The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming Carol Ehlers, art history speaker, as she presents a 45 minute lecture on Impressionist artist Mary Cassatt. The lecture will take place Thursday, October 24 at 5:30 pm in the Muscatine Art Center's Music Room. Admission is free.

Mary Stevenson Cassatt was born into an upper-middle-class family near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on May 22, 1844. Though her family objected to her becoming a professional artist, Cassatt began studying painting at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts at the young age of 15 and continued her studies from 1861 to 1865. Impatient with the slow pace of instruction Cassatt decided to end her studies, and move to Paris. Since women could not yet attend the >cole des Beaux-Arts, she applied to study privately with masters from the school and augmented her artistic training with daily copying in the Louvre.

In 1868 the French art scene was in a process of change: radical artists such as Courbet and Manet tried to break away from accepted Academic tradition and the Impressionists were in their formative years. Cassatt, on the other hand, would continue to work in the traditional manner, submitting works to the Salon for over ten years. She continued to express criticism of the politics of the Salon and the conventional taste that prevailed there but eventually she decided that she needed to move away from genre paintings and onto more fashionable subjects.

In 1877 she was invited by Edgar Degas to show her works with the Impressionists, a group that had begun their own series of independent exhibitions three years earlier. She accepted Degas' invitation and began preparing paintings for the next Impressionist show that took place in 1879. She exhibited in the next two Impressionist Exhibitions that followed, and remained an active member of the Impressionist circle until 1886, being one of the group's staunchest supporters.

After 1900, she concentrated almost exclusively on mother-and-child subjects, some of them reminiscent of Italian Renaissance depictions of the Madonna and Child. Her work was popular with the public and the critics, but she was no longer breaking new ground, and her Impressionist colleagues who once provided stimulation and criticism were dying off. She was hostile to such new developments in art as post-Impressionism, Fauvism and Cubism.

In 1914, after years of health problems, she was forced to stop painting as she became almost blind. Nonetheless, she took up the cause of women's suffrage, and in 1915, she showed eighteen works in an exhibition supporting the movement. She died June 14, 1926 at the age of 82 near Paris, France.

In 1992 the Muscatine Art Center's collections were significantly enriched by a gift of twenty-seven works of art by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Degas, Boudin, Chagall, Renoir, and other European artists. The collection was a gift from the estate of Mary Musser Gilmore in honor of her parents, Richard Drew Musser and Sarah Walker Musser. The paintings are on permanent display in the Laura Musser Mansion.

EVENT DETAILS:

Lecture: The Life of Mary Cassatt

Who: Carol Ehlers

When: Thursday October 24, 2013

Time: 5:30 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Loos, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kloos@muscatineiowa.gov

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.

PRESS RELEASE

1314 Mulberry Avenue, Muscatine, IA 52761
www.muscatineartcenter.org

CONTACT: KATY DOHERTY, PROGRAM COORDINATOR

MUSCATINE ART CENTER

FOR RELEASE: APRIL 23, 2012

The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming Muscatine native John Duggleby, writer and musician, as he presents a program based on his book, Artist in Overalls: The Life of Grant Wood. This event will take place Sunday, May 6 at 2:00 p.m. in the Muscatine Art Center's Music Room and is free and open to the public. There will be copies of John Duggleby's book to purchase at this event.

John has written several books for young people, including biographies on musicians John Lennon, Ray Charles, and artist Jacob Lawrence. Artist in Overalls, one of Duggleby's eight children's books, has received several distinctions including the National  Association of Christian Schools' Children's Crown Award and the Parents Council Seal of Approval. His book, Story Painter: The Life of Jacob Lawrence, was honored by the National Council for Social Studies as the Elementary Book of the Year.

Artist in Overalls reveals Grant Wood's story to audiences of all ages in a fun and interactive way. Dressed like the famous farmer in Wood's American Gothic painting, Duggleby shows how Wood's Iowa childhood observations and resolve to follow his instincts resulted in fame that has endured through this American cultural icon.

EVENT DETAILS:
What: "Artist in Overalls: The Life of Grant Wood"
Who: John Duggleby
When: Sunday, May 6
Time: 2:00 PM
Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room
Admission to these programs is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any
questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at
kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Admission is FREE.

The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming Carol Ehlers, art history speaker, as she presents a 45 minute lecture on the art of French Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh. The lecture will take place Thursday, April 26 at 5:30 pm in the Muscatine Art Center's Music Room. Admission is free.

Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853 in the Netherlands, the oldest child of a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church. He began to draw as a child but did not begin painting until his late twenties. Van Gogh's work was exhibited for the first time in August 1885 in the windows of a paint dealer in The Hague.

Despite his rejection of academic teaching van Gogh took the higher level admission exams at the Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp and in January 1886 graduated in painting and drawing. He left for Arles in 1888, and in the spring of 1889 entered a hospital near there after having famously cut off his own ear.  During his stay the clinic and its garden became the main subjects of his paintings and many of his most compelling and best recognized work date from this period of his life.

In 1890, after years of painful anxiety and frequent bouts of mental illness, van Gogh died at the age of 37. At his death his work was known to only a handful of people and appreciated by fewer still. In just over a decade he had produced more than 2100 works of art, many that today, are among the most sought after and admired paintings in the world.

In 1992 the Muscatine Art Center's collections were significantly enriched by a gift of twenty-seven works of art by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Degas, Boudin, Chagall, Renoir, and other European artists. The collection was a gift from the estate of Mary Musser Gilmore in honor of her parents, Richard Drew Musser and Sarah Walker Musser.

