The Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln will reopen its permanent collection galleries at 5 p.m. Aug. 2 with an exhibition titled "Painting -- From the Collection of the Sheldon Museum of Art," featuring some of its most beloved and iconic paintings.
The exhibition will include 19th-century masterpieces by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent and Benjamin West; iconic pictures by 20th-century artists such as Edward Hopper, Lee Krasner, Barnett Newman, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Joseph Stella and Andy Warhol; and paintings by both emerging artists and giants in the contemporary field, including Juane Quick-to-See-Smith, Ed Ruscha, Hung Liu, Patssi Valdez and William T. Williams.
The galleries had been empty of artwork during "The Naked Museum" event in May and June. The event celebrated the Sheldon's 50th anniversary by focusing on its greatest artwork, the landmark Philip Johnson-designed building at 12th and R streets on the UNL City Campus.
Brandon Ruud, Sheldon's curator of transnational American art and the organizer of the exhibition, describes it as "an opportunity for visitors to re-engage with old favorites while experiencing new ones, all freshly interpreted based on new discoveries and research, recently conserved, or recently reframed in honor of the museum's anniversary year."
The public is invited to a reception celebrating the opening of the paintings exhibition from 5 to 7 p.m. Aug. 2 in conjunction with Lincoln's First Friday. The reception and museum are free and open to the public.
Support for this exhibition comes from U.S. Bank, the Ethel S. Abbott Charitable Foundation Exhibition and Programs Fund, the Sheldon Art Association, the Nebraska Arts Council, and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.
In honor of the dual anniversary of the Sheldon Museum of Art and its dedicated support group, the Sheldon Art Association, the museum is publishing a catalog of 125 major works from its impressive paintings collection. The number of works selected for the publication is in recognition of the 125 years of the Sheldon Art Association's partnership with the University of Nebraska.
Publication of the forthcoming catalog was assisted by a gift from the H. Lee and Carol Gendler Charitable Fund and by a grant from the Friends of the University of Nebraska Press. Major catalog support is provided by the Sheldon Premier Anniversary Sponsors, Assurity Life Insurance Company, Cooper Foundation, Duncan Family Trust, Kathy and Marc LeBaron, in honor of Beatrice "Mike" Seacrest by the Seacrest Family, James C. and Rhonda Seacrest, Lisa and Tom Smith, and the Wake Charitable Foundation.
Sheldon Museum of Art houses a permanent collection of more than 12,000 objects focusing on transnational American art. Sheldon is open free to the public during regular hours: Tuesday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Wednesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. The museum is closed on Monday.
-- Ann Gradwohl, Sheldon Museum of Art
More details at: http://www.sheldonartmuseum.org