THE MOUSE HOUSE

Olga Hirshhorn's The Mouse House is a treasure trove of intimate-sized artworks from some of the giants of 20th century art — among them Picasso, Calder, Giacometti, de Kooning, O'Keeffe, Dubuffet and many others. Hirshhorn, a noted collector and part-time Naples resident, is the widow of Joseph Hirshhorn, founding donor of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. This delightful exhibition recreates the environment of Hirshhorn's art-packed home in Washington, known as "The Mouse House."

Saturday, September 22, 2012 – Sunday, July 7, 2013

Image: Installation view of The Mouse House

YAACOV AGAM SCULPTURE

Gift of Kahala Hilton Hotel and William Weinberg

Guaranteed to catch the eye of everyone entering or even passing the Philharmonic Center is Gateway to the Arts, a monumental sculpture in tubular stainless steel by the Israeli artist Yaacov Agam.

It stands on a concrete and tile foundation in the grass just in front of the Center, at the right (as you enter) and west of the main doors of Hayes Hall.

The dramatic work of art consists of nine arches, graduated in size downward from the largest, which stands 11 feet 6 inches high. In its original design, each arch had one leg permanently set in the foundation but free to pivot a full 360 degrees. The other leg of each arch just cleared the foundation as it moved. Thus the sculpture could take on a great number of forms, depending on how the arches are arranged.

Agam (b. 1928) is an internationally acclaimed sculptor and experimental artist best known for his contributions to kinetic art. His work is in many leading museums, including the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington.

WALKING STICKS: THE RUTH GORDON COLLECTION

The donation of this collection was made in the memory of Mrs. Gordon’s son, Martin Gordon, who edited the Martin Gordon Catalogue

The Ruth Gordon Collection is one of the finest exhibits of walking sticks in the world. The 35 walking sticks in the collection include carved ivory handles and cloisonne from China, pinchbeck gold from London, Japanese cloisonne, mother of pearl, cinnabar canes, made from the sap of the cinnabar tree, porcelain handles from Germany, French enamel, two niello Russian canes and silver from England, Germany and France. The sticks date from as early as the 14th century.

Mrs. Gordon (1914-2005) began her collection on a postwar visit to London. In 1970, she began a lengthy affiliation with Cartier. Among those who have purchased pieces from her collection are Katharine Hepburn, Brooke Astor and Barbra Streisand.

MILTON ELTING HEBALD SCULPTURES

Gift of Wyn & William Y. Hutchinson

Known as one of the most important contemporary sculptors who works with the human figure, Milton Hebald learned art literally in the streets of New York, drawing on sidewalks in colored chalks, eventually finding his true vocation when someone gave him a box of modeling clay.

At the age of 10, he was the youngest student ever to attend the Art Students League. After winning the prestigious "Prix de Rome" Fellowship to the American Academy in Rome, twice, he decided to make Italy his permanent home. He loved Rome particularly, seeing the city as a collective work of art by some of the greatest artists and architects.

Hebald (b. 1917) became a Baroque sculptor, despite the unmistakable 20th century look to every work he ever made. Hebald's works are in numerous private collections and public locations worldwide. His earliest public work was for the 1939 World's Fair.

In addition to the playful Capriccio, the museum's sculpture display includes Hebald's beautiful Romeo & Juliet, bronze (1972), a gift of Margo Hebald-Heymann.

ALLAN HOUSER SCULPTURES

Gift of Lavern Norris Gaynor

Allan Houser, perhaps the most influential Native American sculptor, attributed his inspiration to sculpt and the images he conjured up to the stories once told to him by his father, a full-blood Chiricahua Apache.

"My father's stories live within me and are the basis for most of my sculpture," Houser explained. "They fired my imagination and filled me with pride for my heritage.

Houser (1914-1994) came into the world only a few short years after the Apache's plight, and grew up on a farm in Apache, Oklahoma. Those early years spent cultivating the land gave Houser an introduction to the tools he would use for the rest of his life: nature, beauty and his hands.

At the age of 61 Houser retired from a 25-year teaching career and began sculpting full-time. His works have awed audiences here and abroad, and have earned him two Guggenheim fellowships and wide recognition in media.

PHILIP JACKSON SCULPTURES

Gift of Geraldine and Lee Martin and the Martin Foundation, Inc.

Renowned British scullptor Philip Jackson was born in Inverness, Scotland, and grew up in southern England. After studying sculpture at the Farnham School of Art, he found work in commercial sculpture, creating figures for Middle East palaces and African office buildings, among other places. Eventually, he won a public sculpture competition, which led to a series of commissions.