EVENT DETAILS:

Lecture: "The Wonderful World of Color: Vincent van Gogh"

Who: Carol Ehlers

When: Thursday, April 26, 2012

Time: 5:30 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.

Music was used extensively during the Civil War. Bands would play during recruitment rallies to excite the crowd and entice men to enlist. Music was used as a form of entertainment and as a means of inspiring loyalty and camaraderie among the troops. Music sounded the soldiers' daily activities, led them into battle and laid them to rest.

Singing was one of the soldiers' favorite ways to pass time. Many songs were inspirational marching tunes meant to keep morale high, while others were sad, sentimental songs whose lyrics reminded the men of loved ones and home. Most Civil War era music is easily
recognizable today, as they are steadfast favorites.

Join us in the Music Room for a special program of Civil War era music, presented by the Muscatine Art Center in conjunction with the current exhibit: Muscatine & the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Commemoration. The beautiful music will be performed by select group of Muscatine High School students under the direction of Kelly Preslan and Darcy Hendriks of the Vocal and Band Department at the Muscatine High School.

This program will consist of vocal and instrumental selections relating to the Civil War, in the form of ballads, patriotic songs, marches and instrumental drill patterns.

DETAILS:
What: Civil War Era Music Performed by the Muscatine High School's Vocal and Band
Department
When: Thursday, November 10, 2011
Time: 6:00 PM
Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room
Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Admission is FREE.
Music was used extensively during the Civil War. Bands would play during recruitment rallies to excite the crowd and entice men to enlist. Music was used as a form of entertainment and as a means of inspiring loyalty and camaraderie among the troops. Music sounded the soldiers' daily activities, led them into battle and laid them to rest.

Singing was one of the soldiers' favorite ways to pass time. Many songs were inspirational marching tunes meant to keep morale high, while others were sad, sentimental songs whose lyrics reminded the men of loved ones and home.  Most Civil War era music is easily recognizable today, as they are steadfast favorites.

Join us in the Music Room for a special program of Civil War era music, presented by the Muscatine Art Center in conjunction with the current exhibit: Muscatine & the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Commemoration. The beautiful music will be performed by select group of Muscatine High School students under the direction of Kelly Preslan and Darcy Hendriks of the Vocal and Band Department at the Muscatine High School.

This program will consist of vocal and instrumental selections relating to the Civil War, in the form of ballads, patriotic songs, marches and instrumental drill patterns.

DETAILS:

What: Civil War Era Music Performed by the Muscatine High School's Vocal and Band Department

When: Thursday, November 10, 2011

Time: 6:00 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at

563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

 

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM. Admission is FREE.

The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming Carol Ehlers, art history speaker, as she presents a lecture on the art of French painter Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Ehlers talk will include background information on the Muscatine Art Center's lithograph by Lautrec, of cabaret performer Marcelle Lender.

The art of Post-Impressionist artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec cannot be separated from the bohemian nightlife of Montmartre in Paris, France. Set high up on a hill and removed from the city, Montmartre was filled with cafes, cabarets, and dance halls. Frequented by artists, writers and philosophers alike, it was the artistic center of Paris in the late nineteenth century.

Lautrec was born in 1864 to an aristocratic family and grew up a physically fragile child with a painful spine disorder. Having broken both of his legs in childhood, he never regained his normal growth. As an adult, his physical appearance most likely caused him to choose the underworld of the Parisian nightlife as his social and artistic environment, becoming an uncanny observer of life as well as a brilliant draftsman.

As a young artist, Toulouse-Lautrec worked in a soft Impressionist manner, but unlike Monet, Degas, and other Impressionists, he always focused on the human figure. When the nearby Moulin Rouge cabaret opened its doors Toulouse-Lautrec was commissioned to produce a series of posters. His first, Moulin Rouge -- La Goulue, was completed in 1891. Toulouse-Lautrec had a regular income from his family, so making posters offered him a way to make a living on his own. His contemporaries looked down on this work, but Lautrec did not care. After his Moulin Rouge series the cabaret reserved a seat for him and displayed his paintings.

Among the well-known works that he painted for the Moulin Rouge and other Parisian nightclubs are depictions of the singer Yvette Guilbert, the dancer Louise Weber who created the Can-Can, and the much more subtle dancer Jane Avril. In 1892 Lautrec turned to lithography to mass produce his posters.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is a master at capturing crowd scenes where the figures are highly individualized and sometimes bizarre, perhaps as a reflection of his own outward appearance.

In 1992 the Muscatine Art Center's collections were significantly enriched by a gift of twenty-seven works of art by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Degas, Boudin, Chagall, Renoir, and other European artists. The collection was a gift from the estate of Mary Musser Gilmore in honor of her parents, Richard Drew Musser and Sarah Walker Musser. The paintings are on permanent display in the Laura Musser Mansion.

The Lautrec presentation also provides an introduction to the exhibition, Turn of the Century Posters from the Krannert Art Museum Collection, now showing at the Figge Art Museum located at 225 West Second Street, Davenport, Iowa. For information about the exhibition call the Figge Art Museum at (563) 326-7804.


EVENT DETAILS:

Lecture: "Toulouse-Lautrec: Montmartre and Scenes of the Night"

Who: Carol Ehlers

When: Sunday, November 6, 2011

Time: 2:00 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

 

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

 

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from

10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.


The Muscatine Art Center will not have "Kids Saturday Workshops" on Saturday, October 2nd.

In addition, there will be no "Art for Tots" and "Music for Tots" until late winter or early spring. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Please check out our website at www.muscatineartcenter.org to view the current class brochure and find us on Facebook, as we are still running children and adult art classes.

Contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to P.M., Thursday from 10 AM to P.M. and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to P.M. Admission is FREE.