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December Issue 2002
Spartanburg County Museum of Art Hosts Three Exhibitions on View Through Year's End in Spartanburg, SC
The Spartanburg County Museum of Art in Spartanburg, SC, is hosting tow noteworthy exhibitions of artists with South Carolina connections, Houghton Cranford Smith: A Retrospective (1887-1983) and Eugene Healan Thomason: A Retrospective (1895-1972). Both exhibitions will be on view through Dec. 29, 2002. The Museum is also presenting an exhibition entitled, P is for Palmetto, featuring works by Mary Whyte which will be on view through Dec. 28, 2002.
Houghton Cranford Smith was born in New Jersey, studied at The Art Students League and the Cape Cod School of Art, then in France with Andre Lhote as well as with other notable artists. Smith traveled extensively early in his career and painted many oil sketches from his travels which he later used as references when painting in his New York studio. After the death of his first wife, he met and married Laura Gilbert Williams from Lancaster, SC, (in 1941). They spent several summers during the 1950's vacationing at Pawley's Island, SC. This exhibition includes a number of these Lowcountry scenes. "We are honored to present the very first exhibition of Smith's work in the Southeast" says Executive Director Theresa Mann, who worked with the Smith family and The Smith Art Trust to bring over 30 pieces of Smith's work to Spartanburg. Mann says that the Greenville Museum of Art and The Columbia Museum of Art each have one of Smith's Lowcountry scenes in their permanent collection. According to Mann, The Spartanburg County Museum of Art would like to encourage other Southeastern museums to include works by Smith in their collections and exhibition schedule.
Eugene Healan Thomason was born in Blacksburg,
SC, and studied at The Art Students League and the Grand Central
School of Art. For twelve years he shared a studio with the renowned
Ashcan School painter, George Luks. In the early 1930's, Thomason
left New York and moved to the mountains of NC. He became known
as "The Ashcan Artist of Appalachia" for his works produced
during these times, which share stylistic similarities with the
works of Thomas Hart Benton, considered the leading interpreter
of rural America. Mann says that Thomason's works are a strong
compliment to The Spartanburg Museum's permanent collection, which
includes The Girl with Red Hair by Robert Henri who was
the founder of The Ashcan School of painters. The Greenville Museum
of Art and The Columbia Museum of Art also have works by Thomason
in their permanent collections.
Robert M. Hicklin, Jr. and The Charleston Renaissance Gallery
organized this exhibition at the Spartanburg Museum of Art with
assistance from private donars.
"B"
is for Sweetgrass Baskets by Mary Whyte
Mary Whyte's 27 original watercolor illustrations, from the acclaimed children's book, P is for Palmetto, will be on view at the Museum through Dec. The exhibition is a collection of descriptive rhyme and appealing watercolor images that covers this beautiful southeastern state from A to Z. Author Carol Crane captures the diverse features of SC with her flowing verse and solid expository text, while Whyte's imaginative and colorful watercolor paintings add the perfect finishing touch. South Carolinians, young and old, will treasure P is for Palmetto, published by Sleeping Bear Press, and educators will find its two-tiered teaching format extremely useful in their classrooms.
"D"
is for Drayton Hall by Mary Whyte
Whyte is best known for her watercolor portraits and her Lowcountry Series, a moving collection of watercolors that depict the rich heritage and culture of the Gullah people. Her work is exhibited in over two hundred corporate, university, museum, and private collections. Whyte has been teaching for over twenty years and is the illustrator of more than a dozen children's books. She has written several feature articles for American Artist and Watercolor magazines. She is also the author of the popular instructional book, Watercolor for the Serious Beginner, published by Watson-Guptill and now in its fourth printing.
P is for Palmetto, was organized by Coleman Fine Art in Charleston, SC, and has been touring SC since Sept. of this year. After showing at the Spartanburg County Museum of Art, the exhibit moves to the SC State Museum in Columbia, SC, from Jan. 10 through Mar. 1, 2003 and ends its tour at Coleman Fine Art, from Mar. 7 - 29, 2003.
For more info check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the museum at 864/582-7616, e-mail to (musuem@spartanarts.org) or at (www.sparklenet.com/museumofart).
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