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Table of Contents
Director’s Leadership Council B. Heyward Allen Jr. Lacy Middlebrooks Camp Todd Emily Andrew F. Littlejohn D. Hamilton Magill III, chair David W. Matheny Isobel Parker Mills Carl W. Mullis III William R. Newton Christopher R. Peterson, past chair R. Lee Robinson, chair-elect John L. Shlesinger Sara D. Shlesinger Brenda A. Thompson Carol V. Winthrop Friends Advisory Council Greta Covington Cornelya Dorbin Susanna Drennen Bree Hayes, past chair Tiffany Hines Courtney Khail Christina LaFontaine, chair-elect
03 From the Director 04 On View 16 UGA Students Collaborate on
Summer Museum Exhibition “Seeing the News in Harper’s Weekly” Life, Death and Food: Julie Green’s “The Last Supper” Addresses Capital Punishment
18
Augustus Marshall, carte-de-visite of Edmonia Lewis, ca. 1870. Albumen on wove paper and cardboard. Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. 2020.10.5. Front cover Edmonia Lewis (American, 1844 – 1907), “Forever Free,” 1867. Marble, 41 3/4 × 21 1/2 × 12 3/8 inches. Howard University Gallery of Art, Washington DC / Licensed by Art Edmonia Lewis (American, ca. 1844 – 1907), “Minnehaha,” 1868. Marble, 12 × 7 1/2 × 4 1/4 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by the Collectors of the Georgia Museum of Art. 2016.251. Editorial Hillary Brown and Jessica Smith Design Noelle Shuck Publications Interns Tatum Ozment and Jisu Stanfield Our Mission Resource, NY. Back cover We collect, preserve, interpret and share art to inspire dialogue, advance inquiry and connect the University of Georgia and communities beyond through meaningful engagement with art, history and culture.
22 Museum in a Box
Expands Community Outreach
Hours Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Thursday 10 a.m. – 9 p.m. Friday and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. Sunday 1 – 5 p.m. Closed Mondays. Museum Shop closes 15 minutes prior. Reserve free tickets at georgiamuseum.org Shanell McGoy Sherrie Olejnik Mary Prickett Lauren Schlesinger, chair Julia Slatcher Mary Anna Terrell Marilyn Wolf-Ragatz Amy Wraga
24 New books on
Richard Hunt, Harold Rittenberry and Louise Heron Blair
27 In the Shop 28 Recent Acquisitions 32 Museum Notes 34 Calendar
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That’s certainly true of our museum, which continues to evolve. Change can be a negative. It’s stressful. It’s hard to get used to. But it can also be a tremendous positive, and the changes coming up at the Georgia Museum are exciting ones. The biggest change is my departure, which will have already happened by the time you read this. Although I truly hate to leave this place that has welcomed me with open arms, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to become the next director of the Honolulu Museum of Art and return to my hometown. Thankfully, I have no worries that the Georgia Museum will continue to thrive. I know that Tricia Miller, the Georgia Museum’s deputy director of collections and exhibitions, will make an incredibly capable interim director as the university embarks upon its search for my long-term replacement. And the museum staff has never been more united in their dedication to fulfilling our mission. As I leave, the museum is in the process of hiring a new deputy director of curatorial and academic affairs, who will also serve as the curator of American art. We don’t yet know who will fill that position, but we are confident that they will bring fresh and exciting perspectives. We’ve If there’s one way to characterize our current era, it’s that change is the only constant.
also spent significant time and effort working to create an interpretive plan to focus on better, deeper visitor experiences. Some of those projects have been years in the making, but the results should be worth the wait. Another long-term project coming this fall is the exhibition “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone,” co-organized with the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts. The community of scholars that curators Shawnya Harris (at the Georgia Museum) and Jeffrey Richmond-Moll (at Peabody Essex) assembled for this project is indeed impressive, and they have made significant contributions to our understanding of this groundbreaking artist. I first learned about Lewis’ incredible work and compelling life story during my tenure at the Harvard Art Museums, where undergraduate students created a virtual tour of works by Black artists. Lewis lived on the north side of Boston’s Beacon Hill, then a racially segregated neighborhood, and maintained studios on Tremont Street. Although Lewis never lived in Georgia, this exhibition and the presence of one of her sculptures in our collection (thanks to the generous fundraising of our Collectors group) are sure to inspire our visitors. As always, thank you for all you do for the Georgia Museum, and a hui hou kākou (until we meet again). David Odo Former Director
on view Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone August 8, 2026___January 3, 2027
Edmonia Lewis (American, 1844 – 1907), “Indian Combat,” 1868. Marble, 30 × 19 × 14 3/8 inches. Cleveland Museum of Art; American Painting and Sculpture Sundry Purchase Fund and Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund. 2011.110.
