Currently Showing

Fantasies and Fairy-Tales:
Maxfield Parrish and the Art of the Print

Coming Soon

April 27 – August 1, 2010
Alex Dzigurski: Poet of Land and Sea

For those of you who had enjoyed seeing Dzigurski’s paintings, Moonlight, Carmel and Seascape, in our South Wing, you’ll enjoy the full range of the artist’s vision in this selection of eighteen works from the artist’s estate. The New York Times wrote of Mr. Dzigurski, “Few marine painters have been able to tell the story of the sea so beautifully. His water is wet, deep and alive . . . [he] is always the poet of the sea.” The Chicago Tribune noted, “Few painters of the American scene have had his meteoric rise to universal popularity.”

To view images of the exhibition, click here.

May 4 – July 25, 2010
Fifty Miniatures by Wes and Rachelle Siegrist

This husband-and-wife team from Townsend, Tennessee, has captured the attention of viewers not with large canvas but with miniature paintings. So exquisitely crafted the Siegrists’ works are often mistaken for tiny photographs; they usually measure less than nine square inches. Previously, the Norton has included the Siegrists’ works in four earlier exhibitions: Art and the Animal, Art of the Rainforest, Blossom – Art of Flowers, and Paws and Reflect: Art of Canines.

To view images of the exhibition, click here.

FIRST SATURDAY TOUR:
Great Artists Who Just Happen to Be Women
March 6 @ 2 p.m.

In celebrating National Women's History Month, the Norton offers this exploration of some of the world's greatest artists - who just happen to be women. Many of these were highly successful and innovative artists in their own time, who won numerous awards and highly paid commissions, yet their contributions were lost over time as they were ignored in textbooks and histories. In the 1970s, the women's movement inspired a re-examination of women's contribution to history and the arts, and in 1981, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) and Rep. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) cosponsored a Joint Congressional Resolution proclaiming a "Women's History Week" to take place the second week of March. In 1987, Congress officially extended the celebration to the full month of March, a resolution which has enjoyed bipartisan support every year since. 

Mary Cassatt once declared, "I have had a joy from which no one can rob me - I have been able to touch some people with my art." Let us share with you the stories of other women who have had the enormous pleasure of being able to say the same.

For a full listing of First Saturday Tours, click here.

--Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

On the first Saturday of each month, the Norton offers a special tour at 2 p.m. All tours meet in the lobby. No reservation is required, though groups of 10 or more are asked to call ahead. This tour, like all tours and admission to the Norton, is free of charge.

 

 

Lady of Today to Present Yesterday's Lady

When she traveled back in time by donning a black silk dress a woman wore in the 1880s, Jan Pettiet knew she’d found the second love of her life. While her first remains her husband, Glenn, the other is Victorian clothing. She now owns more than 3,000 outfits, hats, shoes and accessories women wore two centuries ago. On March 13 at 2 p.m., Pettiet will share her knowledge and display a dozen or more outfits and an array of historic accessories in “Yesterday’s Lady”. She is guest presenter in the museum’s monthly Saturday Speaker Series.

Her presentation comes as part of a month in which the museum highlights female artists over several centuries. On March 6, the monthly First Saturday Tour rambles through the museum’s twenty-four galleries in the “Great Artists Who Just Happen to be Women Tour.”
Museum admission, as well as First Saturday Tour and Saturday Speaker Series are free of charge to the public.

“The tour and Jan’s presentation are our ways of honoring Women’s History Month,” comments Jennifer DeFratis, Special Events and Tour Coordinator. “Jan is one of the nation’s most knowledgeable curators of vintage women’s clothing. The Norton displays the works of many women artists in our 3,723-piece permanent collection.”

Participants on the First Saturday Tour will pause at a work of the earliest female painter the museum preserves--Angelica Kauffmann, an 18th-century painter in the Neoclassical style. Her imposing canvas, Calypso Calling Heaven and Earth to Witness Her Sincere Affection to Ulysses, measures more than five feet tall and more than three feet wide.

The tour will also take in the Gray-Blumenstiel Doll Collection, the museum’s array of fifty-nine 19th-century German porcelain dolls. All wear attire in styles from the 1700s to the 1920s, made from vintage fabrics.

Pettiet also will use the dolls’ outerwear and underpinnings to demonstrate how the clothing shaped the physical contours of Victorian fashions. She’ll also bring along plenty of accessories, chiefly among them, headwear.

