Cleveland Art, November/December 2019
- Member Magazine
In this issue of the members magazine: Reimagining the British Galleries; Tiffany in Bloom; The Hallwyl Reliquary; Learn About May Show Artists; Collection Online; The Frances Taft Archive
Reimagining the British Galleries
Early next year, the British galleries (203a-b) will close for reinstallation for the first time since 2008, when the upper floor of the renovated 1916 building opened. The three curators overseeing these collections—Betsy Wieseman, chair of European art from classical antiquity to 1800 and Paul J....
Virtually Installed, From left: Harrison, Korkow, and Wieseman peruse a gallery plan for the reinstalled British galleries this past September.
Tiffany in Bloom
Just as they did more than 100 years ago, the words “Tiffany lamp” conjure an image of artistic beauty, a bird of rare plumage, or a kaleidoscope of color formed from thousands of pieces of glass. With the flick of a switch these otherwise dark, dormant puzzles come alive to create a glowing paintin...
Peony Table Lamp, c. 1901–10. Probably by Clara Wolcott Driscoll (American, 1861–1944), Tiffany Studios (America, New York, 1902–1932). Leaded glass, bronze; h. 80 cm. Bequest of Charles Maurer, 2018.260 (left)
Wisteria Table Lamp, c. 1902–10. Clara Wolcott Driscoll, Tiffany Studios. Leaded glass, bronze; h. 43.2 cm. Bequest of Charles Maurer, 2018.261 (right)
The Hallwyl Reliquary
The Cleveland Museum of Art’s Portable Altar of Countess Gertrude is currently featured in a major exhibition at the Historisches Museum Basel in Switzerland. In exchange, that museum has graciously agreed to lend to Cleveland the Hallwyl Reliquary, a masterpiece of medieval goldsmithery, on view in...
Hallwyl Reliquary, before 1470; base, 1470. France, Strasbourg. Base by Mathias Frischmut. Crucifixion group: raised, cast, engraved, punched, and chased gold, with diamonds and a ruby; shrine: raised, cast, engraved, cut, and gilded silver, with opaque champlevé enamel, a sapphire, and a sardonyx cameo; base: gilt lindenwood; h. 58.7 cm. On loan from the Historisches Museum Basel, 1882.83
Learn About May Show Artists
Housewife, neurosurgery professor, art teacher, vagabond: These are a few of the self-proclaimed professions included on the biographical forms of artists who exhibited in the Cleveland Museum of Art’s May Show. From 1919 to 1993, the annual juried exhibition featured the work of hundreds of northea...
Collection Online
The museum’s cross-departmental Collection Information Team launched the new Collection Online in September. As part of the initiative to make artwork information universally available, we scrutinized every layer of the visitor’s online experience to create a powerful search that removes barriers, h...
Object Pages Scrolling text on the right-hand side is paired with a static image, providing easy reference when reading an artwork’s information.
Citations are linked directly to the CMA’s archives, simplifying scholarly research.
Icon Bar Every object page includes icons for downloading images and metadata; acquiring open access or copyright designation; seeing a print view; sharing via Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, direct link, or email; obtaining instructions on how to download ArtLens App; and, for select objects, accessing an object’s 3-D model.
The Frances Taft Archive
Frances Prindle Taft traveled the world collecting art and creating her own in notebooks that she filled with colorful observations.
“She would take her sketchbooks everywhere,” remembers her son Frederick “Rick” Taft. “One setting was particularly beautiful yet challenging: she was at the Galapagos...
Sketchbooks, Franny brought one everywhere she went, and many of the resulting watercolors are in the archive.