The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University

Page 1

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University

A special thanks to‌..

3&6&4+$7+*8#4,*/9 William F. Walker, President John F. Pritchett, Interim Provost Donald L. Large, Executive Vice President C. Michael Moriarty, Associate Provost and Vice President for Research Wesley Williams, Associate Provost and Vice President for Student Affairs David Wilson, Associate Provost and Vice President for University Outreach Betty DeMent, Vice President for Alumni Affairs D. Robert McGinnis, Vice President for Development John G. Heilman, Senior Presidential Advisor

()''#;#$)1$=*6#45'$34/, Rebekah Pindzola, Interim Dean Anthony Carey, Associate Dean Gregory Kowalski, Associate Dean

3&6&4+$7+*8#4,*/9$<)54:$)1$!4&,/##, Bob R. Riley, Governor of Alabama Earlon C. McWhorter, President Pro Tempore Lowell R. Barron

Robert E. Lowder

Edward R. Richardson

John G. Blackwell

Golda A. McDaniel

W. James Samford, Jr.

Byron P. Franklin, Sr.

John C. H. Miller, Jr.

Paul J. Spina, Jr.

Charles G. Glover

James W. Rane

Jack B. Venable

2)&+:*+;$3:8*,)49$<)54: Dwight L. Carlisle, Advisory Board President Mrs. Carol W. Ballard

Laurie Gilbert

John Heilman

Carolyn Ellis Lipscomb

Albert J. Smith, Jr.

Thomas M. Chase

M. Miller Gorrie

Marleah Hobbs

Taylor D. Littleton

Edward Lee Spencer, Jr.

John V. Denson

Batey M. Gresham, Jr.

Michael G. Hubbard

Sandy Logan

Eugene Edward Stanaland

Caroline M. Draughon

Diana G. Hagler

Charles D. Hudson

Harry Lowe

Gene H. Torbert

Bill Dunlop

Bill Harbert

James M. Jenkins, Jr.

William V. Neville, Jr.

C. Noel Wadsworth

Robert B. Ekelund, Jr.

Elmer Harris

Michael Johnson

Harry M. Philpott

Robert Weil

Ben Hurst Freeman

1DQF\ +DUWVĂ€HOG

Roger D. Lethander

Carolyn B. Reed

Jean Woodham

Joseph P. Ansell Interim Director

This monograph made possible through the generous support of

!"#$=#/"5+:#4$25.*'9$2)&+:5/*)+ %)9>#$5+:$?);#4$=#/"5+:#4 %&'*#$5+:$054@$A#449.5+ B'*C56#/"$5+:$!)::$=#/"5+:#4

Additional funding provide by

!"#$=)&*,#$D5&,,$0*''#4$2)&+:5/*)+

Design

3

!"#$%&'#$()''*+,$-.*/"$0&,#&.$)1$2*+#$34/$ 5/$3&6&4+$7+*8#4,*/9

$$

!#E/ 0*>"5#'$F#$054,>"#$5+: D5:#+$D)'.#,$<4)G+

A")/);45H", A"*''*H$-H#54,

F#,*;+ -"5++)+$D5+@#,

Design

5

Š2003

ISBN 0-9742130-0-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems without permission in writing from The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, 901 South College Street, Auburn Alabama, 36830 except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review. Design: Shannon Hankes

()+/#+/, 9

Introduction

10

History of the Museum Project

11

Design

14

Construction

18

Pictorial Section

65

The Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University

70

Credits

Design

7

1. Muir Stewart, The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, View from College Street, 1999, watercolor, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. 2. Muir Stewart, The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, Aerial View, 1999, watercolor, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University.

