By Liam Otten
Léon Lhermitte's "La Moisson (The Harvest)," 1883, oil on canvas, is part of the exhibition "Beginnings: The Taste of the Founders," opening at the Gallery of Art Jan. 21.
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Look through your wardrobe and what do you find? -- new purchases you're proud of, older things of perhaps dubious style and even older favorites you still wear regularly. In broad terms, you discover an almost archeological record of your changing tastes and how they've intersected with time and fashion.
Well, what's true on the small scale is often true on the large. The Gallery of Art is kicking off the new millennium with a look deep into its past -- specifically, with an examination of how its mission has been shaped, from the beginning, by the tastes of its curators and benefactors and by shifting societal values.
"Beginnings: The Taste of the Founders" opens from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 21, and remains on view through March 19. Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. weekdays and 1 to 5 p.m. weekends.
The Gallery of Art was established in 1881 as part of the St. Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts, making it the first art museum located west of the Mississippi (the school was initially located downtown, at 19th and Locust streets).
"Beginnings" examines the collection by date of acquisition and divides it into three sections, each reflecting a distinct phase in the gallery's history:
- "The American Vision" (1881-1903) focuses on the pre-World's Fair era and the early tenure of director Halsey C. Ives. Ives, in keeping with the school's educational mission, initially focused on implied and industrial arts but also acquired some exceptional American painting and sculpture.
- "Turning Cosmopolitan" (1904-1909) examines changes sparked by the World's Fair, when St. Louis came to international attention and Ives began to shift the collection's focus toward fine art. The period came to a close when the school's educational functions were moved to the University's Hilltop Campus, in what is now the School of Art, and the collection went on loan to the City Art Museum.
- "A Temporary Refuge" (1910-1937) looks at the tenure of Edmund H. Wuerpel and the period during which the collection was housed at the City Art Museum, predecessor to the current Saint Louis Art Museum. In general, the period is marked by a shift in emphasis from contemporary art to a fascination with idealized depictions of the past, most notably in portraits by William Hogarth, Sir Joshua Reynolds and Thomas Eakins.
In addition to "Beginnings," two other exhibitions will open that evening. "Island Press: Innovation at Washington University" features fine art prints from Island Press, the School of Art's Collaborative Print Workshop. Since 1977, the press has brought more than 60 nationally and internationally recognized artists to St. Louis and published more than 100 editions. A third exhibit, "Zen Painting and Japanese Art," features 26 Zen paintings, ranging from the late 16th to the early 20th century.
The exhibits are free and open to the public. For more information, call 935-4523.
