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Capturing Beauty: American
Impressionist and Realist Paintings from the McGlothlin Collection
May 19 - September 18, 2005
(above: "Portrait of Ambrogio
Raffele," circa early 1900s, by John Singer Sargent (American, 1856-1925),
watercolor over graphite on paper, 20 x 14 inches. It is from the collection
of James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, ©
2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
Capturing Beauty:
American Impressionist and Realist Paintings from the McGlothlin Collection, opening Thursday, May 19, 2005 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, will showcase works from one of the
largest holdings of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings still in private
hands, according to VMFA Director Dr. Michael Brand. (right: Dr.
Michael Brand, Director, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photo ©
2000 Mike Curtin)
Mr. and Mrs. James W. McGlothlin of Austin, Texas, assembled
their collection over the past decade. Mrs. McGlothlin has been a VMFA trustee
since 1998.
Among the 35 paintings, watercolors, pastels and sculptures
in the exhibition will be works by some of the nation's leading artists.
"Breath-taking Impressionist works by Mary Cassatt,
Childe Hassam and John Singer Sargent join forces with powerful Realist
pictures by George Bellows, Winslow Homer and Robert Henri," Dr. Brand
says.
One of the most important paintings on view will be Martin
Johnson Heade's "Two Magnolias and a Bud on Teal Velvet" (1885-95).
It is from the well-known series of magnolia studies created by Heade in
an era when his Victorian audience was versed in the "language"
of flowers. Magnolia grandiflora symbolized feminine charm, self-esteem
and -- a connotation still popular in the South -- hospitality. A similar
Heade painting, "Giant Magnolias on Blue Velvet" circa 1890),
now in the National Gallery of Art collection, is featured on a U.S. first-class
postage stamp.
Dr. David Park Curry, VMFA's curator of American arts,
says "unexpected gems -- a seductive sketch by William Merritt Chase,
a subtle seascape by James McNeill Whistler, an evocative interior by William
McGregor Paxton -- will add luster to the show."
"A sparkling watercolor by Maurice Prendergast radiates
the energy with which Mr. and Mrs. McGlothlin have exercised their passion
for collecting since the mid-1990s," Dr. Brand says.
"Their recently acquired Sargent oil portrait of Mme.
Eugenia Errazuriz, one of the great beauties of the late 19th century, attests
to their own love of the beautiful in American art. Now to be shared for
the first time with visitors to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the American
Impressionist and Realist pictures in the exhibition will invite repeated
discovery." (left: Dr. David Park Curry, Curator of American
Arts, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photo © 2001 Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts)
Two-thirds of the pictures to be on view were painted in
the United States. Expatriate Americans working in England, France, Italy
and Spain created the rest.
(above: "Two Magnolias and a Bud on Teal Velvet,"
circa 1885-95, by Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819-1904), oil on canvas,
15 x 24 inches. It is from the collection of James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin)
A fully illustrated 88-page exhibition catalog will include
34 entries by Curry and an introduction by Dr. Theodore E. Stebbins Jr.,
curator of American art at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University.
The exhibition catalog is made possible by the Julia Louise
Reynolds Fund. Admission to "Capturing Beauty" will be free through
funding provided by the Elisabeth Shelton Gottwald Fund and the Lettie Pate
Whitehead Evans Fund.
