Artists of the Great Lakes, 1910 to 1960

The Kresge Art Museum

Slum Lad by Hughie Lee-Smith

September 2–November 2, 2008

This exhibition of thirty-seven paintings from 1910-1960 presents a variety of styles by artists of the Midwest.

It examines the unique “local style” of the Great Lakes region by artists from Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and New York who were active in the American Regionalist art movement during the first half of the twentieth century.

Their work, often direct and energetic in approach, offers a glimpse into everyday life in the Midwest of this time, including shoreline scenes of the Great Lakes, powerful depictions of the region’s industry and commerce, and memorable portraits of Midwestern people in both urban and rural settings.

The paintings, on loan from the Flint Institute of Arts, are selected from their large collection of artists of the Great Lakes. Many are from the recent acquisition of Inland painters collected by Michael Hall and Pat Glascock.

Sponsor: Program in American Studies, MSU

*Click on the images for a full caption*

The Old Pier by Ponsen

OPENING RECEPTION:

Hosted by Friends of Kresge Art Museum

Thursday, September 4, 5–7 p.m., Kresge Art Museum

Speaker: John Henry, Director, Flint Institute of Arts, 6 p.m.

LECTURES:

Wednesday, September 24, 7 p.m. Kresge Art Museum

Lecture: Great Lakes Painters and the Place Called Home

Speaker: Michael Hall

Michael Hall, sculptor, curator and consummate collector, will talk about what drives him to collect and the world of Inland artists and their work. He will regale the audience with tales of meeting many of the painters included in the show.

His first collection of folk art now forms the core of Milwaukee Art Museum’s well-regarded holdings in this field. Selections from second collection of “Inland” or Great Lakes Paintings, assembled with his wife Pat Glascock, now in the Flint Institute of Arts’ collection, are on view at KAM.

Monday, October 13, 7 p.m., S105 South Kedzie Hall

Lecture: Midwestern Visions: Grant Wood, Marvin Cone and Beyond

Speaker: Sean Ulmer, Curator, Cedar Rapids Art Museum

Sponsored by: Department of Art and Art History and Museum Studies Program

The Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, like many museums, has a rich tradition of supporting local and regional artists. Highlights from the CRMA’s holdings of works by Grant Wood, along with those of Marvin Cone, will be discussed along with a wide variety of other Midwestern artists from the collection, to provide a fuller and more complete picture of the Midwest’s contribution to the history of American art.

FILM:

Friday, September 26, 7 p.m., North Conference Room, 4th floor, West Wing, MSU Main Library

Film: Road to Perdition (2002, 117 min.)

Woodward Avenue no. II by Sepeshy

Part of the MSU Library Film Series

Introduction: David Stowe, Program in American Studies

This period drama, set in the Midwest during the 1930s, is based on a highly regarded graphic novel by crime writer Max Allan Collins.

Tom Hanks stars as Michael Sullivan, a morally-torn hit man, working for a crime syndicate affiliated with Al Capone. The film traces the journey of Sullivan and son from Illinois to Michigan, as they attempt to elude a cast of sinister characters including an assassin who dabbles in crime-scene photography (Jude Law).

GALLERY WALKS:

Thursday, September 18, 12:10 p.m.

Sunday, October 5, 1 p.m.

Thursday, October 30, 6:30 p.m.