12/9/2000
Scenes of American Life
Telfair Museum, Georgia
Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum presents over 60 important paintings and sculptures celebrating American life in the first half of the 20th century. Exploring farm and factory, jazz and street life, and workers and mothers, American artists captured the carefree exhilaration of the Roaring Twenties, the stark drama of the Great Depression, the common cause of the war years, and the new confidence of the years following World War II.
Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art
Museum presents over 60 important paintings and sculptures celebrating
American life in the first half of the 20th century. The exhibition will be on
view from September 13 to November 12, 2000. Exploring farm and factory,
jazz and street life, and workers and mothers, American artists captured the
carefree exhilaration of the Roaring Twenties, the stark drama of the Great
Depression, the common cause of the war years, and the new confidence of
the years following World War II.
Edward Hopper, probably
the most well known artist in
the exhibition, is the
quintessential realist painter.
In 1933 he said, "My aim in
painting has always been
the most exact transcription
possible of my most intimate
impressions of nature."
Whether depicting East
Coast lighthouses or the
diners, cafeterias and movie
houses of New York City,
Hopper imbued his
compositions with a sense of loneliness and isolation. In addition to using
dramatic contrasts of light and shadow to heighten the sense of mood, he
frequently depicted a solitary figure in his paintings. Together these artistic
devices conspired to create a foreboding quality, as in Cape Cod Morning.
In this eerie yet compelling narrative scene, the female figure watches
intently out the window as the gloomy wood in the background seems to
encroach on the safety of the house.
In contrast to Hopper's work, Ralston
Crawford's figureless composition,
Buffalo Grain Elevators, celebrates
the new industrialism that captured
the imagination of many American
artists in the early 20th century.
Emphasizing the geometry of
modern-day factories, Crawford
contrasted the massive cylinders of
the grain elevators lining Buffalo's
waterfront with the delicate bridges
and wires.
According to Elizabeth Broun, Director of the Smithsonian American Art
Museum, "The idea of painting the common man and daily life was new at
the turn of the 20th century. Artists moved away from the elegance and
formality of the Gilded Age and began presenting everyday people at work
and at play. These energetic and often witty artworks seemed to symbolize
the true strength of the nation."
On Wednesday, September 13th at 7:00 p.m., art historian Bill Kloss will give
an opening lecture for Scenes of American Life. Kloss will discuss works by
Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence, Andrew Wyeth and other American
luminaries of the 1930s, 40s and 50s. Kloss has lectured extensively on the
Smithsonian American Art Museum's permanent collection and is the author
of Treasures from the National Museum of American Art. A reception will
follow the lecture. Please note that this opening will be held on a Wednesday
rather than a Tuesday. Scenes of American Life: Treasures from the
Smithsonian American Art Museum is one of eight exhibitions in Treasures
to Go, touring the nation through 2002. The Principal Financial Group is a
proud partner in presenting these treasures to the American people.
Free admission for the exhibition's final week, beginning November 6, is
provided by a grant from the City of Savannah, Department of Cultural
Affairs/Leisure Services Bureau.
Hours:
Sunday 1-5 p.m.
Monday Noon-5 p.m.
Tuesday - Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Telfair Museum of Art
To contact the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (the art museum):
Post Office Box 10081
Savannah, Georgia 31412
(912) 232-1177