The Ringling Magazine | May – September 2024

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VOL 13 NO 2 MAY – SEP

2024

The start of 2024 and “season” was one of the most robust in our history. From programming to special events to attendance, we welcomed thousands of visitors to experience The Ringling. February broke records both in attendance and revenue 5401 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, FL 34243 941.359.5700 ringling.org Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums

and in March, visitor attendance nearly beat a record set in March of 2018.

This season also marked the return of Wine Walk, and after many years in the making, The Greatest Show On Earth® Gallery opened in early April. The permanent exhibition is an immersive, family-friendly exploration of 50 years of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®. It not only tells a story that has not been fully told at The Ringling, but it also shares the stories of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey in

FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY

the era that most of our guests remember.

Richard D. McCullough President

Wine + Roses was a spectacular evening

James J. Clark Provost

in Mable’s Rose Garden and the Giving Challenge raised funds to help conserve La

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Gloria, the monumental sculpture by the

Steven High

Mexican artist Jorge Marín at the entrance to

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Warren R. Colbert, Sr., Chair Margaret D. Hausberg, Vice Chair H. Michael Bush, Treasurer Mercedes Soler-Martinez, Secretary Jasleen “Ritu” Anand Dennis W. Archer Adele Fleet Bacow David W. Benfer Amy D. Berk Francine B. Birbragher James J. Clark Larry Cuervo, Jr. Rebecca Donelson Andrew M. Economos Leon R. Ellin Elma Glisson Ronald A. Johnson E. Marie McKee Janice Tibbals Mobley Howard D. Noble, Jr. Cynthia L. Peterson Frederic D. Pfening, III Kelly A. Romanoff Mayra N. Schmidt Debra J. Short James B. Stewart Keebler J. Straz Marla Vickers Kirk Ke Wang

the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing. After years of painstaking work, our conservation team finished treatment of the Watermelon Regatta painting, and it is on view for a limited time in Gallery 12. We are grateful for our generous patrons who help us fulfill our mission to inspire, educate, and entertain as we serve the legacy of John and Mable Ringling.

This summer, we will continue to welcome visitors with a wide offering of programs, exhibitions, and events. We are pleased to be working with Circus Sarasota to bring Summer Circus to the HAT again this year. Tickets for this popular seasonal favorite are on sale now on our website. Three exhibitions will open over the next few months starting with Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration opening May 25. It is set to be showcased at five leading art institutions across the Tampa Bay area this year and will feature 66 artists and art collectives living and working in the Tampa Bay area. Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan will open in July and Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story will open in August.

In June we will host Wonder: Human Experience and the Arts, an interdisciplinary symposium exploring wonder as a source of creative inspiration, artistic medium, and physical and social well-being. We will also host interns over the next few months and welcome our new Eleanor Merritt Fellow while saying goodbye to our inaugural fellow, Jevon Brown.

I hope you find wonder and inspiration in this edition of the The Ringling Magazine.

We hope to see you soon at The Ringling!

EX-OFFICIO BOARD MEMBER

Joan Uranga, Chair Volunteer Services Advisory Council ISSN 2165-4085

Steven High Executive Director

TABLE

CONTENTS

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Wonder: Human Experience and the Arts

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EXHIBITION Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story

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EXHIBITION Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration

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EXHIBITION Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan

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Major Gift to The Ringling Art Library

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Internships

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The Greatest Show on Earth® Gallery

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Ca' d'Zan Mystery Solved

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Member Spotlight: David and Mary Benfer

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Conservation: The Watermelon Regatta

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Crossword Puzzle

MAY – SEPTEMBER 2024

ABOVE:

Caitlin Albritton (American, born 1989), Flamingo Float, 2021.

