From the Fort Wayne Museum of Art
Looking at, Talking about, and Appreciating Art
What inspires artists to make their art? Exhibitions Content Manager Elizabeth Goings explores the retelling of a Norse myth by printmaker Dennis McNett and how legends and mythology influences his work.
Not all treasures from the vault are works of art from our historical past! Matika Wilbur began her ongoing photography project in 2012. Documenting contemporary Native American tribes and cultures, Wilbur hopes to dispel the often inaccurate and stereotypical visuals of Native Americans pervasive in books, movies, and TV. Lauren Wolfer, Associate Curator of Special Collections & Archives, highlights our most recent acquisition from her project, now on view in A Year of Making Meaning.
In this installment of Treasures from the Vault, Director of Children's Education Alyssa Dumire examines a silkscreen with a message. What can art tell us about its time period? And what can it reveal about the artist who made it?
Before the Internet, artists had to seek each other out to learn new techniques and discover new art forms. Follow Sachi as she traces the life of Evelynne Bernloehr Mess, a Brown County artist who, unlike her fellow oil painters, wanted to make an etching.
This week, our Treasure from the Vault and Art Term Tuesday come in one unique post! Learn about the importance of iconography in art as Elizabeth Goings uses one vault treasure and one work currently on display to break down this "stuffy" art term.
When curators are researching artists, they often stumble across other artists. Our Curator of Prints and Drawings, Sachi, tells the story of how she stumbled across Felrath Hines, a fine art conservator and painter!
Exhibitions Content Manager Elizabeth Goings takes us on an art history journey discussing how art historians treat artworks with missing information. For example, how do we date a painting with no date? Read on to find out!
Let’s start off with a question: when you, reader, go to a museum, what kind of art do you expect to encounter? Serious, dramatic works providing extensive commentary on social constructs relevant to the artist’s time period or works relevant to the present day? Well, those kinds of works will naturally be there, but how often do you hope to stumble across artwork that’s been created just for fun? If you’ve ever been in the mood for a more lighthearted art experience, today you’re in luck!
Professors from universities around the area bring their students to the Print and Drawing Study Center at the Fort Wayne Museum of Art to see works on paper from the permanent collection that are currently in storage. One of the most frequent requests is for the I Am a Man portfolio by African American photographer Ernest C. Withers (1922-2007). He is best known for his works documenting the Civil Rights Movement. Our Curator of Print and Drawings, Sachi, provides the background for Withers' photography career and the impact he had on the movement for equality.
Throughout history, there have been families so rich in artistic talent it is as if it is in their blood. Some powerhouse names may come to mind, like Peale and Wyeth. For the Fort Wayne Museum of Art, however, it is the Moran family.