Exhibit at the Houston Public Library “Emma Richardson Cherry: Houston's First Modern Artist"
Emma Richardson Cherry (1859-1954) was Houston’s first modern artist. She, her students and their students formed a core of forward-looking artists in the city decades earlier than is generally recognized. Newly available paintings and documents now make it possible to tell and illustrate the story of her amazing accomplishments. The Houston Public Library proudly presents the “Emma Richardson Cherry: Houston’s First Modern Artist” exhibit now through May 4, 2013 at the Julia Ideson Building (JIB), 550 McKinney, 77002, 832-393-1662. The community is invited to view the impressionism art by Cherry and to also attend diverse programs at JIB to learn more about her history and her impressionist art. The exhibit, opening reception and all programs are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.houstonlibrary.org or call 832-393-1662.
Second Saturday Series: Gallery Talk
Saturday March 9, 2013
2 PM
Houston Public Library, Julia Ideson Building, 550 McKinney, 77002
In conjunction with the exhibit, curators Danielle Burns, Randy Tibbits and Lorraine Stuart will give an informal gallery talk on Cherry, her students and their impact on Houston and the art world.
Second Saturday Series: Mrs. Cherry’s Studio (Family Program)
Saturday April 13, 2013
2 PM
Houston Public Library, Julia Ideson Building, 550 McKinney, 77002
A workshop for all ages that introduces creative methods and techniques that Cherry and her students used in their work. An art instructor will provide fun activities to keep everyone engaged as they learn about the exhibition “Emma Richardson Cherry: Houston’s First Modern Artist.”
About Emma Richardson Cherry (1859-1954)
Cherry came to Houston in the mid 1890’s and remained a Houstonian for almost 60 years. Through her work as a teacher, lecturer, civic organizer and professional artist, she helped shape the art environment of the City and of Texas. Almost singlehandedly at first, she laid the foundation on which the Houston of later decades would build a vibrant art culture. She was the vital conduit, bringing current ideas from the greater art world to a Houston that was a small town of fewer than 30,000 when she arrived, and still fell far short of a million when she died in 1954.
As the first woman and one of the first Americans of either sex to paint at Giverny in 1888/89, she arrived in Houston with first-hand knowledge of impressionism, and soon mounted the first impressionist exhibition anywhere in Texas. As a result of her encounter with such artists as Marsden Hartley and Stuart Davis in Gloucester, MA, and as one of fewer than 100 members worldwide (and the only one from Texas) of the avant-garde Societe Anonyme in New York in the early 1920’s, she was exposed to the ideas of fellow members Marcel Duchamp and Man Ray among others, and put Houston in touch with the most advanced art ideas circulating anywhere at the time. After study with cubist painter Andre Lhote in Paris in 1925/26, she painted what are likely the first cubist paintings made by a Texas artist.
About the Houston Public Library
The Houston Public Library (HPL) operates 35 neighborhood libraries, three HPL Express Libraries, a Central Library, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, The African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Parent Resource Library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston. Serving more than 4 million customers per year, HPL is committed to excellent customer service and equitable access to information and programs by providing library customers with free use of a diverse collection of printed materials and electronic resources, Internet, laptop and computer use, and a variety of database and reference resources with live assistance online 24/7.
For further information, visit the Houston Public Library at www.houstonlibrary.org or call 832-393-1313.
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