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The Wonderful World of Color: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming Carol Ehlers, art history speaker, as she presents a 45 minute lecture on the art of French Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and his love of 19th century Parisian life. 

Renoir's paintings are noted for their vibrant light and saturated color. Characteristic of the Impressionist style, Renoir suggested the details of a scene through freely brushed touches of color, so that his figures softly fuse with one another and their surroundings. The warm sensuality of Renoir's style made his paintings some of the most well-known and frequently reproduced works in the history of art. 

Pierre-Auguste Renoir was born February 25, 1841 to a working class family in Limoges, Haute-Vienne, France. As a boy he worked in a porcelain factory, where his drawing talent led to him being chosen to paint designs on fine china. 

In 1862, at the age of 25, he began studying art in Paris, where he met such artists as Alfred Sisley and Claude Monet. Although Renoir first started exhibiting paintings at the Paris Salon in 1864, he often did not have enough money to buy paint.

Renoir did not receive critical acclaim until 1874 when six of his paintings were included in the first independent Impressionist exhibition. One of Renoir’s best known works is his 1876 Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette. The painting depicts an open-air scene, crowded with people, at a popular dance garden on the Butte Montmartre, close to where he lived.

By 1892 Renoir had developed rheumatoid arthritis. In 1907 he moved to warmer climate close to the Mediterranean coast. He painted even when arthritis had severely limited his movement and he was wheelchair-bound. Renoir remained able to grasp a brush, although he required an assistant to place it in his hand. 

In 1919 Renoir visited the Louvre art museum in Paris to see his paintings hanging with those of the old masters he used to study as a boy. He died in the village of Cagnes-sur-Mer, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, on December 3 that same year.

In 1992 the Muscatine Art Center’s collections were significantly enriched by a gift of twenty-seven works of art by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Degas, Boudin, Chagall, Renoir, and other European artists. The collection was a gift from the estate of Mary Musser Gilmore in honor of her parents, Richard Drew Musser and Sarah Walker Musser. The paintings are on permanent display in the Laura Musser Mansion.

EVENT DETAILS:

Lecture: “The Wonderful World of Color: Pierre-Auguste Renoir”
Who: Carol Ehlers 
hen: Thursday, March 22, 2012
Time: 5:30 PM
Where: The Muscatine Art Center’s Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

 

 

Iowa Battle Flag Conservation Project

The State Historical Society of Iowa’s current Collections Manager/Flag Conservator and Historian, Sheila Hanke, will be presenting a talk about the Iowa Battle Flag project at the Muscatine Art Center on Sunday, October 9 at 2:00PM in the Music Room. Sheila is responsible for overseeing the stabilization and documentation of individual flags. She oversees policies, procedures and registration relating to the flag collection. Sheila also manages the conservation laboratory and supervises technical staff. She oversees the development of interpretive exhibitions and related publications.

Those in attendance of the talk will be able to view the progress of the historic conservation of Iowa’s military and territorial flags and will learn more about Iowa in the Civil War. For much of the 9 year preservation project, the public has been able to see the conservator at work in the laboratory through tours and video conferencing. The customized laboratory has provided a secure location for these national treasures to be documented, preserved and interpreted. These flags represent not only Iowa’s history but Iowa’s role in a pivotal event in our nation’s history. The preservation effort ensures that future generations will know the stories of the men and women who served this nation. By building a secure conservation laboratory, the State Historical Society of Iowa has provided the public with a unique look into the preservation process while protecting the flag collection.

The talk will be a 45 minute presentation on the history of the grassroots effort to launch the project, the flag collection and the conservation process.

DETAILS:

What: Iowa Battle Flag Conservation Project talk by Sheila Hanke
When: Sunday, October 9, 2011
Time: 2:00PM
Where: The Muscatine Art Center’s Music Room
Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at 563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

 

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10AM to 5PM, Thursday from 10AM to 7PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5PM Admission is FREE.

African Americans in the Civil War

Thursday, July 28, 2011 6:00 pm in the Stanely Gallery
Lecture by Jack Lufkin, History Curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa. 
A reception will follow.

An Iowa Soldier Writes Home:
The Civil War Letters of Union Pvt. Daniel J. Parvin 

Thursday, July 28, 3:00 - 5:45 PM, Book Signing
Saturday, July 30, 2:00 - 4:00 PM, Lecture and Book Signing by Phillip Hubbart, Great-great grandson of Daniel J. Parvin and author.

 Artillery in the Civil War

The Civil War is often referred to as the first “modern” war in history as it included the most advanced technology and innovations of warfare available at the time. Some of the innovations and advances of the Civil War included mass production of war material, rifling of gun barrels (including the fatal Minnie Ball), the advent of repeating firearms and metallic cartridges, and the gradual decline of tactics from previous centuries.

In conjunction with the Muscatine Art Center’s exhibit, Muscatine and the Civil War: A Sesquicentennial Commemoration, the Muscatine Art Center will host 1st SGT David Lamb and the “Iowa Rifles” of Company “A” 49th Iowa Volunteer Infantry Regiment. The “Iowa Rifles” will present a special program on the use of artillery during the Civil War, using their own non-firing pieces. The “Iowa Rifles” consists of four certified Civil War artillerists who will accurately and safely demonstrate the use of the weapons used during the four years of the Civil War.

It is the mission of the “Iowa Rifles” SVR Unit to “further the ideals of the Department of Iowa, Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War, through the provision of a highly trained and proficient marching unit that shall consist of a Color Guard, and associated other small units to perform at public functions of all sorts at the direction of the Iowa Rifles commanding NCO/Officer.”

Event details:
What: The Iowa Rifles
When: Saturday, July 2, 2011
Where: Muscatine Art Center Music Room
Time: 3:00 to 4:00 PM
This event is FREE and open to the public.

For questions, please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator at (563) 263-8282, or by email at kdoherty@ci.muscatine.ia.us.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue, Muscatine. We are open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday