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Lyman
Allyn PRESS ROOM
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Image copyrighted © Alex Mamo. All rights reserved.
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© Copyright Hiro Mashima/Kodansha Ltd. All rights reserved.
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Hello Manga! Programming
Cartooning Workshop
Learn cartooning with manga artist Lily Cernak, Saturday, November
5, 3-5pm. ages 12 and up; $10 members; $15 non-members
Cosplay!
Dress as your favorite manga character and participate in a
fashion show. Saturday, March 3, 2012, 7-10 pm, $10 admission
includes complimentary refreshments.
Free First Saturday
Join us each month for a fun family day of free art activities and
free admission. Art activities are based on the exhibition Hello
Manga!. For ages 5-12. Enjoy free admission from 10am-5pm;
Free art projects run from 1 - 3pm.
November 5: Gyotaku: Japanese Fish Printing
December 3: Block Print Holiday Cards
January
7: Paper Lantern Workshop
February
4: Design-your-own Comic/Anime Book
March
3: Japanese Doll
Festival: Hina-matsuri, or Girls' Day, with traditional Japanese dolls
on platforms; Sumi-e Japanese painting workshop
Children’s Film Festival
3 - 5pm. Free.
November 5: Spirited Away
December 3: My Neighbor Totoro
January 7: Ponyo
February 4: Castle in the Sky
Children’s Tea Party: Explore the Magic of Japan
Saturday,
December 10; 11:00-12:30 $12 adult/child pair members; $15
non-members
Advanced
reservations required: 860-443-2545 x110
Festive tea party followed by a story in the galleries and Japanese
fan art project. Ages 3-6.
Funded in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee; People’s United Bank; and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
August 30, 2011
For
Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public
Relations
860.443.2545
ext. 130
Skateboards: Art on the Ply
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, Skateboards: Art on the Ply, opening September 17, 2011 and on view through February 4, 2012.
Curated by Carolyn Grosch, Assistant Curator at the Lyman Allyn, Skateboards: Art on the Ply explores the question “Can skateboards be art?” by bringing together over 50 skateboards by more than 20 artists. Skateboard enthusiasts, students, art lovers, and visitors of all ages will consider this question as they view skateboards designed by contemporary artists, sculptures made from skateboards, and classic decks from the past.
While skateboards may seem like an unexpected topic for a museum, there is a growing acceptance of skateboard art in the fine art community. Many museums across the country are lining their walls with skateboards, creating a new appreciation for this often-overlooked art. Contemporary artists now regularly team up with skateboard companies to produce limited edition designs coveted by art lovers and skateboarders alike. Skateboards: Art on the Plyfeatures two internationally renowned artists who have worked with skateboard companies. Stunning black-and-white skateboards by Robert Longo present sleek moments of arrested motion while boards by the once-controversial Damien Hirst, boast abstract patterns of spots and spun paint. The exhibition also includes a wide selection of fine art skateboards from Worship, a local brand based in Norwich, Connecticut that digitally photographs the work of fine artists and then transfers these images to the “ply”—the plywood material that makes up most skateboards.
Several sculptures in the exhibition demonstrate how fine artists are using skateboards as a medium. Shirley Klinghoffer's A Fine Balance—Heels on Wheels adds a hint of the feminine to an otherwise male-dominated sport by featuring a black pintail longboard topped with antique high heel shoes. Other artists like George Peterson create sculptures from recycled skateboards. Many of his works are painted and coated in rust-colored oxide, making works like Coil resemble a primordial fossil.
Other highlights of the exhibition include a hand-painted board by 2010 X Games gold medalist Alexis Sablone; memorable boards from the 1990s by Evan Hecox and Marc McKee; and a selection of boards from Wampum, a Long Island skate shop and sponsor of the exhibition known for distributing blank boards to local skateboarders who paint, draw, and experiment on these unusual oblong “canvases.”
As an interactive component of the exhibition, visitors will be able to try their hand at fingerboarding—or miniature skateboarding—on a +blackriver-ramps+ G7 Plaza generously loaned by FlatFace Fingerboards.
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s mission is to respond and to appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, the museum has planned an exciting schedule of programs to accompany Skateboards: Art on the Ply. The programs are designed to engage people of all ages.
