Exhibitions Archive

Boca Museum Artists Guild: Biennial Members Exhibition

June 22 - August 8, 2010

A juried exhibition for professional artist members of this Museum affiliate organization held every two years during the companion competition - the All Florida. A range of work is always represented which describes the pluralistic nature of artists working in South Florida. The exhibition of the Boca Raton Museum Artists Guild, a professional working artists organization, pays tribute to the level of artistic excellence existing in this state and showcases its membership's depth of talent.

ALFRED WERTHEIMER (American, 1929-), Going Home, 1956

Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Wertheimer

Through June 13, 2010

In 1956, a twenty-one-year-old Elvis Presley was at the beginning of his remarkable career. Up-and-coming photographer Alfred Wertheimer (American, 1929- ) was asked by Presley's new label, RCA Victor, to photograph the "Hillbilly Cat" rising star from Mississippi. Wertheimer traveled with Elvis Presley, capturing the unguarded moments in Elvis's life during that crucial year, a year that took him from Tupelo, Mississippi to the silver screen, and to the verge of international stardom and his crowning as "The King of Rock 'n' Roll." These Wertheimer classic images represent the only candid photos of Elvis ever taken. Shortly after, "the Colonel" restricted access to the young singer. From backstage to onstage, from piano benches to Harleys, from on-the-road to screaming fans, Elvis at 21 presents forty large-format photographs that chronicle with cinematic luminosity, a remarkable time when Elvis could sit alone at a drugstore lunch counter.

Elvis at 21: Photographs by Alfred Werthheimer was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, Govinda Gallery, and the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery, and is made possible through the generous support of History™.

©Alfred Wertheimer, All rights reserved.

STANLEY BOXER (American, 1926-2000), Plumagesoftempts, 1988, oil and mixed media on canvas, 60 x 44 inches. Courtesy of the estate of the artist

Rememberingstanleyboxer: A Retrospective 1946-2000

Through June 13, 2010

New York native Stanley Boxer (1926-2000) is best known for his large scale abstract paintings which have a rich sculptural quality produced by thick, impasto brushwork. This retrospective exhibition featured 50 paintings and 13 sculptures dating from 1946 through 2000. Boxer's paintings were championed by American modernist critic Clement Greenberg (1906-1994), famous for his insistence that painters should eliminate subject matter in their work, aiming instead for the purity of abstraction. Boxer studied at the Art Students League and began exhibiting in New York in 1953. Awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975, and elected to the National Academy of Design in 1993, Boxer became one of America's most eminent mid-century abstract painters, with works now held by every major museum in America including the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York, the Boston Museum of Fine Art, the San Francisco Museum of Art and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington D.C.

Rememberingstanleyboxer: A Retrospective 1946-2000 was curated by Elizabeth Stevens, former Director of Exhibitions, Salander O'Reilly Galleries, New York City. Accompanying catalogue is written by Carl Belz, Director Emeritus, Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts, and Contributing Editor of Art New England magazine. Rememberingstanleyboxer also travelled to The University of Richmond Museums, Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art, Richmond, Virginia, and the Housatonic Museum of Art, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

M.C. ESCHER (Dutch, 1898-1972), Reptiles, 1943, Bool #327, lithograph, 13 1/8 x 15 1/8 inches. Courtesy of The Walker Collection. All M. C. Escher's works and text © The M. C. Escher Company, Baarn, The Netherlands. All rights reserved. M. C. Escher ® is a registered trademark

Marc Bell Presents: The Magical World of M.C. Escher

Through April 11, 2010 (Special Exhibition)

The unforgettable visual puzzles and impossible structures of the Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972) have earned Escher worldwide acclaim. Printmaker, draftsman, book illustrator and muralist M.C. Escher became one of the most famous artists of the 20th century, and his graphic works are recognized worldwide. This retrospective exhibition was one of the most comprehensive and important exhibitions of Escher's work ever shown in the United States. It presented hundreds of rare original artworks - including the artist's original drawings, watercolors, prints, wood blocks, studio furniture, tool cabinet and memorabilia - from the M.C. Escher Family Collection, previously on loan to The Hague Museum.

This exhibition was organized by the Boca Raton Museum of Art in conjunction with Walker Fine Art/Rock J. Walker, and will be accompanied by a fully-illustrated catalogue. This exhibition is made possible through the generosity of Marc Bell.

MARY CASSATT, The Lamp [La Lampe], 1890, drypoint, soft-ground, and aquatint, 12 ¾ x 10 inches. Courtesy of Adelson Galle

Mary Cassatt: Works on Paper

Through April 11, 2010 (Special Exhibition)

One of the greatest and most popular of the Impressionists, the American artist Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) created some of her most inventive and appealing images in the print medium. She was captivated by the challenges and artistic possibilities of making prints. These works were a central part of her discipline as a draughtsman, allowing her to focus on the essentials of gesture, form and expression. Cassatt's output as a printmaker was quite small and her prints are praised for being among her most radically innovative works.

This exhibition presented 41 major prints and drawings that have rarely been shown - etchings, color aquatints, counterproofs and drawings, which reveal the range of the artist's creative process and add to our understanding of her innovative approach to art, and her significant contributions to modern printmaking. Organized by Adelson Galleries, New York for the Boca Raton Museum of Art. Accompanying Mary Cassatt: Works on Paper is a fully-illustrated, descriptive catalogue with essays by Warren Adelson, Pamela A. Ivinski, and Barbara Stern Shapiro, which tell the story of these rare works and explore Cassatt's virtuosity as a printmaker.

ENRIQUE MARTINEZ CELAYA, The Imitator, 2007, watercolor on paper, 33 1/2 x 24 1/2 inches. Collection of Martin Brest

An Unfinished Conversation: Collecting Enrique Martinez Celaya

Through January 10, 2010

Drawn from the private collection of filmmaker Martin Brest, this exhibition of 19 enigmatic works by Enrique Martínez Celaya revealed the artist's complex cross-disciplinary approach to art-making while it explored themes such as Memory, Witness, Voyage, Exile, Isolation, Loneliness, and Coming of Age as threaded throughout the artist's body of work. Dated between 2001 and 2007, the works by Martínez Celaya represent in many ways an unfinished conversation.

Born in Cuba in 1964, Martinez Celaya immigrated to Madrid as a child. He went on to earn his B.A. at Cornell in Ithaca, New York before going on to study Quantum Electronics at University of California at Berkeley. He returned to painting, earning his MFA at University of California at Santa Barbara in 1994. Martinez Celeya currently resides in Delray Beach, Florida and Los Angeles, California.

STEPHEN ALTHOUSE, Rake I, 2003, pigmented digital print, 42 x 31 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Stephen Althouse: Tools and Shrouds

Through November 8, 2009

This exhibition debuted a series of 27 large format black and white photographs by Stephen Althouse completed during the last decade. Althouse transforms familiar objects into symbols of human experience and spiritual striving.

Born in Washington, DC in 1948, Althouse's childhood in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania has been an influence on his art. The product of a Quaker education, Althouse received his MFA in sculpture from Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, and studied at Tyler School of Art, Philadelphia. The sculptural tradition of making and manipulating subject matter is carried over into his photography, and is further explored in these enigmatic and powerful images.

CLYDE BUTCHER (American, born in Kansas City, Missouri, 1944 -), Loxahatchee River 1, Jonathan Dickinson State Park, Florida, 1991, gelatin silver print, edition #33/50. Courtesy of Venice Gallery & Studio

Clyde Butcher: Wilderness Visions

Through November 8, 2009

Clyde Butcher's compelling black and white photographs chronicle some of America's most beautiful and complex ecosystems. For more than thirty years, self-taught photographer Butcher (American, born in Kansas City, Missouri in 1944- ) has been preserving the untouched landscape on film, and for twenty of those years he has concentrated on Florida. The exquisite beauty of his work draws the viewer into a relationship with nature. His images are captured with 8 x 10 inch, 11 x 14 inch, and 16 x 20 inch view cameras. The large format allows him to express in elaborate detail, the textures that distinguish the beauty of the landscape. This exhibition presented work from the last twenty-five years ranging from the forests of the Pacific Northwest, to the rocky country of Utah and Colorado, to the woodlands of the Chesapeake region and the wetlands of Florida.

GARY T. ERBE, Take Five, 1981-82, oil on canvas, 64 x 54 inches, collection of Richard Manoogian

Gary T. Erbe: Forty Year Retrospective

Through November 8, 2009

Well-known fool-the-eye painter Gary T. Erbe is a self-taught artist from New Jersey, whose works depict pop culture from the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. This exhibition showcases more than fifty of his trompe l'oeil paintings drawn from private and public collections. Gary Erbe (born in Union City, NJ in 1944- ) is internationally recognized for his realistic style of painting and has exhibited throughout the United States.

