From Rembrandt to Audubon
A BANNER ANNIVERSARY YEAR AHEAD FOR THE BIGGS
Twenty five years since the founding, all five governors who’ve presided over the Delaware state house have agreed to serve on the Biggs Anniversary Honorary Committee. That’s Biggs bipartisanship! Here’s the rundown of the year ahead:
Rembrandt Etchings: States, Fakes and Restrikes
May 12 – July 8, 2018, Opening Reception: May 12, 2018 as part of the Biggs Museum Silver Gala In honor of the Biggs Museum’s 25th anniversary, the staff and trustees are exceptionally honored to open this year’s Silver Gala Celebration with the visual treat of Rembrandt Etchings: States, Fakes, and Restrikes. This exhibition features over 50 fine art prints by one of the most important artists of all, Rembrandt van Rijn. The exhibition will take place on the museum’s third-floor galleries from May 12 through July 8, 2018.
Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn (1606-1669) is one of the most influential printmakers in the history of art. The artist created etchings of a uniquely detailed quality, and his craftsmanship is unparalleled. The Biggs Museum’s exhibition also displays a wide range of the artistic subjects popularized in Holland during their early colonization of the American mid-Atlantic region including northern Delaware, a rare look into the popular culture topics of one of the earliest Western civilizations to settle in this region.
Layered onto this searing view into the culture that helped define our own origins as a colony, this exhibition helps its viewers to understand the long and complicated life of Rembrandt’s most desirable images. Even after Rembrandt died in 1669, after nearly 50 years of making prints and paintings, other publishers and printmakers used his etching plates to keep printing additional copies of his coveted art works. In addition, due to the very high prices Rembrandt prints demanded by dealers and auctions, modern fakes have been created to cash in on his iconic name. The exhibition describes some of the techniques that historians have developed to identify Rembrandt images (his own states, the complete fakes and the authorized restrikes) made in the 20th century, the 1800s, the 1700s, and during the life of the artist.
Michael Galmer: Contemporary Silversmith
April 6 – May 20, 2018, Opening Reception: Friday, April 6, 2018
Based in New York, the silversmith Michael Galmer has succeeded in becoming one of the country’s leading craftsmen having designed for Tiffany and Co., Lenox, Gorham and Kirk Stieff. With a unique technique, the artist has developed a wide variety of repousse-decorated jewelry and vessels as well as the renowned Preakness trophy, commemorative silver forms, and contemporary sculptures for such distinguished collections as the Jewish Museum of New York.
Delaware Discoveries: Girlhood Embroidery, 1750-1850
May 19 – July 22, 2018
The Biggs Museum will honor the upcoming publication of Delaware Discoveries: Girlhood Embroidery, 1750-1850, the definitive study of Delaware girlhood samplers of the 18th and 19th centuries, with an exhibition of historic needlework. The exhibition will feature approximately 80 antique samplers and other forms of embroidery from all three counties of the state with a special emphasis on debuting the work of little-known schools of needlework instruction; it will be accompanied by a national symposium, public workshops, and a book signing.
John James Audubon and His Influence Today
August 4, 2018 – November 26, 2018
In 1826 at the age of 41, encouraged by his wife, John James Audubon took his portfolio of 300+ works to England. Today, more than ever, his work endures and segments of his work are right here at the Biggs in Dover. This exhibition examines the importance of the artist and naturalist through a large exhibition of his earliest works from both the Birds of America and Viviparous Quadropeds publications. This historical analysis will be coupled with the works of contemporary artists influenced by early naturalists and recorded in an exhibition catalog with color reproductions and essays by leading scholars.
The museum houses one of the finest permanent collections of regional and American fine and decorative arts from the 1700s to the present. Special features of the permanent collection include painting collections by the Peale family, Albert Beirstadt, Gilbert Stuart and Childe Hassam. Sculptures on display by Hiram Powers and images include those of Brandywine School Illustrator, Frank E. Schoonover. The Biggs forecasts nearly 40,000 visitors during this year of blockbuster traveling exhibitions.
Among this stellar lineup, perhaps most important is the Rembrandt Opening which coincides with our annual gala on May 12th. Members of the CAMP Rehoboth Board of Directors are invited as guests of the Biggs, acknowledging CAMP’s incredible community-building throughout the year. If you’re interested in joining us, tickets are still available for purchase. Please contact Brent Mundt at bmundt@biggsmuseum.org if you are interested in bringing a group.
All exhibitions will be accompanied by public programs as well as family-friendly, hands-on activities within the museum’s Child HELP Foundation Gallery.
For more information or tickets to the Biggs Museum Silver Gala on May 12, 2018, visit BiggsMuseum.org; For information about specialized group tours, email Brent Mundt.