Poetic Journey Continued: The Second Chapter in the Collection of Laura and David Grey

This post comes to us from Sara Cotter, Curatorial Intern.

Evening, 1881, Francis Silva (b. 1835-1886). Oil on canvas, 20 x 36 in. Collection of Laura and David Grey.

Laura and David Grey began collecting American art in 2001, with the purchase of a maritime scene by the painter Mauritz Frederik de Haas from an auction. At the time, they had not intended to start a collection, but instead simply wished to own a painting they considered beautiful. That same sentiment has remained the center of their collecting philosophy as their holdings of American painting from mostly the latter half of the nineteenth century have steadily grown over the past eleven years. With the help of knowledgeable art dealers and others along the way, the Grey’s have successfully expanded their collection to include important and high-quality American paintings from pivotal moments in our nation’s history, at a time when there are few available on the art market.

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KNOW/NOW: Contemporary Interrogations

For the purpose of these interrogations, the Museum has developed a series of questions for exhibiting contemporary artists in an attempt to enliven and explore the discourse between the artist and the institution – with specific focus on site, interpretation, relevance, process, and sources.

Michael Conti, whose Don Quixote-inspired absurdist and tragicomic video installation Slapstick is on view in the New Media nook until Sunday, May 20^th, joins us for a candid Q&A:

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Q: Does your work belong in a traditional museum setting?

Michael Conti (MC):  Yes.

Q: Do you think your work gains credibility by being displayed in a traditional museum setting?

MC:  Yes.

Tragicomic Hero, 2010. Michael Conti (b.1971). Archival giclee prints on watercolor paper, mounted on acid free foam core with zinc edging. Courtesy of the artist.

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KNOW/NOW: CONTEMPORARY INTERROGATIONS

For the purpose of these interrogations, the Museum has developed a series of questions for exhibiting contemporary artists in an attempt to enliven and explore the discourse between the artist and the institution – with specific focus on site, interpretation, relevance, process, and sources.

Marc Swanson, whose NEW/NOW exhibition (on view until this Sunday, May 13^th) has been a tour de force of mixed media constructions that serve as windows, partially shuttered, into his autobiography, joins us for a candid Q&A:

Untitled (Crystal, Hooking Left), 2011. Marc Swanson (b. 1969). Mixed media, 30 x 22 x 26 in., Charles F. Smith Fund, 2012.06.

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Q: Does your work belong in a traditional museum setting?

Marc Swanson: I think any artwork belongs in a traditional museum setting as long as the museum in question believes in the work and thinks it should be shown at their institution.

I’m happy to have my work in a traditional museum.  But then again, it’s not really up to me.  By this I mean that it can be up to me to not show at a museum if given the opportunity, but it is inherently the decision of the institution if I will have the chance to show at their museum.

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Captured Romanticism: Photographs of the American West

This post comes to us from Lacy Gillette, former curatorial intern and current visitor services assistant supervisor.

Searching the Horizon: The Real American West 1830-1920 (Art from the Bank of America Collection) is on view in the McKernan Gallery until March 4, 2012 and has already drawn large crowds to the exhibition devoted to the American West, its landscape and its people. Divided into four thematic sections –  Settlement, Landscape, Native Americans, and Urbanization and Industry – the exhibition features over 100 artworks and objects to offer the viewer a range of interpretations of the American West. While the exhibition provides a rich historical account of the changing face of the American West, it is also elucidates the fact that painters’ and photographers’ portrayals of Western culture were often romanticized depictions of “a long-lost era” that influenced and reinforced “Eastern” perception of the people of the 19^th and 20^th century American West.

Caravan En Route, 1849. Alfred Jacob Miller (1810-1874). Oil on canvas, 21 ½ x 48 in., Bank of America Collection.

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Moving Forward

The New Britain Museum of American Art is excited to announce that in the coming months we will be posting on this blog, updating our Flickr, and even ”Tweeting” on a regular basis!

Please follow us and comment on our posts!

Let us know what you want to hear about, and we will get back to you.

Happy Holidays, and we wish you all the best in 2010!

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