IJ!?KF7(!IKJ In 1948 Auburn University entered an auction sponsored by the U.S. State Department and acquired, for a little more than a thousand dollars, what is now recognized as one of the nation’s premier collections of mid-twentieth-century American art. During the half century since the purchase of these 36 paintings and works on paper, there have been a number of initiatives to properly house the collection, but all have failed due to namely one problem—a lack of adequate funding. As a result, one of Auburn’s most distinctive and valuable resources languished unknown and generally forgotten, hanging in IDFXOW\ DQG DGPLQLVWUDWLYH RIÀFHV IRU QHDUO\ KDOI a century. Thankfully, through the persistent efforts of a few far-sighted and committed individuals, the idea of constructing a building that could appropriately house the collection never completely left the consciousness of the Auburn administration or the university community. The notion that the arts should enjoy a prominent role on the campus of a land-grant university refused to be extinguished. When the decision was made to proceed with the construction of a building in the late 1990s, it was clear that the University’s collection had expanded far beyond the few paintings in the Advancing American Art collection. Indeed, despite the fact that the university had no suitable exhibition space, it continued through the years to DFTXLUH DGGLWLRQDO ZRUNV RI DUW PRVW VLJQLÀFDQWO\ The Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller John James Audubon Collection, a large collection of prints which are of superb quality. The imperative was clear. A building had to be constructed that not only matched the uniqueness of the University’s collection but which also housed the facilities necessary to exhibit and maintain precious works of art in a responsible and professional manner. ,Q DGGLWLRQ³DQG SHUKDSV HYHQ PRUH GLIÀFXOW³D building needed to be constructed whose physical presence evoked the spirit and pride that resides within the community of Auburn.

Design and construction of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art spanned the years 1999-2003, DQG WKLV PRQRJUDSK GRFXPHQWV WKH ÀQDO UHVXOW RI those years of intense effort. Nestled high on a knoll overlooking a three-acre lake, the building is located at Auburn’s gateway, offering an inspiring introduction to one of America’s most picturesque college towns. The nearly 40,000-squarefoot museum offers eight exhibition galleries, a restaurant, a museum shop and a 125-seat auditorium. The museum’s Grand Gallery provides the facility with an elegant space that can be used IRU SXEOLF IXQFWLRQV ([SDQVLYH DQG OLJKW ÀOOHG WKH Grand Gallery has been designed as an exhibition space for sculpture and the museum’s outstanding collection of decorative arts. Indeed, the museum’s Helen and Dwight Carlisle Collection is one of the largest collections of Victorian Belleek porcelain in the world. And, the Joan Cousins Hartman Collection provides outstanding examples of Tibetan Buddhist bronzes dating back to the 16th century. Surrounding the museum are formal gardens designed in the classical European style, which encompass approximately 15 acres. The site includes walking trails, a lake and a formal garden area in which the museum’s collection of monumental sculpture is exhibited. Perhaps the most distinctive architectural feature of the museum is the broad expanse of Italian travertine stone that clads much of the building’s exterior and interior surfaces. A vaulted rotunda houses a resplendent three-tier glass chandelier, commissioned especially for the space from the internationally-known glass artist Dale Chihuly. And, the museum’s auditorium features the mural Alma Mater, which covers the room’s entire north wall. Executed by the noted muralist and Auburn alumnus William Baggett, the mural depicts in one wondrous scene the daily life of Auburn 8QLYHUVLW\³D ÀWWLQJ WULEXWH WR WKH FRPPXQLW\ responsible for not only constructing but inspiring D IDFLOLW\ WKDW ZLOO LQà XHQFH FRXQWOHVV JHQHUDWLRQV to come. Design

9

1. Muir Stewart, The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, View of Entrance, 1999, watercolor, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. 2. Susan Phillips 3. Lobby Rendering 4. Entrance Rendering 5. Sideview Rendering 6. Brian McIntyre and George Sexton of George Sexton and Associates.

DI-!K?L$K2$!DB$07-B70$A?K%B(!$3!$37<7?J$7JIMB?-I!L Although a variety of factors led to the establishment of an art museum at Auburn, SHUKDSV QR VLQJOH HYHQW H[HUWHG PRUH LQĂ XHQFH than the purchase in 1948 of what has become known as Auburn University’s Advancing American Art Collection. Comprised of 117 paintings that had been collected by the United States State Department, the collection was auctioned as war surplus. Hearing of the auction and recognizing an historic opportunity, Frank Applebee, then Auburn’s head professor of art, gathered funding to enter the State Department auction. Taking advantage of a 95 percent discount offered by the JRYHUQPHQW WR TXDOLĂ€HG SXUFKDVHUV $SSOHEHH was able to purchase 36 paintings for $1,072. Described as “the art bargain of the century,â€? many RI WKHVH SDLQWLQJV UHSUHVHQW WKH Ă€QHVW ZRUNV HYHU executed by such luminaries of the American art scene as Ralston Crawford, Ben Shahn, Georgia O’Keefe, John Marin, Jacob Lawrence, Arthur Dove and Romare Bearden. Although now valued between $7 million and $10 million, the arrival of the collection on the AU campus did little to arouse interest in constructing an art museum at a land-grant university. The collection entered an unfortunate period of neglect and for many years could be found hanging in 10

