Unveiling another
Posted on Friday, September 5, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/bcdr/News/65403/
Bob Workman, executive director of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, has said on several occasions that the museum already has significantly more artwork in its permanent collection than could possibly fit on the walls of the 25, 000 square feet of gallery space under construction in northeast Bentonville.
In 2007, Crystal Bridges gave the public a taste of what it will have to offer, unveiling 19 pieces from its growing permanent collection — among them Thomas Eakins’ “ Professor Benjamin Howard Rand, ” Jasper Francis Cropsey’s “ The Backwoods of America” and Asher B. Durand’s “ Kindred Spirits” — over a period of several months. But it had been more than a year since the last masterwork was unveiled.
That changed Thursday, as Crystal Bridges, envisioned as a premier national art institution dedicated to American art and artists, announced “ The Indian and the Lily, ” painted by American artist George de Forest Brush, as part of the museum’s growing permanent collection. “ The Indian and the Lily” will be displayed as part of a new exhibition titled “ George de Forest Brush: The Indian Paintings, ” opening Sept. 24 at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C.
This exhibition marks the first time Brush’s American Indian paintings will be displayed together, an event that was inspired by the recent rediscovery of “ An Aztec Sculptor, ” a painting missing for more than a century, according to a release provided by Crystal Bridges. “ The Indian and the Lily” is one of the most renowned paintings in this series, which reflects the combination of Brush’s classical training and his firsthand knowledge of the American West, according to the release.
“ Working alongside the National Gallery of Art so that “ The Indian and the Lily” may be seen in the context of similar works by George de Forest Brush symbolizes the essence of our emerging institution, ” Workman said. “ We see this collaboration as another tremendous opportunity in connecting people with art. ”
Brush began the series in the 1880 s and gathered sketches and artifacts during the course of a trip west to Wyoming and Montana, where he lived among tribes of Arapahoe, Shoshone and Crow Indians. “ The Indian and the Lily” was painted toward the end of this period, when his subjects tended to be individuals set in natural, isolated settings, the release states. These works are said to communicate his concern with the rapid modernization and industrialization that gripped the country at the time.
“ The Indian and the Lily” is among the — until now — hidden treasures in the permanent collection of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, ” said Chris Crosman, Crystal Bridges curator. “ In the context of this wonderful exhibition organized by Nancy Anderson, we see more clearly a painting that has long captivated audiences transfixed by its formal beauty and mysteries. ”
“ The Indian and the Lily” is one of many signature works of art that are part of the growing collection for Crystal Bridges, which has made a number of significant works available to other museums as long-term loans during the museum’s construction.
The exhibition, organized by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D. C., in association with the Seattle Art Museum, will be at the National Gallery of Art, in the East Building on the ground floor, from Sept. 24 through Jan. 4, 2009. It will then be seen at the Seattle Art Museum from Feb. 26, 2009, through May 24, 2009.