Past Exhibitions

Matisse's Dancers
November 14, 2012 - February 24, 2013
Free exhibition

This intimate exhibition of more than 30 dance-themed prints, drawings, and sculptures by the great French artist Henri Matisse spans three decades of the artist’s career—from sculptures created in 1909-11 to delicate drawings of dancers sketched in 1949

The centerpiece of the exhibition is a rarely shown series of 11 transfer lithographs of a dancer/acrobat moving through various positions that evolve into an abstraction of reality, movement, and shape. These prints, drawn as lithographs in 1931-32, but published after Matisse’s death, are among the most eloquent examples of the artist’s way of seeing.

The exhibition also includes an earlier series of prints of dancers by Matisse from 1926-27, two of his later series of drawings from 1949, and two sculptures by artists who were equally fascinated with dancers, Auguste Rodin and Edgar Degas.

This exhibition is dedicated in memory of the artist’s grandson and BMA National Trustee Claude Duthuit.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by M&T Bank.

 

Black Box: Allora & Calzadilla
November 18, 2012 – February 3, 2013

The BMA’s new Black Box gallery for light, sound, and moving image works debuts with A Man Screaming is Not a Dancing Bear, a recently acquired11-minute video (2008) set in New Orleans. Alternatingfootage of an abandoned house ravaged by HurricaneKatrina in 2005 and the seemingly calm wetlands ofthe lower Mississippi River Delta builds a quiet tensionthat is interrupted by images of a resident of the city’s9th Ward transforming the blinds of the home into apercussive instrument. These haunting scenes evokethe musical traditions of New Orleans, the idea of artisticcreation coming in the aftermath of destruction, and thevisual metaphor of light breaking into the darkness of theabandoned house.

Collaborators Jennifer Allora (American, born 1974) and Guillermo Calzadilla (Cuban, born 1971) have made perseverance and accomplishment in the midst
of challenging circumstances the subject of videos, performances, and sculptural installations. They represented the U.S. in the 2011 Venice Biennale.

 

On Paper: Drawings from the Benesch Collection
November 18, 2012 – February 10, 2013

The BMA’s new gallery dedicated to the presentation of the Museum’s renowned holdings of prints, drawings, and photographs opens with 10 outstanding drawings from the 1960s and 70s by contemporary masters for whom drawing was central to their art. These works show a range of everyday and extraordinary objects—from Jasper Johns’ trompe l’oeil rendering of a hanger to Claes Oldenburg’s amusing sketch of a baked potato monument in front of New York City’s Plaza Hotel. Philip Guston, Lee Bontecou, James Rosenquist, and Antoni Tàpies are among the other artists represented. These works are drawn from the Thomas E. Benesch Memorial Collection at the BMA, a group of more than 140 remarkable drawings by international contemporary artists.

 

Front Room: Zwelethu Mthethwa
November 18, 2012 – February 10, 2013

The BMA’s celebrated Front Room series returns with eight stunning color portrait photographs by the acclaimed South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa (pronounced zweh-LEH-too mm-TATE-twa). Selections from three of his most compelling series include large-scale images of South African youth in elaborate church uniforms, interior portraits of South Africans that show aspects of their domestic life, and laborers amidst the stark landscape of the sugar cane industry. Mthethwa (South African, born 1960) has had over 35 solo exhibitions in venues around the world, including the 2005 Venice Biennale.

The Front Room series’ smart, lively, and engaging exhibitions change every four months throughout the year. Look for a range of solo artist shows and thematic exhibitions with an international and multidisciplinary perspective that showcase some of the most innovative artists and ideas of our time.

Read the brochure (PDF) »

 

Baker Artist Awards 2012
September 5, 2012 - October 7, 2012
Free exhibition

The BMA celebrates the Baker Artist Awards with a multi-disciplinary exhibition showcasing the winners of the prestigious $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize: musician Nathan Bell, photographer Alexander Heilner, and sculptor David Knopp.

This spectacular showcase of talent also features a diverse group of visual art and music from the $1,000 b-grant winners: Brent Crothers, Miranda Pfeiffer, Tiffany Jones, Chris Bathgate, Yoshi Fujii, Ellen Durkan, Smooth Kentucky, Marcia Wolfson Ray, and the late Lauren Simonutti.

The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund established the Baker Artist Awards in 2008-2009 to recognize Baltimore’s artists and engage regional, national, and international audiences in supporting these artists’ work. All Baltimore-area artists working in any creative discipline who live and work in Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties are encouraged to register, exhibit their work, promote the site to friends, and compete for the Mary Sawyers Baker Prizes.

This exhibition is generously funded by The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund. The Baker Artist Awards program is directed by The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund with the assistance of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance.

 

Sondheim Artscape Prize 2012 Finalists
June 16, 2012 - July 29, 2012
Free exhibition

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts are proud to announce that Renee Stout is the winner of the 2012 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize.

In conjunction with Artscape, Baltimore’s premier arts festival organized by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, the BMA presents a special exhibition of works by the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize finalists: Lisa Dillin, Jon Duff, Hasan Elahi, Matthew Janson, John McNeil, and Renee Stout.

Named after the late Baltimore civic leader Walter Sondheim and his late wife, Janet, the Sondheim Prize recognizes the achievements of visual artists living or working in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and southeastern Pennsylvania. This prestigious award is designed to assist visual artists or visual artist collaborators in furthering their careers by awarding a $30,000 fellowship. 

The semi-finalists, finalists, and winner are all chosen by an independent panel of jurors. The winner of the $30,000 prize will be announced on July 14 at the BMA.

Presented by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts in partnership with The Baltimore Museum of Art.

The exhibition is generously sponsored by Stiles Tuttle Colwill and Jonathan Gargiulo.

The 2012 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize is made possible by The Abell Foundation and The M&T Charitable Foundation. Additional support provided by Alex. Brown Charitable Foundation, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation, Charlesmead Foundation, Ellen Dankert, John Sondheim, France-Merrick Foundation, Willard Hackerman, Hecht-Levi Foundation, Legg Mason, and an anonymous donor.

 

Embroidered Treasures: Textiles from Central Asia
November 13, 2011- July 8, 2012
Free exhibition

More than a dozen bold, colorful embroidered textiles from Central Asia are being presented for the first time at the BMA. These stunning late 19th- to early 20th-century textiles include wall hangings, covers, a wedding canopy, and saddle cover made in Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan. They represent both city cultures and those of formerly nomadic peoples such as the Lakai. Primarily made of cotton with multicolored silk thread embroidery by young women and their female relatives, many of these textiles were used as part of their dowries and family treasures that were reluctantly parted with during periods of political and economic hardship.

This exhibition is supported by the BMA’s Jean and Allan Berman Textile Endowment Fund.

Baltimore City and Baltimore County Public Schools Art Exhibitions
May 2, 2012 - May 13, 2012
Free exhibition

The imagination and talent of Baltimore City and Baltimore County students is on view in these two annual student art exhibitions: fyi ... For Your Inspiration and Art is for Everyone. Pre-K students through high school seniors attending public schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore County present a wide range of impressive artwork including sculpture, photography, drawing, painting, and digital art.

