Perspectives Spring 2020 Newsletter

SPRING 2020

Director’s Welcome It is officially spring and we are officially in our fourth week of “social distancing” as a result of COVID-19. The Museum team continues to work remotely and our daily meetings include interruptions by our kids and pets and funny frozen faces due to overloaded internet connections. Our first task was to rearrange our exhibition schedule.

We are very fortunate the The Smithsonian Museum of American Art has agreed to allow us to keep African American Art in the 20th Century on view through August 16, 2020. You can read more about our updated exhibition schedule on page 2.

As a result, we are working to reschedule programs and hope to share those opportunities with you soon. In the meantime, we have created a #MuseumFromHome team that is developing creative ways to keep in touch including lessons from The Quarantined Crafter. I am so proud of the staff who have been working tirelessly to continue to engage and offer programming, keep our building and art safe and secure, and exude positivity and support to each other. I am also thankful to you for asking us how we are doing, renewing your membership even when you cannot visit, and making a contribution to ensure the Museum is financially secure.

It has been heartbreaking to close and see the impact this pandemic is having upon our cultural partners and small businesses, but I am confident we will reopen with a renewed sense of gratitude for what it means to serve our community. We cannot wait for the day we can physically open our doors and welcome you to celebrate the generosity of the American spirit.

Gratefully,

opposite page top to bottom, left to right: William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), Portrait of Henry Wolf, (detail), c. 1900, Oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Gift of Mr. & Mrs. Norman Hirschl, 1970.81.

Artist Unknown, Portrait of Catherine Spiese Woods (Mrs. Matthew Woods), 1821–1899, (detail), c. 1858, Oil on canvas, 30 1/2 x 25 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Gift of Mr. & Mrs. George M. Woods, by Exchange, 1960.790.

Kenneth Frazier (1867–1949), Woman with a Veiled Hat, (detail), c. 1913, Oil on canvas,37 x 32 1/2 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Bequest of Richard M. Scaife, 2015.57.

Nat Youngblood (1916–2009), Mrs. Richard (Ginny) Thornburgh, (detail), n.d., Watercolor on paper, 9 1/2 x 6 1/2 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Trombetta, 1987.87.

Gerrit Albertus Beneker (1882–1934), Men Are Square, (detail), 1919, Oil on canvas, 30 x 19 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Courtesy of the LaRoche-Knight Family.

Elizabeth Lindsay Rothwell (1877–1946), The White Screen, (detail), c. 1918–1919, Oil on canvas, 30 1/2 x 23 1/4 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Gift of Mr. Richard M. Scaife, 2010.9.

Alice Neel (1900–1984), Seated Woman, (detail), 1975, Lithograph on paper, 39 5/8 x 25 3/16 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Gift through the Kennedy Galleries, T.2007.1.

Anne Kraybill The Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO

Samuel Rosenberg (1896–1972), Untitled, (detail), 1926, Etching on paper, 7 1/4 x 5 1/4 inches, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Gift of Leon Arkus, 1979.112.

#MuseumFromHome

The Museum staff continues to meet virtually to come up with online and virtual experiences including live talks, kids classes and more. Using inspiration from our permanent collection as well as temporary exhibitions, we’re bringing the Museum to you during these unusual times. Visit pages 12 and 13 for more information.

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Exhibitions As you can imagine, with the Museum temporarily closed, it has been necessary to make many adjustments to the programs and events schedule as well as to the schedule of temporary featured exhibitions in our Cantilever Gallery. Fortunately, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has approved that their traveling exhibition African American Art of the 20th Century may remain at The Westmoreland through the summer, ensuring that everyone who wants to see this incredible exhibition will have the opportunity to do so. The schedule below outlines the other exhibitions that have either been moved to next year or given new dates as a result of this change. Please come see us once we get through this most unprecedented time, and enjoy this amazing line up of exhibitions.

Cantilever Gallery

African American Art in the 20th Century February 16–August 16, 2020 This exhibition presents approximately 41 paintings and 4 sculptures by 32 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.

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.