“Hats! Those glorious hats!” Pettiet says of the crowning accessories of Victorian women’s clothing. At her Saturday presentation, she’ll show some off, along with a dozen Victorian outfits on dress forms. She’ll also describe the fashions in two of the museum’s treasured canvases--Mother and Daughter, Both Wearing Large Hats by the Impressionist Mary Cassatt, and Judith York’s photorealistic work, Garden Party.

Visitors will learn about all the “underpinnings” that gave those women their shape, and what it was like to walk around all day in heavy, confining dresses. Their clothing was so confining, she comments, when compared to the comfort of clothing today.

“Nothing about Victorian women’s clothing was simple,” Pettiet says.

She’ll also include men’s clothing from that era, although men then often wore clothing until it was threadbare.

Pettiet, a native of Lubbock, Texas, who majored in fashion design and art at Texas Tech University, created her own company, Yesterday’s Lady. She guides tours of historical Shreveport and frequently conducts workshops and seminars on Victorian attire. Her collection has been featured on national television in “FX Collectibles” and on “Good Morning, America.”

--Gary Ford, Staff Writer

TIPS FROM KIP:
Planting Long Lasting Color

Whoa! Not so fast!

You’re anxious to get going on your late spring and summer gardens, and of course you want great color for months ahead. Stop first, and think. With your busy schedule, you certainly have no time for constant clearing of beds and re-planting. So when you think color for your landscape, think in terms of time—a long time. Here’s some flowers below that will provide a variety of long-lasting color:

• Begonias. They grow well in soil, pots, and hanging baskets, and are therefore great for the garden, the home, and the porch. Consider tuberous begonias. Their blooms range from saucer size on upright stems, to hanging basket types with multi-stems and small flowers. They bloom in a wide range of colors (except blue), in summer and fall.

• Caladiums. They love Louisiana’s rich soil, high heat, and humidity, but need shade. Again, wait for shirtsleeve weather, and temperatures constantly in the seventies before planting. If your space is limited, caladiums always look great in pots. Start the tubers outdoors in spring, or inside right now—late winter. Plant them two inches deep in potting soil that you’ve mixed with controlled-release fertilizer. Water thoroughly. Caladiums, with big, arrow-shaped leaves, come in colors of green, with pink, red, rose, and white accents.

• Coleus Hybrids. Again, not so fast! Coleus can’t stand cold weather, so don’t plant too early this spring. They’re made for the shade, but some new varieties are tolerant to sun. You’ll have colors including burgundy and chartreuse, as well as multi-colored types.

• Cosmos. Wait! Before preparing your soil, let the season’s last frost spread its white, crispy cover across your lawn. Then, with warmer weather assured, spread your Cosmos seeds. You won’t have long to wait. Cosmos appears quickly, and should last through summer, with little care or water. Blooms may vary from orange to yellow, red, pink, and white.

• Hostas. Think green. Think shade. Hostas range in many hues of green and produce lavendar, lilac, and white blooms. They’ll go dormant in winter, and will last for years, expanding in size and shading out weeds. Watch for slugs and snails, however. They’ll dine on hostas as if it were king cake.

• Lantanas. Summer? Bring it on! These American evergreen natives show their love of hot weather and full sun with flowers in many colors of white, yellow, orange, red, peach, pink. Butterflies find them irresistible. Deer, on the other hand, turn up noses at lantana species, but might nibble on the hybrids. Elsewhere, lantana are annuals, but here in Louisiana, they’re perennials.
Many other plants provide long-lasting blooms. These above will give you durability and a wide range of color in shade and sun from spring through summer.

For slideshows of the Norton's blooms, please click here.

--Kip Dehart, Landscape Director

EMILY ON EDUCATION

Affirmation is a good thing. It often sneaks up on us and occurs when we aren't necessarily seeking or expecting it. That was the case recently as I worked with a group here at the Norton—an age group between the first and second decades of their lives, of whom we often hear negative remarks. Ohhhh, those teenagers!! They are sure to break curfew, respond to parental comments in a less than polite tone, and blatantly defy responsibilities. That just seems to “come with the territory.”

