3/30/2008 Reopening Presskit08

Great art is just the beginning
MEDIA KIT
Contact: Karen Tebbenhoff
Director of Marketing & PR
603.669.6144, ext. 102
[email protected]
www.currier.org
Contact PR & Marketing
for images
Introduction
The Currier Museum of Art, Manchester,
NH, reopens its doors to the public on
Sunday, March 30, 2008 after a 21-month
expansion which added 33,000 square feet
of gallery, classroom, event, auditorium, and
office space. The physical transformation
of the museum is supported by a rebranding initiative which reflects the Currier’s
commitment to offer enriching, personal
encounters with the finest art works and artmaking experiences to all audiences.
As a regional museum with collections
that rival many metropolitan museums, the
reopening provides the perfect opportunity
to showcase the Currier’s collections. When
the doors open on March 30, visitors will find
that the museum is installed entirely with the
works from the museum’s collections.
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Expansion
Architectural Vision
Designed by Boston-based Ann Beha
Architects (www.annbeha.com), the Currier’s
expansion was designed to maximize space
for collections, exhibitions, programs, and
visitor services while maintaining its appealing,
personal scale. This is the second major addition
to the 1929 building designed by Tilton and
Githens, NYC. In 1982, new pavillions were
added by Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer of New York.
According to Pamela W. Hawkes FAIA,
principal in charge of the project for Ann Beha
Architects, “Early in the process, we looked at
many alternatives for adding to the museum,
and settled on two separate additions which
preserve the prominence of the original building
as well as the intimacy of its spaces.”
The south addition is clad in glass and honed
brown terra cotta tiles which harmonize with
the limestone of the original building and buff
brick of the1980’s pavillions. Tiles are grouped
into panels which match the proportions
of the original windows, and zinc-sheathed
cornices and porticoes at each end reference
the streamlined classical details of the original
building. Panels of black Italian basalt with a
chiseled finish punctuate the sides and recall
New Hampshire’s craggy hillsides.
Visitors enter a new, landscaped drop-off
plaza, featuring Origins, a dramatic sculpture by
Mark di Suvero acquired especially for the space. On the north, an all-glass façade encloses the new lobby and
expanded museum shop. On the south, three new galleries ring an enclosed Winter Garden, which captures the
museum’s 1929 façade and offers a unique space for the café, receptions and performances. A staircase from the
Winter Garden leads to a new 180-seat auditorium, classrooms and administrative offices on the lower level.
Construction team
The expansion project was managed by Harvey Construction Corporation of Bedford, NH (www.hccnh.com).
Other partners include Rist-Frost Shumway Engineering, Inc. P.C. of Laconia, NH for plumbing, electrical, fire
protection and civil engineering; Exergen Corporation of Watertown, MA for mechanical engineering; LeMessurier
Consultants of Cambridge, MA for structural engineering; and Boston-based Richard Burck Associates for
landscape architecture.
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Expansion FAQs
 3 3,000 square-foot expansion – brings the museum
to just under 90,000 total square feet

Designed by Ann Beha Architects of Boston
 C
onstruction by Harvey Construction Company of
Bedford, NH
 F ive additional galleries to showcase more of the
growing collection

Show 50% more of collections
 T wo classrooms to allow for up to 15,000 school tour
visitors per year

180 seat auditorium

Winter Garden café and event space
 V
isitor Lobby with spacious museum shop, coat room
and lockers
 E ntrance plaza adjacent to a fully landscaped, larger
off-street parking area.

New staff offices on the lower level
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Recent Acquisitions
Mark di Suvero
Mark di Suvero is one of the most celebrated and influential American
sculptors working today. Since the 1960s, di Suvero has been creating
monumental steel sculptures that are now in major public collections
around the world, including the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture
Garden, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Storm King Art Center,
Mountainville, New York; and the Rijksmuseum Kroller-Muller, Otterlo, The
Netherlands. Using materials synonymous with the construction industry,
di Suvero transforms steel beams and scrap metal into powerful abstract
compositions that mesmerize viewers with their lively color, soaring height,
and sharp angles. Origins, begun in 2001 in his California studio and
completed in 2004 in New York, exemplifies his work with its classic tri-pod
frame and central knot. The curving element crowning the sculpture spins
delicately with the wind, endlessly altering one’s view of the work.