+blackriver-ramps+ Courtesy FlatFace Fingerboards
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Damien Hirst/ Supreme Red #7 Skateboard Deck, 2009, © the artist & other criteria. All rights reserved, DACS, 2011 |
Saturday September 17, 2011
10:00 am – 5:00 pm: Explore the exhibition and then try your hand at navigating a fingerboard on the +blackriver-ramps+ G7 Plaza fingerboard park! This fingerboard plaza is an interactive part of the exhibition and is available to be used by museum-goers.
11:00 am -1:00 pm: Design and paint your own miniature skateboard in the art studio.
2:00 pm: Special Guest Appearance:
Mike Schneider, CEO of FlatFace Fingerboards,
will give a fingerboard demonstration
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Free Family First Saturday
Sponsored by People's United Bank
11:00 am-1:00 pm: Visit the museum’s art studio where
you can design and build your own skateboard sculpture or miniature fingerboard.
2:00 pm: Special Guest Appearance:
Meet #1 Womens Skateboarder Alexis Sablone, Gold Medal
winner in 2010 XGames 16 and Silver Medal winner in XGames
17! A skateboard painted by Sablone is on view in
this exhibition.
Funded in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America,
Trustee; People’s United Bank; Wampum Skate Shop; Tech Deck; and
with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.
Check the museum website at www.lymanallyn.org for updates and additional programming.
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
Lyman Allyn Art Museum is a community-based museum located in New London, Connecticut. Founded in 1932 by Harriet Upson Allyn in memory of her father, Lyman Allyn, the museum serves the people of Southeastern Connecticut and is free to New London families. The museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums and is a non-profit organization with 501(c) 3 status. Housed in a handsome Neo-Classical building designed by Charles A. Platt, the permanent collection includes over 10,000 paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, furniture and decorative arts, with an emphasis on American and European art from the 17th through 20th centuries.
The museum is located at 625 Williams Street, New London, Connecticut, exit 83 off I-95. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm and Sunday 1:00 – 5:00 pm, closed Mondays and major holidays. For more information call 860.443.2545, ext. 112 or visit us on the web at: www.lymanallyn.org.
March 11, 2011 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
Face Off:
Portraits by Contemporary Artists

Face Off: Portraits by Contemporary Artists features portraits by a broad range of artists and demonstrates the current vitality of the genre of portraiture. Once considered retrograde, portraiture has recently assumed a central role in the art world. Artists are increasingly turning to this genre to explore the multifaceted aspects of identity.
The framework for the show is thematic: self portraiture, portraiture as a memorial or commemoration, portraiture as political statement, portraits addressing stages of life, and, finally, portraits of non-human subjects. Face Off: Portraits by Contemporary Artists includes works from the permanent collection of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum such as portraits by Glenn Ligon, Alice Neel, Nan Golden, Alex Katz, Elizabeth Peyton, and Janet Shafner, as well as portraits borrowed from other collections. Loaned works are by Barkley L. Hendricks, Chuck Close, Kiki Smith, Francesco Clemente, Lucas Samaras, and Jim Dine, among others.
One gallery is dedicated to William Wegman’s beloved dog portrait photographs and another will feature David LaChapelle’s acclaimed American Jesus series. In tribute to face-off's origin as a hockey term, one gallery will be dedicated to hockey images: George Kalinsky, the official photographer for Madison Square Garden, has loaned a series of his large scale hockey photographs to the exhibition. The term, face off, has a certain resonance when thinking about portraiture. In hockey, itsignals a key moment in a competition. In portraiture, it suggests the face-to-face encounter of a portrait sitting—the give and take between the artist and the portrait subject. It is the relationality between artist and subject, and also between viewer and work of art, that makes portraiture such an intriguing genre.
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| Barkley L. Hendricks Ma Petite Kumquat 1983 Oil, acrylic, white gold and silver leaf on linen canvas. |
Alice Neel Benny Andrews 1978 Lithograph |
Programming for this exhibition includes gallery talks by Barbara Zabel, David LaChapelle, and Jonathan Weinberg, as well as film series for children and for adults.
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s mission is to respond and to appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, the museum has planned an exciting schedule of programs to accompany this exhibition. The programs are designed to engage people of all ages.
Face Off ExhibitionPrograms and Events:
Lecture: Barbara Zabel, Ph.D., Professor of Art History at Connecticut College
Thursday, April 21, 2011, 6:00 pm
Curator Barbara Zabel will address the issues of portraiture raised by the artists included in Face Off. Her talk will be followed by a tour of the show. A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm.
Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Lecture: “ ‘I Is Somebody Else:’ The Biographical Impulse in American Self-Portraiture”
Thursday, May 5, 2011, 6:00 pm
Jonathan Weinberg, Ph.D., Artist and Art Historian, will examine issues of identity and authorship in self portraits by artists that are included in Face Off and in the recent exhibition, Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC. A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk
at 5:00 pm. Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members,
$10 non-members.
Gallery Talk: With artist David LaChapelle
Saturday, May 14, 2011, 6:00 pm
David LaChapelle will talk about his photographic work and how he selects his intriguing subjects. A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm. Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Lecture: A Closer Look at George Washington and Other Famous Faces
Thursday, July 7th, 6:00 pm
Painting Conservators Lance Mayer and Gay Myers will discuss their treatment of such famous portraits as the Metropolitan Museum of Art's iconic painting Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze as well as other works by artists as diverse as John Singleton Copley, Thomas Eakins, and Mary Cassatt. A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm. Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Free First Sundays
Join us each month for a fun family day of free art activities, free snacks, and
free admission! Art activities art based on the exhibition Face Off: Portraits by Contemporary Artists. For ages 5 – 12.
Sundays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm on the following dates:
June 5: 3-D Self-portrait Workshop
July 3: Mask-Making
August 7: Puppet-Making Workshop
September 4: Scratchboard Portraits
Children’s Film Series
Inspired by the current exhibit Face Off, this exciting film series pairs classic films with contemporary versions. Screenings on Sundays from 3:00 - 4:30 pm. Free with museum admission. We provide the popcorn.
June 5: Mary Poppins
June 12: Nanny McPhee
July 3: Pinocchio
July 10: Toy Story 3
August 7: Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory
August 14: Charlie & the Chocolate Factory
September 4: Peter Pan
September 11: Hook
Portrait Film Matinees
Inspired by the current exhibit Face Off, this series explores classic portrait mysteries. Screenings on Saturday afternoons from 1:00 – 3:00 pm.
Free with museum admission. We provide the popcorn.
May 14: The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
June 11: Chuck Close (2010)
July 9: Portrait of a Lady (1996)
August 13: William Wegman’s Alphabet Soup (2006)
September 10: Portrait of Jennie (1949)
Check the museum website at www.lymanallyn.org for updates and additional programming.
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
Exhibitions and programs are funded in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee; the Lyman Allyn Art Museum Exhibition Fund; the Elizabeth and Anthony Enders Endowed Fund; People’s United Bank; Connecticut College and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism and the Connecticut Humanities Council.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
February 16, 2011 For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
The Subject is Light: The Henry and Sharon Martin Collection
of Contemporary Realist Paintings
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, The Subject is Light: The Henry and Sharon Martin Collection of Contemporary Realist Paintings, opening March 19, 2011 and on view through August 21, 2011. The exhibition has been organized by the Cape Cod Museum of Art and curated by CCMoA Director Elizabeth Ives Hunter, Ph.D.
Henry and Sharon Martin, who began to collect art over 30 years ago, have built what is arguably the strongest Hudson River School luminist collection in private hands today. Within the last ten years, they have expanded their focus on the living artists of Cape Cod – concentrating on work that meets their exacting criteria. Henry Martin says, “When we’ve looked at the same picture 100 times, we want to look at it for the 101st time and still see something new”. The Martins believe that representational art is re-emerging as an important element in American art and are focused on excellence in all areas. Their goal is to acquire the best works by the best artists of this region.
The Subject is Light: The Henry and Sharon Martin Collection of Contemporary Realist Paintings includes work by Jacob Collins, William R. Davis, Donald Demers, Robert Douglas Hunter, Joseph McGurl, Anne Packard, Pam Pindell, Peter Quidley and Matthew Schulz.


This exhibition is accompanied by a full-color catalog available at the museum bookstore and online at www.lymanallyn.org.
Elizabeth Ives Hunter joined the Cape Cod Museum of Art in July 2003 as Exhibitions Curator. She was later appointed Executive Director of the museum. She has taught courses on Provincetown Painters 1883-1960 at the Academy for Life Long Learning and at the Weny Education Center at the Cape Cod Museum of Art. Mrs. Hunter lives in Walpole, Massachusetts with her husband, painter Robert Douglas Hunter, and their children.
The Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s mission is to respond and to appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, the museum has planned an exciting schedule of programs to accompany this exhibition. The programs are designed to engage people of all ages.