There is another, often overlooked, dimension to teens' personalities: their ability to connect with their emotional inner self. I witnessed that when a delightful group of eleventh graders from Shreveport’s Evangel Christian Academy visited recently. The group, all English students in the class of Ms. Jemima Deutsch's class, divided their time between two activities. They soaked up the Louisiana Folk Tales Tour, which Jennifer DeFratis, our Tour and Special Events Coordinator, delivered in her informative, high-energy style. They loved “Ms. Jen.” Then they settled down for a writing activity with me in the Olla Podidra Gallery. I asked them to look around the room, select a work of art that “spoke” to them, and study it carefully. After a brief lesson on ballad stanza and ballad writing tips, the students sat in a contemplative state. I could tell that the wheels were turning. Then they wrote, discussed quietly with friends, and wrote some more. Several asked, with great enthusiasm, if they could stand by the piece about which they wrote and read their ballad (or the part they had completed thus far).

What I heard those teenagers read was amazing. Their depth of thought, choice of words, and obvious heart-felt focus “blew me away.” I had chill bumps and even felt myself begin to tear up as I listened to them taking the risk to open up and share a piece of themselves. They clapped and complimented each other. This genuine support and encouragement from their peers impressed me greatly.

I began the ballad writing activity hoping to enrich the lives of these teenage students, never realizing how much they would enrich mine! We hope to have these compositions bound and on display for the public to read in the near future. After reading these, I'm sure you will, as I did, affirm your belief in the goodness and ability of our teenagers!

--Emily Meyers, Director of Education

 

VOICES FROM THE ARCHIVES:
June Holyfield,
Civilian, Shreveport

Ms. Holyfield finished business school and was working as a secretary in Shreveport during the war, while her husband fought overseas. She recalls wartime rationing, and shortages of many items, from food to nylon.

Interviewer: Tell me about the rationing. What was it like?

Holyfield: Well, they rationed canned goods, meat, sugar, gasoline, of course, and shoes. Now if you got shoes that had no leather on them, you didn’t have to give a ration stamp.

Interviewer: So it was leather that they were interested in?

Holyfield: Uh-huh. It was the leather. And just before the war the nylon stockings had come out, and of course they were awfully hard to get. In fact, Mother gave me a pair she had to get married in. (Laughter)... And you either went without or they had cotton stockings, which everybody just hated. And they had makeup you could put on your legs and that was awful. All the stockings then had seams up the back, so trying to draw seams up the back of your leg when you put color on them! So mostly, I went without.

June recalls the joy of war’s end, and seeing her husband return safely. Click here to view additional photographs of Mrs. Holyfield. She is among nearly 500 men and women from the Shreveport area who graciously gave their time to tell us their life stories of service and sacrifice. We’re presenting these stories as part of our Oral History Project, an ongoing effort to interview veterans of conflicts from World War II to the present. We also continue to collect interviews from eyewitnesses to the civil rights struggle, pioneers of the energy industries, and those who created “the Shreveport sound” in music.

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

--Gary Ford, Staff Writer

FROM THE LIBRARY:
Ossian's Poems
by James Macpherson,
2 volumes, 1823 edition

Now I behold the chiefs, in the pride of their former deeds! Their souls are kindled
at the battles of old; at the actions of other times . . . They come like streams from
the mountains; each rushes roaring from the hill . . . On Lena’s dusky heath they
stand, like mist that shades the hills of autumn, when broken and dark it settles
high, and lifts its head to heaven.

In 1761, Scotsman James Macpherson burst onto the European cultural scene following the publication of what he presented as a long-lost ancient epic poem written in Gaelic. Unlike the Greeks and Romans, the Celts had remained committed to an oral tradition until the coming of Christianity, and their many myths and poems had never been written down, leaving them without a great national epic like The Iliad or The Aeneid. Many of the accomplishments of the Celts and the beauty of their language had been lost to classical scholars as a result. While continuing oral tradition in Ireland and Scotland preserved many of the stories of Celtic mythology, these were not widely available, and the news of an actual written epic was truly breathtaking.