Baltimore City Schools Reception: Saturday, May 5, 1-4 p.m.
Baltimore County Schools Reception: Sunday, May 6, 1-4 p.m.

 

Print by Print: From Dürer to Lichtenstein
October 30, 2011 – March 25, 2012
Free exhibition

The BMA’s world-class print collection is the inspiration for an unprecedented exhibition of works spanning 500 years of printmaking. Discover more than 350 prints by Canaletto, Pablo Picasso, Ed Ruscha, and other European and American artists who created series covering a wide range of topics— places, imagination, narrative, design, appropriation, and war. Also represented are two voices for a new generation of printmakers, Daniel Heyman and Andrew Raftery.

See interactive works from the exhibition Print by Print in exquisite detail, and better understand demanding printmaking techniques through online galleries and interviews with acclaimed contemporary printmakers, produced by JHU students. More»

 

Candida Höfer: Interior Worlds
November 16, 2011 - February 26, 2012
Free exhibition

"She opens our eyes… to a Baltimore in which learning and the arts remain activities vital to the life well lived." -Baltimore Sun, January 2, 2012

Thirteen works by the internationally acclaimed contemporary German photographer Candida Höfer are presented in this intimate exhibition. Known for her large-scale, intensely detailed images of grand architectural spaces such as the Louvre and Paris Opera, Höfer spent several days in Baltimore in 2010 creating spectacular photographs of the George Peabody Library and The Walters Art Museum. These works, as well as others loaned from private collectors and from the artist, are installed in two neoclassical galleries adjacent to the BMA’s collection of 16th- and 17th-century European paintings.

 

Hand Held: Personal Arts from Africa
September 25, 2011 – February 5, 2012
Free exhibition

Discover more than 80 visually engaging objects used in daily life in Africa that brilliantly merge artistry and utility. Late 19th- and early 20th-century hats, combs, vessels, baskets, seats, blankets, and wearable textiles drawn from the BMA’s outstanding African collection include several major recent acquisitions being shown for the first time. These beautiful works represent 21 African countries:  Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Malawi, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, and Zambia. The exhibition is installed in galleries adjacent to the museum’s African collection, providing a more expansive view of the BMA’s remarkable holdings. A selection of videos and photographs will show how the objects were created and used.

The exhibition also looks forward to the dramatic reinstallation of the BMA’s African collection by 2014. The new display will showcase a greater variety of objects and thematic groupings that encourage visitors to make personal connections with African artworks.

 

Curator's Choice
Jean and Allan Berman Textile Gallery
Through October 30, 2011

A lush printed velveteen bedcover, fine Li skirt, and important William Morris Hammersmith rug are among the captivating selections handpicked by Curator Anita Jones for Curator’s Choice. Beyond the intimate Berman Textile Gallery, look for other exquisite textiles in the American Wing's 19th-century gallery, the Willowbrook Room, and the European Decorative Arts Gallery.

Above: Detail, Printed Velveteen Bedcover with Abstract Peacock Motif. France, 1910-19. The Baltimore Museum of Art: The Jane and Worth B. Daniels, Jr. Fund, BMA 2009.141

 

Baker Artist Awards 2011
September 7 – October 2, 2011
Free exhibition

The BMA celebrates the Baker Artist Awards with an exhibition of works by the three Mary Sawyers Baker Prize winners: visual artist Gary Kachadourian, performance artist Audrey Chen, and beatboxer and vocal percussionist Shodekeh. Recipients of 18 $1,000 b-grants will also have the opportunity to exhibit their works at the BMA. The exhibition will culminate in a free late night closing party on Saturday, October 1.

This year, 696 Baltimore-area artists submitted their work to the competition at www.bakerartistawards.org. The three winners of the $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prizes were selected by a private jury of national experts.

The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund established the Baker Artist Awards in 2008-2009 and the b-grants in 2010-2011 to recognize Baltimore’s artists and engage regional, national, and international audiences in supporting these artists’ work. All Baltimore-area artists working in any creative discipline are encouraged to register, exhibit their work, promote the site to friends, and compete for the Mary Sawyers Baker Prizes.

Organization: The Baker Artist Awards is a program of The William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund created to honor individual artists who live and work in Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties. Organized by Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs Ann Shafer.

 

Sondheim Artscape Prize: 2011 Finalists
June 25 – August 7, 2011
Free exhibition

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts are proud to announce that Matthew Porterfield is the winner of the 2011 Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize.

In conjunction with Artscape, Baltimore’s premier arts festival organized by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, the BMA presents a special exhibition of works by the finalists for the Janet & Walter Sondheim Artscape Prize. The finalists this year are Stephanie Barber, Louie Palu, Mark Parascandola, Matthew Porterfield and Rachel Rotenberg.

Named after the late Baltimore civic leader Walter Sondheim and his late wife, Janet, the Sondheim Artscape Prize recognizes the achievements of visual artists living or working in Maryland, Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, and southeastern Pennsylvania. The semi-finalists, finalists, and winner are all chosen by an independent panel of jurors. This year’s jurors are Polly Apfelbaum, a New York-based artist; Isolde Brielmaier, curator, writer, and creative consultant; Lucy Gallun, a curatorial assistant in the Photography Department of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; and Tina Kukielski, a member of the curatorial team that is organizing the 56th Carnegie International, a leading global survey of contemporary art. An exhibition of works by the semi-finalists is on view at the Maryland Institute College of Art, July 14 - 31, 2011.

Organization: Presented by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts in partnership with The Baltimore Museum of Art. Organized by Curator of Contemporary Art Kristen Hileman.

The exhibition is generously sponsored by Stiles Tuttle Colwill. Additional support is provided by Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Rabinowitz.

The 2011 Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize is made possible by a generous grant from The Abell Foundation. Additional support is provided by Alex. Brown Charitable Foundation, The Henry and Ruth Blaustein Rosenberg Foundation, Charlesmead Foundation, Ellen Dankert, France-Merrick Foundation, Willard Hackerman, Legg Mason and an anonymous donor.

 

Baltimore City and Baltimore County Public Schools Student Art Exhibitions
Wednesday, June 1 –Sunday, June 5
Free exhibition

Experience the creativity and imagination of Baltimore's youth— from pre-kindergartners to high school seniors attending public schools in Baltimore City and Baltimore County. The variety of impressive artwork includes sculpture, photography, drawing, painting, and digital art.

 

Seeing Now: Photography Since 1960
February 20 – May 15, 2011
Free exhibition

More than 200 compelling images showcase photography's extraordinary development since 1960 in this gripping exhibition. Seeing Now offers a striking snapshot of the world around us as seen through the eyes of more than 60 photographers—including Diane Arbus, William Eggleston, Garry Winogrand, and Cindy Sherman.

This exhibition reveals the astonishing breadth and depth of the BMA's outstanding photography collection and presents many recent acquisitions being shown at the museum for the first time. Works include single photographs, series, film, and video. Examine sub-cultures and expressions of the human form; natural and man-made environments; ephemeral performances and artistic projects; and the role of light and time in photography.

