Exhibition | Surveying George Washington
From Crystal Bridges:
Surveying George Washington
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas, 29 June — 30 September 2013
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This summer, Crystal Bridges will mount the second of an ongoing series of exhibitions featuring historical documents pertaining to the Museum’s mission and collection. This year’s exhibition focuses on George Washington, and features an assortment of documents written by Washington himself, or by contemporaries who knew him, on loan from the Harlan Crow Library in Dallas, TX. The aim is to provide a look at Washington that provides insight into his life as a real person, not just a historical figure.
The exhibition will feature documents spanning the breadth of Washington’s life, including, among others, a land survey prepared by Washington at age 19; a copy of the broadside recruiting poster mustering troops for what would become a regiment under Washington’s command during the French & Indian War; a hand-written letter to General John Cadwalader of the Pennsylvania militia, appealing to him for troops to continue the push against British outposts in New Jersey during the War for Independence; and a hand-written letter by Washington’s private secretary Tobias Lear, announcing Washington’s death in 1799. Also included is a first edition of George Washington’s Last Will and Testament, printed from the record of the County Court of Fairfax, 1800.
Call for Papers | The Art of Science in New England, 1700–1920
The Art of Science in New England, 1700–1920
Wellesley College, Wellesley, Massachusetts, 15 March 2014
Proposals due by 30 September 2013
A one-day symposium sponsored by the Grace Slack McNeil Program for Studies in American Art at Wellesley College and the Office of Academic Programs at Historic Deerfield
This symposium will explore visual representations of scientific inquiry produced, collected, distributed or otherwise circulating in New England from the start of the 18th century to the first decades of the 20th century. Beginning with the scientific discoveries of the Enlightenment and extending through the 19th and into the 20th centuries, New Englanders sought to understand and explain scientific paradigms through two and three-dimensional representations. Botanical drawings, geological maps and charts, anatomical models, waxworks, and dioramas are just a few of the methods through which professionals and amateurs employed artistic methods and techniques in pursuit of scientific research and pedagogy. How did these representations shape scientific understanding? How did scientific ideas produce particular types of objects? What was the nature of collaboration between scientist and artist? How was the art of science put to pedagogical use in a variety of educational institutions from classrooms to lecture halls and museums?
Papers should be theoretical or analytical in nature rather than descriptive and should be approximately 20 minutes long. Please submit 250-word proposals and a two-page c.v. via electronic mail to Martha McNamara, mmcnamar@wellesley.edu and Barbara Matthews, bmathews@historic-deerfield.org. Proposals should include the title of the paper and the presenter’s name. The deadline for submissions is September 30th, 2013.
New Book | Men from the Ministry: How Britain Saved Its Heritage
Available in August from Yale UP:
Simon Thurley, Men from the Ministry: How Britain Saved Its Heritage (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), 224 pages, ISBN: 978-0300195729, $45.
Between 1900 and 1950 the British state amassed a huge collection of over 800 historic buildings, monuments, and sites and opened them to the public. This engaging book explains why the extraordinary collecting frenzy took place, locating it in the fragile and nostalgic atmosphere of the interwar years, dominated by neo-romanticism and cultural protectionism. The government’s activities were mirrored by the establishment of dozens of voluntary bodies, including the Council for the Protection of Rural England, the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, and the National Trust. Men from the Ministry sets all this activity, for the first time, in its political, economic and cultural contexts, painting a picture of a country traumatized by war, fearful of losing what was left of its history, and a government that actively set out to protect them. It dissects a government program that established a modern state on deep historical and rural roots.
Simon Thurley is the Chief Executive of English Heritage. He was formerly the Director of the Museum of London, and the Curator of Historic Royal Palaces.
English Heritage to Become a Charitable Trust
From English Heritage (26 June 2013) . . .
The Government has announced that it will work with English Heritage to consult on establishing a charity to care for the historic properties in the National Heritage Collection on a self-financing basis, supported by Government investment of £80 million. English Heritage will be awarded this one-off lump sum to invest in the National Heritage Collection of 420 historic sites, monuments and collections in its care. This will support its plan to transfer management of the Collection to a charity, licensed by English Heritage’s governing body, The Commission. This investment in historic properties across the entire country will create jobs and boost local economies.
The National Heritage Collection, which includes Stonehenge, Kenwood, Audley End, Dover Castle and Charles Darwin’s home Down House in Kent, will remain in public ownership. However, the new charity will have more freedom to generate greater commercial and philanthropic income to safeguard and present to the public what is arguably England’s most vulnerable and important collection of cultural treasures.
Under current plans, the new charity will be set up by March 2015. It will retain the name English Heritage and in due course, will be completely self-financing and no longer need tax-payer support. (more…)
Campaigning to Save the Chapel at Bretton Hall Park
Press release (20 May 2013) . . .
