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International Art Treasures Web Magazine June 2005 |
Capturing Beauty
American Impressionist and Realist Paintings
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"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." VMFA Director Dr. Michael Brand described the Capturing Beauty exhibit. |
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Dr. Brand adds, that the McGlothlin collection is "one of the largest holdings of 19th- and 20th-century American paintings still in private hands." |
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Martin Johnson Heade
One of the standout pieces is Magnolias and a Bud on Teal Velvet, a magnificent oil by Martin Johnson Heade.
Title: Two Magnolias and a Bud on Teal Velvet
Artist: Martin Johnson Heade (American, 1819-1904),
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 15 x 24 inches
Collection of: James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
Image Courtesy: 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Pennsylvanian native was a member of the Hudson River School of artists. His wanderlust was evident with his constant travels in Europe, the United States and South America. It was during his sojourn in New York City that he was influenced by landscape artists such as Frederic Church. Among his favored subject were flowers and he produced an exceptional series of magnolias in his floral still life collection.
Winslow Homer
Title: The Watch, Eastern Shore, Prout's Neck 1894,
Artist: Winslow Homer (American, 1836-1910)
Medium: Watercolor on Paper,
Dimensions: 15 1/2 x 20 inches.
Collection of: James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
Photo by Katherine Wetzel,
Image Courtesy and ©: 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
One of the greatest American painters, Winslow Homer, spent time studying with the French Impressionists and choose to refine their use of light and color within his own works. Homer used a clear form with broad strokes of light and dark imagery rather than the blurring preferred by others. Homer was incredibly creative with his watercolors, giving them the force and power of oil. Like Heade he too had a favored subject, the power and majesty of the sea.
Title: Afternoon by the Sea, ca.1888
Artist: William Merritt Chase (American, 1849-1916)
Medium: Pastel on Linen,
Dimensions: 20 x 30 inches.
Collection of: James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
Photo by Katherine Wetzel,
Image Courtesy and ©: 2005 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
Dr. David Park Curry, VMFA's curator of American arts, believes that "unexpected gems - a seductive sketch by William Merritt Chase, a subtle seascape by James McNeill Whistler and an evocative interior by William McGregor Paxton - will add luster to the show."
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The McGlothlins
Amazingly the owners, Mr. James W. and Mrs. Frances G. McGlothlin, of Austin, Texas, assembled their art collection during the past ten years. Frances G. McGlothlin is a VMFA trustee.
Dr. Brand points out "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."
Title: Moonlight, 1907
Artist: Childe Hassam (American, 1859-1935)
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Dimensions: 25 3/4 x 36 1/4 inches
Collection of: James W. and Frances G. McGlothlin.
Image Courtesy: Virginia Museum of Fine Arts