Virginia museum of fine arts (VMFA) presents Tiffany: color and light

May 29, 2010 – Aug 15, 2010

New Market Gallery

The first major exhibition to be shown at VMFA  after the grand opening of the McGlothlin Wing celebrates one of America’s greatest artists. Tiffany: Color and Light is the most important exhibition of the work of renowned designer and master of glass, Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933)  in a generation and VMFA will be the only American museum to show the exhibition.

Drawing on the finest collections in Europe, North America, and Russia, the exhibition presents Tiffany as an artist of international stature and significance. Curated by the world’s leading scholars, the exhibition focuses on his primary achievements – the innovative techniques and artistry he developed to achieve original and spectacular effects in glass.

Among the exhibition’s more than 180 objects are examples of the leaded-glass windows and lamps for which he is best known as well as blown-glass vessels and decorative objects such as mosaics, jewelry, bronzes, paintings, watercolors, architectural elements, and silver.

Eight newly restored windows from the Erskine and American United Church in Montreal – considered one of his most spectacular commissions - have never before been shown in the United States and will form a dazzling and memorable centerpiece to the presentation.

The exhibition also explores Tiffany’s long and varied career: his early life as a painter studying and traveling in Europe; the links to his father’s firm, Tiffany & Company  his work as an interior designer incorporating glass in the designs he created for some of the notable figures of his day; his relationship with the Parisian art dealer Siegfrid Bing , who distributed his work in Europe; the techniques he used to create leaded-glass windows for religious buildings and private homes; and his development of Favrile glass , a process he patented and used to make iridescent vases and other decorative arts objects.
Conceived by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts  and organized in collaboration with VMFA  and the Musée de Luxembourg, Paris  , where it debuted last September.

The exhibition’s curators are Rosalind Pepall, senior curator of decorative arts at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts  ; Alice Cooney Frelinghuysen, the Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Curator of American Decorative Arts at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York  ; and Martin Eidelberg, professor emeritus of art history at Rutgers University  in New Brunswick, N.J. The exhibition is organized at VMFA by Barry Shifman  , Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Decorative Arts from 1890 to the Present.

Timed tickets: $15, (VMFA members free) Groups, seniors, students with ID, youth 7 – 17, $12 Children 6 and under free.

The exhibition is generously supported by the Faberge Society  | The Founders of VMFA and sponsored by Altria Group .

Media Sponsors: Style Weekly  and NBC12

Classes:

How do you preserve stained glass?
Date(s) and Time(s): June 11, 2010 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: Cochrane Lounge, American Galleries. Please meet in the Atrium.
With: Conservator, Scott Taylor, E.S. Taylor Studio, LLC
Cost: Free
Registration: No registration required
Description" In this gallery talk, Scott Taylor discusses methods used in the conservation of leaded and stained glass, including the newly installed Christ Resurrection Window by Tiffany Glass & Decorating Company.

How...do you look at Tiffany?
When: July 30, 2010 1:00PM - 2:00PM
Where:Art Nouveau Galleries
Description:
Barry Shifman, Sydney and Frances Lewis Family Curator of Decorative Arts 1890 to the present, discusses the aesthetics of works by Tiffany companies in a 45 minute gallery talk. Meet in the Atrium.

Stained Glass- Tiffany (AM)- Teen Programs

Date(s) and Time(s): Monday-Friday 9:00 am – Noon
Location: Meet in Pauley Center Studio A.
Instructor" BARBARA ATKINSON SUZANNE FORTIN
Open To: Enrollment is limited to 8. Students taking a morning and afternoon class may bring a lunch to eat on the VMFA premises. Meet in the Pauley Center Lobby.
Class Number: 70
Ages: 12-18
Cost: $135 (VMFA members $125); all materials are included unless otherwise noted.
Registration: Phone 804.340.1405, or visit the Ticket Desk Mon-Fri, 8:45am-4:30pm. Registration required.
Description: Learn to make a stained-glass panel using the same methods that Louis Comfort Tiffany used in his windows! Inspired by Tiffany’s works in the VMFA galleries, students will learn to cut glass and foil and solder together a design of their choosing. At the end of the session, their completed panel will be ready to hang in their home or give as a gift. Students registered for this class will receive -free- entry to the Tiffany: Color + Light Banner Exhibition.
Cancellations: Fees are not refundable except when VMFA cancels a class. In consideration of summer art camps being utilized as child care; Program Coordinators will make every effort to notify parents/guardians up to two weeks and at least one week in advance of cancellations. If VMFA cancels a class students may choose to be transferred to another class.

Stained Glass- Tiffany (PM) – Teen Programs

Date(s) and Time(s): Monday-Friday 1:00pm – 4:00pm
Location: Meet in the Pauley Center Lobby. Recommended drop-off point is the Sheppard Avenue entrance.
Instructor: BARBARA ATKINSONSUZANNE FORTIN
Open To: Enrollment is limited to 8. Students taking a morning and afternoon class may bring a lunch to eat on the VMFA premises. Meet in the Pauley Center Lobby.
Class Number: 70
Ages: 12-18
Cost: $135 (VMFA members $125); all materials included unless otherwise noted.
Registration: Phone 804.340.1405, or visit the Ticket Desk Mon-Fri, 8:45am-4:30pm. Registration required.
Description: Learn to make a stained-glass panel using the same methods that Louis Comfort Tiffany used in his windows! Inspired by Tiffany’s works in the VMFA galleries, students will learn to cut glass and foil and solder together a design of their choosing. At the end of the session, their completed panel will be ready to hang in their home or give as a gift. Students registered for this class will receive -free- entry to the Tiffany: Color + Light Banner Exhibition.
Cancellations: Fees are not refundable except when VMFA cancels a class. In consideration of summer art camps being utilized as child care; Program Coordinators will make every effort to notify parents/guardians up to two weeks and at least one week in advance of cancellations. If VMFA cancels a class students may choose to be transferred to another class.

To visit:

Free admission to permanent collection; $15 for Tiffany exhibit, children under 6 are free. Members  enjoy free admission to all exhibitions and discounts on programs.

The museum galleries and shop are open daily, 10 am – 5 pm, with evening hours extended until 9 pm on Thursdays. Effective July 2, they will also be open until 9 pm on Fridays.

For more information, visit http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/default.aspx or call:

Administration 804.340.1506
Books 804.204.2710 or 804.204.2719 | fax 804.204.2724 | toll-free 1.800.943.8632
Lecture Classes 804.204.2685
Adult Studio Classes 804.367.0816
Teen Studio Classes 804.340.1573
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Exhibitions 804.340.1457
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Publications 804.204.2710 | fax 804.204.2724
Registrars 804.340.1550
Rights and Reproductions 804.204.2760
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Tours fax 804.340.1548
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