Sterling silver pendant with 28 pieces of gold sheen obsidian, pink opal, petrified palm root, amazonite, howlite, and jasper; 2.5 x 1.75 x 0.35 in. Courtesy of the artist © Caitlin Albritton COVER:

Tanaka Yu (Japanese, born 1989), Bag Work, 2018. Glazed Shigaraki stoneware, 24 1/2 × 21 1/2 × 14 1/2 in. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

A SPECIAL THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS

Peter & Mary Lou Vogt Ringling Exhibition Fund Stephen V.C. Wilberding Ringling Endowment The Gobioff Foundation Stanton Storer’s Embrace The Arts Foundation

One Location, Endless Wonder

As a museum complex featuring visual and performing arts alongside circus history and a Gilded Age mansion—all situated on a bayfront campus— The Ringling is truly a site filled with wonder. But what does it mean to be wonder-prone, or inspired by wonder?

Wonder is an emotion that, while unique to each individual, encourages curiosity about the world around us and an openness to forming new connections. As we work to foster meaningful encounters with art, history, and nature, staff at The Ringling have identified the power of wonder in shaping experiences across the estate.

This June, The Ringling will host Wonder: Human Experience and the Arts, a three-day symposium exploring the topic of wonder. This interdisciplinary exploration of wonder uniting art historians, artists, circus performers, historians, museum professionals, and scientists will feature more than 30 unique voices sharing papers, panels, and mediated experiences with wonder. The symposium will also be a moment for the museum’s community to collectively shape our future, finding inspiration and new insights from the shared exploration of all the wonders of The Ringling.

We’d love to hear from you! What fills you with wonder at The Ringling?

Share your wonder at wonder@ringling.org.

Wonder at The Ringling is supported by a generous gift by FORE. Photos above, left to right: Alissa Patterson, Chris Daniels, Melanie Greenway

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WONDER: HUMAN EXPERIENCE AND THE ARTS JUNE 6 – 9 Featuring keynotes by Kaywin Feldman Director National Gallery of Art

Shinique Smith Artist

Erin Clabough, PhD Associate Professor in Neuroscience University of Virginia

Scan this QR code for the full schedule and information on the presenters.

Jess T. Dugan (American, born 1986), Self-portrait (blue room), 2021, pigment inkjet print, 40 x 30 inches. Courtesy of the artist © Jess T. Dugan.

JESS T. DUGAN

I want you to know my story

By Christopher Jones Stanton B. and Nancy W. Kaplan Curator of Photography and Media Arts

St. Louis-based contemporary artist Jess T. Dugan explores facets of identity through their photography, video, and writing.

Grounded in their own experience as a queer, nonbinary person, Dugan’s work addresses the universal human need to understand, express oneself, and connect with others. Dugan’s previous body of work, To Survive on This Shore: Photographs and Interviews with Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Older Adults (2018), a series of portraits and in-depth interviews collected in collaboration with scholar Vanessa Fabbre, received acclaim for providing visibility to a community 6

whose lives and struggles have largely gone unrepresented in a nuanced or thoughtful way.

In Dugan’s most recent body of work, I want you to know my story, they focus more inwardly, mining their own subjective experience for inspiration and photographing those in their own social circle—friends and loved ones—to create an ongoing series that is reflective and poignant. In Dugan’s stunning portraiture, they work collaboratively with their subjects, crafting images that feel candid and evoke intimacy. Well-versed in the traditions of art historical portraits and still lifes, Dugan rearticulates visual elements of the baroque for our moment,

creating sensual images rich in color, texture, and permeated

using family photographs and diaristic writing. Their work is a

with dramatic natural light that transcend the mundane. As

vital contribution to the representation of queer families and

the artist explains, “My photographs function as an extended,

parenting but resonates broadly with anyone who has navigated

oblique self-portrait as much as a catalogue of friends and

the complexities of family.

loved ones. Look at me like you love me brings our attention to one of the most powerful and complex forms of intimacy— that of seeing and being seen.” The exhibition also features

Jess T. Dugan: I want you to know my story opens August 17 in the Keith D. Monda Gallery for Contemporary Art.

two autobiographical video works by Dugan that focus on

ABOVE, LEFT TO RIGHT:

family: Letter to my daughter (2023) and Letter to my father

Candles, 2020, pigment inkjet print, 24 x 18 inches.

