The first of these, Impacting Contemporary Culture Through Curatorial Practice: Three Perspectives, is February 18, 1-3 pm, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art Noble Theatre, 415 Couch Dr in Oklahoma City. The panel is free and open to the public.

The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition (OVAC) presents this program to encourage writing that is informed, articulate, inspired and engages audiences in contemporary art. The Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship is organized in partnership with the Oklahoma City Museum of Art and The School of Art & Art History at the University of Oklahoma.

“Experiencing art can be profound and it is different for everyone. How we understand it is shaped by the museums, galleries, and publications produced about art,” said Julia Kirt, OVAC executive director. “Through this program, we hope to grow experiences of and expertise in contemporary art in Oklahoma. We will learn from the engagement with and perspectives of national luminaries.”

Mentors for the 2012 Fellowship include many esteemed professionals in the arts. On February 18, audiences will hear from Elizabeth Dunbar, Executive Director of DiverseWorks Art Space, Houston, TX; Dana Turkovic, Curator of Exhibitions at Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis, and co-Founder and co-Director of Isolation Room/Gallery Kit, St. Louis, MO; and Hamza Walker, Director of Education and Associate Curator for the Renaissance Society at the University of Chicago and faculty of The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.  The panel is moderated by independent curator and writer Shannon Fitzgerald.

During the yearlong Fellowship, each of the twelve Fellows will produce critical writing about contemporary art and exhibitions with the guidance of visiting Mentors. The Fellows were chosen through a competitive application process (see attached list for biographies).

Future public panels will be held at the Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art in Norman on April 14 and at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art on September 15.

The Oklahoma Art Writing and Curatorial Fellowship is sponsored in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Oklahoma Arts Council and Allied Arts. The Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition was founded in 1988, providing career resources for artists who live and work in Oklahoma. For more about the program and public panels, please visit write-curate-art.blogspot.com or call 405-879-2400.

Additional Information

Public Programs: Free and open to the public.

February 18, 1-3 p.m.

Impacting Contemporary Culture Through Curatorial Practice: Three Perspectives
Elizabeth Dunbar, Dana Turkovic, and Hamza Walker
Moderated by Shannon Fitzgerald
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Noble Theatre
415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73102

April 14, 1-3 p.m.

Professors Unfolding Contemporary Art in Academia: Research & Writing
Sherri Irvin, Nancy Marie Mithlo, and Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie
Moderated by Shannon Fitzgerald
Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art
555 Elm Avenue, Norman OK, 73019

September 15, 1-3 p.m.

Visibility & Vitality: Contemporary Art Criticism Now
Sylvie Fortin, David Pagel, and Gregory Volk
Moderated by Shannon Fitzgerald
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Noble Theatre
415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, OK 73102

Mentor Biographies

• Elizabeth Dunbar, Executive Director, DiverseWorks Art Space, Houston, TX.
• Shannon Fitzgerald, (Program Lead Mentor), Independent Curator and Writer, Oklahoma City.
• Sylvie Fortin, Editor-in-Chief at Art Papers in Atlanta, GA and an independent curator, art historian, critic and editor who has worked internationally since 1991.
• Sherri Irvin (PhD, Princeton), Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK and Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art Editor of the journal Philosophy Compass.
• Nancy Marie Mithlo (PhD, Stanford), Associate Professor, Department of Art History and American Indian Studies Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, Madison, WI.
• Sylvester Okwunodu Ogbechie, (PhD, Northwestern), Associate Professor of Art History, History of Art and Architecture, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA.
• David Pagel, Art Critic, Los Angeles Times, Chair, Art Department at Claremont Graduate University, Los Angeles, CA.
• Dana Turkovic, Curator of Exhibitions, Laumeier Sculpture Park, St. Louis and co-Founder and co-Director of Isolation Room/Gallery Kit, St. Louis, MO.
• Gregory Volk, Art Critic, Curator, Writer, and Associate Professor in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA.
• Hamza Walker, Director of Education and Associate Curator for The Renaissance Society at The University of Chicago and faculty at The School of The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL.

