Perspectives Winter 2021 Newsletter

WINTER 2021

Acting out of an abundance of caution and with the health and safety of staff and visitors as our top priority, The Westmoreland is extending the temporary closure of the Museum to the public through the beginning of February.

The Museum will reopen to the public on Sunday, February 7. For the most up to date information on the Museum’s temporary public closure, please click here.

Director’s Welcome Dear Friends, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art rang in the New Year with a renewed sense of optimism, hope for the future, and gratitude. I am grateful for the amazingly talented, dedicated, and creative team at The Westmoreland, who have fiercely persevered through 2020. As I look back on 2020, I am in awe of them. I want to take an opportunity to highlight some particular achievements the team accomplished and celebrate their work.

Following the Museum closure in March 2020, staff members across our different departments quickly came together to develop a new strategy to produce digital content. No one had script writing, videography, and post-production in their job description, but everyone took on the challenge to gain new skills and create compelling content. Video shorts on social media provided new knowledge to our audiences, live online camps and classes for youth and adults connected our community through the creative making process, and artists and creatives engaged in online conversation bringing their voices well beyond our typical geographic reach.

The team put these new skills to use at our 33rd Annual Westmoreland Society Gathering. The usual format of an in-person viewing and vote for a new acquisition took place virtually this year. Staff hand delivered baskets filled with locally sourced goodies for members to enjoy while watching minidocumentaries about each artist for consideration.

The evening culminated in a live member vote resulting in the acquisition of Construction #227 by Leroy Lamis.

Like many cultural organizations, The Westmoreland leveraged digital technologies to replace in-person programs, but as we reopened, we also recognized the importance of physically coming together. The team

worked tirelessly to ensure that staff and visitors could safely experience the Museum when we reopened August 1. In addition, by utilizing the outdoor space, we were also able to offer several events safely outside including our annual Winter Lights Illumination Night event providing a much-needed respite to feeling cooped up.

The year 2020 culminated in the American Alliance of Museums Reaccreditation Process. This review takes place every ten years and is a rigorous process that includes a lengthy self-study and peer review measuring our impact to the community and best practices. Even though our Reaccreditation took place virtually, the strength of the team was no less noticeable by the reviewers.

The Westmoreland staff undertook all of this work while many had young virtual learners at home, took care of their elders and family members, and supported their neighbors. When I stepped into this role a little more than two years ago, I knew I was going to work with a talented team. I had no idea how dedicated each staff member is and how that dedication would translate to enabling The Westmoreland to persevere through a context I could never imagine. Please join me in thanking the staff of The Westmoreland for all they have accomplished and what I know will be a bright and impactful future. To 2021 and beyond!

Gratefully,

Anne Kraybill The Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO

PATTERN MAKERS February 7 – May 9, 2021

Maker Unknown, Applique Quilt (Postage Stamp Pattern) (detail), ca. 1850–1899, Cotton, 75 x 75 inches, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Murphy Berger, 1988.51

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an opportunity to conduct new scholarship as well as a practical understanding of exhibition development, interpretation and engagement for a public art museum by developing exhibition storylines from a range of works currently in Museum storage.

Like many art museums across the county, The Westmoreland postponed its temporary exhibition program due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This provided the Museum with an opportunity to examine and exhibit our permanent collection in new and innovative ways, and it afforded graduate and upper classman art history students with an opportunity to have real world curatorial experience. The Westmoreland collaborated with Professor Alex Taylor from the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh to offer a Virtual Curatorial Practicum during the Fall 2020 semester. Working in three teams, the students explored The Westmoreland’s permanent collection to delve deeper into the stories of American art and develop an exhibition proposal. As each team refined their research, they developed a proposal and presented their concepts to the Museum’s senior staff from which one was selected to mount a full-scale exhibition of up to 50 works of art in the Cantilever Gallery.

