With renewed interest in this area of our collection, these paintings are now undergoing an in-depth study so we can understand their history and prepare them for conservation work. Preliminary research has revealed a number of intriguing details.

The paintings, which have not yet been attributed to an artist, appear to date from approximately 1590 to 1620, an interesting period in British history that includes the end of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the ascension of King James I, the founding of the first British colonies in North America, and the continuing religious conflicts between Catholics and Protestants. Our research has revealed that Sir John Scott (at center) was a member of Parliament and a member/contributor to the Virginia Company that established Jamestown. Sir John was also implicated in the famous Essex rebellion against Queen Elizabeth, which landed him in the Tower of London; he narrowly escaped the chopping block.

Sir John’s second wife, Lady Catherine Smythe Scott (at left in white), was first married to a mayor of London. She may have been the “strong-willed wife” who was said to have escaped confinement in her own home by using a bodkin to tunnel her way out.

Of particular interest to connoisseurs of fine beverages and incantations would be Reginald Scott (far right). Reginald was a bit of a nonconformist, highly educated, a writer. His first well-known book concerns hops and helped spur that crop’s cultivation in England. Reginald’s second great book was The Discouerie of Witchcraft, wherein the Lewde dealing of Witches and Witchmongers is notablie detected. This book is cited as one of the first to debunk the idea of witchcraft, calling for an end to witch hunts. It was also the first to document sleight of hand and magic tricks. An extremely popular book during Reginald Scott’s lifetime, it also took bravery to write, since most people strongly believed in magic and the need to prosecute practitioners. The book was eventually banned and ordered burned by King James I—the same King James who’s famous for the King James Bible, which was 400 years old last year.

NCMA research on the Scott paintings, made possible by the Jim and Ann Goodnight/Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment, started about two years ago and is expected to continue for several more years. Next month I’ll be traveling to the UK to continue research. The trip will include plenty of meetings with specialists and hours in the archives of art and history museums. It will also include an event that is truly a very odd coincidence, the rededication of the tomb monument for Lady Catherine Smythe Scott in Nettlestead, Kent. The tomb is located in the same church with that of her husband Sir John Scott, the church next to the house where they lived 400 years ago. The rededication service will be attended by the local community as well as historians and Scott family descendents. I’m sure the Scott family stories will be flowing, hopefully along with some of that hoppy magical brew that the Scotts helped bring about. Maybe we will even get to the bottom of this bodkin escape tale.

I look at them and think, “I want to wear them.”

The sartorial quality of his work struck me from my first gallery visit, and I continue to see the rich textures, colors, and languages of Africa embodied by his work (and not just the wall sculptures) all around me. Click through the image below to see the “Anatsui Style” Pinterest board, a visual sampling of my mind since the exhibition’s opening.

The result has emboldened my own fashion sense, boosted my creativity, and changed (erased?) my concept of what constitutes a coordinated outfit.

Can I pull off bright red with bright yellow? Mixed metals? Pattern on pattern?

Why, sure. That’s very Anatsui of you, Natalie.

Are you on Pinterest? Follow ncartmuseum. Join us for a Pinterest-themed meetup on Thursday, May 10.

The Duchess, née Barbara Villiers (1640–1709), is possibly one of the best-known mistresses in history. She became the very public favorite of English King Charles II in 1660, even though she was married to Roger Palmer at the time. The duchess was famous for her beauty: “Tall, voluptuous, with masses of auburn hair, slanting, heavy-lidded blue-violet eyes, alabaster skin, and a sensuous, sulky mouth,” as described by Antonia Fraser in her book King Charles II. The duchess was known for her charm as well as her extravagance, foul temper, and promiscuity. For 13 years her influence over the king waxed and waned in the quagmire of court intrigue, earning her the nickname “the uncrowned queen” but also “the curse of the nation.”

Before treatment the painting was very dark and yellow-brown in appearance. The curtain in the background at right was so dark it could barely be seen, and the garment at bottom left was an odd, unsightly green. Conservation work focused on removing several layers of very old varnish, grime, and previous restoration. Careful cleaning revealed that the curtain area at left was damaged and had been largely repainted in a past restoration. The green garment at lower left was also buried in old restoration paint, but cleaning uncovered the original light blue painted garment, which proved almost damage free. This depiction of light blue silk is relatively common in paintings of this period and, in this case, was probably achieved using a pigment called smalt. (Exact identification of the pigment requires analysis that was beyond the scope of this project). A product of the glass industry, smalt made beautiful transparent blues, but it was unstable in a paint film and frequently turned brown over time. In this case it is well preserved. Smalt fell out of use by painters when better-performing blue pigments came along.

Now that the duchess has been restored to her former beauty, she is ready for her close up. She’s now on view in West Building.

Image:

Sir Peter Lely and Studio, Barbara Villiers, later Duchess of Cleveland, circa 1662–1665, oil on canvas, 50 x 40 in., Gift of the Van Diemen-Lilienfeld Galleries and the Dalzell Hatfield Galleries in memory of William R. Valentiner

How do YOU say…El Anatsui from the North Carolina Museum of Art on Vimeo.