IDFXOW\ DQG DGPLQLVWUDWLYH RIÀFHV WKURXJKRXW the university. In the early 1970s, during the administration of Auburn University President Dr. Harry Philpott, the Hargis Foundation of Alabama provided funds to renovate a university building— the Langdon Annex—into a gallery space for the Advancing American Art Collection. More funding was not forthcoming, however, and the renovation never took place. It was another 20 years before the dream of an art museum on Auburn University’s campus re-surfaced. In 1992, the art museum project was given new life when Auburn University received one of its most extraordinary gifts. Primarily through the efforts of then President William Muse, philanthropist Susan Phillips of Brewton, Alabama agreed to donate to Auburn one of the southeast’s largest collections of John James Audubon prints. The collection had been amassed by Phillips’ grandfather and continued to grow through the efforts of her grandmother, Louise Hauss Miller. Ms. Phillips’ generosity toward the museum project continued when, in 1994, she and her brother Allen Phillips authorized the Louise Hauss Miller Foundation to grant Auburn an additional $1 million to create an endowment for the care of the Audubon collection and the construction of

galleries dedicated to the continuous exhibition of selections from The Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection. The Phillips’ gifts were vitally important to the growth of the museum project. The university now possessed not only two distinctive art collections of unquestionable quality but had IXQGLQJ VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ GHVLJQDWHG IRU WKH FRQVWUXFWLRQ of the Audubon galleries. The movement to construct a museum building on Auburn’s campus QRZ JDLQHG VLJQLĂ€FDQW PRPHQWXP ,Q WKH Fuller E. Callaway Foundation donated $500,000 toward the museum’s construction, and when this was combined with earlier gifts from the Hargis and Miller foundations, the university now had nearly $1.7 million in building funds. These funds were more than doubled when, in February of 1998, Houston businessman Albert Smith ‘47 committed $3 million toward the construction of the museum building. A native of Montgomery, Alabama, and a 1947 mechanical engineering graduate of Auburn University, Smith made the gift to honor his wife, Jule Collins Smith ‘99 and to commemorate the Smiths’ 50th wedding anniversary. During the announcement of the gift, the Auburn University Board of Trustees passed a resolution declaring that the museum be named

The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art. Later, at the museum groundbreaking ceremony, Smith explained his motivation for making the gift. “As we approached our 50th wedding anniversary, , EHJDQ VHDUFKLQJ IRU D Ă€WWLQJ WULEXWH WR WKLV NLQG loving, very intelligent, Christian wife and mother. I wanted something that would be both lasting and ZRXOG EHQHĂ€W RWKHUV DQG , NQHZ WKH ODWWHU ZRXOG mean more than anything to her.â€? As early as 1992, preliminary plans for the construction of a Visual and Performing Arts Center at Auburn University had been conceived. Although these efforts continually failed because of funding restraints, in 1996—inspired by the Phillips gift—the university made the decision to proceed with the design of a museum building. $OPRVW LPPHGLDWHO\ WKH XQLYHUVLW\ LGHQWLĂ€HG 3DXO Rudolph, Auburn’s most distinguished architectural graduate, to design the building. Rudolph, the retired former head of the Yale University College of Architecture, required assistance in the design and building process. In June of 1996, proposals ZHUH VRXJKW E\ WKH 6WDWH $UFKLWHFW¡V RIĂ€FH IURP architects interested in collaborating with Rudolph on the museum’s design. In October of that year, WKH %LUPLQJKDP RIĂ€FH RI WKH Ă€UP *UHVKDP 6PLWK and Partners headed by Batey Gresham ‘57 was Design

11

1. JCSM Floorplan 3. Museum patrons, Albert Smith and Jule Collins Smith (seated); Museum contractors, Don Conner and Ab Conner of Conner Bros. Construction (standing) 4. Aerial rendering of museum site.

selected to work with Rudolph on what was then a $2.9 million project. In early 1997, it was disclosed that Rudolph was suffering from incurable lung cancer and was unable, despite tenacious effort while battling the disease, to initiate work on the project. In July of 1997, interviews were held for architects interested in completing the design of the museum building. In November, Gresham, 6PLWK DQG 3DUWQHUV ZDV QRWLĂ€HG WKDW WKH\ KDG EHHQ awarded the contract for the museum.