Trompe l'oeil (to fool the eye) is illusionist painting that dates back to ancient Rome, 17th-century Dutch painting, and 19th-century American painting. Erbe works in a painstaking technique building up layers of thin color glazes to achieve the illusion of real depth and volume in each painting. As exercises in virtuosity, many works take up to a year to complete. This forty-year retrospective presented Erbe's best works, including his collage paintings meticulously recorded from Erbe's own constructed and arranged tableaux.

Gary T. Erbe: Forty Year Retrospective was organized by the Butler Institute of American Art, Youngstown, Ohio, and traveled to The Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, Albuquerque, New Mexico and New York City's Salmagundi Club.

DONNA TORRES, I have the time. So look up at the flowers and the sky, 2007, oil on canvas, 40 x 40 inches

58th Annual All Florida Juried Competition and Exhibition

Through August 30, 2009

As the state's oldest annual juried competition, the Museum's All Florida has introduced the works of thousands of Florida artists - emerging, under-recognized, and established younger and mid-career artists - in all media. The 58th Annual All Florida Juried Exhibition reinforces the Museum's commitment to Florida artists, provides professional exhibition opportunities for up-and-coming artists, and reveals a provocative glimpse - through Florida artists' eyes - of the state of the art today.

2009's juror was Roy Slade, Director Emeritus of Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, where he served as Director from 1977 to 1995. He has nearly thirty years experience as an artist, arts administrator and educator, and is an outspoken advocate of the arts, lecturing and writing about contemporary art and art museums.

60 artworks were presented - paintings, sculpture, photography and installations - by 48 artists from across the state, selected from 1260 entries.

PAUL JENKINS (American, 1923- ), A Sound of Surf, 1970, watercolor on paper, 48 x 35 inches. Permanent Collection. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Martin Lipton

Expanding Boundaries: Lyrical Abstraction Selections from the Permanent Collection

Through August 30, 2009

In the long and rich evolution of abstraction in the 20th century, Lyrical Abstraction arose in the 1960s and 70s, following the challenge of Minimalism and Conceptual art. Many artists began moving away from geometric, hard-edge, and minimal styles, toward more lyrical, sensuous, romantic abstractions worked in a loose gestural style. These "lyrical abstractionists" sought to expand the boundaries of abstract painting, and to revive and reinvigorate a painterly "tradition" in American art. At the same time, these artists sought to reinstate the primacy of line and color as formal elements in works composed according to aesthetic principles - rather than as the visual representation of sociopolitical realities or philosophical theories.

Characterized by intuitive and loose paint handling, spontaneous expression, illusionist space, acrylic staining, process, occasional imagery, and other painterly techniques, the abstract works included in this exhibition sing with rich fluid color and quiet energy. Works by the following artists associated with Lyrical Abstraction will be included: Natvar Bhavsar, Stanley Boxer, Lamar Briggs, Dan Christensen, David Diao, Friedel Dzubas, Sam Francis, Dorothy Gillespie, Cleve Gray, Paul Jenkins, Ronnie Landfield, Pat Lipsky, Joan Mitchell, Robert Natkin, Jules Olitski, Larry Poons, Garry Rich, John Seery, Jeff Way and Larry Zox.

David Maxwell (American, 1941-2006), T.Y. Saurus triptych, 1999, casein tempera on panels, 28 x 71 ½ inches. Courtesy of Uptown Gallery, New York City

David Maxwell: To The Point

Through July 19, 2009

Once you've seen a David Maxwell painting close up, you'll never look at painting the same way again. Often called a "contemporary Seurat," Maxwell (American, born in Chicago 1941-2006) painted the contemporary world in a meticulous pointillist technique. Thousands of perfect little dots come together to depict South Florida cityscapes and construction sites which Maxwell first photographed, as an aid to developing his compositions. Maxwell's mundane everyday images and his technique of transferring his images from photographs have caused his work to be associated with Photorealism. But, his technique of painting small circular dots, slightly larger than pinheads, makes his works unique precisionist masterpieces. Self taught, Maxwell began painting while working fulltime in concrete construction. For almost three decades, he was one of South Florida's most acclaimed artists, consistently winning national awards. This exhibition presented fourteen unforgettable paintings.

