RINGLING EXHIBITION OF ICONIC 20TH CENTURY PHOTOGRAPHS CAPTURES ENDURING MOMENTS
Images from The Warren J. and Margot Coville Photography Collection On View November 9, 2012 to February 3, 2013
Sarasota, FL —Sept. 14, 2012 — The Warren J. and Margot Coville Photography Collection exhibition at The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art explores iconic moments through the lens of many renowned photographers, including Berenice Abbott, Alfred Eisenstaedt, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Barbara Morgan and Andre Kertesz. The show is a continuum of the Ringling’s Art of Our Time which focuses on leading contemporary artists. It comprises more than 75 images spanning the twentieth century and early twenty-first century. Among the stunning imagery on view is the 1888 construction of the Eiffel Tower and the 2001 attack on the World Trade Center. It also includes a large collection of photojournalism. The exhibition runs Nov. 9, 2012 to Feb. 3, 2013.
“The Coville Photography Collection exhibition is such a powerful and moving show,” said Steven High, executive director for The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art. “It is a riveting account of recent world events and iconic moments taken by key photographers of this and the past century. These artists witnessed and captured history for this and future generations. I anticipate the images on view will have a deep and lasting impression, touching off a wide range of emotions for our visitors.”
It includes images, such as Walter Rosenblum’s unflinching portrayals of humanity, Hospital Workers, South Bronx, 1979. Barbara Morgan’s beautifully composed image of legendary dancer Martha Graham from 1940. Alfred Eisenstaedt’s photograph of the triumphant Winston Churchill and Tony Spina’s photo of the contemplative Martin Luther King in Grosse Pointe, Michigan from 1968. It also features an unknown photographer’s chilling image of the Hindenburg crash taken in 1937.
“The exhibition documents monumental shifts in global politics and national identities, as well as showing examples of significant developments in art history and photographic technologies,” remarked Dr. Matthew McLendon, curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. “With their gift to the Ringling Museum, Warren and Margot Coville have created an enduring legacy that will enable the exploration of the photographic arts at the Ringling for generations to come. It is truly an encyclopedic resource from which to grow the Museum’s burgeoning photography collection.”
The Ringling Museum presents a variety of programs to extend exploration of the exhibited works in the Historic Asolo Theater. There is A Conversation with the Collector: Warren J. Coville (Wed., Nov. 14, 7:30 p.m.) featuring a discussion between Warren J. Coville and Dr. McLendon that introduces this significant gift to the Museum. It is free to the public, seating is limited.
Photography on Film is a series of film documentaries screened in the Historic Asolo Theater in mid-November that focus on photographers featured in the exhibition. On Thursday, Nov. 15 from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. the films includes Berenice Abbott: A View of the 20th Century by Kay Weaver and Martha Wheelock (5:30 to 6:35 p.m.), Masters of Photography: Edward Steichen (6:50 to 7:25 p.m.); and Henri Cartier-Bresson: The Impassioned Eye by Heinz Butler (7:40 to 9 p.m.).
On Friday, Nov. 16 and Saturday, Nov. 17 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. the films show Berenice Abbott (1 to 2:05 p.m.); Edward Steichen (2:20 to 2:55 p.m.); and Henri Cartier-Bresson (3:10 to 4:30 p.m.). The films are free for Museum members and included for non-Members with their paid Museum admission for that day.
From Nov. 5 to Dec. 10 at 7 p.m., the Museum is also presenting its Monday Nights Movies series, titled Exposed!: The Photographer in the Cinematic Imagination. The films include, Rear Window directed by Alfred Hitchcock (Nov. 5); Blowup directed by Michelangelo Antonioni (Nov. 12); The Year of Living Dangerously directed by Peter Weir (Nov. 19); Fairy Tale: A True Story directed by Charles Sturridge (Nov. 26); Amelie directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Dec. 3); and The Midnight Meat Train directed by Ryuhei Kitamura (Dec. 10). Tickets are $7.
The ViewPoint: Forming History, Thomas Southall, Independent Curator, Author, and Lecturer (Sat., Nov. 3, 10:30 am in the Historic Asolo Theater) reveals the formal elements that make a powerful and lasting photograph. It is complimentary for Ringling Members at the Contributor Level and above, $10 for non-Members, $5 for all Ringling Members and Florida State college students and faculty with valid school I.D.
Inside the galleries of the Museum of Art, GalleryWalk and Talks include close up conversations with two local photographers, Peter Acker, Commercial Photographer (Thurs., Nov. 29 at 6 p.m.) and Sally Pettibon, Photographer, RCAD Faculty (Thurs., Jan. 31 at 6 p.m.). Each will share his/her insights on specific works in the show. These discussions are part of Art after 5, which is free for Museum Members and $10 for non-members with paid admission.
The exhibition is made possible through the generosity of Warren J. and Margot Coville. Their gift -- the largest gift of photography in the Museum’s history totaling more than 1,000 photographs -- serves as the foundation for the exhibition. The Covilles are collectors living part-time in Sarasota and part-time in Detroit. A photography enthusiast himself, Warren bought his first camera at 13 years old with his bar-mitzvah money. Warren began seriously collecting the photographs of established (and not so established) artists in 1974, and continued until 2001.
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