AU College of Agriculture, the museum shares the site with the Cullars Rotation, the oldest soil fertility experiment in the South and the second oldest continuous cotton experiment in the world— second only to Auburn’s own Old Rotation. A 40-foot perimeter maintains the integrity of the experiment as an important part of the museum grounds, and it stands as a constant reminder of Auburn’s land-grant mission.

In January 2000, Dr. Michael De Marsche was appointed the Founding Director of the museum. In July, 1998, the Board of Trustees moved the Under his leadership, a program to extend originally planned site for the museum (near the museum membership to the community was corner of Samford and Wire Roads) to an area established and the museum’s Advisory Board was inside the university’s Davis Arboretum. With created. Throughout 2000, the design process on the announcement of the Smiths’ gift, museum the museum building proceeded and funding for construction now seemed imminent. But many in the project continued to grow. In January 2001, Auburn were convinced that construction of the building would cause irreparable harm to the fragile the AU Board of Trustees passed a resolution increasing the original 1996 museum construction arboretum environment. The Board of Trustees EXGJHW RI WR WKH ÀQDO EXGJHW RI decided to move the location of the museum to more than $13 million. In December of 2001, the its current site near the intersection of College 6WUHHW DQG :RRGÀHOG 'ULYH 7KLV VLWH HQFRPSDVVHV ORFDO ÀUP RI &RQQHU %URWKHUV &RQVWUXFWLRQ ZDV awarded the contract to construct the building nearly 20 acres and lies at the gateway of Auburn of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at University. Through the cooperation of the Auburn University. Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and the 12

Design

13

14

1. Patrons Jule Collins Smith and Albert Smith and Founding Director, Michael De Marsche traveled to Tivoli, Italy to research the travertine stone quarried by Mariotti Carlo & Figli, s.r.l. 2. A mockup of possible patterns and cuts of smoothand rough-face travertine stone presented at the 0DULRWWL¡V Ă€QLVKLQJ SODQW LQ 7LYROL ,WDO\ 3. Excavation for building. 4. Site preparation. 3RXULQJ RI FRQFUHWH Ă RRUV LQ WKH YDXOW DUHD RQ ORZHU level of museum. 9. Lower level foundation. 10. Construction of concrete exterior walls and rebar. 11. and 12. Installation of curved beams of rotunda.

Construction 15

16

1. A mockup of the etching for the travertine leading into portals into galleries. 2. Dry-walling the dramatically curved ceiling of the Grand Gallery. 3. Installation of the louvered windows in the rotunda. 4. View from entrance. 5. Travertine stone imported from Tivoli, Italy. 6. Dry-walling of the recessed oval in the café. 7. Pouring the foundation for the terrace. 8. Installation of the smooth-face travertine on the exterior of the rotunda. ,QVWDOODWLRQ RI WKH SDWWHUQHG WUDYHUWLQH ÁRRULQJ LQ WKH Grand Gallery. 10. Installation of the cherry-wood, coffered ceilings in The Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Galleries. 11. Installation of the marble Founder’s Wall. 12. Installation of the granite pavers at the entrance of the museum. 13. Museum sculpture gardens.

Construction 17

18

19

1. Exterior 2. Terrace Exterior

20

21

22

1. Exterior 2. Sculpture and Exterior

23

1. Exterior of Rotunda from Terrace. 2. Exterior of main entrance.

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

1. The Helen and Dwight Carlisle Lobby 2. View from Lobby to the Decorative Arts Grand Gallery

39

40

41

1. The Museum Shop view into Museum CafĂŠ 2. Dwight and Helen Carlisle Lobby view into Museum Shop

42

43

44

1. The Auditorium 2. The Museum CafĂŠ 45

46

47

1. The Louise Hauss and Brent Miller Audubon Gallery 2. The Advancing American Art Permanent Collection Gallery

48

49

50

51

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

59

1. The Chi Omega-Hargis Gallery

60

61

62

63

1. Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Circus Girl Resting, oil on canvas, 39 !” x 28 "”, undated, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. 2. Ralston Crawford, Plane Production, oil on canvas, 28 #/8 x 36 !”, circa 1946, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University.

