National Gallery of Art | Audio

Artists Leonardo Drew and Jennie C. Jones with Pamela J. Joyner, collector. The Joyner/Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art is widely recognized as one of the most significant collections of modern and contemporary work by African and African Diasporan artists. Four Generations: The Joyner Giuffrida Collection of Abstract Art draws upon the collection’s unparalleled holdings to explore the critical contributions made by artists to the evolution of visual art in the 20th and 21st centuries. Extensively illustrated with hundreds of works in a variety of media, and featuring scholarly texts by leading artists, writers, and curators, Four Generations gives an essential overview of some of the most notable artists and movements of the last century, up to and including works being made today. The collection features major works by artists such as Beauford Delaney, Jacob Lawrence, Alma Thomas, David Hammons, Sam Gilliam, Lauren Halsey, Oscar Murillo, Jayson Musson, Robin Rhode, Zander Blom, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. In honor of the book publication, Pamela J. Joyner joins artists Leonardo Drew and Jennie C. Jones in this conversation held on September 25, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art as part of the series, The Collecting of African American Art.

Carlos Garaicoa, artist, in conversation with Michelle Bird, curatorial assistant, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art, and Andrea Nelson, associate curator, department of photographs, National Gallery of Art. Carlos Garaicoa Manso (b. Havana, Cuba, 1967) studied thermodynamics before his mandatory military service, during which he worked as a draughtsman. He then attended the Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in Havana from 1989 to 1994. Garaicoa takes a multidisciplinary approach in his art to address the social, economic, and political issues that affect our construction of subjectivities and understanding of the contemporary global situation. His work—which uses studies of architecture, city planning, the writing of history, and the tradition of aesthetic forms as a language—articulates a cultural criticism that debates the function of the artistic act and of intellectuals and artists as social agents in the public sphere. His work takes a variety of forms, including installations, videos, photographs, sculptures, pop-up books, and drawings. Two of Garaicoa’s gelatin silver prints with thread and pins, titled Untitled (Pier) and Velero (Ship), are in the collection of the National Gallery of Art. In this conversation, held on September 18, 2016, Garaicoa discusses his career, latest projects, and inaugural Artist x Artist residency with Michelle Bird and Andrea Nelson

Elizabeth Alexander, poet, essayist, playwright and scholar; chancellor, Academy of American Poets; director of creativity and free expression, Ford Foundation; and Wun Tsun Tam Mellon Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University. Elizabeth Alexander is the author of six books of poetry, including American Sublime, a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize; two collections of essays; and The Light of the World, her critically acclaimed memoir on love and loss. Her writing explores such subjects as race, gender, politics, art, and history. Alexander earned her BA in English from Yale University in 1984, her MA in English (Creative Writing) from Boston University in 1987, and her PhD in English from the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. She has received many awards, fellowships, and honorary degrees, among them grants from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. She received the Anisfield-Wolf Award for Lifetime Achievement in Poetry and is the inaugural recipient of the Jackson Poetry Prize. She is a chancellor of the Academy of American Poets. In 2015, Alexander joined the Ford Foundation as director of creativity and free expression. She shapes and directs Ford’s grant making in arts, media, and culture. She guides the foundation’s efforts to examine how cultural narratives affect and shape social movements and how media and the arts, including film and visual storytelling, can contribute to a fairer and more just society. In The Light of the World, Alexander finds herself at an existential crossroads after the sudden death of her husband, Ficre Ghebreyesus. Channeling her poetic sensibilities into rich, lucid prose, Alexander tells a love story that is, itself, a story of loss—which she shares in this presentation held on September 11, 2016, at the National Gallery of Art. This program is generously supported by Darryl Atwell.

Lorna Simpson, artist. Born in 1960 in Brooklyn, New York, Lorna Simpson earned her BFA in photography from the School of Visual Arts, New York, in 1983, and her MFA from the University of California, San Diego, in 1985. She first gained recognition in the mid-1980s for her large photograph-and-text works that confront and challenge, conventional views of gender, identity, culture, history, and memory. With unidentified figures as a visual point of departure, Simpson uses the human form to examine the ways in which gender and culture shape the interactions, relationships, and experiences of contemporary American lives. On September 10, 2016, Simpson delivers the inaugural presentation of the Arnold Newman Lecture Series on Photography held at the National Gallery of Art. Her work is represented in the Gallery’s collection by Two Pairs, a photogravure published by Graphicstudio, U. S. F., and Untitled (Two Necklines), two gelatin silver prints and 11 engraved plastic plaques. Untitled (Two Necklines) is on view in the exhibition Intersections: Photographs and Videos from the National Gallery of Art and the Corcoran Gallery of Art through January 2, 2017.

Jenny Holzer in conversation with Harry Cooper, curator and head of modern and contemporary art, National Gallery of Art, Washington. Jenny Holzer discusses her powerful text-based work with curator Harry Cooper in this podcast recorded on May 6, 2011, as part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Lecture Series at the National Gallery of Art. Having enlivened public spaces all over the world for nearly 35 years, Holzer is best known for her LED (light-emitting diode) signs. In 1990, she was the first woman to have a solo presentation in the U.S. Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, for which she was awarded the Golden Lion. Since 2004, she has mined declassified documents for her series Redaction Paintings, of which she donated six to the Gallery In 2010. Holzer lives and works in New York.

