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January Issue 2005

Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC, Offers Exhibition From Area Collections

One of the most unusual and remarkable exhibitions to grace South Carolina's shores opens Jan. 7 at the Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC. Myrtle Beach Collects will house 152 works of art borrowed from the homes of 52 Grand Strand collectors. The exhibit will remain on view through Feb. 27, 2005.

From Georgetown to Briarcliffe, residents have been collecting art for many years, from many different places and for many reasons. There are those who have collected artwork from artists whom they adore. There are those who have had artwork passed down to them from generation to generation. Some have brought home pieces of art that evoke fond memories of past journeys and adventures. And there are some who found pieces of art that spoke to their souls and, therefore, were compelled to own them. All reasons aside, there is one thing that these collectors all have in common: their passion and their high regard for art.

"There are 152 stories to go with these 152 objects," explains museum director Patricia Goodwin, "and it weaves a marvelous story about the importance of art in people's lives and their homes. We've never done a show like this, and it is fantastic from the point of view of diversity and quality."

Bill and Lineta Pritchard, long-time Myrtle Beach dwellers as well as art enthusiasts, will have three items in the show, including a 1970 oil by North Carolina artist James Tucker entitled Sugar Maple.

"It was the first piece we ever bought when Bill was in school (at North Carolina State University). We bought it on the lay-away plan from a gallery just outside Raleigh for $250. That was a lot of money for us back then, but Bill liked it because it reminded him of the trees in upstate New York (Schenectady) where he was from.

"I like it more and more each year," Lineta says.

Another Myrtle Beach collector, Claudia Stowe, says that friend, artist and traveling companion E.M. (Ernie) Saniga, faculty member at the University of Delaware, led her and husband Harold to one of their favorite pieces: Study of Horse, a 1905 sketch by famed impressionist Wait Kuhn.

During a Christmas 2002 trip to New York, "We were standing in the Metropolitan Museum of Art looking at an exhibition of drawings by impressionist artists, and I asked Ernie, 'How do people get these drawings?'"

"He said, 'Follow me.' We went to a gallery where Wait Kuhn's works were being sold, and we bought three, two horses and one of a chicken. They were our Christmas presents that year," Ms. Stowe remembered.

Brenda and Dick Rosen, long-time Museum advocates, say their favorite entry in Myrtle Beach Collects is Blue-Green Abelard by Theodor Geisel, who also goes by the name of Dr. Seuss. "At least it's one which causes a lot of conversation," Mrs. Rosen chuckles. "It makes me happy."

The piece is a reproduction of the original Blue Green Abelard cast by Geisel in 1934 and modeled after materials sent to him by his father, a taxidermist, according to Mrs. Rosen. Geisel made eight pieces that year based on his father's handiwork. In recent years, Geisel's widow has commissioned reproductions of the originals including Blue Green Abelard. The Rosens purchased their treasure five years ago at a gallery in Carmel, CA. "We now own six of these pieces, added Rosen.

It took Kay S. Teer, curator of the Art Museum, nearly a year to select the pieces that will be on display. The fascinating array of carefully selected artwork is a magnificent manifestation of the cultural interests that define our Grand Strand community. "This exhibit says as much about this community as it does about art," according to Goodwin.

Works range in date from pre-Columbian to contemporary times and in origin from Africa, China and Europe all the way to our very own South Carolina Lowcountry. Their media will vary from ceramics to painting to photography to batik and all those in between. Internationally renowned artists, such as Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso, Edgar Degas and Henri Matisse, as well as some of our beloved locally renowned artists, such as Jonathan Green, Ben Owen III, Alex Powers and Dixie Dugan, will all be represented in this fine exhibition.

Join in this celebration of art and of the community by visiting this exhibition, which will fill all ten galleries of the Museum.

In keeping with the enthusiasm of Myrtle Beach Collects, the Art Museum will host a black-tie gala in honor of the exhibit and our community. Ticket information is available by calling the Art Museum at 843/238-2510.

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call the museum at 843-238-2510 or at (www.myrtlebeachartmuseum.org).



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