Born in Greenbush, New York, in 1844, Lewis became the first sculptor of Black and Indigenous (Mississauga) descent to achieve international recognition. Beginning her career in Boston in 1863, she traveled to Rome in 1866 to join the leading American sculptors of her generation, breaking international, racial and gender barriers. “Sometimes the times were dark and the outlook was lonesome, but where there is a will, there is a way,” Lewis recalled in 1878. “That is what I tell my people whenever I meet them, that they must not be discouraged, but work ahead until the world is bound to respect them for what they have accomplished.” Following her death in 1907, Lewis’ legacy endured in Black communities, yet her contribution to American sculpture has largely been underrecognized. Some of her great masterpieces were rediscovered decades later, while others remain lost today. Her vivid, naturalistic stone sculptures feature abolitionists and social reformers, engage with Indigenous identity and give new life to religious and mythological figures. Discover the first museum exhibition of its kind to gather the full range of Lewis’ art alongside works by her contemporaries and the generations of artists she influenced. Together these 100 objects foreground Lewis’ life and work within her worlds and reveal her true mastery of marble. “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” is co-organized by the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia and the Peabody Essex Museum. Major support is provided by the Terra Foundation for American Art, the Henry Luce Foundation and the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. The exhibition opened at the Peabody Essex Museum (February 14 – June 7, 2026) and will travel to the North Carolina Museum of Art (April 3 – July 11, 2027) after its run at the Georgia Museum. Curators: Shawnya L. Harris, Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art, Georgia Museum of Art, and Jeffrey Richmond-Moll, George Putnam Curator of American Art, Peabody Essex Museum
Edmonia Lewis (American, 1844 – 1907), “Hagar,” 1875. Marble. Smithsonian American Art Museum; Gift of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. 1983.95.178.
Related Events Teen Studio: In the Round Thursday, August 20, 5:30 – 8 p.m. Teens ages 13 – 18 are invited to this studio- based workshop. Explore the galleries and make your own work of art inspired by what you see. This program is free and includes a pizza dinner from DePalma’s Italian Cafe. Seats are limited; RSVP on our website or email gmoa- tours@uga.edu to register. Family Day: Marble’ous Portraits Saturday, August 22, 10 a.m. – noon Experience the newly opened exhibition “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” at Family Day. Learn about Lewis’ legacy and the art of sculpture through gallery activities and a take- home art project. Family Day is sponsored by Heyward Allen Cadillac-GMC-Toyota. Community Open House and Opening Reception Saturday, August 22, 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. Join us for a day-long celebration of our fall semester special exhibition, “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone.” Check out a full schedule of events on our website and register for free at bit.ly/open-house-fall26 . A ticketed reception with donuts from Café Racer and beverages and light bites from the Lark Winespace will follow 4:30 – 7 p.m. The reception is $15 per person (complimentary for Reciprocal level members and above). Registration is required; please visit bit.ly/edmonia-all to reserve your spot. Curator Talk: “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” Wednesday, September 9, 2 p.m. Join Shawnya Harris, Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art, for a tour of the exhibition. The tour is capped at 30 participants; please plan to arrive early to guarantee your spot. Faculty Perspectives Wednesday, September 16, 2 p.m. Mario Erasmo, professor and head of the University of Georgia’s department of classics, will give a gallery talk on “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone.” He will examine Lewis’ art through his expertise on the reception of classical antiquity and explore the influence of the Greek War of Independence on the U.S. abolitionist movement. The tour is capped at 30 participants; please plan to arrive early to guarantee your spot. Enjoy a glass of wine with a catered dinner while networking with other PK – 12 educators in the Athens area. Participate in an art-making workshop inspired by the exhibition “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone” led by artist and educator Kristen Bach, learn more about the museum’s teacher resources and enter to win prizes. The event is free to attend, but space is limited. Visit our website to register. Evening for Educators September 17, 5 – 7 p.m.
Edmonia Lewis (American, 1844 – 1907), “Portrait of a Woman,” 1873. Marble. Saint Louis Art Museum; Museum Minority Artists Purchase Fund and partial gift of Thurlow E. Tibbs Jr. 1:1997.
In the Shop 1 Exhibition Catalogue $60 2 Miss Edmonia’s Class of Wildfires $18.99 3 Child of the Fire $35.00 4 The Indomitable Spirit of Edmonia Lewis $30.00
Panel Discussion: An Evening of Poetry Thursday, October 1, 5:30 p.m. Join us for a dynamic interdisciplinary conversation exploring poetry and literary themes in the exhibition “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone.” Panelists include poet Tyehimba Jess, whose Pulitzer Prize-winning book of poetry “Olio” (2017) includes a section that gives voice to Lewis and her sculptures; Barbara McCaskill, distinguished research professor in the department of English at UGA and scholar of African American literature; and LeAnne Howe (Choctaw), Eidson Distinguished Professor in American Literature at UGA. The program will begin with a reading by Jess of selections from “Olio,” followed by a discussion moderated by Shawnya Harris, Larry D. and Brenda A. Thompson Curator of African American and African Diasporic Art and co-curator of the exhibition. Studio Workshop: Portrait Medallion Sculpting with Luke Graves Thursday, October 1, 8 and 15, 6 – 8 p.m. Join Luke Graves for a three-part clay medallion sculpture course exploring the fundamentals of low-relief portraiture. Participants will create a polymer clay portrait medallion while learning to translate facial features into shallow depth, with an emphasis on proportion, planes and subtle surface modeling. Through guided demonstrations and individual feedback, artists will develop their work with inspiration from the sculpture of Edmonia Lewis. $25 for