NCMA staff members show off the many variations of “El Anatsui.”

ncartmuseum.org/elanatsui

This week the nation honors the thousands of volunteers who selflessly aid the ever-growing number of organizations providing critical services and programs to our citizens. This year’s National Volunteer Week theme is Celebrating People in Action. I can think of no more deserving group of people to celebrate than our very own volunteer corps.

Since the very beginning of the North Carolina Museum of Art, the Museum has relied heavily upon the dedication and generosity of hundreds of volunteers who come together each year with a common passion for our institution. As the Museum has grown, this volunteer corps has enlarged to meet our expanding campus and programs.

Today volunteers and docents number more than 550 strong—significantly more than the Museum’s combined State and Foundation staffs. Last year alone these dedicated groups of people contributed 16,000 hours of service. This year with a burgeoning schedule of programs and a blockbuster exhibition that ushered 150,000 people through the doors, that number will only grow. It is no exaggeration to say the Museum could not operate without this incredible group of dedicated individuals.

It has been a true honor to work closely with this passionate team. I am humbled by the generosity and sheer tenacity of these fabulous professionals. No job is too big or small. Every visitor and member is important. Smiles abound, with little fanfare or appreciation for their tireless efforts. What unsung heroes! And binding us all together is a shared vision for this Museum and its outreach.

So this year as we Celebrate People in Action, let us simply say thank you. Thank you for all that you do and all that you are. You are truly indispensable to us all!

Caterri Woodrum is the chief deputy director and chief financial officer for the North Carolina Museum of Art Foundation.

Image: (left) Volunteers work on weekly membership mailings. (right) Volunteer Sylvia Gill takes tickets at Rembrandt in America.

Last fall UNC grad Carolyn Janssen created three billboards featuring digitally manipulated worlds filled with marauding Amazons, in environments that were both strange and appealing. This spring we’ve opted to do something entirely new: we invited college students to submit images and ideas for billboards. And what a response we received! After sorting through all the entries, we chose three artists: Sydney Cobb (Alamance Community College), Isaiah Johnson (St. Augustine’s College), and Cindy Kohnen (Meredith College).

Cobb’s billboard, Fireflies, refers to a favorite Southern pastime. “This piece portrays a childhood memory of catching mystical fireflies in one of my grandma’s mason jars,” Cobb says. “I always loved opening the jar and watching them fly away.” Cobb notes that our current exhibition, El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa, provided inspiration. “My piece is a free-flowing and natural piece, much like his artwork.”

Johnson’s winning entry, One Brick, One Seed, is a photographic manifesto about the linked urban and natural landscapes. “I didn’t want to be literal with nature and all the beautiful aspects of it, but to show the evolution of today’s world through one brick and one seed,” Johnson says. “This piece was inspired by the beginning of life itself, the buildings we live in, and the hands that built them. From that first hammer or screw, their constructions offer limitless inspiration. The components of this piece are the forest and the cityscape. The trees were placed above the buildings to highlight the line between two different worlds that are also closely related.”

Kohnen’s Cycles presents, in her words, “the different stages of life after death.” Kohnen explains, “I chose the white and pink petals to show the beauty in life but paired these elements with dirt to convey the sense of a fallen petal to the ground. As spring turns to fall, leaves also observe the remaining life in nature’s dying elements. The third [segment] shows the reincarnation of the dead petals and leaves through the image of live mushrooms and their roots. The repetition of the circular formation created with grass embraces earth’s life cycle. I used color throughout this series to depict and stages of human life, starting with birth, softness, and purity, and ending with wisdom, age, and decomposition.”

Congratulations to our three winners, and thanks to all our participants! Be sure to explore our Museum Park to view these billboards, and come back in the fall to experience a new round of Park Pictures.

This work, made possible by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, is part of an ongoing series of outdoor art projects, Art Has No Boundaries, commissioned by the NCMA to encourage visitors to actively explore the Museum Park.

Images and captions:

Top: Sydney Cobb, Fireflies, 2011, digital print on vinyl, © 2011 Sydney Cobb

Cindy Kohnen, Cycles, 2011, digital print on vinyl, © 2011 Cindy Kohnen

Isaiah Johnson, One Brick, One Seed, 2011, digital print on vinyl, © 2011 Isaiah Johnson

As part of his study of Anatsui’s work, Perry created a small model of a metal wall sculpture using similar materials (metal wine bottle caps and 24-gauge wire). He cut and flattened the caps into strips about 2 inches long by ¾ inch wide, then poked holes in the strips and joined them with the copper wire.

This not only gave him insight into the artist’s processes but also provides a useful educational tool that can be handled by the public (unlike Anatsui’s work or any other art in the Museum). Examining Perry’s creation, one can experience firsthand the skill and ingenuity behind the construction—as well as its fragility.

