January’s Mystery Image Revealed: Phillip L. Powell’s Door and Surround

January 10th, 2012
Phillip Lloyd Powell (1919-2008), Door and Surround, 1967, Stacked carved softwoods, polychromed, James A. Michener Art Museum, Museum Purchase with Funds provided by Sharon B. and Sydney F. Martin.

Phillip Lloyd Powell (1919-2008), Door and Surround, 1967, Stacked carved softwoods, polychromed, James A. Michener Art Museum, Museum Purchase with Funds provided by Sharon B. and Sydney F. Martin.

Walking through the galleries, you can’t miss Phil Powell’s brightly colored door, carved with various designs and painted in shades of yellow, orange and red. This month’s mystery image captured a small segment of this door, currently installed in the Putman-Smith Gallery at the Museum. This door was part of Powell’s earliest residence in New Hope, PA.

In looking closely at this work, it reminds me of various doors to buildings I have seen in my travels over the years. The door’s characteristics remind me of the carvings and decorative elements found in the architecture of Spain, such as in the Alhambra in Granada and the Alcázar in Seville.  It also reminds me of doors and grand entrances I encountered in India, such as the Taj Mahal in Agra and the Jama Masjid in Delhi. This work also echos the same feeling and presence found in the doors of Gothic cathedrals in France, such as in the Cathedral at Rouen, painted by the French Impressionist, Claude Monet in the late 1800s. So, it’s no surprise that the travels that Powell made to countries such as Spain, Portugal, England, Sicily, India, and Morocco, were a key part of the artist’s creative inspiration for his work. He took the carvings and decorative elements of these cultures and infused them to create his own personal style. He stated, ““travel influences my work the most – for the awareness of what’s been done.” Read More »

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An Intern’s Perspective: On Parade by Louis Stone

November 30th, 2011
Louis Stone, On Parade, n.d., oil on canvas, H.40,25 x W.60 inches. James A. Michener Art Museum. Gift of Janet L. and Lawrence C. Stone.

Louis Stone, On Parade, n.d., oil on canvas, H.40,25 x W.60 inches. James A. Michener Art Museum. Gift of Janet L. and Lawrence C. Stone.

It’s hard to believe that we are already at the end of November, and I am embarrassed to say that we were delayed in revealing September’s Mystery Image. This image is a section of a larger painting entitled, On Parade by Louis Stone. I asked our Education Intern, a student from the University of Pennsylvania, to write about this work. Thanks Ali for taking the time to look closer at On Parade! – Adrienne N. Romano, Director of Education and New Media

What do you see in this work? I spy a cupcake. I spy a pair of blue eyes and two Groucho Marx eyebrows. I spy a smile, a swooping arm and a mitten-hand. No one sees the same thing and that is what makes it fun to look at a work like this! Read More »

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Alan Goldstein: Merging Architecture with Nature

July 18th, 2011

Alan Goldstein, b. 1938, Upriver from Lumberville: Walking Bridge II, 1984, oil on canvas, James A. Michener Art Museum, purchased with funds provided by Anne and Joseph Gardocki.

Alan Goldstein, b. 1938, Upriver from Lumberville: Walking Bridge II, 1984, oil on canvas, James A. Michener Art Museum, purchased with funds provided by Anne and Joseph Gardocki.

Alan Goldstein is an abstract painter who works predominantly with paint, ink and mixed media. He has experimented with diverse media, including tar, rope, steel, and fabric.

Goldstein started his formal schooling by studying architecture, the art or practice of designing and constructing buildings. Do you see anything in Upriver from Lumberville that reminds you of architecture?

Architecture continues to inspire the things Goldstein includes in his work. After looking at this painting, look at some photographs taken of local Bucks County buildings. Better yet, travel around the county. Do you see any elements in the buildings that look like they could be part of Goldstein’s painting?

In addition, the natural beauty of Bucks County inspires Goldstein. He enjoys traveling around the countryside finding views of hills, rivers, stonewalls, meadows and forests that interest him. Sometimes he sketches his ideas, sometimes he photographs them, and sometimes he simply remembers the images for a future work of art. When Goldstein photographs his work, he often combines different photographs in a collage.  He then uses the collage as a basis for his paintings, a technique used in Upriver from Lumberville. He finds patterns in the repetition of roads, rivers and trees. His colors come from nature, though like any artist he changes the colors in order to have a successful composition. Look carefully at Upriver from Lumberville.  What in nature can you find in this painting? How is this painting a landscape? Read More »

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May’s Mystery Image: Ney’s Mural Study

June 1st, 2011

As a follow up to our Mystery Image of the Month,  which was Ney’s Study for New London Facets, we thought it would be useful to highlight this mural study, which is currently displayed in our front lobby.

Lloyd R. Ney, Study for New London Facets, 1940, charcoal, graphite and tempera on gessoed laminated wood panel, H. 69.25 x W. 167 inches. Museum purchase and partial gift in honor of Dr. Marvin and Muriel Sultz, Elkins Park, PA.

Ney created this large four-panel work in 1940 as a study for his Public Works of Art Project mural proposed for the United States Post Office in New London, Ohio. He submitted his preliminary sketch in 1939 to the Treasury Department’s Section of Painting and Sculpture. Ney’s vision for this mural was that it would tell the history of the town of New London, “depicting many ideas of scenes in one setting”.  The mural study combines scenes of the town’s history allowing each scene to flow into the next.

There are many details to find in Ney’s study. Can you spot the hippo? Can you find the capitol building? Do you see the image of the train? Can you find the dog? Can you find the postcards? Read More »

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Director’s Spotlight: Discovering the Michener’s First Fake

May 11th, 2011
(Attributed to) Franz Kline (1910-1962), Untitled, n.d., oil on canvas, H. 58 x W. 68 inches, James A. Michener Art Museum. Gift of Mari and James A. Michener.

(Attributed to) Franz Kline (1910-1962), Untitled, n.d., oil on canvas, H. 58 x W. 68 inches, James A. Michener Art Museum. Gift of Mari and James A. Michener.

When I first arrived at the Michener in 1989, the museum’s collection was virtually non-existent. The collection held fewer than 50 objects and most were not high quality. The only paintings of note were a small group of Abstract Expressionist canvases which Jim Michener had left in his Bucks County home. In the 1960s, Jim Michener had built an excellent collection of American paintings, the bulk of which had been given to the University of Texas at Austin. Among the works that had been left in Jim’s Pipersville home were paintings by Karl Knaths, Grace Hartigan, Kyle Morris, Helen Frankenthaler and the prized object, a large (58 x 68) untitled canvas by Franz Kline. Kline, who died in 1961 at the age of 51, was a giant of the New York School who, along with Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning, came to symbolize the power and vitality of postwar American Abstract Expressionism. Read More »

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