donating- level members (email jointhemuseum@uga.edu for your registration link); $35 for everyone else. Visit our website to register. Wine Tasting Takeover with the Lark Thursday, October 15, 5:30 p.m. The Lark Winespace will present a special wine tasting experience in conjunction with the exhibition “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone.” Inspired by Edmonia Lewis’ connection to Rome, owner and sommelier Krista Slater will guide you through a special tasting of four Italian wines produced by women winemakers. The exhibition will be open, so attendees can taste the wine and then head upstairs to explore the works of art. Light snacks of cheese and charcuterie will be catered by The Lark to enjoy with the wines. $28 members/$38 for non-members. Space is limited; visit bit.ly/Oct- 2026-wine to secure your spot. Lecture: Kirsten Buick Thursday, November 5, 5:30 p.m. Kirsten Pai Buick is a professor of art history at the University of New Mexico, where she has taught since 2001. She has advanced scholarship of the work of numerous African American artists through publications, including the first book-length examination of the life and career of Edmonia Lewis. Her lecture, “Who Is Responsible for Remembering? Three 19th-Century Case Studies @ Visuality and Forgetting,” argues that forgetting can be constitutive of visuality itself — that we must forget as the very condition of seeing. What does the slave narrative of James Williams mask, for example? What of Edmonia Lewis’
sculpture “Forever Free” or John Gast’s painting “American Progress”? Turning on the central question of “who is responsible for remembering,” each work resists illegibility by withholding the unspeakable and the unspoken. Panel Discussions: Research, Materiality and the Archive Friday, November 6, 1 – 3:30 p.m. In conjunction with “Edmonia Lewis: Said in Stone,” the Georgia Museum of Art will present two panel discussions centering on the methodologies used to reconstruct the life and legacy of this artist whose personal and professional archive remains fragmentary. This program pulls back the curtain on the years of detective work, technical analysis and digital innovation which has brought this exhibition to life. We will explore how 21st-century tools, technology and interdisciplinary research can illuminate Lewis’ 19th-century mastery of sculpture. Panels include “Navigating Archival Absence: Research, Recovery, and Curatorial Practice” (1 p.m.) and “Science of the Stone: 21st-Century Tools and 19th-Century Marble” (2:30 p.m.). Artful Conversation Wednesday, November 11, 2 p.m. Artful Conversation programs are 30 minutes long, focus on just one work of art and provide opportunities for close looking, open-ended dialogue and discovery. Join Callan Steinmann, director of learning and engagement, for a discussion of “Minnehaha” by Edmonia Lewis. Drawing in the Galleries: Edmonia Lewis Thursday, November 19, 6 – 8 p.m. Join Luke Graves for a one-day figure drawing workshop inspired by the sculpture of Edmonia Lewis. Participants will draw from sculptural references while focusing on proportion, gesture and the translation of three-dimensional form using line and value. Emphasis will be placed on observing structure, light and shadow to build convincing, expressive figures. Through guided demonstrations and individual feedback, artists will develop both technical skills and a deeper understanding of form. The program is free but seats are limited; email gmoa-tours@uga.edu to reserve a spot.
Looking Through a Sewn Sky: Rachel Hayes Through July 30, 2027
This commissioned craft- based art installation enlivens the museum’s Jane and Harry Willson Sculpture Garden. Caught between sculpture, installation, painting and craft, Hayes’ work asks us to look in all directions. She explores the color field genre, craft and contemporary landscape-based art. At first glance, her soft sculptures recall quilts and weavings or midcentury abstract paintings. But her works also engage with natural and built landscape of the garden to create a different kind of experience. Her color-field canopies direct us to look skyward, to the horizon and to our feet, enveloping us with color and light. She invites us to move around, under and through the installation and the moving colors thrown by changing light. In other words, the installation allows us to navigate and engage with the work in a full body experience.
Hayes relied heavily on the museum’s collection to choose colors, compositions and material. Major highlights include Frank Lloyd Wright’s windows, Joan Mitchell’s “Close” and Sam Gilliam’s “Patchwork/Terry,” among other favorites in the collection. Curator: Kathryn Hill, associate curator of modern and contemporary art
coming soon Helen Frankenthaler is best known
Helen Frankenthaler: Transforming the Matrix February 6 ____________ June 6, 2027
“Helen Frankenthaler: Transforming the Matrix” is the first exhibition in nearly 40 years to present Frankenthaler’s ceramic sculptures alongside her paintings and prints. The exhibition and catalogue offer a new perspective on her work and reshape our understanding of the artist’s hand. Frankenthaler’s painterly sensibility was central to her work in painting, printmaking and ceramics. Simultaneously, her experiences working with ceramics and printmaking transformed her artistic process leading to dimensional changes in her prints and paintings. Producing work in clay was physically different from painting and required new techniques and approaches. Frankenthaler used these differences to apply relief, scale and dimensionality to her ceramic sculptures. Describing her process, Frankenthaler said, “I wanted to use all my physical strength to roll up one corner of it, draw in and on the entire surface of it, color it in part and make it a kind of sea.” At the same time, she was exploring printmaking techniques like etching, lithography and woodcut. Her works in these media also examine surface texture, weight and depth. Working in both printmaking and clay shifted her visual language. The works she made after this turning point often focus on texture and the impressions left by the artist’s hand. “Transforming the Matrix” traces the evolution of Frankenthaler’s process across media and how the artist responded to new matrixes. The matrix is the manipulated plane from which as a painter and printmaker. But in 1975, she created a series of clay sculptures for an exhibition at the Everson Museum of Art in Syracuse, New York. Tucked away in the artist’s personal collection, the ceramics were uncrated in 2025 for the first time in four decades.
a printmaker develops an image by adding or subtracting material. Just as she applied her innovative painting style to printmaking, Frankenthaler transformed her matrixes of painting, printmaking and ceramics to expand the flat plane into three-dimensional space. The impressed grains of her woodcuts developed into embossed forms, molding paper into a sculptural form. Flat slabs of clay transformed into dynamic landscapes that encourage viewers to move to see all possible perspectives. Frankenthaler’s paintings, once merging canvas and color into one plane, bloomed with raised paint edges and pools of pigment. The exhibition pairs ceramics with paintings, prints, artist’s proofs and archival materials that allow visitors to see the artist’s methods. By foregrounding ceramics and printmaking, it invites us to reconsider the scope of Frankenthaler’s artistic practice and the role of material exploration in shaping abstract expressionism. This exhibition was developed in part from a transformative gift from the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation through its Frankenthaler Prints Initiative. The gift includes 10 prints and 12 proofs created between 1967 and 1994. They encompass lithography, etching, aquatint, screen printing and woodcut. A set of trial proofs illuminates Frankenthaler’s working process. This gift advances the study and teaching of Frankenthaler’s work and created the foundation for “Helen Frankenthaler: Transforming the Matrix.” Curator: Kathryn Hill, associate curator of modern and contemporary art Helen Frankenthaler (American, 1928 – 2011), “Grove,” 1991. Woodcut on paper, 17 × 21 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Extended loan from the University of Georgia Foundation, Gift of the Helen Frankenthaler Foundation. F2023.11.
New art New
After a successful four-year run, all but one of the artworks on loan from the Terra Foundation for American Art’s collection have left the Georgia Museum of Art’s galleries (the John Singleton Copley is staying a bit longer). The good news is that these departures created opportunities to reinterpret our existing installations with exciting new loans and rarely displayed works from our permanent collection. Eight portraits by John Singer Sargent (1856 – 1925), on loan from a private collection, are now on view for the next year in the Nancy Cooper Turner Gallery. These works underscore the gallery’s emphasis on cultural exchange. Perhaps one of America’s most celebrated artists, Sargent defined Gilded Age portraiture. Born to American expatriates living in Italy, the artist moved to Paris in 1874 and enrolled at the École des Beaux-Arts. From there, he traveled widely, including often between England and the U.S. In an increasingly connected global economy, Sargent produced works for the elite, capturing the likenesses of industrialists, aristocrats and artists across Europe and North America. The works on view highlight his cosmopolitan clientele and the cross-cultural, intellectual and artistic relationships that defined his career. In conversation with the existing installation, these works expand our understanding of the shifting cultural economy of the 19th century and the U.S. as an emerging center for this artistic exchange. In the adjoining Marilyn Overstreet Nalley South Gallery, additions from the museum’s collection of decorative and fine arts help reimagine the story of 20th-century American art history. After undergoing conservation, Francis Newton’s “Iceberg Lake” (1920) is on view for the first time since being acquired in 1970. The painting functions as a transition between stories Changes to Turner and Nalley South Galleries
the 19th-century landscapes in Turner and the modernist works on view in Nalley South. Although we tend to think of “modernism” as fundamentally urban, many modernist artists made use of elements from traditional and folk art. This new installation centers early-20th-century artists’ relationships to their environments and highlights the role of agriculture and urbanization in shifting cultural perceptions of time. In one corner of the gallery, three objects visualize this period in American history. Constructed from recycled materials, a clock made locally by Athens doctor William B. Conway in 1897 shares space with a cast- iron weathervane created around the same time. Both these works assess the natural world, one through time and one through wind (while recalling the rooster’s crow as a means of timekeeping). Together with Robert Henry Logan’s painting of a barn with a weathervane, they evoke the passage of time and a new, more technologically driven reality. Nearby is Georgia O’Keeffe’s “Red Barn, Lake George, New York” (1921), now joined by Guy Carleton Wiggins’ “Wall Street Winter” (ca. 1920). In combining these modernist works with more traditional vernacular pieces, this installation attempts to broaden understandings of early-20th-century American art. John Singer Sargent (American, 1856 – 1925), “Self portrait.” Pen and ink and washes on paper. Private collection, Columbus, Georgia.
UGA Class Explores Environmental Justice and Workers’
Rights Through Mexican Prints
by Nabiha Rahman, public relations intern
Dr. Pablo Lapegna’s University of Georgia class LACS (SOCI) 4211/6211 (“Environmental Justice in Latin America and the Caribbean”) is examining these questions in a display at the museum titled “Fiber, Food and Fuel: Mexican Environments, Labor and the Taller de Gráfica Popular,” on view through September 4. Lapegna, who is an associate professor of sociology and Latin American and Caribbean studies at the University of Georgia, shared that his class focuses on “ideas of environmental justice or the idea of the environmentalism of the poor, and the idea that people extract a livelihood from those environments, so they’re naturally environmentalists in a way. We also look at how people and governments react to those issues — how people organize collectively to address problems created with the use of resources, and how governments and international organizations also intervene.”
Is it possible to achieve environmental justice without justice for laborers in the Global South? Can we apply Western notions of environmentalism to Latin America? Why are workers’ lived experiences so often left out of conversations about resource extraction and allocation?
