Art Acquisitions
Untitled, 1999, mixed media on canvas, Herbert Creecy, born Norfolk, Va. 1939, died Barnesville, Ga. 2003, Gift of Lee Creecy 2010.152
Georgia artist Herbert Creecy worked in the Abstract Expressionist style, with works featuring dense patterning and an exploration of surface form. In the late 1990s, he perfected his own technique of using an air compressor to move media on the canvas, pushing dribbled and encaustic paint into flaring circular shapes. The Museum’s new acquisition, which was donated by Greecy’s son, is from this late period in his work.
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The work of New York cabinetmaker Duncan Phyfe was considered to be the ultimate in taste and sophistication in the early 19th century. The Museum’s impressive secretary bookcase features several Phyfe trademarks such as an overhanging cornice, crisp moldings and extremely fine veneers. Although the piece is very tall and has great presence, it is also delicately elegant in its proportions.
Phyfe regularly sent furniture to Savannah to be sold through his agent, cabinetmaker and warehouseman Isaac W. Morrell. Our secretary was once owned by Charles Hart Olmstead (1837-1926), a Savannah business man and Confederate officer, and could have been originally owned by his parents, Jonathan and Eliza Hart Olmstead.
Classical Secretary Bookcase
ca. 1815-1820
mahogany
attributed to Duncan Phyfe
born near Loch Fannich, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland 1768
died New York, N.Y. 1854
Museum purchase made possible by the Endowment Fund in Honor of D. A. Turner and the Mr. and Mrs. Perry Davis Watson Memorial Fund 2011.1
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At the Illges Gallery in the Corn Center for the Visual Arts, Columbus State University recently hosted Degrees of Density: Selections from the Kentler Flatfiles, which featured works that explore the variety of styles and media possible in drawing. The Kentler International Drawing Space in New York City was founded by Columbus native Florence Neal. The Museum is fortunate to have worked with Neal and Illges Gallery Director Hannah Israel to acquire works by David Ambrose, Ernst Benkert, Richard Howe, Nancy Manter, Janell O’Rourke, Debra Pearlman, Gelah Penn, Claudia Sbrissa, and Susan Schwalb from the exhibition.
LEFT: Baroque Premonition, 2008, watercolor and gouache, David Ambrose, unknown birth location and date, Museum purchase made possible by the Shannon L. Amos Fund 2011.5.1
RIGHT: Wolgast, 1986, ink on paper, Ernst Benkert, born Chicago, Ill. 1928, died Brooklyn, N.Y. 2010, Gift of the artist’s family 2011.4
Lazarus Straus immigrated to the United States from Germany and eventually settled in Talbotton. He later moved to Columbus to operate a dry goods store. After Columbus was burned during the Civil War, Straus decided to move his family to New York; there he founded the firm L. Straus & Sons. In 1873, he opened a concession shop in the basement of Macy’s. By 1884, the Strauses were part owners of the department store, and by 1896 they were the sole owners of Macy’s.
L. Straus & Sons produced some of the finest cut glass of the American Brilliant Period. The Museum’s recently acquired decanter, with its appealing design and fine cutting, is an excellent example of their best work. The “Columbus” pattern was most likely developed for a significant display of cut glass that the company produced for the Columbia Exposition in 1893. However, it is amusing to consider that the Strauses might have had their former home in mind, as well.
Footed Decanter, Columbus Pattern
ca. 1893
L. Straus & Sons, New York, N.Y.
cut glass
Museum purchase made possible with funds provided by Wendell Lewis 2011.2
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History Acquistions
George Wallace Presidential Campaign Memorabilia
Between the 1960s and the 1980s, Barbour County, Alabama native George C. Wallace was one of the nation’s most recognized and influential political figures. He served four terms as governor of Alabama, and used his early fame as an outspoken segregationist and proponent of states’ rights to enter the national political arena. While Wallace would modify his stance on racial issues later in his political career, he remained an important figure in Southern politics until leaving office in 1987. Wallace ran for the office of President of the United States four times (1964, 1968, 1972 and 1976) as both a Democrat and as a third-party candidate. His 1968 campaign was his most successful, as he carried five states and captured over 10 million votes.
1968 presidential campaign
Poster
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.135
Brochure
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.137
Commemorative coin
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.139.7
1972 presidential campaign
Pin
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.139.4
Pin
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.139.5
1976 presidential campaign
Poster
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.136
Pin
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.139.1
Keychain
Museum purchase made possible by the Evelyn S. and H. Wayne Patterson Fund 2010.139.6
See below for more additions to the Columbus Museum's Permanent Collection
Winter 2010-2011 acquisitions
Fall 2010 acquisitions
Summer 2010 acquisitions
Spring 2010 acquisitions
Winter 2009-2010 acquisitions |
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