Decision 2008
With only a few weeks left, it looks like Dash for the Timber is going to win our Decision 2008 program by a landslide. However, there is still time to change the course of the election. Take the time to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Eighteen Votes
Frederic S. Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Ten Votes
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
Nine Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
Five Votes Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
This work fits with where I am in my life right now. I am in search of serenity and in awe of majesty. This work has both, and is a great inspiration to me.
Amy Rasor, 32
Fort Worth, Texas
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
I love the movement and play of shadows on the walls around the sculpture. It gives the work both a two dimensional and three dimensional image.
Pat Brown, 60
Walnut Springs, Texas
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Very atmospheric feeling from the painting—powerful and ominous (moment in time)
Stephen Seate, 61
Fort Worth, Texas
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Four Votes Each
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Three Votes Each
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
Jim Haas, 67
Fort Worth, Texas
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Sanford Robinson Gifford
The View from Eagle Rock, New Jersey
It made me feel that this couple has their entire future ahead of them! Much like myself.
Tanya Stahlbusch, 32
Santa Barbara, California
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Thomas Hovenden
Chloe and Sam
Detailed and intricate
Rosemary Stahlbusch, 62
Granbury, Texas
Frederic S. Remington
The Cowboy
Frederic S. Remington
The Old Stage Coach of the Plains
Frederic S. Remington
Ridden Down
Two Votes Each
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
Stuart Davis
Chinatown
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
William M. Harnett
Ease
Marsden Hartley
American Indian Symbols
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
Frederic S. Remington
The Right of the Road
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
George Caleb Bingham
View of Pike’s Peak
Henry Kirke Brown
Filatrice (The Spinner)
Many reasons: 1. I am a weaver so anything connected to weaving grabs my attention. 2. The piece is classical. I love the style. 3. I love the connection of women’s contribution to the American Revolution.
Jean Walbridge, 64
Fort Worth, Texas
Frederic Edwin Church
New England Landscape
Arthur Dove
The Lobster
John Haberle
Can You Break a Five?
William M. Harnett
Attention Company
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
Winslow Homer
Crossing the Pasture
Louise Nevelson
Lunar Landscape Wall
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
Julian Onderdonk
A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets near San Antonio, Texas
John Frederick Peto
A Closet Door
Alexander Phimister Proctor
Indian Warrior
Frederic S. Remington
The Broncho Buster
William Thomas, 62
Augusta, Maine
Frederic S. Remington
Coming Through the Rye
Frederic S. Remington
The Fall of the Cowboy
Frederic S. Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic S. Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic S. Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
A Bronc Twister
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Charles M. Russell
In Without Knocking
Charles M. Russell
The Buffalo Hunt, [No.39]
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
A Summer of Hummingbirds
I love learning about the connections between the artists in the Carter’s collection and the authors and thinkers who shaped American cultural history. So, I was particularly interested to hear about Christopher Benfey’s new book, A Summer of Hummingbirds: Love, Art, and Scandal in the Intersecting Worlds of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Martin Johnson Heade. I finished it yesterday afternoon, and highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the intersecting interests of some of America’s most influential creators.
I started Eden’s Outcasts: The Story of Louisa May Alcott and Her Father yesterday evening. Can you recommend other books that explore connections between the artists in our collection and other artists, authors, or thinkers?
Framing America
Ever wonder what goes into choosing the frames that surround the museum’s priceless collection of American paintings? This Saturday, Suzanne Smeaton of the famed Eli Wilner and Company will discuss this topic in her special lecture, Exploring the Borders in Art: American Period Frames 1820-1920.
As a mental appetizer, take a moment to learn more about a few of the fascinating projects that Suzanne and her colleagues have completed. I especially enjoyed this one about the reframing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s beloved American masterpiece, Washington Crossing the Delaware.
Make it A Memorable Mother’s Day at the Amon Carter Museum
Are you looking for something special to do for your Mom this Mothers Day? Make plans to bring her to the Amon Carter Museum where we will be celebrating Moms from 1 to 4 p.m. with our Target Family Fun Day.
Visitors of all ages will enjoy participating in the following fun activities:
• Discover how families of all shapes and sizes have been depicted throughout American
history.
• Listen to stories that celebrate Moms and families
• Make jewelry and a “memory box” for Mom
• And much, much more
I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!
Decision 2008 Update (May 5, 2008)
Every time another candidate starts to close the gap Dash for the Timber races further ahead. There are only a few weeks left in this “election.” Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Seventeen Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Ten Votes
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
The legend regarding George Washington is treated in a whimsical manner that draws the viewer into the painting. The direct gaze of Parson Weems is very engaging and directs the viewer to the fanciful figure of Washington as a child. The cherry motif on the curtain fringe and the border of the tree’s foliage just delights me and reminds me that I love cherry pie!
Sharon LeConey, 55
Fort Worth, Texas
Nine Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
Five Votes Each
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
The museum itself is my favorite work of art. That said, I’ll vote for Moran’s work. I like it because its technical execution, palette of colors, and depth of field are quite compelling. I like how it suggests a story—of exploration and adventure—and all that goes along with it. This painting projects an authentic “feeling” of what it is like to travel through remote areas of the West, and this painting helps me vividly and fondly recall my own visits there. In short, it’s a great painting and it evokes an emotional response from the viewer
Francis Flavin, 38
Washington, D.C.
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Four Votes Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Three Votes Each
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
It is an artwork endowed with a romantic grace, conveying gravity and a sense of melancholy.
Jonathan Frembling, 32
Fort Worth, Texas
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Frederic Remington
The Old Stage Coach of the Plains
While I love all of the Russells and Remingtons at the Amon Carter, this is the piece that made an indelible mark on my memory as a young child. Somehow, the painting just draws my mind into the moment in a way no other does. I really can’t explain why, but it is the one piece I must glimpse each time I visit the Amon Carter.
Alexa Ewen, 34
Fort Worth, Texas
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
Two Votes Each
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
Stuart Davis
Chinatown
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
William M. Harnett
Ease
This was one of my father’s favorites, probably due to the cigar sitting on the table. He smoked cigars so this panting brings back happy memories.
