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International Art Treasures Web Magazine May 2005 |
Chrysler Museum of Art
Owing to the generosity and art appreciation of Walter P Chrysler, Jr. the Chrysler Museum of Art (CMA) is home to a world-class collection of art and antiquities. Located in Norfolk the museum has a magnificent permanent collection coupled with special exhibits making any time a good time to visit.
Great Expectations:
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Title: Garden Study of the Vickers Children, 1884 Artist: John Singer Sargent (American 1856-1925) Medium: Oil on Canvas Dimensions: 54 1/4 x 35 7/8 inches (137.8 x 91.1 cm) Flint Institute of Arts Gift of Viola E. Bray Charitable Trust (Via Mr. and Mrs. William L. Richards), 1972.47 Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art |
John Singer Sargent is best known for his society portraits. Great Expectations has thirty-eight paintings devoted to his artwork depicting children. The artist built his reputation with paintings of notable men and women who naturally would want to add images of their progeny to their individual art collection as a demonstration of their wealth. Not only could they afford to collect art but also to commission their own family portraits.
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Sargent's work had many admirers including Rodin who compared the American portraitist to Van Dyck.
Title: Essie, Ruby and Ferdinand, Children of Asher Wertheimer, 1902
Artist: John Singer Sargent (American 1856-1925)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 63 1/2 x 76 1/4 inches (161.3 x 193.7 cm)
Tate, London, Presented by the Widow and Family of Asher Wertheimer in Accordance with his Wishes
© Tate, London, 2003
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art
Civil War Photographs from the David L. Hack Collection
November 11 2005 - May 2006
Scottish native, Alexander Gardner, a newspaper editor, moved to the United States planning to live in the American West. It took several years for him to complete that journey after arriving in New York City. He spent seven years as Matthew Brady's assistant becoming an accomplished photographer, eventually Gardner would manage Brady's Washington DC Gallery. This ended with the outbreak of the American Civil War. He went on to photograph the Civil War focusing on the victories and pathos of war.
Title: Home of A Rebel Sharpshooter, Gettysburg, July 1863
Artist: Alexander Gardner (American 1821-1882)
Medium: Albumen Print
Dimensions: 6 3/4 x 8 7/8 inches
Chrysler Museum of Art Purchase and Partial Gift of Carol L. Kaufman and Stephen C. Lampi in Memory of their parents
Helen and Carl Lampi, 91.23.41
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art
Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.
In 1971 the Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences honored the man who had generously donated to each field in the collection with the decision to bear his name becoming the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Title: Interior View Chrysler Museum of Art
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art
An art lover since his early teenage years, Walter P. Chrysler, Jr built an extensive collection of paintings, sculpture, glass works and more spanning a multitude of genres. As a result the Chrysler Museum has Renaissance, Baroque, Impressionist, Modern and many other oeuvres. |
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Title: At the Florist, 1889
Artist: Frederick Childe Hassam (American 1859-1935)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 26 3/4 x 54 1/4 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.,
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Permanent Collection
American Painting, European Painting, Photography, Glass works and Decorative arts are among the collections found at the Chrysler Museum of Art.
Title: Bust of the Savior, 1679-1680
Artist: Gianlorenzo Bernini (Italian, 1598-1680)
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: H 36 1/2 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.,
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk VA
Bernini, considered one of the finest Italian sculptors, is represented in the museum's section devoted to the Baroque era. Among his patrons was the powerful and wealthy Baberini family. After Maffeo Barberini was elected Pope Urban VIII in 1623 Gianlorenzo became the chief artist to the new papacy. Within six years Bernini was the principal architect of St. Peter's Basilica.
Among his contributions to the Basilica was the massive bronze baldacchino found above the High Altar, Pope Urban's tomb and the St. Longinus marble statue. Urban commissioned his tomb well before his death it was begun in 1628 and finished the year after the Pope's death in 1648. The new Pope, Innocent X, preferred another artist thus Bernini required new patrons easy for one of his intense talent to find.
Title: The Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia, 17th Century
Artist: Peter Paul Rubens (Flemish, 1577-1640)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 47 1/2 x 38 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.,
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk VA
Bernini was Italy's Baroque master at the same time that Peter Paul Rubens emerged as the Flemish giant of Baroque. Many royal families commissioned works from Rubens including those in France, England and Spain. In 1609 Rubens became the court painter of the Archduke Albert and the Archduchess Isabella Clara Eugenia (Infanta Isabella of Spain) who together ruled the Spanish Netherlands. After Albert's death in 1621 Isabella sought the wisdom and friendship of Rubens as her primary advisor. After the treaty between Flanders and Spain came to an end Rubens did his best, unsuccessfully, to negotiate peace between the two countries. His diplomatic skills did result in a preliminary truce between England and Spain and his reward was a Knighthood both from King Charles I of England in 1630 and another the following year from King Philip IV of Spain.
Title: Pastorale: The Vegetable Vendor, ca. 1735
Artist: François Boucher (French, 1703-1770)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 95 x 67 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.,
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk VA
The frivolity of mid 18th century French court life was encapsulated in the rococo style. The light playful style was a direct reflection against the darker weightier Baroque period. Madame de Pompadour, mistress of King Louis XV of France, selected François Boucher, the rococo master, as her favorite artist. Boucher in fact gave the lady painting lessons and painted numerous portraits of her. He was a noted landscape artist as well as a fine portraitist. Other than Madame de Pompadour his best known student was Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
Title: Wounded Indian, 1848-1850
Artist: Peter Stephenson (American, 1823-ca. 1860)
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 35 1/8 x 59 x 31 inches
Gift of James H. Ricau and Museum Purchase
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk VA
Wounded Indian is one of the most popular sculptures at the CMA. The profound expression of the native American, fatally wounded is poignant. The artist found inspiration after a visit to Italy in 1845 where he studied the Italian masterworks. Stephenson returned to the USA and began to work on Wounded Indian.
Title: Dancer with Bouquets, ca. 1895-1900
Artist: Edgar Degas (French 1834-1917)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 71 x 60 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.,
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, VA
Glass Works
Title: Portrait of a Woman in a Pergola with Wisteria, ca 1815
Artist: Tiffany Studios (American)
Medium: Stained Glass
Dimensions: 106 1/2 x 86 inches
Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.,
Image Courtesy: The Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk VA
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The Louis Comfort Tiffany pieces are among the most popular
works in the museum's collection. Gary Baker, Curator of Glass and Acting Curator of Decorative Arts discusses the museum's recent acquisition of a Tiffany Yachting Trophy. |
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The Museums has over 8,000 pieces in its unparalleled glass works collection. Velázquez, Rodin, Gaugin, Picasso, Cassatt are just a few of the major artists who are represented in the collection along with American masters Sargent, Pollock and Hassam. One of the finest art collections in North America is found in Norfolk at the Chrysler Museum of Art. |
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