Cleve Gray (American, 1918-2004), Death of the Eagle, 1977, acrylic on canvas, 70 x 72 inches. From the St. Bernard's School Collection, New York, NY. Courtesy of the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY

Cleve Gray: Man and Nature

Through May 31, 2009

This retrospective of noted American painter Cleve Gray (1918-2004) illustrated the full evolution of his practice as he developed his signature gestural, color-based abstraction between 1970 and 2000. Gray's painting style, first influenced by the abstract-expressionist movement, gathered strength as he became interested in Chinese masters and spontaneous expression. By the 1970s, Gray's work had evolved to incorporate risk and accidental effects as well as thinly spread layers of pigment. The inspirations for these abstract works range from Greek sculpture to Hawaiian waterfalls, and oriental calligraphy. As guest curator, Karen Wilkin writes in her catalogue essay: "Throughout this evolution, man and nature struggle for dominance; Gray treads the boundaries between painting conceived as evidence of the artist's will and as evidence of his unwilled responses to the natural world, between painting as a product of ‘culture' and as an equivalent for forces beyond our control."

Curated by Karen Wilkin, art historian and critic, and organized by the Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase College, State University of New York.

ANDREW STEVOVICH (Austrian, 1948 - ),Woman in Booth with Laptop, 2006, oil on linen, 10 x 10 inches. Courtesy of Adelson Galleries

Andrew Stevovich: The Truth About Lola

Through May 31, 2009

Andrew Stevovich may consider himself an abstract painter more concerned with meticulous composition than narrative, but don't tell that to the highly figurative characters who appear on his canvases. His deadpan narrative paintings, with their frozen moments of social interactions, are set in the contemporary world, though their crisp design, brilliant color and meticulous surfaces recall the early Italian Renaissance masters from Giotto to Botticelli. However, this exhibition of more than fifty paintings and drawings explores another facet of Stevovich's work: his relationship and inspiration drawn from twentieth-century German Expressionism. Lurking behind his figures' shifty gazes are nightclubs, neon, card games, and cocktails, all captured with an air of alienated decadence that link Stevovich directly to the tradition of artists like George Grosz and Max Beckman, known for their jaundiced looks at café society. Stevovich, born in Austria in 1948, moved with his family to Washington, D.C., as a young child, where he would spend time at the National Gallery of Art, inspired by both Renaissance and 20th century expressionism.

Andrew Stevovich: The Truth About Lola was organized by the Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York. The exhibition and catalogue were made possible by Adelson Galleries.

JOHN HENRY, Meridian, 2003, red painted steel,  22 x 25 x 15 feet. Courtesy of the artist

Drawing In Space: The Peninsula Project, Sculpture by John Henry

Through May 31, 2009

The Award-winning sculptor John Henry, known throughout the world for his large-scale steel sculpture, brought his work to the Boca Raton Museum of Art and The Art School on Palmetto Road, as a part of his unprecedented, seven-city exhibition throughout the state of Florida.

One of Henry's most impressive steel sculptures, Meridian, measuring over 20 feet tall is on display at The Art School on Palmetto Road. With some of the largest public works of art in some of the greatest American cities, John Henry has made his mark on the nation's landscape. This exhibit focused on his major works that have become significant landmarks in cities across the U.S.

This exhibition made possible thanks to the support of:
Arison Arts Foundation
Bob & Terry Edwards
David & Diane McDonald

Duane Hanson, Man on Mower, 1995, autobody filler, polychromed in oil, mixed media, with accessories. Collection of Mrs. Duane Hanson. © Estate of Duane Hanson/Licensed by VAGA/New York, NY

Duane Hanson: Sculpture and Photographs 1978-1995

Through April 26, 2009

This exhibition presented never exhibited working photographs by sculptor Duane Hanson (1925-1996). Hanson's small-scale color photographs were created as studies for his iconic hyperrealist sculptures.

Although Hanson began making hyper realistic sculptures in 1967, he introduced an instant camera into his artistic process in 1977. His focus was everyday people - construction workers, shoppers, tourists, high school students. Like photographic sketches for his remarkably lifelike figurative works, these images reveal the thinking, slight changes in poses or prop placement, and the shifting refinements which Hanson brought to the creation of his sculptures. Although intended as visual assists during the making of his sculpture, the photographs in vertical or horizontal grids, or as multi-snapshot series, add an eerie dimension to Hanson's now-famous sculpture, while bringing into question the relationship between photography, sculpture, art and life.