Nenetta Tatum, 54
Fort Worth, Texas
Marsden Hartley
American Indian Symbols
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
George Caleb Bingham
View of Pike’s Peak
Frederic Edwin Church
New England Landscape
Arthur Dove
The Lobster
John Haberle
Can You Break a Five?
William M. Harnett
Attention Company
Childe Hassam
Flags on the Waldorf
Mary Jane Harbison, 58
Fort Worth, Texas
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
Winslow Homer
Crossing the Pasture
Louise Nevelson
Lunar Landscape Wall
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
Julian Onderdonk
A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets near San Antonio, Texas
John Frederick Peto
A Closet Door
Alexander Phimister Proctor
Indian Warrior
Unlike the Dallin sculpture one can look at this piece and see immediately the difference. The horse and rider mirror each other in valiance and dignity. Are they en route to or from? No matter, we can see they are ready for whatever may come.
Rick Lawler, 49
Cleburne, Texas
Frederic Remington
Coming Through the Rye
Frederic Remington
The Fall of the Cowboy
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
A Bronc Twister
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Charles M. Russell
In Without Knocking
The look as if they are about to have a good time! The other paintings look as if life is a struggle: perhaps even death is close.
Q.L. Collins, 64
Stephenville, Texas
Charles M. Russell
The Buffalo Hunt, [No.39]
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
In the Circle
The outpouring of community support for the artists and artworks in the Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s has been truly amazing. I will be sad to see the exhibition close on May 11.
I recently received this response to our In the Circle project. I hope you enjoy this story and the stories that came before it.
I knew Dickson Reeder very well (1952 to 1965). His Flora Blanc I saw only now and again and always with Dickson. I saw their home and it was amazing.
In 1952, I got to see one of the first of four or five studios/ateliers/hide-outs. This was the log cabin in the garden of Sousa Bailey’s great home on White Settlement Road. I was then in the 11th grade at Northside High School. Mrs. Bailey was a grande dame in the very best sense. It was in her backyard that the Reeders put on their first production. Gardens, books, art were put together in every case. Because of Mrs. Bailey, I became aware of the role of patronesses—how they were supportive of the local artists. Later I met Miss Margaret MacLean and Sam Cantey.
Dink Starns
Fort Worth, Texas
Thank you so much to Charlene Baker, Jo Ann Fanning Durham, Jesse Garcia, Stanley Shepelwich, Naomi Stroud Simmons, Dink Starns, Jeanne Summers, and Violet Wickes for participating in this project. Your stories have helped to bring the works of art to life!
Decision 2008 (Update April 29)
Every time another candidate starts to close the gap, Dash for the Timber races further ahead. There are only a few weeks left in this “election.” Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Sixteen Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
It represents the romance and legend associated with Texas. After all, Fort Worth is “where the West begins…” for the world!
Mary L. (Cindy) Montgomery, 55
Arlington, Texas
I enjoy the combination of skill, color, story, composition, action, and complex characterization in a distinctly Western setting. It has European echoes, but is decisively American.
Linda Jenkins, 63
Fort Worth, Texas
To me, this is what this museum is…great western Americana of the early and mid-1800s. I know the Carter is so much, much more, but thank the Good Lord that Mr. Carter wanted to preserve and share this great work.
Jesse Pierrard, 58
Fort Worth, Texas
Because it just pops out at you.
Austin Anderson, 12
White Settlement, Texas
This picture has so many individual pieces and everyone is intriguing to me. I love the center horse whose eyes follow you wherever you move in the room. I love the soldiers looking back while others are looking forward. This painting is the epitome of classic western art. I take several moments each time I am in the museum to look at it again.
Cliff Holden, 50
Fort Worth, Texas
Nine Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
Ever since the ACM purchased this luminous still life, it has jumped off the wall every time I have passed. I have sought out other McCloskey wrapped fruit paintings, and none compare to this masterpiece. It is a gem.
Robert Bass
Fort Worth, Texas
I love how real this painting looks. To me, this painting is “alive!”
Anita Grimes, 37
Aledo, Texas
This painting awakens all of my senses. Visual, of course, but I can hear the crackling of the paper around the orange, feel the bumpy exterior of the oranges underneath the crisp paper, smell the wonderful orange smell, and of course imagine what they would taste like once the paper and peel are gone.
Kim V, 40
Fort Worth, Texas
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
This painting is easy to connect to literature. Themes in the painting (cherry shaped curtains, vivid colors, etc.) can be used to teach themes in literature.
Diane Kue, 29
Fort Worth, Texas
Five Votes Each
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Four Votes Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
I believe that Bierstadt conveys the beauty, grandeur, and opportunity of the West in this painting. It touches upon some themes central to the West such as exploration, Manifest Destiny, and conserving nature. Additionally, I really like Hudson River School, and while this may be a touch out of time period, it is my favorite Bierstadt.
Allan Mauldin, 45
Anniston, Alabama
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
Three Votes Each
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
Because it is so green and realistic.
Mary Kate Dockery, 12
Southaven, Mississippi
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
Two Votes Each
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
Stuart Davis
Chinatown
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Marsden Hartley
American Indian Symbols
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
Frederic Remington
The Old Stage Coach of the Plains
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
George Caleb Bingham
View of Pike’s Peak
I think that mountain views are the most spectacular images of nature.
Brian Anderson, 12
Bellflower, California
Frederic Edwin Church
New England Landscape
Arthur Dove
The Lobster
John Haberle
Can You Break a Five?
The painting is very realistic. So much so that you can almost expect to feel the actual items—if you were to touch them.
