Perspectives Fall 2020 Newsletter

20 FALL 20

Director’s Welcome Dear Friends, As The Westmoreland Museum of American Art successfully reopened on August 1, we were reminded that we provide a safe space for healing through connection and reflection with art and each other.

We did not get there on our own. I am proud that The Westmoreland collaborated with 40 regional museums and cultural institutions to discuss and develop shared approaches regarding our facilities, staff and volunteers, visitors, communications and advocacy, and diversity and equity issues in the time of COVID-19.

Diversity and equity is a priority for The Westmoreland. Art is a reflection of society, and within our arts ecosystem, racial inequities exist. Black and marginalized artists are less likely to get grant funding, less likely to have their art acquired by private collectors and museums, and less likely to have leadership positions in arts organizations. We are committed to dismantling this system, and I wanted to share some of our continued efforts and renewed commitments.

We are educating ourselves. Change requires understanding and empathy. All staff are participating in anti-racist training, but we understand that one training is not enough to sustain learning. The Museum has formed a Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion group to support ongoing professional development and inform policy including recruitment and hiring. We also commit to diversifying our board within one year.

We are committed to exhibiting the full range of the American experience and art history, but it is not enough to only have temporary exhibitions that do not result in acquisitions. Currently only 2% of the Museum’s collection is by an artist that identifies as

black, indigenous, or a person of color. We commit to acquiring more artworks by black and marginalized artists into our permanent collection.

We are financially supporting black and marginalized artists including our Artist-In-Residency partnership with BOOM Concepts, as well as our collaboration with The Westmoreland Diversity Coalition’s Billboard Project. Learn more about the artists and artwork in this initiative on pages 8–9.

We are a space for learning for the public that uses arts as a framework to foster expanded perspectives and understanding, particularly when it comes to understanding the construct of race and racism.

This is by no means an exhaustive list and long-term change requires sustained efforts and accountability, but we are committed to realizing this change for our organization and community.

With Gratitude,

Anne Kraybill The Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO

FINAL MONTHS TO EXPERIENCE THE SMITHSONIAN AMERICAN ART MUSEUM'S AFRICAN AMERICAN ART IN THE 20TH CENTURY AT THE WESTMORELAND After being extended by nearly eight months due to COVID-19, the exhibition run for African American Art in the 20th Century will come to a close on January 17, 2021.

This traveling exhibition presents 45 artworks by 34 African American artists from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s collection. The artists featured came to prominence during the period bracketed by the Harlem Renaissance and the Civil Rights movement. The means of these artists varied–from representational to modern abstraction to stained color to the postmodern assemblage of found objects–and their subjects are diverse. These works were created at significant social and political moments in America.

Norman Lewis, Evening Rendezvous, 1962, Oil on linen, 50 1/4 x 64 1/4 inches, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum Purchase African American Art in the 20th Century is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go. The William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund provided financial support.

This exhibition has been generously funded by the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.

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THE WESTMORELAND COLLABORATES WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

TO CULTIVATE EMERGING CURATORS OF AMERICAN ART The Westmoreland is excited to announce a collaboration with Professor Alex Taylor from the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh on a Special Topics Practicum for the fall semester. Students in this innovative graduatelevel course will undertake curatorial research and develop an exhibition for the Cantilever Gallery comprised of objects from the Museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition will include works of art drawn primarily from collection storage, providing our audience with a new opportunity to see objects that are not always on view in the galleries and providing the Museum with new scholarly research. For visitors to the Museum, the resulting exhibition will offer a surprising and thought-provoking new interpretation of rarely-seen works from The Westmoreland’s collection.

The course will provide students with practical experience in exhibition development, interpretation, and public engagement by having them develop exhibition storylines from a range of works. To inform this curatorial thinking, students will also engage with key concerns of the field of American art history over the past decade and survey recent innovations in the display of American art.

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Working with Professor Taylor, senior staff at the Museum, and each other, students will develop practical, transferrable skills such as: • Using digital resources to analyze a museum collection and generate display ideas; • Artist and object-based research that inspires curatorial thinking; • Developing exhibition concepts, proposals, and storylines; • Writing short exhibition labels and other didactic texts that further an exhibition concept and storyline; • Collaborating with colleagues to refine and finalize an exhibition proposal, considering audience engagement and exhibition design and organization.

Many of Pitt’s graduate students in the class come to the project with prior museum experiences in a variety of roles which will inform their work with our collection. In preparation for this course and to familiarize the students with The Westmoreland, they have read the Museum’s current Strategic Plan 2019-2022 as well as the updated Collection Plan 2020-2025 that describes the strengths and weaknesses of the collection and acquisition strategies. To give them a sense of the Museum’s collecting history and

scholarship on the permanent collection, they have also had access to our three permanent collection catalogues (1978, 2006 and 2010), and other museum publications including the catalog for the inaugural exhibition in 1959, 250 Years of Art in Pennsylvania, and those featuring our Southwestern Pennsylvania collections. They have reviewed current permanent collection gallery checklists, the Cantilever Gallery floor plan, and 3-D virtual model.

