AND HOURS:
4747 Creswell Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71106
318-865-4201
www.rwnaf.org
Tuesday through Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday 1 - 5 p.m.
Closed Mondays and National Holidays