“We lay there all night, and we could hear the Japs coming.  They would come up close to your lines. Their rifles had a dust cover over the bolt, and when they would cock that rifle that dust cover would rattle. You could hear that bolt come up and it would rattle. They would do that slowly. They would do that purposely. You’d dig holes in the ground with your fingers, you know?” Click here to hear audio.

When he listened to the enemy that night, Ira Schilling was an 18-year-old marine fighting on Guadalcanal in 1943. He would survive Guadalcanal and future battles on Tarawa, Saipan, and Tinian, and return to Shreveport to become a minister. He is one of more than 400 men and women from the Shreveport area who fought the war at home and on the battlefields, and who graciously gave of their time to tell us their life stories of service and sacrifice. Those  stories are preserved in the archives of our Oral History Project. We are interested in interviewing members of the World War II generation, along with veterans of Korea, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as eyewitnesses to Shreveport’s civil rights struggle, and those who gave the city its musical heritage.

Did you know that the R.W. Norton Art Gallery has one of the largest Steuben collections in the country? Currently consisting of more than 560 pieces, the Gallery’s Steuben collection also features 38 different artists from the Steuben Design Team. Steuben was founded in 1903 in Corning, New York by Thomas Hawkes and Frederic Carter. In 1932, Steuben had a technological breakthrough and invented a special kind of crystal called “10M” glass. It is so refractive and pure that it allows the entire light spectrum to pass through the glass, including the ultra violet range. What is extraordinary about the R. W. Norton Art Gallery’s collection of Steuben glass, is that the last 100 years of art history can be seen by lining up each of its animals; we would have a parade of Art Nouveau, Art Deco, Modernism, Abstraction, and Minimalism. You may see the many items on display at the end of the North Wing and in the two Steuben galleries in the South Wing.

Pierre Jules Mene (1810 - 1877) was born in Paris, France on March 25th 1810. He was the most successful and prolific Animalier (realistic sculptor of animals) of the mid-19th century. His father, who was a successful metal worker, taught Mene how to work with metals and the principles of casting at an early age. By the age of twenty-two Mene was earning a living with his metal training by making such items as furniture adornments and clock decorations.

For the most part, Mene was a self taught artist as he received minimal art instruction and he never attended an art school. However, like other sculptors of his time, Mene spent a great deal of time at the Jardin des Plantes in Paris observing and sketching the animals that he would eventually make into sculptures. By 1837 Mene had established the first of his many foundries where he would cast all of his own bronzes throughout his successful career.

Mene is considered to be a master at portraying horses, which were his favorite subject. Next to horses Mene modeled many sculptures of dogs, both at work and at play, with his first exhibit of a bronze Dog and Fox at the Salon of 1838. Mene continued to exhibit at the annual Salons, submitting one or more models every year throughout his lifetime for which he won several medals.

Some of Mene’s bronze dog sculptures can be seen in the Bonheur Gallery. You can also read more about Pierre Jules Mene and other animal sculptors in the R.W. Norton Art Gallery’s brochure entitled Les Animaliers or at our website at www.rwnaf.org

Pierre Jules Mene, Huntsman, 1879

Each month, Around the Gallery will highlight a different garden feature. Recently hired Kip Dehart, Landscape Coordinator for the R. W. Norton Art Gallery, has been introducing new and exotic plants to the gallery’s gardens over the last year. One such plant is called Firespike (Odontonema strictum). Firespike, also known as cardinal guard or scarlet flame, may catch your eye mid-September (until the first winter frost) because of its showy red bloom. Firespike’s bright spikes of red tubular flowers contrast nicely with its year-round shiny dark green foliage and attract hummingbirds and several species of butterflies. This perennial typically grows to about 3 feet tall and is at its best in full sun with evenly moist soil. However, it is one of only a few flowering plants that give good, red color in a partially shaded site and will tolerate occasional dry periods. Although firespike is tender to cold, it faithfully returns each year. Firespike tolerates trimming which encourages more branching, and it is easily grown and propagated from cuttings. You may catch firespike’s bloom as you make your way across the employee parking lot behind the Gallery at the top of the paved trail.

