November 24, 2008
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Amelia Wiggins, Educator, Public Programs
409.886.ARTS (2787)
Inaugural Curator to Speak About Museum Opening in Honor of Thirtieth Anniversary
ORANGE, Texas, November 24, 2008 – The thirtieth anniversary celebration for the Stark Museum of Art continues Saturday, December 6 at 6:30 p.m. with a special presentation by Dr. Julie Schimmel, inaugural curator for the museum. Schimmel’s talk, Stark Museum of Art 1978: A Reminiscence, will present a unique look at the time, people and art surrounding the museum’s opening on November 29, 1978. The free slide-talk will be held at the Lutcher Theater, 707 Main Street, Orange, Texas and will be followed by a reception at the museum, 712 Green Avenue.
Schimmel served as curator of collections for the Stark Museum of Art from 1977 to 1979. She administered the museum’s inaugural exhibition of approximately 700 objects and recruited and supervised the museum’s inaugural staff. She also researched, wrote, and supervised the production of a collection catalog, which included an essay and documentation of 1600 objects from the museum’s remarkable collection of American Western art.
Said Schimmel of her presentation, “My intention is to introduce the human side of museum work by introducing the wonderful people who brought the Stark Museum of Art to life and opened its doors to the public for the first time in 1978. Solutions to many of our exhibition challenges came not just from Orange, but also Washington, D.C. and New York City, and were delivered by people with remarkably different backgrounds, some with extensive museum experience, and some with none at all. Yet, the Stark Museum’s extraordinary collection of American Western art, long hours, and good humor made it all possible.”
Schimmel also plans to offer personal remembrances of Nelda C. Stark, who selected Schimmel for the Stark Museum’s curator position. “Nelda Stark offered me the most extraordinary opportunity, when she intuitively judged that I was the person to organize the inaugural opening of the museum she had built in memory of her husband, Lutcher. In this lecture, I hope to show a side of Mrs. Stark’s personality that was unknown to most people, and that was her many-sided generosity. She was a grand Texas lady.”
In the spirit of the generosity that made the Stark Museum possible, visitors are invited to bring a new, unwrapped toy to a reception at the museum immediately following the presentation. Collection boxes will be located at the museum, 712 Green Avenue. The toys will be donated to the Blue Santa program, which will distribute the toys to needy families during the holiday season. The Stark Museum of Art, through its parent organization the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, will make a corresponding contribution to the Blue Santa program.
Located at 712 Green Avenue in Orange, Texas, the Stark Museum of Art is open to the public at no charge Tuesday through Saturday. Hours are from 10 AM – 5 PM. Group tours are available by appointment. For more information call 409.886.ARTS (2787) or visit www.starkmuseum.org.
About the Stark Museum of Art
The Stark Museum of Art focuses on the stunning land, the dramatic people and the diverse wildlife of the American West. Paintings, sculpture and prints interpret the West from nineteenth century frontier artists to the twentieth century artistic colonies in New Mexico. Artists include John James Audubon, Frederic Remington, and Charles Marion Russell.
The Museum also features a significant collection of American Indian objects, including baskets, pottery, clothing and weavings. Other permanent collections in the Museum include the complete porcelain American Bird Series by Dorothy Doughty and the only complete series of The United States in Crystal, a collection of crystal urns produced by Steuben Glass to depict the 50 states and the Union.
Dr. Julie Schimmel.