64

!DB$AB?03JBJ!$(K==B(!IKJ$$ K2$!DB$%7=B$(K==IJ-$-0I!D$07-B70$K2$2IJB$3?! The permanent collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University spans an impressive selection of American and European 19th- and 20th-century art. The two major components of the collection include the controversial Advancing American Art Collection and The Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection, an important collection of more than 100 prints by the American naturalist John James Audubon. Due LQ ODUJH SDUW WR VLJQLÀFDQW JLIWV E\ 1RHO DQG Kathryn Dickinson Wadsworth, the museum’s SHUPDQHQW FROOHFWLRQ KDV H[SDQGHG VLJQLÀFDQWO\ in recent years and now contains outstanding works by such important artists as Ben Shahn, Reginald Marsh, Marsden Hartley, Edmund Lewandowski, and Edmond Marie Petitjean. The museum places additional emphasis on DUWLVWV ZKR KDYH HQMR\HG D FORVH DIÀOLDWLRQ ZLWK Auburn University and collects works by artists such as William Baggett, Maltby Sykes and Jean Woodham.

!"#$%&'()*+),$%-#.+*()$%./$0122#*/+1) ,Q WKH 2IÀFH RI ,QWHUQDWLRQDO ,QIRUPDWLRQ and Cultural Affairs of the State Department organized an exhibition of 117 oil paintings and watercolors. Designed to demonstrate the ascendancy of American art at the mid-century, the paintings were divided into two exhibitions and ZHUH WR EH H[KLELWHG EULHà \ LQ WKH 8QLWHG 6WDWHV and then sent on a multi-year tour to such distant and diverse locales as Haiti, Egypt and major cities in South America and Europe. The Advancing American Art exhibition—as it was entitled—was met with generally positive reviews during its initial three-week exhibition in October of 1946 at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. The exhibitions were soon on their way to cities like Paris, France; Port-au-Prince, Haiti; and Prague, Czechoslovakia. But the entire affair turned controversial when Fulton Lewis, Jr. criticized the collection on his popular radio program. Look magazine devoted a full-page article to the Collection 65

1. Ben Shahn, Hunger, gouache on composition board, 39” x 25”, undated, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University 2. Georgia O’Keefe, Small Hill Near Alcade, oil on canvas, 10” x 24 !”, undated, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University.

66

controversy, illustrating seven of the paintings and entitling its essay “Your Money Bought These Pictures.â€? The sarcastic tone of the headline was not lost on the American public. The exhibition was soon under full-scale assault and, incredibly, an art exhibition was making national news. Even defenders of the exhibition were surprised by the experimental nature of many of the works in Advancing American Art. Many critics derided the work as the product of “a lunatic fringe,â€? creating “a bunch of junk.â€? Harry Truman perhaps captured the mood of the time best when he said that “socalled modern art...[is] merely the vaporings of half-baked lazy people.â€? In his most famous musing on the subject, “Give-em-hell Harryâ€? glanced at Yasuo Kuniyoshi’s Circus Girl Resting and jibed, “If that’s art, then I’m a Hottentot‌â€? The whole episode turned serious in March of 1948 when a subcommittee of the House Committee on Appropriations held a hearing investigating the State Department’s expenditure of public funds for the collection. In a move that foreshadowed the red-baiting attacks of Senator Joseph McCarthy, suggestions were made that avant-garde, abstract art of the type in the exhibition was evocative of communism. Even more damaging was the revelation that many of the painters in the exhibition were not just “left-leaningâ€? but had belonged to communist organizations. The collection was now labeled by some as subversive, perhaps part of a communist plot masterminded by Moscow.