This graduate-level class provided students with

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Working with Professor Taylor and Museum staff, including the Director/ CEO, Chief Curator, and Director of Collections and Exhibition Management, students learned to use digital resources to analyze a museum collection and generate display ideas; to undertake artist and object-based research; to apply their research in a collaborative way; to develop an exhibition proposal; to draft exhibition label texts that further interpret works of art; and to collaborate with fellow students to refine and finalize one exhibition proposal while also considering audience engagement and exhibition organizational details. Students also engaged in key concerns of the field of American art history over the past decade and surveyed recent innovations in the display of the art of the United States and Americas in permanent museum displays across the country.

The selected exhibition concept, Pattern Makers, concerns the visual effects of pattern and how artists have used patterns drawn from nature, created by the imaginative manipulation of geometry, or that reflect social, cultural and economic life. Patterns are all around us, and making pattern is a profoundly human activity.

Some are designed to catch and delight the eye while others are harder to see, operating more like camouflage. Patterns can even contain coded political messages. This exhibition tracks the presence and meanings of patterns across a selection of objects from The Westmoreland’s collection that are not often on view.

Using the Museum’s permanent collection database and collection files, students mined the collection

to discover relationships between objects, revealing new patterns that connect a diverse range of works of different styles and periods.

Beyond the visual effects of spots, stripes and other repetitive motifs, as seen in James Romaine’s photograms or the op art graphics of Julian Stanczak, a pattern can also be a plan by which something is reproduced, like the pattern for a dress or a quilt. When an artist uses a preexisting image, such as a photograph as the basis for their work as John Kane was known to do, they too are working from a kind of pattern. By focusing on how patterns are made, this exhibition considers who is and isn’t recognized for this work. Why, for instance, are the geometrical abstract patterns made by modern painters more valued than similar designs created by anonymous craftspeople for more everyday objects? A compelling juxtaposition between an abstract painting such as John Grillo’s Untitled (1951) (front & back cover) and the intricate grids of a late nineteenth century Postage Stamp Pattern (p. 1) quilt make startling connections across divergent styles and mediums.

More broadly, the exhibition includes works that are not patterned in themselves but are energized by depictions of patterned objects such as William Henry Clapp’s Neptune Beach No. 1 with striped umbrellas, or self-taught Anthony DeBernardin, who worked as a bricklayer, and spotlights a patterned brick column in his painting A Cheerful that Turned Sorrowful. Geometrical patterns in such objects as Donald Judd’s Untitled (84-10 Lehni) will be seen alongside works that seem far removed from minimalist abstraction, such as ‘spongeware’ pottery and the repetitive chip carving of so-called ‘tramp art.’

Approaching pattern holistically, the students looked at the environment for evocations of patterns in nature in such works as Charlie Pitcher’s Long Live the Virgins and their abstract equivalent in a work such as Larry Poons’ Stanley’s Traveler as well as pattern in fashion with Milton Weiss’s Harlequin and Rachel McClelland Sutton’s Butterfly Lady.

The exhibition offers visitors engagement opportunities, both in-person and online, to learn about objects that are not always on view and see objects juxtaposed in new ways. Scholarship generated via object labels, text panels and other didactics will be shared with a wider audience through our website where a 3-D model of the exhibition installation, available for a virtual tour, will make the exhibition more accessible.

Inviting these students of art history to really look at the collection with fresh sets of eyes allows us to explore new narratives and encourages you, our visitors, to think more fully about the processes of exhibition making, and the connections and relationships across the history of American art.