To select the objects and determine their exhibition concepts, students will work with the Museum’s collection database, inventory spreadsheets, and a variety of rich research resources from the Museum archival holdings.

During the last few weeks of the semester, students will present up to three proposals for exhibitions in the Cantilever Gallery to take place from February 7 - May 9, 2021. Students will not only contribute their selection of objects but will participate in the gallery layout through the virtual model and creation of didactic materials to accompany the works of art. One of their assignments is to create alternate perspective

labels that take into consideration an object’s historical context. We look forward to the information about our collection that will result from this new interpretation.

When the fall semester concludes in November, three undergraduate students will continue their work with Professor Taylor and the Museum to finalize the curatorial components that will be delivered to the Museum and constitute the exhibition. Students will be invited to participate in the exhibition installation in the Cantilever Gallery in 2021.

This collaboration is a wonderful and valuable opportunity to share our resources, using them to foster a new generation of museum professionals working with American art.

Director of Collections and Exhibition Management Doug Evans in Museum storage vault clockwise on screen: Cecilia Beaux (1855–1942) Still Life with Fruit, c. 1918, Oil on canvas The Westmoreland Museum of American Art Gift of the Women's Committee, 1977.2 Robert Henri (1865–1929) Dutch Fisherman, 1907, Oil on canvas The Westmoreland Museum of American Art Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Hirschl, 1977.127 George Inness (1825–1894) Moonrise, Alexandria Bay, 1891, Oil on canvas The Westmoreland Museum of American Art Bequest of Richard M. Scaife, 2015.65 at right: Doris Lee (1904–1983) The Beach Party, c. 1932, Oil on canvas Private Collection Aaronel deRoy Gruber (1918–2011) Prismod, 1973/2006, Plexiglas The Westmoreland Museum of American Art Gift of the Irving and Aaronel deRoy Gruber Foundation, 2015.129

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Exhibitions Cantilever Gallery

African American Art in the 20th Century February 16–January 17, 2021 African American Art in the 20th Century is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports SAAM’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go. The William R. Kenan Jr. Endowment Fund provided financial support.

All exhibitons are supported by the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Free admission to exhibitions is generously supported by:

left: Thornton Dial, Sr. (1928–2016), Top of the Line (Steel), 1992, mixed media: enamel, unbraided canvas roping, and metal on plywood, 65 x 81 x 7 7/8 inches, Collection: Smithsonian American Art Museum, gift from the collection of Ron and June Shelp middle, top: Stephen Towns (b. 1980), The Pioneer, 2020, Oil, acrylic, fabric, buttons, Bristol paper, mica flakes, graphite, glitter, charcoal on panel, 40 x 30 inches, Proposed Purchase middle, bottom: Emily Andrews and Autumn Stankay, Crystal Visions, 3/23/18, Digital print on canvas, 24 x 36 inches right: Ellen Chisdes Neuberg, Taking a Break, 2019, Acrylic on canvas, 48 x 60 inches

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Robertshaw Gallery

Proposed Gifts and Purchases Through October 11, 2020

Museum collections are built primarily through gifts and strategic purchases that undergo a lengthy approval process before they are accessioned into the collection and revealed to the public. Ultimately, the most important part of this process is to see the works of art in person, and for the first time, The Westmoreland is offering our visitors a rare opportunity to view the proposed gifts and purchases as they are being considered.

Diversity Billboard Art Project October 16–November 15, 2020

In collaboration with the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition, this exhibition features the 10 artists selected for the Diversity Billboard Art Project. These works of art were inspired by the theme Make Our Differences Our Strengths and will be displayed on billboards throughout Westmoreland County.

Ellen Chisdes Neuberg: Living A Life…A Puzzlement November 20–December 20, 2020

After 22 years of running Gallerie Chiz in Shadyside, and now painting six days a week in her gallery-turned-studio, Ellen Chisdes Neuberg presents a brand new series of abstractsurrealist paintings as she ponders the intricacies of life in transition.

Acupuncture Photography Project December 23, 2020–January 24, 2021

The collaboration of photographer Autumn Stankay and acupuncturist Emily Andrews melds modern art with healing art through a series of photographs representing the ancient medicine of acupuncture in the modern world.

For more information on our exhibitions, visit thewestmoreland.org/exhibitions.

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K–12 EDUCATIONAL TOURS GO ONLINE While COVID-19 has presented many uncertainties in and around education, The Westmoreland has been busy looking for ways to continue to provide meaningful content and experiences for local teachers and students. In partnership with the Richard King Mellon Foundation who provided generous funding as part of its COVID-19 Response Initiatives grant program, the Museum is working towards providing all of our tours in a virtual format. This special grant award also brought us the opportunity to create online content for K-12, which is something that has not existed on our website prior to this time. For the Education team at the Museum, this has given us a renewed sense of challenge in examining the Museum’s collection. This exciting online curriculum breathes new life into the collection and invites teachers and students to take a deeper dive into the artworks while preparing for their tours (all virtual during the continuing of COVID-19 restrictions).

The Museum is working with Blue Archer, a website design firm in Pittsburgh, to create a Learning Management System (LMS), which will provide a platform on which the Education team can upload curriculum materials to share with educators who sign up for one of our educational tours. As part of this project, we are creating videos and a variety of course content and activities that will serve to enrich the entire tour experience prior to, during, and even after the virtual tour.

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Our first fully developed online curriculum-based tour will be our popular Pennsylvania History, which is a signature tour offered to fourth grade. With the LMS as a resource, teachers will soon be able to share a host of pre-visit activities that will provide even more information than we would have been able to cover in our traditional in person tours. These pre-visit activities and lessons will enhance the tour for students who will be looking at the art with a deeper understanding of how it illustrates the history of our state.

We are also creating curriculum and online content for a couple of our other popular tours: Exploring Emotions and Expressions, Exploring Art Through Writing and our Kindergarten tour (which is also adaptable for First and Second Grade).

We plan to have the platform and the online Pennsylvania History program ready for teachers and students to utilize by December 2020. In the meantime, the Museum can still offer virtual tours anytime this school year to interested teachers. Please contact Patrick Bochy at pbochy@thewestmoreland.org to discuss a tour you would like to schedule or to find out more about the LMS.

ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCY PARTNERSHIP WITH BOOM CONCEPTS LAUNCHES Get to Know the First Artists — D.S. Kinsel and Anqwenique Wingfield D.S. KINSEL

D.S. Kinsel is an award winning creative entrepreneur and cultural agitator.

He expresses his creativity through the mediums of painting, installation, curating, non-traditional performance and public art. Kinsel’s work puts focus on themes of space keeping, urban tradition, hip-hop, informalism, and cultural re-appropriation. D.S. has served creative residencies at Most Wanted Fine Art, Artist Image Resource, The Homewood Residency Program, Kelly Strayhorn Theater, Pittsburgh Public Schools Carnegie Mellon University Digital Arts Studio, AS220, the Pittsburgh Glass Center and the Sedona Summer Artist Colony. He also served as the curator of #ACTIVISTprint, a collaborative public art program of The Andy Warhol Museum and Artist Image Resource and as Senior Producer at the Kelly Strayhorn Theater.

D.S. is the co-founder of BOOM Concepts, founded in 2014. BOOM Concepts is a creative hub dedicated to the advancement of black and Photograph by Chris Ivy brown artists representing marginalized communities. BOOM Concepts is located in Pittsburgh and over the course of time has curated 50 exhibitions on-site, paid out over $45k in artists' and contract fees, and produced 200+ events across the country. BOOM serves as a space for field building, knowledge sharing, mentorship, and storytelling. In its 6th year, BOOM Concepts consistently challenges artists and communities to find new and innovative ways to write their own narratives. D.S has served as a board member of Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse and serves on the advisory board for Shady Lane School and the Black Transformative Arts Network.

A former AmeriCorps Public Ally member, D.S. has also been recognized as an Awardee of the Pittsburgh Courier Fab 40, Pittsburgh Magazine PUMP 40 Under 40, Pittsburgh Tech Council Creative of The Year, the Pittsburgh PostGazette’s "Top Ten People To Meet in 2016," and the Incline’s “Who’s Next” for 2018. Kinsel recently participated in the “The Art of Leadership” program through Rockwood Leadership Institute and Leadership Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh native, Anqwenique Wingfield is ANQWENIQUE WINGFIELD an extremely versatile vocalist and educator specializing in opera, classical music, jazz, and soul. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Voice Performance from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Anqwenique is the founder and director of Groove Aesthetic, a Pittsburgh based multidisciplinary artist collective experimenting with contemporary performance and collaborative processes. She has performed and collaborated with Staycee Pearl Dance Project, Attack Theater, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, David Bernard Romain, Luna Loba Collective/Shey Rivera-Rios and many others. Anqwenique has been recognized with many awards and opportunities for her creative work. In 2017 she was named “Best Singer” by the Photograph by Njaime Njie Pittsburgh Magazine readers poll, listed among Who's Next in Music by The Incline and 40 Under 40 by Pittsburgh Magazine and PUMP. She is on the faculty of the Clazz International Music Festival in Arcidosso, Italy.

Anqwenique has been very active in the arts and education community as a teaching artist, consultant, program manager and advisor. Currently she serves as Director of Programs for Arts Education Collaborative. She is also the Studio Manager of BOOM Concepts, working to provide affordable studio space and resources to artists and creative entrepreneurs. thewestmoreland.org / 7

DIVERSITY BILLBOARD ART PROJECT As part of the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and The Westmoreland Museum of American Art’s Diversity Billboard Art Project, the roadways of Westmoreland County will be peppered with billboards featuring 10 new works of art by 10 local artists starting on Monday, October 5. This project is funded by The Heinz Endowments' Just Arts program, an initiative that supports artists, organizations and communities who harness the power of the arts to respond to social issues affecting the Pittsburgh region and beyond.

from other perspectives,” states artist and illustrator Alejandro Fiez. “In this particular painting, I describe the interaction between generations and how aging can be seen.”

Chosen from a pool of over 50 candidates, the 10 artists for the project are: Edith Abeyta, Dorion Barill, Tina Williams Brewer, Alejandro Fiez, Fran Flaherty, Shane Pilster, Amun Ray, Susanne Slavick, Ginger Brooks Takahashi, and Alisha B. Wormsley.

Since she began her practice, deaf artist Fran Flaherty has been exploring the themes of maternal feminism, culture of care, disability arts, and immigration and race through her work.

To be considered for the project, artists had to submit a proposal that included 5 examples of their work. The 10 artists selected were interested in the Diversity Billboard Art Project due to personal connections to the county, but mostly because of the project’s overarching message.

“The Diversity Billboard Art Project is sending out an important message at the right time,” affirms artist and animator Dorion Barill. “We need more opportunities like this in Westmoreland County, to assert the virtues of multiculturalism and bring folks together from different backgrounds who want to make our community a more welcoming place to live.”

The artists were tasked with creating a compelling artwork, inspired by the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths,” that conveys how diversity and inclusion can create healthier, stronger communities.

“Basically, what makes differences become beneficial is that they expand the ideas that we have based only in our own experiences, and allow us to see things 8 / Fall 2020

Each artist’s artistic process varied, ranging from incorporating themes that they had explored in previous works, researching topics, and collaborating with local organizations.

“I have tried to address these issues as succinctly as possible but always separately. Each subject led to its own body of work. It was time consuming and not sustainable.

I also felt that these subjects always intersected anyway,” said Flaherty. “So, I focused on the signifiers of these subjects and combined them into one body of work. This attempt to find the thread that bound these subjects is what you see in the Diversity Billboard Project.”

Visual artist Edith Abeyta’s artwork was created in collaboration with the Westmoreland County Blind Association, and their team explicitly addressed the theme by coming up with the phrase Blind is More for the billboard.

“Our discussions focused on concept, materials, textures, colors, text and design. Each week I would bring in small fabricated elements that we had agreed upon to include at the previous meeting,” explains Abeyta. “Liz and Clyde have low vision so they were both able to visually see some of the elements I brought in. Autumn, Dave and Mike have blindness, so they would feel the design elements as I described each one. Each meeting, discussion and design iteration helped us refine our concept, text and final design.”

CREATING THE BILLBOARD ARTWORKS As part of the process for creating and refining the artworks for the project, each artist created a preliminary sketch or mockup and shared their idea in two virtual meetings with the other artists. All of the artists interpreted the theme differently and their work is diverse in both composition and style, yet most are compellingly optimistic.

Artist, curator, and the Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Art at Carnegie Mellon University Susanne Slavick chose to work with an image of nine dancers from Snap Crackle Pop, a 2018 performance by Carolyn Dorfman Dance.

future by re-conceptualizing the symbolism of alchemy and divination. But the message is a hopeful one. I wanted to create an image of people working together to build a better society, an image that attributes strength to unity.”

The 10 artworks will be installed on specific billboards in Westmoreland County along Route 22, Route 30, Route 31, Route 51, Route 56, Route 119, Route 217, and I-76, starting in October, and be on view at each location for 12 to 24 weeks.

