THE BAROQUE WORLD OF FERNANDO BOTERO

One hundred artworks are featured in this extraordinary retrospective of the Colombian neo-figurative artist Fernando Botero – the first major Botero exhibition in the U.S. in nearly 30 years. One of the most beloved artists of the Americas, Botero (b. 1932) is a painter, sculptor and draftsman who has captured the comedy and tragedy of human life for more than 50 years. Botero is known for his exaggerated rounded figures and rich palette combining the excesses of Spanish colonial baroque with the social realism of the Mexican muralists. The humorous surfaces of Botero’s art often belie a more serious message – a commentary on colonialism, political instability in Latin America and the vernacular artistic traditions of Europe and Latin America. This important retrospective draws on Botero’s own collection and includes paintings, sculpture in bronze and marble, pastels, drawings and watercolors.

This exhibition is organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, VA.

SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 THROUGH SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2009

NORMAN ROCKWELL: AMERICAN IMAGIST

The cover of the Saturday Evening Post was for years the greatest show window in America for an illustrator. Norman Rockwell (1894-1978), among the most enduring artists of the 20th century, became synonymous with the magazine, and his much-loved cover illustrations seemed to capture the optimism of the American spirit. Rockwell’s illustrations, filled with the nuances of ordinary people in everyday life, evoked a time and place that existed mostly in our hopes and aspirations. His legendary association with the magazine spanned 47 years, from 1916 to 1963. This exhibition includes original tear sheets featuring each of Rockwell’s 321 Saturday Evening Post covers. Also featured will be 15 original Rockwell oil paintings and other works.

Generously underwritten in part by Friends of Art at the Naples Museum of Art.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 2 THROUGH FRIDAY, MAY 15, 2009

LIVING WITH STUDIO FURNITURE:

COLLECTION OF ROBERT AND CAROLYN SPRINGBORN

Robert and Carolyn Springborn began collecting studio furniture in the mid-1980s and went on to amass one of the finest and most eclectic collections in the country. This tantalizing exhibition – the largest grouping of their collection ever shown publicly – features cabinets, tables, chairs, clocks, sculpture, vases, lamps, glass, paintings and other works by such acclaimed artists as Albert Paley, Wendell Castle, John Cederquist, Wendy Maruyama and others. Most of the work in this exquisite collection is functional art, which the Springborns have lived with for years. This season, the public has a rare opportunity to spend time with this unusual collection as the Springborns share it with the Naples Museum of Art.

FRIDAY, JANUARY 16 THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2009

LARRY DINKIN : A RETROSPECTIVE

This is the first retrospective of renowned American painter Larry Dinkin (b. 1943), tracing the development of his art from figurative and landscape paintings to his singular “non-objective realism” style, which combines man-made and natural elements in an abstract context. Dinkin’s paintings have been described as “bizarrely beautiful,” as if to confirm the truth that beauty always contains something strange – something absurd within its harmony. Dinkin’s art takes the viewer to a vibrant world that is as compelling and mysterious as our dreams. Although his work is largely abstract, it also has a sense of structure and motion that is clearly rooted in the real world. As Dinkin puts it, “There are no refrigerators or cars in my work but there is a foreground and background and there is movement and light.”

Generously underwritten by Estelle and Martin Karlin.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 THROUGH TUESDAY, DECEMBER 30, 2008

MARSDEN HARTLEY: AMERICAN MODERN

Marsden Hartley was at the center of the artistic and cultural maelstrom known today as early American modernism. His life and his art were never static, and Hartley (1877-1943) responded to the dramatic changes – political, cultural and artistic – that took place over the span of his career. He is equally well known for his groundbreaking abstract works as for his lyrical landscapes. This wide-ranging exhibition presents superb examples of Hartley’s work from each phase of his career. Included are early post-impressionist Maine mountain scenes, pre-World War I abstractions completed in Paris and Berlin, Provincetown experiments, New Mexican landscapes, still lifes from the 1920s and 1930s, Bavarian mountain pastels, 1930s archaic portraits and late Maine landscapes. Hartley’s unique, varied depictions of American life made him among the country’s most popular artists during his lifetime – and they continue to resonate in the 21st century.

Marsden Hartley: American Modern is organized by the Frederick R.Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 THROUGH SUNDAY, JANUARY 11, 2008

LOLA ÁLVAREZ BRAVO

DRAWING IN SPACE: THE PENINSULA PROJECT SCULPTURE BY

JOHN HENRY

THE MOUSE HOUSE:

WORKS FROM THE OLGA HIRSHHORN COLLECTION

One of the most popular exhibitions at the Naples Museum of Art returns! The Mouse House is a treasure trove of great art, featuring works from Olga Hirshhorn’s collection by Picasso, Dalí, Man Ray, Giacometti, Calder, de Kooning and many other great 20th-century artists. “The Mouse House” is the name affectionately given to Hirshhorn’s small, art-packed house in Washington, D.C. Hirshhorn, who winters in Naples, and whose late husband Joseph Hirshhorn was the founding donor of the museum now bearing the Hirshhorn name in Washington, is an avid collector in her own right. The Mouse House recreates the atmosphere of her home and is a reflection of Olga’s taste and style.

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 THROUGH SUNDAY, JUNE 28, 2009