First look: ‘Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness’ at the Birmingham Museum of Art
By Wade KwonYale collection in town Sunday through Jan. 10
The Birmingham Museum of Art is the last of three stops for “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art from the Yale University Art Gallery” after Seattle and Louisville, Ky. The collection features 232 works from the late 17th century up to the brink of the 20th century.
The museum held a media preview today. Here’s an exclusive sneak peek …
Video: Graham C. Boettcher, curator of American art
at the Birmingham Museum of Art, discusses
“General George Washington at Trenton”
by John Trumbull.
Boettcher discusses Edward Hicks’
“The Peaceable Kingdom and Penn’s Treaty.”
“The Bermuda Group (Dean Berkeley and His Entourage),”
by John Smibert, is considered the
first painting done by a trained artist
on American soil
“The Death of General Montgomery in the Attack
on Quebec, December 31, 1775,” by
John Trumbull, depicts the namesake
of Alabama’s capital.
Artist John Trumbull considered
“General George Washington at Trenton”
to be his best portrait of Washington.
Washington’s popularity spawned a “cult of Washington”
in which his likeness was used in art
and objects like a saint, such as
the mantel clock by Jean-Baptiste Dubuc shown here.
“Spinning By Firelight — The Boyhood of
George Washington Gray” is a work by Henry
Ossawa Tanner, who studied under noted artist
Thomas Eakins and was the first African-American artist
to gain international acclaim.
Jeremiah Dummer made these candlesticks
in Boston circa 1685, the only ones
in existence from that period by an American silversmith.
A teapot by patriot and silversmith Paul Revere.
“Self-Portrait” by John Trumbull
What’s remarkable about this photograph by
George Frederic Barker, appropriately titled “The Moon,”
was that it was shot around 1864,
with a camera and telescope. Note how the
image is reversed, because of the telescope’s reflected image.
“Poughkeepsie Iron Works (Bech’s Furnace),”
by Johann Hermann Carmiencke,
one of the landscape paintings in the exhibit.
This Albert Bierstadt painting, “Yosemite Valley,
Glacier Point Trail,” may remind museum visitors
of one majestic painting in the permanent collection,
“Looking Down Yosemite Valley, California.”
A series of sketches of the Amistad captives by
William H. Townsend, including a close-up of Boro.
“Portrait of George Eliot and Family,”
by Jonathan Budington, was one of
my personal favorites (though I have no idea why).
“The Declaration of Independence, July 4, 1776,”
by John Trumbull, doesn’t show
the signing, but merely a presentation of a draft version.
“Captain Cold or Ut-ha-wah,”
by William John Wilgus
“English Syndicate (British Gold)” is one of
several political cartoons by Thomas Nast,
“father of the American cartoon.”
The exhibit runs through Jan. 10. Tickets are $12, $10 for veterans, military members and age 65 and older, $6 for students, free for age 6 and younger.
- Official site
- Yale University Art Gallery press release [PDF]
- Birmingham News: “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness: American Art Exhibition opens in October at Birmingham Museum of Art”
Friday, October 2, 2009, 12:34 am
Looking forward to this! Thanks for the preview.
Friday, October 2, 2009, 11:36 am
You’re welcome. I’m looking forward to going back and taking a longer look at all the pieces.