Taft Museum of Art - Calendar May 2008

03-06-2008

Through May 11, 2008

From Winslow Homer to Edward Hopper: American Watercolor Masterpieces from the Brooklyn Museum

Fifth Third Gallery

The Brooklyn Museum holds one of the oldest and finest public collections of American art in the United States, certainly within the top five in the country. Among its holdings is an extensive collection of watercolors. Seventy of the best will be lent to the Taft Museum of Art. Ranging in date from the late 18th century to 1945, the works represent all the major movements in American art, with an emphasis on landscape and scenes of daily life: late 18th- century picturesque view-painting; the Hudson River School’s ideal landscapes; post–Civil War realism; American Impressionism; early 20th-century modernist abstractions; and American Scene painting of the 1920s and 130s, also known as Regionalism. Among the featured artists are some of the finest American practitioners of the watercolor medium, including Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Childe Hassam, John Singer Sargent, Maurice Prendergast, John Marin, and Edward Hopper. The artistic motifs represented in the exhibition range from Coney Island to Santa Barbara and from Spain to Tahiti. This selection constitutes a rich and informative survey of the development of landscape art and watercolor practice in the United States over the course of two hundred years.

Through May 4, 2008

Turner Watercolors from the Taft Collections

Keystone Gallery

Along with two major oil paintings, one from early in his career and one late, the Taft Museum of Art holds ten watercolors by James Mallord William Turner (British, 1775–1851). Spanning the first half of the 19th century, these watercolors depict landscapes of Switzerland, Germany, England, Scotland, and Italy. Historically, they broke new ground in the artistic fields of book illustration, travel views, and the watercolor medium itself.

May 9 – August 17

Small Paintings

Diminutive oil paintings from the Taft Museum of Art and the Cincinnati Art Museum offer an intimate experience of collecting tastes at the turn of the 20th century. Featured are tiny paintings by 18th- and 19th-century artists from France, Holland, Belgium, and the United States. Keystone Gallery Partner:  Mr. and Mrs. Michael T. Schueler,  Fine Arts Fund Partner: GE Aviation.

Programs & Events

Friday, May 2, 10:30 a.m.

Lecture: Jewels through the Ages

Benjamin Macklowe, vice president and director of Macklowe Gallery, New York, will present the illustrated lecture “Jewelry Through the Ages: What Makes Beautiful Beautiful?” He will discuss taste and connoisseurship in jewelry from the Georgian period to about 1970, including Edwardian, art nouveau, art deco, and retro styles.  An exhibition and sale of Macklowe Gallery’s collection of antique and estate jewelry by designers including Bulgari, Cartier, and Van Cleef & Arpels will be held at Grosvenor Brant Antiques in Hyde Park May 2 and 3. A portion of both jewelry and antiques sales will benefit the Taft Museum of Art. This event is FREE for members,

$10 for nonmembers. Reservations are required. Call (513) 352-5134 or order online at www.taftmuseum.org.

Grosvenor Brant is at 3407 Monteith Ave., in Cincinnati.

Saturday, May 3, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.

Families Create: Silky Rainbows

Explore the world of art through activities designed for children ages 5–12 and adults to learn, create, interact, and have fun together. A silk scarf is the canvas for your imagination. Inspired by decorative details in the Taft collection, use fabric markers to design a creation for you or for a Mother’s Day gift. Cost for each program is $8 for Museum members and Cincinnati Arts Association members, $12 for nonmembers (includes Museum admission). Reservations are required. Call (513) 684-4524 or order online at

www.taftmuseum.org/familiescreate.htm. Sponsors: Charles H. Dater Foundation, Docents of the Taft Museum,  Harold C. Schott Foundation

Fine Arts Fund Partner: Duke Energy Corp.

Sunday, May 4, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

ArtReach: Rumpelstilskin

Is your name Harry? Or Sam? Or could it be Rumpelstilskin? Join us for ArtReach’s adaptation of the classic tale of the miller’s daughter, her boastful father, a handsome prince, and a mysterious character who can spin straw into gold. Discover the magic and wonder of one of the world’s best-loved fairy tales. For ages 5 and up. These performances are FREE for members,

$3 for nonmembers. (Admission charged to visit galleries)

Reservations are required. Call (513) 684-4524 or order online. www.taftmuseum.org/artreach.htm

Partner: Charles H. Dater Foundation, Fine Arts Fund Partner: Convergys Corporation

Sunday, May 4, 2 – 4 p.m.

Art in the Afternoon: Albert Andrews

A retired General Electric engineer, Albert Andrews has been painting for approximately 20 years and drawing since high school. Inspired by the techniques of the old masters, Andrews paints realistic subjects in oil, working both out of doors and from photographs and still lifes in his studio at the Essex Studios.  Cost for the series is $25 for members, $35 for nonmembers. Individual sessions are $10 for members, $12 for nonmembers. Reservations are required. Call 513-684-4525 or order online at www.taftmuseum.org.  Presented by the Robert S. Duncanson Society

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