Fellow Biographies

• Jennifer Barron (Oklahoma City, OK) is an artist, art writer, and arts education program coordinator. She believes in the power of art to impact lives.
• Theresa Bembnister (Kansas City, MO) has been an art writer for nearly a decade. Her work appears in the Kansas City Star and on The Drawing Center’s blog, The Bottom Line.
• Netha Cloeter (Norman, OK) is a second year graduate student at the University of Oklahoma pursuing her MA in art history, with an emphasis on contemporary Native American art.
• Erinn Gavaghan (Oklahoma City, OK) is the Executive Director of the Norman Arts Council. In 2010 she graduated from Webster University, St. Louis with a MA in Art History.
• Cory Imig (Kansas City, MO) is an interdisciplinary artist and received her BFA from Savannah College of Art and Design. She is currently co-director/co-curator at PLUG projects, in Kansas City, MO.
• Emily Newman (McKinney, TX) is an Assistant Professor of Art History at Texas A&M University-Commerce.
• Kirsten Olds (Tulsa, OK) is Assistant Professor of European and American Modern and Contemporary art history at the University of Tulsa.
• Blair Schulman (Kansas City, MO) writes about the visual arts in Kansas City as Editor of Cupcakes in Regalia and Associate Editor of Art Tattler.
• Amber Sharples (Oklahoma City, OK) is the Visual Arts Director/Collections Manager at the Oklahoma Arts Council where she manages both the State Art Collection and Capitol Art Collection.
• Samantha Still (Norman, OK) received her BA and MA in Art History from the University of Oklahoma.
• Sherwin Tibayan (Norman, OK) is a graduate student in photograph at the University of Oklahoma. His images and projects have been exhibited nationally and internationally.
• Shiyuan Yuan (Stillwater, OK) is Director of Gardiner Art Gallery at Oklahoma State University. Previously, he was Curator and Collection Manager at the Trammell & Margaret Crow Collection of Asian Art.

Check the Blue Star Museums Initiative website for a complete and up-to-date list of participating museums.

This list only includes museums that charge admission. Some museums, like the Crow Collection of Asian Art, in Dallas, Texas, offer free admission all year round.

Arkansas

• Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources, Smackvoer, AR
• Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, Pine Bluff, AR
• Grant County Museum, Sheridan , AR
• Hemingway-Pfeiffer Museum & Educational Center, Piggott, AR
• Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, Springdale, AR
• Southern Tenant Farmers Museum, Tyronza, AR
• William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum, Little Rock, AR

Louisiana

• Alexandria Museum of Art, Alexandria, LA
• DeQuincy Railroad Museum, DeQuincy, LA
• The Historic New Orleans Collection, New Orleans, LA
• Louisiana Art & Science Museum, Inc., Baton Rouge, LA
• LSU Museum of Art, Baton Rouge , LA
• Sci-Port: Louisiana’s Science Center, Shreveport, LA
• T.R.E.E. House Children’s Museum, Alexandria, LA
• West Baton Rouge Museum, Port Allen, LA

New Mexico

• Coronado State Monument, Bernalillo, NM
• El Camino Real International Heritage Center, Socorro, NM
• Fort Selden State Monument, Radium Springs, NM
• Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, NM
• Harwood Museum of Art, Taos, NM
• Jemez State Monument, Jemez Springs, NM
• Lincoln State Monument, Lincoln, NM
• Los Alamos Historical Museum, Los Alamos, NM
• Millicent Rogers Museum, Taos, NM
• Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, Santa Fe, NM
• Museum of Spanish Colonial Art, Santa Fe, NM
• National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum, Albuquerque, NM
• New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, Albuquerque, NM
• New Mexico State Monument/Fort Sumner State Monument, Fort Sumner, NM
• NM Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum, Las Cruces, NM
• Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, NM

Oklahoma

• American Banjo Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
• Cherokee National Historical Society, Inc., Tahlequah, OK
• Chisholm Trail Heritage Center, Duncan, OK
• Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Norman, OK
• General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum, Hobart, OK
• Guthrie Museum Complex, Guthrie, OK
• Jasmine Moran Children’s Museum, Seminole, OK
• Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art, Shawnee, OK
• The Mustang Historical Society, Mustang, OK
• National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum, Oklahoma City, OK
• Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City, OK
• Oklahoma Museum of Telephone History, Oklahoma City, OK
• Osage County Historical Society Museum, Pawhuska, OK
• Pawnee Bill Ranch and Museum, Pawnee, OK
• Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa , OK
• Plains Indians & Pioneers Museum, Woodward , OK
• Price Tower Arts Center, Bartlesville, OK
• Price Tower Arts Center, Bartlesville, OK
• Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History, Norman, OK
• Science Museum Oklahoma, OKC, OK
• Sheerar Museum of Stillwater History, Stillwater, OK
• Sherwin Miller Museum of Jewish Art, Tulsa, OK
• Stafford Air & Space Museum, Weatherford, OK
• Toy & Action Figure Museum, Pauls Valley, OK
• Will Rogers Memorial Museum & Birthplace Ranch, Claremore, OK