Born near Inverness, Scotland in 1736, Macpherson had been researching Scottish Celtic myth and poetry since his student days at the University of Edinburgh. A prolific student poet, he visited remote areas of Scotland, including the Gaelic-speaking Western Isles, collecting oral tales and the few written stories he could find. There, he claimed, he discovered the original manuscript he entitled and published: Fingal, an Ancient Epic Poem in Six Books, together with Several Other Poems composed by Ossian, the Son of Fingal, translated from the Gaelic Language. The book proved to be a phenomenon, an international bestseller rapidly re-printed in several editions and multiple languages. In 1763, Macpherson published another “found” poem called Temora, and in 1765, combined them into a single edition called The Works of Ossian, or Ossian’s Poems. Providing impetus for the Romantic Movement, the poems influenced many influential writers, including the young Walter Scott. The great German epic poet Johann Wolfgang von Goethe mentions it in The Sorrows of Young Werther, a virtual manifesto for young Romantics. Other writers like Hungarian János Arany and Italian Melchiorre Cesarotti also drew upon it to create popular derivative works of their own. Musicians and writers were inspired as well. Franz Schubert composed several leider (short “art songs”) for Ossian’s poems, while French artists Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres and François Pascal Simon Gérard created paintings based on specific incidents in the works. Even statesmen were enthralled. Thomas Jefferson read passages on a daily basis, while it was said to be one of Napoleon’s favorite works.

Unfortunately, disputes about the work’s authenticity arose almost immediately. Irish scholars attacked Macpherson on several counts. First, they felt he was appropriating Irish culture for Scottish aggrandizement: Ossian, son of Fingal, was based upon an older Irish model – Oisin, son of Fionn Mac Cumhail, a legendary Celtic High King of Ireland. They also noted that the epic contained technical errors in chronology and the forming of Gaelic names unlikely to be found in an original text. But chief among Macpherson’s detractors was author Samuel Johnson of the famous dictionary. Johnson asserted that the Scotsman had found some fragments of poems and stories and woven them into a romance that was primarily his own composition. The controversy continued to rage into the early 19th century, but Macpherson’s refusal to produce the original manuscript convinced most scholars to dismiss his accounts of its origin. Though even scholars skeptical of its genesis found it to be a work of unusual beauty, Ossian’s Poems is mostly forgotten today. However, the books are on display just outside the Library doors this month.

--Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

FEATURED ARTIST:
Sally James Farnham

Born in Ogdensburg, New York to a wealthy family, Sally James traveled the world with her father in her childhood. In addition to the knowledge picked up on her travels, she spent her time in upstate New York riding horses and cutting silhouettes. Despite a lack of formal art training, she demonstrated a remarkable eye when, after visiting an exhibition, she explained to her father that the horses had been drawn incorrectly, and then cut out an anatomically correct horse from paper.

Her real artistic talent, however, didn’t bloom until she was hospitalized at the age of 32. She had married George Paulding Farnham, a designer from Tiffany’s, and was expecting her second child. While confined to bed, she began to experiment with some clay her husband had brought her. She grew to love sculpting and eventually worked up the courage to show her first piece, Spanish Dancer, to the prominent local artist, Frederic Remington. He declared, “It’s ugly as sin, but it’s full of ginger. Good work, Sally.” They became friends and Remington acted as an informal mentor to the emerging artist.

Despite her enormous respect for him, Farnham loved to tease the somewhat stuffy Remington. She, Remington, and Theodore Roosevelt had summer homes in the same general area. When Remington sent Roosevelt the bronze sculpture Paleolithic Man in 1906, calling it an original inhabitant of Oyster Bay, Farnham joined in on the joke by providing his better half, Paleolithic Woman.

Even as her career began to flourish, Farnham suffered personal setbacks. Her beloved father passed away just before she began to exhibit professionally. Then her husband divorced her. Having lost his own job at Tiffany’s, he was unable to support or celebrate his wife’s success in the face of his own failure. And to complete the loss of the three most important men in her life, Frederic Remington unexpectedly died at the age of 48 in 1909. Farnham immediately asked the grieving family what she could do to help. His widow asked her to complete his last sculpture, The Stampede. The figures of the cattle, horses and rider had already been molded separately. She not only had to provide the final polish on each, but also organize the parts into an organic whole. When finished, she signed over all rights to the statue to Mrs. Remington, and destroyed all the remaining molds so that his pieces would increase in value and support his family.

Farnham was an extraordinary woman and artist. She once said: “I have always felt beauty as well as strength, and loved them. These are important things in sculpture. To mould feeling, strength and wisdom, to see through the outer form and bring to the surface the unconscious joys of life, that is my task.”