Mark di Suvero, Origins, 2001-2004, steel and painted steel, 436 in. x 219
in. x 214 in. Currier Museum of Art (Museum Purchase: The Henry Melville
Fuller Acquisition Fund)
Sol LeWitt
Commissioned by the museum, Wall Drawing #1255: Whirls and twirls (Currier) by Sol LeWitt was designed shortly before his
death in April 2007. A leading Minimalist artist, LeWitt was the first to use a conceptual approach to art making. Much as a
composer writes music but others perform it, LeWitt developed a process of creating instructions for a work of art that could
then be carried out by others. Supervised by two assistants from LeWitt’s studio, team of artists from area colleges and high
schools worked for a month to fully realize with meticulous care the instructions set forth by LeWitt. Produced with acrylic
paint and applied directly on the wall, the wall drawing captivates visitors with its bold patterns and colors that undulate
across two seventeen-foot walls and bridge a thirty-foot expanse of glass.
Sol LeWitt, Wall Drawing #1255: Whirls and twirls (Currier), Acrylic on wall surface
First Drawn by: Jake Bernier, Ashley Capachione, Abby Doria, Megan Dyer, Matt Jones, Kera MacKenzie, John
O’Shaughnessy, Tomas Ramberg
First Installation: February 2008
Currier Museum of Art, New Hampshire (Museum Purchase: The Henry Melville Fuller Acquisition Fund)
© 2008 The LeWitt Estate / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
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Recent Acquisitions
Maxfield Parrish
Maxfield Parrish illustrated such classics as The Arabian
Nights, Mother Goose, and Knave of Hearts, and he
designed covers for such leading magazines as Harper’s
Bazar, The Century, and Collier’s. In the 1920s Parrish
turned away from illustration to focus on fine art. About
1930 he turned almost exclusively to pure landscapes,
many inspired by the rolling hills of his adopted home of
Plainfield, NH.
Freeman Farm: Winter is a classic example of Parrish’s
later landscapes. Small in scale, it depicts a neighbor’s
farmhouse nestled against a snowy slope at twilight.
The white house, lit only by a single lamp, is silhouetted
against the deep “Parrish” blue sky. Freeman Farm was
purchased by Jack Hemenway, a neighbor of the artist,
who presented the work as a gift to the Currier this year.
Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), Freeman Farm: Winter,
1935, oil on panel, 10 ¼ by 12 ¾ inches. Gift of Jack and
Harriet Hemenway.
Hendrick Goltzius
A Dutch artist of German descent, Hendrick Goltzius was
an influential engraver and painter of the late sixteenth
and early seventeenth centuries. Goltzius became a
leading member of the first generation of Dutch artists
working in a classical tradition. This growing interest
Italian Renaissance and ancient Greek and Roman art
brought many Dutch artists to Italy. Goltzius, who arrived
there in Italy in 1590, was among the first to cross the
Alps and draw inspiration from the ancient remains and
natural beauty of Venice, Florence, Rome and Naples.
In this painting he depicted a Dutch woman as Helen
of Troy in celebration of the sitter’s beauty and social
standing as evidenced by the letter on the table before the
sitter inscribed “Helena...” and the golden apple beside it,
a traditional symbol of Helen of Troy’s legendary beauty.
Hendrick Goltzius (1558-1617), Helen of Troy, 1615
oil on canvas, 45 1/4 x 32 3/4 inches, Gift of David Giles
Carter and Museum Purchase.
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Art Center
Since 1939 the Currier Museum’s Art Center
has served Manchester and the surrounding
communities with quality, studio-based educational
programs in the visual arts for students of all ages
and abilities. The Art Center runs studio art courses
and programs for students of all ages and abilities
throughout the year.
Fall and Winter programs include Art Foundations
for Children aged 3 to 10, ArtVentures! for Preteens
for students ages 11 to 15, and Art School for Teens
and Adults for students ages 15 to adult. Saturday
Workshops for Children, Teens, and Adults offer a
range of one and two day intensives for students of
all ages. Additionally, the Art Center runs half and
full day Vacation Art Camp for Kids! ages 5 to 14,
and half day Art Intensives for Teens during school
vacations. In the summer the Art Center offers the
popular Summer Art Camp for Kids! for students
ages 3 to 12, ArtVentures! for Preteens for students
ages 12 to 15, and the Summer School for Teens and
Adults for students ages 15 to adult.
Zimmerman House
The Currier offers a unique opportunity to explore the
world of Frank Lloyd Wright. The Zimmerman House
is the only residence in New England designed by
acclaimed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright that
is open to the public.
Wright designed the Zimmerman House in 1950,
planning its gardens, its built-in and freestanding
furniture, its textiles, and even the mailbox! The
Zimmerman House offers a glimpse into the 1950s
– 1960s, and the private lives of Isadore and Lucille
Zimmerman, who lived in the home for 36 years.