Daphne Barbour, senior conservator, department of object conservation, National Gallery of Art; Jay Krueger, head of painting conservation, department of painting conservation, National Gallery of Art; Molly Donovan, associate conservator, department of painting conservation, National Gallery of Art; and Dylan Smith, Robert H. Smith Research Conservator, National Gallery of Art. FACTURE: Conservation · Science · Art History is a biennial journal published by the conservation division to celebrate the permanent collection of the National Gallery of Art. Named for "the manner in which things are made," FACTURE explores themes in the materiality and history of art, addressing all aspects of the discipline from conservation treatment and history to technical art history to fundamental scientific research. Volume 2: Art in Context presents great works of art in new contexts. Examining the art of two very different eras—the Italian Renaissance and the 20th century—the essays in this volume share a common approach. Essays start with meticulous material and analytical study of works of art, then place the findings in a broader historic context, providing new perspectives on well-known works. In this lecture held on March 13, 2016, to celebrate publication of the second volume, FACTURE contributors share their latest research on topics ranging from Riccio’s early 16th-century bronze relief The Entombment to 20th-century sculptor Auguste Rodin’s works cast during his lifetime, under his supervision, to Andy Warhol’s early choices of paint medium as he transitioned from work as a commercial artist to pop art.

Linda B. Parshall, professor of German literature and language, Portland State University; John Beardsley, director of garden and landscape studies, Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection. In 1826, the prince of Pückler-Muskau embarked on an extended tour of England, Wales, and Ireland to acquire a wealthy bride and restore the dream of transforming his estate into an ideal landscape park. His masterpiece, Letters of a Dead Man, published in 1830, discusses his acute portrayals of the British aristocracy, their country houses and art collections, the rise of industry and urban poverty, and, above all, the beauty of the landscape. In this lecture recorded on June 19, 2016 at the National Gallery of Art, Linda B. Parshall discusses her new unabridged translation of Prince Pückler’s Letters of a Dead Man. A conversation moderated by John Beardsley follows.

Elizabeth Walmsley, painting conservator, National Gallery of Art, and Steve Wilcox, senior conservator of frames, National Gallery of Art. When the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in March 1941, the original Andrew W. Mellon gift was augmented by a collection of Italian art donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Kress was the first to offer a donation in response to Andrew Mellon's call for contributions for the new national art museum. For the Gallery's opening, Kress gave almost 400 paintings and sculptures. Ultimately, the foundation gave the Gallery a total of over 700 paintings and sculptures, in addition to over 1,300 small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. In 2010, the foundation awarded the Gallery a grant to conduct provenance research on the entire Kress collection of paintings, distributed nationwide to regional museums and study collections in university-affiliated institutions. In this paired lecture by Elizabeth Walmsley and Steve Wilcox recorded on May 23, 2016, discussion spans the history and role of the restoration of paintings before their purchase by Kress to the early formation of his collection. For paintings that became part of the Kress “giveaway,” antique frames were acquired and new frames made for the enhancement and protection of works. This program celebrates the 75-year relationship of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the National Gallery of Art, the enduring legacy of the Kress gifts nationwide, and recent research into the Kress Collection. This program is supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Project.

Margaret Morgan Grasselli, curator and head, department of old master drawings, National Gallery of Art; and Yuriko Jackall, assistant curator, department of French paintings, National Gallery of Art. Celebrated for the fundamental role he played in promoting the architectural capriccio, Hubert Robert (1733-1808) combined the famous monuments of antiquity and modernity in unexpected ways to create strikingly new and imaginative city scenes and landscapes. Dubbed “Robert of the Ruins” by the great critic and encyclopedist Denis Diderot, Robert was regarded during his era as one of France’s most prominent artists. To celebrate the exhibition opening of Hubert Robert, coorganized by the National Gallery of Art and the Musée du Louvre, Margaret Morgan Grasselli and Yuriko Jackall present an introductory lecture on June 26, 2016. Although Robert’s reputation has endured, this monographic exhibition, on view through October 2, 2016, is the first to encompass his entire career and to survey his achievements as both a painter and a draftsman.

Melissa Beck Lemke, image specialist for Italian art, National Gallery of Art. When the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in March 1941, the original Andrew W. Mellon gift was augmented by a collection of Italian art donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Kress was the first to offer a donation in response to Andrew Mellon's call for contributions for the new national art museum. For the Gallery's opening, Kress gave almost 400 paintings and sculptures. Ultimately, the foundation gave the Gallery a total of over 700 paintings and sculptures, in addition to over 1,300 small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. In 2010, the foundation awarded the Gallery a grant to conduct provenance research on the entire Kress collection of paintings, distributed nationwide to regional museums and study collections in university-affiliated institutions. In this lecture recorded on May 23, 2016, Melissa Beck Lemke reveals the history of Kress collection objects through documents, lantern slides, negatives, and photographs preserved in the Gallery’s department of image collections. The images were made throughout the 20th century and illustrate Kress’s collecting practices, as well as cleanings, restorations, and display of the individual objects. This program celebrates the 75-year relationship of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the National Gallery of Art, the enduring legacy of the Kress gifts nationwide, and recent research into the Kress Collection. This program is supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Project.