The R. W. Norton Art Gallery is a great educational resource for everyone, especially children. The Gallery offers a visual representation of ideas and topics that your children are learning in school and that are just plain fun! In addition to our regularly attended gallery tours, Tour Coordinator Jen DeFratis has created guided tours specifically for children. Often these Smalls Tours include folk lore and puppetry.

The R. W. Norton Art Gallery even has a hands-on gallery just for kids where you don’t have to say “Don’t touch!”. The Fairy Tale Gallery in the North Wing features bronze sculptures large enough for children to sit and climb on. Here your kids may rub the nose of Wilbur (the pig from Charlotte’s Web), climb on the back of a crocodile, pet Lil’ Bo Peep’s fluffy sheep, or kiss the Frog Prince! There are even some interactive kid-friendly printed brochures in the gallery, one of which includes a scavenger hunt for the children to complete before you leave or to bring back the next time you visit the R. W. Norton Art Gallery. The sculpture garden is always enjoyed by children, too, with the many winding walking trails and large bronze sculptures.

Gary Price, Puffed Up Prince, 1996

Here’s your chance to ask everything you wanted to know about art! I’ll answer as many of your questions as I can and include some of your questions and the answers to them in each issue of the newsletter. However, there are some questions I can’t answer: 1) as a museum, we cannot offer appraisals on any work of art, so please don’t ask me how much that portrait of a scowling toddler from your grandmother’s attic is worth, and 2) I cannot give you a price on any in our own collection, because a) it isn’t for sale, and b) as the great art critic and scholar John Ruskin once said, “A thing is worth what it can do for you, not what you choose to pay for it.” Or, to paraphrase a well-known commercial: “Price of admission to the R. W. Norton Art Gallery: $0. Value of the experiences within: Priceless.” You may include your actual name, or if you are too embarrassed or shy, you may choose to be anonymous. To submit a question, please click here.

Questions:
Dear Kristi,
What in the world is gouache?
Bewildered in Broadmoor

Dear Bewildered in Broadmoor,
Gouache is a painting medium which uses watercolors mixed with a little white paint or pigment to create a delicate but opaque range of colors.

Dear Kristi,
Is The Thinker in the R. W. Norton Art Gallery the real one?
Suspicious in South Shreveport

Dear Suspicious in Shreveport,
We get this question all the time about the artwork in the Gallery. Yes, The Thinker, as well as every piece of art in the Norton, is the original. Like most bronze sculptures, it was created in multiples by the artist, Auguste Rodin. The Gallery’s sculpture of The Thinker is one of 26 known casts in that particular size.

Don’t miss George Rodrigue at Barnes and Noble Booksellers on Youree Drive on Monday, October 13th at 7 p.m. According to Barnes and Noble, Mr. Rodrigue will be signing his new book Blue Dog Speaks. Please call the store the night of the event to confirm that the book-signing will still be taking place.

Since George Rodrigue’s Blue Dog is the topic of our cover story this month, I decided to include a brief article about the Blue Dog Cafe in Lafayette, LA. My family stopped at the Blue Dog Cafe for dinner on our way home from Baton Rouge this past weekend. Not only was the food incredible, with many award-winners on the menu, but the atmosphere was amazing. We were surrounded by a gallery of Rodrigue’s Blue Dogs and some of his earlier Cajun paintings with ghost-like figures under oak trees. If you are taking a weekend trip south through Lafayette, be sure to stop by the Blue Dog Cafe. To look at the menu, to get directions, or to learn more about the artist, visit www.bluedogcafe.com.

FIRST SATURDAY TOURS
The R. W. Norton Art Gallery offers a regularly scheduled tour on the first Saturday of every month at 2:00pm. 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 is the Halloween Tour. Back by popular demand, the literature based Halloween Tour continues in its tradition of terrorizing and horrifying the souls brave enough to explore the darker side of the Gallery's collection.

GROUP TOURS
The R. W. Norton Art Gallery offers 18 Group Tours 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.

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 © 2008 by R. W. Norton Art Gallery