University Park, Pa. -- The Palmer Museum of Art is showcasing "An Intimate Eye: Selections from the Collection of James and Barbara Palmer."
This private collection, garnered over many years, boasts particular strengths in American painting and drawing from the mid-19th through the late-20th centuries. From Frederic Edwin Church's "Vermont Scenery" (1852) to Georgia O'Keeffe's "Lake George:" (1924), to Richard Estes' hyperrealistic "Third Avenue" (1998), the works explore the history of American art in all its richness and complexity.
Among the treasures of 19th-century art is Mary Cassatt's "Lydia in a Loge," a drawing related to her many oil paintings and prints on the subject. This iconic image is just one of the many monuments of 19th-century art from the couple's collection. The exhibition also features paintings by several of America's most influential early 20th-century modernists: Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley and John Marin.
The exhibition also will include paintings by a number of mid- to late-20th-century artists. Key works from this group are Jacob Lawrence's homage to the civil rights movement, "Confrontation at the Bridge," and Robert Gwathmey's "Lullaby." Other selections include two photorealist canvases by Chilean artist Claudio Bravo and a 1983 portrait of the Palmers by Jerome Witkin.
Not only did the Palmers collect many significant paintings, but they also obtained several contemporary ceramics that will be displayed as well. Demark's most important artists in this medium are well represented, including vessels by Bodil and Richard Manz, Malene Müllertz, Gutte Erickson, Inger Thing, and Turkish-born Alev Siesbye. Also on view are several pieces by the master of 20th-century American utilitarian ware, Warren MacKenzie.
"An Intimate Eye: Selections from the Collection of James and Barbara Palmer" will be on view at the Palmer Museum of Art until May 15. The Palmer Museum of Art is located on Curtin Road near the University Creamery, and admission is free to the public.
For photos from the exhibition, go to http://live.psu.edu/still_life/2005_01_18_palmer_exhibit/index.html