By April of 1947 the exhibition was suspended. The paintings were recalled, placed in a warehouse and readied for auction as government “surplus property.â€? Characterizing the work as VXUSOXV KDG IDU UHDFKLQJ FRQVHTXHQFHV 4XDOLĂ€HG tax-supported institutions like state universities were eligible to receive a 95% discount on all government property with the “surplusâ€? stamp. In perhaps the most bizarre episode of the entire affair, members of Alabama’s congressional delegation, undeterred by the controversy surrounding Advancing American Art LGHQWLĂ€HG WKH impending auction as rife with bargains. Professor Frank Applebee, then Head of Auburn University’s art department, recognized the opportunity and worked quickly to acquire the necessary funding. In what has been described as “the art bargain of the century,â€? Auburn University acquired 36 of the original 117 paintings in the collection for $1,072. The university’s collection includes works by such important American artists as Arthur Dove, Lyonel Feininger, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, John Marin, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Ben Shahn. The FROOHFWLRQ DOVR LQFOXGHV Ă€QH H[DPSOHV RI ZRUN by Romare Bearden and Jacob Lawrence, the only African-American artists included in the original collection. Auburn University now enjoys the distinction—along with the University of Oklahoma—of possessing the largest group of works from the original Advancing American Art collection. Auburn’s collection has been described DV WKH Ă€QHVW RI LWV NLQG LQ WKH 6RXWKHDVW Collection 67

1. John James Audubon, Night Heron or Qua Bird, 1835, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. 2. Dale Chihuly, Amber Luster Chandelier, glass, 2003, A Gift of The John F. Hughes Family, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. 3. William Baggett, Color Study (7’8” x 4’6”) of the mural Alma Mater (35’ x 18’), oil on canvas, 2003, from the Permanent Collection of The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University. A gift of The Lethander Family Foundation.

!"#$314+5#$6(455$()&$7('+&$8.#)/$9+22#.$$ %4&4:1)$0122#*/+1)$ At the time of his death, the drawings, paintings and engravings of John James Audubon (17851851) were universally recognized as providing one of the earliest and most accurate records of American wildlife. Unfortunately, his gift for NHHQ REVHUYDWLRQ DQG QHDU VFLHQWLÀF UHQGHULQJ obscured the more artistic side of his work, and subsequent generations viewed him as little more than a wildlife illustrator. Beginning in the late 20th century, however, art historians initiated serious research into his oeuvre, and Audubon’s celebrated prints are now considered to be DPRQJ WKH ÀQHVW DUWLVWLF DFKLHYHPHQWV RI WKH nineteenth century. Composed of more than 100 of Audubon’s most important prints, The Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art’s Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Audubon Collection is one of the Southeast’s largest collections of prints by the artist. The collection is particularly rich in Audubon’s most famous series—Birds of America—which captivated Audubon’s 68

LPDJLQDWLRQ IRU RYHU WZHQW\ ÀYH \HDUV DQG eventually garnered him the public recognition he so desperately desired. The collection was DPDVVHG E\ 'DYLG %UHQW 0LOOHU GXULQJ WKH ÀUVW half of the twentieth century. Born in Century, Alabama, Miller spent much of his life in Brewton, Alabama, where he operated his family’s successful lumber operation, T. R. Miller Mill Company. He married Louise Hauss who, upon the death of her husband, continued to add to the collection. In 1992, the Millers’ granddaughter, Susan Phillips, made a gift of the Audubon collection to Auburn University to not only honor the contribution of her grandparents but to observe their wish that the collection remain in Alabama and be readily accessible to the state’s citizens. To further facilitate this effort, Phillips established an endowment for the care, study and conservation of the collection. In addition, she provided the support necessary for the construction of galleries that were specially designed to evoke the historic period in which the prints were executed. Much of the collection is on continuous view in these galleries. The Louise Hauss and David Brent Miller Works-on-Paper Study Room houses the remainder of the collection when not on exhibition.

%-:#.$345/#.$:;$7(2#$0"+"42;$ Born in Tacoma, Washington and working from his studio in Seattle, Dale Chihuly has been described as a “phenomenon.â€? He is singularly responsible for elevating glassmaking to a status equal to that of the traditional arts of sculpture, painting and architecture. His most celebrated and valued works are unquestionably his “chandeliers,â€? ZKLFK DUH DYLGO\ FROOHFWHG E\ PDQ\ RI WKH Ă€QHVW museums in the world, including London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. Monumental in size, these works offer Chihuly’s most exuberant creations, as organic, irregular shapes of multi-colored, iridescent glass snake into space. In 1996, Chihuly installed fourteen of his chandeliers at various sites throughout the city of Venice, an unprecedented achievement and one that indicated his rising international stature. In 1999, he mounted his most celebrated exhibition: “Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000.â€? An incredibly ambitious project intended to commemorate the turn of the millennium, Chihuly placed seventeen large installations of glass within Jerusalem’s Tower of David Museum, a walled stone fortress inside the world’s holiest city. The exhibition broke all attendance records for 1999-2000, attracting extraordinary crowds that exceeded one million.

