Few artists are as closely associated with the American West as Frederic Remington (1861 – 1909). Best known for his illustrations, bronze sculptures, and paintings of cowboys, he also found a favorite subject in U.S. Cavalrymen, especially the hard-riding soldiers of the 9th and 10th Regiments, known also as Buffalo Soldiers. This lecture explores Remington’s images of these renowned African American regiments and, in particular, his striking canvas, The Pursuit(1896 – 98) in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ collection.
Archives
“Loving Comrades”: Artists and Soldiers in Civil War America
This lecture explores the different ways American painters — from New York-based Winslow Homer to Richmond-based William D. Washington — responded to the divisive violence and moral discord of this country’s Civil War. It also addresses their career shifts in the immediate aftermath of war as its lingering effects led to different kinds of reconstruction.
Keeping Up Appearances: Art and Culture in the Edwardian Period
Experience the culture, art, and fashion of this sumptuous era as you take a journey on both sides of the Atlantic — from the castles and manors of landed lords in England to the estates and mansions of wealthy tycoons in America — to see how the “other half” lived.
Henry Box Brown: Famous Fugitive, Trans-Atlantic Performer
Henry Brown escaped from slavery by shipping himself in a box from Richmond to Philadelphia. This bold feat was only the first act of a remarkable career. “Resurrected” from the box as Henry Box Brown, he appeared at antislavery meetings as a singer and speaker. In 1850, Brown produced a moving panorama, a kind of giant painted scroll presented in a theater, called Mirror of Slavery and toured it around New England and then across the Atlantic. Trace this remarkable journey with Jeffrey Ruggles, former Curator of Prints and Photographs, Virginia Historical Society, and author of The Unboxing of Henry Brown, Library of Virginia, 2003.
Great Road Style: The Decorative Arts Legacy of Southwest Virginia
Travel down the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road on a cultural heritage discovery trip through Southwest Virginia & Northeast Tennessee. During this illustrated PowerPoint lecture, encounter the friendly country forms of pie safes and crazy quilts, colorful pottery decorated with dabs, splashes or cobalt blue flowers, high-style furniture made by a Philadelphia-trained cabinetmaker and beautiful wool and linen coverlets woven at home on large barn looms. Settled last in Virginia, this was the frontier and witness to a great migration of new Americans from Europe and the British Isles who poured down the Valley of Virginia during the last half of the 18th and first years of the 19th centuries. Artisans followed settlers and tradition combined with evolving market preference to create a lively mix of decorative arts that became Great Road Style.
An American Silence: Walker Evans and Edward Hopper
The photographer Walker Evans and painter Edward Hopper were part of the generation of American artists who tore themselves away from European ideals at the start of the 20th century. Join Jeffrey Allison as he explores these artists who celebrated America without filter focusing on common people in common lives and places. Within those scenes lie a powerful silence in which directness creates a visual anxiety as we wonder what has just happened and what will happen next.
Explore Post-Modern African American Art
In this discussion of late 20th- through 21st-century African American art from the VMFA’s permanent collection, learn what it means to view art and how can we discover new things when properly looking at a work of art. Our discussion begins with simply looking. Then we will explore influences, such as race, gender, or context, as well as technique and subject matter in the work of Kehinde Wiley, Julie Mehretu, Martin Puryear, Lorna Simpson, Kara Walker, Allison Saar, Renée Stout, and Robert Pruitt.
The African American Art at VMFA
Expand your knowledge of African American culture by examining art in the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ collection. This lecture will observe many works by artists who deal with African American life and history as well as art that ranges in time period, style, and subject matter. Gain an understanding of and appreciation for the discipline of African American art.
Mirage on the Sahara? Timbuktu and Mali, Yesterday and Today
Often thought of as a “verbal mirage” meaning the farthest place imaginable, Timbuktu was essential to the economy of broad stretches of West Africa for many centuries as well as a noted center of learning where books and manuscripts were valued as much as gold. Today, the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been thrust into a dramatically pivotal role in Mali’s sudden struggle with democracy and partition. This talk will survey the stunning history of art and culture in Mali and Timbuktu from the earliest times to today.