Sir William Wentworth, Chapel of Bretton Hall Park, 1744
Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, West Yorkshire
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Yorkshire Sculpture Park (YSP) is campaigning to save one of the oldest surviving buildings on the Bretton Estate and transform it into a gallery space. The 270-year-old YSP Chapel is in an urgent state of repair and must be restored soon, in order to keep it open to the public. The Park’s fundraisers have secured financial support from English Heritage, Country Houses Foundation, The Wolfson Foundation and The Pilgrim Trust but are £100,000 short of the £500,000 needed to complete the full restoration plan. They are now asking visitors and supporters to give whatever they can to help reach the total.
Andy Carver, Director of Development at YSP said: “At a time when public funding is becoming increasingly scarce, we depend on the people and organisations that love YSP to give us their financial support. Restoring the chapel is an important and exciting project for us; it will mean that we can keep this historic building open for future generations to enjoy and allow us to programme new exhibitions of sculpture in the beautiful, tranquil space. At the moment, the conditions in the chapel aren’t suitable for some types of art works and structurally it is deteriorating quite badly. The restoration will bring the building back to its former glory and give us a unique and versatile space for exhibitions and events.”
Built in 1744 by Sir William Wentworth, the Georgian sandstone chapel is a historically important part of the Bretton Estate. Nestled within the YSP Country Park, the Grade II* listed building was at the heart of life on the estate during the 18th and 19th centuries. Renovation plans include replacing the roof, making extensive structural repairs and installing heating. An improved path from YSP Centre and disabled access to the building is also in the pipeline. (more…)
Exhibition | Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein
From the National Museum of Singapore:
Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein
National Museum of Singapore, 27 June — 29 September 2013
Copy after Ferdinand Runk (1764–1834), The Liechtenstein
Summer Palace in the Rossau Quarter, © Liechtenstein,
The Princely Collections, Vaduz–Vienna
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Collected over 500 years, over 90 masterpieces from the exquisite art collection of the Prince of Liechtenstein will be travelling to Singapore for the first time. This exhibition is exemplary of the highly cultivated choice in art, with artworks ranging from paintings, prints, tapestries, sculptures to rare decorative art objects. Significant works by important Flemish artists like Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, as well as those by other renowned European masters such as Raphael and Lucas Cranach the Elder, will be showcased to celebrate the High Renaissance, Baroque, Neo-classical and Biedermeier that span from the late 15th century to the mid 19th century, all of which characterise the European way of articulating authority, power and wealth of the ruling houses.
In addition, a selection of 16 oil paintings from the National Collection will be displayed to draw links to the art of portraiture in Singapore’s historical context, exploring how it was an important representational mode between the late 19th and mid 20th century.
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From one of the sponsors, LGT Prviate Banking:
With a history dating back to its inception in 1887, the National Museum is Singapore’s oldest museum with a progressive mind. It is custodian of the 12 National Treasures, and its Singapore History and Living Galleries adopt cutting-edge and multi-perspective ways of presenting history and culture to redefine conventional museum experience.
A cultural and architectural landmark in Singapore, the Museum hosts innovative festivals and events all year round – the dynamic Night Festival, visually arresting art installations, as well as amazing performances and film screenings – in addition to presenting thought-provoking exhibitions involving critically important collections of artefacts. The National Museum of Singapore celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2012.
Additional information about the exhibition is available here»
Ghislain d’Humières to Direct The Speed Art Museum
Press release (25 June 2013) from The Speed Art Museum in Louisville:
The Board of Trustees of The Speed Art Museum announced today that Ghislain d’Humières has been appointed as the new Director of the Museum. d’Humières, who is currently serving as the Director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art at the University of Oklahoma, succeeds Charles Venable, who served as Director from 2007 to 2012. d’Humières will assume his role at the Speed on September 3, 2013.
A native of France, Ghislain d’Humieres studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, where he received his DEA in History and License of Art History. He became a specialist in 18th-century furniture for Sotheby’s London, and later transferred to Sotheby’s in New York. To further his education, he studied at the Gemological Institute of America, and became the Director of the jewelry department at Christie’s of Los Angeles, overseeing the West Coast and South America. During his employment, he gained extensive business knowledge, expanded his expertise, and traveled extensively around the World. In 2001, he transferred to Christie’s in Geneva and was in charge of international clients from Europe and South America.
A compassionate leader, d’Humières took an eighteen-month sabbatical in Guatemala, during which time he worked with street children involved in drugs and prostitution. After his sabbatical, he founded the Alix Donation Fund (ADF) for underprivileged children in Guatemala.
Shortly thereafter, he was hired by the Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco as Assistant Director in charge of the opening of the new de Young Museum, located in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park.
In 2007, Ghislain joined the University of Oklahoma as the Bill and Wylodean Saxon Director of the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art. During his six-year tenure at the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, d’Humières has doubled attendance, led a successful $15 million capital campaign, and spearheaded the development and management of the Museum’s new 20,000 square-foot Stuart wing, which doubled the Museum’s exhibition space.
D’Humièresalso created a privately funded program to implement new educational and outreach initiatives which included underprivileged visitors. He supervised more than 40 exhibitions and oversaw the production of numerous exhibition catalogs and museum publications while also expanding the Museum’s educational programs and collaborations with other museums, communities and national and international organizations.
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