Happy Independence Day! Many of you likely have exciting activities on your agenda today, like proudly parading through the streets, chowing down on some backyard BBQ, watching the night sky illuminate with sparkling bursts of color, or all of the above. For those of you in need of some balance between raucous outdoor festivities and quieter, more subdued plans, today is a great time to visit the DMA and stroll through the American art in our collection. The Museum is open today from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
To celebrate the array of differing landscapes and perspectives that make up the United States, here are a few works from American artists that illustrate various scenes and slices of life in our country.
Coreen Mary Spellman, “Old Muscatine on the Mississippi,” 1942, intaglio, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Helen, Mick and Thomas Spellman, 1994.124
Omar Raymond Carrington, “Village Barn Towers,” date unknown, watercolor, Dallas Museum of Art, George T. Lee Purchase Prize, Southern States Art League Exhibition, 1945, 1945.25
Zoltan Sepeshy, “The Whole Town,” 1947, egg tempera on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase, 1950.92
Big cities:
James Swann, “Night in Chicago,” 1940, drypoint, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Friends of Art, Former Dallas Artists, 1943.6
George Taylor Plowman, “In San Francisco,” 1905-06, mezzotint, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. A. E. Zonne, 1942.37.1
Paul Cornoyer, “Afternoon in Madison Square,” 1910, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase, 1914.1
Bill Bomar, “Red Mountains,” 1952, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, E. M. Dealey Purchase Prize, State Fair of Texas Art Exhibition, 1952.42
Bertha M. Landers, “Cheyenne Mountains,” 1941, lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, Elizabeth Crocker Memorial Prize, Twelfth Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, 1941, 1941.6
Seaside scenes:
Alfred Thompson Bricher, “Seascape,” c. 1885-90, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Margaret M. Ferris, 1990.151
Maurice Brazil Prendergast, “Beach Scene,” c. 1907-10, oil on panel, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Wilson Schoellkopf, 1962.23
John Frederick Kensett, “Newport, Rhode Island (Beacon Rock),” 1982, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Eugene McDermott, 1994.6
Harry Carnohan, “West Texas Landscape,” 1934, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, Neiman-Marcus Company Purchase Prize, Seventh Annual Dallas Allied Arts Exhibition, 1935, 1935.2
Lush green views:
Edward Burgess Butler, “O’er Hill and Dale,” 1920, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mr. A. M. Matson, 1921.4
George Inness, “Summer Foliage,” 1883, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, bequest of Joel T. Howard, 1951.9
Everyday people:
Amelia Urbach, “The Letter,” 1939, oil on Masonite, Dallas Museum of Art, Kiest Fund Prize, Tenth Annual Dallas Allied Art Exhibition, 1939, 1939.3
Olin Herman Travis, “Head,” c. 1930, lithographic crayon, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Margaret Scruggs Carruth, 1930.8
Florence Volk, “Subway News Stand,” date unknown, aquatint, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Print Society Fund, 1948.29
John Butler, “Man in Corncrib,” c. 1933-34, color lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Public Works of Art Project, 1935.17
Erwin E. Smith, “Frank Smith, Watering His Horse, Cross-B Ranch, Crosby County, Texas,” c. 1909, gelatin dry plate negative, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase, 1959.35.7
Isaac Soyer, “Art Beauty Shoppe,” 1934, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Public Works of Art Project, 1935.7
And all the critters in between:
John James Audubon, “Canis Lupus (Black America Wolf),” 1848, hand-colored lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase, 1949.59
John Breckinridge Martin, “Possum,” 1910, pastels, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Mrs. Arthur Kramer, Sr., 1950.95
John James Audubon, “Spermophilus Douglassii (Two Douglas Squirrels),” 1844, hand-colored lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association Purchase, 1949.62
Are you too cool for British rule? Then celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by exploring more than 150 outstanding prints from the colonial era to the present, drawn exclusively from the National Gallery of Art’s collection. Visiting Visions of America: Three Centuries of Prints from the National Gallery of Artis how you get Fourth of July HamilDONE right. Ain’t no party like a George Washington party, because a George Washington party don’t stop! See you Tuesday friends, the DMA is open on the Fourth of July from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.
America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.
—President Harry S. Truman
This Fourth of July, we celebrate our country’s birth and the individuals who have cultivated it into a mighty nation. We come from many backgrounds, bringing unique perspectives and traditions to this melting pot we call home. Together we make this sweet land of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness a reality.
Garry Winogrand, “Untitled (Central Park),” from the series “Women are Beautiful,” 1975, gelatin silver print, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Paul Brauchle, 1995.153
Bank Langmore, “Portrait of Old Cowboy, Vern Torrance, Padlocks Ranch, Montana,” 1974, gelatin silver print with toning, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Paul Brauchle, 1992.305.1
Julie Henley is the Communications and Marketing Coordinator at the DMA.
This fourth of July we are celebrating the stars and stripes in the DMA collection. The DMA is open tomorrow, July 4th, and the entire weekend, so come explore the collection for free!