Time-based installations highlight Kota Ezawa’s creative interpretations of recorded archival footage (using computer drawing software) and Joan Jonas’ intriguing video and film self-portraits—created 30 years apart.

 

Advancing Abstraction in Modern Sculpture
July 21, 2010 – February 20, 2011
Free exhibition

One of the earliest examples of David Smith’s welding is shown for the first time in this exhibition of more than 30 works drawn from the BMA’s collection, the Estate of David Smith, and private collections. Once considered “lost” by the Smith Estate, Head with Cogs for Eyes came to the BMA last year as part of a generous bequest. It is joined by works by Hans Arp, Naum Gabo, Julio Gonzalez, Henry Moore, Louise Nevelson, and other modern artists who moved beyond the figure to create sculptures based on a new language of abstract forms.

David Smith. Head with Cogs for Eyes. 1933. The Baltimore Museum of Art: Ryda and Robert H. Levi Collection, Gift of the Estate of Ryda Hecht Levi, Baltimore, BMA 2009.194. Art ©Estate of David Smith/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NYM

 

Front Room: Guyton\Walker
September 22, 2010 - January 16, 2011
Free exhibition

In conjunction with the BMA’s presentation of Andy Warhol: The Last Decade, the New York-based collaborative Guyton\Walker is presenting a sprawling installation with energetic and colorful components that demonstrate how Warhol’s artistic legacy impacts a new generation of artists. Artists Wade Guyton (b. 1972) and Kelley Walker (b. 1969) are known for producing lively visual environments from digitally manipulated screen-printed images and sculptural elements such as paint cans, drywall, and tables. Their installation at the BMA will extend into various spaces in the West Wing for Contemporary Art, combining image and pattern, and aspects of fine art and graphic design.

Generously sponsored by Joanne Gold and Andrew Stern. Additional support provided by Sherry and Stuart Christhilf.

Sponsored by the BMA’s Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art.

 

Andy Warhol: The Last Decade
October 17, 2010 – January 9, 2011

The first museum exhibition in the U.S. to explore the late works of American artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) brings together more than 50 works that reveal the artist’s energetic return to painting and renewed spirit of experimentation during the last decade of his life. This period shows the celebrity Pop icon creating more paintings and on a vastly larger scale than at any other moment of his 40-year career. Highlights drawn from national and international public and private collections include psychologically revealing self portraits, Rorschach and camouflage paintings, and three variations on Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper that stretch 25 to 35 feet in width, immersing the viewer in dramatic fields of color.

The BMA is the last stop on the national tour of this exciting exhibition. Visit the exhibition web site to learn more!

Andy Warhol: The Last Decade is organized by the Milwaukee Art Museum. The exhibition was curated by Joe D. Ketner II, Henry and Lois Foster Chair of Contemporary Art, Emerson College, Boston.

Generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation and The Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Exhibition Endowment Fund. Additional support by Jeffrey and Harriet Legum. The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the American Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Media Sponsor City Paper.

Andy Warhol. Self-Portrait. 1986. Mugrabi Collection. ©2010 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc./Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

 

Textiles Recycled/Reimagined
March 10, 2010–October 10, 2010
Free exhibition

This intimate exhibition presents more than a dozen unique objects made either wholly or in part from reused and/or repurposed materials. Examples include a Japanese Buddhist priest’s robe most likely composed of expensive fabrics donated by wealthy acolytes, a quilt made of scraps of ordinary commercial fabrics sewn by an African-American woman, and handcrafted mats from the Grenfell missions of Labrador made of silk or rayon jersey from worn out stockings and undergarments. Also featured is a contemporary American quilted wall hanging made from vintage handkerchiefs, and a silk fabric made with feathers from restaurant-harvested fowls.

 

On the Mark: Contemporary Works on Paper
July 3 - September 12, 2010
Free exhibition

This intimate exhibition of nine recently acquired prints and drawings shows how a single element takes on new meaning when multiplied or magnified. The highlight is Ellsworth Kelly’s River II, a monumental lithograph more than six feet by nine feet in size that presents a grid of enlarged brushstrokes rearranged in what appears to be random order. Also shown are works by Astrid Bowlby, Annabel Daou, Tara Donovan, Ann Hamilton, Juan Logan, Vik Muniz, Gerhard Richter, and Koo Kyung Sook. These prints and drawings find beauty in the ordinary—the curve of a rubber band, the repetition of word, an artist’s mark.

 

Sondheim Artscape Prize 2010
June 19 , 2010–August 1, 2010
Free exhibition

The Sondheim Artscape Prize exhibition, one of summer’s most
anticipated events, returns for its fifth year with fascinating works from the seven finalists competing for the $25,000 prize:

• Leah Cooper, installation
• Ryan Hackett, installation
• Matthew Janson, sculpture
• Nate Larson, photographic media, artist books,
and digital video
• Christopher LaVoie, sculpture and multi-media
• Matthew Porterfield, film and photography
• Karen Yasinsky, animation and drawing

Presented annually as part of Baltimore City’s Artscape festival, America’s largest free arts festival, the competition is organized by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts. A panel of independent jurors selects the winner.

Presented by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts in partnership with The Baltimore Museum of Art.

 

Baker Artist Awards 2010
April 7, 2010–June 27, 2010
Free exhibition

The BMA celebrates the Baker Artist Awards with an exhibition of sculpture, film, photography, drawings, music, and performance videos. Featured in the Museum’s West Wing for Contemporary Art are examples by the three Mary Sawyers Baker prizewinners: sculptor Richard Cleaver, filmmaker Karen Yasinsky, and classical musician Peter Minkler. The BMA’s McCall Gallery includes examples by the five Baltimore’s Choice winners: dancer and poet Amanda Theresa Fair, painter Kelly Walker, beat boxer and vocal percussionist Shodekeh, digital photographer and illustrator Steven Parke, and graphic designer and illustrator Kaveh Haerian.

This year 495 Baltimore-area artists submitted their work to the competition at bakerartistawards.org and more than 31,000 visitors from 129 countries voted online for their favorite artists. The three $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prize winners are selected by private jury and the $1,000 Baltimore’s Choice Prize winners are selected from among the votes cast by people visiting the website. Additionally, the $1,000 Nancy Haragan Award, named after the founder of the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance, is given to the Baltimore’s Choice Prize winner who best embodies Haragan’s dedication the area’s cultural community. This year’s winner is Shodekeh Talifero.

The Baker Artist Awards are a program of the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund, created to honor individual artists who live and work in Baltimore City and the five surrounding counties.