Alberto Beltrán (Mexican, 1923 – 2002), “Grinding Sugar Cane,” from “Mexican Art, A Portfolio of Mexican People and Places,” 1946. Lithograph, 15 1/8 × 17 9/16 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Transferred from the University of Georgia Library, gift of Mrs. Kathryn H. Bumgartner in memory of Professor Louis Bumgartner, August 1977. 1978.3802. (previous page, left) Alfredo Zalce (Mexican, 1908 – 2003), “Henequenero,” from the portfolio “Estampas de Yucatán,” 1946. Lithograph. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Gift of Michael T. Ricker in memory of Harry Troth Gross. 2015.267. (previous page, right) Francisco Mora (Mexican, 1922 – 2002), “Silver Mine Worker,” from “Mexican Art, A Portfolio of Mexican People and Places,” 1946. Lithograph, 15 1/8 × 17 9/16 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Transferred from the University of Georgia Library, gift of Mrs. Kathryn H. Bumgartner in memory of Professor Louis Bumgartner, August 1977. 1978.3804.
Alexis Gorby, the museum’s associate curator of academic and campus engagement, worked with Lapegna to select works by the Taller de Gráfica Popular (TGP) because they illustrated the course’s key theme: “the human side of resource destruction.” The TGP was an artists’ print collective founded in Mexico City in 1937. During this era between the Spanish American War and World War II, anti-fascist and leftist ideologies were prevalent in Mexico. The TGP produced accessible print materials to educate broad audiences about prevalent social issues, advance revolutionary causes and position art as a facet of popular culture. Many of their works were created collaboratively, embodying their collectivist ideals. The selected works focus on “the essential materials of our everyday lives.” Western consumers seldom contemplate how food arrives on their tables, how fibers are woven into their clothes or how fossil fuels are siphoned out of the Earth to power their vehicles. “Latin America plays a big role in bringing a lot of things that we use here on an everyday basis,” Dr. Lapegna remarks. “We wouldn’t have avocados if it weren’t for Mexico. We wouldn’t have coffee or bananas. We wouldn’t have nannies, gardeners or the farm workers that pick a lot of the things that we eat every day without Latin American workers coming to this country in search of opportunities.” Each UGA student in the class wrote a label for one of the works on display. Dr. Lapegna says that this process bolsters students’ understanding of the class’s themes because they “put themselves in the place of the people
that are reflected in the work.” Similarly, Gorby believes that students gain “vital interdisciplinary and critical thinking skills” when visual arts are integrated into academic classes. “We went through the steps of visual analysis. Based on what you can see, how do you then apply what you know to this print? How does the print, perhaps, tell a different story or a different perspective than what you’re reading in class?” Gorby noted. The selected works show how “essential workers” whose labor forms the basis for complex, globalized societies are paradoxically marginalized. Gorby and Lapegna hope that the display will humanize abstract, culturally relative notions of environmental justice and inequity for audiences and participating students alike. “In the exhibition, we would like to highlight the work of everyday people in supporting society, while also highlighting that many industries that we rely on on an everyday basis often contribute to exacerbating social and environmental problems,” said Lapegna. “I’ve looked at these prints many times, but seeing them through the students’ eyes, through these environmental, social and labor justice perspectives, has taught me something about these prints,” Gorby shared. “I hope audiences are also really excited to see student work being celebrated in the museum.”
See these works and read their labels in Spanish and English through Bloomberg Connects.
Rashid Johnson: “Untitled (Escape Collage)”
by Nabiha Rahman, public relations intern
Rashid Johnson is a contemporary multimedia artist whose work harnesses his vast knowledge of art history and Black popular culture to examine the intersections of personal, racial and cultural identities.
Johnson’s mother, Cheryl Johnson-Odim, a poet and scholar of African history, gave him a deep love for the arts and humanities at an early age. His stepfather was of Nigerian descent, and his family embraced an Afrocentric worldview. Johnson came of age during a pivotal time in which Black culture heavily influenced the American mainstream. His work is often concerned with examining complex notions of Blackness without defining it against white supremacy. In an artist statement, he shared that “there’s a generation of Black artists before me who made work specifically about the Black experience, but I think for my generation, having grown up in the age of hip- hop and Black Entertainment Television, there’s less of a need to define the Black experience so aggressively to a white audience. I think it gives us a different type of opportunity to have a more complex conversation around race and identity. It’s not a weapon for me, it’s more of an interest.” Johnson initially went to college to become a filmmaker but found himself working across sculpture, painting, installation, video and performance while drawing on literature, history, philosophy and music. His work transcends artistic conventions as he wields found objects and everyday materials and embeds them into cultural and historical contexts to transform their meanings, thereby interrogating the relationship between works of art and moments in time.
Visitors can experience these layers of exploration in “Untitled (Escape Collage),” on view in the Georgia Museum of Art’s lobby through May 2027. David Odo, the museum’s director and chief curator at the time, said that “at first glance, the work on view draws you in with vivid, tropical imagery — palm trees, open water, a sense of escape. But as you look more closely, the surface reveals itself to be layered and complex, built from materials like ceramic and mirror tile, red oak, black soap and wax. The painting is large and visually striking, balancing beauty with a sense of unease. Serene, almost idyllic scenes are interrupted by cracked tiles, scratched lines and bold gestures of spray paint. These contrasts create a tension between calm and disruption, inviting viewers to slow down and take in the details. For Johnson, the idea of ‘elsewhere’ is more than just a fantasy of paradise. It speaks to deeper themes of longing, imagination, and the desire to envision life beyond limitation. At the same time, the artist’s energetic mark-making keeps us grounded in the present, reminding us that these dreams are shaped by real experiences and histories.” “We are excited to present this loan from the Masterworks Foundation in the museum’s lobby,” Odo said. “We invite visitors to spend time with the work and consider their own ideas about freedom, place and possibility — and to see how Johnson transforms familiar materials into something both personal and widely resonant.”