Sol Lewitt, Anthony Sansotta, Wall Drawing #398, 1983, drawn April 1985, color ink wash, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The 500, Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Collins and Mr. and Mrs. James L. Stephenson, Jr. 1985.3
Sidney H. Riesenberg, United States Department of the Treasury, Ketterlinus, Over the Top for You. Buy U. S. Gov’t Bonds, Third Liberty Loan, 1918, color offset lithograph, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Marcia M. Middleton in memory of Joel Middleton 1980.96
Paul Reed, Interchange XII, 1966, acrylic on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of John W. English 1967.22
Gerald Murphy, Razor, 1924, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of the artist
Rufino Tamayo, El Hombre (Man) (detail), 1953, vinyl with pigment on panel, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds 1953.22
Star-shaped club head/Cabeza de porra en forma de estrella, Peru: Andean coast, A.D. 100–700, copper, Dallas Museum of Art, The Nora and John Wise Collection, gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, the Eugene McDermott Family, Mr. and Mrs. Algur H. Meadows and the Meadows Foundation, Incorporated, and Mr. and Mrs. John D. Murchison, 1976.W.1773
Michael Bevilacqua, High-Speed Gardening (detail), 2000, acrylic on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by The Neuberger Berman Foundation 2001.61.A-B
Robert Indiana, Hemisfair, San Antonio, 1968, poster, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of Tucker Willis 1998.101
Striped chevron bead, n.d., drawn glass, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Dozier Foundation 1990.295.1
In celebration of the Fourth of July, we thought it might be fun to spotlight some of the great American artworks in our collection that have been created in the 237 years since our nation’s founding.
Rembrandt Peale, George Washington, c. 1850, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Karl and Esther Hoblitzelle Collection, gift of the Hoblitzelle Foundation
What better way to start than with the Father of Our Country? This portrait, completed fifty-one years after Washington’s death, was created by an artist who had met George Washington on several occasions. His first encounter with the president occurred when Rembrandt Peale was just seventeen years old. He painted a portrait of the president that would serve as the inspiration for countless additional portraits over the years. Peale shows Washington in his later years, perhaps reflecting back on his time as a surveyor, general, and president. When you visit the galleries, you might compare this painting with Jean-Antoine Houdon’s bust of George Washington, which is located right around the corner. Which one do you think is a more accurate likeness?
Crawford Riddell, Bedstead, c. 1844, Brazilian rosewood, tulip poplar, yellow pine, and polychromed textile, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of three anonymous donors, Friends of the Decorative Arts Fund, General Acquisitions Fund, Discretionary Decorative Arts Fund, and the Boshell Family Foundation
It’s impossible to lead a tour through our galleries without stopping at the Gothic bedstead. As beautiful as this work of art is, I think its history is even more fascinating. This bed was commissioned by a group of Whig party supporters who were convinced that Henry Clay was finally going to win an election and become President of the United States. Unfortunately for those eager supporters, Clay lost the 1844 election to James K. Polk, and the bed never made its way into the White House. It’s always fun to hear from our visitors who they think might have slept in a bed this grand.
Thomas Moran, An Indian Paradise (Green River, Wyoming), 1911, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Munger Fund
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, American artists headed West to explore new territories in the United States. Many of them were captivated by the natural beauty of the landscape—especially areas like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite Parks. These artists began to think of such awe-inspiring locations as our cathedrals and monuments. By capturing their beauty and grandeur on canvas, they celebrated the landscapes that make our country unique. What natural wonders are your favorite American landscapes?
Our collection provides many wonderful primary sources that relate to key events in American history. We hope that you’ll come visit them in person on July 4—the DMA will be open (with FREE general admission) from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.
Shannon Karol is the Manager of Docent and Teacher Programs at the DMA.
Some visitors to the DMA may have taken our self-guided tour Seeing Red, and loyal readers of our blog may remember a post we did back in December about works in our collection that are white. So while we have not focused on the color blue yet, we thought this would be a good day to share with you a few works in our collection that feature red, white, and blue.
Striped chevron bead, Drawn glass, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of The Dozier Foundation
Childe Hassam, Flags, Fifth Avenue, 1918, Watercolor, Dallas Museum of Art, Munger Fund, in memory of Mrs. George Aldredge
Anne Vallayer-Coster, Bouquet of Flowers in a Blue Porcelain Vase, 1776, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund and gift of Michael L. Rosenberg
Rufino Tamayo, El Hombre (Man), 1953, Vinyl with pigment on panel, Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas Art Association commission, Neiman-Marcus Company Exposition Funds [credit line published in 1997 DMA Guide to the Collections: Dallas Museum of Art, commissioned by the Dallas Art Association through Neiman-Marcus Exposition Funds]
Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Blue Plane, Red, Black, Yellow, and Gray, 1921, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, gift of Mrs. James H. Clark
Yves Tanguy, Apparitions, 1927, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, The Eugene and Margaret McDermott Art Fund, Inc., in honor of Nancy O’Boyle
Jean Antoine Theodore Giroust, Oedipus at Colonus, 1788, Oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, Foundation for the Arts Collection, Mrs. John B. O’Hara Fund
James Brooks, Quand, 1969, oil on canvas, Dallas Museum of Art, gift of the Meadows Foundation Incorporated
Wassily Kandinsky, Boating (from Sounds), 1907-1911, 1913, Volume with thirty-eight prose poems and twelve color and forty-four black-and-white woodcuts, Dallas Museum of Art, Centennial gift of Natalie H. (Schatzie) and George T. Lee
Stacey Lizotte is the Head of Adult Programming and Multimedia Services.
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