French and American Lithography Before 1860 at the Davis Museum, Wellesley College
WELLESLEY, Mass. - The Davis Museum at Wellesley College will open an exhibition that explores the French roots of American Lithography on Wednesday, March 14, 2012. With a French Accent: French and American Lithography Before 1860 will include about fifty French and American prints from the collection of the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, Massachusetts. On view through June 3, 2012 in the Morelle Lasky Levine '56 Works on Paper Gallery, the exhibition is free and open to the public. ????
The exhibition With a French Accent and an accompanying publication uncover several themes: the important of French technology, the circulation and reproduction of French imagery, stylistic contributions of French lithographic artists, and the reproduction of American genre paintings by French publishers for distribution in Europe and the United States.
??Among the prints on display will be John Rubens Smith’s portrait of his wife printed by Barnet & Doolittle about 1821. The two partners studied lithography in Paris before trying to establish a firm in New York. A lithograph, Piercing the Ears, published in New York in 1825 by Anthony Imbert, reproduced a lithograph by Léopold Boilly from his series, Les Grimaces, published in Paris from 1823-1828. The Philadelphia firm Cephas G. Childs and Henry Inman also reproduced French prints.
????Several French print publishers, Bailly and Ward, Turgis, and Goupil distributed prints in the United States through their shops in New York. A dozen of their prints will be on display. Several French lithographic artists settled in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston bringing new styles of drawing on stone to the American public. For example, Francis D’Avignon was particularly adept at drawing portraits after photographs and Charles Crehan’s portrait of Jenny Lind is freely drawn with carefully delineated facial features. William Schaus, Goupil and Company, and Michael Knoedler all published prints lithographed in Paris after American genre and history paintings by artists such as William Sidney Mount, Lily Martin Spencer, Junius Brutus Stearns, F. O. C. Darley, George Caleb Bingham, and Richard Caton Woodville.
The exhibition was curated by Georgia Brady Barnhill, Director of the Center for Historic American Visual Culture, and Lauren B. Hewes, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts, both of the American Antiquarian Society, based on research supported by funds from The Florence Gould Foundation of New York.????
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is an independent research library founded in 1812 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The library’s collections document the life of America’s people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Collections include books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, broadsides, manuscripts, music, graphic arts, and local histories.????
EXHIBITION EVENTS
????Opening Celebration??
Wednesday, March 14 | 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.??
The Davis Lobby and Galleries??
Free??
??Join us in celebrating this groundbreaking collaboration between the Davis and the American Antiquarian Society, as With A French Accent opens to the public.????
Symposium: French and American Lithography: History and Practice
??March 31, 2012
??Collins Cinema??
Free????
Co-hosted by the Davis and the American Antiquarian Society, this symposium explores transnational interconnection, particularly the impact on American lithography of artistic exchange between France and the United States through the 19th and 20th centuries and into contemporary practice. This daylong event at Wellesley College features a range of talks by exhibition curators Georgia Brady Barnhill and Lauren B. Hewes, and visiting scholars Marie-Stephanie Delmaire and Catherine Wilcox-Titus, and lithography demonstrations by a visiting artist and a master printer. This event as been generously supported by Jay and Deborah Last, by Wellesley College Friends of Art, by Grace Slack McNeil Program for Studies in American Art. Registration information may be found on the Davis Museum’s website: web.wellesley.edu/web/Events or by calling 781.283-2373.
????DAVIS MUSEUM GENERAL INFORMATION????
Location: Wellesley College, 106 Central St., in Wellesley, Mass. ??
Museum Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 am-5 pm, Wednesday until 8 pm, and Sunday, noon-4 pm. Closed Mondays, holidays, and Wellesley College recesses.
??Admission is free and open to the public.??Telephone: 781-283-2051??
Website: www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu
??Parking: Free and available in the lot behind the museum. Additional parking is available in the Davis Parking Facility. ??Tours: Led by student tour guides and curators. Free. Call 781-283-3382??
Accessible: The Davis, Collins Café and Collins Cinema are wheelchair accessible and wheelchairs are available for use in the Museum without charge. Special needs may be accommodated by contacting Director of Disability Services Jim Wice at 781-283-2434 or jwice@wellesley.edu.????
ABOUT THE DAVIS MUSEUM????
One of the oldest and most acclaimed academic fine arts museums in the United States, the Davis Museum is a vital force in the intellectual, pedagogical and social life of Wellesley College. It seeks to create an environment that encourages visual literacy, inspires new ideas, and fosters involvement with the arts both within the College and the larger community.????
ABOUT WELLESLEY COLLEGE & THE ARTS????
The Wellesley College arts curriculum and the highly acclaimed Davis Museum and Cultural Center are integral components of the College’s liberal arts education. Departments and programs from across the campus enliven the community with world-class programming - classical and popular music, visual arts, theatre, dance, author readings, symposia and lectures by some of today’s leading artists and creative thinkers - most of which are free and open to the public. ????
Located just 12 miles from Boston and accessible by public transit, Wellesley College’s idyllic surroundings provide a nearby retreat for the senses and inspiration that lasts well after a visit.????
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts: Nina J. Berger
781-283-2034, nberger@wellesley.edu
Sofiya Cabalquinto
781-283-3321, scabalqu@wellesley.edu
??