The Subject is Light Programs and Events:
Gallery Talk
Thursday, March 31, 6:00pm
Join collectors Henry and Sharon Martin as they share their insights about collecting during an intimate walk through the exhibition.
A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm. Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Free First Sundays
Join us each month for a fun family day of free art activities, free snacks, and free admission! Art activities are based on the exhibition.
Sundays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm on the following dates:
April 3 - Luminous Bubble Printing
Visit the exhibit and then use a bubble-printing process to create your own original prints and notecards. For ages 5–12.
May1 - Miniature Flowerpot Painting
Celebrate spring by painting a flowerpot and planting a wildflower seed mix.
The perfect gift for Mother’s Day! For ages 5–12.
Film Series: Dutch Masters of Light
Saturday afternoons: we provide the popcorn!
Free with museum admission 1:00 – 2:00 pm on the following dates:
April 16: Vermeer: Master of Light
May 21: The Dutch Masters: Rembrandt
June 18: The Dutch Masters: Bruegel
July16: Girl with a Pearl Earring
August 20: The Dutch Masters: Rubens
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
September 14, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, Members Collect: The Thrill of the Chase, opening October 17, 2010 and on view through March 20, 2011.
Unless one is an intimate friend, it is not often that the opportunity arises to view prized works of art from very private collections. This is exactly what the Lyman Allyn Art Museum will offer with the upcoming exhibition Members Collect: The Thrill of the Chase. It will feature extraordinary works of art from the collections of Museum members who live in the region covering New London, Connecticut east to Westerly, Rhode Island. Landscapes, portraiture, still life…abstract, expressionist, realistic…paintings, sculpture, multi-media.
A compelling component to Members Collect: The Thrill of the Chase will be the inclusion of stories about their works revealed by the collectors themselves. Whether remembrances of childhood, as with artist Ruth Sussler who tells of watching her father conduct life drawing classes in the family living room, to poignant stories, as with a pair of local collectors who share why they were drawn to a painting created by an inmate at Angola State Prison, made using only hammer, nails and enamel paint. Art Historian Janis Mink has loaned a large triptych photograph by her brother Ted Hendrickson, taken on a snowy winter morning in 1999 from the porch of a home in the Fort Trumbull neighborhood that was subsequently razed. These stories, and the works themselves, make for a memorable visit to this exhibition.
Members Collect: The Thrill of the Chase showcases captivating pieces from impassioned collectors, most never before seen in public.
Part of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s mission is to respond to and appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, the museum has planned an exciting schedule of programs to accompany this exhibition. The programs are designed to engage people of all ages.
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Mariam Barer The Skaters Oil on canvas n. d. |
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Along the River During the Ch’ing-ming Festival Hand Scroll Ink and colors on silk 15” |
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Carol S. Hartsock The Observer Oil on Canvas 1987 |
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Ted Hendrickson Pfizer Site from Front Porch on Pequot Avenue, New London, 1999 Silver Gelatin Print 1999 13” x 53” |
Members Collect: The Thrill of the Chase Programs and Events:
Lectures and Gallery Talks
The Gorilla in the Room: Annie Leibovitz, LeBron James, and the Visual Imagination of Race: Lecture with Christopher Steiner, Professor of Art History at Connecticut College
Thursday, October 21 at 6:00 pm
Dr. Steiner offers a critical reading of a single image: the April 2008 cover of Vogue magazine, which critics have alleged carries a hidden message. Come discover the secrets of this controversial cover.
Wine and cheese reception at 5:00 pm. $5 members/$10 general public.
Reservations suggested: call 860-443-2545 x 112.
Gods on Earth: Court Culture and Mythological Portraiture in Renaissance & Baroque Art: Lecture withRobert Baldwin, Associate Professor of Art History at Connecticut College
Thursday, November 4 at 6:00 pm
With Renaissance humanism and the revival of classical antiquity, European elites had themselves portrayed as mythological deities and heroes. Learn the secrets of these portraits - from moral allegories to issues of patronage.
Wine and cheese reception at 5:00 pm. $5 members/$10 general public.
Reservations suggested: call 860-443-2545 x 112.
Conversations with Collectors: Alice Houston and Janis Mink
Sunday, November 7, 2:00 pm
Join collectors and guest curators who contributed works from their collections and ideas to the Members Collect exhibition for a series of informal gallery conversations. Free to the public.
