The Big Great American Auction hosted by Ty Pennington

TV special features historic comics, currency, historic Ty Cobb memorabilia; filmed aboard The Queen Mary

ABC has announced that it will air The Great Big American Auction, starring Ty Pennington of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, one of America’s leading reality TV personalities, and featuring exclusively Heritage Auctions’ experts, auction services and staff, in a very special television first made-for-TV auction event, at 10 p.m. (ET) on Thursday, Dec. 8.

The special was produced by Cineflix (Auction) Inc. for ABC. Executive Producers are Lisa Levenson, Ty Pennington, Joe Houlihan and Simon Lloyd.

Ty Pennington has been transforming people’s homes and lives for several years now as the host of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and has now found an exciting new way to change lives by turning their memorabilia and assorted hidden finds into treasures worth life-changing amounts of money.

After scouring flea markets, cellars, attics and yard sales to find one-of-a-kind items whose owners have no idea of their real value, Pennington, with a team of experts from Heritage Auctions, tags the best items and brings them to The Queen Mary oceanliner in Long Beach, CA for The Great Big American Auction. The exceptional collectibles range from first edition classic comic books to rare American currency to an early 20^th century baseball icon’s checkbook, and much more in-between, all chosen for their rarity, value and the uniqueness of the consignor’s story.

“It’s a great thrill to be part of this major network, prime time show, to work with Cineflex and ABC and a star the magnitude and class of Ty Pennington,” said Greg Rohan, President of Heritage Auctions. “We went to great lengths with our staff and experts to make sure that all these unique items have great stories and that they live up to Heritage’s exacting consignment standards. We hope that everyone will enjoy the show as much as we enjoyed being a part of it.”

Objects originally bought for mere dollars, or literally plucked right out the trash will go for thousands of dollars as their lucky owners’ lives are changed for the better.

The Great Big American Auction will air on Thursday, December 8, 2011, at 10 p.m. (ET) on The ABC Television Network.

Heritage Auctions is always seeking “consignments with a story” for possible future TV projects. If you think you might have a unique item and a unique story, email to TVShow@HA.com.

Heritage Auctions

Heritage Auctions, headed by Steve Ivy, Jim Halperin and Greg Rohan, is the world’s third largest auction house, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 600,000+ online bidder members. For more information about Heritage Auctions, and to join and gain access to a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit HA.com.

The Big Great American Auction hosted by Ty Pennington

“ENVISO’s unique partnership with SMU’s Meadows School of the Arts, resulting in the creation of the Student Composer-in-Residence Program, is an extraordinary example of collaborative planning,” said Lively. ‘The program will support and celebrate young musicians who aspire to be among the next generation of American composers.”

“To our knowledge, this is the first such program of its kind between an orchestra and a university music department,” said Tracy Boyd, president of ENVISO.

The first student selected for the residency is Vince Gover, a sophomore at SMU. ENVISO will perform the world premiere of Gover’s “Let Us Begin Anew…” (a quote from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural speech) in a concert celebrating the 50^th anniversary of Kennedy’s  presidential inauguration, to be held at the Irving Arts Center  at 8 p.m. November 12. The symphonic event celebrating Kennedy’s life, presidency and legacy will be introduced by Lively and will include archival video footage.

Though still an undergraduate, Gover has already received recognition for his compositions. In January, his work Children’s Suite was performed at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., by the Saxony-Anhalt Brass Quintet, an ensemble of principal performers from German orchestras. The quintet chose Gover’s work for their U.S. tour after discovering it through Gover’s high school music teacher. In addition, Gover’s Minute Fanfare was performed by the Meadows Wind Ensemble at its October concert at SMU.

“We are very excited about this new collaboration,” said Samuel Holland, director of the Meadows School Division of Music. “Our composition students have an opportunity to work with a professional orchestra and gain performance experience that will be invaluable to them in their careers.”

Meadows Executive Board member Barbara Daseke added, “This innovative collaboration is a fine example of progressive community arts entities joining together to create excitement and provide new performing venues beneficial for everyone.”