(above: "Handkerchief Point," circa 1896-97, by
Maurice Prendergast (1859-1924), watercolor over graphite on paper, 13 1/2
x 9 5/8 inches. It is from the collection of James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
Checklist for the exhibition
- George Wesley Bellows (1882-1925)
- May Day in Central Park,
ca. 1905
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "Bellows"
- 18 x 22 inches (45.7 x 55.9 cm)
-
- Robert Frederick Blum (1857-1903)
- Flora de Stephano, the artist's model, 1889
- Pastel on linen
- Signed and dated: "Blum - 89"
- 20 1/2 x 18 1/4 inches (52.1 x 46.4 cm)
-
- Dennis Miller Bunker (1861-1890)
- Larmor, 1884
- Oil on canvas
- Signed, dated, and inscribed: "Dennis M. Bunker
-/ Lamour - 1884"
- 18 x 25 1/2 inches (45.7 x 64.8 cm)
-
- Mary Cassatt (1844-1926)
- Lydia Seated on a Terrace, Crocheting, 1881-82 [title tentative]
- Oil on canvas with tempera
- Signed: "Mary Cassatt"
- 15 x 24 3/10 inches (38.1 x 61.6 cm)
-
- William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)
- Afternoon By the Sea, ca.
1888
- Pastel on linen
- Signed: "Wm. M. Chase"
- 20 x 30 inches (50.8 x 76.2 cm)
-
- (right: "Afternoon By the Sea," circa 1888, by William Merritt
Chase (American, 1849-1916), pastel on linen, 20 x 30 inches. It is from
the collection of James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin. Photo by Katherine
Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
-
- William Merritt Chase (1849-1916)
- A Mandolin Player, ca. 1880
- Oil on panel
- 10 x 7 inches (25.4 x 17.7 cm)
-
- Frederick C. Frieseke (1874-1939)
- Luxembourg Garden , 1901
- Oil on canvas
- Signed and dated "F. Frieseke 1901"
- 26 x 32 inches (66 x 81.3 cm)
-
- Seymour Joseph Guy (1824-1910)
- At the Opera, 1887
- Oil on canvas
- Signed and dated: "S J Guy 1887"
- 19 1/4 x 15 inches (48.9 x 38.1 cm)
-
- Childe Hassam (1859-1935)
- Moonlight, 1907
- Oil on canvas
- Signed and dated: "Hassam 1907"
- Inscribed on verso: "C. H."
- 25 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches (65.4 x 83.8 cm)
-
- (right: "Moonlight," 1907, by Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935),
oil on canvas, 25 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches. It is from the collection of James
W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
-
- Childe Hassam (1859-1935)
- Winter Nightfall in the City,
1889
- Oil on canvas
- Signed, inscribed, and dated: "Childe Hassam Paris
1889"
- 25 1/2 x 33 inches (64.8 x 83.8 cm)
-
- Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904)
- White Cherokee Roses in a Salamander Vase, ca. 1883-95
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "M. J. Heade"
- 26 x 13 inches (66 x 33 cm)
-
- Martin Johnson Heade (1819-1904)
- Two Magnolias and a Bud on Teal Velvet, ca. 1885-95
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "M. J. Heade"
- 15 x 24 inches (38.1 x 61 cm)
-
- Robert Henri (1865-1929)
- Listening Boy, 1924
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "Robert Henri"
- Signed and inscribed on verso: "Robert Henri 181/M
Listening Boy"
- 24 x 20 inches (61 x 50.8 cm)
-
- Robert Henri (1865-1929)
- Miss Kaji Waki, 1909
- Oil on canvas
- Signed "Robert Henri"
- 77 x 37 inches (195.6 x 94 cm)
-
- Robert Henri (1865-1929)
- Sketchers in the Woods, 1918
- Pastel on paper
- Signed "R Henri"
- 12 1/5 x 19 4/5 inches (31.1 x 50.2 cm)
-
- Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
- By the Shore, 1870s
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "HOMER"
- 9 1/2 x 10 inches (24.1 x 25.4 cm)
-
- Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
- Canoeing in the Adirondacks,
1892
- Watercolor on paper
- Signed and dated: "Homer 1892"
- 15 ? x 20 inches (39.4 x 50.8 cm)
-
- Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
- Girl Reading Under an Oak Tree,
1879
- Oil on canvas
- Signed and dated: "Homer 1879"
- 15 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches (39.4 x 57.2 cm)
-
- Winslow Homer (1836-1910)
- The Watch, Eastern Shore, Prout's Neck, 1894
- Watercolor on paper
- Signed and dated: "Homer 1894"
- 15 1/2 x 20 inches (39.4 x 50.8 cm)
-
- (right: "The Watch, Eastern Shore, Prout's Neck," 1894, by
Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910), watercolor on paper, 15 1/2 x 20 inches.