A Horse of Course: The Equine Image in Art
A Horse of Course explores the numerous ways in which the horse has inspired artists throughout the ages. No animal has been more important to us, or figured more prominently in our art, than the horse. This exhibition is a testament to the magnificence of the horse throughout history and its changing image over time. A wide variety of artists are represented, ranging from George Stubbs, to Edgar Degas, to Deborah Butterfield. The twelve photographic reproductions are selected from the permanent collections at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. While this exhibition is perfect for K – 12 students, anyone interested in horses or art history will find the diversity of works fascinating.
While in modern times the utilitarian context of the horse has faded with the emergence of the automobile, the equine image has not lost its ability to inspire. However, artistic depictions of the horse today are drastically different from what they were in the past. Contemporary artists, like Deborah Butterfield, have made horse sculptures out of media never used in traditional representations. This evolution in artistic renderings reflects the ever-present, albeit changing, role of a beautiful and captivating animal.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts has a variety of exhibitions available for statewide travel. This exhibition is supported by the Paul Mellon Fund.
LIMITED Security
Loan Period: 4 to 6 Weeks
Fee: Free
Code Number: GA-102
Framed Size: 16″ x 20″
Running Feet: 19.5′
Boxed Weight: 70 lbs.
To supplement the exhibition, we recommend the following related resources available through the Statewide Program. For more information or to schedule a speaker, workshop, or media resource, phone 804.204.2681or email edpartner@vmfa.museum.
Curator Talk with Jeffrey W. Allison
Artist Workshops:
Exploring Paul Mellon Collection: I Spy Through Edgar Degas’s Eye with Donna Drozda
Exploring Paul Mellon Collection: I Spy Through Herbert Haseltine’s Eye with Donna Drozda
Exploring Paul Mellon Collection: I Spy Through George Catlin’s Eye with Donna Drozda
Speakers:
Equestrian Excellence: The Art of George Stubbs with Jeffrey W. Allison
The Hierarchy of the Hunt: 18th Century British Sporting Art with Jeffrey W. Allison
Transforming Images: Degas’s Debt to Photography with Jeffrey W. Allison
The World of George Catlin with Jeffrey W. Allison
Teacher Workshop:
Horse of Course: The Equine Image in Art
MEDIA RESOURCES
DVDs:
Ancient Civilizations for Children #s 4 and 5
Deborah Butterfield: Dialogue with the Artist
Degas and the Dance
The Impressionists #2
The Mystery of Picasso
Paul Mellon: In His Own Words
Picasso: The Man and His Work
This Sporting Life: British Art from the Collection of Paul Mellon
VHS Cassettes:
100 Greatest Paintings, pts. 5, 9 and 14
An African Perspective: African Art
Africa’s Enduring Art: Now and Then
American Visions #5
Ancient Civilizations #4
Arts of the East: China, Japan, India, Tibet
The Atlantic Coast of Winslow Homer
The Cubist Epoch
Degas: Beyond Impressionism
Edgar Degas: The Unquiet Spirit
A First Look at Farm Animals
Frontier Visionary: George Catlin
George Stubbs
The Horse Sculptures of Deborah Butterfield
Jewel in the Himalayas
Legacy: Origins of Civilization #s 2 and 4
Lost Civilizations #6
Montparnasse #s 1 and 2
Meishu: Travels in Chinese Art #s 1 and 2
New Ways of Seeing
Picasso is 90
Picasso’s Guernica
Reconstruction of Space
The Romantic Rebellion: Romantic versus Classic Art #13
Sister Wendy’s Story of Painting #5
The Taj Mahal
Two White Horses
Winslow Homer: The Nature of the Artist
The World Began at Ile-Ife: Meaning and Function in Art
Yoruba Performance
Yoruba Ritual
CD-ROMs:
Animals in Art #s 1 and 2