Simple Pleasures: The Art of Doris Lee September 6–November 29, 2020 Simple Pleasures: The Art of Doris Lee presents the first major critical assessment of works by the artist Doris Lee (1905 – 1983). Lee was one of the most recognized artists in the country during the 1930s and 40s, and was a leading figure in the Woodstock Artist’s Colony. In response to the rise of Abstract Expressionism in the decades after World War II, Lee deftly absorbed these innovations into a continuation of her own visual style.

Lee’s body of work reveals a remarkable ability to merge the reduction of abstraction with the appeal of the everyday. In so doing, she offers one of the very rare examples of a coherent visual identity that successfully bridged the various artistic “camps” that formed with the shift in the art world in the post-World War II era—whether those camps be between commercial and fine, or between competing art styles. clockwise from top right: Richard Misrach (b. 1949), Wall, Jacumba, California, 2009, El muro, Jacumba, California, Pigment print, 80 x 106 inches, Courtesy of the artist, IL.2018.107.1 Doris Lee (1905–1983), Vine-Yellow, 1950s, Oil on canvas, 44 x 22 inches, Collection: Suzanne and Ramsey Frank, Courtesy D. Wigmore Fine Art, Inc., New York, NY Stephen Towns (b. 1980), I am the Glory, 2020, Acrylic, oil, metal leaf on panel, 48 x 36 inches, Courtesy of the artist and DeBuck Gallery

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Cantilever Gallery (cont.)

Stephen Towns: Declaration and Resistance December 20, 2020–May 9, 2021 The artist and Guest Curator Kilolo Luckett have selected paintings and quilts for this exhibition that examine the American dream through the lives of Black Americans. Using labor as a backdrop, Towns highlights the role Black Americans have played in the economy, and explores the resilience, resistance, and endurance that have challenged the United States to truly reflect the tenants of its Declaration of Independence.

Border Cantos | Sonic Borders May 30–September 5, 2021 Border Cantos is a unique collaboration between American photographer Richard Misrach and Mexican American sculptor/composer Guillermo Galindo, using the power of art to explore and humanize the complex issues surrounding the United States-Mexico border. This traveling exhibition is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art with additional loans from Richard Misrach and Guillermo Galindo.

Border Cantos | Sonic Border is organized by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville, Arkansas. Support provided by Art Bridges.

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TRANSPORT YOURSELF TO PAINTED PLACES

Now at a time when we find ourselves stuck – both literally in our homes and figuratively in a mental state of uncertainty – due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are looking for easy escapes to transport us from our monotonous environs and from the frightening, overwhelming news we are facing on a daily basis. Beautiful works of art, particularly landscape paintings, have the ability to take us on a journey to somewhere new or perhaps remind us of somewhere familiar with just a single glance. So, let’s dive into three landscape favorites from the Museum’s permanent collection to learn a little about these works and their makers.

You can also immerse yourself within these three animated landscapes by simply clicking on the images of the paintings and let yourself be transported to a lush spring scene in Ligonier, the majestic Tower Falls and Sulphur Mountain in Yellowstone National Park, or the coast of Magnolia, Massachusetts!

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above and opposite page: Joseph Ryan Woodwell, (1843–1911) Magnolia 1888 (detail–above), 1888 Oil on canvas mounted on masonite, 8 1/16 x 12 1/16 inches Mary Marchand Woods Memorial Fund, 1959.14

Joseph Woodwell was born in Pittsburgh, the son of woodcarver and hardware business owner Joseph W. Woodwell.

Encouraged by his family to seek an education in the arts, young Joseph first studied informally with the genre painter David Gilmour Blythe (1815–1865), also of Pittsburgh, and, in 1859 at the age of seventeen, Woodwell left for Europe to attend the Académie Julian in Paris. Woodwell’s most important experience in France came from his association with the Barbizon school of landscape painters—precursors of the impressionist movement. It was through them that he developed a love of painting in nature, later stating, “To understand painting, you must understand Nature, and to understand Nature you must have a love for her.”

