DEL.ICIO.USAJC TRAVEL NEWS
Columbia, S.C. beckons with master paintings ‘Turner to Cezanne’
For The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, April 12, 2009
“Turner to Cézanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales” is a compilation of more than 50 works, including several Impressionist and Post-Impressionist paintings never exhibited in the United States before, on display through June 7 at the Columbia Museum of Art.
American Federation of Arts and National Museum Wales
‘The François Zola Dam’ by Paul Cézanne is now universally recognized as a masterpiece. But when Gwendoline Davies sought to lend it to two leading British galleries in the early 20th century, the offer was initially rejected.
American Federation of Arts
‘La Parisienne’ by Pierre-Auguste Renoir is one of the acclaimed works on display in Columbia, S.C..
American Federation of Arts
Claude Monet. He painted several visions of Venice, including The Palazzo Dario (pictured), from 1908. ‘Turner to Cezanne’ also includes one of Monet’s famous Waterlilies paintings and his Charing Cross Bridge.
American Federation of Arts
Rain-Auvers is the only work by van Gogh which the Davies sisters owned, but it is typical of their purchases. They tended to collect pictures of landscapes, or people in landscapes, rather than cafe scenes or urban pictures.
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South Carolina’s capital is the first stop in a five-city, 15-month tour of the show, notable not only for featuring heavy hitters such as Monet, Renoir and van Gogh, but because it boasts a back story as intriguing as a 1970s episode of “Connections.”
In that documentary series, host James Burke, clad in a memorable white leisure suit, illustrated how a series of bizarre associations could link a distant historical event, like Napoleon’s march across Europe, to a modern milestone, such as the invention of space rockets.
With “Turner to Cézanne,” organized by the American Federation of Arts and the National Museum Wales, the question is: What is the connection between coal mining, Welsh spinsters, Calvinistic Methodism, Columbian philanthropists and the U.S. premiere of seminal works such as “Effect of Snow at Petit-Montrouge,” Édouard Manet’s first Impressionist painting?
The tale dates to 1890, with the death of David Davies, who had become extremely wealthy by building coal mines and railroad tracks in Wales. When his granddaughters Gwendoline and Margaret Davies received their inheritance, they poured much of the family fortune into a prescient collection of European art that spans the mid-19th to early 20th centuries.
“This exhibition shows you the development of French Modern art, starting with [British painter J.M.W.] Turner,” said Karen Brosius, executive director of the Columbia Museum of Art. “He was one of the first to use rapid brush strokes. Monet was incredibly inspired by him.”
The Davies sisters, who both remained unmarried until their deaths in the mid-20th century, were among Britain’s earliest champions of Impressionism and of artists such as Honoré Daumier and Paul Cézanne, occasionally bucking their advisers and the received wisdom of art critics. In fact, when Gwendoline offered to lend Cézanne’s “The François Zola Dam” to the National Gallery and the Tate Gallery in London in the 1920s, it was initially rejected as being too modern.
Today, the American Federation of Art’s Lisa Small, who helped coordinate the tour, counts “The François Zola Dam” as one of the show’s most significant pieces. “Cézanne is often seen as this link moving from Impressionism, previewing what would occur later with Cubism and more Modernist artists like Matisse,” she says, “because his way of painting — his marks, his brushwork — collapse form and space together.”
Other highlights include “La Parisienne,” which Pierre-Auguste Renoir exhibited at the first Impressionist exhibition in 1874, and Vincent van Gogh’s “Rain — Auvers.” “Van Gogh had a technique borrowed from the Japanese, drawing rain drops as slashing dark lines, that was very modern for the time,” Brosius said. “It was painted shortly before he killed himself. You can see the melancholy.”
These paintings weren’t just trophy pieces for the Davies sisters to hang on their walls. “They felt very strongly that they had an obligation to bring art to people less fortunate than themselves,” said Oliver Fairclough, keeper of art at the National Museum Wales and curator of the touring exhibit. The sisters, whose Calvinistic Methodist faith emphasizes social and educational issues, bequeathed some 260 works to the National Museum Wales and also lent pieces liberally during their lifetimes.
“In 1913, not only did they loan their entire collection to the museum, but they met all the costs,” Fairclough said. “We could use a few more like that today.”
It’s particularly fitting, then, that philanthropists should rescue the exhibition for Columbia. “It seemed to be out of our financial reach,” Brosius recalled. “But one of our board members, Melissa Blanchard, and her husband, Joe, gave us a very substantial grant. With that commitment, we were able to step up to the plate.”
No doubt the Davies sisters would have approved.
IF YOU GO
“Turner to Cézanne.” Through June 7 at the Columbia Museum of Art, 1515 Main St., Columbia, 803-799-2810. www.columbiamuseum.org.
10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Thursdays and 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Fridays, 1-5 p.m. Sundays. Closed major holidays. $15 adults; $12 seniors, military and students; free for members and children under 6. Reservations recommended.
WHERE TO STAY
The Whitney Hotel. The all-suites hotel provides a complimentary breakfast buffet. Located in the downtown neighborhood of Shandon. Rates from $109. 700 Woodrow St. Columbia; 803-252-0845, 1-800-637-4008, www.whitneyhotel.com.
The Inn at Claussen’s. Boutique hotel in Five Points, walking distance to restaurants, bars and shops. Rates start at $125. 2003 Greene St., Columbia; 1-866-539-8430.
WHERE TO EAT
Hennessy’s. Upscale dining on new American cuisine at a landmark restaurant. Entrees start at $16.95. 1649 Main St., Columbia; 803-799-8280, www.hennessyssc.com.
Mr. Friendly’s New Southern Cafe. Upscale creative cuisine in a casual setting. Located in Five Points. Entrees start at $16.95. 2001-A Greene St., Columbia; 803-254-7828; www.mrfriendlys.com.
Maurice’s Gourmet Barbeque. The place to go for traditional South Carolina-style barbecue, slathered with a sweet-and-tangy mustard-based sauce. 800 Elmwood Ave., Columbia; 803-256-4377; and other locations; www.mauricesbbq.com.
MORE INFORMATION
Columbia Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau. www.columbiacvb.com, 1-800-264-4884.
TOUR SCHEDULE
Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia; through June 7
Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Oklahoma City; June 25-Sept. 20
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, N.Y.; Oct. 8-Jan. 3
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington; Jan. 30-April 25, 2010
Albuquerque Museum of Art & History, Albuquerque, N.M.; May 16-Aug. 8, 2010
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