Jackson (b.1944) is recognized as one of the foremost figurative sculptors working today.

The Philharmonic Center for the Arts Galleries hosted the first major American exhibition of the noted British sculptor, opening October 6, 1997 and running through May 23, 1998. The centerpiece of the exhibition was The Sentinels, which was quickly acquired for the Philharmonic Center and which looks stunning in its new home.

ALBERT PALEY SCULPTURES

Endowed by Michael and Deborah Stephens

As you enter the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, you see, touch and use one of the most festive and splendid works of art in the Center's permanent collection: Albert Paley's door handles at the main entrance to the lobby.

American sculptor Albert Paley (b. 1944) is known for his inventive and unique approach to metalsmithing and jewelry design. Overpowering the image of traditional metalsmithing, Paley has developed a new dialogue with metal in an organic style. A fallen piece of ribbon or banner is one theme often seen in Paley's metalworking for sculptures designed to serve as rites of passages for visitors to a building. Paley created handles for the front entrance of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts, in a theme suggesting an experience in time. The form of the cut bronze ribbon commemorates the events at the Center.

The Paley Gates were specially commissioned as the entranceway to the Naples Museum of Art. Created by Albert Paley, the majestic gates measure 16 by 10 feet and are made of steel, bronze and stainless steel.

Broadly published and an international lecturer, Paley received both his BFA and MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. He received an honorary doctorate from the University of Rochester in 1989. He also holds the Charlotte Fredricks Mowris Endowed Chair at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

Mr. Paley was inducted into the College of Fellows of the American Craft Council in 1994, and he was honored by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD). Paley is the first metal sculptor to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Institute of Architects for his integration of art and architecture.

TIM READ SCULPTURE

Gift of Jonathan Green and Richard Weedman

The museum was fortunate to receive the donation of the Tim Read sculpture Apollo for its permanent collection. The 9 x 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 feet welded steel sculpture had been part of the Jonathan Green and Charles Weedman collection since its creation in 1999.

Tim Read is a nationally recognized sculptor who received his M.A. in sculpture from California State University. His work has been exhibited extensively in numberous exhibitions throught the United States and is represented in many private and public collections. The NMA is grateful to Jonathan Green and Charles Weldman for their generous gift.

ERNEST TROVA

Donated by the Charles R. Wood Foundation

Ernest Trova is one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century. Trova is famously known for The Falling Man, which he considers a single "work in progress". Trova has always admired Surrealism, and still collects comic character toys, which he uses in reference to his pieces.

Trova was born in Missouri in 1927 and lived all of his life in the St. Louis area. He was a self-taught artist whose work as a window dresser of mannequins inspired the Falling Man figures. They began as a series of paintings in 1963, featuring faceless, armless and sexless figures and evolved into the famous metal sculptures, such as the one on display in front of the Philharmonic Center for the Arts. His work is found in many leading museums including the Guggenheim and the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Tate Gallery in London. Trova died in March 2009 at age 82.

DALE CHIHULY GLASS

Gift of Patty and Jay Baker

Dale Chihuly (b. 1941) has gained worldwide renown over the past three decades for his large, fantastic, colorful representations in blown glass — works that have rightly transformed the perception of glass art from craft to sculpture. To date his work has been featured in more than 170 museum collections around the world. With the advent of landmark exhibitions such as Chihuly over Venice (1996) and Chihuly in the Light of Jerusalem 2000, this major American artist has taken glass beyond sculpture into the realm of large-scale architectural environments.

The Naples Museum of Art is proud to display three exquisite permanent Chihuly glass pieces. The exterior focal point of the Museum is the breathtaking 45-foot-tall glass dome conservatory, which features the Red Chandelier. Made up of 1,200 individual pieces of glass, the chandelier is about 20 feet tall with a width of approximately 12 feet and a weight of about 2,000 pounds.

The lobby of the Museum is centered in the building and opens vertically, connecting the spatial volume of the three floors. It is topped with a 28-foot-square pyramid skylight, which supports the three-story Chihuly Icicle Chandelier. This chandelier is made up of 1,000 individual pieces of glass, measures 35 feet tall by 6 feet wide and weighs about 1,100 pounds.

There is also a breathtaking ceiling of glass, Persian Ceiling, on the third floor of the museum, donated by Jay and Patty Baker. This ceiling is a magnificent display of beautiful and vibrant colored glass in all shapes and sizes.

"There's something about putting the pieces overhead, on top of the plate glass, that makes you think of the sea — it's sort of the reverse of having the glass underwater. There's a feeling of water — at least there is to me. I suppose somebody else could think it's something they might have seen in the sky or in a dream."
— Dale Chihuly