“Given the current polarization of our country, I hope that the images arising from the Diversity Billboard Art Project “They all assume distinctly different poses but link arms open people’s hearts and minds to the project’s message,” in a piece about connection—past, present, and future. asserts Slavick. “Given our nation’s ’melting pot’ history Their linkage suggests a combined and connecting energy and demographic multiplicities, it is a message that should with great potential. This energy does not confer a heavy not be controversial.” or permanent power; it is a dynamic current for shifting needs and circumstances,” describes Slavick. “I altered “I hope that the audience looks at the simplicity of my the original photograph by AJ Johnson so that they work but takes the time to digest the information that encircle a color wheel, a diagram without hierarchy. The these images provide. The images are simple and chaotic color wheel suggests the unifying allure and aspirations at the same time,” said Flaherty. “They represent deep of a ‘full spectrum,’ the title of my submission.” divides in our way of living but also tells us how to get over those divides if we are open to understanding other Animator Barill’s artwork was created after interviewing ways of communication.” residents and activists, researching the County’s history, visiting archaeological sites, and accumulating drawings of Aside from the billboard placements, the artworks can dreams he had after his archaeological visits. be viewed in a series of exhibitions with the first to open at The Westmoreland on October 16. The artists will also “I imagined the billboard as a work of social surrealism, be participating in a 5-part series of monthly Virtual In harkening back to depression era murals that criticized Conversations, starting in October and running through the power structures responsible for declining socioFebruary. Learn more about these Virtual In Conversations political conditions of working people. The 10” x 32” by turning to page 10. original employs drawing and watercolor techniques that left to right: Shane Pilster, CommUNITY stem from baroque era miniaturists, reclaiming a tradition Ginger Brooks Takahashi, An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail that was at one time reserved solely for the aristocracy,” Susanne Slavik, Full Spectrum explains Barill. “The image acknowledges an uncertain 2020, Diversity Billboard Art Project

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Tony Allgeier

2019 Winter Lights by Presenting Sponsor LUXE Creative

Virtual Community Events

Outdoor Events

Community Day

Oktoberfest

Sunday, October 4 Sunday, November 1 Sunday, December 6 Sunday, January 3 10am–1pm The Westmoreland is going virtual with Community Day. Each community day we will present a variety of programs filled with fun and creative experiences including art activities, musical performances, dance parties, and much more. Please watch our social media and website for more details. Events will occur throughout the day beginning at 10am. All events are free and will be shared to The Westmoreland’s Facebook and YouTube.

FREE Community Events are made possible with support from the McKinney Charitable Foundation and the Brooks Foundation through the PNC Charitable Trusts Grant Review Committee.

For the Love of Furniture Wednesday, October 28 Wednesday, December 30 7–8pm Join interior designer Tony Allgeier on a journey to rediscover the furniture in the Museum’s permanent collection. Through function, design, architecture, color theory, fashion and film, Tony will discuss why these pieces are important to the permanent collection and how have they been reinterpreted into today’s modern designs. With Live Q&A. FREE member/Pay What You Can non-member

Drag Queen Art Critique Friday, November 27, 7pm You met them during the Museum's Virtual Pride Week Celebration in July and now they are back with another set of artworks to critique. Join Drag Queens, Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder as they discuss their take on pieces from The Westmoreland’s collection.

FREE member/Pay What You Can non-member 10 / Fall 2020

Friday, October 23, 5–8pm Join us for pretzels, polka, pumpkins, and of course, beer! The evening will include live music, pumpkin carving, a makeyour-own fraktur activity and art scavenger hunt. Purchase your dinner from on-site food truck and your brews from local breweries booths.

2-3 Person Table Pod: $8 member/$10 non-member 4-6 Person Table Pod: $12 member/$15 non-member Advance registration is required.

Winter Lights Illumination Night Friday, November 13, 5 –7pm

Watch as the Museum's exterior becomes aglow for our second annual Winter Lights. Warm up with complimentary hot chocolate and gourmet hot dogs, and the Museum galleries will be open to explore. Winter Lights will run through Sunday, February 13 from dusk to 10pm nightly. $10 member/$12 non-member Advance registration is required.

Please note that in the instance of inclement weather, these events will be cancelled, and ticket refunds will be issued.

Virtual In Conversations

Diversity Billboard Art Project Artists' Talks Thursday, October 8 Thursday, November 12 Thursday, December 10 Thursday, January 14 Thursday, February 11 7–8pm Join us for a conversation between two artists selected for the Diversity Billboard Art Project. The project is a public art campaign that will display 10 new works of art, curated by the Westmoreland Diversity Coalition and The Westmoreland. The artists will be discussing their commissioned original works inspired by the theme Make Our Differences Our Strengths.

FREE

Joe Lewis & Kenneth Nicholson at February 2020 Film Screening

Virtual Film Series

Virtual Pop-Up Studios

In conjunction with African American Art in the 20th Century, The Westmoreland's first-ever film series, featuring works by the unsung pioneers of early African American Cinema, will now be LIVE STREAMED! Join us in virtually watching the film and participate in the following facilitated discussion.

Kenneth Nicholson, visual artist and adjunct instructor at Seton Hill University, University of Pitt at Greensburg, and Westmoreland County Community College, and Joe Lewis, Executive Director of the Jazz Bridge Project and Founder/Curator of the Black Bottom Film Festival presented by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, will be facilitating this film series event.