Amy, 38
Fort Worth, Texas
William M. Harnett
Attention Company
William M. Harnett
Ease
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
Winslow Homer
Crossing the Pasture
Louise Nevelson
Lunar Landscape Wall
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
Julian Onderdonk
A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets near San Antonio, Texas
John Frederick Peto
A Closet Door
Frederic Remington
Coming Through the Rye
Frederic Remington
The Fall of the Cowboy
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
The Buffalo Hunt, [No.39]
Charles M. Russell
A Bronc Twister
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
Newsworthy
Just in case you missed it, yesterday’s New York Times Magazine had an interesting article on the benefits of visual arts education. Today’s travel section features an article on Ansel Adams and Yosemite.
Decision 2008 Update (April 25)
Dash for the Timber continues to hold onto its lead in our election. Is it time for a change? Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Eleven Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Action
Seth Hopkins, 41
Cartersville, Georgia
Nine Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
This is my favorite work of art because I like the color and I like the shape.
Naseen Nabil, 8
Arlington, Texas
Seven Votes
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
Five Votes Each
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
Sargent had great insight and affinity with the children he painted. He captures her shyness, revealed in part by a blush in her cheeks. Sargent always subordinated the lavish female costumes of that era to make the face the focal point. He is a virtuoso with paint strokes—his work is an ideal other artists strive for.
Leisa Corbett, 51
Saint Louis, Missouri
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Four Votes Each
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
Three Votes Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
The Indian warrior on the top of the plateau with the white men coming after him—it so evokes the fate of the Native Americans at the hand of the white man
Dan Stoyak, 19
Arlington, Texas
Two Votes Each
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
Stuart Davis
Chinatown
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Marsden Hartley
American Indian Symbols
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
It was my favorite because it has a lot of shapes.
Sammy Najil, 9
Arlington, Texas
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
Frederic Remington
The Old Stage Coach of the Plains
This is my favorite work of art because it captures the sense of adventure found in the way West along the U.S. frontier in the late 1800s.
Franklyn Henry Smith, 59
Fort Worth, Texas
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
It’s really neato!
John Robinson, 27
Fort Worth, Texas
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
Frederic Edwin Church
New England Landscape
Arthur Dove
The Lobster
Great composition, great color, great technique.
Matthew Bostick, 49
Fort Worth, Texas
William M. Harnett
[Attention Company]
This painting has always drawn me in from the first day I came to work at the Carter when we were at the Q. I could not put my figure on why I was drawn into it. Maybe it was because I could relate to the expression on his face of the unknown and I was new to the Carter. It was hypnotic and a mesmerizing image.
Lauri Lawrence, 40
Fort Worth, Texas
William M. Harnett
Ease
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
Winslow Homer
Crossing the Pasture
Louise Nevelson
Lunar Landscape Wall
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
Julian Onderdonk
A Cloudy Day, Bluebonnets near San Antonio, Texas
I like it because it is so peaceful and pretty. I love it because of the comments my students make when they view it. They really connect to it and place themselves inside the painting. It is awesome!
Cindy Shaw, 32
Fort Worth, Texas
John Frederick Peto
A Closet Door
Frederic Remington
Coming Through the Rye
Frederic Remington
The Fall of the Cowboy
So much history is displayed, (I) love the Western art (and) also love sculptures—not being an artist, (I) love the expressions, details, etc.
Pam Armstrong, 57
Fort Worth, Texas
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
The Buffalo Hunt, [No.39]
I love the noise of it, the intensity of the moment, the high drama and the bravery of the men and horses. I also love the bright dabs of color in their clothing, forsaking authenticity for interest.
Bonnie Bassett, 65+
Denton, Texas
Charles M. Russell
A Bronc Twister
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
(Don’t) Reach Out and Touch
My little family traveled to DC this past weekend and took advantage of Saturday’s terrific weather to explore all of the national monuments. While the Lincoln and Vietnam Veterans Memorials are truly awe-inspiring, I think I had the strongest connection to the FDR Memorial. There was something about it that made the man (who has always seemed so larger than life) very approachable—almost too approachable. I noticed that certain parts of the bronze sculptures were shiny—a sure sign that people have been touching the sculptures. Even though I know better, I couldn’t help but reach out and touch these shiny parts—Eleanor Roosevelt’s clasped hands, FDR’s knee, Fala’s ears, and a hand-print in the column commemorating the Tennessee Valley Authority. In doing this, I felt an instant connection with all the visitors who came to the monument before me, and as a result, felt an even greater connection to the actual site itself.
School's Out! (Almost)
Yesterday afternoon, I met with teachers and students in Gordon, Texas and was informed by both groups that there are only thirty-two more days left until summer break (not that they are counting or anything). The thought of summer break (even for those of us who don’t experience one) is truly a wonderful thing. As you dream of summer and what you will do with those long, lazy days check out our new calendar of summer programs. You will find that there is something for everyone to enjoy.
Also remember that guided tours of the permanent collection take place Thursday through Sunday at 2 p.m. and tours of the special exhibition Marsden Hartley and the West: The Search for an American Modernism (on view from June 14 to August 28) will take place Thursday through Sunday at 3:30 p.m.
Before it gets too warm outside, you may want to take advantage of our self-guided tour, Art Walking in the Cultural District, which explores the many outdoor sculptures that are on view in this area. Once the heat hits, the kids may want to stay inside and read a good book. Check out this list of fun childrens’ books that relate to our collection.
I look forward to seeing you around the museum!
Snapshot!
On Friday, the KERA Arts + Culture Blog mentioned an article in the May 1 issue of The New York Review of Books that looks at American snapshots as seen in our current exhibition, The Art of the American Snapshot, 1888-1978: From the Collection of Robert E. Jackson. If you haven’t already seen the exhibition, make time to do so this week as it closes on Sunday.
Polaroid Shake Up
Like many people, I was shocked to hear that the Polaroid Corporation had decided to discontinue the production of all instant film. This film has become a mainstay of museum education programming and I have yet to find a satisfying substitute. So I was heartened to hear about the Save Polaroid movement. Take a moment to visit the site to find out what you can do to save instant film before it disappears.
