"From the Golden Age to the Moving Image" gets an update
Beginning Dec. 18, visitors to OKCMOA can experience the reinstalled Portraiture gallery as well as a new History, Narrative, and Genre gallery on the second floor; part of a refresh of the Museum's permanent collection exhibition, "From the Golden Age to the Moving Image." The Museum’s newest acquisition, “Anne Boutineau Robinson” by John Singleton Copley (1769), acquired in November in memory of Lifetime Museum Trustee James C. Meade, will highlight the reinstalled Portraiture gallery. Additionally, a large-scale biblical painting by Luca Giordano will anchor the new History, Narrative, and Genre gallery.
“The Museum is home to a dynamic, living collection, and we are always looking for ways to keep the stories we tell fresh and relevant,” said Dr. Michael Anderson, president and CEO. “Giordano’s ‘Rest on the Flight into Egypt’ (ca. 1660) will anchor our new History, Narrative, and Genre gallery just in time for the holiday season. Our well-traveled portrait, ‘Carmen and Judy,’ by Alice Neel is back on view at OKCMOA for a short time before traveling again as part of the exhibition, ‘Alice Neel: People Come First’ organized by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
“Additionally, our exciting new acquisition, ‘Anne Boutineau Robinson,’ will hang in our reinstalled Portraiture gallery. Special thanks to the Meade family for their continued support for our Museum and for helping us acquire this important portrait. Mr. Meade’s incredible legacy will live on in the collection objects, programs and endowments that share the names of James C. and Virginia W. Meade. Their generosity has been pivotal in building the Museum’s permanent collection.”
Copley began painting in the mid-1750s, and by the mid-1760s, he had established himself as Colonial America’s finest portrait painter. “Anne Boutineau Robinson” represents Copley at the peak of his powers as an oil painter and includes its original, beautifully carved, gilded frame. “Anne Boutineau Robinson” provides an excellent addition to the Museum’s already strong collection of portraits and will hang next to works by George Bellows, Anthony van Dyck, Alice Neel, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Kehinde Wiley.
History, Narrative, and Genre
The new History, Narrative, and Genre gallery replaces the Museum’s fall exhibition, “Art with a History,” on the second floor. History, Narrative, and Genre features subjects that range from the heroic—Jason battling a dragon, Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead—to the mundane, illustrating the range of narrative and genre scenes. The over 10 ft. wide “Rest on the Flight into Egypt” will be on long-term loan from a Tulsa private collection specially for this new installation.
“In this new installation, we have examples of history paintings dating back to the Italian Renaissance, and continuing into the 19th century,” said Bryn Schockmel, OKCMOA curator. “Starting in the 17th century, artists in the Netherlands created a market for genre paintings, or works depicting anonymous figures going about everyday activities. Genre painting remained popular over the centuries, particularly among Impressionist artists working in France in the late 19th century, at a time when history painting was going out of fashion. Visitors to this new gallery can see the evolution of these subjects over time and compare and contrast artistic styles.”
"From the Golden Age to the Moving Image: The Changing Face of the Permanent Collection," opened in Spring 2019. Featuring highlights from the Museum's collection organized by subject, galleries focus on a variety of topics such as still life, animal paintings, landscapes and seascapes.
Due to COVID-19, the Museum is currently operating with timed ticketing and limited capacity and is open Wednesday to Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Entrance to the Museum’s galleries is $12 for adults with discounts for military members, seniors and students. Kids 17 and under are always free.