Date: Fri 25-Sep-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: JUDYC

Quick Words:

Espana

Full Text:

ESPANA!

w/2 cuts

NEW YORK CITY -- Hollis Taggart Galleries will present "Espana! American

Artists and the Spanish Experience" from November 12 until January 16, 1999.

Following the show's presentation in New York, the exhibition will then go to

the New Britain Museum of American Art in New Britain, Conn., with a venue

there from January 30 to April 4, 1999.

This groundbreaking exhibition will examine an aspect of late Nineteenth,

early Twentieth Century American painting that until now has received very

little attention. Spain and Spanish art -- especially the work of Velazquez,

Goya, Fortuny, and Sorolla -- played an important role in the development of

American painting. This study will reveal these influences on the work of such

artists as Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri,

Ernest Lawson, and John Singer Sargent.

American artists traveled to Spain to paint out-of-doors in the brilliant

Spanish sun and to copy the dark tonality of the Spanish masters in the Prado.

Verdant gardens, Moorish ruins, colorful toreros and dancers emerge from these

fascinating documents of the encounter between Spanish and American cultures.

"Espana! American Artists and the Spanish Experience" will bring together more

than 50 works of art by 23 artists that document the importance of Hispanicism

in the United States.

In their images of Spain, American artists reflected the attitudes of their

time, viewing Spain in both the light of admiration and the shadow of

jealousy. The wealth and strength of the Spanish empire stood as an inspiring

model for the philosophy of manifest destiny prevalent in this country, but

ambitious attempts to surpass it eventually led to the Spanish-American War.

This important event, occurring in the middle of the period under

consideration, resulted in a dramatic shift of power. Spain lost its colonies

in the Americas, and the United States moved into a position of international

influence. American artists absorbed the artistic trends of Spain with a

similar goal: by emulating the artists of Spain, they sought to raise American

art to a position of international prominence in the art world.

The exhibition is co-curated by the gallery's director, Vivian Bullaudy, and

by Dr M. Elizabeth Boone, assistant professor of art history at Humboldt

University in Arcata, Calif.

The gallery will also host a lecture given by Dr Boone entitled "Sol y Sombra:

American Artists Explore the Sunlight and Shadows of Spain," scheduled for

Friday, November 13, at 6 pm. The talk will highlight various historic themes

of the show and will discuss paintings in the exhibition in further detail. An

essay written by Dr Boone will be featured in the illustrated catalogue that

accompanies the show.

The gallery is at 48 East 73rd Street and is open Monday through Friday, 10 am

to 5 pm; Saturday, 11 am to 5 pm.