Texas

• 1940 Air Terminal Museum, Houston , TX
• Acton State Historic Site, Acton, TX
• Alvin Historical Museum, Alvin, TX
• Amarillo Museum of Art, Amarillo , TX
• American Airlines C.R. Smith Museum, Fort Worth, TX
• American Quarter Horse Hall of Fame & Museum, Amarillo , TX
• American Wind Power Center, Lubbock, TX
• Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, TX
• Arlington Historical Society, Arlington, TX
• Art Museum of South Texas, Corpus Christi, TX
• Austin Museum of Art, Austin , TX
• Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
• Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History, Bryan, TX
• Brownsville Historical Association, Brownsville, TX
• Buddy Holly Center, Lubbock, TX
• Caddo Mounds State Historic Site, Alto, TX
• Camp Hearne Historic Site, Hearne, TX
• Casa Navarro State Historic Site, San Antonio, TX
• Children’s Discovery Museum of the Golden Crescent, Victoria , TX
• The Children’s Museum of the Brazos Valley, Bryan, TX
• Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site, Mexia, TX
• Czech Heritage Museum & Genealogy Center, Temple, TX
• Dallas Heritage Village, Dallas, TX
• Dallas Holocaust Museum/Center for Education and Tolerance, Dallas, TX
• Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
• Eisenhower Birthplace State Historic Site, Denison, TX
• El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso, TX
• Ellen Noël Art Museum, Odessa , TX
• Fannin Battleground State Historic Site, Fannin, TX
• Fort Concho National Historic Landmark, San Angelo, TX
• Fort Griffin State Historic Site, Albany, TX
• Fort Lancaster State Historic Site, Sheffield, TX
• Fort McKavett State Historic Site, Fort McKavett, TX
• Fort Sam Houston Museum, Fort Sam Houston, TX
• Frontier Times Museum, Bandera, TX
• Frontiers of Flight Museum, Dallas, TX
• Fulton Mansion State Historic Site, Rockport, TX
• George Bush Presidential Library and Museum, College Station, TX
• The Grace Museum, Abilene, TX
• The Heritage Museum of the Texas Hill Country, Canyon Lake, TX
• Kell House Museum, Wichita Falls, TX
• Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, TX
• Landmark Inn State Historic Site, Castroville, TX
• Martin & Frances Lehnis Railroad Museum, Brownwood, TX
• McFaddin-Ward House, Beaumont, TX
• McNay Art Museum, San Antonio , TX
• Meadows Museum, Dallas, TX
• Modern Art Museum of Fort Wort, Fort Worth, TX
• Museum of South Texas History, Edinburg, TX
• Museum of Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX
• Museum of the American Railroad, Dallas, TX
• Museum of the Gulf Coast, Port Arthur , TX
• Museum of Western Art, Kerrville, TX
• Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas, TX
• National Multicultural Western Heritage Museum, Fort Worth, TX
• National Musuem of the Pacific War, Fredericksburg, TX
• Nature Discovery Center, Bellaire, TX
• Neill-Cochran House Museum, Austin , TX
• Ocean Star Offshore Drilling Rig Museum, Galveston, TX
• Old Red Museum of Dallas County History and Culture, Dallas, TX
• Pearce Museum, Corsicana, TX
• Port Aransas Museum, Port Aransas, TX
• Railroad & Heritage Museum, Temple, TX
• The Red River Historical Museum, Sherman, TX
• Republic of Texas Museum, Austin, TX
• Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site, Port Arthur, TX
• Sam Houston Memorial Museum, Huntsville, TX
• San Angelo Museum of Fine Arts, San Angelo , TX
• San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio, TX
• San Felipe de Austin State Historic Site, San Felipe, TX
• Scurry County Museum, Snyder, TX
• Silent Wings Museum, Lubbock, TX
• Southwest School of Art, San Antonio , TX
• Star of the Republic Museum, Washington, TX
• Stark Museum of Art, Orange, TX
• Tyler Museum of Art, Tyler, TX
• Umlauf Scupture Garden & Museum, Austin, TX
• Varner-Hogg Plantation State Historic Site, West Columbia, TX
• Veterans Memorial Air Park, Fort Worth , TX
• W.H. Stark House, Orange, TX
• Wolf Creek Heritage Museum, Lipscomb, TX
• The Women’s Museum: An Institute for the Future, Dallas, TX
• The Woodlands Children’s Museum, The Woodlands, TX

1535 Tyndale

Passages
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
May 16 through October 16, 2011

Some 200 business, government, academic and religious leaders gathered on March 31, 2011, at the Vatican Embassy (Apostolic Nunciature of the Holy See) as Hobby Lobby President Steve Green announced a worldwide traveling exhibition launching from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art May 16 through October 16, 2011.

In this year marking the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible, an unusual collaboration between one of America’s top family retailers, scholars worldwide and religious leaders from across the spectrum has emerged to explore, share and pioneer discoveries around the world’s most-translated, best-selling book.

“What better time than now to explore and experience this Book that has altered history, shaped cultures, inspired minds and changed lives?” said Green.

Passages is the non-sectarian exhibition of a portion of The Green Collection, one of the world’s newest and largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts. The exhibition will travel first to the Green family’s hometown of Oklahoma City for its world premiere at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, followed by a tour of cities and locations to be announced including a portion of the collection heading to St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City in October.