The annual competition to select the composer-in-residence will be held by a committee composed of two members of the SMU composition faculty, ENVISO Music Director Hector Guzman, who earned a Master of Music in instrumental conducting at SMU in 1983, and an outside member of the music community. The winner will be chosen by February 28 each year, and will compose at least one commissioned work to premiere with ENVISO the following season.

For more information about ENVISO, visit www.enviso.org.

Dallas Art News Museum Express Tour

The announced closure of The Women’s Museum reminded us how much fun we had with the Museum Express Tour in the spring of 2010. So much fun that we would like to do it again in 2012.

For those of you who don’t know, Dallas Art News put together the Museum Express Tour in April 2010. The tour went to eight Dallas & Fort Worth museums in one day using only mass transit (The T, TRE & DART) to get around. It took all day and we only had 15-20 minutes at each museum, but it was definitely an adventure.

The 2010 Museum Express Tour had about a dozen adventurous art lovers. All of them lived in the Dallas – Fort Worth area. The Museum Express Tour is more for local residents than it is for vacationers.

We would like to do the Museum Express Tour again if we can get more people to join us. We want 30 to 50 art lovers for this event.

Possible museum stops on the tour include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Dallas
  • Crow Collection of Asian Art
  • Dallas Museum of Art
  • Nasher Sculpture Center
  • Meadows Museum
  • Museum of Nature & Science
  • The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
  • Texas Museum of Automobile History

• Fort Worth
  • Amon Carter Museum of American Art
  • Fort Worth Community Arts Center
  • Kimbell Art Museum
  • Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
  • Sid Richardson Museum

The estimated cost for the Museum Express Tour will be about $100 per person, which will include a mass transit pass, access to all the museums on the tour, lunch and a t-shirt.

Before we start doing any serious planning, we would like to gauge how many people would be interested. If you would like to spend a Saturday traveling from museum to museum with a couple dozen new friends, then please let us know by filling out the sign-up form below.

Completing the below form does not in any way mean you are registered for the tour. The official tour registration will come in January 2012.

Dallas Art News does not share email addresses with anyone.

Related Posts

From Fort Worth to Dallas on the Museum Express Tour – April 2, 2010

Dallas Art News Museum Express Tour to Visit Eight Museums in One Day via The T, TRE and DART -Feb. 25, 2010

Facebook Images from the Museum Express Tour Dry Run in 2009

Dallas Art News Museum Express Tour makes it to The Women's Museum on Saturday, April 3, 2010. (Photo by James Roman)

Corry Kanzenberg

The Boy Scouts of America announced it has appointed Norman Rockwell expert Corry Kanzenberg as curator of exhibitions and collections at the National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas.

This appointment is part of the museum’s dedication to preserving the history of Norman Rockwell and the legacy of the Boy Scouts of America. In this position, Kanzenberg will organize exhibitions and oversee the care of the extensive collections featuring more than 600,000 objects related to the history of Scouting and the second-largest public collection of Norman Rockwell artwork in the world.

For our review of the Norman Rockwell paintings at the National Scouting Museum see Review: Norman Rockwell at the National Scouting Museum.

Kanzenberg is a noted expert in Rockwell’s work from her prior role as curator of archival collections at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. As Kanzenberg transitions into her new role as curator of exhibitions and collections, she brings her extensive knowledge of Rockwell and these historic paintings. The National Scouting Museum continues to tell the story of Rockwell and Scouting through these artifacts.

“I am deeply humbled to join the team at the National Scouting Museum, to bring to life the exhibitions and all the deep-rooted history of Norman Rockwell and of Scouting,” she said. “The history of Scouting will continue throughout the generations, and I’m excited to be a part of continuing the journey.” Kanzenberg received her undergraduate degree from the University of Hartford, where she studied art history and painting. She is completing her master’s in information and library science through Southern Connecticut State University.

Norman Rockwell

Norman Rockwell is perhaps best remembered for his countless Saturday Evening Post illustrations or his numerous advertisements for such companies as Coca-Cola, Ford Motor Company, and Sun-Maid Raisins. However, less well known is Rockwell’s history with the Boy Scouts of America. During his 64-year relationship with the Boy Scouts, Rockwell created 50 Brown & Bigelow Scouting calendar illustrations, plus more than 200 illustrations for Boys’ Life magazine.

