FEBRUARY 2010
NEW EXHIBITION FEATURE: FROM IMPRESSIONISM TO MODERNISM |
|
| |  |
| NEW EXHIBITION FEATURE: EX LIBRIS |
|
 Held in conjunction with the Dale exhibition, Ex Libris: Chester Dale explores the relationships Chester and Maud Dale had with various contemporary artists. A selection of inscribed books from their library is featured in this focus exhibition, supplemented by photographs of the Dales with artists such as Henri Matisse and Salvador Dali, as well as depictions of how paintings were displayed in various Dale residences. Preview exhibition highlights in our new online slideshow.
www.nga.gov/exhibitions/daleinfo.htm#exlibris (exhibition information)
www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2010/exlibris/slideshow/index.htm (exhibition slideshow)
Art Talk: Part 2, Getting to Know Maud and Chester Dale
Listen | iTunes | RSS (8:07 mins.) |
| | | |
| THIS MONTH'S FEATURED WORK OF ART FROM THE COLLECTION: UNTITLED BY ALEXANDER CALDER |
|
 Alexander Calder's 76-foot-long mobile is the icon of the Gallery's East Building. In 1972, when the East Building was still under construction, Calder was asked to create a large mobile that would visually anchor the structure's monumental atrium. Originally planned in steel, the sculpture's 13 panels and 12 arms were too heavy to function as the artist intended. Paul Matisse, the grandson of Henri Matisse and a close friend of Calder's, translated the design into an aluminum construction that retained the look and dynamism of the original maquette. Calder's last major work of art, it was installed on November 18, 1977, one year after his death. On view in the East Building, East Building atrium.
www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=56517 (Untitled)
www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/tbio?tperson=2047 (Calder biography)
luxmedia.vo.llnwd.net/o10/clients/nationalgallery/audio/objects/1977.76.1.mp (audio tour MP3 file)
nga.gov/collection/calder/calder-ss1.htm (slideshow of reinstallation) |
| | | |
| RECENT ACQUISITION: UNTITLED (ALABAMA) BY NORMAN WILFRED LEWIS |
|
 Untitled (Alabama) approaches its subject obliquely. Its composition reflects and exaggerates the shape of Alabama, which is a tapering quadrilateral with a "handle" at Mobile. Consider the date of the painting (1967) and the fact that Norman Lewis was African American, and a theme begins to appear. The hood of a Klansman emerges from a welter of black and white paint strokes. The two large forms seem almost violent, both in the way they meet the edge of the picture and in the way they cut off the marks within them. Lewis is often described as the main African American member of the abstract expressionist circle, but this designation fails to capture his desire to reconcile abstraction with an urgent subject. Untitled (Alabama), one of his greatest works, is unique in its historical ambition and is the first work by Lewis to enter the Gallery's collection. On view in the East Building, Concourse gallery 29E.
www.nga.gov/fcgi-bin/tinfo_f?object=143140 |
| | | |
| ONLINE REFERENCE DATABASE: THE HISTORY OF THE ACCADEMIA DI SAN LUCA, C. 1590–1635 |
|
 "The History of the Accademia di San Luca, c. 1590–1635: Documents from the Archivio di Stato di Roma" is an online reference database that is one component of a CASVA research project to create the first institutional history of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome, the model for all subsequent academies of art worldwide. Drawing from original statutes, meeting proceedings, ledger books, and court records, the project brings together a large number of new and previously unpublished documentary materials. Conceived as two complementary tools—an online database of documentation and a printed volume of interpretive studies (The Accademia Seminars)—the project follows the academy from its origins to its consolidation as a teaching institution.
www.nga.gov/casva/academia (reference database)
shop.nga.gov/nga/category.cgi?item=410000349861 (printed volume)
www.nga.gov/casva (CASVA) |
| | | |
| NGAkids INSIDE SCOOP: ALEXANDER CALDER |
|
 In the Winter 2010 edition of "Inside Scoop," meet sculptor and artist Alexander Calder—known to his friends as "Sandy." Photos and text reveal how Calder incorporated a sense of play into his engineering feats, in the form of moving sculpture. Also included are ideas for further art-making activities and a "book nook" of recommended reading. E-mail family@nga.gov to have the NGAkids, which includes "Inside Scoop" mailed to you.