Upon his return to Pittsburgh in 1867, Woodwell divided his time between art and the hardware business—Joseph Woodwell Company—that he inherited from his father. He quickly became a leader in the arts in Pittsburgh, among both artists and fellow businessmen whom he encouraged to invest in the arts. He exhibited regularly in the Carnegie Internationals and in the annual exhibitions of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, in addition to contributing to exhibitions in New York, Paris, and other venues.

Woodwell traveled extensively throughout his life, painting such iconic American scenes as Niagara Falls and Yosemite Valley, while also visiting swamps in Florida and redwood forests in California. Another location of which Woodwell was fond was the small community of Scalp Level, near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to which he traveled with other Pittsburgh artists, including George Hetzel (1826–1899), acknowledged leader of the Scalp Level school. There Woodwell made wonderful sketches in pencil and oil, experimenting with composition, space, and natural light.

In 1888, Woodwell purchased a cottage at Magnolia, Massachusetts, having been introduced to the location by the Frick family of Pittsburgh. He subsequently spent many summers there, painting the water and the rugged coastline in a manner that brought out a brighter and more painterly technique than seen in his landscapes of Southwestern Pennsylvania. He made many small oil sketches of the coastal area surrounding Magnolia, five of which entered The Westmoreland’s collection in 1959, including the work shown above.

After a productive career, Woodwell died at Magnolia in 1911 at the age of sixty-eight of heart disease. The newly formed Associated Artists of Pittsburgh honored Woodwell by showing forty of his paintings during its second annual exhibition that year; in addition, the Carnegie Institute would later pay homage to him by mounting a retrospective of his work in 1933.

Bibliography: 1. O'Toole, Judith Hansen. “Joseph Woodwell (1843–1911), Seascape, Magnolia, MA, 1887” in Picturing America: Signature Works from the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Barbara L. Jones et al. (Greensburg, PA, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 2010), 78-80.

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Bud Gibbons painted preparatory studies for Spring from Mrs. Alice McKenna’s back deck in Ligonier. The expansive view, looking over the Laurel Valley Golf Club and Route 711 South (although the road cannot be seen), offers a lush, vivid green landscape that epitomizes the spring season in the Laurel Highlands.

Painting on site, Gibbons made many 9 x 12 inch sketches that he combined to comprise the larger work. Painted just after a rain, you can see the gray clouds diminishing, being taken over by white clouds and bright blue sky. An overall misty atmosphere prevails; light and shadow reflect the everchanging movement of the clouds. The artist presents a birds-eye view of the spacious landscape, allowing us to fly over the trees in the foreground, down to the sand traps and flowering trees on the golf course in the middle ground, and on to the Laurel Ridge beyond.

Commissioned between 1991 and 1993, Spring is one of four similarly sized paintings that comprise the series Four Seasons in the Museum’s permanent collection. We rotate these paintings in the McKenna Gallery to align with the seasons. Spring is currently on view now, however due to COVID-19 and the Museum’s temporary closure few visitors have had the opportunity to see it.

Bud Gibbons is a passionate artist and teacher. Recently retired, he served as Professor of Art at Pennsylvania State University, New Kensington Campus for over thirty years. He has exhibited both regionally and nationally and his work is in numerous public and private collections.

top: Charles W. (Bud) Gibbons, III, (b. 1947) Spring, 1993 Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 111 inches Gift of the J. Cleveland McKenna Family, 1993.53 left: Charles W. (Bud) Gibbons, III, (b. 1947), Sketch for Spring right: Thomas Moran (1837–1926) Tower Falls and Sulphur Mountain, Yellowstone National Park, 1874 Watercolor on paper, 10 x 14 inches Gift of Dr. Walter Read Hovey, 1978.87 6 / Spring 2020

In 1871, Thomas Moran accompanied geologist Dr Ferdinand V. Hayden, who led the 1871 U.S. Geological Survey into the Yellowstone region that became the country’s first national park a year later, and was drawn to the striking rugged terrain.

While on the expedition, Moran made quick field sketches and took photographs, giving him accurate records of each site. After returning to his studio, Moran referenced these materials to create fifteen finished watercolors, one being Tower Falls and Sulphur Mountain, Yellowstone National Park, as the later 1874 dates attests.

