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through January 10, 1999, the Chrysler Museum of Art's Community Galiery
will display watercolors by artist Kenneth Harris (1904-1983) from his perennially
popular Portrait of a City series of 1950-1951. 
Chrysler Museum of Art
Norfolk, Virginia
(757) 664-6200
Portrait of a City at Mid-Century: Kenneth Harris' Views of Norfolk
Debuting on Tuesday, September 22,
1998 and extending
through January 10, 1999, the Chrysler Museum of Art's Community Galiery
will display watercolors by artist Kenneth Harris (1904-1983) from his perennially
popular Portrait of a City series of 1950-1951.
Views of old downtown Norfolk and Ghent will be shown,
including historic landmarks such as the Moses Myers House, St. Paul's Church,
the original Norfolk Academy, and the Lamberts Point Docks. This evocative
exhibition offers a nostalgic look at Norfollc's face at mid-century, just
prior to the city's extensive redevelopment projects that redefined its
character following World War II. It also provides a pictorial narrative
of Norfolk that captures the charm and appeal that, to some degree and with
imagination, still exists today.
In 1950, the former Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences
(today's Chrysler Museum of Art) commissioned Kenneth Harris, one of Hampton
Roads' most respected and gifted watercolorists, to illustrate the city
as it had appeared just after the war. 
The resulting series of thirty watercolors proved to be
an aesthetic triumph and, as well, an invaluable historical document. After
being shown in 1952 at the Norfolk Museum, the show traveled to nearly a
dozen other museums and galleries throughout the Southeast. By the time
the tour concluded in 1954, six of the sites Harris had depicted had already
been drastically altered or had disappeared completely.
Join the Chrysler Museum of Art in this celebration of
the works of this remarkable artist and historian. Experience a glimpse
into the past through Kenneth Harris' vision and his colorful and vibrant
scenes of a Norfolk "once upon a time."
From top to bottom: NE Corner of Bank and Bute Streets,
1951, watercolor, 15 3/8 x 21 inches; Design for Living, 1953, watercolor,
13 1/4 x 20 1/4 inches; West Freemason St. Looking West Towards Library,
1951, watercolor, 15 1/4 x 20 3/4 inches; Beechwood Place, Hague in the
Distance, 1950, watercolor, 15 1/4 x 22 inches; Oyster Plant,
1951, watercolor, 15 1/8 x 22 7/8 inches; East Olney Road, 1951,
watercolor, 15 1/4 x 22 3/8 inches.
rev. 11/26/10
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