 

Cézanne and American Modernism
February 14–May 23, 2010
Ticketed exhibition with complimentary audio tours for adults and children

"...one of the season's most anticipated exhibits..."
-The Baltimore Sun

Discover how Cézanne transformed American art at the beginning of the 20th century. This groundbreaking exhibition brings together 16 dazzling paintings and watercolors by the French master with more than 80 works by artists such as Marsden Hartley, Maurice Prendergast, Alfred Stieglitz, and Man Ray. More»

 

 

FYI ... For Your Inspiration 2010
Baltimore City Public Schools Student Art Exhibition
May 12, 2010–May 16, 2010
Free exhibition

From pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, 400 students from 90 Baltimore City Public Schools present their artworks in FYI ... For Your Inspiration, hosted by the BMA for the fourth year in 2010. Come and be inspired by Baltimore students' talent and creativity.

 

Art is for Everyone
Baltimore County Public Schools Student Art Exhibition
April 28, 2010–May 2, 2010
Free exhibition

Art is for Everyone, hosted by the BMA for the past 22 years, presents artwork from Baltimore County Public School students, from kindergarten through 12th grade. The breadth of the county schools' art program is highlighted by a variety of two and three-dimensional artworks, including sculpture, photography, drawing, painting, and digital art.

 

Woodcuts Now
December 9, 2009–March 28, 2010
Free exhibition

This exhibition highlights a selection of monumental woodcuts that show how contemporary artists are taking the oldest form of printmaking into new directions. Examples include Christiane Baumgartner's diptych Allee I and Allee II, where film stills are painstakingly recreated as woodcuts by rendering two negative images of trees and a road through a system of irregularly carved horizontal bands. Sculptor Mel Kendrick creates abstract compositions by assembling plywood cutouts-each piece distinguished by its wood grain and tool marks-on the printing press. Alison Saar uses woodcuts to re-evaluate her multi-media sculpture in a two-dimensional form, and Richard Bosman exploits jagged edges, bold forms, and strong contrasts of light and dark for his ambiguous scenarios. Other artists featured are Sanford Biggers, Chuck Close, and Matthias Mansen.

 

Mournful Maidens: Love & Loss in American Embroidery
September 9, 2009–February 21, 2010
Free exhibition

During the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a preoccupation with love and loss was evident in the embroideries worked by American schoolgirls. This intimate exhibition features 18 embroideries, prints, and mourning jewelry from the BMA’s collection that show a morbid fascination with death decades before Edgar Allan Poe wrote his haunting stories and poems.

 

Edgar Allan Poe: A Baltimore Icon
October 4, 2009–January 17, 2010
FREE exhibition

For many writers and artists living in France in the latter part of the 19th century, Edgar Allan Poe was a must-read. Poe’s storytelling, dark themes, and literary vision so intrigued Paul Gauguin, Odilon Redon, Édouard Manet, Henri Matisse, and others that they mined the American writer’s repertoire for inspiration for their own work. This dramatic exhibition showcases works by some of the greatest artists of the 19th and 20th centuries who were inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s chilling and unforgettable tales.

 

Baltimore Inspired by Poe
October 4, 2009–January 17, 2010
Free exhibition

This exhibition showcases 25 works created by teaching artists, children, and adults who participated in a series of Art on Purpose workshops at four Enoch Pratt Free Library locations. Participants found inspiration in Poe’s macabre stories and the themes in the BMA’s exhibition—love and loss, fear and terror, and madness and obsession.

 

Matisse as Printmaker
October 25, 2009–January 3, 2010
FREE exhibition

Henri Matisse may be best known as a painter and sculptor, but the artist had a profound commitment to making prints that continued throughout his career. This comprehensive exhibition of more than 150 prints brings printmaking out from the shadows of the artist’s work as a painter so that we can witness the French master’s process of creation.

Image: Henri Matisse. Nadia, smiling face. 1948. Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, New York, on extended loan to The Baltimore Museum of Art©2009 Succession H. Matisse/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

Hank Willis Thomas
July 29–November 29, 2009
Free exhibition

Discover the powerful work of multimedia artist Hank Willis Thomas in the BMA's West Wing for Contemporary Art. This acclaimed African-American artist is participating in the Artist-in-Residence Program at The Johns Hopkins University Center for Africana Studies during the fall 2009 semester. Thomas is a rising star in the art world, with works shown at numerous exhibitions at national and international venues. The BMA's exhibition features 10 recent works that explore racial stereotypes and black identity in America. Examples include the I Am A Man series (2009), Hang Time Circa 1923 (2008), and the video Winter in America (2005). Thomas will participate in a series of lectures and workshops on the Homewood campus during his residency at JHU Center for Africana Studies during fall 2009.

 

Sondheim Artscape Prize: 2009 Finalists
June 20–August 16, 2009
Free exhibition

Baltimore Development Cooperative was the winner chosen by an independent panel of jurors and announced by Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon at a special ceremony on Saturday, July 11.

In conjunction with Artscape, Baltimore’s premier arts festival organized by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts, the BMA presents a special exhibition of works by the six finalists for The Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize. The 2009 finalists are: Baltimore Development Cooperative (BDC), Baltimore, MD; Leslie Furlong, Baltimore, MD; Ryan Hackett, Kensington, MD; Jessie Lehson, Baltimore, MD; Molly Springfield, Washington, DC; and Karen Yasinsky, Baltimore, MD. More »

 

Baker Artist Awards 2009
April 29–June 28, 2009
Free exhibition

The BMA celebrates the Baker Artist Awards with an exhibition of the inaugural winners in the West Wing for Contemporary Art. The competition attracted 656 Baltimore-area artists whose work was submitted online at bakerartistawards.org. The three $25,000 Mary Sawyers Baker Prizes were selected by a jury and the seven $1,000 Baltimore’s Choice Prize winners were selected from among 8,500 votes cast by people from 118 countries.

 

A Circus Family: Picasso to Léger
February 22–May 17, 2009

See daring feats, exotic acts, and colorful circus characters through the eyes of some of the greatest artists of the 20th century. More than 80 paintings, prints, drawings, and books by Pablo Picasso, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Fernand Léger, and other European artists reveal their fascination with the extravagant spectacle of the circus and the bohemian lives of the performers outside the ring. This special ticketed exhibition brings together major works from museums and private collections to offer a behind-the-scenes look at the circus during its heyday as a form of popular entertainment.

Vibrant 19th-century posters of clowns and can-can dancers by Toulouse-Lautrec and Jules Chéret emerge from a semi-circular canvas tent. More than 30 works on paper by Picasso, as well as paintings and sculpture from the collections of the Göteborg Museum of Art in Sweden, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Detroit Institute of Arts, explore the private side of circus life with sympathetic portrayals of circus families, many of whom the artist befriended during his frequent visits to the Médrano Circus in Paris. School of Paris artists such as Gino Severini and Natalia Goncharova and German Expressionist artists like Max Pechstein and Otto Dix created their own fanciful and dramatic circus images. The exhibition concludes with Léger’s exuberant book Cirque (1950), a recent addition to the BMA's collection.

Curated by Oliver Shell, Associate Curator of European Painting & Sculpture.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation.