(2017). Together, these heartfelt personal works meditate on the intensity of the relationship between child and parent as Dugan traces their life’s journey through three generations

Enrique at sunset, 2023, pigment inkjet print, 60 x 40 inches.

JD and Steve, 2020, pigment inkjet print, 40 x 30 inches.

Elcid (green room), 2023, pigment inkjet print, 60 x 40 inches.

All images by Jess T. Dugan (American, born 1986), courtesy of the artist © Jess T. Dugan.

D IS C OV E R M O R E @ r i n g li n g . o r g 7

D IS C OV E R M O R E @ r i n g li n g . o r g 9

By Christopher Jones Stanton B. and Nancy W. Kaplan Curator of Photography and Media Arts

Ola Wlusek Keith D. Monda Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art

This spring, The Ringling presents Skyway 2024: A

Sarasota counties. The curators worked with guest juror

Contemporary Collaboration, an ambitious cross-

Evan Garza, a groundbreaking curator, scholar, writer, and

institutional exhibition that highlights and celebrates

a Curatorial Exchange Initiative Fellow at MASS MoCA in

recent artwork from the Tampa Bay region. Following

North Adams, Massachusetts, to review the submissions.

up on the successful Skyway exhibitions in 2017 and

Together the curators across the five institutions chose a

2021, this third iteration is co-organized by The John and

final sixty-six artists and artist collectives based on their

Mable Ringling Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, St.

strong responses to the content and the messages it

Petersburg; Tampa Museum of Art; University of South

contains, as well as work that challenges us as viewers. To

Florida Contemporary Art Museum in Tampa; and a new

accompany the exhibition a co-published, fully illustrated

collaborative partner for 2024, Sarasota Art Museum of

catalogue with curatorial texts will feature the work of

Ringling College of Art + Design.

each exhibiting artist.

Museum curators from each of these venues reviewed

For Skyway 2024, The Ringling is presenting works by

over 300 submissions, responses to an open call to

thirteen artists and artistic collectives across all five

artists from Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, and

galleries in The Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing of the

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Museum of Art. These are painter and jewelrymaker Caitlin Albritton, interdisciplinary artist and filmmaker Ainaz Alipour, interdisciplinary media artist Mohsen Azar, photo and textile-based artist Saumitra Chandratreya, painter Elisabeth Condon, folk artist Robyn “Avalon” Crosa, interdisciplinary artist Rachel de Cuba, conceptual painter Jake Fernandez, installation artist Akiko Kotani, collaborative team Carol Mickett and Robert Stackhouse; sculptor Libbi Ponce, painter Michael Vasquez, and collage artist Joo Woo. As a way of fostering creative exchange and introducing Sarasota’s audiences and the local community to new visual talent we are presenting work by exciting artists based mostly outside Sarasota.

The result is an exhibition of a myriad of responses to the contemporary moment, to our immediate environment, and to the social and political conditions of our times.

Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration opens May 25 in the Ulla R. Searing Galleries in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing.

PREVIOUS SPREAD:

Jake Fernandez (American, born Cuba, 1951), Myakka Fork 2, 2024. Oil on sixty-four wood panels, 88 x 154 in. Courtesy of the artist © Jake Fernandez.

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Libbi Ponce (American, born 1997), owl_butterfly _star_heart_bird, 2023. Steel, polyurethane, scrap foam, grout; 8 x 2 x 6.5 feet. Courtesy of the artist © Libbi Ponce THIS PAGE, LEFT TO RIGHT:

Joo Woo (American, born South Korea, 1977), Lucky Pig, 2024. Cut-and-pasted paper cutouts with acrylic paints on paper, 40 x 40 in. Courtesy of the artist © Joo Woo. Saumitra Chandratreya (Indian, born 1990), Royal Poinciana Reflections, 2022.