Block Book: The Antichrist and the Fifteen Signs of Doomsday, ca. 1470

“The opportunity to present such a vast and important collection of biblical artifacts is exceptional,” said Glen Gentele, president and CEO, Oklahoma City Museum of Art. “The exhibition provides a once-in-a-lifetime experience for guests to engage with these rare materials at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.”

Former Oklahoma Senator Don Nickles, Rep. James Lankford (R) of Oklahoma, Dr. David Whitlock, president of Oklahoma Baptist University, and representatives from the Oklahoma City Museum of Art attended the public preview in Washington, D.C.

Passages’ 14,000-square-foot, interactive, non-sectarian, worldwide traveling exhibition will enable visitors to see, touch, feel and experience the dramatic and surprising story of thousands of years of Bible history. Included in the exhibition is one of the earliest pieces of Genesis, along with the Codex Climaci Rescriptus, one of the earliest-surviving, near-complete Bibles, and the most extensive early biblical texts in Jesus’ household language of Palestinian Aramaic.

“The Bible didn’t come from Mount Sinai to Moses and end up in a Red Roof Inn desk drawer,” said Collection Director Scott Carroll, who holds a Ph.D. in ancient studies. “There was a process and Passages tells the dramatic story of that process.”

Passages paves the way for a permanent, soon-to-be-selected site where visitors can interact, not only with The Green Collection, but also with visiting exhibits around the Bible. The permanent home will also house a research arm-the Green Scholars Initiative-which brings together the world’s best and brightest minds to pioneer groundbreaking biblical discoveries through research and technology.

“The Green Collection provides casual visitors and scholars alike a one-of-a-kind opportunity to go behind the scenes of the most influential work that humankind has ever labored to capture, preserve, translate and study,” continued Carroll.

The Green Collection is named for the Green family, founders and leaders of Hobby Lobby, the world’s largest privately owned arts and crafts retailer. The massive collection that has “set dealers buzzing,” according to The New York Times (June 11, 2010), was assembled at an aggressive pace beginning in November 2009. The speed was enabled by the work of Collection Director and Ancient/Medieval Manuscript Specialist Dr. Scott Carroll and the Green family’s desire to make the story of the Bible accessible to people of all interests, as well as to scholars worldwide.

In addition to Oklahoma City, Passages will be on display:

October 2011
St. Peter’s Square, Vatican City-

A portion of Passages focusing on the Catholic contribution to the King James Bible, in this 400th anniversary year of the most-published, best-selling translation, will be on display.

Winter 2011
New York (TBA)

Some items of The Green Collection are also presently on exhibition at museums and specialty libraries in the United States and across Europe, including Baylor University and Kent State University.

For more information on Passages, go to ExplorePassages.com.

About The Green Collection

Among the newest and largest private collections of rare biblical texts and artifacts in the world, The Green Collection is a compilation of more than 30,000 biblical antiquities. Named for the Green family, founders and leaders of national retailer Hobby Lobby, the collection features one of the world’s earliest surviving Bibles─Codex Climaci Rescriptus. Hobby Lobby President Steve Green oversees the expansion and outreach of the collection and will serve as chairman of the board for the eventual museum. Dr. Scott Carroll, a scholar of ancient and medieval manuscripts, serves as the director of The Green Collection. The Green Scholar’s Initiative (GreenScholarsInitiative.org), the research arm of the collection, brings together the world’s best and brightest scholars to pioneer groundbreaking research on biblical texts and artifacts.

About the Oklahoma City Museum of Art

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art serves over 135,000 visitors annually from all fifty states and over thirty foreign countries and presents exhibitions drawn from throughout the world.The Museum’s collection covers a period of five centuries with highlights in European and American art of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and a growing collection of contemporary art as well as a comprehensive collection of glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly. The Museum boasts the region’s premiere repertoire cinema, which presents the finest international, independent, and classic films. Amenities include the Museum School, which offers classes for students of all ages as well as art camps for children; a library; Museum Store, a roof terrace, and the Museum Cafe, a full-service restaurant, offering lunch, dinner, Sunday brunch, afternoon tea, a full bar and catering services. www.OKCMOA.com

1535 Tyndale

Block Book: The Antichrist and the Fifteen Signs of Doomsday, ca. 1470

Persian Seaform Ceiling by Dale Chihuly

Last chance to see the exhibit for almost a year is Sunday, April 3, 2011.

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art has announced plans to temporarily close Dale Chihuly: The Collection for nearly a year. Consisting of more than 1,500 pieces of glass, the collection will reopen in 2012 to celebrate the Museum’s tenth anniversary in the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center in downtown Oklahoma City.