 

Front Room: Franz Kline Brushstrokes

January 14–April 19, 2009

This intimate Front Room exhibition features nine works by Franz Kline (1910-62), one of the most influential Abstract Expressionist painters. Kline focused on the pictorial power of the brush stroke, exploring its raw expression and careful structure in his compositional sketches on paper in addition to his large-scale paintings. These elemental strokes were usually painted in black against a white ground, but he also used color in his later work. This exhibition includes two paintings, Green Cross (1956) and Tragedy (1961), and two works on paper that are important examples of Kline's exploration of color, as well as several studies for major paintings.

The Front Room series is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation.

Home page image: Franz Kline. Untitled. 1960. Private Collection, Baltimore. ©2009 Franz Kline/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

 

Franz West, To Build a House You Start with the Roof: Work, 1972-2008
October 12, 2008–January 4, 2009
Free exhibition

Experience the supersize, provocative, and playful work of acclaimed Austrian artist Franz West. Considered one of the most important living artists today, Franz West has created an extraordinary body of work since the 1970s. Discover this influential and provocative European artist in the first comprehensive survey in the U.S. of his celebrated career, premiering at the BMA.

Even before you enter the BMA, examples of how West (pronounced Vest) has helped redefine sculpture as a social and environmental experience greet you on the Museum grounds with their giant, colorful forms. You can touch or sit on these intriguing sculptures and not get yelled at. Inside the galleries, the exhibition is organized as a series of mini-installations beginning with the artist’s most recent work—a 25-foot-tall aluminum sculpture made expressly for this exhibition. Bold and colorful, this enormous looping sculpture titled The Ego and the Id has a place for you to take a seat and become a part of the art.

Franz West on YouTube
View the installation of The Ego and the Id and other BMA videos on the Museum's YouTube page. Subscribe to the BMA Channel and join us as a friend at youtube.com/user/artBMA.

This exhibition was curated by Darsie Alexander, BMA Senior Curator of Contemporary Art.

Generously sponsored by Howard Brown, The Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Exhibition Endowment Fund, and The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Generously supported by Constance R. Caplan, Suzanne F. Cohen and the Suzanne F. Cohen Exhibition Fund, Stiles Tuttle Colwill and Jonathan Gargiulo, Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff, Ellen W. P. Wasserman, BMA Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art , Sandra Levi Gerstung, an anonymous donor, Amalia Dayan and Adam Lindemann, Sylvia Cordish, Andrew and Christine Hall, Monroe Denton, Aaron and Barbara Levine, and Lin Lougheed.

Additional support provided by Austrian Airlines and The Austrian Cultural Forum, New York.

 

Front Room: Dieter Roth & Rachel Harrison
October 12, 2008–January 4, 2009
Free exhibition

The BMA’s experimental project space pairs the work of Dieter Roth (German, 1930–1998) and Rachel Harrison (American, b. 1966), to coincide with the BMA’s exhibition on Franz West. Separated by generations and continents, the featured artists overlap both formally and conceptually in an array of approximately 10 to 15 two-and three-dimensional works. Both draw inspiration from the stuff of everyday life, ranging from daily cast-offs and bric-a-brac to magazine pictures. Roth takes a simple postcard and transforms it into a glittery pastiche of images that embrace the abstract as well as the photographic. Harrison, whose work was featured in the Whitney Biennial 2008, fashions three-dimensional forms that range from the bulbous to architectonic. In their connections to Franz West, Harrison is a contributor to the exhibition and Roth was a friend and participant in the art scene of Vienna, where West still resides.

Curated by Darsie Alexander, Senior Curator of Contemporary Art.

 

Taking in the View: English Watercolors and Prints
Through December 7, 2008
Free exhibition

This intimate exhibition features approximately 25 watercolors and prints from the BMA’s collection that show the transformation of landscapes in the late 18th- and early 19th- century. These works—including several new additions to the collection—range from views of specific topography by animalier Robert Hills and Victorian artist Louise Rayner to idealized, imaginary visions by amateur artist and country surgeon John White Abbott. During the next 100 years, these two conceptions merged and images of landscapes such as J.M.W. Turner’s stunning Grenoble Bridge (c. 1824) reached new heights of expressive power and beauty.

Curated by Ann Shafer, Assistant Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs.

 

Bonnard & Vuillard
April 23–October 19, 2008
Free exhibition

This intimate exhibition features more than 40 works on paper and paintings by two of the most experimental artists at the turn of the century, Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Édouard Vuillard (1868-1940). Drawn entirely from the BMA's rich collection of late 19th- and early 20th-century French art, the exhibition includes five paintings, three drawings, and more than 30 lithographs, etchings, posters, and illustrated books that trace the change in style for both artists as they evolve from a late 19th-century interest in everyday life to a colorful exploration of domestic life in intimate interiors through the 1920s and 30s.

This exhibition is curated by Katy Rothkopf, BMA Curator of European Painting & Sculpture.

 

Front Room: Jim Dine
June 11–October 5, 2008
Free exhibition

The BMA’s experimental project space features approximately 20 prints, drawings, and paintings by American artist Jim Dine (born 1935) that reflect his lifelong interest in Jungian questions of the human’s place in the world, particularly his own. Examples include The Crash (1960)—the first prints the artist made, the remarkable etching Five Paintbrushes (1973), and two recent acquisitions to the BMA’s collection shown for the first time: A Side View in Florida (1986), an enlarged hand-colored image of a skull from Gray’s Anatomy, and Raven on Lebanese Border (2000), a masterful combination of both etching and woodcut techniques. The Five Hammer Études (2007), a print of familiar tools, was given by the artist on the occasion of this exhibition, strengthening the BMA's already comprehensive study of the artist's work.

This exhibition is curated by Ann Shafer, BMA Assistant Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs.

The Front Room series is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation.

 

Looking through the Lens: Photography 1900–1960
March 16–June 8, 2008

Discover more than 150 striking vintage prints in this extraordinary exhibition showcasing groundbreaking modern photography. Peruse some of the world’s best-known 20th century photographers including iconic images by European and American artists such as Man Ray, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston, Paul Strand, Dorothea Lange, and Gordon Parks. Drawn from the BMA’s outstanding collection, these rarely shown photographs were produced during a pivotal period in the history of the medium—when photography became fully recognized as an art form.

This exhibition is curated by Rena Hoisington, BMA Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs.

The exhibition is generously sponsored by the PNC Foundation.

Looking Now: Digital Photography Project
The BMA invited 19 professional photographers to respond to Looking through the Lens with their own work. Explore the images created by these photographers—who were selected by artist Peter Bruun, Urbanite creative director Alex Castro, and photographer/BMA Trustee Connie Imboden.

View Slideshow

 

Front Room: Notes on Monumentality
February 27–May 25, 2008
Free exhibition

The latest installation in the BMA’s experimental project space reconsiders historic and contemporary conceptions of the monument and monumentality through the presentation of photographs, prints, drawings, paintings, video, and sculpture.

Traditionally monuments have served to mark significant historic events, represent heroic figures, or symbolize universal ideals. Our cities are sprinkled with figures carved from marble or forged in bronze whose relevance has faded in the public’s memory. This exhibition considers to whom the monuments of the past now speak, and whether the idea of the monument can continue in an era when social consensus no longer exists.

