The Eisentrager-Howard Gallery will kick-off the 2018 Fall semester by celebrating the history of painting faculty at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln with a three-part exhibition titled, “Past and Present: A Celebration of Painting at UNL.”
The exhibition, on display from Aug. 29-Sept. 24, is comprised of three shows—two retrospectives and a group show.
The center gallery space features the works of Professor Emeritus James Eisentrager, titled “James Eisentrager: A Retrospective.” Eisentrager taught at Nebraska from 1961-1996. He died in 2002.
Professor Emeritus Dan Howard’s retrospective, “Dan Howard: A Modest Survey of Paintings + 1967-2017,” will be located in the west gallery. Howard taught at Nebraska from 1974-1996.
This exhibition marks the first time the Gallery’s benefactors and namesakes, Howard and Eisentrager, will have their work on display together in this space.
“We used to both have work in the faculty shows at the Sheldon Museum in the 1970s and 1980s,” Howard said. “But this is the first time we will exhibit together any sizable amount of work since we were graduate students together at the University of Iowa. I think it’s a great idea. I’m very pleased about it.”
In the east gallery is a group show that includes one representative work from a selection of 14 previous and current faculty, who have specifically taught painting at Nebraska. The timeline begins with a piece by Sarah Wool Moore, who taught from 1884-1892, and ends with works by current painting and drawing faculty, Aaron Holz and Matthew Sontheimer.
Holz is excited for people to see the work of previous and current painting faculty at the University.
“We look at the alumni who graduate from the program, and we showcase them—from Aaron Douglas to Bruce Conner to T.L. Solien,” Holz said. “We have had amazing students who have come out of the program. But we haven’t taken the time to really look at the faculty who have taught them, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so—during the University’s 150th anniversary.”
Sontheimer said, “The exhibition is a celebration of the department, and it shows the influence they have had on the various artists who have gone out in the world.”
The Eisentrager-Howard Gallery is located on the first floor of Richards Hall (Stadium Drive and T streets). The Gallery hours have been temporarily adjusted for this exhibition to Monday-Friday, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. The closing reception will be on First Friday, Sept. 7 from 5-7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public.
For more information on this exhibition, please contact the School of Art, Art History & Design at (402) 472-5522, e-mail schoolaahd@unl.edu or the Eisentrager-Howard Gallery at eisentragerhowardgallery@unl.edu.
A list of artists included in the exhibition in the order of their years of service:
Sarah Wool Moore, 1888-1892
Cora Parker, 1892-1899
Sarah Sewell Hayden, 1899-1916
Katherine (Kady) Burnap Faulkner, 1930-1950
Frederick (Dwight) Kirsch, 1924-1950
Richard Trickey, 1956-1991
LeRoy Burket, 1948-1957
Gail H. Butt, Jr., 1949-1990
Douglas (Doug) Ross, 1966-1998
David Routon, 1976-1997
James (Jim) Eisentrager, 1961-1996
Keith Jacobshagen, 1968-2008
Dan Howard, 1976-1996
Martha Horvay, 1983-2000, 2005-2014
Aaron Holz, 2004-
Matthew Sontheimer, 2011-
The exhibition and accompanying catalog were made possible with support from Dan Howard, Farmers Mutual Insurance, Kiechel Fine Art and the Hixson-Lied Endowment.