“The spectacular Chihuly installation is the part of the collection that people most associate with the Museum,” said OKCMOA director Glen Gentele. “During the time when the Chihuly Collection is down, Museum staff will be cleaning each and every piece and further documenting it while also organizing plans for our yearlong Tenth Anniversary Celebration. Leading up to the 2012 reinstallation of the Chihuly glass, the Museum will present a world premiere exhibition that will delight the Oklahoma City community and attract people from around the nation.”

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art inaugurated its new home in the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center in 2002 with an exhibition of glass and drawings by renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly, titled Dale Chihuly: An Inaugural Exhibition. Bolstered by enormous public support and community giving, the Museum purchased all 18 installations in the exhibition in 2004. Renamed Dale Chihuly: The Collection, the exhibitionwasinstalled on the Museum’s third floor on April 1, 2004, after 32 days of extensive set building and preparation.

Dale Chihuly: The Collection features works from Chihuly’s best-known series, including Ikebanas, Macchias, Baskets, and Seaforms as well as the Waterford Crystal Chandelier, installed in the Museum’s theater lobby. Since its 2004 reopening, thousands of visitors have been through the exhibition, which continues to be a popular attraction and remains one of the most comprehensive collections of Chihuly glass in the world. The entire collection is anchored by the three-story Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower in the Museum’s atrium. Both the tower and the Waterford Crystal Chandelier are permanent installations and will remain on display.

Persian Seaform Ceiling by Dale Chihuly

News crews reporting from the Churchill overpass in Dallas, Texas (Pinhole camera image by Mr. Holga)

This should be no surprise to anyone in the Texas right now, but a number of museums will be closed Wednesday, February 9, 2011,  due to winter weather. Ice and snow are expected for the northern region of Texas.

The following museums have already announced closures today:

• Amon Carter Museum of American Art in Fort Worth, Texas
• Crow Collection of Asian Art in Dallas, Texas
• Dallas Museum of Art in Dallas, Texas
• Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas
• Log Cabin Village in Fort Worth, Texas
• Museum of Nature & Science in Dallas, Texas
• Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas
• Oklahoma City Museum of Art in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
• Panhandle Plains Historical Museum in Amarillo, Texas
• Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• Tyler Museum of Art in Tyler, Texas

As other museums announce closures, we will add them to the list. Be sure to call before you go.

The current weather conditions are only expected to last about a day. Most museums are expecting to be open on Thursday, Feb. 10.

Show Us Your Museum Snow Photos

If by chance you are out and about near one of our beloved museum, we would relish the opportunity to see your photos. Post your pictures to an online image site like Flickr and put the link in the comments below. You can also send us a Tweet at twitter.com/DallasArtNews.

News crews reporting from the Churchill overpass in Dallas, Texas (Pinhole camera image by Mr. Holga)

Click here to see more image by Mr. Holga on Flicker.

Carolyn Hill (May 1, 1938 - May 12, 2010)

It is with great sadness that we announce the passing Carolyn Hill, retired executive director of Oklahoma City Museum of Art, who died in Oklahoma City on May 12, 2010 following an extended illness. She was 72. Carolyn will forever be remembered for her lifelong love, passion, and achievements in the arts and for leaving behind her indelible mark on the fabric our community.

A native Oklahoman, Carolyn received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Oklahoma then completed post-graduate studies at The Julliard School, New York, and The Mozarteum, Salzburg, Austria. Her interest in the arts extended beyond music, and she continued her studies in art history at major European museums during several summers abroad.

She spent more than 30 years in New York City, where her professional career focused on the arts and arts education. She taught music and was director of the art and music department at the United Nations International School, music director and conductor of the Livingston Symphony Orchestra, and president and director of the Carolyn Hill Gallery.

She returned to Oklahoma City in 1993 to care for her aging mother and was appointed executive director of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in 1994. During her tenure, she was instrumental in raising the funds for the Museum’s move from its location at Fair Park to the Donald W. Reynolds Visual Arts Center in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City, as well as the funds for the purchase of 18 glass installations by Dale Chihuly, the largest collection in the world. She also brought national recognition to the Museum with the establishment of film and education programs and outstanding international exhibitions, including the blockbuster exhibition Roman Art from the Louvre.

“Through her passion for the arts, strong leadership and bold vision, Carolyn Hill transformed the Oklahoma City Museum of Art from a small museum at the fairgrounds into a vibrant and very important cultural component of our city and state. Equally adept at promoting Roman Art from the Louvre or NBA basketball, Carolyn played a major role in our collective effort to elevate Oklahoma City to the next level,” said Frank Hill, chairman of the Museum’s board of trustees.

Carolyn retired as executive director of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art in December 2008. Upon stepping down, she wrote: “I have been more than fortunate to have worked with a dedicated board and staff to advance the Museum’s development. It has been serendipity that these years have coincided with the City’s renaissance. I have every confidence that the Museum’s best days lie ahead.”

