Extended Hours, Lecture, Nighttime Dining all at Arkansas Arts Center tonight

Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center, there is a lecture in conjunction with the Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibit.

The Arkansas Arts Center is presenting “Collecting Rembrandt: Perils and Pleasures One Hundred Years Ago,” a lecture by Catherine B. Scallen. Professor Scallen is Chair of the Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by a 6 p.m. lecture at the Arkansas Arts Center.  The admission is $10 for non-members; free for members and students.

Professor Scallen received her BA from Wellesley College, her MA from the Williams College Graduate Program in the HIstory of Art, and her PhD from Princeton University. After receiving her doctorate, she held a graduate internship in the Paintings Department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles. A specialist on the paintings and prints of Rembrandt van Rijn, her book, Rembrandt, Reputation, and the Practice of Connoisseurship, was published in 2004.  She has been a faculty lecturer on trips to The Netherlands and Belgium for Princeton University and CWRU, and is the author of two courses for The Great Courses Company, Art of the Northern Renaissance and Museum Masterpieces: The National Gallery, London.

Attendees are welcome to stay after the lecture to view Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London during the exhibition’s special extended hours.

Best Impressions restaurant will also be open during the extended hours.

Art comes to life at Arkansas Arts Center tonight

Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

In conjunction with Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London the Arkansas Arts Center and Arkansas Festival Ballet are presenting “Stepping off the Canvas: A History of Dance from Rembrandt to Turner.”

Dancers from Arkansas Festival Ballet will bring the masterpieces to life in a way which shows the evolution of both dance and visual art through the past centuries.

The program begins at 7pm with a complimentary wine reception at 6pm.

Tickets are $25 for non-members and $20 for Arkansas Arts Center members. Ballet ticketholders will receive a complimentary visit to the exhibition at a later date.

Now through September 8, 2013, the Arkansas Arts Center is hosting the exhibition: Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London. From one of the greatest country houses in England, a treasure trove of Old Master paintings is in Little Rock. This summer, the Arkansas Arts Center in Little Rock is one of only four institutions in North America hosting this special exhibition.

The Arkansas Arts Center is an art museum with a children’s theatre and a studio school. Opened in 1963, its mission is to ensure that learning, inspiration and creative expression in the arts flourish throughout Arkansas, for people of all ages and backgrounds. The AAC realizes this mission by developing, preserving and exhibiting its outstanding permanent collection, offering a rich variety of art from other collections and presenting programs for the education and cultural benefit of the public. Dr. Todd Herman is the Executive Director.

Arkansas Festival Ballet, Rebecca M. Stalcup, Artistic Director, is a repertory dance company dedicated to classical ballet training and performance. The company was founded in 2000. Arkansas Festival Ballet’s seasonal programming includes enchanting storybook ballets and mixed-bill productions featuring fresh, new choreography by local and guest artists, along with excerpts from beloved ballet classics.

 

The Perils of Collecting Rembrandt: Ark Arts Center extended hours and lecture tonight

In conjunction with the “Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London ” exhibit, the Arkansas Arts Center will remain open for extended hours this evening.  The galleries will be open until 9pm.  In addition, Dr. Catherine B. Scallen will be presenting a lecture entitled “Collecting Rembrandt: Perils and Pleasures One Hundred Years Ago.”
Catherine Scallen

Catherine Scallen

Professor Scallen is Chair of the Department of Art History and Art at Case Western Reserve University, where she has taught since 1995. She received her BA from Wellesley College, her MA from the Williams College Graduate Program in the History of Art, and her PhD from Princeton University. After receiving her doctorate, she held a graduate internship in the Paintings Department of the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

A specialist on the paintings and prints of Rembrandt van Rijn, her book, Rembrandt, Reputation, and the Practice of Connoisseurship, was published in 2004.  She has been a faculty lecturer on trips to The Netherlands and Belgium for Princeton University and CWRU, and is the author of two courses for The Great Courses Company, Art of the Northern Renaissance and Museum Masterpieces: The National Gallery, London. Attendees are welcome to stay after the lecture to view Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London during the exhibition’s special extended hours.
In addition to the extended gallery hours and lecture, the Best Impressions restaurant will be open until 8:30pm.  Advance reservations are strongly recommended; to make them call (501) 907-5946.
On display through September 8, “The Treasures of Kenwood House” is organized by the American Federation of Arts and English Heritage. It is supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities with additional funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. In-kind support is provided by Barbara and Richard S. Lane.

