The New Britain Museum of American Art is pleased to present the exhibition Masterpieces of The Sanford B.D. Low Illustration Collection, opening on July 8.

Consisting of over 80 works by approximately 70 artists, this presentation represents a small yet exceptional portion of the Museum’s nearly 1,800-piece Low Illustration Collection. The Museum’s first director, Sanford B.D. Low, was an advocate for illustration who led the New Britain Museum of American Art to become one of the first institutions to recognize illustration as a fine art rather than merely an instrument of commerce.

Providing a veritable history of American illustration, the exhibition spotlights works by groundbreaking artists such as Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, N.C. Wyeth, Howard Pyle, and many others. These artists skillfully captured American values in story, advertisement, and cover illustrations for publications such as Scribner’s Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post.

David Blossom
Benedict Arnold, n.d., Acrylic polymer on board, 22 x 29 in. ,Gift of David Blossom, 1987.26.LIC

Frederic Sackrider Remington
Infantryman in Field Costume, 1890, Watercolor and gouache on board, 21 x 13 1/16 in. Harriet Russell Stanley Fund, 1952.16LIC

N.C. Wyeth
“One more step, Mr. Hands,” said I, “and I’ll blow your brains out!” 1911, Oil on canvas< 47 x 38 1/8 in. Harriet Russell Stanley Fund 1953.18

Richard Calkins
Buck Rodgers in the 25^th Century, National Newspaper Service, Chicago: 1936, Gouache, pen and ink, 26 ½ x 18 ¼ in., The Robert Lesser Collection, 2009.22.78LIC

Allen Anderson
Apache Flame! From Frontier Stories, Summer 1950, Oil on canvas, 30 x 20 ½ in., The Robert Lesser Collection, 2009.22.1LIC

“Masterpieces of The Sanford B.D. Low Illustration Collection”
July 8 – October 2, 2016
New Britain Museum of Amerian Art
New Britain, CT

FRAMING SPECIFICATIONS AND ADVICE

METRO GALLERY FRAME

Standard Profile: 106
Type: Standard Gallery Frame
Wood & Finish: maple wood frame with black opaque finish
Purchasing Option: joined frame with matching splines
Custom Wood Strainer: 3/4″ wood frame strainer
Framing Advice: fitting gallery frames

“I make number and text based, color oriented abstract paintings and drawings.

The paintings are created by repeating and layering the words or numbers found in the title of the piece. I use my own handwriting, fragment each letter or number and assign colors to every unit. Repeated over and over, the words become purposefully illegible, serendipitous rhythms of lines and colors in transition. I am interested in the “flow” the marks make, rather than any hint at legibility.”

I consider the Stroke Studies (2014 – present) to be joyful research and development. Although these paintings began as a possible means to add more “hand” to the grounds of my text-based paintings, they have developed into an ongoing inquiry and stand on their own as finished works. 

The exhibition is at the Pennsylvania Arts Experience (PAE). The PAE is a non-profit arts organization promoting the arts along the scenic river valleys of southeastern Pennsylvania. This region is teaming with a wide array of contemporary painters, weavers, quilters, printmakers, potters, glassblowers, woodworkers, etc., many with national or international reputations, working in unique and spectacular studios located in renovated barns or adaptively reused buildings in the small towns along the way. In addition to offering museums, galleries and studios with public hours, the PAE Artist Trail features exclusive “behind-the-scenes” tours of many of these artists’ studios not usually open to the public, allowing the visitor to interact with the artists and gain insight into their creative process, as well as providing the opportunity to help support the artists’ creative work through the direct purchase of original works of art.

PLANNING AN EXHIBITION

All good exhibits require an attention to detail and planning ahead. Making the art, ordering frames, fitting the artwork, and display are all critical to overall success of the exhibit.  Hershey has sent us some work in progress photos to document the process. I think you will agree it was worth the effort.  

A model of the exhibit is made a month before to show where each image would be hung.

Artwork is positioned on the wall and frames arrive from Metopolitan Picture Framing.

The framing proceeds. All 65 frames are fit and ready to be wired!

The finished product.

“New Strokes + Words”
June 3 – June 28, 2016
Talk: 11 am Saturday June 18th
Pennsylvania Arts Experience
York, PA

GALLERY FRAMES

Thin Profile: 114
Type: thin gallery frame
Wood & finish: maple wood frame with clear and black finishes
Purchasing Options: joined wood frame
Framing Advice: fitting gallery frames