Revered by her staff, patrons and friends, Carolyn was the recipient of the By-liners Award for Arts in 1997, the Governor’s Arts Award in 2001 and the Stanley Draper Award for Community Excellence in 2003, and was inducted in The Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools’ Wall of Fame in 2008.

Carolyn was preceded in death by her parents, Virgil and Flora Hill, and her brother, Russell Hill. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Lois Hill, niece Debra Zobel, and cousins Philip Waters, Terri Gillick, Steven Knapp and Scott Knapp. Carolyn and her family and friends will be forever grateful to her dedicated caregivers who helped make her life meaningful during her illness.

A funeral service will be held at St. Paul’s Cathedral, 127 NW 7th Street in downtown Oklahoma City, on Wednesday, May 19, 10:00 a.m. A reception will be held at St. Paul’s immediately following the service.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive, Oklahoma City, OK, 73102.

Carolyn Hill (May 1, 1938 - May 12, 2010)

Friends’ Lecture: “Gustave Courbet Revisited”
Wednesday, November 18, 2009, 6:30 p.m.
By Kathryn Calley Galitz, Ph.D., assistant curator, Dept. of 19th-century, Modern, and Contemporary Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This lecture offers an overview of the work of the Realist painter, Gustave Courbet (1819-1877), a pioneering figure in the history of modernism and the subject of a 2008 retrospective at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Courbet, the self-proclaimed “most arrogant man in France,” launched his career with a series of paintings of his native Ornans, whose subject matter and emphatically realistic style shocked the Paris art world in the early 1850s. Throughout his career, he courted controversy, challenging the artistic establishment with works that flouted accepted standards. His art profoundly influenced the next generation of artists, notably Cézanne.

Friends’ lectures are free to Museum members at the Friend, Friends, and Sustainer membership levels. Seating is limited to 250, and reservations are recommended. Prices are $15 for general membership levels and $20 for nonmembers per ticket. For more information, contact Jim Eastep at 236-3100, ext. 215 or e-mail jeastep@okcmoa.com

Così Fan Tutte, Opera in HD from Salzburg
Thursday, November 19, 7 p.m.
Noble Theater

Performed at the Salzburg Festival 2009, Così fan tutte is an experiment designed to reveal the truth about women’s supposed lack of faithfulness. This stage work – in some ways Mozart’s most radical – is not so much a “School for Lovers” as a continuous dissection of hearts. In the tension between love and passion, security and self-negation, faithfulness and betrayal, couples get lost in emotional chaos. Mozart’s music traces the inner contradictions of his figures, without ever betraying them, and suddenly makes us doubt our confident belief that we can separate playfulness from earnestness, dream from reality. Conducted by Adam Fischer, Directed by Claus Guth, Starring Miah Persson, Isabel Leonard, Topi Lehtipuu, Florian Boesch.

SPECIAL PRICE: $20 Adults/ $18 Members, Students, Seniors. Call 405-278-8237, Tuesday through Saturday, 10am to 5pm. Purchase online

Coco Before Chanel
Friday & Saturday, November 20 – 21, 5:30 & 8 p.m.

Coco Before Chanel is the story of Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel (Audrey Tatou), who began her life as a headstrong orphan and, through an extraordinary journey, became the legendary couturier who embodied the modern woman and became a timeless symbol of success, freedom, and style. The film portrays the formative years of Chanel’s life, and the years Chanel spent discovering and inventing herself. The production was given the support of the Maison CHANEL, who opened their archives and collections. In French with English subtitles. Director: Anne Fontaine 2009 France 105min. PG-13 HDdigital

Fall Family Festival featuring
The Dutch Italiantes!
Sunday, November 22, Noon-4 p.m.

In celebration of The Dutch Italianates, OKCMOA invites you to spend a day with the Dutch at their fall festival Family Day on Sunday, November 22 from noon-4pm. Families can visit the Museum of Art to view the exhibitions and enjoy fun-filled activities for all ages, including hands-on art, face painting, mini-tours, a family activity guide, door prizes, and live performances featuring the Oklahoma City Philharmonic. In addition, the Metropolitan Library will present story times throughout the afternoon.

All activities are included in the price of Museum admission: $12 adults, $10 students/seniors, $10 military and free to members and children ages 5 and under.

• Hands-on art activities: Landscape Collages, Mini Cezanne Still Life paintings, and Impressionist Summer Garden Watercolor paintings
• Face Painting
• Mini-tours led by museum docents
• Family activity guide for use in the gallery
• Door Prizes
• Live performances featuring the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and the Oklahoma City Orchestra League’s Instrument Playground, as well as Classen SAS String Quartet
• Dance demonstrations by Classen SAS French Club, and Alliance Française OKC will give mini-French lessons on colors and basic greetings
• Story Times presented by the Metropolitan Library System

Support provided by Sonic.

