February 19, 2008
Contact:
Sarah Boehme, Director
409.886.ARTS (2787)
ORANGE, Texas, February 19, 2008 – In honor of the opening of Shangri La Botanical Gardens and Nature Center in Orange, Texas, the Stark Museum of Art will display a special exhibition titled Celebrate Shangri La, on view March 15–June 28. The exhibition will display works from the Stark Museum of Art collections that portray the flora and fauna that can be seen in nature in Shangri La. The exhibition will include works that record and document natural history as well as many nineteenth century rare books with important natural history illustrations. The Museum will also host a special reception on March 15 from 6-8 p.m. to celebrate the opening of the exhibition.
On view in the Celebrate Shangri La exhibition is John James Audubon’s double elephant folio of The Birds of America, which belonged to Audubon personally. Individual prints from the same publication will also be highlighted, including the Great Blue Heron, which shows Audubon’s mastery of design. Also on view is a rare copper plate used to produce Audubon’s print of the Swallow-Tailed Hawk, along with one of the resulting prints.
In addition to the works by Audubon, the exhibition includes prints by early naturalists in America whose work made some of the first records of America’s natural history. One such artist is Alexander Wilson, whose portrayals of American birds inspired Audubon to publish his own drawings. Also on display is Thomas Say’s American Entomology or Description of the Insects of North America, which is the first American book published on entomology and a new acquisition in the Stark Museum of Art.
Other works in the exhibition include examples from the porcelain American Bird series by Dorothy Doughty as well as the watercolor Amaryllis Starkii by Morris Henry Hobbs, which depicts the amaryllis named in honor of Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark. Additional artists highlighted are Athos Menaboni, William Bartram, Mark Catesby, Paul Jones, William Sharp, Edward Marshall Boehm, and more.
“Visitors will see artistic representations of birds, animals and plants that they can see in Shangri La, and the exhibition can enhance their recognition and appreciation of the natural elements,” said Sarah Boehme, director of the Stark Museum of Art. “They will also see the connection between art and nature that inspired H.J. Lutcher Stark to collect art and to establish a garden.”
The Museum will also help children understand the connection between art and nature with an interactive matching game that encourages them to compare counterparts in art and photographs of nature.
On Saturday, March 15 from 6-8 p.m., the Museum will host a special reception to celebrate the opening of the exhibition. “Because we want to honor the opening of Shangri La, the reception will be open to all to participate,” said Boehme. “We invite everyone who comes to enjoy the gardens to also come to the Museum to celebrate the excellence of art and nature in Orange, Texas.”
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 see www.starkmuseum.org.
For permission to publish the below images, please contact Dawn Stout at Imaginuity Interactive, Inc.: 409.882.4906 or Dawn.Stout@imaginuity.com.
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Morris Henry Hobbs (1892-1967)
Amaryllis Starkii
1963, watercolor on paper
16 ×12 1/16 inches
Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas
2007.3.1 |
John James Audubon (1785-1851), artist
Robert Havell, Jr. (1793-1878), engraver
Great Blue Heron
1834, etching and aquatint on paper, hand-colored
38 1/2 × 25 3/16 inches
Stark Museum of Art, Orange, Texas
91.100/32
Photography by Will France
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