The piece has sharp edges that can’t be removed or filed down, as the metal bottle caps are too thin. Perry has found that sharp edges are part of the handling experience of a real El Anatsui work, too; gloves can be shredded, clothing gets snagged, and the wall sculpture can snag on itself when being moved.

Each section of the finished model fits into a 1-gallon plastic zipper bag to protect the “viewer” from the sharp edges and to permit handling of the work in educational settings.

The exhibition El Anatsui: When I Last Wrote to You about Africa is on view in East Building through July 29; the Museum’s own El Anatsui work, Lines That Link Humanity, is part of the permanent collection in West Building. For more on Perry’s work with El Anatsui, check out the interview on nc artblog (Part I and Part II).

Visitors to the Museum always delight in discovering Devorah Sperber‘s After the Mona Lisa 2 in the permanent collection. Sperber used an amazing  5,184 spools of thread to re-create Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. Her piece explores the reproduction of images in the digital era, the links between art and technology, and visual perception (how the eye and the brain make sense of the visual world).

Taking a popular image and manipulating it into something new is a way both to honor the masters of art and to express personal creativity. This echoes the reason we developed our Teens, Inspired blog and our annual Teen Art and Video Competition. Sperber’s work inspired 2010’s first-place winner, Virginia Niver, who recently graduated from Broughton High School in Raleigh. Niver’s submission, made from M&M’s, is a great example of how a high school student can reinvent a piece from the NCMA’s permanent collection. Current students are invited to submit art or video entries to this year’s competition. For details on how to do that, visit Teens, Inspired.

Today’s guest contributor is Sydney Snedeker, who will graduate from Apex High School in May and plans to attend the University of Texas to major in public relations. Sydney is a member of the Museum’s Teen Advisory Council and is the intern responsible for managing the Teens, Inspired blog. The blog contains posts by Sydney and other members of the Teen Advisory Council as well as images of works from last year’s Teen Art Competition.

Israel and the Law is part of an ambitious cycle of murals created by Sargent to decorate a palatial hall in the library. Titled “The Triumph of Religion,” the murals chart the evolution of Western religious thought from polytheist beginnings in Egypt and Mesopotamia to the “enlightened” monotheism of modern times. A central theme of the cycle is the dialogue between Judaism and Christianity carried out in corresponding paintings that occupy the spandrels of the vaults, three on each lateral side of the hall. In Israel and the Law, a cowled Jehovah, his face unseen, crouches on a mountaintop teaching the Divine Law to the boy Israel. The pair is protected by a ring of warrior angels.

Judging by the number of drawings made for Israel and the Law, Sargent worried over this painting more than any of his other murals.  In addition to the drawings, now at Harvard, he made two full studies in oil. The Museum’s painting is most likely the first of the two. Close examination reveals clear evidence of the artist fine-tuning the composition. For example, in the group of angels at right, one can see under the buildup of paint where Sargent adjusted the placement of the winged figures. The other study, in the collection of London Royal Academy of Arts, has few editorial changes. It was probably made for exhibition, whereas the Museum’s painting is a true study, all the more interesting for showing the artist at work.

Israel and the Law is unique in our American collection for being essentially a work of civic art, not intended for a private home or even a museum. It was composed for a grand public space and meant to be viewed from below. This posed a challenge for us. The painting arrived at the Museum in a handsome gilt frame that made the picture “behave” as though it were any easel picture circa 1900. That was clearly the wrong message. As a corrective, we looked back to the practice of American mural painters of Sargent’s generation. We found that it was common for artists to paint small versions of a proposed mural for approval by a client or architect. Some of these paintings were framed in elaborately constructed and painted frames that would give the client a suggestion of the architectural context for the final mural. One such frame was designed by the artist Elihu Vedder for his study for Rome, or the Art Idea. Using that frame as inspiration, we asked Raleigh furniture maker Evan Lightner to build a frame for Israel and the Law. The design incorporated some of the beaux-arts architectural features found in Sargent Hall at the Boston Public Library. We then asked decorative painter Rosa Patton to paint the frame using marbled colors matched to those in Sargent Hall. The resulting frame endows Sargent’s mural study with appropriate majesty and distinguishes it from the rest of the American paintings.

On February 24 Israel and the Law was unveiled in a special single-painting exhibition in West Building in the space immediately preceding the Judaic Art Gallery.

And all of this followed from one phone call.

NOTE: “Israel and the Law: The Key to a Missing Keynote,” is the subject of a public lecture by Yale University Professor Sally M. Promey to be presented as 12^th annual Abram and Frances Pascher Kanof Lecture, Sunday, March 25, at 2 pm in the Museum Auditorium.  The lecture is free to the public. More info

Installing Stressed World from The North Carolina Museum of Art on Vimeo.

The installation of the largest wall sculpture in the exhibition is a delicate affair. The process was captured over three days.

ncartmuseum.org/elanatsui