Addison Gallery Celebrates 75 Years

May 5th birthday bash kicks off year-long celebration, which will feature special exhibitions and programs

May 3, 2006

The Addison Gallery of American Art announces a year-long, 75th anniversary celebration designed to showcase the museum’s magnificent permanent collection and to salute its long history of innovative programming. The  75th anniversary celebration kicks off on Friday, May 5 with a birthday bash and spring opening reception. The celebration, which will be open to the public, will run from 5 to 8 p.m. and will feature music, games, food, and live performances.

Since opening in 1931, the Addison Gallery has become home to one of the most important collections of American art in the world. Over the years, its collection has grown to some 14,000 works, including major paintings, prints, sculpture, and photography by generations of American artists from the 18th century to the present. Artists represented in the collection include John Singleton Copley, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, Edward Hopper, Georgia O’Keeffe, Stuart Davis, Walker Evans, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Sol LeWitt, and many more.

For its 75th anniversary year, the Addison has planned a series of special exhibitions to showcase its collection and its history of cutting-edge exhibitions of the work of living artists. Among the exhibitions currently on view are 75 Years of Giving and In Focus: 75 Years of Collecting American Photography

75 Years of Giving pays tribute to four of the Addison’s major donors – Thomas Cochran, Lizzie Bliss, Edward Root and Frank Stella – and the impact each had on the Addison’s development as a museum.

The In Focus: 75 Years of Collecting American Photography exhibition draws attention to the Addison’s collection of more than 6000 photographic images, making it one of the major repositories of American photography in the country. From Western landscape photographs by Carleton Watkins and Ansel Adams to the documentary work of Diane Arbus, abstract images by Man Ray, and the conceptual pieces of Sol LeWitt, the Addison’s collection represents a broad overview of American photography. This exhibition showcases more than 200 of those photographs that exemplify the unique character of this remarkable collection.

Opening in September, 2006, Coming of Age: American Art, 1850s to 1950s will present more than seventy of the Addison’s greatest paintings and sculptures and examine the period when American art matured and took its place in the international arena.

The Addison will also present major exhibitions of the works of renowned contemporary artists. Jennifer Bartlett: Early Plate Work will examine the masterpieces of this seminal artist, while a retrospective of the career of William Wegman will feature over two hundred objects and will have a national tour.  The Models as Muse exhibition, opening in January 2007, will juxtapose past and present by featuring four contemporary artists invited to create works inspired by the Addison’s historic model ship collection.  Finally, in homage to the city of Lawrence with which the Addison has developed noteworthy cooperative educational programs, the museum will present An Impressionist Legacy, a rare showing of Lawrence’s White Fund paintings, including great works by Monet and Pissarro.

To complement its slate of exhibitions, the Addison will also offer a variety of public programs, including a special series entitled Director/Artist Dialogue that will feature former Addison Gallery directors and artists who had a significant impact during their tenures in the forum of a public conversation. In the fall of 2006, American art scholars from around the country will participate in a symposium focused on the Addison’s permanent collection and its significance to the public’s understanding of American art. All of the Addison’s anniversary programs are free and open to the public.

“The Addison is a unique institution that has always occupied the intersection of serious historic and contemporary art scholarship, learning, creativity, and public enjoyment,” says Addison Director Brian Allen. “This year, our 75th, we want to pay homage to this rich past as well as look toward the future and the excitement it holds. We hope that both newcomers and our loyal friends will join us to celebrate who we are and all that we offer.”