National Scouting Museum

The National Scouting Museum is the official museum of the Boy Scouts of America. Its mission is to preserve the legacy of Scouting and promote the movement to future generations. Annual museum attendance averages approximately 80,000, composed of approximately 19,000 on-site visitors to the museum in Irving, and 61,000 visitors to our website and outreach programs throughout the United States. For more information on the National Scouting Museum, please visit www.nationalscoutingmuseum.org.

Creativity Unleashed opens Sunday, January 30, 2011 in the Main Gallery at the Irving Arts Center, 3333 N. MacArthur Blvd in Irving.

The free artists reception for Creativity Unleashed will be held on Saturday, February 5, 2011 from 5-7pm in the Main Gallery of the Irving Arts Center.

This dynamic mixed media art exhibit will feature local artists: Mathew Jacob Barnes, Erica Davis,Valarie Evans,Marcello Pope,Dr. Charles V. Shelton Jr.,Tonia Witherspoon and Alisha Young.

IBAC in partnership with the City of Irving will also present its annual Black History program. This year’s theme will focus on the African Americans who fought in the Civil War. The one-hour program featuring students from Irving area schools will be presented on Tuesday, February 15 at 7pm. A reception will immediately follow after the program.

All events are family-oriented and free.

Coffin Maker by Gordon Young, 2010

Cut & Paste: Works by Gordon Young and Enrique Fernandez Cervantes
Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery, University of Dallas
November 12- December 12, 2010

Reception is Friday, November 12, 2010, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The University of Dallas, Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery is pleased to present Cut & Paste: Works by Gordon Young and Enrique Cervantes. The exhibition includes collages by Gordon Young and photography by Enrique Fernandez Cervantes. Cut & Paste is on exhibit November 12 through December 12 with an opening reception Friday, November 12 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

The Haggerty Gallery is an integral component of the University of Dallas Art Department and its exhibitions are designed to encourage a dialogue between the University of Dallas and the broader artistic community by inviting an array of contemporary artists to the university campus.

Directions & Parking The Haggerty Gallery, located in the Haggerty Arts Village, is the copper-clad building at the corner of Gorman Drive and Haggar Circle. Parking is available throughout campus. For more information contact Courtney Miles at courtneyleemiles@gmail.com Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 12 – 5 p.m.

Beatrice M. Haggerty Gallery
Haggerty Art Village
University of Dallas
1845 E. Northgate Drive
Irving, TX 75062
(972) 721-5087

Gallery Hours
10:00 am – 5:00 pm Mon – Fri
12:00 noon – 5:00 pm Sat & Sun

Contextus: Works by Lauren Kirchner

Contextus: Works by Lauren Kirchner
University of Dallas – Upper Gallery

Closing artist reception on Friday, November 12, 2010, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The University of Dallas, Upper Gallery is currently exhibiting Contextus: Works by Lauren Kirchner. The installation includes colorful, embroidered prints and quilted prints supported by an installation of cords.

Contextus is on exhibit through Friday, November 12, 2010. There will be a closing reception with the artists on Friday from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

The University of Dallas, Upper Gallery, Haggerty Arts Village is located at 1845 E. Northgate Dr., Irving, Texas 75062.

Brian Hauser was born in Denver, Colorado in January 1975.  He has been in Dallas for 20 years, where he graduated from the Art Institute of Dallas in 1997 with an Associate’s Degree in Visual Communication. Two years ago he decided to come to Brookhaven College to take Continuing Education classes. After two semesters, it was suggested that he take the courses for credit. Printmaking was something that he originally took to fill out his schedule but it quickly became the primary interest of his art studies.  Brian is completing his last semester in printmaking at Brookhaven this fall and will continue study for his B.F.A. at Arizona State University in 2011.

The finalists were Francisco Alvarado of Brookhaven, Suzan Hawkins and Mary Thomas of Cedar Valley, Thien Ho and Antony Sarelli of Eastfield, Gonzalo Trujillo and Caitlin Ramsey of Mountain View, Christopher Gonzalez and Pavlina Panova of North Lake, Zachariah Montoya and Robert David Reedy of Richland, and Raymond Butler and Janet Aguirre of El Centro.

