The December 1956 edition of The Minnesotan (Digital Conservancy) indicates for us what was on exhibit at the University Gallery over half a century ago. A poster, from the exhibition files, provides another example of Gallery publicity:
The Syracuse University Art Galleries provides a digital image of one of Martinelli’s works: Modernist Prints: 1900-1955
Over the course of the past few days, nature has had a great affect on the mood and demeanor of those that inhabit the Twin Cities. As we reach the middle of December, “mother nature” has provided us with a temperature of 40 degrees and a climate of rainstorms, only to be followed by a temperature of 25-degrees and freezing rain the next day. For those that were able to witness the brief moment that the sun made an appearance in as many as 2 days early this morning, consider yourself to be one of the lucky ones…
The recent irregularities in nature reminded me of a folder in a box I processed months ago in the WAM Archives of an exhibit titled, “The Debt of Art to Nature.”
The exhibit, which originated at the Fogg Museum at Harvard University in 1943, was arranged by Ruth Lawrence to be exhibited at the University Gallery in 1945. The catalogue to the Fogg exhibit, written by Gretchen Warren, states, “This exhibition consists of a collection of shells showing their dynamic spiral, together with photographs of the spiral as used in the visual arts of almost every age and civilization. These will illustrate the widespread influence of this beautiful form and its value for symbolism… The thesis underlying this entire exhibition may be summed up in one phrase: Relatedness, order, and beauty in the universe, and their imperishable significance for man, in symbolism, tradition, and education.” A catalogue, drafted by Warren, was provided to Ruth Lawrence to accompany the exhibit at the University Gallery (see attached draft at left).
Images from the exhibit, showcasing the shape and form of the shell spiral juxtaposed with photographs and other objects were contained within the exhibition folder:
Despite the gloomy weather of the past few days, I will try to observe artful forms of nature in my environs… as even a raindrop or an ice pellet falling from the sky has an aesthetic worthy of appreciation…
Helps you appreciate art in a new way?
Photographs taken of students visiting the exhibition of works of American artists in the “Art Here” exhibit held in March of 1937 have me considering the gallery policies of that time. Was food and beverage allowed in the gallery spaces in Northrop Auditorium? Previous photos we have encountered allude to the fact that smoking was permitted at one time. Why not a quick snack?
On page 53 of the University Gallery press books (which have been meticulously photographed by a project processor – the files of which were recently shared amongst the project team), a clipping from a March 5, 1937 article from the Minneapolis Star is rubber cemented to the page. The article, written by John K. Sherman indicates that, “it’s a valiant picture ogler that can keep up with Ruth Lawrence and the University Gallery.”
As usual, Ruth mounted an exhibit that attracted the attention of University students, exposing them to contemporary artworks.
Several students seem to be thoroughly engaged in active appreciation of the “Art Here” exhibition:
Amongst the records of WAM there has resided an occasional personnel file. While all personal and confidential records have been confidentially recycled – general notices, correspondence, and position descriptions related to the Gallery were retained.
At left, directions and qualifications for gallery guards (University students) are articulated in an administrative document dated 1973. While the guard duties of today differ from those of nearly 40 years ago (guards are no longer responsible for the sale of catalogues, and smoking isn’t allowed in any public building in Minnesota), some core job duties remain the same – i.e. reinforcing the photography policy, as well as ensuring the security of artwork.
Found: A poster announcing fall exhibitions at the University Gallery, 1975.
Curious as to what the exhibition titled, “Works By Studio Arts Faculty,” on display 36 years ago was comprised of, I naturally turned to the Digital Conservancy for answers:
A U of M News Service Release from October 28, 1975 (Digital Conservancy), provided more detail:
“Films on filmmaking by Taka Iimura, a large kinetic sculpture by Guy Baldwin, porcelain miniatures by Tom Rose, and new lithographs by Zigmunds Priede will be featured in the Studio Arts Faculty Exhibition opening Monday (Nov. 3) in the University Gallery at the University of Minnesota.”
The release further describes the faculty members that were represented in the exhibit (certain artists are linked to the U of M’s Digital Content Library holdings, as well as external links):
“Other University faculty members participating in the exhibition are Mary Abbott, oils, watercolors and charcoal; Karl E. Bethke, intaglio prints and photographs; Peter Busa, oils; Victor Caglioti, acrylics; Thomas Cowette, tempera, acrylic and pencil; Allen Downs, photographs; David Feinberg, oils; Lynn A. Gray, mixed media; Gary Hallman, photographs; Raymond Hendler, acrylics; Curtis C. Hoard, low fire ceramics; Warren Mackenzie, porcelain and stoneware; George Morrison, oils; Malcolm Myers, lithographs and watercolors; Katherine Nash, bronze sculpture; Wayne E. Potratz, sculpture; William Roode, oils; Herman Rowan, oils; Herman Somberg, oils and Saul Warkov, wood and rope sculpture.”
The caption reads: “‘Composition’ by George Morris, ‘Distraction’ by Heggen-Cohn, and ‘Abstraction’ by Agnes Earl Lyall. You get one guess at which one of these paintings is phoney (sic).”
Long before British artist Banksy snuck his paintings onto the walls of several venerable art museums in New York, a pair of University of Minnesota students pulled a similar prank at the University Gallery. In the WAM collection of press clippings from 1940, I found a series of newspaper articles outlining the drama. The January 31, 1940 Star Tribune newspaper article states:
There’s one too many paintings in the abstract art exhibit in Northrop auditorium, and how it got there or what to think of it is baffling the campus…. It’s title is “Distraction,” and it is signed by Heggen-Cohn…. Two fellows by the names of Vic Cohn and Tom Heggen are registered at the university. But they can’t be guilty. Neither owns a beret.
