Miami University Art Museum - Fall 2013 - 35@35 Exhibition Guide

35

MIAMI UNIVERSITY ART MUSEUM

Celebrating

years

visual arts @ miami |1 special exhibition FALL 2013 GG-MUAM-F13-35at35.indd 1

8/12/13 10:13 AM

Art Museum Directors Harold I. Truax, Special Assistant to the President for the Art Museum, 1978-79 David Berreth, 1979-1988 Bonnie Kelm, 1988-1996 James F. Robeson (Interim), 1996-1997 Bonnie Mason (Interim), 1998 Robert Kret, 1998-2000 Robert S. Wicks (Interim), 2000-2003 Robert S. Wicks, 2003-present

Legacy Honor Roll Major Donors to the Construction of the Art Museum Zettie Bonnelle Rosalie and Hubert Douglass Phyllis B. Goodyear Stanley and Agnes McKie Harry and Lucy Williams Fred C. Yager

1978 Art Museum Advisory Board Lloyd Goggin, Vice President for Finance and Business Affairs John Dolibois, Vice President for Alumni and Development Charles L. Spohn, Dean of the School of Fine Arts Robert Butler, Chairman of the Art Department Walter I. Farmer Patricia Wolf Jane Durrell Donald Fritz Gilbert Gordon Charles Carpenter Walter A. Netsch

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35@35:

A Museum Collec T

he Miami University Art Museum was founded in 1978, largely due to the inspiration of Orpha Webster (1893-1976), an art professor at Miami from 1927 until her retirement in 1961. Miss Webster, as she was called by her students, recognized the importance of direct experience with art objects and was instrumental in bringing the Elma Pratt (18881977) International Folk Art Collection to Miami, beginning in 1970.

One of Webster’s favorite students was Walter I. Farmer (1911-1997), a 1935 graduate of the Department of Architecture. Farmer was a broadranging collector and offered his extensive art collection, including Roman and Greek antiquities and Pre-Columbian ceramics, to Miami University with the condition that it provided an art museum in which to display them. John E. Dolibois, Miami’s Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs, was given the responsibility of soliciting funding for the construction of an art museum. He found the ideal donor in Fred C. Yager (1891-1974), who also supported Miami’s new football stadium. Farmer’s collections became the art museum’s foundational gift and set a precedent for other donors to contribute their cherished treasures to Miami.

Walter A. Netsch (1920-2008), of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Chicago was selected as the architect for the new museum. Based on his signature Field Theory, the structure is a series of triangles filled with glass and light. Like Farmer, Netsch was an avid art collector. Over time he and his wife, Dawn Clark Netsch, donated significant paintings, sculptures and works on paper for the permanent collections, including iconic paintings by abstract expressionist Hans Hofmann (1880-1966) and pop artist Robert Indiana.

Other significant collections at the Miami University Art Museum include the Charles M. Messer (1908-1980) Leica Camera Collection (a selection of which is currently on display), perhaps the largest privately assembled collection of Leica cameras and accessories in the world; the Edna M. Kelly Collection of ceramics, textiles, baskets and jewelry of the American Southwest; and the Ralph and Barbara Bresler Collection of the arts of Africa.

It is impossible to name the many individuals, businesses and foundations that have contributed to the success of the Miami University Art Museum over the 35 years of its existence – artists, directors, curators, educators, registrars, preparators, conservators, museum staff, donors, docents, faculty and students, volunteers and interns. Without their selfless generosity of time, expertise, funding and gifts-in-kind, the Art Museum would not be what it is today, a vibrant space for the study of original works of art from all periods and places around the globe. We are also fortunate to have the continued support of Miami University, both at the administrative level and through the College of Creative Arts. We would like to thank them all for their generous contributions throughout the years.

8/12/13 10:13 AM

Selected Milestones • Groundbreaking, December 4, 1976 • Opening Reception, September 10, 1978 • Formal Dedication by the University, November 5, 1978 • Accreditation by the American Association of Museums (1984)

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Exhibitions and Acquisitions

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Above: Orpha Webster with her textile collection.

Below: Walter I. Farmer ‘35, John E. Dolibois ‘42 and Walter A. Netsch at the Art Museum ribbon cutting November 5, 1978.

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Walter I. Farmer Collection (1969 and later) Elma Pratt International Folk Art Collection (1970 and later) Charles M. Messer Leica Camera Collection (1970 and 1978) Gandharan sculpture (1973), first acquisition by the Miami University Art Purchase Fund Paul Cadmus: Yesterday and Today (1981) Louise Nevelson, Rain Garden Zag IX (1980), Gift of Western College Alumnae Association Fletcher Benton, Folded Circle, Two Squares (1980), Gift of Class of 1955 George Bottini: Painter of Montmartre (1984) Faith Ringgold: A 25 Year Survey (1990) Mark di Suvero, For Kepler (1995) Gift of Thomas W. Smith Ars Longa, Vita Brevis: Ancient Art from the Walter I. Farmer Collection (1996) Voices in Clay: Pueblo Pottery from the Edna M. Kelly American Indian Art Collection (2001) Rembrandt Harmensz Van Rijn, Head of Saskia and Others (1636) and Faust (ca. 1652) (2004) Art Museum Purchase Julian Stanczak: Constellation Series Paintings (2005) Edna M. Kelly American Indian Art Collection (2006)

myaamiaki iši meehtohseeniwiciki/ How the Miami People Live (2008) Ralph and Barbara Bresler Collection of African Art (ongoing) James H. and Frances R. Allen 3 Collection (ongoing)

visual arts @ miami |

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8/12/13 10:13 AM

ART museum SPECIAL exhibition ~ August 20 – december 14

Programs Tuesday, September 24, 5:30 p.m.

Local Woman Finds French Artist in Dark Hallway: The Discovery of George Bottini’s Art and Why that Matters to the Miami University Art Museum Edna Southard, Ph.D., Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Emerita This talk will examine artist George Bottini (1874-1907) and his relevance to the Miami University Art Museum’s collection, then and now; how three important prints by the artist were acquired, and how MUAM, then only five years old, was accredited for the first time by the American Association of Museums, now the American Alliance of Museums.

Tuesday, October 29, 5:30 p.m.

Collectors and Collecting: 35 Years of the Miami University Art Museum Robert S. Wicks, Ph.D., Director, Art Museum

This presentation examines how a passion for collecting has impacted the Miami University Art Museum. Dr. Wicks will introduce some of the major donors and significant holdings that make up the Art Museum’s rich and varied collections, now consisting of more than 16,000 works of art.

Tuesday, November 19, 5:30 p.m.

To Have and To Hold: Cherishing Our Collection Jason E. Shaiman, Curator of Exhibitions

This informal gallery talk with the Curator of Exhibitions will highlight works on view in the exhibition, 35@35: A Museum Collects. Works in this gallery represent the breadth and depth of the Art Museum’s encyclopedic collection.

35

Celebrating

years

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8/12/13 10:13 AM