25 December 2024
Art

Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is part of a campus called Newfields that also includes the Lily House, a 100-acre nature park, and 26-acres of grounds and gardens to explore, all of which we did, of course.

We started with the art museum, which has a permanent collection of more than 54,000 works. Its founding goes back to 1883, though it’s been renamed and moved facilities several times since then. In 1966 the Lilly family (of the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company) donated the family estate to the art association, and by 1970 new space was up and running. Several expansions followed over the years, bringing the exhibition space to more than 143,000 square feet.

The cover photo features Robert Indiana’s LOVE sculpture from 1970. It’s part of a series of paintings, sculptures and prints on the topic, and this is the first sculptural version of LOVE that he created. The colorful wall behind it is Wall Drawing No. 652 by Sol LeWitt, 1990.

Cocktail Dress by Christian Dior, circa 1957.
The Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, Claude Monet, 1908.
The Banks of the Oise near Pontoise, Camille Pissarro, 1873.
Henry Look Unhitching, Thomas Hart Benton, circa 1942.
Hotel Lobby, Edward Hopper, 1943. There’s nothing like Hopper for some “urban isolation.” The sign notes how the three figures “each look in different directions, sharing space yet mentally detached.”
Washington’s Birthday, Charles Baugniet, 1878. It depicts the “cult of personality that grew around Washington as a result of portraiture.”
Look at that dress! Washington’s Birthday, Charles Baugniet, 1878.
Portrait of a Boy, George Wesley Bellows, 1921. He was a student and friend of Robert Henri.
You Can’t Lay Down Your Memories Cabinet, Tejo Remy, 1991. The 20 drawers strapped together with a belt can be assembled by the user as he chooses. There’s “no fixed form and no apparent ‘design’ element.”
Vase in Gobelin Pattern; Small Coffee Pot in Gobelin Pattern with Lid and Under Plate; Large Coffee Pot Gobelin Pattern with Lid and Under Plate. Eva Zeisel, designed 1928-1930.
Diabolo (Snow and Flowers), Joan Mitchell, 1969.
Sky Earth Sea Pattern from the “Better Together” exhibit, which “showcases what happens when we place inclusion and accessibility at the forefront of the arts. This exhibition includes work by 31 local artists of all abilities and backgrounds, ranging between the ages of 15 and 72, in a variety of mediums.” 
Implied Movement, Harvey K. Littleton, 1986.
Garden at La Hune, Saint-Tropez, Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange, 1909. In the pointillist style, but modified by using “rectangular strokes of bright pigments, creating a surface pattern with mosaic-like effect.”
Detail on Garden at La Hune, Saint-Tropez, Jeanne Selmersheim-Desgrange, 1909.

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