It is from the collection of James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin. Photo
by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
-
- William McGregor Paxton (1869-1941)
- The Letter, 1908
- Oil on canvas
- Signed and dated: "Paxton - 1908"
- 30 x 25 inches (76.2 x 63.5 cm)
-
- Maurice Prendergast (1859-1924)
- Handkerchief Point, ca. 1896-97
- Watercolor over graphite on paper
- Signed: "Prendergast"
- 13 1/2 x 9 5/8 inches (34.3 x 24.4 cm)
-
- Theodore Robinson (1852-1896)
- Portrait of Madame Baudy,
1888
- Oil on panel
- Inscribed, signed, and dated: "To Madame Baudy/
Th. Robinson 1888"
- 13 x 9 1/2 inches (33 x 24.1 cm)
-
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
- Gathering Blossoms, Valdemosa,
1908
- Oil on canvas
- 28 x 22 inches (71.1 x 55.9 cm)
-
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
- Madame Errazuriz, ca. 1883-84
- Oil on canvas
- 18 3/4 x 15 1/2 inches (48.3 x 39.4 cm)
-
- (Right: "Madame Errazuriz," circa 1883-84, by John Singer
Sargent (American, 1856-1925) is an oil on canvas measuring 18-3/4 by 15-1/2
inches. It is from the collection of James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)
-
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
- Portrait of Ambrogio Raffele,
ca. 1904-11
- Watercolor over graphite on paper
- Inscribed and signed: "all' amico A Raffele John
S. Sargent"
- 20 x 14 inches (50.8 x 35.6 cm)
-
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
- Two Girls, 1885-86
- Watercolor on paper
- 17 3/4 x 13 7/8 inches (45.1 x 35.5 cm)
-
- John Singer Sargent (1856-1925)
- Venetian Wineshop, ca. 1902
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "John S. Sargent"
- 21 x 27 1/2 inches (53.4 x 69.9 cm)
-
- Everett Shinn (1876-1953)
- Back Row, Folies Bergere,
1900
- Pastel on paper
- 20 1/2 x 27 inches (52.1 x 68.6 cm)
-
- Everett Shinn (1876-1953)
- Horsedrawn Bus, 1899
- Pastel on paper
- Signed and dated: "Everett Shinn / 99"
- 22 x 30 inches (56 x 76.2 cm)
-
- John Sloan (1871-1951)
- Gray Day, Jersey Coast, 1911
- Oil on canvas
- Signed: "John Sloan"
- 22 x 26 1/5 inches (56 x 66.6 cm)
-
- Julius L. Stewart (1855-1919)
- Flowers in Her Hair, 1900
- Oil on canvas
- Signed and dated: "J. Stewart 1900"
- 19 x 23 inches (48.3 x 58.4 cm)
-
- John Henry Twachtman (1853-1902)
- Gloucester, Fishermen's Houses,
1900
- Oil on canvas
- 25 x 25 1/2 inches (63.5 x 64.8 cm)
-
- Adolf Alexander Weinman (1870-1952)
- Rising Day, ca. 1910
- Cast bronze
- Stamped on base: "A Wienman Fecit s./ Day No. 23"
Night No. 28"
- 26 x 26 inches (66.1 x 66.1 cm)
-
- Adolf Alexander Weinman (1870-1952)
- Descending Night, ca. 1910
- Cast bronze
- Stamped on base: "A Wienman Fecit s./ Night No.