Cyanotype on Sateen, 40 x 60 in. Courtesy of the artist © Saumitra Chandratreya.

LEFT TO RIGHT:

Fujikasa Satoko (Japanese, born 1980), Seraphim, 2016. Unglazed stoneware, 27 × 22 × 19 in. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

Fujino Sachiko, Transformation: Black, 2018. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

Tsuboi Asuka, Karaori mo (Chinese-Brocade Ancient Skirt), 2017. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

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RADICAL CLAY Contemporary Women Artists from Japan D IS C OV E R M O R E @ r i n g li n g . o r g 13

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By Rhiannon Paget, PhD Curator of Asian Art

The Ringling is thrilled to present Radical Clay, an exhibition of 40 ceramic sculptures by 36 contemporary Japanese artists, all of whom happen to be women.

As in other parts of the world, the ability of women in Japan to pursue artistic careers has historically been impeded by the burden of family responsibilities, access to training, notions of respectability, and lack of financial independence. While they still face challenges, shifts in social norms and expectations following the Second World War have allowed women to participate more fully in and make significant contributions to ceramic art. This exhibition celebrates their achievements.

Radical Clay spans veterans of the field, namely Tsuji Kyō (b. 1930), Mishima Kimiyo (1932), and Tsuboi Asuka (b. 1932), who remain active today, to emerging artists such as Mori Aya (b. 1989) and Kawaura Saki (b. 1987). Their artworks encompass a breathtaking range of styles, conceptual approaches, and techniques.

Katsumata Chieko’s (b. 1960) enchanted pumpkins seem to glow with bioluminescence, while Tanaka Yū’s (1989) Bag Work (2018) is elegant and enigmatic. As for technical virtuosity, Kishi Eiko’s (b. 1948) inlaid sculptures impress with their elegant geometry and precision, and Fujikasa Satoko’s ethereal Seraphim seems to defy the physical properties of its medium. Densely encrusted with undulating ribbons of shaved clay, Hattori Makiko’s (b. 1984) doughnut-shaped Wandering employs a unique and inventive process, flawlessly (and patiently) executed.

Some artists are represented by artworks from different phases of their creative practice. In the case of Fujino Sachiko, the blocky formalism of Silence is succeeded by Transformation, whose delicate, organic structure brings to mind the diaphanous flesh of a sea anemone, or perhaps a Martian flower.

Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan comes to The Ringling from the Art Institute of Chicago, where it was curated

by Dr. Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Associate Curator of Japanese Art. All artworks aredrawn from the collection of Carol and Jeffrey Horvitz.

The exhibition is sponsored by Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz and the Japan Foundation.

Radical Clay: Contemporary Women Artists from Japan opens July 27 in the Pavilion Gallery of the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Asian Art.

OPPOSITE PAGE:

Katsumata Chieko (Japanese, born 1950), Pumpkin, 2015. Glazed stoneware, 18 × 21 × 19 in. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

THIS PAGE, TOP TO BOTTOM:

Mishima Kimiyo (Japanese, born 1932), Untitled (Crushed Asahi Beer Box), 2007. Glazed and silkscreened stoneware, 9 × 20 × 22 in. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

Hattori Makiko (Japanese, born 1984), Wandering, 2012. Porcelaneous stoneware applied with shaved clay, 9 1/2 × 13 1/2 in. Carol & Jeffrey Horvitz Collection of Contemporary Japanese Ceramics.

FOR THE LOVE OF ITALY A Major Gift to The Ringling Art Library

Dr. Joseph Polizzi’s first visit to The Ringling was in the 1970s.

students, and anyone who has an interest to dig deeper into

He attended a play in the Historic Asolo Theater during a visit

the architecture and art collection of The Ringling Museum of

with his parents over the holidays and, he says, “it was then

Art. In fact, he hopes that one day a graduate student might

that I became captivated by The Queen.” He’s speaking about

focus their thesis on Giuseppe DeLucia, a well-known poet and

Caterina Cornaro, Lady of Asolo, whose portrait is installed

sculptor. Ultimately, he says, “It has something for everyone.”

over the Royal Box of the theater. The Lady stayed with him, he went to Italy to research the Queen, and eventually wrote Lady of Asolo: A Pictorial History of the Life and Times of Queen Caterina Cornaro—available in The Ringling gift shop.

