The Westmoreland Museum of American Art is holding a free public reception for “Telling Tales: Stories and Legends in 19th-century American Art,” from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Saturday.
The exhibition comprises 53 artworks from the New York Historical Society’s expansive collection of narrative art. It includes such notable artists as Benjamin West, Asher B. Durand and William Sidney Mount, but also less well-known figures who were significant in their time.
Programming has been designed to complement the theme of storytelling reflected in the painting and sculpture, and it includes:
2 p.m. March 19: “Stories Told in Ballads and Scrolls” — Artist and folk singer Ellen Gozion will perform folk songs filled with storytelling imagery, accompanied by “crankies,” an old storytelling art form utilizing a long illustrated scroll.
7 p.m. April 20: “Stories in Art” — Lauren Churilla, curator of the Foster and Muriel McCarl Coverlet Collection at Saint Vincent College, will speak about connections between the stories in the exhibition art and those in works in the museum’s permanent collection.
7 p.m. May 18: “Gallery Talk” — Chief curator Barbara Jones will focus on how narrative paintings are historical records of a society that capture the shared values, social conventions and practices of an age.
Other programs: “Defining a New Democracy” (1 p.m. May 21); “Examining ‘The Outsider,’ a panel discussion” (1 p.m. June 11); and “Sing the Body Electric: A discussion with Walt Whitman” (7 p.m., June 15).
“Telling Tales” continues through June 19 at 221 N. Main St., Greensburg. Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday and until 7 p.m. Wednesday. Admission is a suggested donation of $15 for adults, $10 for seniors; free to members, children age 18 and under, students, veterans, and military (active duty & reserve) and their families. Information: 724-837-1500 or http://thewestmoreland.org.
Fiber artist talk
Arturo Alonzo Sandoval will give a free public talk on “Remembrance and Transformation: Creating a Sense of Place Between Art and Craft” at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the Society for Contemporary Craft, 2100 Smallman St., Strip District.
Mr. Sandoval, a fiber artist and professor at the University of Kentucky, is a co-juror of the 2016 Fiberart International. That exhibition opens May 6 at the society and at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. The talk is sponsored by the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh. Information: 412-261-7003 or www.contemporarycraft.org.
Women artists and Wikipedia
The accomplishments and contributions of women artists are underrepresented in the art world at large, and Wikipedia listings are no exception. To rectify this, four women artists in 2014 founded Art+Feminism to improve coverage of women and the arts on Wikipedia and to encourage female editorship. Last year, 1,500 people at 75 locations around the world created or improved hundreds of articles, according to the organization.
This year, Pittsburgh will participate for the first time through an event from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Frick Fine Arts Library, University of Pittsburgh, Oakland (on Schenley Drive across from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Main Branch).
The free event is open to all. Experience is not necessary and participants may commit for the entire day or part of it. Bring a laptop if you have one. Refreshments, coffee and tea will be provided. Local hosts are Alexandra Oliver and Vicky Clark, with Kate Joranson, library liaison. Information: http://artandfeminismpgh.com.
M. Thomas: mthomas@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1925.
First Published: March 2, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