The University of Pittsburgh student curatorial team: Annie Abernathy, Isaiah Bertagnolli, Alan London, Katie Loney, Janina Lopez, Emily Mazzola, Morgan Powell, Olivia Rutledge, Alex Taylor and Vuk Vukovic.

left Bernie Peace (b. 1933), Tondo Duo #5, 1971, Serigraph on paper, 14 x 16 1/2 inches, Gift of the Louis Berkman Company, 2014.10.A above William Henry Clapp (1879–1954), Neptune Beach no. 1 , n.d., Oil on board, 16 x 19 inches, Bequest of Richard M. Scaife, 2016.9

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Exhibitions Cantilever Gallery

Pattern Makers February 7–May 9, 2021 This exhibition tracks the presence and meanings of pattern across a selection of works from The Westmoreland’s collection that are not often on view. Students from the Department of History of Art and Architecture at the University of Pittsburgh, working in collaboration with Museum staff, mined the collection storage to discover new relationships between objects, revealing patterns that connect diverse works of different styles and periods. For more information on Pattern Makers, visit thewestmoreland.org/exhibitions.

Robertshaw Gallery

Ellen Chisdes Neuberg: Living A Life…A Puzzlement

Extended through February 7, 2021 (To experience this exhibition virtually, click here.)

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 abstract-surrealist paintings as she ponders the intricacies of life in transition.

Jason Starr: Living in a Time of Distance February 14–April 4, 2021

This body of photographs documents the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in communities and regions across the continental United States.

Acupuncture Photography Project April 9–May 9, 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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All exhibitions are supported by the Hillman Exhibition Fund of The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Free admission to exhibitions is generously supported by:

top, left to right Paul Warhola (1922–2014), Chicken Scratch, 1990, Acrylic on paper, 23 x 35 inches, T.10172012.1 Rachel McClelland Sutton (1887–1982), Woman in Asian Costume (detail), c. 1917, Pastel on brown paper, 23 x 14 inches, Gift of the Thomas Lynch Fund, 2005.22 Ellen Chisdes Neuberg, Coexistence, 2020, Acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches bottom, left to right Autumn Stankay and Emily Andrews, Raising the Yang (detail), 2018, Digital print on canvas, 20 x 16 inches Jason Starr, The Musician in Taos, 2020, Digital inkjet print, 18 x 24 inches, George Fernando, a street performer in New Mexico, continues to share his music in the empty square. “I don’t play for the money; I play because it makes me happy.”

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2020 PERMANENT COLLECTION ADDITIONS 2020 did not bring the world much in the way of good news, but it did bring a total of 16 new works of art to The Westmoreland’s permanent collection. This diverse group includes paintings, sculpture and a Soap Hollow chest – all of which were accessioned into the collection over the course of the year. Many were gifts from generous donors, like Dr. Michael L. and Lilli Nieland, who donated six treasures from their personal collection. The Museum gained works by rising art world star Stephen Towns and veteran artist William M. Hoffman, Jr. Also added were several paintings by important artists already represented in the permanent collection, including William Coventry Wall’s River Scene at Twilight and Samuel Rosenberg’s Near Herron Hill. Enjoy this selection of works from the new additions shown here on these pages.

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top left William M. Hoffman Jr., Latrobe Steel (ALCO; Standard Steel) (detail), 1963, Oil on linen, 21 x 24 inches, Gift from the artist, 2020.4 top right Stephen Towns (b. 1980), The Pioneer, 2020, Oil, acrylic, fabric, buttons, Bristol paper, mica flakes, graphite, glitter, charcoal on panel, 40 x 30 inches, Gift of the William W. Jamison II and the Thomas Lynch Art Acquisition Fund, 2020.16 bottom left Soap Hollow Six-Drawer Chest, 1859, Peter K. Thomas and Christian C. Blough, Makers.

Stenciled on front: Manufactured by Peter K. Thomas; Stenciled on side: F.T. 1859 MF

by DDB, Painted and stenciled pine and tulip poplar; Sandwich glass pulls; inlaid escutcheons, Bequest of Charles R. Muller, 2020.8 bottom middle top John Koch (1909–1978), Two Models and the Artist, 1972, Oil on canvas, 21 x 24 inches, Gift of Dr. Michael L. and Lilli Nieland, 2020.20 bottom middle bottom William Coventry Wall (1811–1886), River Scene at Twilight (detail), 1879, Oil on canvas, 20 x 32 inches, Gift ofJack Millstein, 2020.1 bottom right Samuel Rosenberg (1896–1972), Near Herron Hill, 1934, Oil on canvas, 32 x 38 inches, Gift of Debra Light in memory of her parents Harvey and Lenore Light, 2020.5

