THE SECRET LIFE OF ART

MYSTERIES OF THE MUSEUM REVEALED

Section 1: Becoming a Masterpiece: why and how these objects were made

•Conceptual and physical aspects of the artistic process

•Motivations and methods for the creation of several of the Currier’s masterpieces •How objects become accepted as museum quality over time

Judkins and SenterDesk and Bookcase

Theodore Roszak (American, born in Poland, 1907 - 1981), Cradle Song, 1956. Steel brazed with copper and silver-nickel; 96 x 66 x 47 1/2 in.

Currier Museum of Art

Charles SheelerAmoskeag Canal

Charles SheelerAmoskeag Mill Yard #1

Georgia O’KeeffeCross by the Sea

Charles and Ray EamesEames Lounge Chair and Ottoman

Timothy H. O’Sullivan

Photographs for the Wheeler Survey, 1871

Section 2: The Currier Collects: why and how the Currier collects

•Historic documents, including original founding charters - motivations and goals

Mission statements - what the Currier does and does not collect and why

•The “ownership” of the collection as a community resource •Ways in which objects have come to the museum - acquisition histories

Currier History GalleryWith Currier Will

Mark Rothko Untitled, Red over Brown

Severin RoesenStill Life with Fruit and Champagne

Severin RoesenFloral Still Life

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Henry Melville Fuller Fuller Living Room, Manchester, NHshowing American painting collectionnow at the Currier Museum of Art

Section 3: Behind the Scenes: how the Currier cares for art works

•Functions that ensure responsible physical and intellectual stewardship of masterpieces •Record keeping, art storage, museum environment (climate control), object travel, conservation, framing, scholarship and connoisseurship •Staff perspectives from several departments (curatorial, education, security, facilities)

William Stanley HaseltineRocks at Narragansett, 1863Oil on CanvasBequest of Henry Melville Fuller, 2002.20.37

2002.20.37

Jan Miense MolenaerCard Players (and infrared reflectography image)

Mabuse (aka Jan Gossaert) Self-Portrait

Martin Johann Schmidt (called Kremser Schmidt)Austrian, born Grafenwörth 1718 – died Stein 1801Saint Florian and Saint Nepomuk, 1770sOil on canvasAbout 80 x 50 inches eachPrivate Collection

Section 4: In the Galleries: how and why art works are selected for presentation

•Installation techniques used to display them in the galleries

•Interpretive strategies employed to present information about objects

•Museum location and relationship of objects may intentionally or unintentionally effect meaning •Different meanings from those originally intended by the artist who is providing the interpretation

•Variety of interpretive examples will illustrate these issues

Albert BierstadtMoat Mountain, Intervale, New Hampshire, 1862Oil on paper mounted on canvas, 19 1/8 in. x 26 1/8 in.

Exhibitions in Context: Shifting Frameworks and Making Meaning

Moat Mountain in Context

1862: New Bedford Art Association

Rising Vogue of Barbizon School and Impressionism

1947: Currier Acquires Bierstadt’s Moat Mountain

1955: Artists in the White Mountains, Currier Museum of Art

1964: World’s Fair (New Hampshire display), New York

American Light (National Gallery, 1980) & American Paradise (Metropolitan, 1987)

1991-1992: Albert Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise, Brooklyn Museum of Art

2002: American Sublime: Landscape Painting in the United States 1820-1818, Tate Britain

2009: Expanding Horizons: Painting and Photography Painting and Photography of American and Canadian Landscape 1860-1918, Montreal Museum of Fine Art

Albert Bierstadt: Art and Enterprise

Installation Image

Expanding Horizons

William Notman

Secret symbols

Joos Van Cleve The Holy Family (and symbol interpretation plan)

Antonio RosellinoMadonna and Child

Marisol Escobar The Family, 1963

David Johnson Harbor Island, Lake George, NY

WhiW

Frank Henry ShapleighOn the Ellis River

Artist unknown, White Mountain Landscape

Change in Attribution: From Perugino to Circle of Perugino

Pietro Vannucci called PeruginoItalian, born 1446, Città della Pieve;died 1524, FontignanoSelf Portrait, 1497-1500Fresco40 x 30.5 cmSala d’Udienza in Collegio del Cambio, Perugia

Circle of Perugino (attribution change 2002)Madonna and Child, about 1495Tempera on panel60.96 x 49.53 cmCurrier Museum of Art

Follower of PeruginoMadonna and child with theinfant Saint John the BaptistOil on canvas31 x 25.5 in. (78.7 x 64.8 cm)Sotheby's New York: Friday, January 29, 2010 [Lot 00701]Estimate20,000 - 30,000 USDSold For22,500 USD PREMIUM

Pietro Vannucci called PeruginoItalian, born 1446, Città della Pieve;died 1524, FontignanoMadonna and Child betweenSaints Rose and Catherine of Alexandria, 1493Oil on canvas transferred from panel86.5 x 63 cmStädelsches Kunstinstitut, Vienna

Pietro Vannucci called PeruginoItalian, born 1446, Città della Pieve;died 1524, FontignanoVirgin and Child between Sts John the Baptist and Catherine, c. 1500Oil on panel81 x 63 cmMusée du Louvre, Paris

Circle of PeruginoMadonna and Child, about 1495Tempera on panel60.96 x 49.53 cmCurrier Museum of Art

Pietro Vannucci called PeruginoItalian, born 1446, Città della Pieve;died 1524, FontignanoSepulcrum Cristi (Man of Sorrows), 1498Oil with tempera on panel, transferred to fabric on panel 92.6 x 71.8 cmSterling and Francine Clark

The Exhibit Game