This exhibition was organized with the assistance of the artists' wife Wesla Hanson.

RABARAMA (Italian, 1969- ), Evoluzioni (Evolution), 2006, painted bronze, edition 2/8, height 11 inches. Courtesy of Vecchiato Art Galleries, Padua, Italy

Rabarama in The Park

Through April 12, 2009

The haunting sculptures of Italian artist Rabarama capture the viewer's imagination with their silent, frozen postures. Her human figures are both clothed and naked, covered with multicolored patterns, arabesques, numbers, letters, mazes and puzzles. Like sequence symbols of a genetic code, Rabarama's patterns and puzzles stem from the artist's fascination with genetics, the molecular metamorphosis of ever changing life, and the process of transformation. These figures ask the viewer to reflect on the nature of the individual, and on life as a labyrinth or journey, which is written on each of us. Rabarama, whose real name is Paola Epifani, studied at the Academia di Belle Arti, Venice, and today, lives and works in Padua, Italy. Over the last decade, Rabarama's sculpture has been drawing crowds internationally in Milan, Rome, Paris, Beijing, Shanghai, Venice, Amentea (Calabria), Caracas, and Geneva.

Four monumental figures were featured throughout Mizner Park, while ten works were installed in the Museum's street-front window gallery and the outdoor sculpture garden. All works were on loan from Vecchiato Art Galleries, Padua, Italy.

RALPH GOINGS (American, 1928- ), Red Menu, 1981, watercolor on paper, 9 1/8 x 13 5/8 inches. Boca Raton Museum of Art Permanent Collection, bequest of Isadore and Kelly Friedman

Shock of the Real: Photorealism Revisited

Through March 8, 2009

This major exhibition surveyed photorealism over several decades, demonstrating the unique style, varied individual approaches, technical finesse, and expanse of subject matter through 71 dramatic works by 29 highly acclaimed artists. Photorealism is renowned for its stunning, painted renditions of everyday images recorded by a photograph. Photorealists create artworks in a highly photographic style, with added personal expression. Quintessentially American, many of the works in Shock of the Real focus on typical aspects of our urban and suburban landscapes: trucks, motorcycles, cars, and roadside eateries. Popularity of the movement is due to the exceptional technical skill of these artists, which allows viewers to explore the link between the photographic image and the artistic concept of painting.

Shock of The Real was guest-curated by Dr. Valerie Ann Leeds, a noted specialist in American art. The sponsorship of this exhibition Shock of the Real was made possible by the generosity of Mrs. Beatrice Cummings Mayer.

BENN MITCHELL, Girl Eating Ice Cream, 1948, Chromogenic print, 20 x 16 inches. Courtesy of the artist

Color Me New York: Photographs by Benn Mitchell

The exhibition honors Benn Mitchell as a forerunner in realistic photography, documenting life in New York City during the 1930s through the 1950s. Mitchell (born in New York City 1926 - ) sold his first photograph to LIFE magazine at the age of 16. Just one year later he became a portrait photographer in Hollywood for Warner Brothers' studios, capturing classic images of Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, among others. In 1948, Mitchell started his own commercial studio in New York City, the beginning of a career lasting over five decades. This exhibition presents 16 color images shot in the streets of New York City between 1947 and 1980, which capture Benn Mitchell's acute observations, and his award-winning eye for both the artistic and the incidental. Mitchell now lives with his wife Esther in Boca Raton.

JAMES DAUGHERTY, Untitled, from Modernist Heroic Figures, circa 1930-40, watercolor and pencil on paper, 12 X 13 inches

American Modernism 1920-1950: Selections from the Permanent Collection

Through January 18, 2009

American Modernism presents the competing forces of tradition and innovation during a pivotal era in American history, when artists struggled to define what was quintessentially American. Offering glimpses into a changing America are rarely seen gems from the collection by social realists, regionalists, figurative modernists and early abstractionists. This sampling of American art between the World Wars presents more than 40 paintings, drawings and prints by well-known artists such as John Sloan and Raphael Soyer along with works by under-appreciated talents such as Vaclav Vytlacil and Richard Florsheim.