Candy From The Crypt

Veiled Aristocrats Wednesday, October 21, 7–8:30pm FREE

Wednesday, October 14, 6:30–8:30pm Create a sculptural candy bowl holder of a hand emerging from the ground. This special spooky sculpture will be a little messy to be certain, but don’t let that SCARE you off! Kits will include sculptural elements, but you will need craft paint, paint brushes, and hot glue. Oh and don’t forget the candy! $10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, September 30 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Crafty Tom Napkin Holder

Wednesday, November 11, 6:30–8:30pm

FREE

Too much gravy? No problem! Make a wooden turkey napkin holder just in time for the holidays! It’s as useful as it is unusual! Kits will include the sculptural elements, but you will also need wood glue (preferred) or Elmer’s glue, hot glue, scissors, and a hammer.

The Blood of Jesus

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

Dirty Gertie From Harlem U.S.A. Wednesday, November 18, 7–8:30pm

Wednesday, December 16, 7–8:30pm FREE

A Series of Short Films: Two Knights of Vaudeville Mercy the Mummy Mumbled Hot Biskits Wednesday, January 20, 7–8:30pm FREE generous support for this series provided by

Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, October 28 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

To register or purchase tickets for these events: • click on the event date • visit thewestmoreland.org/events • call 888.718.4253* *Please note that $1/ticket fee is added to phone orders for paid events only.

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Virtual Pop-Up Studios (cont.)

Virtual Children’s Saturday Studios*

Putz House

Colorful Cactus

Wednesday, December 9, 6:30–8:30pm Take a walk down memory lane! Assemble, paint, and decorate Putz style houses with traditional festive décor of days gone by. Kits will include structural house elements, but you will also need craft paint, paint brushes, Elmer’s glue, and hot glue, and, of course, GLITTER and anything that shimmers! $10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, November 25 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Saturday, October 10, 9:30–11:30am Construct a cardboard cactus plant sculpture using cardboard, paint, and patterns – all in a plastic pot.

Minus the prickers of course! (needed: paint brushes, scissors, Elmer’s glue, hot glue)

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, September 26 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Candy Corn Monster

Sled Door Hanger

Saturday, October 24, 9:30–11:30am

Don’t hang up the winter season yet! Savor the snow with this mini sled door hanger. Kits will include all wooden parts and hardware, but you will also need the paint or stain (for the sled body), paint brushes, craft paint & stencils (optional for name, images, etc.), wood glue, a hammer, Philips head screwdriver, and hot glue.

(needed: paint brushes, scissors, hot glue, paper towels!)

Wednesday, January 13, 6:30–8:30pm

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, December 30 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Make a 3D monster in candy corn costume! It can be cute or scary, but either way it will be fun! Oh and a little messy! $10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, October 10 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Fall Gnome

Saturday, November 7, 9:30–11:30am A cuddly little gnome in a festive frock will add a touch of fall to your home! Create a gnome of your fancy in a fall-themed scene. (needed: scissors, hot glue)

To register or purchase tickets for these events: • click on the event date • visit thewestmoreland.org/events • call 888.718.4253* *Please note that $1/ticket fee is added to phone orders for paid events only.

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$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, October 24 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Pop Cornucopia

Snowy Night Painting

Your autumn décor will surely pop when you create a 3D painting featuring traditional Thanksgiving subjects in a Pop Art style.

Create a 3D drawing and painting of a wintery snowy night with snow people in their natural environment.

Saturday, November 21, 9:30–11:30am

(needed: scissors, Elmer’s glue, paint brushes)

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, November 7 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Not a Creature was Stirring…

Saturday, December 5, 9:30–11:30am

Saturday, January 9, 9:30–11:30am

(needed: paint brushes, scissors, Elmer’s glue)

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free) Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, December 26 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Snowy Owl Shadowbox

Saturday, January 23, 9:30–11:30am

Except a slinky elf-style sculpture! Using felt, pipe cleaners, and craft supplies, make a slinky elf that you can display around your house. (Younger artists may need assistance.)

Using pine cones and lots of cotton balls, design and assemble a winter scene, featuring a snowy owl, in a shadow box.

These cute owls will make an adorable addition to your winter décor.

(needed: scissors, hot glue)

(needed: paint brushes, scissors, hot glue)

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, November 21 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, January 9 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Snowy Night Light

Saturday, December 19, 9:30–11:30am Construct a lantern night light depicting a wintery scene. The top will include a special mini-snowperson sculpture as well! (needed: paint brushes, scissors, hot glue)

$10 member/$15 non-member $8 shipping fee (or select pick-up for free)

* Participants will be expected to provide basic art supplies such as paint brushes, scissors, Elmer’s glue, glue sticks, and low-temp hot glue. Basic paints will be provided but a set of craft paints is always helpful.