An emeritus professor of sociology and Fulbright Scholar, Polizzi is a historian who has been promoting Italian culture his whole life.

Throughout his travels and studies within Italy, he gathered books of interest, and, over the years, his intention for the collection gained momentum and focus.

He recently donated this collection—which he says is still growing—to The Ringling Art Library. “I am thrilled and deeply honored that the museum has accepted it,” Polizzi says. “I couldn’t be happier.”

“The gift of Dr. Joseph Polizzi’s collection of books, many of which are now rare, will significantly contribute to The Ringling Art Library,” says Elisa Hansen, Head of Library Services. “The breadth of the holdings related to Italian art, culture, gardens, literature, architecture, and history will add important resources related to The Ringling’s collection of art.”

Polizzi expects the collection, which he describes as “all encompassing,” will be helpful for researchers, graduate

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PREPARING FUTURE PROFESSIONALS While The Ringling is an extraordinary center for art and culture, it is also training college students pursuing cultural heritage careers.

The Ringling’s year-round internship program hosts an average of 5-8 interns per semester with cross-departmental leaders teaching them how to tackle real-world projects and setting them on a path for career success. Highlighted here are three Ringling studentinterns who have been learning and working at The Ringling since August 2023: GRADUATE LEVEL Hera Bogdanos and Jimena Hernandez Escoto are Florida State University graduate students completing their Master’s degrees in Museum and Cultural Heritage Studies (MCHS) at The Ringling.

During their fall semester, they learned foundational cultural heritage skills by rotating through most departments. For spring, they are focused on their area of choice while completing a research capstone project. Hera and Jimena will graduate in spring 2024.

Hera works primarily with the Education team. For her capstone, she created Ringling Recycles—a family art-making program reusing discarded exhibition materials to teach process art.

Jimena is conducting audience research with The Ringling’s Spanish-speaking visitors for her capstone. Her work investigates their needs and the materials needed to enhance their experience.

UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL Noah Stepp studies English at New College of Florida and participates in the Community-Driven Internship Program. Noah is learning key skills in Archives including: digitizing film; uploading digital files to an online public access catalog; populating metadata sheets for recorded sound collections; processing manuscript collections; conducting historical research; and writing finding aids.

Noah will graduate in spring 2026.

Scan this QR code or visit ringling.org/internships to learn more about internship programs at The Ringling.

D IS C OV E R M O R E @ r i n g li n g . o r g 17

THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH GALLERY

By Jennifer Lemmer Posey Tibbals Curator of Circus

As people across the country enjoy the return of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey®, The Ringling is excited to celebrate the history of America’s favorite circus with the recent launch of The Greatest Show On Earth® Gallery.

The newest addition to the Circus Museum is a multimedia

and an immersive film experience combines moving images

space that gives visitors the opportunity to explore many

and authentic costumes to remind visitors of the wonder and

of the greatest acts of the last fifty years and learn about

excitement of a live performance. Within the multi-sensory

how three generations of the Feld family have collaborated

environments, visitors will also discover props and wardrobe from

with artists in the ring and behind the scenes to incorporate

Ringling Bros. performances as well as costume design drawings

modern technologies and contemporary performances

and other tools used to plan each new season of the show.

into the circus experience.

The newest addition to the Circus Museum takes its inspiration Just as advances in lighting, sound, and audio-visual

from what Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has always

technologies brought spectacular new experiences to the

done best: reimagining what is possible. The gallery presents

circus rings, digital media is central to the Greatest Show

a history filled with remarkable accomplishments, exceptional

On Earth Gallery. Motion-directed interactives share

artists, and extraordinary spectacles in an experience that will

highlights of five decades of the very best in circus artistry

entertain children of all ages.

