[MONTEREY, CA] It began in 1959 when a group of art enthusiasts formed a local chapter of the American Federation of the Arts: Now, the Monterey Museum of Art prepares to celebrate fifty years of collecting, preserving, educating about and exhibiting art by presenting a celebratory pair of thematic exhibitions in its two locations.
If members are the heart of a museum, then the collection is most certainly its soul. The Monterey Museum of Art’s permanent collection has been shaped by the rare sophistication and generosity of its members to become a true reflection of the history and spirit of the Monterey County community. In celebration of a half century of such generosity and as a demonstration of the Museum’s continued commitment to building a collection worthy of the rich art history of the region, the Monterey Museum of Art presents 50/fifty: 50 Gifts for the Next Fifty Years, an exhibition of recent promised or outright gifts to the collection.
The exhibition features fifty significant works of art that have been given or are promised to the Museum in celebration of its anniversary. “The generosity of this community is heartening,” says Executive Director E. Michael Whittington. “We are especially pleased with the recent acquisition of seven important works of Early California art, Bay Area postwar painting, photography and contemporary art, which were given by the Museum’s Collector’s Guild in honor of our anniversary.” These works, both promised and donated by members of the community profoundly deepens our collection.”
At MMA La Mirada, the exhibition 50/fify 50 Gifts for the Next Fifty Years opens Saturday, March 28, 2009 with a Community Day with free admission for Monterey County residents and visitors. There will be a Preview on Friday, March 27, 2009 from 6–8 pm. Admission to the Preview is Free for MMA Members, $10 for Non-Members.
Installed in the galleries of MMA La Mirada—themselves a testament to the melding of old and new—the exhibition encompasses paintings, works on paper and ceramics. Extraordinary examples early California paintings by John O’Shea, Granville Redmond and Sidney Yard, photographs by Ansel Adams, Yousuf Karsh, Imogen Cunningham and W. Eugene Smith, contemporary art including works by Joan Savo, Kenjilo Nanao, Johnny Apodaca and Barry Masteller, and exquisite examples of contemporary Japanese pottery will be highlights of the exhibition.
On Saturday, April 18, the Pacific Street galleries, which have been temporarily closed in preparation for the 50th Anniversary exhibition, reopen grandly to Made in Monterey, an exhibition of the most beloved and important works from the permanent collection . Two renowned works by Armin Hansen, Nino and Men of the Sea, have been conserved and will make their stunning debut in this new presentation.
There will be a Preview on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 from 6-8 pm, with remarks at 6:45 pm. The Preview is free to MMA Members and $10 for Non-Members. Saturday, April 18 is a 50th Anniversary Community Day, with arts activities for families and free admission for Monterey County residents and visitors.
”We have an extraordinary opportunity in this, our 50th year, to look deeply at the artistic heritage of our community,” says Whittington. “We have remarkable treasures, including paintings created on the Monterey Peninsula since the arrival of the first artists in the late nineteenth century and photographs by the seminal photographers who worked and lived here such as Ansel Adams, Edward Weston and the others that gravitated to this community of innovators.”
Behind the Scenes of Made in Monterey (originally scheduled for March 28) offers insights about the making of the exhibition. The program, presented by Executive Director E. Michael Whittington and Chief Curator Marcelle Polednik, takes place Saturday, April 11 from 2-4 pm at MMA Pacific Street and admission is free.
The 50th Anniversary Exhibitions are supported in part by a Grant in Memory of Louise Bougie Beland from the John H. Marble Endowment Fund Administered by the Community Foundation for Monterey County, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and Stephen Bechtel Fund. Sponsored by Alvarez Technology Group, Inc., Jane Dart, First National Bank of Central California, Dr. Darnell M. Whitt II, Pam and John Wilkinson, Mary Cary and Gary Coughlan, William E. Heyler, Jane Dart Tucker, Patricia Work, Jim Lauderdale and Kevin Philips and Nanci Markey. Community Day is sponsored by a grant from the City of Monterey Cultural Arts Commission. Media sponsorship provided by Monterey County Weekly.
About The Monterey Museum of Art
Mission: The Monterey Museum of Art collects, preserves, and interprets the art of California from the nineteenth century to the present day, within a national and international context. In this way, we expand the appreciation of our evolving artistic legacy and inspire a passion for the visual arts.
The Museum was established in 1959 as a chapter of the American Federation of the Arts and has a permanent collection of 14,000 objects, which includes paintings, photographs, works on paper, Asian art and significant holdings by California artists such as Armin Hansen, William F. Ritschel, Edward Weston and Ansel Adams. The Monterey Museum of Art has two locations: 559 Pacific Street (closed through April 15 for the 50th Anniversary exhibition installation) and 720 Via Mirada, Monterey, CA, 93940. The Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm and Sunday 1 to 4 pm. Admission: $5 general, $2.50 student and military. Museum members and children under 12 are free. For more information, please visit www.montereyart.org or call 831.372.5477.
CALENDAR LISTINGS
Friday, March 27, 2009
6-8 pm
50/fifty 50 Gifts for the Next Fifty Years Exhibition Preview
Free for MMA Members, $10 Non-Members
MMA La Mirada
720 Via Mirada
Monterey, CA
831.372.5477
www.montereyart.org
Saturday, March 28, 2009
11 – 5 pm
Community Day
Free Admission for Monterey County Residents and Visitors
MMA La Mirada
720 Via Mirada
Monterey, CA
831.372.5477
www.montereyart.org
Behind the Scenes of Made in Monterey
Saturday, April 11, 2009 (originally scheduled for March 28)
2-4 pm
The program, presented by Executive Director E. Michael Whittington and Chief Curator Marcelle Polednik, will offer insights about the making of the exhibition.
Admission is free.
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
6-8 pm
Made in Monterey Exhibition Preview
Free Admission MMA Members, $10 Non-Members
559 Pacific Street
Monterey, CA
831.372.5477
www.montereyart.org
Thursday, April 16, 2009
5-7 pm
Art After Hours
Sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank
559 Pacific Street
Monterey, CA
831.372.5477
Free Admission
Saturday, April 18, 2009
11 – 5 pm
50th Anniversary Community Day
Free Admission for Monterey County Residents and Visitors
559 Pacific Street
Monterey, CA
831.372.5477
www.montereyart.org
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