Accredited by the American
Association of Museums, the Academy Art Museum is a fine art museum
founded in 1958 and located in historic, downtown Easton on Maryland’s
Eastern Shore. Providing national and regional exhibitions, performances,
educational programs, and both visual and performing arts classes
to adults and children, the Museum also offers a vibrant concert
and lecture series, which attracts numerous top musicians, curators
and scholars from throughout the art world. The Museum’s
Permanent Collection consists of works on paper and contemporary
works by American and European masters.
Academy Art Museum Announces Major Gift |
Officials from the Academy Art Museum announced that David H. Hickman of Washington, DC has made a promised gift of 33 paintings by nationally acclaimed artist Greg Mort. This gift represents the largest public collection of the artist’s work.
Christopher Brownawell, Director of the Museum, says, “We are extremely pleased and feel privileged to receive this very important gift. David has amassed an outstanding collection of Greg’s work. Each piece was thoughtfully selected by David and includes many of Greg’s most important painting that he has created during his celebrated career. It is a rare opportunity to build such depth. This collection will allow the Museum to develop several exhibitions as well as share these works with other museums and the public.”
“I was aware that a number of Greg’s pieces were in various museums. I talked to Carla Massoni in Chestertown and she quickly came up with the Academy Art Museum. I thought since I was born at Easton Memorial Hospital just down the street from the Museum, this would be a nice circle,” says David H. Hickman. “ My idea is that the work is now available to a wide audience. And the people will have the opportunity to experience the magic of Mort’s executions. This wide audience makes me feel great.”
Greg Mort’s professional art career began at the age of eighteen with his first museum show. Recognized today as one of America’s leading contemporary artists, his paintings are in notable collections around the world. Born near Syracuse, New York where he hiked and camped as a young person, Mort developed a lifelong fascination with the outdoors and in particular the study of astronomy, which led him to be selected by NASA to join the prestigious group of American artists, which includes Norman Rockwell, Robert Rauschenberg and Andrew Wyeth, commissioned to portray their major missions. Carl Sagan included Mort’s works in his book Pale Blue Dot: A Vision of the Human Future in Space (Ballantine Books, 1997).
“As an artist I think the Academy Art Museum nurtures cultural awareness and growth with a uniquely broad view of world class American and European art in its collection”, says Mort. “The Museum mounts dazzling exhibitions, which are equally impressive. It is indeed a privilege to have my work represented through the David H. Hickman Collection. I look forward to being part of the Museum’s exceptional cultural treasure.
Mort’s artwork is included in numerous private and public collections, including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum to name a few. He is also represented by the Carla Massoni Gallery in Chestertown, Maryland. Mort lives with his wife and two children in Ashton, Maryland and summers on the coast of Maine in the town of Port Clyde.
Selections from the David H. Hickman gift as well as other gifts from the community given in honor of the Museum’s 50th Anniversary will be included in an exhibition in the fall of 2008 – the kick-off of the Museum’s anniversary year.
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
Academy Art Museum Continues Partnership with National Gallery of Art
While the National Gallery of Art continues renovations of its American galleries, the Academy Art Museum will host Feast for the Eyes: American Masterworks from the National Gallery of Art through August 30, 2008. This very special exhibition of works on loan from the National Gallery of Art features paintings by John Frederick Peto, Joseph Decker and James Peale.
Joseph Decker, Green Plums, circa 1885. Oil on canvas, 9 x 10 15/16 inches. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, image courtesy of the Board of Trustees National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Annual Members' Exhibition
June 6 - July 19, 2008
Celebrating the artistic endeavors of its active members and represents a rich and diverse collection of work, ranging from traditional painting styles and three-dimensional pieces to contemporary treatments and mediums. Some works will be available for purchase. An Academy Art Museum tradition for almost 50 years, this year's exhibition welcomes judge Ross Merrill, Chief of Conservation at the National Gallery of Art.
Image: Rob Brownlee-Tomasso, Contopus Stamineum, acrylic & earth on canvas textured with soil from Adkins Arboretum, 42" x 51" $1,800.
Museum Unveils Young Explorer Program |
The Academy Art Museum has announced a new educational partnership with the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC. Working with the Smithsonian’s own Early Childhood Center Director, Dr. Sharon E. Schaffer, Academy Art Museum staff recently participated in a series of workshops and seminars designed to train museum educators in an exciting early childhood program used at the Smithsonian. As a model for museum-based education for young children, the Smithsonian’s Early Enrichment Center (SEEC) provides leadership within the educational community and extends its expertise through a national educational outreach of seminars, conferences and curriculum licensing and consulting. Over the coming months, the Academy Art Museum will work with Dr. Schaffer to develop a learning program for young children to be called Young Explorers at the Academy Art Museum.
The Young Explorers program, for ages 2-5, using curriculum provided by the Smithsonian, will reflect a commitment to providing an interactive, multi-sensory learning environment, placing museum objects and works of art into the center of a child’s day. Integrating the rich resources of the Academy Art Museum into this model curriculum will be the focus of the ongoing relationship formed between education staff at the Academy and The Smithsonian Early Childhood Center.
There will be an open house and registration for Young Explorers on Thursday, January 17, 2008, 7pm at the Academy Art Museum. This event will be for parents and interested adults and will include an overview of the program along with a tour of the building and classroom space. For more information, please call (410) 822-2787(ARTS).