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33RD ANNUAL GATHERING The Westmoreland Society is dedicated to the collection, preservation and advancement of American Art. Since 1986, the Westmoreland Society has purchased over 40 works of fine and decorative art and supported the publication of a monograph on George Hetzel for a total of over $1.2 million in funds allocated, to date, for acquisitions.

Honoring its annual gathering on the first Friday in December, members of The Westmoreland Society tuned in virtually on December 4th to view three works of art presented for consideration to join the Museum’s permanent collection. Through a special virtual voting platform set up for the evening, members chose their favorite work of art resulting in the selection of Leroy Lamis, Construction #227, 1975. The purchase of the $35,000 sculpture was made possible through Westmoreland Society membership dues.

An exciting new approach to presenting the works of art up for consideration this year was the creation of mini-documentaries with narration by Richard A. Scaife Director/CEO Anne Kraybill, Chief Curator Barbara Jones, and Director of Collections and Exhibition Management Doug Evans. These presentations provided a brief biography of each artist, an overview of their career, and a digital rendering of how their work would enhance our Post-1950s collection.

While votes were tabulated, Anqwenique performed a selection from A Love Supreme entitled "Dream Keeper" showcasing her versatility as vocalist and teaching artist specializing in opera, classical music, jazz and soul.

Anqwenique is an artist in residence at The Westmoreland where she is working on a new performative work inspired by her time at the Museum.

In support of our local businesses, gift bags were delivered to participants prior to the event including fare from DeLallo in Jeannette, Scamps Toffee in Ligonier, and Wolf and Wisk in Greensburg. Each gift bag also included a special holiday gift from The Westmoreland’s own Museum Shop. Invitations and programs were printed by Fotorecord in Greensburg.

Leroy Lamis (1925–2010), Construction #227, 1975, White Plexiglas top and bottom, two blue & green twist + vertical cubes 78 x 20 x 14 inches, © 2020 Estate of Leroy Lamis / Licensed by VAGA at Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY

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Very special thanks to The Westmoreland Society Advisory Committee including Chair Karen Douglas, Secretary and Treasurer Sande Hendricks, Linda McKenna Boxx and Paul Nickoloff! To learn more about becoming a member of The Westmoreland Society, please visit thewestmoreland.org/membership.

DS Kinsel, photo by Chris Ivy

Anqwenique, photo by Njaime Njie

Tootsie Snyder and Alora Chateaux

Virtual Community Events

Kinselland Radio

Just Sing! Singing for Self Care

Tuesday, January 12, 6–8pm

Sunday, March 21 (middle to high school students) Sunday, March 28 (adults) 2–3:30pm

Kinselland Radio is a vinyl drive sonic experience with inaugural artists in residence Anqwenique and DS Kinsel.

Listening to their hearts and trusting their hands to guide the groove, they will take you on a trip exploring throwback deep cuts of classical, jazz, hip hop, rhythm and blues, rock and retro pop records from the family’s inherited personal collection.

This live vinyl DJ set is inspired by the African American Art in the 20th Century exhibition and celebrates the rich legacy and contributions of Black artists.

FREE

"King vs. Queen" Chess Match Saturday, February 13, 2–4pm

Just Sing! is a workshop that guides participants through a series of vocal and breathing exercises, which can be used for self-care, de-stressing, building confidence, and so much more.

During the 90-minute session, Anqwenique, vocalist, educator and the Museum’s resident artist will share techniques for breathing, strengthening your voice, building confidence for presenting, and more.

