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Museum of Art Acquires Two Famous Landscape Paintings by Thomas Hicks On view through Januar y 8, 2012 the Museum of Art. Now, splendidlyinstalled in mid-19th-century style frames, the two landscapes, along with Hicks’s portrait of the Moore family, are displayed in the Museum for the first time in more than 20 years. To mark this historic event the Museum has published a brochure with an insightful essay about the pictures written by Dr. David Tatham of Syracuse University. Additional insights about the paintings will be presented by Dr. Paul D. Schweizer, Museum Director & Chief Curator, in a lecture titled, “A Look Behind the Falls: The Museum’s Newly Acquired Trenton Falls Landscapes by Thomas Hicks” 4 p.m. Thursday, December 8 in the Museum of Art Auditorium.
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wo beautiful and regionally significant landscape paintings of Trenton Falls, New York by the 19th-century American artist Thomas Hicks (182390), recently acquired by the Museum for its permanent collection, are presently displayed in the Edward Wales Root Sculpture Court. The landscapes are just two of the numerous treasures unveiled for the first time in the celebratory exhibition, Enhancing a Legacy: Gifts, Promised Gifts, and Acquisitions in Honor of the Museum of Art’s 75th Anniversary. Hicks was one of the United State’s most successful mid-century portraitists. His summer sojourns in cen- Trenton Falls: The Cascade of the Alhambra, ca. Oil on canvas, 54-3/16 x 30-1/8 in. tral New York State, and his personal 1854-55. (137.6 x 76.5 cm). 75th Anniversary Acquisition. Museum purchase, and gifts by exchange, from friendship with Michael and Maria Mr. Edmund G. Munson, Mr. and Mrs. G. Leiter Moore, who owned and managed the Doolittle, Dr. and Mrs. Tung-Hui Lin, and a bequest from Dr. David R. Rosendale. Additional fashionable Trenton Falls Hotel, led funds provided by the Museum’s Docent Fund him to paint a sensitive group portrait for Acquisitions, and gifts from the docents in honor of Mr. Warren C. Ramshaw and Mrs. Jean of the Moore family, and the two E. Mahon, acc no.: 2009.16.1 important landscapes the Museum recently acquired with generous financial assistance of several donors. The landscapes are intimate views of two of the sequence of rivulets, cascades, waterfalls, and pools that make up Trenton Falls, a picturesque tourist site rivaled only in New York State in the middle decades of the 19th century by Niagara Falls. The landscapes hung in the lobby of the Trenton Falls Hotel for many decades. After descending in the Moore family they passed into the hands of a local family who owned them for approximately 60 years before being acquired by
Trenton Falls: Upper High Falls from the West, ca. 1854-55. Oil on canvas, 54-1/4 x 30-1/8 in. (137.8 x 76.5 cm). 75th Anniversary Acquisition. Museum purchase, and gifts by exchange, from Mr. Edmund G. Munson, Mr. and Mrs. G. Leiter Doolittle, Dr. and Mrs. Tung-Hui Lin, and a bequest from Dr. David R. Rosendale. Additional funds provided by the Museum’s Docent Fund for Acquisitions, and gifts from the docents in honor of Mr. Warren C. Ramshaw and Mrs. Jean E. Mahon, acc no.: 2009.16.2
Schweizer’s lecture is the second in a three-part series that will be presented by the Museum’s curatorial team in November, December, and January of 2012. Each lecture will provide behindthe-scenes remarks about the reasoning and effort that led to the acquisition of some of the artworks displayed for the first time in the Enhancing a Legacy exhibition. The series is designed to provide insights about the curatorial process, an essential but sometime littleknown function for any public museum that collects, preserves, and interprets works of art. All three of the lectures are free and open to the public. Check the “Events” calendar of the Institute’s Bulletin or the Institute’s web site for the dates of the two other lectures in this series.
Discover Innovative 19th-Century Gift Presentations at Victorian Yuletide O n V i e w F r i d a y, N o v e m b e r 2 5 t h r o u g h D e c e m b e r 3 1
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bonnet? A ball of yarn? A tub of grain? These are not the manner by which we are accustomed to “wrapping” Christmas gifts, but they are some of the inventive and festive gift-giving containers used in the 19th century and presented in the Museum of Art’s annual Victorian Yuletide exhibition, opening Friday, November 25. Dismiss the contemporary worry about matching ribbons, bows, paper, and tags and learn about some amusing and imaginative ways gifts were exchanged more than a century ago. Many of the more ingenious suggestions for ways by which to exchange gifts were published in 19th-century magazines including Godey’s Lady’s Book, Peterson’s, and The Ladies’ Home Journal. See a “bran pie” when you visit Fountain Elms and guess what treasures might be hidden within. A tabletop Christmas tree, traditionally referred to as the “giver of gifts,” is a highlight in the parlor period setting. Its limbs are not just bedecked with sparkling glass ornaments, but also with presents, many of which are unwrapped. In many households, the Christmas tree was kept behind closed doors until Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Not all homes had a
Christmas tree. A Bethlehem tree, like the one carefully recreated for Fountain Elms, was a giftbearing tree used by Sunday schools or others at community gatherings. No holiday celebration would be complete without a festive meal and decorative table. In the Fountain Elms dining room, the elaborate centerpiece—large intersecting arches covered with holly, ivy, and mistletoe—is adapted from a design featured in the December 1901 issue of The Ladies’ Home Journal. The amusing, gigantic “snowball” centerpiece recreated on the children’s table disguises treats and gifts. Festive decorations, yards of greenery, and toys, fine silver, and porcelains from the Museum’s collection are featured throughout the exhibition. Take time to celebrate the holiday season with a visit to the Museum’s Fountain Elms galleries and rediscover the merriment of gift giving. The Victorian Yuletide exhibition is on view through December 31st and is free and open to the public. Special Yuletide tours are offered Saturdays at 2 p.m.
Sponsored by Our 75th Anniversary Partner