The exhibition is curated by guest curator Mark Alice Durant. The Front Room series is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation.

PODCAST
Mapping Baltimore's Monuments
Free

 

Printed Sculpture/Sculpted Prints
November 14, 2007–March 30, 2008
Free exhibition

Approximately 28 works from the BMA's outstanding print collection, as well as two related, small-scale statues explore how sculpture was represented in European prints from the mid 16th through 18th centuries. Images of some of the most famous classical and Renaissance sculptures in Europe are included, from a pair of woodcuts showing Giambologna's Rape of the Sabines to delicate but powerful renderings of Michelangelo's early Pieta and his late Lamentation. Students from The Johns Hopkins University worked closely with BMA Staff to produce the exhibition, acting as curators, designers, educators, and marketers for the project.

This exhibition is guest curated by Elizabeth Rodini, BMA Adjunct Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs, Associate Director of the Program in Museums & Society and Senior Lecturer in History of Art, The Johns Hopkins University.

This exhibition is generously supported by Amy and Chuck Newhall and The Krieger School of Arts and Sciences of The Johns Hopkins University.

 

Rodin: Expression & Influence
August 1, 2007–April 6, 2008

The Modern Masters Series at the BMA continues with this intimate one-gallery exhibition exploring the sculptural legacy of Auguste Rodin. The exhibition showcases nearly 30 works from the BMA's collection by Rodin and artists such as Edgar Degas, Auguste Renoir, and Pablo Picasso that draw attention to Rodin's expressive variations, while tracing the ways in which his artistic process charted new territory and both inspired and provoked reaction from his contemporaries. Highlights include Rodin's The Thinker, four bronze casts of the great French writer Honoré de Balzac, a bust of Rodin's long-time companion Rose Beuret, figure studies from The Burghers of Calais, and two figures for The Gates of Hell. Many of these works are on view for the first time and will be accompanied by a selection of works on paper.

The exhibition is curated by Associate Curator of European Painting and Sculpture Dr. Oliver Shell. The exhibition is generously supported by Stiles Tuttle Colwill and Jonathan Gargiulo.

 

Front Room: Ellsworth Kelly
November 14, 2007–February 17, 2008

The BMA's Front Room series continues with a focus exhibition featuring an arrangement of select paintings and works on paper from this influential artist. Following on the heels of the densely packed Ripple Effect, this exhibition takes a close look at several major works by Kelly drawn from the Museum's collection as well as private collectors in the Baltimore area. Kelly's powerful shaped canvases, which defied traditional notions of framing and symmetry in paintings, will transform the Front Room into a spare and spacious environment for viewing art, and one that allows the sculptural dimension of his work to come forth.

The exhibition is curated by Darsie Alexander, BMA Senior Curator of Contemporary Art.

The Front Room series is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation.

 

Matisse: Painter as Sculptor

October 28, 2007–February 3, 2008
Ticketed exhibition with complimentary audio tour

The Baltimore Museum of Art presents a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to see this major retrospective of one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Featuring more than 160 sculptures, paintings, and drawings Matisse: Painter as Sculptor brings together works rarely shown together—many on loan from major museum collections such as the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Musée Matisse in Nice, The Art Institute of Chicago, and the Museum of Modern Art in New York. 

The national tour of Matisse: Painter as Sculptor is presented by Bank of America, the exhibition's exclusive corporate partner.

Presentation in Baltimore is generously sponsored by The Rouse Company Foundation and Jeanette C. and Stanley H. Kimmel.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. Additional organizing support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Richard C. von Hess Foundation, and The Pierre and Maria-Gaetana Matisse Foundation.

 

NUNO: Japanese Tradition/Innovation in Cloth

March 28–October 7, 2007
Free exhibition

Since its founding in 1984, NUNO, headed by Reiko Sudo, has become one of Japan’s most influential and innovative textile producers. NUNO fabrics are known for the unconventional materials and processes used in their creation, linking traditional textile techniques with state-of-the art manufacturing technologies. The BMA will display more than a dozen examples of these beautiful contemporary textiles from its collection, including pleated and folded textiles inspired by the Japanese art of origami, or folding paper, woven fabrics whimsically printed with scattered rubber bands, and layers of transparent silk interwoven with strips of paper or printed with metallic paints.

This exhibition is curated by BMA Curator of Decorative Arts for Textiles Anita Jones.

This exhibition is supported by the BMA's Venable Exhibition Endowment Fund.

 

Front Room: Ripple Effect

May 30–September 2, 2007
Free exhibition

Each new work that enters the BMA collection has a ripple effect. New acquisitions often force us to reconsider works we thought we knew well, as well as provide a fresh perspective on old friends. Other times a single work can open up potential paths for growth, building an unexpected bridge between the collection and artistic trends. Thomas Hirschhorn’s Chandelier with Hands (2006) is one such work. Using this work as a visually powerful springboard that communicates through its materials and iconography, Front Room: Ripple Effect brings together contemporary and historical works from the collection that share fundamental features with this piece, such as the presence of hands, crosses, and bodies.  Arranged like a horizontal flowchart, the installation allows these themes to take on a life of their own, ebbing and flowing in a series of links that pull disparate works together compelling combinations.

The exhibition is curated by Darsie Alexander BMA Senior Curator of Contemporary Art.

The Front Room series is generously sponsored by Stiles Tuttle Colwill, Nancy Dorman, Katherine M. Hardiman, and Elaine and Solomon Snyder.

 

Meditations on African Art: Color

April 18–August 19, 2007
Free exhibition

The second in a three-part series exploring light, color, and pattern in the BMA’s distinguished collection of African art, Meditations on African Art: Color is the first exhibition of its kind to explore the symbolism of the African color trinity of red, black, and white. The exhibition showcases 30 rarely seen masks from the BMA’s collection, grouped by color on the gallery walls along with a display of tri-color masks in the center of the gallery, and a site-specific installation by Tunisian-born Swiss artist Fatma Charfi.

This exhibition is curated by Karen Milbourne, BMA Associate Curator of the Arts of Africa, Asia, the Americas & Pacific Islands.

The Meditations series is generously sponsored by Polk Audio, Matthew Polk and Amy Gould.

 

The Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize Finalists:
Artscape at the BMA
June 23–August 5, 2007
Free exhibition

In conjunction with Artscape, Baltimore’s premier arts festival, the BMA presents a special exhibition of the seven finalists for The Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize, which is organized by the Baltimore Office of Promotion & The Arts. The winner of this year's $25,000 prize is Tony Shore, a Baltimore-based artist best known for his large paintings on black velvet. The finalists in the exhibition—Richard Cleaver, Frank Hallam Day, Eric Dyer, Geoff Grace, Baby Martinez, Tony Shore, and Karen Yasinsky—were chosen by an independent panel of jurors: Derrick Adams, New York-based artist; Becky Smith, Owner & Director of Bellwether Gallery in New York; and Robert Storr, Commissioner of the 2007 Venice Biennale, Curator and Dean of the Yale University School of Art.

