The Carleton College Perlman Teaching Museum will formally open its new spring term exhibit, “Our Treasures: Highlights from the Minnesota Museum of American Art,” on Saturday, March 31 at 2 p.m. with a three-hour reception and community open house that includes a presentation by the exhibit curator along with a special “Family Day at the Weitz Center,” featuring hands-on art projects, including a museum treasure hunt, and tours specifically designed for elementary age children. “Our Treasures,” on display in the Braucher Gallery of the Perlman Teaching Museum, is comprised of a rich collection of paintings, sculpture, drawings, photography and craft objects, showcases American art in a variety of styles and runs from March 30 until May 8, 2012. Located in the College’s Weitz Center for Creativity, admission to the Perlman Teaching Museum is free and all related events are open to the public.
“Our Treasures” consists of thirty prominent works of art documenting the evolution of American art in the 20th century. The works includes American landscapes, portraits and abstract works of art by artists including Thomas Hart Benton, Grant Wood, Paul Manship, Joan Mitchell, Louise Nevelson, George Morrison and Warren MacKenzie. The exhibit emphasizes themes such as Midwestern heritage and Native American history. The opening reception will include a gallery talk by Kristin Makholm, Curator and Executive Director of the Minnesota Museum of American Art, as well as family art activities inspired by the exhibit.
The Minnesota Museum of American Art, based in St. Paul, moved out of its former premises in St. Paul and is actively looking for a new home. “Our Treasures,” which has previously been exhibited at Gustavus Adolphus College and the University of Minnesota-Duluth, is seen as a means of allowing the museum’s collection to reach a wider audience during this transitional period.
“During this time of transition in the life of the MMAA, our great collection is the institution’s standard bearer, the life blood that connects the rich history and legacy of St. Paul’s art museum to audiences of the present,” Makholm said in a statement. “It is a valued yet underappreciated resource that deserves to be known and appreciated by people across the state, and we’re eager to get it on the road.”
For more information, including disability accommodations, contact Laurel Bradley, Director and Curator of the Carleton College Perlman Teaching Museum, at (507) 222-4342 or visit online at https://apps.carleton.edu/museum/. For more information on the Minnesota Museum of American Art, visit online at http://mmaa.org. The Weitz Center for Creativity is located at 320 Third Street East in Northfield. Hours for the Perlman Teaching Museum are: Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Thursday-Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.; and Saturday-Sunday, 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. Enter the Perlman Teaching Museum, Weitz Center for Creativity, at Third and College Streets in Northfield.
