The Lure of Nature: Landscape Drawings from the Thaw Collection

August 25 – October 15, 2017

This exhibition of English and German 19th-century Romantic landscape drawings conveys the shift from classical subjects and the rational, scientific world of the Enlightenment and the Industrial Revolution to themes of nature as a source for inspiration and emotional expression. Artists include Alexander Cozens, Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable, Joseph Koch, J.M.W. Turner, Caspar Wolf, and other noted artists of the period.

Collector, dealer and scholar Eugene V. Thaw is a graduate of St. John’s College. He and his wife, Clare Eddy Thaw, have an extensive collection of drawings, paintings, and artifacts they have shared with a number of distinctive institutions, including over 400 drawings to the Morgan Library & Museum. Like an exhibition also mounted at the Morgan this autumn, this exhibition celebrates Gene Thaw on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday.

This exhibition is made possible by The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, with additional support generously provided by the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Arthur E. and Hilda C. Landers Charitable Trust.

August 25 Members Preview Reception. Be the first to preview the “Lure of Nature” exhibition at this elegant wine and hors d’oeuvres reception from 5 to 7 p.m. By invitation only. Call 410-295-5551 or become a member here.

August 27 Opening Reception. Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of the “Lure of Nature” exhibition from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

September 6 Art Express Lunchtime Tour. Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will give a lunchtime gallery talk on the “Lure of Nature” exhibition from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

September 12 Curator’s Lecture. Jennifer Tonkovich, Eugene and Clare Thaw Curator in the Department of Drawings and Prints at the Morgan Library & Museum will lecture on “The Lure of Nature: How British and German Romantics Explored Landscapes at Home and Abroad” at 5:30 p.m. in the Conversation Room, across from the Gallery.

During the late eighteenth century and well into the nineteenth, British and German artists routinely journeyed into nature to explore and record their surroundings in drawings. Working outdoors had a long tradition, but until the romantic period it had not been so widespread and such a standard part of artistic practice. Jennifer Tonkovich will explore the reasons for this burgeoning interest in the landscape and the practice of working from nature. A close examination of drawings in the exhibition The Lure of Nature will serve as a point of departure for better understanding how and why this practice was particularly suited to the Romantic sensibility and worldview.

September 26 Tuesday Try-It. Artist Rob Wood (robwoodfineart.com) will give a workshop on drawing associated with “Lure of Nature” from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Members are free; $15 for non-members. No experience necessary. Basic materials will be provided. Registration is required. Call 410-626-2556.

October 12 Book Club. Join members of the Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a docent tour of the “Lure of Nature” exhibition followed by a discussion of a section of “Rambles in Germany and Italy, in 1841, 1842 and 1843” by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. St. John’s College tutor Karin Ekholm will lead the discussion. Registration is required. Call 410-626-2556.

October 15 Sunday Afternoon Lecture. Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of the “Lure of Nature” exhibition at 3 p.m.

NEW!! Book Arts! October 7, October 14, October 21 and October 28 Make a Great Book at the Great Books School. Led by Book Artist Joan Machinchick. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Registration and fee information: call 410-626-2556.

Travel with the Mitchell Gallery - May 10-18, 2018 Village Life in Dordogne. Mitchell Gallery travel to the Dordogne (Rocamadour, Sarlat-la-Canéda, L’Abri du Cap-Blanc and Lascaux) region in France. Visit the Village Life in Dordogne page.

Hidden Beauty: Exploring the Aesthetics of Medical Science

October 26 – December 10, 2017

This collaborative project by a scientist and an artist from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine asks the viewer to consider the aesthetics of human disease, a dynamically powerful force of nature that acts without regard to race, religion, or culture.

More than sixty medical science professionals present photographs of visually stunning patterns of different diseases affecting various areas of the human anatomy in this exhibition. Captured with a variety of imaging technology that range from spectral karyotyping to scanning electron microscopy, we see beauty in the delicate lacework of fungal hyphae invading a blood vessel, the structure of the normal cerebellum, and the desperate drive of metastasizing cancer cells. Ultimately, this series of images will leave the viewer with an understanding and appreciation of visual beauty inherent within the field of modern medical science.

This exhibition is a collaborative exhibition and book by Norman Barker & Christine Iacobuzio-Donahue.

October 29 Opening Reception. Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour and hands-on activity of the “Hidden Beauty” exhibition from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Free and open to the public.

November 15 Curator’s Lecture. Norm Barker, Professor of Pathology and Art as Applied to Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, will discuss the “Hidden Beauty” exhibition at 5:30 p.m. in the Conversation Room, across from the Mitchell Gallery.

The scientific image no matter what discipline, medicine, chemistry, biology, oceanography, etc. is essential for the transfer of knowledge. We are a visual culture and observation is such an important part of the scientific method. As far back as the Ancient Egyptians more than 5000 years ago, documents have been unearthed describing empirical methods in medicine, astronomy and mathematics. The need for high quality visuals to explain or document complicated medical processes is more important than ever for teaching, scientific publications and funding. Whether it is a computer graphic, video segment, photograph, illustration, or Xray, all types of media are used to visualize science.

Looking at the art of the scientific image and the role it’s played in the advancement of science from the time of the Renaissance through the invention of photography will be explored.

December 7 Book Club. Join members of the Mitchell Gallery Book Club for a docent tour of the “Hidden Beauty” exhibition followed by a discussion of a related reading from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Registration is required. Call 410-626-2556.

About Prints: The Legacy of Stanley William Hayter

January 11 – February 25, 2018

Stanley William Hayter (1901-1988), a preeminent, influential printmaker, and founder of Atelier 17, was a strong advocate for experimentation and development of new printing techniques as a tool for artistic ideas. Hayter’s personal checklist of distinctive prints and their importance to the understanding of the graphic arts in the 20th century are featured in this exhibition of 58 works. Included are etchings, lithographs and other printmaking techniques by Picasso, Marc Chagall, and Henry Moore, along with other significant visionaries and technical innovators such as André Masson, Max Ernst, Joan Miró, Karl Schrag, and Mauricio Lasansky.

This exhibition is generously supported by the Helena Foundation.

Organized by the Syracuse University Art Galleries.

Robert Indiana: From A-Z
(The Alphabet & The Icons)

March 8 – April 22, 2018

This retrospective exhibition chronicles the career of Robert Indiana from 1934 to 2017 and showcases many iconic images, including “EAT,” “LOVE,” and “HOPE.”

Two of his latest masterpieces, “Like a Rolling Stone,” a series featuring 1960s pop-culture figure Bob Dylan and others, and “THE ALPHABET,” the definitive work labeling him as the world’s premiere word artist will be featured in this collection of 55 pieces, some of which have never been shown. These works showcase Indiana’s unique method of working with the same image on paper, canvas, print, and in three-dimensions.

This exhibition was organized by Landau Traveling Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.

St. John’s College Community Art Exhibition 2018

April 29 - May 13, 2018

This annual exhibition is a diverse collection of ceramics, paintings, drawings, prints, sculpture, textiles, and photographs that elegantly represent the artistic talent of the college community.