Two years have come and gone since we last featured an Exhibitions section in the Bulletin. One more year and we'd have a tome on our hands. Before another nanosecond elapses, here is a recap, as comprehensive as space allows.
:2003
Brad Holland's work was on display at the Richard C. vonHess Gallery from December through March 1st, with Brad sharing his insights on the field in a February lecture.
James Ransome's exhibition
Down Home: Picturebook Paintings of Folklife in the Black South featuring artwork covering periods from African American enslavement through the Jim Crow era, was at the James W. Palmer III '90 Gallery in October. Additionally, in early '04, the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati commissioned Ransome to create a three-panel mural about African-American life after the Civil War.
:2004
Art of Alex Ross & Lynette Ross
A mother-and-child reunion, of sorts, occurred in February at the American Academy of Art with the show, The Art of Alex Ross and Lynette Ross. Both former students of the Academy, Lynette for fashion illustration and life drawing in the late '40s, and Alex for illustration in the late '80s, their joint exhibition featured original drawings, paintings, and sculptures.
David Levine's recent works
Considered to be "one of the greatest caricaturists of the 20th Century," David Levine's recent works were part of the exhibition, David Levine: Escape, on display from February through March at the Forum Gallery in Manhattan.
38 drawings by Harvey Dinnerstein and Burton Silverman of the 1956 Montgomery Bus Strike
Also from February through March, the Delaware Art Museum showed for the first time all 38 drawings by Harvey Dinnerstein and Burton Silverman of the 1956 Montgomery Bus Strike, in the exhibition Glorious Dignity. Silverman, who in May was awarded the Gold medal of the Portrait Society of America for "distinguished lifetime contribution to figurative painting," also exhibited recent paintings in his second solo show at Gallery Henoch in Manhattan.
film ON Everett Raymond Kinstler
On March 3, a film about Everett Raymond Kinstler,
An Artist's Journey, created by Colin Russell and The Art Spirit Foundation, was shown at the National Arts Club,
followed by a presentation of Kinstler's portrait of Dianne Bernhard. Those appearing in the film include Academy Award winning actor F. Murray Abraham, Will Barnet, Tony Bennett, Carol Burnett, Former Presidents George W. Bush and Gerald R. Ford, American Artist Magazine Editor M. Stephen Doherty, Tom Wolfe, and others.
Chris Spollen's The Art of Imagination show appeared throughout March, at The Muddy Cup in Hudson, New York, featuring a fine blend of music, art, and java.
Women Illustrators: Art for the Printed Page EXHIBITION Margaret Cusack, Teresa Fasolino, Frances Jetter, Jacqui Morgan, Barbara Nessim, and Lauren Uram were part of the group exhibition, Women Illustrators: Art for the Printed Page, which showed at the Art Gallery at Kingsborough Community College in March and April.
A sampling of Peter de SËve's illustration work from the
past 10 years could be seen in late winter at the Tremaine Gallery at the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, CT. The show featured paintings, drawings, character designs, as well as images from de SËve's then-newly published monologue,
An Idle Mind.
Maritime Gallery exhibition Illustrating The Sea
Many S.I. members (a sea of 'em, actually) were part of the Maritime Gallery exhibition, Illustrating The Sea, at Mystic Seaport from March through April. The following tackled nautical subjects in their work: Terry Allen, Gary Baseman, Melinda Beck, Guy Billout, R.O. Blechman, Barry Blitt, Lou Brooks, Seymour Chwast, Joe Ciardiello, Kinuko Craft, Brian Cronin, Jack Davis, Peter de SËve, Randall Enos, Bernie Fuchs, Bob Giusti, Steven Guarnaccia, Peter Hoey, Gene Hoffman, Brad Holland, Jordin Isip, Gary Kelley, Bob Kessel, Anita Kunz, Wiliam Low, Ross Macdonald, Bill Mayer, Hal Mayforth, Wendell Minor, Robert Parker, Bill Sienkewicz, Peter Sis, Greg Spalenka, Bob Staake, Mark Stamaty, Dugal Stermer, Bonnie Timmons, Murray Tinkleman, Jack Unruh, Clare Vanacore, Roxana Villa, and Brad Yeo.
Sergio Aragones exhibited in and spoke at the opening reception for the Mad(tm) About Peanuts(r) show, which ran from March through September at the Charles M. Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, California. Naturally, "Good Grief!" and "What! Me Worry?" abounded throughout Mad(tm) parodies of Peanuts(r) strips and characters.
Dugald Stermer lectured at The Illustrators Club of Washington D.C. on April 22, 2004.
The Anacostia Museum for African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian featured artworks by Kadir Nelson, Floyd Roberts, and William H. Smith in the June exhibition, All the Stories Are True: African American Writers Speak. In May, Nelson's painting "Green Beans" was auctioned in a private reception hosted by The Jackie Robinson Foundation, with proceeds donated to the Foundation.
