Through August 13, 2017

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art

600 Main Street, Hartford CT 06103

For information, call 860.278.2670 or visit www.thewadsworth.org


Each chapter in the life of a country brings forth a new visual style in tune with the values and preoccupations of the age. This is the thesis of a new exhibition at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, in Hartford, Conn., that assembles objects from the early colonial period through the birth of the republic and into the mid-twentieth century. Notable works include: the court cupboard of Thomas Prence (ca. 1600–1675), governor of Plymouth Colony; a hearth rug that belonged to Jane Naomi Strong Welles (1814–1885), of Hartford, Conn.; and a Womb Chair designed by Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) and manufactured by Knoll Associates, Inc. In short, this is a condensed history of American visual culture that tracks cultural trends over a 500-year period.

Hearth rug, 1829, Jane Naomi Strong Welles (1814–1885), Hartford, Connecticut. Wool and linen fringe, 26 x 59 in. Gift of Miss Mary W. Todd (1977.29A).
Womb Chair and ottoman, Designed by Eero Saarinen (1910–1961), Manufactured by Knoll Associates, Inc. (founded 1938), New York, New York, ca. 1948. Molded plastic, foam rubber, upholstery, and steel. Chair: 36 x 38½ x 35 in.; ottoman: 13½ x 25½ x 20 in. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Koopman and Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Schiro (1976.93).

The Wadsworth Atheneum, which holds the distinction as the oldest continuously operating public art museum in the U.S., is in a unique position to stage an exhibition of this scope and magnitude. The museum’s holdings include 50,000 works of art, including American colonial furniture, Samuel Colt firearms, masterpieces of the Hudson River School, European and American Impressionist paintings, African American art and artifacts, and contemporary art.


Simply Splendid was organized by curator Brandy S. Culp, who has taken it as her mission to connect visitors to American decorative arts in a fresh and modern way. The exhibition has been organized in conjunction with Hand-Painted Pop!: Art and Appropriation, 1961 to Now, which is on view in an adjoining section of the Austin Gallery.

 

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