Blakelock paintings on view in Sheldon collection galleries

Paintings by Ralph Albert Blakelock will be on view this summer with artworks from the Sheldon Museum of Art's permanent collection in two galleries at the museum, 12th and R streets on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln City Campus.

In September the Blakelock works will travel to the National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts in New York City for "The Unknown Blakelock," an exhibition of 40-plus paintings organized by the Sheldon Museum of Art.

Often viewed as a 19th-century landscape romanticist, Blakelock (1847-1919) has been historically associated with two dominant themes, moonlight scenes and Indian encampments. His broader accomplishments, obscured by his mental illness and numerous forgeries produced in his style, have been largely overlooked by critics.

In one gallery this summer, Blakelock's work is paired with his contemporaries Albert Pinkham Ryder and George Inness, who like Blakelock were interested in the subjective experience. Blakelock's visionary approach, experimental nature and introspective personality also struck a chord with later artists such as John Marin, Marsden Hartley and Arthur B. Davies, who were instrumental in moving American painting away from realism toward a personal autonomy that would characterize the art in the 20th century.

In a second gallery, the work of abstract expressionists is on view with several other Blakelock paintings. These artists were attracted to qualities that Blakelock expressed through his experimentation with the formal elements of painting and the internal experience he revealed. Franz Kline, Clifford Still and Jackson Pollack are among the artists whose works are on view.

The recently published 80-page catalogue accompanying "The Unknown Blakelock" exhibition is now available in the Sheldon Museum Store.

Sheldon Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects focusing on American art. The museum is open to the public free of charge Tuesday through Sunday. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday. For information or to arrange a tour, call (402) 472-2461. Additional information is also available on the Sheldon Web site, www.sheldon.unl.edu.