Advance registration is required.

Registration Deadline: Saturday, December 5 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

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NEW SAFETY POLICIES IN PLACE The health, safety and well-being of our visitors and staff is always the highest priority of The Westmoreland.

New safety policies and procedures have been implemented, including advance registration for admission, mandatory mask wearing, new hours of operation, and enhanced cleaning, in order to provide a safe experience for your Museum visit. We appreciate your cooperation in following the new safety policies and procedures when visiting The Westmoreland. Due to the fluidness of circumstances and guidance related to COVID-19, please note that these policies and procedures may need to be revised or adapted, so we ask that you check thewestmoreland.org/covid-19 on the day of your visit for the most up to date information.

You Really Autumn Know...

The Museum Shop is Open & Fall Has Arrived!

Elevate your autumn décor with one of artist Margaret Dorfman’s Vegetable Parchment serving pieces and some gourd-geous blown glass pumpkins!

Find more one-of-a-kind fall décor, handcrafted jewelry, and elegant accessories, many of which have been made by local and regional artists, as well as books, stationery, children’s activities and unique gifts inspired by our collection when you visit the Museum Shop!

Enjoy Safe Shopping!

• Limited number of shoppers allowed at one time • Routine cleaning and disinfecting • Contactless pay options available • In-Store pickup now available

2020 HOLIDAY MART SAVE THE DATES

6–8 14 / Fall 2020

Enjoy a weekend of holiday shopping with 10% savings on all regularly priced items, a maker trunk show, live holiday music and complimentary swag bags! Members save an extra 10%!

Click here for more information!

ANIMATED LANDSCAPE AUTUMN EDITION

For this Animated Landscape installment, we turn toward fall and William Coventry Wall’s View Along the Allegheny Near Aspinwall Pa., 1867.

William Coventry Wall was born in London on December 8, 1811 and immigrated to the United States with his family in the early 1820s, where they settled in Mount Pleasant, a small community 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Largely self-taught, W.C. Wall, as he is known, was surrounded by artists, including his father, who had trained as a painter and his uncle, Alfred S. Wall. By the early 1840s, Wall had married and moved to Pittsburgh. To further support himself and his young family, he opened a framing and art supply store, which became a gathering place for the city’s painters.

W. C. Wall’s first sketching trip may have been to rural Fayette County, south of Pittsburgh, with fellow artist Trevor McClurg (1816–1893) in 1853. Later, Wall associated with George Hetzel (1826–1899), leader of what became known as the Scalp Level school in the latter half of the nineteenth century. With McClurg among them, this group spent their summers escaping the city’s dirty industrial neighborhoods to paint en plein air in the nearby countryside of western Pennsylvania.

Although he was known for painting pure landscapes, Wall completed many pieces—including View Along the Allegheny Near Aspinwall Pa.—that have a narrative motif or motifs. In this case, several different vignettes of activity within the composition serve as visual subplots. We see a farmer and his wife surveying their

farmhouse across a harvested field; a factory busy with activity; and a river bustling with small craft. Wall’s orderly arrangement of man’s activities within the vastness of nature reflects harmonious cohabitation.

Wall demonstrates his knowledge of nineteenth-century landscape metaphors by juxtaposing a tree stump—a symbol of man’s early impact on nature—with a railroad track nearly hidden by the undergrowth—a symbol of the industrial revolution to come. The brilliant yellow tree at the composition’s central focal point indicates the glory of autumn, the season most visibly marked by change. The panoramic format, with the upper third devoted to a vast blue sky, is a hallmark of Wall’s style.

Painted in 1867, in the prime of Wall’s oeuvre and just two years after the Civil War ended, the scene exudes the warm tranquility and domesticity characteristic of Wall’s best work.

Bibliography: 1. O’Toole, Judith H. “William Coventry Wall (1811-1885) View Along the Allegheny Near Aspinwall Pa., 1867.” in Picturing America: Signature Works from the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, by Barbara L. Jones et al., Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 2010, p. 69-71. above: William Coventry Wall (1811-1885), View Along the Allegheny Near Aspinwall Pa. (detail), 1867, Oil on canvas, 26 1/2 x 47 3/4 inches, Signed and dated lower left, Gift of Jack and Suzanne Shilling and Family, 2008.136.

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A Remembrance of Dave Brocklebank R. David Brocklebank (April 20, 1934-June 16, 2020)

The Westmoreland family was saddened to learn of the passing of R. David Brocklebank this past June.

Dave and his wife Joy, who passed away in 2014, were passionate collectors of Pennsylvania art and antiques, and they entrusted The Westmoreland with their prized collection of Fraktur, which the Museum acquired in 2008.

Director of Collections and Exhibitions Management Doug Evans offers this fond remembrance of Dave and highlights their collection.