Activities are appropriate for all ages and are FREE with paid museum admission. $12 adults, $10 seniors, students & military with ID. FREE for members and children 5 & under.

The François Zola Dam by Paul Cézanne, ca. 1877–78

Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection
Oklahoma City Museum of Art
June 25 through September 20, 2009

Post by Cindy Andrew

A French town steeped in snow, cavalrymen playing a game of cards in a tavern and a young woman garbed in brilliant blue staring at me as though she knew me — all are images swirling in my head as I leave Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection. The exhibition, which is currently at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, features 47 paintings from the romanticism, impressionism and post-impressionism eras. In addition to Turner and Cézanne, other prominent nineteenth century artists are also represented. The paintings are from the collection of Gwendoline (1882-1951) and Margaret (1884-1963) Davies, the granddaughters of Welsh coal and railway baron David Davies.

The exhibition opens to eight small works by British master J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851). While small in scale, the works still express Turner’s enormous appreciation and awe of nature. Turner creates imminence and movement through his use of thick painterly brushwork that leaps off of the canvass and engages the viewer. The Storm, for example, conveys the frightful moments just before the rapacious sea claims its maritime victims.

The romantic theme continues with works by Camille Corot (1796-1875), Honore Daumier (1808-1879) and Jean-François Millet (1814-1875). Corot and Millet are known for their landscapes, and fortunately, the exhibition features a few of them such as Millet’s The Gust of Wind. In this bucolic scene, a shepherd scurries to herd his flock during a violent windstorm. The shepherd is oblivious to the massive uprooted tree that the wind has hurled his way. As scores likely have before me, I left the painting wondering the fate of the hapless shepherd.

The exhibition transitions from romanticism to realism with the works of artists such as Jean-Louis Ernest Meissonier (1815-1891). The detail in Meissonier’s Innocents and Card Sharpers (A Game of Piquet) astounds; his meticulousness gives life to his subjects. The scene depicts a group of seventeenth century cavalrymen playing cards in a tavern. The soldiers’ dress conjures images of the Three Musketeers with their large plumed hats and brightly colored tunics. Amused and seasoned card sharks sit opposite uncertain and inexperienced youths. Friends of the card sharks stand behind them. One friend casually observes the farce with his hands enfolded behind him, and another looks on while enjoying his pipe. A flask of wine and a half-empty glass sit on a bench in the foreground. This painting intrigued me; I returned to it two or three times.

The impressionists are next in the exhibition. At least one or two works from each of the major impressionist artists —Monet, Renoir, Morisot, Pissarro, Manet and Sisley— are represented. Each painting is compelling but I was particularly drawn to Edouard Manet’s (1832-1883) Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge. Manet painted this work during the Prussian siege of Paris in the winter of 1870. In the painting snow blankets the village of Petit-Montrouge, a suburb of Paris. The dreary gray sky is briefly interrupted by a splatter of light gray that is the town’s church steeple. The collage of black, brown and gray interspersed with vivid white expresses desolation, sadness and despair; which Manet must have felt during the Prussian siege.

I would be remiss if I did not mention La Parisienne by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). In this full-size portrait, Renoir portrays a young Parisian woman dressed in the brightest blue imaginable. The woman stands above her viewers, gazing upon us with a hint of a smile. La Parisienne is quintessential Renoir. The blue is brilliant, but not overpowering and the woman’s gaze is not judgmental, but sensual. She is an ephemeral image of the nineteenth century Parisian woman.

The exhibition culminates with only two of Cézanne’s works: Provençal Landscape and The François Zola Dam. This was the exhibition’s only flaw. I had expected to see more of Cézanne’s works, given the title of the exhibition. With that said, I still recommend taking the drive to Oklahoma City to experience the Davies sisters’ wonderful collection.

The Storm by Joseph Mallord William Turner, ca. 1840–45

The François Zola Dam by Paul Cézanne, ca. 1877–78

The François Zola Dam by Paul Cézanne, 1877-78

From Press Release

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art (OKCMOA) is pleased to announce the presentation of Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales, opening June 25 through September 20, 2009. A selection of 47 paintings-many of which have been rarely exhibited outside of Wales-and 11 important works on paper will reveal the cross-currents between artists and movements that propelled nineteenth-century painting from the romantic naturalism of J.M.W. Turner to the post-impressionism of Paul Cézanne. The works on view are drawn from the collection of Gwendoline and Margaret Davies, Welsh sisters who were among the most important art patrons in Europe at a key moment in the history of painting. The exhibition includes eight works by Turner, five by Jean-François Millet, three each by Camille Corot and Claude Monet, and two each by Cézanne, Edouard Manet, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The clear connections among the various works acquired by the Davies sisters, particularly the inclusion of British artists such as Matthew Smith and Robert Bevan, whose work responds to French modernism, suggest an astute and informed understanding of ‘early twentieth century painting. The exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and National Museum Wales. This exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

“We are pleased to present this important exhibition from the National Museum of Wales.  The Davies collection is world-renowned and it is with great excitement that we bring these works of art to Oklahoma City,” said President & CEO Glen Gentele.