Collection Connections
My little family is headed to Washington, DC this weekend. Being the good educator that I am, I have been re-reading brochures, maps, and guide books that I picked up on previous visits and compiling the information into an “art tour” that will engage my history/science buff husband and seven-month old daughter—I like a challenge. In the course of my reading, I found a connection between the Carter’s Benediction, the Lincoln Memorial, and a marble quarry in Colorado (these are not my pictures) that my family visited on a previous family vacation. This inspired me to learn more about Daniel Chester French and his other sculptures. This treasure hunt may be the basis of our next family vacation.
Weekend Plans
While you are at the museum this weekend viewing the collections and special exhibitions and taking advantage of the many free public programs, you may want to pop over to the Fort Worth Community Art Center to see the exhibition: Cynthia Brants: Beyond the Circle which is on view from April 4 to April 19. Tyler Green has some nice things to say about Cynthia’s work on his blog today.
Decision 2008 Update
The “election” continues to stay the course with Dash for the Timber holding on to the lead. Is it time for a change? Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Ten Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Eight Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
The painting tells a story
Fairlle LaForge, 35
Fort Worth, Texas
Seven Votes
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
Five Votes Each
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
I love the color and how simple the painting is yet it is unique.
Tiffani Raglon, 25
Keller, Texas
It is such a small treasure! Reproductions do not do it justice. In person, you notice that the background is actually a dark blue which plays beautifully against the orange of the fruit. The white paper that wraps the fruit is elegant and lyrical!
Courtney D. Morfeld, 28
Baltimore, Maryland
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
So real!
Mary Lynn Lively, 51
Dolores, Colorado
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
There are many lovely pieces, of course, but recently I was drawn to this sculpture. It is about an emotional topic, and is pleasing to the senses—shiny, smooth, beautifully executed. I cried.
Carolyn Allen, 73
Benbrook, Texas
Four Votes Each
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
It reminds me of my childhood home state of Rhode Island. The artist captured the color and the light of the state.
Oliver Frid, 31
Denton, Texas
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
Three Votes Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Two Votes Each
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
I like horses and I like sculptures, but not scary things.
Katherine Bullard, 4
Fort Worth, Texas
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
The sculpture makes me want to be an artist.
Katherine Moloney, 50+
Fort Worth, Texas
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
Because of the richness of the color, the amount of detail, all of the symbolism, and the foreshadowing given the fall of Eden on the right side.
Hayley Bagwell, 20
Fort Worth, Texas
The detail was almost endless—astounding beauty.
Tim Wellman, 20
Quincey, Illinois
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
Stuart Davis
Chinatown
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Marsden Hartley
American Indian Symbols
I love the American Indian Symbols work of art because it is bold and peeks into the history of time through the first tepee. The Indian inside is constrained and tied with a blocked confinement on each side—the black hole in the distance and the black tile on the right for time and finality.
Sherry Livingston, 57
Arlington, Texas
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
This is my favorite piece of art because there is so much detail and so much going on! From the beagles on the small boats, to the horses in the water with the people holding on to their saddles, I could probably look at it again and find another interesting detail. The artist shows detail even in the background. The contrast of light is very cool. I like this painting a lot.
Adam Thomas, 9
Keller, Texas
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
This is my favorite work of art because I like Remington and his style. I like the contrast in the painting with white and black and also how one side is so hectic and the other side so calm. I also like that there are different time periods in it. The man on the bike is one time period and the stagecoach is another. I like how realistic it looks and how the man remains calm while the horses are out of control.
Allison, 12
Keller, Texas
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
Frederic Edwin Church
New England Landscape
My dad is from New England (Maine) and my mom is from Goldthwaite, Texas. That makes me biracial. This reminds me of the art I saw in Maine, a combination of old in a new way.
Gwen Maharg, 47
San Marcos, Texas
William M. Harnett
Ease
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
Winslow Homer
Crossing the Pasture
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Louise Nevelson
Lunar Landscape Wall
I like the individual forms and how they work together to create a unified whole through the black paint. I also like Wrapped Orangesfor the complexity of the painting, especially the delicacy of the paper and the textures of the oranges.
Kim Harvell, 43
Arlington, VA
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
John Frederick Peto
A Closet Door
The depth perception with shadows and space is outstanding.
Leonard L. Livingston, 71
Arlington, Texas
Frederic Remington
Coming Through the Rye
Frederic Remington
The Old Stage Coach of the Plains
It appeals to my imagination. I can hear the tack rattle and the leathers rub. It must have been so quiet.
Cindy Heffley, 43
Rhome, Texas
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
A Bronc Twister
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
Behind the Seen
See the first-ever documentary on Winslow Homer, one of America’s most revered artists, at the Carter this Saturday April 12 at 1:30 p.m. Written and directed by award-winning PBS documentary filmmaker Steve Ross, Winslow Homer: Society and Solitude has been called: “a visual feast that does what few art documentaries manage to do—bring us closer to the objects.” Ross will be on hand to answer questions. Admission is free, but please register at 817.989.5057.
Celebrate Earth Day Early
Join us this Sunday for the Carter’s second annual Earth Day Family Fun Day
Take part in the following fun activities:
•Discover how American artists have advocated for the Earth through an interactive gallery activity.
•Re-purpose recycled materials through fun-filled art-making activities.
•Read, read, and read some more! Story times start at 1:00 and end at 4:00. Every half hour a different book brings artworks to life, and is followed by fun activities that both parents and children can enjoy.
•Decorate a canvas Bullseye bag that you can use and re-use over and over again, and have your photo taken with Bullseye, the Target mascot, who will be here to help us celebrate!
Dave Hickey in the house!
Noted art critic, author, and native son Dave Hickey will be at the Carter tomorrow for a lecture on mid-century American culture and Fort Worth. Unfortunately we are booked solid for this talk, but there is some good news to report. This lecture will be recorded and anyone can make an appointment with our library and listen to the audio tape anytime the reading room is open to the public.
Bror Utterances
Get to know the artists featured in the exhibition Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s by reading stories from those who knew and were inspired by them.