MOre than 30 original Rob Wood watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media paintings by cover artist Rob Wood were displayed in September, at The Art of Illustration show at the Dawson Gallery in Maryland. A highlight of the show was the pairing of Wood's original, commissioned paintings with the actual published books.
curator Joseph Adolphe displayed works by friends and teachers whom he had "come to know and admire" over the years were displayed in the Commissioned Non Commissioned exhibition at Chung-Cheng Gallery at St. John's University. Marshall Arisman, Burt Silverman, and Thomas Woodruff were among the artists featured in this October-through-December show.
Dr. Seuss (aka Theodor Seuss Geisel) turned 100 years in 2004
and The Cartoon Art Museum in San Francisco celebrated by hosting two companion exhibitions. Happy Hundredth, Dr. Seuss: The Timeless Art of Theodor Geisel ran from February through June, and The Art of Dr. Seuss from March through April. The shows offered rare glimpses of Geisel's early works and poetry, WWII editorial cartoons, his "unorthodox" taxidermy collection, "never-before-seen" works from personal archives & more.
The Art of Laugher: A Salute to Humor BENEFIT SHOW The Santa Barbara Jewish Federation invited a posse of artists to participate in The Art of Laugher: A Salute to Humor, which exhibited from May through July, with a percentage of the proceeds benefiting the Federation's Art at the JCC. Those invited included: Dan Adel, Sergio Aragones, James Bennett, Barry Blitt, Marc Burckhardt, Roz Chast, Seymour Chwast, Jack Davis, Etienne Delessert, Doug Fraser, Milton Glaser, Robert Grossman, Maira Kalman, Gary Kelley, Gordon Kirbee, Edward Koren, Anita Kunz, David Levine, Stan Mack, Rick Meyerowitz, Geoffrey Moss, Roberto Parada, C.F. Payne, Bud Peen, Robert Risko, Arnold Roth, Peter de SËve, Edward Sorel, Mark Alan Stamaty, Dale Stephanos, Gordon Studer, Simms Taback, Gary Taxali, Mark Ulriksen, Tomi Ungerer, Jack Unruh, Arnold Varga, and Gahan Wilson. (Whew!)
Cynthia von Buhler's painting for the Seattle Opera's Fidelio was part of the Museum of American Illustration's "46th Annual Exhibition" in April. Two of von Buhler's paintings (Madonna and Jimi Hendrix) also graced the pages of the Rolling Stone's 50th Anniversary of Rock and Roll issue.
President G.W. Bush starred in Fred Harper's show, "Burning Bush," in March at Dumbo General CafÈ & Gallery in Brooklyn, featuring original, whimsical cover illustrations for Time Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and other national publications.
Al Hirschfeld's drawings, prints, books, and posters were on exhibit and auctioned at Swann Auction Galleries in early October.
DISPLAY OF Another Voice: Political Illustration from 'The Progressive' Magazine, 1981-1999. More than 150 works by 50 of "the nation's leading editorial illustrators" were displayed in the Decker Gallery at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA) show, Another Voice: Political Illustration from
'The Progressive' magazine, 1981-1999. The exhibition ran from September through November 6, and was synched to the 2004 Presidential Election. Editorial illustrators included Melinda Beck, Steve Brodner, Joe Ciardiello, Sue Coe, Henrik Dresher, Brad Holland, Frances Jetter, Steve Kroninger, Gary Panter, and Jonathon Rosen.
original paintings and prints by Steve Brodner were featured in a satellite exhibition at Baltimore's Spur Propaganda Gallery, in October. Brodner was on hand at the gallery for the opening reception and to sign copies of his then-newly released book, Freedom Fries.
:2005
A Passion for Sports – the Paintings of Donald Moss ran til May 22 at the University of Connecticut Libraries gallery at the Storrs campus. Don is a nutmegger from Ridgefield and a Board member of the National Art Museum of Sport. So this connection made sense.
Claus hoie's 60 yr retrospective
of watercolors and drawings were on view from November through January at Guild Hall in East Hampton, New York. Winner of many awards from such organizations as the American Academy of Arts and Letters and the National Academy of Design, Hoie draws from his life experiences throughout his work, from Merchant Marine days and time spent in battle during World War II, to later travels to Madrid, Cape Cod, and East Hampton.
Jack Unruh's work was on display from December through March 11 at the Richard C. vonHess Illustration Gallery, with Jack lecturing on March 3.
Dave Catrow, Joe Cepeda, and Dan Yaccarino all presented artwork on May 26, by Storyopolis Art Gallery in Los Angeles, as part of their Masters of Illustration series.
