Feature Articles

June Issue 1999

 

In Pursuit of an Extraordinary Exhibition: Behind the Scenes with Charlestonians Abroad

by Angela D. Mack, Curator

 

 

Organizing an exhibition of over 140 objects is no small task. The charge is made more complicated when many of the most significant works are traveling from Europe, and the remainder have rarely, if ever, been exhibited to the public. Add to this specific conservation needs for particular objects, and necessary capital improvements to the exhibition site, and one has a fair understanding of what it takes to open an exhibition like In Pursuit of Refinement: Charlestonians Abroad, 1740- 1860.
Few exhibitions in the long and continuous history of the Gibbes as an art museum have involved the personal and financial commitment of so many individuals both in the Charleston community and from afar. It is a story that needs to be told and interpreted, so that Charleston's role in the cultural development of this nation can be understood. Little of this city's artistic achievement including the contributions of the African-American community, who as slaves formed the basis for much of Charleston's wealth in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, and the early twentieth century achievements of the artists of The Charleston Renaissance, whose efforts centered on remembering Charleston's golden past, can be separated from the pinnacle of patronage that these early Charlestonians sought to achieve.

However, natural disasters, war and poverty have taken their toll, and many of the objects that were once in this city have been destroyed or have found homes elsewhere. From its inception, the goal of In Pursuit of Refinement was to bring as many objects together as possible, so that the public can understand the breadth of Charlestonians' unique early patronage. By disregarding the sometimes arbitrary rationale that divide fine and decorative arts, and that separate American artists from their European counterparts, the exhibition will raise the viewers' awareness of the influences of European traditions on this city's indigenous art and culture.

In order to tell this story as accurately as possible, the research of five scholars: Maurie D. McInnis, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Virginia; Angela D. Mack, Curator of Collections, Gibbes Museum of Art; J. Thomas Savage, Vice-President and Director of the Sotheby's Institute; Robert A. Leath, Assistant Curator, Historic Charleston Foundation; and Susan Ricci Stebbins, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, comprises the core of the accompanying exhibition catalogue in five essays on topics ranging from education and "The Grand Tour" to portraiture and consumerism. Eleven scholars from both sides of the Atlantic have contributed short essays on specific objects in the exhibition. As a whole the book presents the most comprehensive discussion to date on Charlestonians' early patronage.

Also, the talents of a number of conservators have been solicited. including paper conservator Creighen Bowen at the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, miniature conservator Carol Aiken of Baltimore, MD, sculpture conservator Shellie Paine of Nashville, TN, and paintings conservator Catherine Rogers and paper and photographic conservator Marion Hunter, both of Charleston. These experts worked on eighteen of the objects being exhibited, several of which were unexhibitable until their recent treatment.

Another crucial aspect of any large exhibition is its design, and to accomplish this task, the staff at the Gibbes turned to Dan Gottlieb of Durham, NC. Gottlieb has designed exhibitions for museums in the United States and Europe and specializes in laying out complicated exhibitions that involve art objects in a variety of mediums. His talents are known to the Charleston community through his 1988 design for the Charleston Renaissance Gallery on the first floor of the Gibbes. Together with John Jeffers of JMO Woodwork, Gottlieb's designs have transformed several galleries on the first and second floors of the museum to accommodate this unique exhibition.

Finally, the professional staff at the Gibbes have overseen the myriad details involved in shipping, insuring and installing each object in the exhibition. From special customs licenses required to import ivory miniatures from abroad, to the packing and crating of a nine foot painting, the care and concern for the objects was primary.

In Pursuit of Refinement is not only a tribute to what has gone before, but also a testament to the cooperative spirit of numerous institutions and individuals in the United States and abroad.

 

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