Memories of Bror Utter
Remembering Bror is looking at a brightly stained memory of the 50s: Scheduled weekly Monday afternoon meetings at the Woman’s Club Studio. In good weather our class might be called to meet at a series of surprise locations. We might gather on a knoll off the main roads with a view of Leonard’s warehouse, Purina Mills, The Gladney Home or under the trees in Trinity Park. One favorite place was an isolated street of row houses behind the Westchester House and often in the Museum area with its crisp view of the Fort Worth skyline or sitting on the grass sketching and painting carriage houses behind The All Church Home. On rare occasions the group gathered at Bror’s studio on a short street off Montgomery that is now part of the University of North Texas Health Science Center.
As for a teacher: Bror was the ultimate, encouraging us to try ideas and methods we were incapable of doing. And to our surprise, we found success where we would never have ventured. His classes were a true example of collective consciousness at work. In retrospect, I knew then and I know now, he could have taught a broom to paint.
Bror’s sense of humor made us refer to “Bror Utterances” as a possible book title for quotes from him. One of my favorite quotes blossomed when he was describing a shrimp dish he had prepared for friends. As for seasoning he used just enough curry so that you could not taste it—an expression I still use and always give him full credit.
Bror is/was the good part of life that lasts. His ability to help us see the shapes of beauty in trees, rocks, the old as well as the new is/was a priceless gift I use often. Even now when I look as trees, I squint my eyes to reduce them to geometric figures of triangles, circles, rectangles all combining to model another imagined painting.
Bror was the essence of poet Richard Wilbur’s closing lines in Poplar, Sycamore:
“My eye will never know the dry disease of thinking things no more than what he sees.”
Naomi Stroud Simmons
Fort Worth, Texas
Bror Utter taught art classes at the Woman’s club in what was once a carriage house behind the club. Both junior members and senior members shared the facility on different days. We sat on stools which we brought from home, our paints and supplies were on the floor beside us. A ladder led up to the loft where there may have been left over hay for horses.
Bror always referred to my class as his therapy group: not his therapy, but his students’, for we were all young mothers with small children, and we needed all the peace and quiet we could get.
Someone recently asked me what he looked like. I remember him as a rather short, nice looking young man with a very pleasant manner about him.
The art studio behind the Woman’s Club is a far cry now from what it was then. Today it is a first class facility for the many members of the art department. And the loft upstairs is a second floor where the Bror Utter Library is located, having many art books given to the library. On the stairs is a picture painted by Bror plus a note thanking the members for naming the library for him. This department is the largest in the Woman’s Club and its members show their work several times during the year. In Bror’s memory, I keep the accession book and process donated books as they come in.
Jeanne Summers
Fort Worth, Texas
Do you have a story about the artists or artworks in Intimate Modernism that you would like to share? Mail it to Education Department, Amon Carter Museum, 3501 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, Texas 76107 or e-mail nora.puckett@cartermusuem.org.
Decision 2008 Update (March 29)
Our “election” continues to “stay the course” with Dash for the Timber holding on to the lead. Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Ten Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Remington’s masterpiece is almost like a motion picture still. I’m looking at the print on the wall of my office and the black horse on the right, nostrils flaring, looks like he will ride right out of the frame and over my desk! The painting has action, drama, motion, and an amazing sense of urgency. Sometimes I think I see it as a metaphor that we’re all being chased by something, so we’d better pray for fast horses and accurate friends!
Brad Potter, 50
Fort Worth, Texas
Seven Votes Each
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
I love the way it is painted and I love the humor behind it.
Kelly Smith, 24
Denton, Texas
Five Votes Each
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
Four Votes Each
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Using classical three point composition to point out the glory of young flesh, the eroticism and the historicism merging and matching, in an orgy of American optimistic symbolism, hotter than hot.
Anthony Easton, 27
Edmonton
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
As a portraitist, I find that every time I view this magnificent work I learn something new to take back to my studio.
WT Nichols, 61
Abilene, Texas
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Three Votes Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
because it has a lot of brite colors
Lucia Heffley, 9
Rhome, Texas
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
It appeals to my love of 17th-century Dutch art (even though it’s an American 19th-century work)
Lori, 54
Fort Worth, Texas
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Two Votes Each
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
Stuart Davis
Chinatown
(The) color pallet (is) amazing (and) roughness of brushstrokes
Courtney Vester, 18
Haslet, Texas
Dirtiness, darkness, society’s human rejects and realism and idealism
Ted Sei, 18
Grapevine, Texas
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
The first thing that strikes me about this painting is that it’s just formally beautiful…but I also get a real sense of place when looking at it. Through Demuth’s eyes, I truly see and connect with this place that was so important to him in a way that I otherwise would not.
Stacy Fuller, 28
Fort Worth, Texas
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
William M. Harnett
Ease
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
Winslow Homer
Crossing the Pasture
This painting is my favorite at the Carter because it always makes me remember my father’s story from his childhood in the 1890s. As he walked—barefoot—across a pasture on his way to the one-room Cedar Grove schoolhouse in Union Hollow, Lincoln County, Tennessee, he would “kick up” a cow and stand where she had been lying to warm his feet
Carolyn Whitaker Crowley, 76
Fort Worth, Texas
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
Frederic Remington
Coming Through the Rye
It lives-breathes movement
Steve Ziegler
Dallas, Texas
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
A Bronc Twister
Dr. Rick Stewart authenticated the one our family had and sold last year. Please consider Dr. Stewart as being voted one of your most valuable assets. He took the time to examine the bronze, listen to many of the stories about the bronze and my family history, write a letter of opinion about our most cherished family heirloom, and even had lunch with me. Our Bronc Twister bronze had been in the family for 90 years and I hated that we decided to sell it.
Adam G. Thomson, III, 52
Canton, North Carolina
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
Neither Paintings nor Sculpture, but Still Favorites
Arthur Dove
Team of Horses
It’s the best of both worlds: representational and abstract. Dove captures the essence of his subject. You see the curve of the horses’ necks, and feel the power of their impulsion, all in the strokes of pastel.
Eleanor Harvey
Washington, D.C.
