By Shirley McMarlin
Courtesy of The Westmoreland Museum of American ArtDetail from “The Pioneer,” by Stephen Towns, 2020, mixed media on panel, a 2020 acquisition by The Westmoreland Museum of American Art.
There is a story behind every piece of art acquired by The Westmoreland Museum of American Art. Doug Evans, the museum’s director of collections and exhibition management, is the keeper of many of those stories — some that he can share and others he can’t.
One shareable story concerns an 1859 Soap Hollow six-drawer chest that is on a list of 16 recent acquisitions released by the Greensburg museum.
The Westmoreland already had one “prime example” of the highly regarded 19th-century furniture made in Somerset County, Evans said, when he was contacted last January about the new bequest.
It was coming from the estate of the late Charles R. Muller, an expert who previously curated a Soap Hollow exhibition for the museum. Muller bought the piece from a California family who owned it for about five generations without knowing its provenance, its Chinese red finish dulled to almost black by time and lack of upkeep.
The owners were going to sell the chest at a consignment store to raise travel funds when they contacted Muller for an evaluation.
“He told them that, by looking at the form, he thought it was Soap Hollow,” Evans said. “He was a gentleman, and he paid them fair market value for it.”
The chest, which has been conserved, complements the museum’s other Soap Hollow chest, Evans said, and “it adds another layer to the Pennsylvania Dutch pieces already in the collection.”
“The form is similar, though you’ll see differences in color and symbols when they’re side by side,” he said.
Fulfilling a purpose
Building the collection in a thoughtful, coherent manner is key to accepting or purchasing works, said chief curator Barbara Jones.
“How (a piece) works with the existing collection emphasizes how carefully we consider taking gifts or making purchases,” she said. “We don’t just take anything. For us, it’s a matter of accepting works that add to the existing collection or add something that we don’t have.”
New acquisitions can fulfill both of those purposes, as with oil paintings by Aaron Bohrod and New Kensington native Cara Livorio.
“They’re important in their own way, though not necessarily household names or names that will make their way into the art history textbooks,” Jones said.
Works by Tina Williams Brewer, Stephen Towns and Sharif Bey also are helping to meet the museum’s goal of obtaining more pieces by Black artists, she said.
Pittsburgh-based Williams Brewer, a renowned story quilt maker, has just begun to sell her all-hand-stitched work, Jones said.
The artist stitches a handkerchief to the back of each one that contains a key to the symbols used, explaining the story the quilt tells, Evans said.
“These quilts are so personal and take so long to do,” he said. “She’s so careful with where she shares her work. She said, ‘I’m sharing my DNA with you.’ ”
“The Pioneer,” Towns’ oil painting depicting a Black West Virginia coal miner, “works with so many different aspects of our collection,” Jones said. “It can be placed with more historical works, and it speaks to the history of the area.”
That’s also the case with “Latrobe Steel,” a 1963 oil painting by William M. Hoffman Jr., an award-winning artist and former Ligonier resident.
“It’s our first image of Latrobe Steel, and a great way to add a contemporary artist to our ‘Scenes of Industry’ collection,” Jones said. “The works by contemporary artists can be paired with other contemporary or historical artists to fill in some gaps or holes in our collection.”
List of acquisitions
Some of the recent acquisitions already have been displayed, Evans said, and will be found layered into the permanent exhibitions when The Westmoreland reopens Feb. 7. A solo exhibition by Stephen Towns is planned for January 2022. The 16 works and their makers are:
“River Scene at Twilight,” William Coventry Wall, 1879, oil on canvas, gift of Jack Millstein
“Divine Plan,” Tina Williams Brewer, 2003, hand-pieced African and domestic fabrics, gift of the Westmoreland Society
“Flourish,” Cara Livorio, 2018-19, oil on canvas, gift of the Westmoreland Society
“Latrobe Steel (ALCO; Standard Steel),” William M. Hoffman Jr., 1963, oil on linen, gift from the artist
“Near Herron Hill,” Samuel Rosenberg, 1934, oil on canvas, gift of Debra Light in memory of her parents, Harvey and Lenore Light
Soap Hollow six-drawer chest, Peter K. Thomas and Christian C. Blough, 1859, bequest of Charles R. Muller
“The Pioneer,” Stephen Towns, 2020, oil and mixed media on panel, gift of the William W. Jamison II and Thomas Lynch Art Acquisition Fund
“Bird Skull: Fire #2,” Sharif Bey, 2020, glazed ceramic on steel, gift of the William W. Jamison II and Thomas Lynch Art Acquisition Fund
“Legend of the Races (Races of Humanity Listen to the Genius of Wisdom Explaining the Legend of All Peoples),” Nicholas Petkovich, not dated, oil on canvas, gift of Dr. Michael L. and Lilli Nieland
“Still Life with Chinese Puzzle,” Aaron Bohrod, 1972, oil on panel, gift of the Nielands
“West-Bluff Greenhouse,” Bohrod, 1935, oil on panel, gift of the Nielands
“Two Models and the Artist,” John Koch, 1972, oil on canvas, gift of the Nielands
“Busy Winter Day, Tremont and Park Streets,” Arthur Clifton Goodwin, not dated, oil on canvas, gift of the Nielands
“No More Booze and Fried Food,” LaVon Van Williams Jr., 2011, oil paint and hammer copper on poplar wood, gift of the Nielands
“Aphrodisiac — Angna Enters,” Helen Farr, not dated, lithograph on paper, gift of Judy and Kevin O’Toole in memory of Bruce Wolf
“Afternoon Train,” Doris Emrick Lee, 1945, lithograph on paper, museum purchase, by exchange
Details: thewestmoreland.org
Shirley McMarlin is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Shirley at 724-836-5750, smcmarlin@triblive.com or via Twitter .Categories: AandE | More A&E | Art & Museums | Westmoreland