JOSÉ CLEMETE OROZCO, Autoretrato [Self Portrait],
1937, oil on canvas, 31 x 26 inches, Permanent Collection, gift of Mrs. Jeanne Wechsler in memory of A.F. Wechsler

José Clemente Orozco: The Graphic Work

Through December 7, 2008

One of the most influential Mexican artists of his time, José Clemente Orozco (1883-1949), was a muralist as well as a remarkable draftsman. Orozco, along with Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros formed the celebrated triumvirate of Mexican muralists. As the most dedicated printmaker of these three "giants," Orozco completed 30 lithographs and 17 etchings during his career. All 47 of Orozco's graphic works are exhibited - from the mural-inspired works of the late 1920s to the increasingly loose and expressive style from the mid-to-late 1930s. These images reveal Orozco's great compositional elegance, impeccable craftsmanship and a combination of clarity and simplicity of idea. In these graphic works, we see his expressive symbolism most strongly, as a biting critique of Spanish colonialism and an affirmation of man's fortitude, compassion and dignity.

CARLOS ALFONZO (Cuban, 1950-1991), Afraid of Clowns, 1986, oil on canvas, 71 1/8 X 95 1/8 inches, courtesy of the Nassau County Museum of Art

Visiones: 20th Century Selections from the Nassau County Museum of Art

Through December 7, 2008

Visiones explores the depth and richness of the themes and issues found in contemporary Latin art. The exhibition of thirty six works by mid-20th century masters and influential contemporary artists presents a broad spectrum of investigating how Latin American and Caribbean artists respond to personal, economic, social, and political issues of the human condition. With increasing globalization, mobility, exile, and migration in the Americas, Latin American art today is not defined by cultural, geographical, or national boundaries. The exhibition of painting, sculpture, photography, and installation works, will explore how art and artists preserve their identities within a global landscape. This exhibition was organized by the Boca Raton Museum of Art from the collections of the Nassau County Museum of Art, Roslyn Harbor, New York. The educational programming for Visiones was made possible by the generosity of the MetLife Foundation.

BOB ADELMAN, James Rosenquist examining his work through a reductive lens, executed 1980, printed 2008, archival inkjet print, 19 x 12 inches. Courtesy of the artist. ©Bob Adelman

I Shot Warhol, Wesselmann, Lichtenstein, Rosenquist, and Indiana: Photographs by Bob Adelman and William John Kennedy

Through September 7, 2008

Many Pop artists' lives have been intimately entwined with photography. In the 1960s, Andy Warhol, Tom Wesselmann, Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist and Robert Indiana gained international attention as key leaders of the Pop art movement, which championed the use of popular culture and mass-produced objects as artistic subject matter.

This exhibition presented more than 60 images of these American artists, photographed at the height of their careers by two photographers whose lives crossed paths with many of the greatest artists of their day, Bob Adelman and William John Kennedy.

Ernest Trova, Study/Falling Man (Horizontal Circle Figure), 1986, stainless steel, edition number 3/8, 30-1/4 x 18-1/2 x 16 inches. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Steinman Permanent Collection 1993.315

Ernest Trova Retrospective

April 11 through June 3, 2007

Forty years of paintings, graphics, assemblages and sculptures by American artist Ernest Trova (born in St. Louis 1927- ) reveal the artist’s infinite variations on the theme of universal man’s journey through life, from the apocalyptic expressionism of his visceral paintings from the late 1950s-60s to his part classical-part futuristic figure of Falling Man.

Trova's figures function as metaphorical signs of rational man and his journey through life. These works embrace with quiet dignity and infinite variations and adaptations, the artist's lifelong investigation of man's movement through life, both individual and collective.

Reginald Marsh, Panel of Figure Sketches - Twelve Women, 1949, oil on masonite board, 18 x 17 inches. Bequest of Isadore and Kelly Friedman

Selections from the Isadore and Kelly Friedman Bequest

April 11 through June 3, 2007

Longtime Museum patron and collector Isadore Friedman bequeathed a stellar collection of more than 150 modernist works to the Museum including paintings and sculptures by 20th-century masters Dubuffet, Leger, Lichtenstein, Marsh and Rivers; as well as important photographs by Atget, Steichen, Steiglitz, Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton and Irving Penn.

The Isadore and Kelly Friedman Bequest is the largest gift of American and European art ever presented to the Museum. This memorial exhibition provides a unique opportunity to appreciate Isadore Friedman's remarkable legacy to the Museum and the community.