June 8, 2009
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Sarah Boehme, Director
409.886.ARTS (2787)
ORANGE, Texas, June 8, 2009 - Fifty magnificently embellished and historically important American firearms will be displayed at the Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas, in a special exhibition Pistols: Dazzling Firearms. It will be on view June 20 through October 24, 2009. The Museum will also host an exhibition celebration for the public Saturday, June 27, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Stark Museum of Art. Pistols: Dazzling Firearms was organized by the Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California.
The exhibition features pistols selected for their extraordinary quality, condition, and elegance. The works come primarily from the permanent collection of the Autry National Center of the American West, supplemented with loans from private collections. Pistols: Dazzling Firearms illustrates how art, historical events, and popular culture have influenced the design and symbolism of decorative weaponry.
Highlights include a Colt Model 1862 revolver that presents an early, rare example of Tiffany-style grips embellished with an American eagle motif and revealing master craftsmanship. The exhibition also features Wild Bill Hickok's Model 1851 Navy revolver, Annie Oakley's Smith and Wesson pistols, and six presidential guns designed by the Colt company, including one designed for John F. Kennedy. A silver Colt Single Action Army revolver engraved by Edward Bohlin for cowboy actor Tom Mix introduces the Hollywood era. A unique pair of Colt revolvers with nautical motifs, made for a former chairman of Colt Industries, combines the talents of the twentieth-century Tiffany and Co. as designer, and Leonard Francolini as engraver.
The exhibition explores the political, social, and historical aspects of the decorative pistols; the influence of iconic Western painting; and the artistic talent of firearms engravers. "Firearms become decorative art when adorned by master engravers," said Julia Logan-Bourbois, Assistant Curator for Arms and Armor, Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, and curator of the exhibition.
Pistols: Dazzling Firearms includes plasma screen installations with filmed highlights of the firearms and of the engraving process. An educational area adjacent to the exhibition provides learning activities related to the exhibition. "We invite the public to enjoy artistic beauty in a different medium, that of firearms engraving, while seeing the historic and thematic connections with our permanent collection of Western American paintings, sculpture and prints," said Sarah Boehme, Stark Museum of Art Director.
In honor of the exhibition, the Stark Museum of Art will host a reception for the public Saturday, June 27, from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Stark Museum of Art. Docents will offer tours of the exhibition, and light refreshments will be served. The Stark Museum of Art will also schedule additional programs and events related to the exhibition.
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.
Colt, Model 1862 Police and Pocket Conversion Revolver, s.n. 23773E, ca. 1862.
Museum of the American West, Autry National Center, Los Angeles, California. 2004.71.1.
Colt, Single Action Army Revolver, s.n. GAS-00/TIFFANY, ca. 1980. Rendered by
Tiffany & Co. and Leonard Francolini. Museum of the American West, Autry National Center,
Los Angeles, California. 90.183.8.2.
For additional images, contact Museum Services at the Stark Museum of Art. 409.886.2787.
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, Charles Marion Russell and Georgia O'Keeffe.
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.
The Stark Museum of Art is a program of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, a non-profit organization whose other programs include the Frances Ann Lutcher Theater for the Performing Arts, Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center, and The W.H. Stark House.
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