In a Minnesota Daily article from February 1st, juniors Vic Cohn and Orlo Heggen are revealed as the perpetrators, saying, “We done it for the art.” In a Star Tribune story that same day, they confessed to owning a beret, but claimed neither had ever worn it in public. Cohn and Heggen gifted Distraction to University of Minnesota Dean Malcolm Willey, stating, “We would like to have it hung where art lovers will appreciate it.” I wonder whatever became of Distraction?
Clippings from the University Daily, Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, 1940
When not processing, researching, or blogging about the WAM archival collection, I try to take some time to visit other museums – which I did this afternoon to view the Walker Art Center’s new exhibit, Graphic Design: Now in Production. The exhibit features the vast changes in design over the course of the past ten years. After my visit, my attention again returned to the WAM Files only to find that 58 years ago on this very day, November 5, 1953, a display of graphic designs and other works by Robert Collins, then assistant professor of design at the University, opened at the University Gallery.
A U News Service Press Release from October 26, 1953 (Digital Conservancy) describes the exhibition:
“The show covers Collins’ work since 1943. It includes paintings, caseins, drawings, textile and graphic designs and some illustrations and decorative drawings done for Ford Motor company publications.”
Two exhibit photographs were included in the folder titled, “Bob Collins” contained in Box 4:
Correspondence between Ruth Lawrence, Gallery Director, and Collins reveal details of exhibit planning:
In the catalog produced for the exhibit, Collins comments, “I would defeat my own purpose, here, if I continued to recount the complexities and intricacies of picture making, and of designing. No matter to what degree such involvements complicate the achievement of a coherent statement, the process remains essentially unchanged and fundamentally simple. One selects and puts together lines, shapes and colors.“
After viewing the complexities and intricacies of designing of the past ten years this morning, encountering Collins’ 1953 exhibit and simple statement this afternoon – is simply appreciated.
In the early years of the gallery, exhibition announcements were prepared on a monthly basis as exhibits changed more frequently. Though we are reaching the end of October, better late-than-never to share the poster that announced the exhibits that were on view in the University Gallery just over a half-century ago (October, 1958):
My eyes widened this week after I came across an online article from the Star Tribune, which reported upon the recent uncovering of lost artwork of the Minnesota artist Josephine Lutz Rollins: “Unburied treasure in Stillwater”
Rollins joined the faculty of the University of Minnesota in 1927 and continued as an instructor until 1965. Her legacy as a Minnesota artist spreads far past the University, however. A 2007 exhibition organized by the Minnesota Historical Society and the Minnesota Museum of American Art titled, “In her Own Right: Minnesota’s First Generation of Women Artists,” placed Rollins alongside other female artists that contributed to the arts and culture of the state. A biography of Rollins can be found in an article on the exhibit from MPRnews.
The name “Rollins” has appeared several times in the WAM collection, specifically in folders and catalogs that document two exhibitions that were held at the University Gallery:
Historic Buildings in Minnesota: Jo Lutz Rollins, 1949
“Mrs. Rollins has never for a moment forgotten that her task as an artist is not merely to record certain historical monuments, but somehow to translate these buildings into works of art which will exist and have value in and of themselves. She has never at any time lost sight of her task of organizing a two-dimensional area through the application of water color pigment. And not only do these paintings exist as fine formal statements of a most exacting medium, but a comparative study of the works illustrates how effectively and sensitively she has responded to the particular quality, the specific mood of the subject she was portraying. The paintings thus become not only a most illuminating mirror of Minnesota history, but more important, a fine interpretation and translation into an artistic medium of a century of Minnesota.” – H. H. Arnason, Chairman, Department of Art, Exhibit Catalog
Josephine Lutz Rollins: Retrospective Exhibition, 1962
“Mrs. Rollins appreciates what time does to man’s environment; she is attracted to a world that is not new and shiny. In her paintings the viewer finds few people; but they are not missed; for their trace is everywhere, in the way an old historic house sits on the land, in the look of a familiar river bank, in the enchantment of a foreign city. It has been her distinction to have reaffirmed the familiar in such a way as to have translated it into works of art of lasting merit.” – Sidney Simon, Director, University Gallery
WAM’s permanent collection contains many works by Rollins. View her water colors, drawings, and other works at the Digital Content Library.
In 1952, the University Gallery held an exhibition of the works of Marsden Hartley. This promotional poster notes the dates of the exhibition:
The exhibit was held in conjunction with the release of a book of which the artist was subject. According to a U of M News Release, dated April 25, 1952 (Digital Conservancy) the book, Marsden Hartley, authored by Elizabeth McCausland, and published by the University Press, contains “a biographical and critical essay on the artist and is illustrated with reproductions of 43 of his works, ranging from some of his earliest paintings to the one on his easel at the time of his death in 1943.”
Specifically, the book profiles the Hartley works that were in the collection of Hudson Walker (the first curator of the University Gallery). Walker’s collection was, at that time, on permanent loan to the University Gallery.
Today, the Weisman Art Museum’s Ione and Hudson D. Walker Collection (a bequest to the gallery in the 1970s), features the largest collection of Hartley’s works. Several of these works are prominently featured in WAM’s new expanded galleries in the current exhibit titled, “Cartography of a Collection.”