In this painting, Moran positions himself behind the two tiny hikers who are resting amongst the rugged terrain and enjoying the sublime scene before them. Seen on the left, Sulphur Falls plunges 132 feet to the creek bed below.

The tower-like masses of breccias framing the falls are uniquely shaped, eroded over time into strange formations resembling gothic spires, and the wide white dome of Sulphur Mountain dominates the background.

With a color palette directly mimicking his experience with the color and light conditions, Moran accurately portrays the topographical aspects and captures the breathtaking natural wonder, making viewers feel as if they are standing before this glorious scene.

Moran’s fifteen watercolors constituted a forty-five-page portfolio that was reproduced in 1876 as chromolithographs by the Boston lithographic firm Louis Prang & Company for publication in The Yellowstone National Park and the Mountain Regions of Portions of Idaho, Nevada, Colorado and Utah. These high-quality chromolithographs were the first color images to be printed of the first national park, and the portfolio brought images of the American west to people of the rest of the country, garnering a new public appreciation for the region.

Moran’s excursion in 1871 was the first of the artists’ many sketching trips to the western territories of the United States, which earned him his reputation as a preeminent landscape painter. He traveled extensively throughout his lifetime and exhibited regularly at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia and at the National Academy of Design in New York, where he became a full academician in 1884. After a prolific career, Moran died at the age of eighty-nine in Santa Barbara, California in 1926.

Bibliography: 1. Jones, Barbara L. “Thomas Moran (1837–1926), Tower Falls and Sulphur Mountain, Yellowstone National Park, 1874.” Picturing America: Signature Works from the Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Barbara L. Jones et al. (Greensburg, PA: Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 2010), 81-82. thewestmoreland.org / 7

'MAKE OUR DIFFERENCES OUR STRENGTHS' BILLBOARD CAMPAIGN FOR WESTMORELAND COUNTY We are excited to announce that The Westmoreland Diversity Coalition has received a grant from the Heinz Endowments new Just Arts grant program, an initiative that supports artists, organizations and communities who harness the power of the arts to respond to social issues. The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is the artistic partner to launch a public art project that will use billboards across Westmoreland County as the canvas that will display up to ten new works of art inspired by the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths.� This project will harness the power of art to expand perspectives within our region in aim of creating stronger and more connected communities.

Although typically thought of as a platform for advertising, there is a history of artists using billboards.

In the early 1990s artist Felix Gonzalez-Torres placed photographic images of an empty bed with a depression in the center of each pillow to signify the absence of a presence. His work was in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and its lasting impact on the gay community. Known for her iconic artwork, I Shop Therefore I Am (1987), conceptual artist Barbara Kruger uses billboards and public spaces such as buses for social critique. Organizations such as The Billboard Creative promote emerging and underrepresented artists to the wider public though curated public art billboards throughout Los Angeles and the collective 8 / Spring 2020

For Freedoms invites artists to use the tools of art and advertising to encourage civic engagement and places billboards in every state. We are delighted that Westmoreland County will be a part of this form of public art, which will be seen by over 1 million people.

The call for artists opened in February and the deadline has been extended to April 20th to account for the disruption of COVID-19. Artists that are selected will receive an award of $5,000 and will participate in a variety of programs throughout the community that will allow for deeper interaction and moments of reflection on the messages conveyed through the billboard art.

The billboard placements will occur in the fall of 2020.

The Heinz Endowments awarded Just Arts grants to six projects totaling $434,750 in this inaugural year for the program. The Coalition and the Greater Pittsburgh Arts Council received the top grant awards at $150,000 each. The Just Arts projects chosen for funding were selected from 83 applicants whose funding requests totaled $5.1 million dollars.

To learn more or apply, visit thewestmoreland.org/dbap-call-for-artists

To all our members, During these uncertain times, all of us at The Westmoreland want to express our gratitude to you, our members and friends, for your essential support.

Here’s a little message to express our BIG thanks!

As members, YOU...