28"
- 26 x 26 inches (66.1 x 66.1 cm)
-
- James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
- Green and Silver - The Bright Sea, Dieppe, 1883-1885
- Signed twice with artist's butterfly
- Watercolor and gouache on paper
- 10 x 7 1/8 inches (25.4 x 18 cm)
-
- (right: "Green and Silver - The Bright Sea, Dieppe," 1883-1885,
by James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903), watercolor and gouache
on paper, 10 x 7 1/8 inches. It is from the collection of James W. and
Frances G. McGlothlin. Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © 2005 Virginia
Museum of Fine Arts)
Editor's note: RL readers may also find of interest these related
articles and essays:
- Tom K. Enman: Southern California Impressionist
(5/97)
- All Things Bright and Beautiful:
California Impressionist Paintings from the Irvine Museum (3/10/98)
- Art Colonies and American Impressionists
(9/1/98)
- American Impressionism from the Sheldon
Memorial Art Gallery (10/98)
- A Century of Impressionism on Cape Cod
(7/6/99)
- Visions of Home: American Impressionist
Images of Suburban Leisure and Country Comfort (7/11/99)
- Faces of Impressionism: Portraits from
American Collections (8/6/99)
- American Impressionism to Modernism:
A Brief History by Patricia Jobe Pierce (9/10/99)
- John Twachtman: An American Impressionist
(2/17/00)
- American Impressionism: Treasures from the
Smithsonian American Art Museum (8/8/00)
- Light Shines on Frank W. Benson: American
Impressionist (9/19/00)
- American Impressionists Abroad and at Home:
Paintings from the Collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (11/18/00)
- The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists
on the Connecticut Shore (12/1/00)
- Theodore Robinson: Pioneer of American
Impressionism, by D. Scott Atkinson (4/19/01)
- The Cos Cob Art Colony: Impressionists
on the Connecticut Shore (6/18/01)
- Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, and
the Eucalyptus School in Southern California, essay by Nancy Dustin Wall
Moure (6/28/01)
- The Development of Southern California
Impressionism, essay by Jean Stern (7/3/01)
- Towards Impressionism in Northern California,
essay by Raymond L. Wilson (7/7/01)
- Excerpts from the exhibition catalogue,
American Impressionism, by William Gerdts and the Henry Art Gallery
(7/24/01)
- American Impressionism Goes West, essay
by Charles C. Eldredge, PhD (8/17/01)
- Impressionism Transformed: The Paintings
of Edmund C. Tarbell (8/24/01)
- American Impressionism: Paintings of Promise;
essay by David R. Brigham (5/16/02)
- Albert Henry Krehbiel (1873-1945): American
Impressionist, Muralist and Art Educator; article by Donald T. Ryan, Jr
(5/25/02)
- Impressionist Jewels: The Paintings of
Martha Walter, article by W Douglass Paschall (11/12/02)
- In and Out of California: Travels of American
Impressionists (11/21/02)
- In and Out of California: Travels of American
Impressionists; essay by Deborah Epstein Solon (1/2/03)
- Impressionism in California, 1890-1930;
essay by Jean Stern (7/30/03)
- Impressionist Style in Perspective; essay
by Jean Stern, from the catalogue "California Impressionists"
(11/4/03)
- Landscape of Light: Impressionism in California;
essay by Jean Stern, from the catalogue "Impressions of California:
Early Currents in Art 1850-1950" (12/26/03)
- Childe Hassam, American Impressionist (1/2/04)
- American Impressions, 1865-1935: Prints,
Drawings, and Watercolors from the Collection (1/2/04)
- Earth, River, and Light: Masterworks of
Pennsylvania Impressionism (1/21/04)
- Childe Hassam and Connecticut Impressionism
(1/23/04)
- American Impressions: An Arcadian Vision,
Paintings from the Akron Art Museum; essay by Kathryn A. Wat (4/5/04)
- Sunlight and Shadow: American Impressionist
Paintings (5/10/04)
- Allan Freelon: Pioneer African-American
Impressionist (9/2/04)
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source by visiting the sub-index page for the Virginia
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