Contemporary Prints and the Art Market: Lecture with Richard Solomon, President of Pace Prints in New York
Thursday, November 18, 6:00 pm
Learn about the state of prints and print collecting by Solomon, a recognized expert in the field.
Wine and cheese reception at 5:00 pm. $5 members/$10 general public.
Reservations suggested: call 860-443-2545 x 112.
Determining Value in Today's American Art Market
Lecture with Thomas B. Parker, Associate at the Hirschl & Adler Galleries in New York
Thursday, December 2, 6:00 pm
In a market characterized by increasing popularity and dwindling supply, Parker will explore the challenges American art collectors face as they strive to make smart choices. What defines quality and most affects value? Specific artworks will show how dealers grapple with the central issues of authenticity, condition and provenance. It’s a high stakes arena where knowledge matters, connoisseurship is king, and risk has its rewards.
A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm.
Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Conversations with Collectors: Sharon Griffis and Doug Bjorn
Sunday, February 6, 2:00 pm
Join collectors and guest curators who contributed works from their collections and ideas to the Members Collect exhibition for a series of informal gallery conversations.
Free to the public.
The Borders of Art: Lecture by Suzanne Smeaton
Gallery Director of Eli Wilner & Company in New York
Thursday, February 10, 6:00 pm
Learn how to turn your photos into digital masterpieces using Eli Wilner's Smartphone and web applications. Over 300 historically accurate Antique, Modern and Unusual Shape frames at the click of a button. Print high resolution output at home or send to Snapfish for a wide range of imprinted products. Share with friends by sending in email or posting on Facebook, Twitter and Flickr. You can even display your creations in your own private digital gallery. If you were to purchase an Eli Wilner antique frame you would spend over $150,000. Now you can use them around your photos for just pennies!
A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm.
Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Today’s Silver Market: Selling, Buying, and Collecting by John D. Ward
Vice President and Head of the Silver Department at Sotheby’s, New York
Thursday, March 3, 6:00 pm
Learn everything one needs to know to invest smartly in silver today.
A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm.
Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Special Film Screening: All About Prints: 500 Years of Prints and Printmaking
Saturday, October 30: 2:00 pm
Including historical perspectives, this documentary showcases everything it takes to make and display a print - a feast for the eyes! We provide the popcorn.
Free with museum admission.
Exploring Art Film Series
Join us on Saturday afternoons at 2:00 pm for Simon Schama’s award- winning Power of Art series. We provide the popcorn. Free with museum admission on these dates:
November 13: Caravaggio
December 11: Rembrandt
January 8: Turner
February 12: Picasso
March 12: Rothko
Free First Sundays
Join us each month for our family day of free admission, free art activities, free snacks, and fun!
Sundays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm on the following dates:
December 5: Celebrate the Season
Festive holiday card-making workshop.
January 2: Tribal Rainsticks
Modeling from artwork on view in Members Collect: TheThrill of the Chase, make your own native rainstick.
February 6: Sculpting Workshop
Visit the current exhibition Members Collect: TheThrill of the Chase and then use sculpture examples to model your own sculpture creation.
March 6: Native American dream catchers
Modeling from artwork on view in Members Collect: TheThrill of the Chase, make your own dream catcher.
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee, Peoples United Bank and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
August 11, 2010
For Immediate Release
Contact: Susan Hendricks
Public Relations
860.443.2545 ext. 130
A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941
Lyman Allyn Art Museum announces a new exhibition, A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941, opening September 18, 2010 and on view through February 20, 2011. A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941
has been organized by Guest Curator Lindsay Leard-Coolidge.


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During the last decades of the nineteenth century, the picturesque hamlet of Matunuck, Rhode Island emerged as an art colony, rooted more in its location than in a unified style of painting. Artists ranging from the marine painter William Trost Richards to the impressionist Philip Leslie Hale were introduced to the hamlet of Matunuck by family members. There they were inspired by the unique beauty of their surroundings.
Landscape painters Philip, Ellen and Susan Hale, Caroline Atkinson, William Trost Richards, Anna Brewster, Eleanor Price and Frank Mathewson – whose work is on view in this exhibition - span generations, different artistic styles and schools of painting. What binds them together is the inspiration they found in Matunuck. Each of these painters interpreted the Matunuck landscape in a personal way, yet among them they encompass most of the major trends defining American painting of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries — the Barbizon School, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Tonalism and plein-air painting — as well as the creation of the era’s predominant artistic institution: a summer school. A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941 will present viewers with strong examples of these painting trends while also providing visually stunning land- and seascape views of their beloved Matunuck surroundings.
