Category Archives: Museum

Arts Council announces Gov Arts Award recipients

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Arkansas_Arts_Council_logo_2The Arkansas Arts Council has announced the recipients of the 2013 Governor’s Arts Awards.

They are:
Arts Community Development Award – Bob Ford and Amy Herzberg (Fayetteville)
Arts in Education Award – Paul Leopoulos (North Little Rock)
Corporate Sponsorship of the Arts Award – Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard, PLLC (Little Rock)
Folklife Award – Paula Morell (North Little Rock)
Individual Artist Award – Robert Hupp (Little Rock)
Patron Award – Lee and Dale Ronnel (Little Rock)
Lifetime Achievement Award – Billie Seamans (McGehee)
Judges Special Recognition Award – Farrell Ford (Arkadelphia)

The awards will be presented in the fall.

Last Week of “Jazz Through the Eyes of Herman Leonard”

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Dinah Washington photo by Herman Leonard

Dinah Washington photo by Herman Leonard

Fans of jazz, photography or American popular culture in the 20th Century have one more week to see the exquisite exhibit “Jazz Through the Eyes of Herman Leonard.”  The exhibit, which opened in March, closes on July 21 at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Herman Leonard was a popular and influential photographer well into the 2000s, but is best known for his crisp, high-contrast black and white images of famous jazz performers from the 1940s and 1950s.

The exhibit features the who’s who of this uniquely American music.  If you have a favorite jazz singer, musician or composer, Herman Leonard photographed them – and they are featured in this collection.

Leonard caught the eye of jazz fans around the world, and Bill Clinton is no exception. Clinton called Leonard: “The greatest jazz photographer in the history of the genre” and has several Leonard prints hanging in his office in Harlem.

This exhibit features over 40 large-format black and white prints made and signed by Herman Leonard. To help tell the story of the artists in the images personal objects will accompany the stunning Leonard images.

Vintage Military Vehicles at MacArthur Museum

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vintagevehiclemacmusThe MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History will be hosting an event today to showcase vintage military vehicles.  The event will run from 9am to 3pm and is FREE.

This event will showcase approximately 20 vintage military vehicles including World War II Jeeps, a 1941 Staff car, 1992 Humvee, and the 1915 Dodge touring car used by Gen. John J. Pershing in Mexico in his search for Pancho Villa.  Food and beverages will be available for purchase on-site from Bryant’s BBQ and Repicci’s Italian Ice of Little Rock.

The MacArthur Museum of Arkansas Military History was created to interpret our state’s military heritage from its territorial period to the present.

Located in the historic Tower Building of the Little Rock Arsenal–the birthplace of General Douglas MacArthur–the museum preserves the contributions of Arkansas men and women who served in the armed forces.

Exhibits feature artifacts, photographs, weapons, documents, uniforms and other military items that vividly portray Arkansas’s military history at home and abroad.

The Museum is a program of the City of Little Rock’s Parks and Recreation Department.

Brown Bag Lecture at Old State House today

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OSH logoThe Old State House Museum, an agency of the Department of Arkansas Heritage, is hosting a brown bag lecture at noon today entitled Eternal Separations: The Civil War Letters of the Witten Family.

The American Civil War is often referred to as a conflict of brother against brother, but there is a dearth of primary documentation that details the impact on families actually torn apart owing to the struggle.

The Witten family of Saline County, Arkansas, provides an understanding of the divided loyalties of a non-slave owning, yeoman farm family during the Civil War. Approximately 150 surviving letters of the family detail the emotions and events that ripped apart this family, even affecting relatives from east Tennessee to Oregon during the conflict.

Though the war exacted a heavy toll on the family, the efforts of the Wittens to maintain contact with family across military lines provides a glimpse of the ties that would not be severed.

Speaker Anthony Rushing is a teacher of history in Bryant. He initiated the forming of Saline County history organizations including the David O. Dodd Camp of Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Saline County History and Heritage Society. Rushing is currently working on editing and publishing the Civil War letters of the Witten family.

Participants are welcome to bring a sack lunch; soft drinks and water are provided. Admission is free.

Ark Arts Center – Military Appreciation Day; BBQ for the 4th

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arkartsMilitary Appreciation Day

In observance of Independence Day, the Arkansas Arts Center will show its appreciation to the dedicated United States men and women in uniform, both current service members and veterans, by offering complimentary admission to the Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibit on the fourth of July holiday.

11 a.m. – 2 p.m., Arkansas Arts Center Patio
4th of July Cookout
Join us for Burgers, Bratwurst and Beer at our Independence Day celebration! Four legged friends are welcome on the patio! Food will be grilled to order, and will include your choice of burger, brats, hot dog or chicken breast. The buffet will include a variety of condiments, baked beans, potato salad, dessert and choice of tea or lemonade. Admission for adults is $12 and $7 for children age seven and under.

Frontier Fourth at Historic Arkansas Museum

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FrontierFourthBy George! This year’s Historic Arkansas Museum Frontier Fourth of July is all about George Washington, in honor of his signed family bible featured in the exhibit, Treasures of Arkansas Freemasons.

Amid all the frontier fun and pioneer games, there will be a traveling sideshow barker displaying his amazing, “authentic” relics from the great George Washington, including his powdered wig, wooden teeth and the “actual” axe he used to cut down his father’s cherry tree.

Others will regale visitors with stories of Washington, his Inauguration in New York and his involvement with Freemasons. As always, there will be crafts, music, games, a parade and refreshing watermelon and lemonade. During a reading of the Declaration of Independence, watch out for Red Coats who have nothing good to say about it.
Thursday, July 4 from 2pm to 4pm.  There is no charge.

Washington Tribute at Clinton Center

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Washington's Copy of the Acts of Congress.

Washington’s Copy of the Acts of Congress.

The library focusing on the 42nd President now has an exhibit honoring the the 1st President.  The William J. Clinton Presidential Center has a “Tribute to George Washington” on display through July 12.

It features:
George Washington’s Copy of the Acts of Congress
The volume contains the Constitution and draft Bill of Rights with Washington’s personal written notes as well as an original signature. The volume, dating back to 1789, is on loan from Mount Vernon.

George Washington Correspondence
On loan from the National Archives in Washington, DC, the Clinton Center will showcase two rare documents that helped shape American history during Washington’s administration. One includes a handwritten letter by President Washington regarding the the Jay Treaty with Great Britain. The second document is a letter to President Washington signed by Chief Justice John Jay.

George Washington [The Constable-Hamilton Portrait]
The portrait of George Washington was painted in Philadelphia in 1797 by artist Gilbert Stuart. New York merchant William Kerin Constable commissioned the portrait for Alexander Hamilton. The portrait is on loan from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville.

The Clinton Center is open Monday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.