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MYSTERY SOLVED: ART GLASS AT CA' D'ZAN

By Marissa Hershon

Curator of Ca’ d’Zan and Decorative Arts

The three figural glass paintings inset in the wood paneling behind the bar in Ca’ d’Zan’s Tap Room have long impressed visitors. Yet, the full name and identity of the artist who created these works has long been unknown. One of the enameled compositions features the signature, C. Brandt, on the lower right corner, offering an important clue. Thanks to stained glass scholar, Julie L. Sloan, for recently sharing her research on German-born artist, Carl Brandt (1853–1906), the museum has acquired information on the artist’s career and comparable works.

Brandt studied glass painting at the art academy in Dusseldorf before immigrating to the US in 1888. He was active in Chicago (1889 to 1900) and then established Brandt Art Studio in Denver in 1901. Given the artist’s death in 1906, the Ringlings likely purchased the glass designs for the Tap Room on the secondary market.

Brandt’s commissions for private residences, churches, and secular public establishments ranged from enameled portraits to religious narratives set within ornamental glass borders. The Tap Room’s court jester, hunter, and maiden bear stylistic attributes that align with Brandt’s known work. As much of Brandt’s work does not survive in situ, determining the original context for the Tap Room’s glass will require further curatorial research into his documented commissions.

With the centennial of Ca’ d’Zan approaching in a few years, the museum hopes to contract conservators who specialize in treating enameled glass. To ensure that Brandt’s work may be enjoyed for generations to come, it is important for conservators to review their condition and recommend necessary steps for their preservation.

You have just established the David W. and Mary S. Benfer Curatorial Research Fellowship, providing graduate students or postgraduate students with an opportunity to support the curatorial departments of Circus and European art. Why did you feel this initiative was important to support?

When we consider that question, our specific interests at The Ringling include the old masters, European and American impressionism, and of course the wonder of the circus museums. Recently, I was elected to the Board of The Ringling Foundation and began learning about the vision and needs for the future. The board is exposed to the exceptional program team and curatorial staff. Mary and I have both learned from and enjoyed our experience with both Sarah Cartwright and Jennifer Lemmer Posey. Their future needs include developing a pipeline of support for their respective areas.

This resulted in our establishing a fellowship which will focus on graduate or postgraduate candidates under their guidance.

DONOR SPOTLIGHT DAVID AND MARY BENFER How long have you been Members? Can you share what

We look forward to the fellows gaining exceptional education, hands on experiences, and seeing how this commitment will have a positive impact on both their collections and future development.

inspired you to become Members and then Donors to

What impact do you hope your donations will have? What

The Ringling?

advice would you give to someone who is considering

In 1999, we started having annual vacations on Longboat

becoming a donor to The Ringling?

Key with our 3 children, and we ultimately became members

For us, an important measure of our contributions is how

of The Ringling. In 2010, we relocated here and now live in

they carry on in time, whether a brick-and-mortar project or

Lakewood Ranch. Our family has grown over the years (6

a sustainable program like the fellowship. When considering

grandchildren ages 4–11), and we frequently have friends

donating to The Ringling, we appreciate the guidance of the

and family visiting. The Ringling has become the first cultural

development team, led by Mark Terman and Michelle Young.

experience we share with everyone.

Sharing precisely what we loved with them revealed the

You have decided to support the museum philanthropically with your money and your time. Why has this been important to you?

I became a volunteer at The Ringling as an Ambassador in the Visitor's Pavilion, and then Mary and I decided to increase our membership to the Chairman Circle-level. As we learned more about The Ringling and shared it with our grandchildren, we listened to their questions, and enjoyed their smiles and the wonder in their eyes. Just being with them at The Ringling brings joy to our hearts and lifts our spirits. This is truly a magical place for all ages. Experiencing The Ringling for over two decades and 10 years as a volunteer, brought us both to the realization that we wanted to do more.

