Special Exhibition Features
Recent Acquisitions


     

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 5, 2013
Rachel Rogol, 413-542-2295
Hi-res images available upon request 

AMHERST, Mass. -- On Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, at 5:30 p.m., Amherst College's Mead Art Museum will open the exhibition Art for All: Additions to the Collection from Antiquity to Today with a reception celebrating the recent growth of Amherst College's art collection. The reception will follow a keynote lecture by Dr. Nicholas Penny, director of The National Gallery, London.

The exhibition highlights more than 130 recent acquisitions, including paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, watercolors, ceramics, glass objects, sculptures, masks, scrolls, videos, and antiquities, most on view for the first time. Conceptually and stylistically wide-ranging, the selected works represent a cross-section of the more than 900 objects that have entered the Mead's collection since 2007, including works by distinguished alumni artists Jared French '25, Michael Mazur '57, Michael Huey '87, Stephen Petegorsky '75, and Elizabeth Hoak-Doering '88.


"In assessing a proposed acquisition, we consider several factors," noted Maggie Dethloff, Acting Curator of American Art. "For instance, we consider both the work's intrinsic quality and its connection to objects already in the collection. This exhibition, featuring such a wide range of exceptional artworks, is a unique opportunity to see these criteria manifested throughout the galleries."


To provide visitors with opportunities to discover as many new acquisitions as possible, the exhibition will unfold in two parts: the first iteration remains on view through July 7, 2013; a second display, featuring an entirely different group of artworks, will take place from August 16 to December 29, 2013.


The exhibition and series of related events have been made possible with generous support from the Hall and Kate Peterson Fund; the David W. Mesker, Class of 1953, Fund; the Charles H. Morgan Memorial Fund; and the Friends of the Mead Art Museum, with additional support from the Julia A. Whitney Foundation.
 

The Mead Art Museum houses the art collection of Amherst College, spanning 5,000 years and encompassing the creative achievements of many world cultures. An accredited member of the American Association of Museums, the Mead participates in Museums10, a regional cultural collaboration. The museum and its gift shop-caf� are open Tuesday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round, and until midnight on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday during the academic term.

 

For more information, including a complete schedule of all museum events, please visit amherst.edu/mead or call 413/542-2335.