Rashid Johnson (American, born 1977), “Untitled (Escape Collage),” 2019. Ceramic tile, mirror, tile, branded oak flooring, vinyl, spray enamel, oil stick, black soap, and wax on panel, 72.75 × 92 inches. Masterworks Gallery, LLC.
Transforming the Dorothy Alexander Roush Gallery into an extension of the classroom, the museum’s study gallery program invites University of Georgia faculty from across disciplines to select objects from the museum’s permanent collection to use as teaching tools. These works remain displayed in the study gallery for the entire semester and can be viewed by all museum visitors. Representing multiple university courses, each installation hosts an unexpected combination of topics, ranging from ancient Greek and Roman art to feminist theories to museum ethics. The study gallery deepens engagement between students, faculty and the museum by providing a unique learning experience. As students observe original works of art in an academic setting, the public can follow along to learn from our collections as well. Study Gallery July 25__________December 6, 2026
Sheila Pree Bright (American, born 1967), “Donovan,” from the “Young American Series,” 2007. Chromogenic print, 39 1/2 × 29 1/2 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Gift of the Larry D. and Brenda A Thompson Collection of African American Art. 2016.123. • HIST 3165: History of Art and Activism in the United States taught by Tracey Johnson This semester’s classes are: • ARHI 4510/6510: Modern Art in Europe 1886 – 1918 taught by Nell Andrew • ENGL 4791: American Biography taught by Barbara McCaskill
UGA Students Collaborate on Summer Museum Exhibition
“Seeing the News in Harper’s Weekly”
by Jisu Stanfield, publications intern
It’s easy to feel far removed from the Civil War era, but for students in the University of Georgia’s HIST 4760/6760 Hands-on Public History course, that is not the case.
Parties. Homer was a well-known painter whose Civil War illustrations became iconic images of the period. Nast’s and Homer’s illustrations cover political issues such as Reconstruction, post-war civil rights, segregation and dealing with ex-Confederates. Although Harper’s began as a nonpartisan news source, it became staunchly pro-Union during the war, and continued supporting the Republican Party in the years that followed. “Harper’s is fascinating in part because it was so widely accessible,” said Reason. The magazine was affordable and widely read by middle-class Americans. Harper’s was a crucial news source during the Civil War era, particularly because daily newspapers could rarely publish images due to time constraints. Reason explained, “If you wanted to see an image, you had to get one of the illustrated weeklies. Because they had a longer lead time, they were able to get imagery out to the public on a relatively speedy basis.” There was a high demand for seeing the news illustrated, a fact supported by the secondhand readership of Harper’s. It’s estimated that a single copy of the magazine could often pass between five and 10 people. “Seeing the News in Harper’s Weekly” displayed the printed illustrations as well as a complete edition of Harper’s Weekly, all from the museum’s collection. Wood blocks that were used to stamp illustrations into the magazines were also on view, courtesy of UGA’s Special Collections Libraries. Student curators wanted visitors to be able to imagine how Harper’s was consumed back in the day. To re-create the experience, the class included a facsimile copy of a single issue in its entirety, which visitors were able to pick up and read. Alexis Gorby, associate curator of academic and campus engagement, provided support and information about the museum’s collection throughout the project. “Students are learning all of these important writing skills and curation skills, and then it’s great for the museum because Harper’s Weekly does not often go on view,” she said. Student-curated exhibitions present original and interdisciplinary ways to view works, in this case through a historical lens.
Students in that class work with community partners to develop public history projects based on primary and secondary sources. This spring semester, the class partnered with the Georgia Museum of Art to curate “Seeing the News in Harper’s Weekly, 1860 – 80” an exhibition featuring illustrations from Harper’s Weekly that focus on the Civil War and its aftermath. The exhibition was on view in the museum’s Study Gallery May 23 – July 12. Akela Reason, history professor and director of the museum studies program at UGA, taught the course. To choose a topic for the exhibition, she partnered with Tricia Miller, deputy director of collections and exhibitions and head registrar at the museum, who taught HIST 4765 Museum Registration Methods this past spring. Reason’s students selected the prints and wrote accompanying labels, while Miller’s students created condition reports for each work. Erin Ideker, an exhibition design intern at the museum, determined how the works were displayed. “Even in the standard history class, where sometimes primary source text will be used, it’s usually printed in a book as a reader, and not the original thing as it was experienced by someone in the time period,” said Reason. “In this particular instance, students got to work with the actual materials, which is not a common practice.” The exhibition focused on two main artists, Thomas Nast and Winslow Homer, who both illustrated for Harper’s Weekly. Nast was one of the most popular cartoonists of his time, best known for establishing the donkey and elephant as symbols for the Democratic and Republican
Life, Death and Food Julie Green’s “The Last Supper” Addresses Capital Punishment by Nabiha Rahman, public relations intern
Green painted each secondhand ceramic plate with cobalt blue mineral paint to illustrate death row inmates’ final meal requests as well as the state and date of their execution. Green, who used gender-neutral pronouns, planned to create 50 plates every year until they reached 1,000 plates or until capital punishment was abolished — whichever came first. They completed the thousandth plate in September 2021, one month before their death. Of the 1,000 plates, the Georgia Museum selected 377 that focus on the Southeast and neighboring states, encouraging local viewers to consider how their region has been impacted by capital punishment. “The goal was to create an immersive experience that communicates both the repetition and gravity of the practice itself,” said David Odo, the museum’s director at the time and the curator of the display. “Even in a reduced number, the accumulation of plates conveys the scale of the work and the persistence of the system it documents.”