Mississippi, and the Winfred Wiser Hospital at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. Commissioned for the museum’s auditorium by the Lethander Family Foundation, Baggett’s mural Alma Mater celebrates the life and achievements of Auburn University, the community of Auburn and the role of higher education in the 21st century. The mural is of an unusual, irregular shape, its highest edge conforming to the upward, undulating slope of the auditorium’s north wall. At the mural’s greatest height stands the clock tower of Auburn University’s Samford Hall, a highly recognizable landmark and a symbol of Auburn’s eternal commitment to the values of higher education. Bringing the life of Auburn together in one grand and sweeping vision, the tower looms over a wondrous scene combining oddities of perspective with dramatic differences of scale. Full of incident and narrative detail, the daily life of Auburn is depicted, with students and faculty pursuing scholarly research and learning LQ WKH ÀHOGV WKDW KDYH JLYHQ $XEXUQ 8QLYHUVLW\ its international reputation: the liberal arts, engineering, forestry and agriculture.

Chihuly’s chandelier, Amber Luster, was executed VSHFLĂ€FDOO\ IRU WKH URWXQGD RI 7KH -XOH &ROOLQV 6PLWK Museum of Fine Art. Installed in the museum in April of 2003, the work is over 22 feet in length DQG RIIHUV RQH RI WKH Ă€QHVW H[DPSOHV RI &KLKXO\¡V monumental work on permanent exhibition in North America. The chandelier was a gift to the museum from the John F. Hughes ’50 family.

%2-($9(/#.$:;$<+22+(-$8(,,#//$ William Baggett’s work in printmaking and painting has been recognized internationally and is in permanent collections throughout the United States, Europe and Japan. Since 1995, his painting has focused primarily on the development and H[HFXWLRQ RI WZR PRQXPHQWDOO\ VFDOHG ÀJXUDWLYH mural commissions for the Library of Hattiesburg, Collection 69

!"#$%&'#$()''*+,$-.*/"$0&,#&.$)1$2*+#$34/,$5/$3&6&4+$7+*8#4,*/9

2)&+:*+;$F*4#>/)4$ !

George Sexton, Principal

Michael De Marsche

Brian McIntyre, Staff

F#,*;+$34>"*/#>/!

-#>&4*/9$()+,&'/5+/!

Gresham, Smith and Partners, Birmingham, Alaba

Steven R. Keller and Associates, Inc.,

Batey Gresham-Senior Principal

Ormond Beach, Florida

Robert Murphy-Principal-in-Charge Stephen Evans-Project Manager Mark Riddle-Project Coordinator John Beason-Interior Designer

=5+:,>5H#$34>"*/#>/! Nimrod Long & Associates, Birmingham, Alabama Nimrod W. E. Long III, Principal-in-Charge David Giddens, Project Manager

37$25>*'*/*#,$F*8*,*)+! Christine Curtis, Associate Provost

<&*':#4! Conner Bros. Construction Co. Inc., Auburn, Alabama Donald M. Conner, President William H. Henderson, Project Manager Ronnie Merritt, Superintendent

?#,#54>"! JCSM Curator, Catherine Walsh, Auburn, Alabama

A")/);45H"#4! Phillip Spears, Atlanta, Georgia

Greg Parsons, University Architect

O45H"*>$F#,*;+!

Mike Bell, Project Manager

Shannon Hankes, Auburn, Alabama

!#E/$ Michael De Marsche Haden Holmes Brown, Auburn, Alabama

0#>"5+*>5'N$B'#>/4*>5'$5+:$A'&.6*+;$B+;*+##4! CRS, Birmingham, Alabama Phillip Graydon, Electrical Engineer Jayson Ritch, Mechanical Engineer Charles Foshee, Plumbing Engineer

(*8*'$B+;*+##4$ Chenoweth Engineering, Birmingham, Alabama Richard Chenoweth, Principal-in-Charge

-/4&>/&45'$B+;*+##4$ Lane, Bishop, York, Delahay, Birmingham, Alabama

=*;"/*+;$()+,&'/5+/! George Sexton Associates, Washington, D.C.

70

Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.