William Glackens (1870-1938), Peaches in a Compote, not dated. oil on linen. Collection of the Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson. Gift of The Gallery Guild, Inc. 1984.074.
By Sasha Steinberg | Mississippi State University
Works by several of the biggest names in American modern art are on display Sept. 29-Nov. 11 at Mississippi State’s Department of Art Gallery in McComas Hall.
Free to all, the exhibit titled “Artists of the Armory Show: Selections from the Mississippi Museum of Art” features 30 paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures by such well-known artists as George Bellows (1882-1925), Mary Cassatt (1844-1926), Arthur B. Davies (1862-1928), William Glackens (1870-1938), Childe Hassam (1859-1935), Edward Hopper (1882-1967), John Sloan (1871-1951), and James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).
These artists were featured in one of the most important exhibitions of modern art in America, the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art held at the 69th Infantry Regiment Armory in New York City.
“The Armory Show was the first large-scale exhibition of modern art in America and included both American and European artists,” said Lizzy Abston, MMA’s curator of the collection. “The show was a shock to American art critics who had more traditional taste, and its effects reverberated through the art world in the United States.”
Abston explained that in spite of negative reviews, audiences flocked to see the Armory Show’s 1,300-plus paintings, sculptures and decorative objects.
“The Armory Show reinvigorated American art and served as a major factor in establishing New York City as the center of the modern art world,” she said.
A 5 p.m. reception for the MSU exhibit will take place Sept. 29 in the ground-floor gallery, whose main entrance is located off of the parking lot on McComas’ east side. The reception also is free to all, and refreshments will be served.
Exhibit hours for the McComas gallery are 1-6 p.m. Monday-Friday, as well as by appointment.
In addition to the Mississippi Museum of Art and its Traveling Exhibition Endowment, the campus exhibit is supported by the College of Architecture, Art and Design’s art department.
MMA’s Traveling Exhibition Endowment is supported by significant private contributions that are matched by the National Endowment for the Arts. For more information, visit www.msmuseumart.org.
For more gallery information or to schedule a tour, contact Lori Neuenfeldt, the MSU art department’s gallery director, at 662-325-2973 or LNeuenfeldt@caad.msstate.edu.