This prestigious award is named after the late Baltimore civic leader Walter Sondheim and his late wife, Janet. Sondheim’s enormous impact on Baltimore included overseeing desegregation of the City schools in 1954, and championing the redevelopment of the Inner Harbor in the 1970s.

 

Front Room: Luisa Lambri

March 7–May 20, 2007
Free exhibition

Italian photographer Luisa Lambri, best known for her subtle images of architectural landmarks, trains her camera on a local home designed by influential modernist Marcel Breuer. The latest in a series of installations in the BMA’s new experimental project space, Front Room: Luisa Lambri features nine laserchrome color prints that reveal subtle changes in environment over the course of a day in Hooper House II, a Bauhaus-style home built in a wooden sanctuary on the edge of Baltimore City in the 1950s.

Front Room is curated by BMA Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Darsie Alexander.

The Front Room series is generously sponsored by Stiles Tuttle Colwill, Nancy Dorman, Katherine M. Hardiman, and Elaine and Solomon Synder.

 

Pissarro: Creating the Impressionist Landscape

February 11–May 13, 2007
Ticketed exhibition with complimentary audio tour.

You never get a second chance to see one of the first Impressionists. Baltimore is the only East Coast venue for this exhibition exploring the luminous landscapes of Camille Pissarro. The first major exhibition to explore Pissarro’s remarkable transformation from a traditional landscape painter to a daring pioneer of Impressionism brings together 45 exquisite works from major museums and private collections around the world—from important paintings included in the Salon exhibitions of the 1860s to a powerful selection of landscapes seen in the first Impressionist show of 1874.

The exhibition is generously supported by the Florence Gould Foundation and The Alvin and Fanny Blaustein Thalheimer Exhibition Endowment Fund.

Citigroup is the corporate sponsor of the exhibition.

The exhibition is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities and a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts

 

Meditations on African Art: Light

December 17, 2006–April 1, 2007
Free exhibition

The first exhibition in a three-part series that explores light, color, and pattern in objects from the BMA’s distinguished collection of African art, Light features more than 40 works, including a recently acquired contemporary bead painting by Yoruba artist Jimoh Buraimoh and the BMA's world-renowned Baga D'mba (seen in the round for the first time in decades). Varying light levels in the galleries will reveal the objects as they were meant to be viewed, including vibrant works of art intended to radiate spiritually, those that were meant to dazzle during sunlit performances, and pieces intended for the shadows or nighttime performances. The BMA has also invited internationally renowned Ethiopian video artist Theo Eshetu to create a contemporary light-based work for the gallery.

This exhibition is curated by Karen Milbourne, BMA Associate Curator of the Arts of Africa, Asia, the Americas & Pacific Islands.

The Meditations series is generously sponsored by Polk Audio, Matthew Polk and Amy Gould.

 

The City Real and Ideal
October 11, 2006–March 11, 2007

This exhibition brings together approximately 50 printed images of European cities—from 15th-century woodcut book illustrations to large-scale 18th-century etchings—to explore how artists such as Albrecht Dürer, Canaletto, and Giovanni Battista Piranesi imagined and interpreted the urban landscape. Drawn primarily from the BMA’s collection, the exhibition will explore urban imagery from two points of view: the growing interest in accurate documentation—the “real”—and the treatment of the city space as symbol and metaphor—the “ideal.”

This exhibition is guest curated by Elizabeth Rodini, BMA Adjunct Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs, Associate Director of the Program in Museums and Society and Senior Lecturer in History of Art, The Johns Hopkins University.

The City Real and Ideal is generously supported by Mr. and Mrs. Charles W. Newhall III and The Johns Hopkins University.

 

Front Room: Dan Steinhilber
October 1, 2006–February 18, 2007 

The first gallery of the West Wing for Contemporary Art becomes an experimental project space for a variety of dynamic art experiences, from site-specific installations by individual artists to thematic exhibitions that incorporate objects from the Museum's outstanding collection of contemporary art. Washington, D.C.-based artist Dan Steinhilber, best known for combining disposable objects into intriguing sculptures and installations, initiates the space with a new work created specifically for the site—a mesmerizing kinetic sculpture made of undulating and whirling Styrofoam packing peanuts set into motion by industrial fans and leaf blowers.

Front Room is curated by BMA Senior Curator of Contemporary Art Darsie Alexander.

The Front Room series is generously sponsored by Stiles Tuttle Colwill, Nancy Dorman, Katherine M. Hardiman, and Elaine and Solomon Snyder.

 

In Praise of the Prince of Fenyang:
Decoding a Chinese Embroidery

June 28 , 2006–February 4, 2007 

The BMA displays an elaborately embroidered 10- by 7-foot silk panel featuring a panoramic view of the 80th birthday celebration of China’s Prince of Fenyang. Made during the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), the intricate scene takes the viewer through the gates of the palace and past dancers, musicians, and revelers to the feet of the prince himself—all pictured in colorful embroidery on a dramatic red background. This one-gallery exhibition deciphers the hidden language of this extraordinary textile from the BMA’s collection.

This exhibition is curated by BMA Curator of Decorative Arts for Textiles Anita Jones.

This exhibition is made possible by the Jean and Allan Berman Textiles Endowment Fund.

 

A View Toward Paris:
The Lucas Collection of 19th-Century French Art

October 1–December 31, 2006 

This exhibition features approximately 200 paintings, sculptures, works on paper, and artist palettes from the BMA’s acclaimed Lucas Collection of French art, showcasing works by renowned artists such as Édouard Manet, James McNeill Whistler, and Mary Cassatt, as well as Barbizon masters Théodore Rousseau and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Baltimorean George A. Lucas, an expatriate who spent five decades in Paris as an art dealer and friend to many of the leading French artists, amassed more than 20,000 works of art that capture the artistic spirit of the 19th century. This year the BMA celebrates the 10th anniversary of the acquisition of the Lucas Collection.

This exhibition is curated by BMA Senior Curator of European Painting & Sculpture Sona Johnston.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by Brown Advisory.  Additional support is provided by the Joseph and Harvey Meyerhoff Family Charitable Funds and the William G. Baker, Jr. Memorial Fund.

 

Henry Ossawa Tanner Exhibition Series

The BMA presents two exhibitions on the work and influence of Henry Ossawa Tanner, one of the most important African-American painters of the 20th century and the first to achieve international acclaim.

Henry Ossawa Tanner and the Lure of Paris

December 7, 2005–May 28, 2006

Henry Ossawa Tanner and the Lure of Paris brings together works by Tanner—including major paintings on loan and works recently acquired by the Museum—with more than 40 paintings, prints, and drawings from the BMA's renowned collection of 19th-century French art, including works by Camille Pissarro, Eugène Delacroix, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Tanner spent more than half his life in France and was inspired by a broad range of artistic styles. The exhibition explores his fascination with religious subjects, landscapes, and Orientalism.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Museum Loan Network and M&T Bank.

Additional support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation and Jackie and Freeman Hrabowski.