Winslow Homer
Blyth Sands
Homer was an extraordinary painter and, perhaps, an even better draftsman. Blyth Sands demonstrates his skill in composition and he rendered his forms in black, gray and white while still maintaining visual interest. Glancing through the highlights of the works on paper collection, this composition presented itself as the unmistakable work of Winslow Homer.
Maya, 22
Orinda, California
If These Walls Could Talk
I have been in and out of the office lately and almost missed this entry on KERA’s Arts + Culture Blog. Thanks for mentioning us and for the good ideas.
Speaking of NPR, I am a big fan of Vocal Impressions, a segment that periodically shows up during All Things Considered. For those of you who are not familiar with this segment, VI asks listeners to provide word pictures that are brought to mind by distinctive voices. Yesterday, I was thrilled to see that my response to the voice of Andy Devine made it on the VI Web page. It got me to thinking, if our works of art could talk what would their voices sound like? I am going to give this some thought and encourage you to post your responses too.
Decision 2008 Tally (as of March 24, 2008)
Make your voice heard at the Carter. Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Nine Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Seven Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
Five Votes
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
What’s not to love? Grant Wood’s use of color and form, his treatment of space and scale, and of course the Gilbert Stuart head on the child’s body and the fringe of cherries on the drapery. But above all, the humorous deconstruction of one of America’s great national myths
Katie Solender, 53
Dallas, Texas
Four Votes
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Its a mobile
Molly, 4
Aledo, Texas
I love the movement, the change in the shadows on the walls, the sense of fun. I always smile when I see it.
Melissa Thompson, 51
Fort Worth, Texas
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
I think Singer Sargent is one of the best portrait painters ever, and amongst the top 5 painters who originate from the U.S.
Bernard Victor, 74
London, England
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Three Votes
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
Two Votes
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
The artist’s use of light and majestic scenery speaks to all that needs saving in the American West!
Luke F., 19
Portland, Oregon
Stuart Davis
Blips and Ifs
I am drawn to this particular painting because it hints at a very sarcastic approach and response from Davis to his relentless critics. His bold colors and bold approach attract me to this painting.
Aubrey, 19
Charlotte, North Carolina
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
The contrast between the dark and light is powerful given what the country was going through around the time this was painted. The symbolism of the lightening bolt dividing the canvas and the ships still weathering the storm suggests the aftermath of the Civil War and the hard times some of the people were going through.
Katherine, 28
Arlington, Texas
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
My favorite painting at the Carter is a truly Western painting: Georgia O’Keeffe’s Black Patio Door from 1955. It’s one of many ‘patio door’ paintings O’Keeffe made in northern New Mexico, and one of the most abstract. (No surprise there: O’Keeffe was America’s first great abstract painter.)
Tyler Green
Washington, D.C.
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
Depicts the bravery and love his horse in the face of destruction.
James C. Heatwole, 70
Denton, Texas
One Vote
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
Alexander Stirling Calder
An American Stoic
The simplicity and beauty of the lines-I just love looking at it.
Joan Wells, 61
Fort Worth, Texas
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
Charles Demuth
Chimney and Water Tower
When I think of American painting, I think of grandiose landscapes illustrating manifest destiny and quite frankly it bores me.
J.A. Casey, 21
Detroit, Michigan
William M. Harnett
Ease
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
Frederic Remington
Coming Through the Rye
It lives-breathes movement
Steve Ziegler
Dallas, Texas
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
Neither Paintings nor Sculpture, but Still Favorites
Carlotta Corpron
Bisymmetric Design
I love this photo not only for the way it looks, but also for its history. The abstraction and composition are intriguing, but it just amazes me that Corpron made these in Denton (of all places!) with Moholoy-Nagy (of all people!) way back in the 1940s. I called Denton home for several years and love the Bauhaus aesthetic, so I feel a real connection to this work.
Jana Hill, 33
Fort Worth, Texas
Arthur Dove
Team of Horses
Because it brilliantly communicates energy, force, and motion through repetition of a few simple forms.
Scott Winterrowd, 37
Dallas, Texas
Robert Glenn Ketchum
Cosmic Trees
The colors are amazing and I’ve always loved nature photography.
Katherine Moloney, 55
Fort Worth, Texas
Decision 2008 Receives an Endorsement
Decision 2008 received an important endorsement from Tyler Green who mentioned our little project in the Friday edition of his blog ArtsJournal’s Modern Art Notes. Thank you, Tyler, for helping us “get out the vote!”
Decision 2008
A belated thank you to Glasstire for featuring Decision 2008 on their Monday homepage. See how your favorite work of art is faring in the polls.
Decision 2008 Update
Tally as of March 20
The Texas Primaries are over, but you still have an opportunity to make your voice heard at the Carter. Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Nine Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Seven Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
Five Votes
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
I love the colors of Georgia O’Keeffe and how she reduces the detail to an art form.
Anonymous
Denton, Texas
Four Votes Each
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
The artwork is skillfully and beautifully done, but more importantly, the circumstances under which the work was done is so poignant—a major historical event.
Morris Matson, 80
Fort Worth, Texas
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
I grew up in Fort Worth, but never had the chance to tour the Carter until I moved back as an adult. I am a fan of Grant Wood, and had no idea that an original Wood was at the Amon Carter until I walked into the front gallery and found it staring me in the face. I quickly purchased a print and now have it displayed over my fireplace. What makes the work even more fun for my wife and I is that she is a presidential historian, and having artwork by our favorite artist about her favorite subject is a plus.
Ryan Crowe, 29
Fort Worth, Texas
Three Votes Each
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
It is a tough decision! Frederic Remington is one of my favorite artists and I love his “Dash for the Timber” and “The Grass Fire.” Although, I just have thing for portraits, too, and John Singer Sargent’s soft and gentle “Alice Vandervilt Shepard” wins over all.
Candy Prather, 52
Rockwall, Texas
Two Votes Each
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
I love the placid atmosphere that the scene evokes. Since I am very fond of New England and the Boston area, this rendering triggers pleasant memories.