FREE

BOOM Lunch Break Friday, March 26, 2–3pm

Artists in residence Anqwenique and DS Kinsel share with the community one of their favorite pastimes. Chess. Watch the couple play a special match live from the Museum while providing insights into their artistic practice and more. Tune in virtually and even suggest moves to the artists as they play on a special board designed by Keith Harring.

FREE

Artists in residence Anqwenique and DS Kinsel, Director/CEO Anne Kraybill, and BOOM Concepts Co-founder Thomas Agnew come together for a virtual conversation. The four will discuss the process and works created during the residency, the Greensburg experience from a Pittsburgh point of view, and what's next for the artists and the BOOM partnership.

FREE

For the Love of Furniture

Drag Queen Art Critique

Wednesday, February 24 Wednesday, April 28 7pm Interior designer Tony Allgeier leads us on a journey to rediscover the furniture in the Museum’s permanent collection.

Through function, design, architecture, color theory, fashion & film, Tony discusses why these works of decorative art are important to the permanent collection and how they have been reinterpreted into today’s modern designs. Enjoy a live Q&A with Tony following the program.

FREE member/Pay What You Can non-member

Friday, March 26, 7pm Drag Queens Alora Chateaux and Tootsie Snyder provide their tongue-in-cheek take on works from The Westmoreland’s collection. There will be fun and laughs as they critique some springtime favorites.

FREE member/Pay What You Can non-member Please note that registration for this event will open in February and will be announced via email and through the Museum’s social media.

To register for these events either: • 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 Conversations

Diversity Billboard Art Project Artists Talks 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. The artists will be discussing their commissioned original works inspired by the theme “Make Our Differences Our Strengths.”

FREE Featured above from left to right: Ginger Brooks Takahashi, Susanne Slavick, Sheila Cuellar-Shaffer, Alisha B. Wormsley, and Dorion Barill.

In Conversation: Dr. Alex Taylor and Chief Curator Barbara Jones Wednesday, February 17, 7–8pm Chief Curator Barbara Jones and Dr. Alex Taylor, professor at the University of Pittsburgh, sit down to discuss the Pattern Makers exhibition. Tune in and find out how the concept for the exhibition was developed and why the works of art featured in the exhibition were selected.

FREE

In Conversation: Patterns in Quilts Wednesday, April 7, 7–8pm

The Westmoreland’s quilt and coverlet collection is exceptional!

Don’t just take our word for it though. Hear why during this group discussion with University of Pittsburgh students Isaiah Bertagnolli and Annie Abernathy, quilt artist Ginnie Leiner and Curator of the McCarl Coverlet Gallery at Saint Vincent University Lauren Churilla.

FREE

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In Conversation: the Process of Curating a Museum Exhibition Virtually Wednesday, April 14, 7–8pm Hear from University of Pittsburgh students involved in the concept development for the Pattern Makers exhibition and the selection of artworks drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection for this exhibition. The discussion will focus on the advantages and challenges of curating virtually and will uncover the process behind creating an ultimately cohesive exhibition.

FREE

The Price of Everything Screening & Conversation with Madeline Gent, Juana Williams, and Anne Kraybill Wednesday, May 5, 7pm Tune in and watch The Price of Everything, a film examining the role of art and artistic passion in today’s money-driven, consumer-based society — where everything can be bought and sold. The film exposes deep contradictions as it holds a mirror up to contemporary values and times, coaxing out the dynamics at play in pricing the priceless. Following the livestreamed film, hear from Madeline Gent, Executive Director of Associated Artists of Pittsburgh, Juana Williams, Contemporary Art Curator, and Anne Kraybill, Richard M. Scaife Director/CEO of The Westmoreland, as they discuss the film and their unique experiences as leaders within the field.

FREE

Virtual Film Series

Virtual Pop-Up Studios

Pioneers of African American Cinema

Vintage Valentine Shadowbox

Wednesday, January 20, 7–8:30pm In conjunction with the African American Art in the 20th Century exhibition, The Westmoreland’s first-ever film series, featuring works by the unsung pioneers of early African American Cinema, has gone virtual. Take part in the last installment of the series! Watch the three short films as they are livestreamed, and then stay after for a discussion facilitated

by 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.