M E M B E R

MAKE THE WESTMORELAND FREE TO ALL

EMPOWER LOCAL ARTISTS

MOTIVATE US TO DO OUR BEST WORK

BRIGHTEN OUR DAYS

ENRICH YOUR COMMUNITY THROUGH ART

REWARD YOUR COMMUNITY THROUGH YOUR SUPPORT!

Renew or Become a Member Today!

For more information on The Westmoreland’s Membership Program, visit thewestmoreland.org/membership The official registration and financial information of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1.800.732.0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

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EXPERIENCE THE WESTMORELAND,

VIRTUALLY THAT IS!

8 //Spring 10 Spring&2020 Summer 2020

#MuseumFromHome With the majority of April looming before us, many of us abiding by the stay at home order, practicing social distancing, and self-quarantining are yearning for connection.

Whether you are looking for art activities for yourself or your kids, reading material, or beautiful artworks to experience, there are still many ways to connect to artworks, exhibitions, and to each other through our #MuseumFromHome online and virtual experiences!

Here are some of our newest virtual offerings:

Virtual Enrichment Video Series

Tour an Artist's Studio Ever wonder what an artist’s studio looks like? It’s time to find out, virtually of course! Artists featured in our permanent collection will be taking you on a brief tour of their studios via a short casual video that will be shared on our social media channels.

The first two artists sharing their studio space are landscape painter Ron Donoughe and Pittsburgh artist Cynthia F. Cooley. The Museum has four of Donoughe’s works, Death of Elaine, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mill Study, and Neville Coke Work, and two of Cooley’s watercolor paintings, Bucket Series #6 and Furnace Door, in its permanent collection.

Every week, we will be publishing a Virtual Enrichment video, highlighting an artwork from our permanent collection or featured exhibitions, to our website and social media channels.

Make sure you are following our Facebook (@TheWestmoreland) and Instagram (@westmorelandmuseum), so you don’t miss out on touring these artist’s studios!

Join School Programs Manager Patrick as he explores the lore and histories inspiring certain pieces, Chief Curator Barbara Jones as she introduces you to some of our exhibitions, and Director of Education & Visitor Engagement Joan McGarry as she lightheartedly acquaints you with artworks from our collection.

Other ways to stay connected to The Westmoreland!

Art Activities at Home Looking for things to do with your children, or yourself? We will be sharing Art Activities weekly on our website!

Check out our all ages #MuseumFromHome Art Making Projects, from Michael Carsone, Studio Programs Coordinator, aka The Quarantined Crafter. Currently featured are ‘Moon Masque’ and Animal Interpretation, that can be completed using materials found around your house.

Print out and color themed Art Coloring Pages featuring 3 works of art from the permanent collection. Two examples of these coloring sheets can be found on pages 12 and 13 of this Perspectives.

Following the Museum on social media Facebook:@TheWestmoreland Twitter: @TheWestmoreland Instagram:@westmorelandmuseum Signing up for eNews to receive updates, information, and relevant resources Exploring the permanent collection online Reading The Westmoreland’s Blog Flipping through the online versions of the Museum’s quarterly magazine Perspectives Selecting one of our make at home art activities Taking a 360 photo virtual tour of the Museum

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John James Audubon Canada Jay (Corvus Canadensis, Linn), 1831 Lithograph on paper, 26 x 21 inches Estate Gift of Ralph Jamison, 1985.90

Hobson Lafayette Pittman Awakening Maltese, n.d.

Wood block on paper, 11 3/4 x 9 7/8 inches Gift of the Friends of the Museum, 1972.127

221 North Main Street, Greensburg, PA 15601 724.837.1500 thewestmoreland.org info@thewestmoreland.org Hours: Wednesday–Friday: 11am–7pm Saturday–Sunday: 10am–5pm Closed New Year's, Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas Day Follow us on:

Want to stay informed with the latest news, exhibitions and events? Visit thewestmoreland.org and subscribe to our email list.

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 and back cover: Charles W. (Bud) Gibbons, III, (b. 1947) Spring (detail), 1993, Acrylic on canvas, 90 x 111 inches, Gift of the J. Cleveland McKenna Family, 1993.53