Thanks to a generous loan from Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art as part of Art Bridges’ Partner Loan Network, the Georgia Museum of Art is displaying plates from Julie Green’s “The Last Supper” through August 16.
A selection of plates from Julie Green’s series “The Last Supper” installed in the museum’s Phoebe and Ed Forio Gallery.
Green was born in Yokosuka, Japan, in 1961. They grew up with their mother in Des Moines, Iowa, following their parents’ separation, and earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Kansas, in Lawrence. In their artist statement, they reflected on early influences: “Growing up in Iowa, I admired family quilts and ukiyo-e prints at home and the neighbor’s yard with larger-than- life historical figures and 20’ American flag made with ears of colored corn. An appreciation for the homemade and handmade led me to paint blue food.” A 1999 Oklahoma newspaper clipping that described a man’s final moments before execution inspired Green to begin “The Last Supper” series. Despite the crimes that the man had committed, the comforting quality of his food selections reminded Green of dinners with their family and humanized him in their eyes. The centrality of food in “The Last Supper” humanizes death row inmates to the public and encourages viewers to consider their relationship to the U.S. prison system. “Food carries powerful associations with care, ritual, culture and comfort. In ‘The Last Supper,’ these meanings sit in tension with the realities of incarceration and execution. The meals depicted are often ordinary — even banal — which heightens the unsettling contrast between everyday human needs and the finality of state-sanctioned capital punishment,” shared Odo. “By centering food as the primary visual subject, the work encourages viewers to reflect on how the prison system manages bodies and lives, even in moments framed as gestures of compassion or dignity.”
The museum’s learning and engagement department organized a series of ceramics workshops for different audiences, including multiple UGA classes, to engage with Green’s work. After viewing “The Last Supper,” workshop participants created their own ceramic work of art in response. The museum also held a Teen Studio program focused on the idea of “art as activism,” as well as two offsite workshops at carceral institutions in Athens and North Georgia. “Together, through looking, conversation and art- making, we explore how Green’s work evokes powerful associations with care, ritual, culture and comfort, and consider these themes in juxtaposition to the realities of incarceration and execution,” said Callan Steinmann, director of learning and engagement, who co-facilitated the workshops with independent teaching artist Kristen Bach. “The Last Supper” makes abstract ideas about the ethics of capital punishment concrete by drawing attention away from the spectacle of crime and toward the universal, life-sustaining act of eating, thereby humanizing death row inmates. Green’s work was installed in the museum’s Phoebe and Ed Forio Gallery, in its permanent collection wing, alongside decorative arts from its collection that relate to rituals of eating. An industrial-style desk in the gallery held a comment book in which visitors could share their reactions. Three plates from Green’s “First Meal” series also appeared. This much smaller series, painted in color, illustrates the first meals after release of exonerated people and the circumstances around those meals.
Forio Gallery Reinstallation Explores the Home as an Ecosystem
by Jisu Stanfield, public relations intern
This fall, the Georgia Museum of Art will reinstall the Phoebe and Edgar Forio Gallery, dedicated to the decorative arts. Public historian Amber Albert worked with museum staff to curate this new display of Georgia objects, primarily from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Albert selected works based on the concept “home as ecosystem.” The display explores the use of decorative objects as tools and environmental technologies within the home. While modern definitions of technology may bring to mind smartphones, TVs and laptops, technology can be any tool used to make life easier. During this era, environmental technologies often included quilts, silver and ceramics. Although the objects selected for the reinstallation were decorative, they also served everyday functions related to climate, light and hygiene. Albert chose objects that haven’t often been on view. One object that will be included is an early-19th-century silver wine bottle coaster. Popular before household electricity, the coaster functioned to hold and display a wine bottle while the shiny material reflected the limited light produced by candlelight. A canning jar from ca. 1850, used to preserve food, has a decorative iris painted on its outside. By focusing on everyday tools and technologies, Albert hopes to portray the stories of Georgians throughout history and invite modern viewers to connect through design and innovation. Albert said, “While decor will be part of the narrative, it is secondary to function and material.” By showcasing domestic objects from different economic classes, the museum also hopes to correct misconceptions of art that exclude craft traditions. David Odo, now former director and chief curator of the museum, said that decorative arts can serve as a way to expand who is seen as an artist and whose work is included in museum collections.
Carolina Clock Company, clock, 1890. Wood, glass, clock mechanism, 25 1/2 x 15 1/4 x 4 3/8 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Museum purchase with funds provided by Mary and Michael Erlanger. 1995.15.