Two Knights of Vaudeville Ebony Film Co., 1915 11 minutes

Wednesday, February 10, 6:30–8:30pm

Create an assemblage shadowbox Valentine using found materials and vintage collections. Basic materials will be provided in the kit, but your own additions will make it a treasure! (needed: scissors, hot glue, paint)

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

Registration Deadline: Wednesday, January 27 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Collage Landscape with Lamb (or Lion?)

Mercy, the Mummy Mumbled Ebony Film Co., 1918

Wednesday, March 10, 6:30–8:30pm

Hot Biskits Spencer Williams, 1931

Think Spring! Make a stylized landscape using hand-printed collage papers and watercolor paint in this different approach to a traditional subject resulting in a one-of-a-kind piece of art.

12 minutes

10 minutes FREE

(needed: scissors, Elmer's glue, watercolor paints and brushes)

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

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

To register for these events either: • 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

Abstract Polyptych Painting

LOVE Painting

Wednesday, April 21, 6:30–8:30pm

Saturday, February 6, 9:30–11:30am

Where do you find inspiration? Use your own imagery to create an abstracted polyptych (painting with more than 3 parts) acrylic painting.

Find inspiration in the shapes of letters to create a collage style painting on canvas. Beginning artists can use precut shapes, but older artists may choose to freestyle!

(needed: Elmer's glue, paint, brushes, photos for inspiration)

(needed: scissors, acrylic paints and brushes, hot glue gun and glue sticks)

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

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

Mid-Century Modern Style Painting

Wednesday, May 12, 6:30–8:30pm Drawing inspiration from mid-century design, create a painting of a subject of your choice. Through evaluating different examples and utilizing various templates, you will paint your way to a mid-century masterpiece. (needed: acrylic paint, brushes)

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

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

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

Registration Deadline: Saturday, January 23 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

City Street Diorama Assemblage Saturday, February 20, 9:30–11:30am

Create a 3D relief style painting of a city or village street.

Using cardboard to create 3D buildings, corrugation for textures, and other found objects – you will build your own scene! (needed: acrylic paint and brushes, hot glue gun and glue sticks)

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

Registration Deadline: Saturday, February 6 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Lucky Leprechaun

Saturday, March 6, 9:30–11:30am To register for these events either: • 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.

Ever find a four-leaf clover? How about a pot of gold?

You might find both on this Saturday! Make a leprechaun sculpture with some fancy accessories! (needed: scissors, hot glue gun and glue sticks)

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

Registration Deadline: Saturday, February 20 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

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Stripes, Zig Zags, and Curls – Paint a Cartoon Animal!

Saturday, March 20, 9:30–11:30am

Make a strikingly striped or perfectly patterned painting of an animal of your choice. From a simple drawing to a colorful canvas – transform the ordinary into the extraordinary. (needed: acrylic paints and brushes)

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

Registration Deadline: Saturday, March 6 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Colorfully Sheepish

Saturday, April 10, 9:30–11:30am Use pom poms, hot glue, and a good attention span to make this colorful addition to your farmyard! Or family room?

Either way… good fun! (needed: hot glue gun and glue sticks)

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

Registration Deadline: Saturday, March 27 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Cork Doll Shadowbox Saturday, May 8, 9:30–11:30am

Design your own quirky cork doll collection using felt and wire in a shadowbox sculpture creation. Please note we will be using map tacks in this one – please be careful. (needed: scissor, Elmer’s glue, hot glue gun and glue sticks)

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

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

3D Abstract Portrait Sculpture Saturday, May 22, 9:30–11:30am

Using recycled materials, we will create a 3D sculpture with faces and emotions as the subject matter. (needed: paint, brushes, hot glue gun and glue sticks, scissors)

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

Registration Deadline: Saturday, May 8 Kits will be available for pick up or will be mailed out approximately one week prior to class.