--Everl Adair,
Director of Research and Rare Collections

FEATURED ARTWORK:
Portrait of a Black Woman in a New Orleans Kitchen by S.E. Smith

Though it may not look like it to a modern audience, Portrait of a Black Woman in a New Orleans Kitchen is actually a very subversive painting. Smith, a late 19th century painter about whom we know little beyond her gender, obviously had artistic training from her conservative academic style evident in this work. Her subject matter, however, is in direct opposition to that style. Academic tradition held that the only proper subjects for painting were great moments from history, mythology, or religion, or people of historical or social significance. If you were wealthy, you could hire someone to paint your picture, but no average person was deemed fit for portraiture. Smith has not even chosen a member of the middle class; rather, she selected a black servant. In so doing, she is saying that this person is every bit as important and as worthy of notice as a businessman or a politician or an aristocrat. To say that this is a radical idea for its time is to put it mildly.

Nor does Smith portray her subject in the manner of many genre painters of the period – as a stereotype or even a caricature of an African-American. This woman has dignity; the drudgery of her manual labor in no way diminishes her spirit or her self-respect. Who knows what she might have done with the opportunities denied to her because of gender and race? If she could, she might sing like the serving girl in the musical Tintypes: “If I could have been, what I could have been, I would have been something!”

While the personal histories of artist and subject may have been lost to time, this work remains to testify about the determination and courage of women who worked hard every day to produce to the best they could at a time when barriers of gender, race, and class conspired against them. Smith painted what others missed and she still makes us think about and remember it. And that is the mark of a great work of art.

--Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

INFORMATION PLEASE:
Storing Framed Artwork

The Norton, like most museums, has more art in its permanent collection than it can display simultaneously. Of course, this is good thing for several reasons. It means that we can rotate pieces in and out of various galleries in order to perform preservation and conservation tasks. We can temporarily store old favorites and allow new acquisitions to provide fresh enjoyment and enlightenment for our visitors. And we can re-arrange and add and subtract pieces as needed for special exhibitions to explore different periods or themes.

At the Norton, we have special storage facilities designed specifically for this purpose. Few of you, however, will have the space in your own homes for climate and light-controlled rooms with sliding hanging racks to store your own paintings. So, we offer you these few tips in caring for your own framed works when they’re not on display.
First, make sure your painting is in good health before you store it. Check the back. Is the backing paper properly attached without any damage or holes? Bugs love to snack on rice powder, an ingredient in most archival glues and hinges. The backing paper keeps away insects and mold spores, so it’s more important than it may seem. Check to see if the matting on watercolors, drawings, and pastels is museum-grade. This means not just acid-free, but 100% cotton. While conservation matting can be expensive, it also adds decades to the life of your art. If there are problems with either the backing or the mat, it’s best to have the piece re-done, even if you keep the frame, by a professional framer.

Second, once you’re sure the art is in proper shape for storage, pick your storage area carefully. Choose one where the climate changes as little as possible. Whether or not your art is under glass, dampness can destroy it. Try to pick an area that’s not excessively humid. If you live in a naturally humid climate like ours, it might be worth purchasing a dehumidifier. Spray the area or put down insect traps before you stack your art. Protect them from light, too, but don’t use plastic bags. They can trap moisture inside which helps create mold and attract insects. Instead, drape old sheets over each painting, then stack them all neatly in a vertical row.
Third, don’t forget to check your stored artwork regularly, several times a year at least. Accidents will happen. The sooner you discover them and identify the damage to your art, the easier it will be for a conservator to repair. If your work is valuable, be sure to have it photographed, appraised, and properly insured (items can be individually listed with your household insurance policy), so there will be financing available for restoration – or, if all else fails, finding something else to love.

If you have any other questions, or need further information, please click on the Contact Us and we will do our best to find the answers you need.

--Everl Adair, Director of Research and Rare Collections

 

 

FIRST SATURDAY TOURS
Regularly scheduled tours are offered on the first Saturday of every month at 2 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, Great Artists Who Just Hapen to Be Women, will be on March 6th at 2 p.m.

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 PowerPoint presentations to civic groups and assisted living facilities.

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

 

SATURDAY SPEAKER SERIES
One Saturday each month, the Norton will host a local, regional, or national expert speaking on a variety of subjects in formats ranging from formal presentations to informal seminars to walking tours. Upcoming speakers will cover a broad range of subjects including gardening, popular literature and film, influential historical and cultural figures, musical history and interpretation, and food in art. All events are free to the public. The next Saturday Speaker will be Jan Pettiet on March 13 at 2 p,m. She will present Yesterday's Lady.

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

Copyright © 2010 by R. W. Norton Art Gallery