Virginia Cothran, 71
Fort Worth, Texas
William J. McCloskey
Wrapped Oranges
Frederic Remington
The Cowboy
Frederic Remington
Ridden Down
1970, single parent, 2 small boys; they grew up in the A. Carter. The despair and courage embodied in this painting have “spoken” to me, inspired me, comforted me, given me strength.
Ms. Pat Colonna, 68
Denton, Texas
Depicts the bravery and love his horse in the face of destruction.
James C. Heatwole, 70
Denton, Texas
One Vote Each
Saul Baizerman
Cantata
Paul Bartlett
Bear Cub Grooming
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
Alexander Calder
Studies for Amon Carter Museum Plaza
This is my favorite one because it looks like a dog and I like dogs very mush.
Chryslyn B. Perkins, 8
Decatur, Texas
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
William M. Harnett
Ease
[I] always enjoy contrasts and realism. Trompe l’oeil is fascinating.
Miriam E. Ferguson, 38
Denton, Texas
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Georgia O’Keeffe
Series I – No. 1
This is my favorite art because it is very beautiful.
Kirsten E. Wunrow, 8
Decatur, Texas
William T. Ranney
Marion Crossing the Pee Dee
It has brightness and shows color.
Anonymous, 8
Lubbock, Texas
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Severin Roesen
Still Life of Flowers and Fruit with a River Landscape in the Distance
Charles M. Russell
Counting Coup
The action, motion, and balance are the best I have ever seen!
Jim Clark, (age not given)
Fort Worth, Texas
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
Decision 2008
Tally (as of March 11)
The Texas Primaries are over, but you still have an opportunity to make your voice heard at the Carter. Take a moment to cast a vote for your favorite painting and sculpture in the museum’s collection, and then check back to see how your favorite fares in the polls:
Nine Votes
Frederic Remington
A Dash for the Timber
Its realism and use of shadows and colors make this work come to life. Vivid facial expression on both men and horses make you feel [like] you are there.
Frank Hillgardner, 61
Arlington, Texas
I can feel the excitement. [I] love the way the horses look. You can see their speed—the fear in their eyes. You just know this isn’t the first time these cowboys have made a run for it.
Sharon Hillgardner, 65
Arlington, Texas
Dynamic, detailed, focused, narrative, historic and beautiful by a master artist
Norman S. Hoyt, 21+
Fort Worth, Texas
Five Votes
Thomas Cole
The Hunter’s Return
I’m all for nature and that picture had to do with all of it. It being fall, the crops, their log cabin, and the lake was pretty neat.
Lindsey Carey, 18
Mineral Wells, Texas
It was a very good representation of man’s struggle against the wild and how people are just a small part of the world.
Chad Gore, 18
Mineral Wells, Texas
Four Votes
Georgia O’Keeffe
White Birch
It is colorful and fits my style.
Megan Trainham, 18
Mineral Wells, Texas
Three Votes Each
Thomas Moran
Cliffs of Green River
The exquisite hues of the background mountains and the reflections of the river bed are reminiscent of Turner’s best works. The painting stirs the soul.
Preston Matthiesen, 59
Fort Worth, Texas
John Quincy Adams Ward
The Freedman
Two Votes Each
Thomas Eakins
Swimming
I grew up with this painting at the 1939 library building, [when I] started to work there in 1945 in the art and music department.
Judge Kenneth Jackson, 77
Fort Worth, Texas
When I was 12 years old, I took this work off the wall at the Fort Worth Public Library [and] walked over to a window and looked intently at the painting. A Librarian asked me what I was doing. “Studying,” I replied. She said, “Be sure to hang it back.”
Larry Kleinschmidt, 60+
Fort Worth, Texas
Daniel Chester French
Benediction
John Singer Sargent
Alice Vanderbilt Shepard
It’s beautiful!
Frank Goss, 81
Fort Worth, Texas
I like Impressionism in art—I could have chosen any of the works of this period, but this is such a beautiful, sensitive portrait.
Rosemary Romine, 81
Grant Wood
Parson Weems’ Fable
When you know the whole story behind George Washington and the cherry tree, this painting is funny. It encompasses the whole idea of Parson Weems and his intentions behind publishing the pamphlet about George Washington. Wood is able to make me laugh every time I see the painting and think about the myth he created around America’s most celebrated president.
Heidi Kloempken, 23
Kasson, Minnesota
One Vote Each
Albert Bierstadt
Sunrise, Yosemite Valley
I like all of Albert Bierstadt’s work. [It is] very realistic and pretty.
Tom Romine, 82
Fort Worth, Texas
Alexander Calder
[Untitled]
I love the way this art piece moves and changes in front of you. I also like how the shadows become part of the piece.
Kim Goss, 26
Mansfield, Texas
Thomas Cole
The Garden of Eden
I am interested in Biblical stories and detailed art.
Jackson Maples, 11
Fort Worth, Texas
Marsden Hartley
Provincetown Abstraction
[I] love the simple lines and abstract lines.
Linda Hill, 64
Cresson, Texas
Martin Johnson Heade
Thunder Storm on Narragansett Bay
Martin Johnson Heade
Two Hummingbirds above a White Orchid
David Johnson
Eagle Cliff, Franconia Notch, New Hampshire
Fitz Henry Lane
Boston Harbor
Georgia O’Keeffe
Dark Mesa and Pink Sky
I love all of Georgia O’Keeffe’s works. This is my favorite of the works displayed.
Pam Aust, 50
Fort Worth, Texas
Georgia O’Keeffe
Black Patio Door
Is there a more simple composition—in line, color, and comprehension? It stays with me. (I love the new way it is exhibited]
Carolyn, P. Norgand, (age not provided)
Argyle, Texas
Frederic Remington
Through the Smoke Sprang the Daring Soldier
Frederic Remington
The Right of the Road
1. I love that it is in black and white—that makes it unique.
2. Having raised horses who also were suspicious of bikes, it makes me laugh.
CJ Noell, 55
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Frederic Remington
The Rattlesnake
A bit of humor exists; you wouldn’t expect a horse to be spooked by a rattlesnake, but even a horse recognizes the warning sign of a rattler. Of all the works of the permanent collection, this piece is what I first think of.
