Date: Fri 04-Sep-1998

Publication: Ant

Author: DONNAM

Quick Words:

Erie-Art-Museum-100th-Anniv.

Full Text:

Art & Life In Erie

(W/Cuts)

ERIE, PENN. -- The Erie Art Museum is celebrating its 100th Anniversary with

"Art & Life in Erie, Pa.," a historical display of art and handicraft from

Erie County, on display through October 4 in the Erie Art Museum's main

gallery.

The exhibit presents art created in Erie from 1815 to 1950 and features

paintings, prints, drawings, textiles, ceramics, folk art, furniture, silver,

maritime objects, and an assortment of Victorian crafts. Artists include James

Bowman, Moses Billings, Junius Sloan, Laura Sanford, Lovisa Card-Catlin, Lucy

Drake Marlow, George Ericson/Eugene Iverd, Joseph Plavcan and others.

This show offers a visual history of life in the community, reflecting its

rural origins, industrialization, participation in national events like the

Civil War, the shaping presence of Lake Erie, and Erie's growth into a modern

city. The artworks are from the museum's collections, along with other private

and public collections, most notably the Erie Historical Museum and the Erie

Historical Society.

The exhibition includes objects that were strictly commercial and commonplace

when they were made but are now collected for their craftsmanship and rarity.

Items that were originally personal and precious are now avidly collected by

others.

"The most pleasant surprise encountered in accumulating the objects for this

exhibition was the wealth of folk art," says John Vanco, curator of the

exhibit. "The historically belated appreciation for folk art fortunately has

not prevented its preservation in both private and public collections. And

while folk artists, like other artists, often color their creations with

optimistic views of reality, their objects reflect the realities of daily life

in ways which the fine arts cannot."

"Art & Life" is based on research conducted by many individuals, including

Kirk Steehler, Karen Dolan, John Vanco, Ron Holstein and Rick Hovis, Jim

Harrison and Louis Meyer, Betty Portenier, Paul Barden, Elizabeth Kelly, Susan

Beates, Annita Andrick, John Claridge and Laura Gifford.

Erie Art Museum, 411 State Street, is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 am-5

pm; Sunday, 1-5 pm. Telephone 814/459-5477.