Albert said, “I’m hoping [visitors] come in, and even though they’re looking at something that’s 150 years old, they immediately think of something in their home and how it works.” The reinstallation takes a more thematic approach than previous displays and is aimed at sparking interdisciplinary conversations between art and areas of study that may not normally engage with art. Odo explained, “Providing more of an interpretive pathway for those classes makes it more approachable from a teaching perspective. It might help faculty imagine ‘this is a theme that resonates with what I’m trying to teach,’ even though the media are very different.” Reinstallation will begin after the deinstallation of Julie Green’s “The Last Supper,” and is expected to be completed and open to the public this fall.
Unidentified maker, hooked rug with red brick house, ca. 1930 – 1940. Strips of wool and other fabric on burlap foundation, 54 1/2 × 31 inches. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia; Gift of Michael and Mary Erlanger. 1983.11.
Museum in a Box
Expands Community Outreach by Jisu Stanfield, publications intern
Museum in a Box, a set of art-related crafts, books and toys for children, is now available for community members to explore at the Athens-Clarke County Library.
Museum in a Box includes creative activities for children of all ages.
The boxes of activities are a project of the Georgia Museum of Art’s learning and engagement department. Based on objects in the permanent collection, the activities are designed to encourage curiosity, imagination and hands-on discovery among children. Three boxes with different themes are each geared toward a specific age range. Two of the boxes, “Colors and Shapes” for ages 2 – 5 and “Abstract Shapes” for ages 4 – 6, draw from abstract works in the museum’s collection. The last box, “Weaving the World” for ages 5 – 8, was inspired by woven works from a variety of cultures including Cherokee, Gullah and Choctaw. “Abstract Shapes” features two books about different shapes. It also includes four hands-on tools that promote active learning by allowing children to engage with color theory, shape identification and creating abstract art. For example, wooden line blocks encourage children to arrange their own unique structures out of wavy, straight and curled lines. They come with cue cards demonstrating how to represent things like a piece of cheese or a sea lion. A sketchbook and twistable colored pencils allow young artists to sketch shapes or draw their own abstract objects. Activity cards provide additional ideas, and instructions on the inside of the box suggest how to get the most out of Museum in a Box. Representation was the major motivation behind “Weaving the World,” a box themed around the variety of ways that different cultures use the craft. Some examples of weaving within the museum’s collection are Cherokee mats, Choctaw baskets, Gullah sweetgrass baskets and woven sculptures by American artist Kenneth Weaver. “I love weaving and it’s just something that spans so many cultures,” said Mallory Lind, associate curator of
community engagement and outreach, who led this new initiative alongside Hanxu Chen, a graduate assistant who is the museum’s community outreach coordinator. Lind said, “There are a lot of Native American cultures that weave not just baskets but clothing [and] blankets. . . . Anybody can connect with weaving.” In addition to the cultural diversity of the craft, Lind noted the educational advantages of weaving. Learning to weave can serve multiple purposes for young students. Understanding weaving can translate to everyday skills such as sewing — crucial for repairing holes in clothing or resecuring buttons. The craft also complements math curriculum by allowing students to practice counting and identifying patterns. The Museum in a Box program supports the Georgia Museum of Art’s mission to “collect, preserve, interpret and share art to inspire dialogue, advance inquiry and connect the University of Georgia and communities beyond through meaningful engagement with art, history and culture.” By putting resources into the surrounding community, the museum expands its reach beyond campus. Lind said the importance of outreach is “having a visible thing that is giving back to the community but also making ourselves known so that people keep us in mind as a resource, as a place to go.” By making these boxes available to the community, she hopes to bring visibility to the museum, reminding and encouraging community members who may not usually visit. Currently, the boxes are available at the Athens-Clarke County Library on Baxter Street. While not available for checkout, the boxes can be used while visiting the library, and any completed drawings can be taken home. Through this initiative, the museum hopes to broaden how it shares art and connects communities.
Hot Off the Press: Museum Publishes New Art Books
“Richard Hunt: Synthesis,” 2nd edition ($29.99)
Richard Hunt in Santa Monica, California, 1964.
Over his seven-decade career, Chicago native Richard Hunt (1935 – 2023) became one of the nation’s most prolific public sculptors, creating 160 large-scale commissions in 24 different states and Washington, D.C. Made of welded and cast steel, aluminum, copper and bronze, his abstract creations often resemble natural forms, whether plant or animal. Often seen as a post-Black artist, Hunt in fact promotes ideals of freedom and equality through his work. Bridging the gap between abstract art and the Black experience, he draws inspiration from his ancestry, identity and spirituality. The Georgia Museum of Art first published “Richard Hunt: Synthesis” in 2018, in conjunction with a retrospective exhibition of the same name. When the catalogue went out of print, there was an opportunity to refine and expand its content.
The second edition removes the original chronology and lists of collections, commissions and exhibitions — information now available within the artist’s major monograph (“Richard Hunt,” 2022) or online — in favor of new scholarship and new images. Jon Ott, executive director of the Richard Hunt Legacy Foundation, which supported the publication, examines the artist’s connections to the American South. Nijah Cunningham, assistant professor of English at Hunter College, City University of New York, explores Hunt’s lesser-known practice as a printmaker. The Georgia Museum holds a significant collection of Hunt’s prints, and while space limitations prevented us from displaying them in full in the exhibition, this edition allows us to present them comprehensively for the first time. The new edition also includes an edited transcript of the conversation between Hunt and curator Shawnya L. Harris on the opening night of his exhibition at the museum. Anyone who already owns the first edition will also want a copy of this new one.
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