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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)

 

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