The jury was Kevin Vogel, Kenneth Craighead, Edith Baker, Marcie Inman, Sue Flynn and Lisa Taylor. DADA thanks Eddy Rawlinson and Marcie Inman for coordinating the exhibition.

About the Edith Baker Art Scholarship and Artist Career Development Fund

In celebration of its 20th anniversary in 2005, the Dallas Art Dealers Association (DADA) created the Edith Baker Art Scholarship and Artist Career Development Fund, honoring the respected owner of The Edith Baker Gallery in Dallas. One of DADA’s founding members, Edith directed The Edith Baker Gallery for nearly thirty years before retiring in 2004. The Edith Baker Art Scholarship benefits a student pursuing study of the visual arts through a cash award and career development activities such as a gallery show, a mentorship, and an internship. Proceeds from individual donations, annual DADA events, and collection jars at each DADA member location support the Edith Baker Art Scholarship, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Visit www.dallasartdealers.org or e-mail info@dallasartdealers.org for more information.

About the Irving Arts Center

The performing and fine arts community in Irving welcomed a new home in 1990 with the completion of the Irving Arts Center. The Arts Center’s 10-acre complex, nestled in the heart of Dallas-Fort Worth, features two fully equipped theaters; four galleries; meeting, classroom, reception and rehearsal facilities; and a verdant sculpture garden. The Arts Center – a department of the City of Irving – was designed to accommodate a wide range of cultural and civic needs. Visit www.irvingartscenter.com for more information.

Kasten Searles: 119 Strangers
University of Dallas
Through October 22, 2010

Artists reception on Friday, October 22, 2010, from 6-9 p.m.

119 STRANGERS showcases recent paintings by Kasten Searles that explore the issues of of privacy, public image, and self-surveillance via social media. The exhibition includes 119 portraits of strangers appropriated from internet sources. Kasten’s work re-contextualizes the digital experience of the personal snapshot through the more traditional medium of painting.

Kasten Searles, a graduate of The Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, is currently a graduate student at The University of Dallas.

Upper Gallery, Haggerty Art Village
University of Dallas
1845 E. Northgate Dr.
Irving, TX 75062

Special Note

Kasten Searles was one of the first Dallas Art News volunteer reporters. She is very passionate about art and she is very talented. We highly recommend seeing Kasten’s exhibit.

Kasten Searles: 119 Strangers

The National Scouting Museum in Irving, Texas, is very fortunate to have a permanent collection of Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) paintings.  The seventeen paintings are displayed in a special gallery along with other paintings by Joseph Csatari (b 1929) and drawings by Remington Schuyler (1884-1955). The National Scouting Museum owns the largest collection of scouting art work by Rockwell. The scouts might own the largest collection of Rockwell paintings outside Stockbridge, Massachusetts.

Mighty Proud by Norman Rockwell, 1958

Norman Rockwell is America’s quintessential illustrator. He created illustrations for the cover of The Saturday Evening Post magazine for over four decades. Rockwell also created 50 Brown & Bigelow Scouting calendar covers, over 200 illustrations, and 11 covers for Boys’ Life magazine. Over the course of his life, Rockwell created over 4,000 works.

Not all of the seventeen Rockwell paintings on display are great works. But there are some choice paintings that make the trip really worth it. They include:

• Scouts of Many Trails, 1937
• Forward America, 1951
• Might Proud, 1958
• Homecoming, 1961
• Beyond the Easel, 1969

In Mighty Proud, Rockwell paints a family all gathered around the recently promoted boy scout. His cub scout uniform is on the floor. Mom and dad look on with pride. Eagle scout big brother adjusts the neckerchief. Little brother can’t wait till he is a scout too. The quality of the painting and the story it conveys cannot easily be appreciated on a calendar or the web. It should be seen in person.

The only issues with the exhibit are display and lighting. The gallery is very nice, but the paintings seem a little high, especially for the expected audience. And the lighting is also bad for younger guests. Anyone shorter than four feet tall will have to make adjustments to see the paintings without a glare.

The National Scouting Museum and the Norman Rockwell Exhibit is well worth the trip to Irving, Texas. Take advantage of free Sundays and Mondays, while they last.