Face Forward: Recent Acquisitions

Dates:

November 30, 2023 - March 10, 2024

Location:

Becker Gallery

The exhibition highlights recent additions to the collection, focusing on portraiture as a form of artistic experimentation and social commentary.

Selected Works

a sepia photograph showing a woman in a long dress holding a fan — *Portrait of Empress Consort Haruko*, 1872, albumen print by Uchida Kuichi, Japanese, 1844–1875. Museum Purchase, Gridley W. Tarbell II Fund, 2023.6

a drawing of the silhouettes of two seated figures — *Two Ladies Seated in a Loge, Facing Left*, ca. 1879–1880, soft ground aquatint by Mary Cassatt, American, 1844–1926. Museum Purchase, Lloyd O. and Marjorie Strong Coulter Fund, 2015.28.

The head and shoulders of a man with a mustache, against a striped backdropated figures — *Untitled [Self-portrait],* 1931, oil on canvas, by Walter Pach, American, 1883–1958. Gift of Francis M. Naumann and Marie T. Keller. 2017.56.110.

A painting in pastel colors showing a figure in overalls with a guitar — *Valerie with Guitar*, ca. 1950s, oil on canvas by Ashley Bryan, American, 1923–202). Gift of the Ashley Bryan Center, 2021.51.3.

A black and white photograph of a man at a piano and a man playing a trumpet — *Duke Ellington and Louis Armstrong (1 of 3), New York, 1955*, 1955 (printed 1984), gelatin silver print by Irving Penn American, 1917–2009. Gift of Robert A. Fréson Family, 2021.40.8.

A painting showing a girl in the woods with bare branches — *Helena’s Imaginary Air Shelter*, 1955, oil on canvas by Chuzo Tamotzu, Japanese-American, 1891–1975. Gift of Helena L. Katz, MD, in honor of her aunt and uncle, Louise and Chuzo Tamotzu, 2021.35.2.

About

The exhibition highlights recent additions to the collection of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art, focusing on portraiture as a form of artistic experimentation and social commentary. Featuring works in a variety of media, including painting, drawing, photography, and printmaking, the installation includes several artworks that have never before been exhibited at the Museum. As a collaborative project Face Forward incorporates new research conducted by several Museum student interns and staff members.

Th exhibition is supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Endowment Fund.