I met Joy and Dave Brocklebank at the Museum in 2006 while working on the exhibition, Made in Pennsylvania: A Folk Art Tradition, which was on view at The Westmoreland from June 23, 2007 to October 14, 2007.

In addition to being a major lender to the exhibition, Dave served as guest curator for the section highlighting fraktur and was an expert contributor to the catalog that accompanied the exhibition.

Regarded as an important form of American Folk Art, fraktur are the highly personal documents made

by Pennsylvania Germans to mark important events in their Christian-based lives, such as birth, baptism, and marriage. Taken from the Latin word fractura, which means “breakage,� fraktur is used to describe the tradition of separating words due to space, rather than into syllables, when writing these documents. Text is usually accompanied with a border of bold stylized motifs in saturated pigments of yellow, orange and red, including flowers, especially common tulips representing the Trinity; goldfinch-like birds, called distelfinks; and hearts, the obvious symbol of love. These objects would have been kept private and protected, perhaps folded into a Bible or stored in the till-drawer of a blanket chest, and not displayed as we now desire. Visually beautiful, these documents are now equally valuable resources to genealogists and historians for the important family information they preserve.

As a recognized authority on fraktur, Dave was asked to give a talk in our galleries during the exhibition, but he was reluctant because his main responsibility was to his wife, Joy, who was not well at the time. I offered to care for her and to follow him through the talk so she remained at ease. Joy was content, and Dave was happy.

16 / Fall 2020

He never forgot this and thanked me countless times over the years for this single act of kindness.

Following the exhibition, over 240 objects were purchased from Dave and Joy to become what is now known as The Joy and R. David Brocklebank Collection through the William W. Jamison II Art Acquisition Fund.

In 2014 when Joy passed, Dave was lost. He continued to come in for visits and to tweak the display cases containing his prized collection of which he knew every detail. During these visits, Dave loved to share with visitors and staff how he and Joy would set off in a car to attend a sale and find important pieces to add to their collection with the ultimate goal of reuniting objects never meant to have been separated.

Johann Karl Scheibeler, Birth and Baptism for Jacob Eisemann (Son of Michael Eisemann and his wife Barbara Bachnidnnin), c. 1796, Ink and watercolor on paper, 6 1/2 x 7 5/8 inches, The Joy and R. David Brocklebank Collection through the William W. Jamison II Art Acquisition Fund, 2008.140

HOPE IS A LASTING LEGACY The Westmoreland's American Art collection has brought hope and inspiration to our community for over 60 years because of generous donors and their legacy gifts.

Individuals who join the Museum's Legacy Society by naming The Westmoreland in their will or as a beneficiary ensure the vitality and permanence of both its collection and exhibition programs.

Albert Bierstadt (1830–1902), Butterfly, 1892 Oil on paper, 5 x 8 inches Gift of the Mary Marchand Woods Memorial Fund, 1960.146

Please consider joining The Westmoreland Legacy Society. For more information and to request a brochure, please contact Rhonda Madden, Director of Advancement, at rmadden@thewestmoreland.org or 724.837.1500 x130.

SAVE THE DATE: FRIDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2020 THE WESTMORELAND SOCIETY 33RD ANNUAL EVENT This year we bring the party and voting fun to you!

From the comfort of your home, vote for your favorite work of art to enter The Westmoreland’s permanent collection!

Sit back this year and enjoy a virtual champagne toast – champagne delivered to you of course – as we reimagine our Westmoreland Society Dinner virtually and make the 33rd year the best one yet!

The generous support of Westmoreland Society members, totaling over $1.3 million since 1986, has made it possible for the Museum to purchase over 40 works of fine and decorative art. Each year, on the first Friday in December, members gather to vote on a work of art to enter the Museum’s permanent collection.

We’ve got some surprises in store this year with special collection previews by The Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO Anne Kraybill, Chief Curator Barbara Jones, and Director of Collections and Exhibition Management Doug Evans.

All current Westmoreland Society members will receive event details and preview access updates. Questions about The Westmoreland Society membership? Please contact Ginnie Leiner at gleiner@thewestmoreland.org or at 724.837.1500 x127.

Mary Abbott, Sudden Sun, c. 1958 Oil on canvas, 30 x 28 inches, Gift of the Westmoreland Society, 2018, 2019.1

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221 North Main Street, Greensburg, PA 15601 724.837.1500 thewestmoreland.org info@thewestmoreland.org Hours: Wednesday–Sunday: 10am–5pm First hour of each day reserved for high-risk individuals

Advance registration is required for Museum visit.

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The Westmoreland Museum of American Art receives state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

front cover: Fran Flaherty, love, 2020, Diversity Billboard Art Project back cover: Alejandro Fiez, A cat reminded me You are Me, 2020, Diversity Billboard Art Project