Brett D. Henery, 28
Houston, Texas
Frederic Remington
The Grass Fire
Ben Shahn
World’s Greatest Comics
This is ONE of my favorite paintings. I think everyone has both pleasant and painful memories from their childhoods, and this image instills in me that mild sense of alienation and loneliness that we probably all had when we felt left out. I like the geometric patterns of school’s windows superimposed by the angular lines of the swing set…love it actually.
Carol Noel, 43
Fort Worth, Texas
Morton Livingston Schamberg
Figure
It’s very bright and fun! And I’m a happy person so I just like it!
Amanda Merry, 18
Mineral Wells, Texas
In the Circle
A few weeks ago, we gave visitors the opportunity to share stories about the artists in the Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s exhibition. Here are a few of the responses that we received:
Talking as he entered the door, arms flailing and excitement in his voice, Bror [Utter] entered the art studio at the Fort Worth Woman’s Club. “I have just seen the funniest movie ever,” he said. “You must go see A New Leaf with Walter Mathau.” That being enough chit chat before class, he encouraged us with his knowledge of painting with watercolor.
Bror was an interesting conversationalist—well, he did most of the talking but it was worth lending an ear. He was a diligent reader and shared with us his enthusiasm for historical writings.
To sit and listen to Bror was an education. He often shared non-art related ideas. One such: ‘when drying clean lettuce with a paper towel, hang the towel to dry for future use.’ To follow his art instruction was indeed, a privilege. His intuitive way of presenting technique was such that you never forgot what he said. (Of course, putting it in practice was something else.)
Among my blessings, I count my encounter with Bror Utter. It pleases me greatly to have him remembered and honored by the Amon Carter Museum.
Charlene J. Baker
Fort Worth, Texas
During the late sixties and early seventies I was a member of the Junior Woman’s Club art department and Bror [Utter] taught our classes each week. He was always very considerate of our feeble attempts and never embarrassed any of us, and he was always generous with his knowledge and assistance. Each of us developed a great deal of affection for him.
We would take turns bringing rolls for the class, and he would joke that those were his breakfast. As he had no car of his own he would take a taxi to the class and then get a ride home from one of us. At one point he had indulged in an extravagance by having a studio built at his home. He was so proud of it as it was just as he had planned and was something which he had always dreamed of. Unfortunately, not too long after it was completed, the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine expanded northward and took in his property, building a large addition to their complex. This was a very bitter disappointment for Bror.
I was fortunate enough to purchase from him two prints. We keep them on our walls and enjoy them both for their beauty and also because of my memories of a very kind, gracious, and talented person.
Violet Wickes
Fort Worth, Texas
I was a writer for the now defunct Tarrant County Arts Alliance from 1988 until 1993, mainly interviewing local artists within the organization, until I heard from a friend about Bror Utter setting up an interview. While he was reluctant for he’d never heard of me, agreed to meet at his apartment located where the Modern Art Museum is now.
[I remember] noticing paintings on the walls, on the floor, a stack of etchings on a table. [I] don’t recall the [answers to my] several questions other than his influences, one being Cézanne. He also enjoyed music like Bessie Smith, the Beatles, and Rolling Stones.
He was having problems with his VCR, which he asked if I could adjust and doing so, he turned around, picked out an etching from the middle of the stack, signed it and handed it to me.
[I am] sorry to say the interview never made it to press. Sadly the alliance broke-up shortly after the interview.
Jesse F. Garcia
Fort Worth, Texas
My friendship with Bror Utter began in 1953 when I started studying with him, a relationship which lasted [the rest of his] life. I was invited to many of his parties and exhibitions he held at his studio. One Christmas he asked if I would provide the music for his party, so I borrowed a small field organ from First Christian Church where I was organist-director of music. At the party Flora [Reeder] sat down at the instrument and began improvising on some music from the Reeders Children Theatre productions when Dick [Reeder] loudly said, “Flora, get up and let Stanley play the organ!” To which she replied, “I’m not letting Stanley play the organ.”
At one of the Reeder’s Christmas parties several musicians and I were invited. And in comes Cynthia Brants with much gusto and a contraption she called a “gut bucket.” It included a small wash tub, turned over, with a broom handle attached to the edge of the bottom to which a heavy cord was tied to the other end of the handle to the bucket. By moving the handle and “plucking” the cord a drone sound was produced and resonated with the tub, the pitch depended on how loose or tight the cord was driven. You can imagine the hilarity which was created by Cynthia plucking away on her gut bucket in concert with the other musicians.
When Raymond Entenmann was director of the Modern Museum, Monday nights were “members night” which included exhibitions, demonstrations, lectures, movies or even musical concerts. At one particular event Kelly Fearing, who was teaching at the University in Austin, had sponsored a chamber music group from the Music Department there which included his friend Verna Harder who was the pianist. After a very exciting number which drew much applause, Bror Utter audibly exclaimed, “Harder, Verna.”
Stanley Shepelwich
Fort Worth, Texas
Marjorie Johnson Lee—I loved her art work. I gave her an art show at the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine and worked with her on a show at 414 Templeton. She and I had a wonderful evening with Flora Reeder at an art show reception at the Old Modern. She was a talented lady and I was so pleased to see her art displayed in this show.
Bror Utter—He was my teacher at the Junior Woman’s Club and the Woman’s Club. He gave me permission to write up some of his painting methods. He told me that I was a creative painter and this is the way that my paintings began to evolve, studying with other teachers in the United States. We had many wonderful parties at his home and studio. He was such a “class act” in taste.
Jo Ann Fanning Durham
Fort Worth, Texas
Do you have a story about the artists or artworks in the Intimate Modernism: Fort Worth Circle Artists in the 1940s exhibition that you would like to share? I invite you to send them to us.