It is presented in Arkansas by: Bank of the Ozarks; Harriet and Warren Stephens, Stephens Inc.; Windgate Foundation.  The exhibition is sponsored in Arkansas by: Chucki and Curt Bradbury; Sandra and Bob Connor; Remmel T. Dickinson; Lisenne Rockefeller.

This special exhibition showcases 48 masterpieces from the collection known as the Iveagh Bequest. These magnificent paintings reside at Kenwood House, a neoclassical villa in London. The tour of Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London will provide a unique opportunity to view superb paintings outside the United Kingdom. Most of these paintings have never traveled to the United States before, and many of them have rarely been seen outside Kenwood. The highly acclaimed works represent the greatest artists of their periods, including Rembrandt van Rijn, Thomas Gainsborough, Anthony van Dyck, Frans Hals, Joshua Reynolds, J.M.W. Turner and more.

DOWNTON ABBEY marathon this weekend at Ark Arts Center

arkartsWhile Kenwood House may have better art than Downton Abbey, the latter certainly has the former beat in the drama department.  This weekend, in conjunction with the Treasures of Kenwood House exhibit, the Arkansas Arts Center is showing a marathon of the first three seasons of “Downton Abbey.”

Though the Dowager Countess Grantham may not know what a weekend is, the Arts Center does.  The staff realizes it will take an entire weekend to screen the episodes of this Emmy winning series.

The marathon kicks off on Friday night at 6pm with season one.  It will pick up on Saturday at 6pm with the second season.  The third season will start showing on Sunday morning at 11am.

The programs will be screened in the lecture hall, which features a large screen covering most of a wall.  The screenings are free of charge.

a1dowton-abby-opening-credits1

Rembrandt Lecture at Arkansas Arts Center tonight

Rembrandt van Rijn Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665 Oil on canvas Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836) Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Rembrandt van Rijn
Portrait of the Artist, ca. 1665
Oil on canvas
Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest (88028836)
Photo courtesy American Federation of Arts

Tonight at the Arkansas Arts Center, there is a lecture in conjunction with the Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London exhibit.

The Arkansas Arts Center is presenting “Rembrandt and Fallibility,” a lecture by Jon L. Seydl, the Paul J. and Edith Ingalls Vignos, Jr., Curator of European Painting and Sculpture, 1500-1800, at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

The program begins at 5:30 p.m. with a reception followed by a 6 p.m. lecture at the Arkansas Arts Center.  The admission is $10 for non-members; free for members and students.

A specialist in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Italian art, Seydl was awarded a B.A. in Art History from Yale University in 1990, and then earned his M.A. (1998) and Ph.D. (2003) in Art History from the University of Pennsylvania, writing his dissertation on images of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the eighteenth century. His exhibitions include Rembrandt in America (2011-12); The Last Days of Pompeii: Decadence, Apocalypse, Resurrection, on Pompeii in the modern imagination from the eighteenth century to the present day (2012-13); and is currently planning projects on Golden Age Seville, the Renaissance painter Savoldo, and art in the age of Shakespeare.

Attendees are welcome to stay after the lecture to view Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London during the exhibition’s special extended hours.

Best Impressions restaurant will also be open during the extended hours.

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

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.

Time Travelers exhibit at Ark Arts Center

henrymoore

Henry Moore, Eight Reclining Figures No. 1, 1966, ink and watercolor on paper,

If an artist from the Treasures of Kenwood House exhibition were to time travel to the twentieth century, he would no doubt be shocked at the revolutions that had transformed the art of his native Britain, Netherlands, or Flanders (now part of Belgium).

Abstract and surreal art seems to break with nearly every precept of classically-based seventeenth- and eighteenth-century art. Yet the twentieth-century artists whose works have been selected from the Arts Center’s collection for this exhibition did not turn completely from their past.

In the 1980s, Dutch artist Anneke van Brussel (born 1949) drew asparagus in much the same naturalistic manner as seventeenth-century Dutch still life artists. The powerful British realist painter Lucian Freud (1922 – 2011) created an intimate figure drawing inspired by the work of eighteenth-century French artist Antoine Watteau (1684 – 1721). The British modernist sculptor Henry Moore (1898 – 1986) looked back even farther in his series of lithographs portraying the ancient British monument known as Stonehenge. Moore’s many reclining figures, sculpted and drawn, reflect both classical Greek and Roman figural sculpture and ancient Mayan stone carvings.

The great traditions of drawing, painting and sculpting human figures, animals, still lifes, and landscapes take on different guises from year to year, but they are never forgotten. The past provides the solid ground from which visions of the future take wing.

The exhibit runs through August 4.