Peter Hutton, Charles Franklin Kellogg and Grace E. Ramsey Kellogg Professor of the Arts, Bard College. One of our great poets of place and time, Peter Hutton (1944–2016) is renowned for his 16mm films on urban sites and waterways (his 1997 film Study of a River was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 2010). As the Charles Franklin Kellogg and Grace E. Ramsey Kellogg Professor of the Arts at Bard College, where he had taught since 1984, Hutton instructed generations of artists in 16mm film production. On January 25, 2015, he presented four of his films at the National Gallery of Art: New York Portrait: Two (1980–1981); Łódź Symphony (1991–1993); Study of a River (1997); and an excerpt from Three Landscapes (2013), his last completed work. The program, Peter Hutton: Landscape and Time, was followed by a discussion with the audience.

Nancy H. Yeide, head, department of curatorial records, National Gallery of Art. When the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in March 1941, the original Andrew W. Mellon gift was augmented by a collection of Italian art donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Kress was the first to offer a donation in response to Andrew Mellon's call for contributions for the new national art museum. For the Gallery's opening, Kress gave almost 400 paintings and sculptures. Ultimately, the foundation gave the Gallery a total of over 700 paintings and sculptures, in addition to over 1,300 small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. In 2010, the foundation awarded the Gallery a grant to conduct provenance research on the entire Kress collection of paintings, distributed nationwide to regional museums and study collections in university-affiliated institutions. In this lecture recorded on May 23, 2016, Nancy Yeide shares discoveries that include both new information about the histories of specific paintings and ways to look at the collection as a whole. This program celebrates the 75-year relationship of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and the National Gallery of Art, the enduring legacy of the Kress gifts nationwide, and recent research into the Kress Collection. This program is supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Project.

Helen Frankenthaler’s use of radiant color and her capacity to manipulate a rich variety of materials and print processes have been widely admired throughout her career. Helen Frankenthaler: Prints, a survey exhibition on view at the National Gallery of Art from April 18 to September 6, 1993, consisted of 77 prints and related drawings from the Gallery’s holdings, and loans from the artist's archive and other collections. The exhibition started with Frankenthaler’s very first print (1961), composed of calligraphic marks on an open field, and it closed with one of her most recent works (1992), an expansive composition of densely layered forms. In honor of the exhibition, Helen Frankenthaler discusses the distinctive nature of her working process with Ruth Fine in this conversation recorded on May 16, 1993.

Max Koss, Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Fellow, David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art and University of Chicago When the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in March 1941, the original Andrew W. Mellon gift was augmented by a collection of Italian art donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Kress was the first to offer a donation in response to Andrew Mellon's call for contributions for the new national art museum. Ultimately, the foundation gave the Gallery a total of over 700 paintings and sculptures, in addition to over 1,300 small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. In 2010, the foundation awarded the Gallery a grant to conduct provenance research on the entire Kress collection of paintings, distributed nationwide to regional museums and study collections in university-affiliated institutions. In this lecture recorded on May 23, 2016, Max Koss explains that the Kress “giveaway” included 22 works donated to the University of Chicago, which had no significant collection of Western art, much less a museum to house it. Edward A. Maser, professor of art history and founding director of the David and Alfred Smart Museum, secured the gift and used the boost it provided to build an exemplary teaching institution. This program is supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Project.

Chiyo Ishikawa, Susan Brotman Deputy Director for Art and curator of European painting and sculpture, Seattle Art Museum. When the National Gallery of Art opened its doors in March 1941, the original Andrew W. Mellon gift was augmented by a collection of Italian art donated by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Kress was the first to offer a donation in response to Andrew Mellon's call for contributions for the new national art museum. For the Gallery's opening, Kress gave almost 400 paintings and sculptures. Ultimately, the foundation gave the Gallery a total of over 700 paintings and sculptures, in addition to over 1,300 small bronzes, medals, and plaquettes. In 2010, the foundation awarded the Gallery a grant to conduct provenance research on the entire Kress collection of paintings, distributed nationwide to regional museums and study collections in university-affiliated institutions. In this lecture recorded on May 23, 2016, Chiyo Ishikawa shares how the Seattle Art Museum was a recipient of the Kress “giveaway.” Seattle’s position on the Pacific Rim made the Seattle Art Museum a natural home for Asian art, but the great European tradition was not represented. This changed thanks to the Kress gift, but the process was rocky and the collection was almost withdrawn before it became the foundation of a growing European collection. This program is supported by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation Provenance Research Project.