 

Henry Ossawa Tanner and His Influence in America

June 7–November 26, 2006

Henry Ossawa Tanner (1859–1937) welcomed the younger generation into his Parisian studio to give them advice and encourage their careers. This exhibition explores how Tanner’s achievements inspired those artists who returned home to search for their own racial and artistic identities in 20th-century America and features six paintings by Tanner alongside approximately 30 paintings, prints, drawings, and photographs from the BMA’s collection by some of the foremost African-American artists of the 20th century, including Hale Woodruff, Jacob Lawrence, James Van Der Zee, and Romare Bearden. This is the second in a series of exhibitions that highlight the art, life, and influence of Henry Ossawa Tanner.

This exhibition is guest curated by James Smalls, Associate Professor of Art History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

This exhibition is generously sponsored by the Museum Loan Network and M&T Bank. Additional support is provided by the Henry Luce Foundation.

 

Matisse: Jazz

May 3–August 27, 2006

The Baltimore Museum of Art presents a focus exhibition of Henri Matisse’s illustrated book Jazz (1947), widely recognized as one of the greatest masterpieces among artists' books of the 20th century. Matisse: Jazz, a one-gallery exhibition, features 20 folios displayed in cases, accompanied by several related paintings and works on paper by Pablo Picasso, Georges Rouault, and Fernand Léger.

Image: Henri Matisse. The Circus, plate II from Jazz. 1947.The Baltimore Museum of Art:The Cone Collection, formed by Dr. Claribel Cone and Miss Etta Cone of Baltimore, Maryland, BMA 1950.12.745 ©2007 Succession H. Matisse, Paris/Artists Rights Society (ARS)

 

Picasso: The Final Years
January 11–April 16, 2006

At the end of his life, Pablo Picasso was one of the most famous artists in the world. This one-gallery exhibition—an exploration of his post-war creativity from 1945 until 1968—reveals his continuing genius late in his career through powerful and experimental works on paper highlighting the BMA's collection of more than 250 works by Picasso, including a comprehensive holding of the artist's printmaking spanning 1899–1968. Picasso often returned to his past work as a catalyst for new ideas, a practice that is especially engaging in his late work. His most frequent theme is the artist in the studio, the culmination of a lifelong self-examination of the creative spirit.

This exhibition is curated by Jay Fisher, BMA Deputy Director for Curatorial Affairs and Senior Curator of Prints, Drawings & Photographs.

The BMA’s Modern Masters Series is generously sponsored by Mercantile Bank & Trust.

 

Monet’s London: Artists’ Reflections on the Thames, 1859-1914

October 2–December 31, 2005

This is the first exhibition in the U.S. to showcase a selection of Monet's London masterpieces alongside works by contemporaries James McNeill Whistler, Camille Pissarro, and others inspired by the city's misty atmosphere and grand architecture. Featuring more than 125 paintings, watercolors, prints, and photographs by European and American artists fascinated by London at the dawn of the 20th century,  Monet's London brings together works from The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Victoria and Albert Museum, the National Gallery in London, and many other national and international collections, both public and private.

The exhibition is organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, and curated by Chief Curator Jennifer Hardin. It travels to Baltimore after presentations at the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, and the Brooklyn Museum, New York.

The Baltimore presentation of the exhibition is supported by a generous gift from The Richard C. von Hess Foundation.

The exhibition is organized and circulated by The Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg, Florida, and has received indemnification from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. 

British Airways is the official airlines of the exhibition.

 

The Essence of Line: French Drawings from Ingres to Degas

June 19–September 11, 2005

For the first time, the renowned collections of 19th-century French drawings from The Baltimore Museum of Art and The Walters Art Museum are the subject of a major joint exhibition on view at both museums. The Essence of Line: French Drawings from Ingres to Degas features more than 150 drawings and watercolors by some of the most influential French artists of the 19th century, including Eugène Delacroix, Honoré Daumier, Paul Cézanne and Edgar Degas. From revealing preparatory sketches to beautiful finished watercolors, these works illuminate the range of French art over the course of a century of innovation.
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The Essence of Line: French Drawings from Ingres to Degas is organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art and the Walters Art Museum.

This exhibition is generously supported by The Richard C. von Hess Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

SlideShow »
February 27–May 15, 2005

SlideShow brings together the most significant slide works from the 1960s to the present in the first major exhibition to focus on slide projections in contemporary art. Blending aspects of photography, film, and installation art, SlideShow features works by an international group of artists, including James Coleman, Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Nan Goldin, and Dan Graham.
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SlideShow is organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art.

The exhibition is generously sponsored by T. Rowe Price.

Additional support is provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts and Suzanne F. Cohen.

 

In Monet’s Light: Theodore Robinson at Giverny
October 17, 2004–January 9, 2005

This major exhibition organized by the BMA features 60 paintings, watercolors, drawings, and photographs by Theodore Robinson, the artist who brought Impressionism to the United States, and several stunning canvases by his mentor and friend, Claude Monet.
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Generously sponsored by The Rouse Company and the Henry Luce Foundation.

Additional support provided by the Charlesmeade Foundation and the Terra Foundation.

The media sponsor is Comcast.

 

Kerry James Marshall: One True Thing, Meditations on Black Aesthetics
June 20–September 5, 2004

This mid-career retrospective of work by Chicago-based artist Kerry James Marshall features a major new body of work in painting, sculpture, photography, and video that demonstrates his ongoing engagement with ideas and images drawn from black history, identity, and cultural tradition. Marshall, a recipient of the coveted MacArthur “genius” award, is best known for his large-scale paintings that reflect his engagement with social history, the civil rights movement, and his experiences as an African American. This exhibition is organized by the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago.

Major support for the exhibition is provided by the Harris Family Foundation in honor of Bette and Neison Harris.

Additional support is provided by The Joyce Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, Peter Norton Family Foundation, The Boeing Company, and Loop Capital Markets.

In Baltimore, generously sponsored by Piper Rudnick LLP, The Wallace Foundation, and Brown Capital Management. Additional support provided by an anonymous donor and Dr. Freeman A. Hrabowski III.

Media sponsors are Comcast and The Afro-American Newspapers.

 

Work Ethic
October 12, 2003–January 4, 2004

Work Ethic brings together an international group of artists to explore the nature of "work" in artwork since the 1960s. Divided into four sections—Artist at Worker, Artist as Manager, Artist as Experience Maker, and Quitting Time—Work Ethic shows how there has been a fundamental shift in the role of the artist—and what is considered art—with the emergence of the Information Age.
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Work Ethic is organized by The Baltimore Museum of Art.

The exhibition will travel to premiere contemporary art venues around the country, including the Des Moines Art Center in Iowa (May 15, 2004-August 1, 2004) and the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio (September 17, 2004-January 2, 2005).

Work Ethic is made possible by an Emily Hall Tremaine Exhibition Award and a grant from The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts.

Additional support is provided by Howard S. Brown, Suzanne F. Cohen, Nancy Dorman and Stanley Mazaroff, Fifth Floor Foundation, the Friends of Modern Art at The Baltimore Museum of Art, and Katherine Hardiman.