Tours run late March through December and are
appropriate for ages 7 and up. For reservations visit
www.currier.org or call 603.669.6144, ext. 108.
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Reopening Events
Welcome Back!
For the Currier’s Grand Reopening, admission is free for the first week, March 30 – April 5, 2008
(closed Tuesday).
Reopening Week
Reopening Day
March 30 - April 5
Sunday, March 30
Zimmerman House Highlight Tours
Daily, 11:30am or 1:30pm
11amRibbon cutting ceremony with
Governor John Lynch and Dr.
Susan Lynch and Mayor Frank
Guinta
Special Public Tour: Director’s Choice
Intriguing Works of Art at the Currier
Monday, March 31, 1pm
Friday, April 4, 11am
11:30amArt-making activity in the
classrooms
11:30am
Special Public Tour: A Curator’s Look at
Reinstalling a Museum’s Collections
Monday, March 31, 3:30pm
Thursday, April 3, 3:30pm
Zimmerman House Highlight Tour
12pmCurrier float in Manchester’s
St. Patrick’s Day parade
12:30pm Peterborough Children’s Choir
1:30pm Zimmerman House Highlight Tour
2pm
Manchester Chorale Society
3pm Family storyteller Odds Bodkin
Special Public Tour: My Favorite Things About
the New Currier
Wednesday, April 2, 1pm
Thursday, April 3, 1pm
Family Studio: Family gallery talk and art
activity
Wednesday, April 2, 2:30 - 4:30pm
4:30pmArt-making activity in the
classrooms
7pm
Special Public Tour: New Acquisitions in the
Contemporary Collections
Wednesday, April 2, 3:30pm
Latin Rock band deSoL
First Thursday: Museum is open late and
offers live music, lectures, and films
Thursday, April 3, 5:30 - 8pm
Special Public Tour: Treasures from the
Collections Return to View
Friday, April 4, 1pm
Public Reopening funding provided by
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Collections
The Currier Museum of Art is home to an
internationally respected collection of European and
American paintings, decorative arts, photographs
and sculpture. New galleries showcase the collection
of over 11,000 objects, including works by Picasso,
Matisse, Monet, O’Keeffe, and Warhol.
As visitors enter the expanded museum, they will first
encounter a gallery that sparkles with glass, ceramics
and the museum’s vast paperweight collection, on
display in its majority for the first time. The entire
second floor is devoted to 18th-and 19th-century
American art, featuring paintings by Hudson River
School artists Thomas Cole, Jasper Cropsey, and
Martin Johnson Heade; still-life compositions by John
Francis, Severin Roesen, and William M. Harnett; and
Impressionist canvases by Childe Hassam, Edmund
Tarbell, and William Metcalf, among others.
The museum’s collection of European art covers key
works from the late Middle Ages to Impressionism
including notable works by Joos van Cleve, Jacob
van Ruisdael, Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, John
Constable and Claude Monet.
The remaining five first-floor galleries display
twentieth-century and contemporary art. The
Currier’s collection of modernist painting and
sculpture – with works by Pablo Picasso, Henri
Matisse, Georges Rouault, as well as Georgia
O’Keeffe, and Marsden Hartley – are the focus of
one gallery. New acquisitions, including works by
Marisol Escobar, Donald Judd, and Sol LeWitt, now
hang with Abstract Expressionist work by Adolph
Gottlieb and Joan Mitchell, and realist paintings by
Neil Welliver, and Jane Freilicher.
One new gallery features work by important regional
artists, including ceramics by Ed and Mary Scheier
and Otto and Vivika Heino, as well as prints and
paintings by John Hatch, Peter Milton and James
Aponovich.
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Currier History
Former Governor Moody Currier (1806-1898)
created an extraordinary legacy by including in
his will the establishment of an art museum in
Manchester, New Hampshire, “for the benefit and
advancement of humanity.” After his own death and
that of his third wife, Hannah, in 1915, a board of
trustees was appointed to carry out the Curriers’
wishes.
Although Moody Currier was a generous patron of
art and literature, he was not an art collector. His
bequest was to operate the museum and provide for
purchase of art. From the start, trustees and directors
were committed to acquiring works of the highest
caliber.
chose the New York firm of Tilton and Githens, who
had recently completed the Manchester Public
Library. Ground was broken in 1927 and the museum
was built on the former site of the Curriers’ large
Victorian home. The Currier Gallery of Art opened to
the public on October 9, 1929.