The Original Art - Celebrating the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration
On June 5 at SI, students from LaGuardia Arts High School responded through words and images to the exhibition: The Original Art - Celebrating the Fine Art of Children's Book Illustration in their own exhibition entitled, Kids Respond to Books for Kids. Professional illustrators were on site to review exhibiting artists' portfolios. Also on view was Adventures with Ted and Betsy a retrospective of Ted and Betsy Lewin’s art, which was on exhibit from June 1 through June 12, and the book Kong: King of Skull Island by Joe DeVito.
Wendell Minor's original paintings for the book Reaching for the Moon, by Buzz Aldrin, were showcased by Manhattan's Books of Wonder from May 23 through June 12. The artist and the astronaut appeared together on May 26 for a brief presentation and book signing session.
NORMAN ROCKWELL MUSEUM
The power of picture books was celebrated at the Rockwell Museum from March through June 12 in the show, "Once Upon A Time: The Picture Book Art of Creative Editions." The exhibition featured original works culled from recent volumes produced by Creative Editions, a Minnesota-based publishing company, by "16 of today's most highly acclaimed international children's book illustrators." They were: Marshall Arisman, Jean-Louis Besson, Guy Billout, Jean Claverie, Etienne Delessert, Monique Felix, John Howe, Roberto, Innocenti, Gary Kelley, Claude Lapointe, Georges Lemoine, Michael McCurdy, Yan Nascimbene, Chris Sheban, John Thompson, Christopher Wormell.
NOW SHOWING : JUN 11–OCT 31
The Art of The New Yorker: Eighty Years in the Vanguard Since 1925, The New Yorker has commissioned artists of "unsurpassed brilliance" to comment on current issues and trends, holidays, fashions, love and relationships, and more for its covers. In honor of its 80th birthday, from June 11 through October 31, the Rockwell Museum is featuring over 120 original artworks for the magazine's covers by 63 of the "world's best artists" in the show, "The Art of The New Yorker: Eighty Years in the Vanguard." Artists include Gary Baseman, R.O. Blechman, Harry Bliss, Barry Blitt,
Roz Chast, Raul Colon, Peter de SËve, Eric Drooker, Ana Juan, Maira Kalman, Anita Kunz, Bruce McCall, Marc Rosenthal, Owen Smith, Edward Sorel, Art Spiegelman, William Steig, Mark Ulrikson, Gahan Wilson, and others.
NOW SHOWING : THROUGH AUGUST 14
Maurice Sendak's work is now showing at The Jewish Museum is featuring the largest exhibition of Maurice Sendak's work in a decade. Wild Things: The Art of Maurice Sendak showcases original drawings, poster artwork, sketches, ballet and opera sets and costumes. The show includes many of Sendak's beloved characters (Mickey, Max, Rosie, etc.), but also explores deeper, more sobering influences on his work. A child of urban immigrants, many of Sendak's relatives were victims of the Holocaust. He'd never met them, but his parents shared their stories and photographs with him. "I fell in love with all these people," Sendak said, "and drew them in all my books and became a good son of the Holocaust."
NOW SHOWING : THROUGH SEPTEMBER 25
world's most famous feline in Garfield: Meow and Then
San Francisco's Cartoon Art Museum looks back on 27 years of the world's most famous feline in, Garfield: Meow and Then through September 25. The exhibition includes Jim Davis' original drawings and sketches showing how the strip evolved over time, animation cels from the TV series and storyboards from commercials, advertising and promotional artwork, and merchandise samplings.
NOW SHOWING : THROUGH SEPTEMBER 25
Hudson River School Paintings
New Britain Museum of American Art is exhibiting a "remarkable collection" of Hudson River School Paintings assembled by Henry and Sharon Martin of Litchfield County, CT, through September 25. Among the exhibition are paintings by Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, Jasper Cropsey, Frederic Edwin Church, Sanford Robinson Gifford, John Frederick Kensett and Martin Johnson Heade.
SHOWING SOON : SEPTEMBER 7–OCTOBER 1
SI MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ILLUSTRATION HOSTS SPECTRUM
RETROSPECTIVE The Museum of American Illustration at the Society of Illustrators will host a Spectrum Retrospective, featuring 200 works of art selected from the first 11 editions of Spectrum. Among the many artists included will be: James Bama, Thomas Blackshear, Kinuko Y. Craft, Vincent Di Fate, Leo and Diane Dillon, Donato Giancola, James Gurney, Phil Hale, Jeffery Jones, William Joyce, Anita Kuntz, John Jude Palencar Gregory Manchess, Michael Whelan, and many, many others.
A bit of background: Cathy and Arnie Fenner published the first volume of Spectrum in 1994, and it was the start of an annual competition for the "year's best in contemporary, fantastic art." Thanks to the trust and support of all of the artists who have entered this competition over the years, Spectrum has become, arguably, the standard of fantastic themed artwork today. It showcases work as varied as its title implies -- from obvious genre works to the subtle, from legends in the field to exceptionally talented newcomers.