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many ways we could make a lasting difference for future generations who visit The Ringling estate. It is a very simple question: “What do we love here and how can we help make it better?” Mary and I encourage all readers to join us in learning more about this Museum, and support it through your visits, membership, and philanthropy. Join us as we watch the wonder and excitement grow for OUR Ringling with all our engagement and collective philanthropic support!

WHAT A DIFFERENCE CONSERVATION MAKES!

By Barbara A. Ramsay Chief Conservator

After several years of comprehensive study and delicate

painting can now be fully appreciated once again. We can now

restoration, The Ringling has completed conservation

marvel at the artist’s skill in creating an upside-down world,

treatment of the early eighteenth-century Italian painting

and experience the delight of this amusing image, just as

titled the Watermelon Regatta! The conservation work

viewers of the early eighteenth-century would have done.

on the painting was carried out by Ringling painting conservators and several Conservation Fellows and Interns, with the assistance of three private painting conservators.

This unique and memorable painting, attributed to the artist known as The Master of the Fertility of the Egg, is on display in the Museum of Art from March through May of this year.

The Master’s unusual compositions satirize the arrogance and foolishness of human life, but in a humorous and lighthearted manner. The Watermelon Regatta appears to be a whimsical interpretation of actual boat races that have taken place in Venice for centuries.

Previously suffering from extensive damage and inappropriate

Conservation was supported in part by the David A. Straz, Jr. Foundation, The Ringling Museum of Art Foundation, The Florida State University Foundation, and generous contributions received during the 2016 Sarasota Giving Challenge (with our gratitude to The Community Foundation of Sarasota County and The Patterson Foundation).

The Watermelon Regatta will be on view—along with a video highlighting the stages of intricate conservation work—through May 19 in Gallery 12 of the Museum of Art. Master of the Fertility of the Egg (Italian, active late 1600s - early 1700s), Watermelon Regatta, early 1700s. Oil on canvas, 70 1/2 × 96 × 1 5/16 in.

Gift of A. Everett Austin, Jr., 1951, SN657

restoration that rendered its imagery nearly illegible, the D IS C OV E R M O R E @ r i n g li n g . o r g 21

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THE ANSWERS TO THIS CROSSWORD PUZZLE CAN BE FOUND THROUGHOUT THE ARTICLES IN THIS MAGAZINE!

Across

Down

2.

A program that helps train future professionals.

1.

3.

The Queen that captivated Dr. Joseph Polizzi on his first visit to a performance at The Ringling in the 1970s.

What major event allowed women to participate more fully in and make significant contributions to ceramic arts.

4.

Motion-directed interactives and an immersive film experience makes this type of media central to the Greatest Show on Earth® Gallery.

2.

Contemporary artist Jess T. Dugan explores facets of __________ in their artwork.

6.

Carl Brandt studied glass painting in this city.

7.

The exhibition Radical Clay features forty ceramic sculptures and __________ contemporary Japanese artists, all of whom are women.

8.

Skyway 2024: A Contemporary Collaboration is an ambitious cross-institutional exhibition that celebrates recent artwork throughout this region.

5.

Painter and jewelry-maker featured in the exhibition Skyway 2024.

9.

The eighteenth-century Italian painting that has recently completed conservation treatment.

10. The emotion that, while unique to everyone, encourages curiosity and openness.

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MEMBER APPRECIATION SALE JUL 12–14 MEMBERS SAVE 20%*

The Ringling

MUSEUM STORE MEMBERS SAVE 10%* *excludes already discounted items Open Daily 10:00 AM – 5:30 PM Thursdays until 8:00 PM Located in the McKay Visitors Pavilion

JUN 14 – AUG 17 The Summer Circus Spectacular showcases some of the finest circus artists from around the world! Scan this QR code to purchase tickets!

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art 5401 Bay Shore Road Sarasota, FL 34243

*Excludes clearance