A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941, featuring more than thirty artworks, will be accompanied by a 128-page catalog with an essay by Dr. Leard-Coolidge. The exhibition catalog will be for sale at the museum bookstore.
Lindsay Leard-Coolidge is a Lecturer in American Art at Northeastern University. She earned her Ph.D. at Columbia University, was a Chester Dale fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and a print curator at the Museum of Modern Art. She serves on the boards of the Colby College Museum of Art, the M.I.T. List Visual Art Center and the Willow Dell Historical Association in Matunuck, Rhode Island. Leard-Coolidge has written extensively including the book "William Morris and Nineteenth Century Boston," in William Morris: Centenary Essays, Exeter, United Kingdom, published by the University of Exeter Press in 1999 and most recently
“Maurice Prendergast: Barn, Brooksville, Maine” in 50 Years of Collecting at the Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville, Maine, published by Colby College in 2009.
Part of the Lyman Allyn Art Museum’s mission is to respond and to appeal to the regional community. In that spirit, the museum has planned an exciting schedule of programs to accompany this exhibition. The programs are designed to engage people of all ages.
A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941 Programs and Events:
Gallery Talk/Lecture
Thursday, September 23, 6:00pm
Matunuck, Rhode Island: A Rediscovered Art Colony:
Guest Curator Lindsay Leard- Coolidge
The hamlet of Matunuck was home to many painters in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Impressionist Philip Leslie Hale and marine painter William Trost Richards worked there, as well as family members and friends. Leard-Coolidge will discuss the evolution of the artistic community in Matunuck from the arrival of intellect Edward Everett Hale in 1873 to the outbreak of the World War II, within the context of nineteenth century American art.
A wine and cheese reception precedes the talk at 5:00 pm. Reservations suggested. 860.443.2545 x 112. $5 members, $10 non-members.
Free First Sundays
Join us each month for a fun family day of free art activities, free snacks, and free admission! Art activities will utilize concepts and ideas from the A Sense of Place: Painters of Matunuck, Rhode Island 1873-1941 exhibition.
Sundays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm on the following dates:
October 3 - Leaf Print Collages
Drawing inspiration from the fall foliage in this exhibition and outdoors, participants will design and create their own unique collage using a variety of leaves, block printing inks, acrylic paints, and stencils.
November 7 – Paint an Autumn Landscape
Using real canvas board, palettes, acrylic paints, buckets and brushes, participants will step into the role of the Matunuck artist as they paint their own original landscape.
Art Fool Performance by Mystic Paper Beasts
Sunday, October 3, 1:30 pm
Art Fool is an antic look at the inter-relationship between artist and medium, audience and art work, and the role of inspiration in her many roles. The performers lay out their props, including over 25 masks, in full view of the audience, weaving with humor and grace from one episode to another. Appropriate for all ages, Art Fool was Commissioned by the Williams College Museum of Art Family Day and premiers at the Lyman Allyn for Southeastern Connecticut.
Free and open to the public.
Impressionist Film Series: Monthly screenings
Saturday afternoon films – you come, we provide with popcorn!
Free with museum admission from 1:00 – 2:00 pm on the following dates:
October 9: In Open Air: A Portrait of the American Impressionists
November 13: William Merritt Chase and the Shinnecock Art School
December 11: Connecticut: Seasons of Light, Cradle of American Impressionism
January 8: Great Women Artists: Mary Cassatt
February 12: Impressionists on the Seine
Tours of the exhibition will be available for groups. To schedule tours, call Director of Education Mollie Clarke at 860-443-2545, x 110 or e-mail at clarke@lymanallyn.org.
This exhibition is supported in part by the Frank Loomis Palmer Fund, Bank of America, Trustee and with support from the Connecticut Commission on Culture & Tourism.
For more information or to request images, please contact Susan Hendricks at 860.443.2545, ext 130 or at hendricks@lymanallyn.org.
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Westomere Doll House 1916 Craftsman unknown American |
Dog on Wheels Plush toy and metal wheel framework c. 20th century |
Jenny Lind doll c. 1850 |
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Table Croquet set c. 19th century |
Trade Cards c. 19th century |


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