The exhibition With a French Accent and an accompanying publication uncover several themes: the important of French technology, the circulation and reproduction of French imagery, stylistic contributions of French lithographic artists, and the reproduction of American genre paintings by French publishers for distribution in Europe and the United States.
??Among the prints on display will be John Rubens Smith’s portrait of his wife printed by Barnet & Doolittle about 1821. The two partners studied lithography in Paris before trying to establish a firm in New York. A lithograph, Piercing the Ears, published in New York in 1825 by Anthony Imbert, reproduced a lithograph by Léopold Boilly from his series, Les Grimaces, published in Paris from 1823-1828. The Philadelphia firm Cephas G. Childs and Henry Inman also reproduced French prints.
????Several French print publishers, Bailly and Ward, Turgis, and Goupil distributed prints in the United States through their shops in New York. A dozen of their prints will be on display. Several French lithographic artists settled in New York, Philadelphia, and Boston bringing new styles of drawing on stone to the American public. For example, Francis D’Avignon was particularly adept at drawing portraits after photographs and Charles Crehan’s portrait of Jenny Lind is freely drawn with carefully delineated facial features. William Schaus, Goupil and Company, and Michael Knoedler all published prints lithographed in Paris after American genre and history paintings by artists such as William Sidney Mount, Lily Martin Spencer, Junius Brutus Stearns, F. O. C. Darley, George Caleb Bingham, and Richard Caton Woodville.
The exhibition was curated by Georgia Brady Barnhill, Director of the Center for Historic American Visual Culture, and Lauren B. Hewes, Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Graphic Arts, both of the American Antiquarian Society, based on research supported by funds from The Florence Gould Foundation of New York.????
The American Antiquarian Society (AAS) is an independent research library founded in 1812 in Worcester, Massachusetts. The library’s collections document the life of America’s people from the colonial era through the Civil War and Reconstruction. Collections include books, pamphlets, newspapers, periodicals, broadsides, manuscripts, music, graphic arts, and local histories.????
EXHIBITION EVENTS
????Opening Celebration??
Wednesday, March 14 | 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.??
The Davis Lobby and Galleries??
Free??
??Join us in celebrating this groundbreaking collaboration between the Davis and the American Antiquarian Society, as With A French Accent opens to the public.????
Symposium: French and American Lithography: History and Practice
??March 31, 2012
??Collins Cinema??
Free????
Co-hosted by the Davis and the American Antiquarian Society, this symposium explores transnational interconnection, particularly the impact on American lithography of artistic exchange between France and the United States through the 19th and 20th centuries and into contemporary practice. This daylong event at Wellesley College features a range of talks by exhibition curators Georgia Brady Barnhill and Lauren B. Hewes, and visiting scholars Marie-Stephanie Delmaire and Catherine Wilcox-Titus, and lithography demonstrations by a visiting artist and a master printer. This event as been generously supported by Jay and Deborah Last, by Wellesley College Friends of Art, by Grace Slack McNeil Program for Studies in American Art. Registration information may be found on the Davis Museum’s website: web.wellesley.edu/web/Events or by calling 781.283-2373.
????DAVIS MUSEUM GENERAL INFORMATION????
Location: Wellesley College, 106 Central St., in Wellesley, Mass. ??
Museum Hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 am-5 pm, Wednesday until 8 pm, and Sunday, noon-4 pm. Closed Mondays, holidays, and Wellesley College recesses.
??Admission is free and open to the public.??Telephone: 781-283-2051??
Website: www.davismuseum.wellesley.edu
??Parking: Free and available in the lot behind the museum. Additional parking is available in the Davis Parking Facility. ??Tours: Led by student tour guides and curators. Free. Call 781-283-3382??
Accessible: The Davis, Collins Café and Collins Cinema are wheelchair accessible and wheelchairs are available for use in the Museum without charge. Special needs may be accommodated by contacting Director of Disability Services Jim Wice at 781-283-2434 or jwice@wellesley.edu.????
ABOUT THE DAVIS MUSEUM????
One of the oldest and most acclaimed academic fine arts museums in the United States, the Davis Museum is a vital force in the intellectual, pedagogical and social life of Wellesley College. It seeks to create an environment that encourages visual literacy, inspires new ideas, and fosters involvement with the arts both within the College and the larger community.????
ABOUT WELLESLEY COLLEGE & THE ARTS????
The Wellesley College arts curriculum and the highly acclaimed Davis Museum and Cultural Center are integral components of the College’s liberal arts education. Departments and programs from across the campus enliven the community with world-class programming - classical and popular music, visual arts, theatre, dance, author readings, symposia and lectures by some of today’s leading artists and creative thinkers - most of which are free and open to the public. ????
Located just 12 miles from Boston and accessible by public transit, Wellesley College’s idyllic surroundings provide a nearby retreat for the senses and inspiration that lasts well after a visit.????
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been a leader in providing an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world. Its 500-acre campus near Boston is home to 2,400 undergraduate students from all 50 states and 75 countries.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts: Nina J. Berger
781-283-2034, nberger@wellesley.edu
Sofiya Cabalquinto
781-283-3321, scabalqu@wellesley.edu
??