The building did not rise without controversy. After
rejecting two Boston architecture firms, the trustees
Since 1929, the Currier’s collections have grown to
include European and American art from the late
Middle Ages to the present, including painting,
sculpture, furniture, silver, glass, and textiles. New
pavilions, designed by the New York firm Hardy
Holzman Pfeiffer, were completed in 1982 to
accommodate the museum’s growing collections,
and programs. The Art Center, established following
WWII, provided studio activities for all ages. In 1998,
the program moved out of the Kennard House and
was relocated to the adjacent former Women’s Aide
Home.
In 2001, a long-time supporter and trustee
Henry Melville Fuller bequeathed $43 million for
endowments for acquisitions and operations, which
allowed the museum the ability to grow to the next
level and facilitated its just completed 33,000 square
foot expansion. As the museum continues to grown,
its mission has remained true to the Curriers’ vision.
Exhibitions and programs are designed, as Moody
Currier specified, “to elevate the quality of life in New
Hampshire.” The Currier Museum of Art continues
this commitment to art and education, offering a wide
range of programs for audiences of all ages.
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Key Personnel Profiles
Susan Strickler, Director
irector since 1996, Susan Strickler has overseen the Currier’s recent transformation to
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a museum for the 21st century. With an expertise in American Art, Ms. Strickler came to
the Currier from the Worcester Art Museum where she was responsible for the curatorial
division. She organized major exhibitions in American art, including Andrew Wyeth: Early
Watercolors and the Impressionism Transformed: The Paintings of Edmund C. Tarbell which
both opened at the Currier.
ctive in the community as well, Ms. Strickler has been on the Board of Directors for
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the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce, the New Hampshire Travel Council
and serves currently on the Board of Trustees for the New Hampshire Institute of Art. In
addition to the Worcester Art Museum, she previously worked at the Virginia Museum
of Fine Arts, the Toledo Museum of Art, the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum,
and the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, DE. She was educated at the University of
Delaware, Mount Holyoke College, and Ecole du Louvre.
Susan Leidy, Deputy Director
Since 1995, Susan Leidy has been the Deputy Director of the Currier Museum of Art,
responsible for the management of Education and Public Programs, studio programs at
the Art Center, Security and Maintenance, and the management of the museum’s capital
projects. She has overseen the expansion of the youth studio classes, a two-fold increase
in school tour programs over four years, and the New Hampshire Allstate Art Festival,
which brings 60 high school juniors to the Currier to work with professional artists.
L eidy serves on the boards of the New Hampshire Art Educators, the New England
Museum Association, the Concord Public Library, Chester College of New England and is
a former grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, New Hampshire
State Council on the Arts, and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. She was previously
employed by the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Yale Center for British Art, the
National Trust for Historic Preservation and the international auction house Sothebys.
Leidy was educated at Dickinson College, University of Pennsylvania and Boston
University.
Andrew Spahr, Chief Curator
As the Currier’s chief curator for the last 14 years, Andrew Spahr oversees the collection
and installation of art for the museum. Mr. Spahr has organized numerous traveling
exhibitions during his years at the Currier, and previously as Curator of Exhibitions at the
American Federation of Arts including, The Prints of Peter Milton (1997); Community
of Creativity: A Century of MacDowell Colony Artists (1996); and Monuments of
Contemporary Art: Selections from the Gund Art Foundation Collection (1996-97). Mr.
Spahr has contributed to several published works, including, Community of Creativity: A
Century of MacDowell Colony Artists; Abstract Sculpture in America, 1930-1970; and
Beyond Place: Constructions in America 1930-1965. Mr. Spahr, holds a B.A. and M.A.
from Rutgers University.
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General Information
Hours
Sunday, Monday, Wednesday-Friday 11am – 5pm
Saturday 10am – 5pm, free 10am - 12pm
Open the first Thursday of each month 11am – 8pm
Closed Tuesday
Admission
Adult $10
Senior $9
Student $8
Children under 18 free
Admission with Zimmerman House Tour
Adult $16
Senior $15
Student $14
Children 7-17 $6
Call 603.669.6144 x108 or visit www.currier.org for more information or to book a Zimmerman House tour.
Parking
Free parking and accessible spaces are available in the museum lot on Prospect Street with additional on-street
parking on all sides of the museum. Accessible drop off and pick up is located in front of the museum entrance.
Location
The Currier Museum of Art is located at 150 Ash Street, Manchester, NH 03104
The Art Center is located at 180 Pearl Street, Manchester, NH 03104
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