Celestial Portraits

Saturday, April 24, 9:30–11:30am Pink hearts, yellow moons, orange stars, green clovers, and blue diamonds. Wait that’s Lucky Charms…but it works anyway! Create a 3D style painting of a sun, moon, or star! (needed: acrylic paints and brushes)

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

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WE'RE BRINGING THE EDUCATION TO YOUR CLASSROOM! Discover what the Museum’s new learning management system (LMS) has to offer to you and your students! Scheduled to go live in March 2021, the LMS is designed to provide K-12 students a robust virtual museum experience through carefully designed courses that complement what you’re teaching in the classroom.

Courses feature pre and post visit materials, including pre-recorded videos and hands-on activities, in addition to a live, 30-minute staff led virtual tour. Courses meet both state and national curriculum standards and new courses will be added regularly. For the LMS’ debut, we have a diverse slate of courses developed for all grade levels focusing on topics such as STEAM and Language Arts in addition to a new take on our popular Pennsylvania history tour.

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In partnership with The Richard King Mellon Foundation, who provided generous funding as part of its COVID-19 Response Initiatives grant program, registration for the LMS is free for all K-12 teachers. Teacher members will receive a notification when registration is open.

Interested in testing the LMS before it goes live?

Questions about the LMS, or on teacher membership?

Want to schedule a virtual field trip?

Please contact Patrick Bochy at pbochy@thewestmoreland.org.

ANIMATED LANDSCAPE WINTER EDITION For this season’s Animated Landscape, we are featuring Alfred S. Wall’s Old Saw Mill, 1851.

Alfred S. Wall, the younger brother of William Coventry Wall, was born in Mount Pleasant, a borough of Westmoreland County 45 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, in 1825, which was a few years after his family had moved there from England. Following in his brother’s footsteps, Wall was a self-taught artist who moved to Pittsburgh and became a well-respected and influential painter, critic and restorer.

During the 1860s, Wall joined the Scalp Level school, a group of artists led by painter George Hetzel. Along with Hetzel, Joseph R. Woodwell, his brother W.C. Wall, and other Pittsburgh painters, he made yearly excursions to Scalp Level, near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, where he painted en plein air. His attention to minute details reveals the influence of his brother as well as to the Barbizon School of artists in France who painted wooded interiors and celebrated nature at a time when it was threatened by industrialism. Although Wall was primarily known for his landscapes, he also painted portraits.

Wall and his family helped shaped Pittsburgh’s artistic community not only through their work, but also through their involvement in various institutions. In 1859 and 1860, Alfred exhibited at the Pittsburgh Art Association shows and in 1867 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1873, Alfred helped found the Art Society of Pittsburgh and served on its first board of directors upon its incorporation in 1891. During the 1970s, he was a partner in the J.J. Gillespie Gallery, the oldest and most respected art establishment in the city, which

served as a location for artists of the Scalp Level School to congregate. Later on in 1895, Wall became a member of the first Board of Trustees of the Carnegie Art Fund.

While Old Saw Mill is technically representative of Wall’s realistic, accurately detailed and highly finished style, the featured winter scene is a rather unusual subject in that the Scalp Level artists tended to depict spring, summer and autumn since they painted out-doors. Interestingly, the location of the Old Saw Mill in Wall’s painting was handwritten on the back of the canvas: “Old Saw Mill near Jct. 4, Portage RR, Pa.” However, because there was no Jct. 4, research has determined that the mill was located near the intersection of Portage and Washington Street in Lilly, PA. Wall’s painting depicts the mill in winter with all the lively activity of a small community - boys sled riding, men stopping along the path to talk, and the warm domesticity offered by the tidy little mill with its chimney showing the smoke of a warm hearth. The tree trunk in the foreground and those peppered throughout the forest floor show the encroachment of civilization and industry upon the great wilderness beyond.