www.nga.gov/kids/scoop-calder.pdf (PDF 276k)
www.nga.gov/programs/family/index.shtm#perfectbalance (Performance: A Perfect Balance) |
| | | |
| NGA SHOP: A KIND OF RAPTURE |
|
| | |
| ANALYTICAL IMAGING OF PICASSO'S LE GOURMET |
|
 Pablo Picasso, like many other artists, is known to have recycled his painted canvases as well as to have made large "evolutionary" changes to his paintings. Conservation and imaging scientists at the Gallery have been working to improve the visualization of these paint changes by applying newly developed optical imaging methods. Working with researchers and specialized infrared cameras, they have been able to obtain a clear image of a portrait beneath Picasso's blue period painting Le Gourmet. The hidden portrait of a woman is executed in a style used by Picasso prior to his blue period, as indicated by the bold dabs of paint seen in the woman's mantilla. Visitors to our Web site may reveal this hidden portrait by viewing a short animation.
www.nga.gov/resources/scienceresearch/analyticalimg.shtm (analytical imaging)
www.nga.gov/resources/scienceresearch/index.shtm (Scientific Research Department)
www.nga.gov/cgi-bin/tsearch?artist=1-1783&title= (works by Picasso at the Gallery) |
| | | |
| CLOSING SOON: IN THE DARKROOM: PHOTOGRAPHIC PROCESSES BEFORE THE DIGITAL AGE |
|
 In the Darkroom (through March 14) chronicles the major technological developments in photographic processes from the origins of the medium until the advent of digital photography. Drawn from the Gallery's permanent collection, the exhibition is organized chronologically and includes some 90 photographs that range from an early photogenic drawing by William Henry Fox Talbot, the inventor of photography, to Polaroid prints by Andy Warhol. Listen to a "Behind the Scenes" podcast with the curator, attend a gallery talk, take an online tour of the Gallery's photography collection, or purchase the guidebook In the Darkroom: An Illustrated Guide to Photographic Processes.
www.nga.gov/exhibitions/darkroominfo.shtm (exhibition information)
NGA Behind the Scenes: Listen | iTunes | RSS (11:44 mins.) (podcast)
www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/ggphoto/ggphoto-main1.html (online tour)
shop.nga.gov/nga/category.cgi?item=410000349601 (guidebook) |
| | | |
| NEW EXHIBITION SLIDESHOW/EXHIBITION ON TOUR: THE DARKER SIDE OF LIGHT |
|
 If you missed The Darker Side of Light: Arts of Privacy, 1850–1900 at the Gallery, you may still view exhibition highlights via our online slideshow. An introduction and 17 objects are featured—prints and drawings from the Gallery's extensive collections that reveal the romantic sensibilities of the art of privacy. Another way to experience the exhibition is through a video podcast of curator Peter Parshall discussing the works and their subtle and complex depictions of human psychology decades before the publication of Sigmund Freud's theories on the unconscious. Don't miss the exhibition at the Smart Museum of Art, University of Chicago, on display February 11–June 10, 2010.
www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2009/darkerside/index.htm (slideshow)
Video Podcast: Hi-Res | Lo-Res | iTunes | RSS (10:29 mins.)
shop.nga.gov/nga/category.cgi?item=410000316313 (exhibition catalogue)
smartmuseum.uchicago.edu/darkersideoflight/index.shtml (Smart Museum of Art | University of Chicago) |
| | | |
| FEBRUARY CALENDAR OF EVENTS |
|
 Plan your visit to the Gallery with the help of the February Calendar of Events. Schedules of films, lectures, gallery talks, family activities, and concerts provide details about each event. Check back often for the most up-to-date information, as new events are regularly added.
www.nga.gov/programs/calendar
|
| | | |
| On February 1, 1945, the National Gallery of Art transferred to the ambassador of the Provisional French Republic custody of 154 French paintings and 101 drawings that had been on display in the museum during World War II. The paintings and drawings had been on tour in North America when war broke out and had been deposited at the National Gallery of Art for safekeeping. |
| | |
For general information, call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176.
If you would like to contact us, please submit our Web feedback form.
Join us on Facebook |
| | | | |