La Parisienne by Renoir, 1874

Gwendoline (1882-1951) and Margaret (1884-1963) Davies were born in the Welsh village of Llandinam. They were grandchildren of the famed industrialist and philanthropist David Davies and enjoyed a privileged upbringing. After attending private school near London, the sisters traveled extensively throughout Europe and began acquiring art. They quickly established themselves as important patrons and were among the first to purchase works by Corot, Honoré Daumier, and Millet. The Davies’s extensive knowledge and financial independence allowed them to spend more than 110,000 (approximately $12 million today) building their impressive collection by 1913. The sisters ceased collecting at the outbreak of World War I in order to focus on charitable activities, including a volunteer stint with the Red Cross in Troyes, France. In 1920, they purchased a mansion called Gregynog near their childhood home in Wales, which they soon turned into a forum for arts and culture, attracting an international circle of educators, artists, and politicians. Their steadfast belief in advancing the study, practice, and appreciation of art in Wales led them to donate their collection of 260 paintings and works on paper to National Museum Wales. Margaret bequeathed Gregynog to the University of Wales in 1960, shortly before her death.

Turner to Cézanne begins with late works by the British master J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851), including Morning after the Wreck (ca. 1840) and The Storm (ca. 1840-45). Turner’s oils and watercolors presage modern painting with their emphasis on loose, painterly brushwork, first-hand observation, and atmospheric effects. His revolutionary break with the mandates of mimesis, or exact copying of nature, would later have a tremendous impact on the impressionists, particularly Claude Monet (1840-1926). Turner’s influence is readily apparent in Charing Cross Bridge (1902), one of the three canvases by Monet in the exhibition. Monet’s own brushstroke became increasingly fractured and his palette more tonal as he studied Turner’s oeuvre during sojourns to London.

In France, the work of the Barbizon school paralleled Turner’s romantic naturalism. Breaking from the traditions of classical landscape painting and biblical subject matter, artists such as Camille Corot (1796-1875) and Jean-François Millet (1814-1875) left their studios to paint, or outdoors. The three paintings on view by Corot include Distant View of Corbeil (ca. 1870), which depicts an idyllic landscape with a harmonized palette and feathery brushstrokes. Millet’s unfinished Winter: The Faggot Gatherers (1868-75), a haunting image of peasants from Normandy, underscores the many radical changes-including a new appreciation of the creative act itself and an elevation of scenes of modern life from secondary to primary importance-that propelled French art toward impressionism and post-impressionism. Although misunderstood in its own day and sometimes perceived as conservative in ours, the Barbizon school was integral to the rise of modern art and opened the door to artists of many genres seeking to explore a new realism in France.

Following the precursors of Turner and the Barbizon school, the exhibition presents an important early work by Edouard Manet (1832-1883): Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge (1870). Often described as Manet’s first impressionist work, the painting conveys the unflinching scene of destruction in the suburbs of Paris during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). Applying broad, fluid strokes of gray, brown, and white directly onto the canvas, the artist perfectly captures the unique half-light of a dreary winter’s day, an effort that foreshadows his interest in effets de neige, or snow effects. Following Corot’s precedent by working on the spot and sur le motif, or from the subject (there is no discernible under-drawing in the work), Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge is a first instance of the spontaneity and direct observation that would characterize impressionism.

In addition to the strikingly modern work by Manet and Monet, including the latter’s renowned Waterlilies (1906), the exhibition features Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s masterpiece La Parisienne (1874), which demonstrates impressionism’s commitment to depicting modern life. The painting depicts the beautiful young actress Henriette Henriot directly confronting the viewer with a coquettish gaze. Rather than naming his sitter, Renoir presents her as a social type-the beguiling ingénue seen at the theater or in the shops and cafés of Paris. This follows the proclamation of nineteenth-century poet Charles Baudelaire, who called for contemporary artists to engage with modern life.

The exhibition culminates with several post-impressionist works, including paintings by Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. In 1918, Gwendoline Davies bought Cézanne’s Provençal Landscape (ca. 1877) and The François Zola Dam (ca. 1877-78), one of Cézanne’s most admired paintings. A few years later, she acquired van Gogh’s magnificent Rain-Auvers (1890). This evocative image, which dates to the last week of the artist’s life, conveys a sense of solitude through its open, panoramic composition.

Visitor Information

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art is located in the heart of downtown Oklahoma City’s Arts District, at 415 Couch Drive.  Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The Museum is closed on Monday and major holidays. (405) 236-3100. Cafe hours are Sunday Brunch, 10:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Monday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; and Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. (405) 235-6262.