Bibliography: Chew, Paul A. “Alfred S. Wall” Geo Hetzel and the Scalp Level Tradition, Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 1994, p. 90-91. above: Alfred S. Wall (1825–1896), Old Saw Mill, 1851, Oil on canvas, 38 x 57 inches, Gift of the Woods-Marchand Foundation, 1986.262

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WHAT’S NEW ON THE ARTIST-INRESIDENCY FRONT Partnering with BOOM Concepts to host a new Artist-in-Residency program, made possible by generous support from The Fisher Fund of The Pittsburgh Foundation, The Westmoreland welcomed Anqwenique and DS Kinsel in September of 2020 as the first resident artists. The duo, who happens to be married, has developed an exciting line up of public programs to be presented over the next several months prior to the conclusion of their time with the Museum. See page 9 for more information on these programs.

DS Kinsel

Anqwenique

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Gavin Benjamin

Next up is multifaceted Pittsburgh artist GAVIN BENJAMIN whose residency will begin in late March and run through June. Benjamin combines original analog photography and appropriated images with collage, paint and varnish to create rich works, which he says, “call back to baroque traditions, but use elements of current culture to provoke, critique and explore.”

Benjamin was born in Guyana, South America and raised in Brooklyn, New York. He received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts in New York City. During this time, he interned with legendary portrait photographer Arnold Newman. After school, he worked at agencies representing commercial and advertising photographers, prop stylists, and hair and makeup artists, and then went on to work as a freelance production coordinator/ photo editor with stints at Kenneth Cole productions, Esquire Magazine, Hachette Filipacchi Media, and Good Housekeeping magazine.

Benjamin’s work investigates the intersection of culture, media, politics, fashion, and design, addressing questions that confront a man of color in America today. He states that, “My work reflects everything that I’m thinking – it includes everything that I love and everything that I’m challenged by.

It’s honest and curious and bright and thoughtful.

And sometimes a little dark. It’s all of the things that made me want to be a professional artist in the first place.”

Stay tuned for future communications from The Westmoreland with more on Gavin and public programs involving him. left DS Kinsel, Nothing but Love, 2020 top right Gavin Benjamin, Heads of State no. 42 AA, 2020, Decoupage mixed media, photography on archival paper mounted to panel, 40 x 30 x 2 inches bottom right Gavin Benjamin, Heads of State no. 24, 2019, Analog photography, appropriated images, Swarovski crystals, on canvas mounted to panel, 16 x 12 x 2 inches

The Museum Shop's Online!

Visit the Museum Shop from the comfort of your own home, or anywhere!

Browse a robust selection of books, stationary, children’s activities and unique gifts, as well as gorgeous home décor, handcrafted jewelry, and elegant accessories, many of which have been made by local and regional artists, at the Museum Shop online.

Beginning February 7, the Museum Shop will be open to the public during the Museum’s regular operating hours of 10am–5pm, Wednesday through Sunday.

Visit the Museum Shop online at thewestmoreland.org, or contact us about private shopping at museumshop@thewestmoreland.org.

18 / Winter 2021

Enjoy Safe Shopping • Limited number of shoppers allowed at one time • Routine cleaning and disinfecting • Contactless pay options available • Private shopping opportunities • In-Store and curbside pickup now available

CREATE A LASTING LEGACY

From its very beginning, planned gifts from our Legacy Society members have helped to sustain The Westmoreland. The foresight of these generous donors starting with the first bequest from Mary Marchand Woods in 1959 ensures that our Museum continues to provide healing and inspiration through art in all the times that we live.

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.

Guy Pène du Bois (1884–1958), Studio Window, Anticoli, 1928, Oil on canvas, 37 x 29 inches, Gift of the William A. Coulter Fund, 1977.84

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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 and back cover: John Grillo (1917–2014), Untitled (detail), 1951, Oil on canvas, 34 1/2 x 50 1/2 inches, Gift of the Westmoreland Society, 2017, 2018.2