First Lady Susan Corbett Announces Tour Season, New Art Exhibition at the Governor's Residence

'Violet Oakley and the Women Artists of Paris' to Feature 20 Works

HARRISBURG, Pa., Sept. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pennsylvania First Lady Susan Corbett today announced the start of fall tour season at the Governor's Residence and the opening of the new art exhibition, "Violet Oakley and the Women Artists of Paris." 

"The governor and I are excited to have the opportunity to share this important collection of Impressionist works with visitors this fall," said Mrs. Corbett. "It is our hope that our fellow Pennsylvanians will take time to visit and experience this breathtaking exhibition."

The exhibition features 20 works of art by Violet Oakley, Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot and other influential female artists who studied in Paris during the late 1800s.  The collection is on loan from the Woodmere Art Museum in Philadelphia and will be on display at the Governor's Residence until next January.

In 1902, Violet Oakley became the nation's first woman artist to receive a large commission for adorning a state capitol building. Her works, created over a 25-year span, hang throughout the Pennsylvania Capitol. Some of her best-known murals are found in the Senate and Supreme Court chambers, as well as the Governor's Reception Room. In total, she created 43 murals for the Capitol.

Public tours of the Governor's Residence are available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Oct. 30. Tours are conducted by volunteer tour guides at no charge; however, reservations are required and can be made by calling the tour line at 717-772-9130. The holiday season tour schedule will be announced in the coming weeks.

For more information, visit www.pa.gov/firstlady.

Media contact: Ashley Chunko, 717-787-1965

Editor's note: The exhibition includes the following works:

• Portrait of Hannah Rose Hoffman Lee, Cecilia Beaux
• The Dress Fitting, Mary Cassatt
• The Toilette, Mary Cassatt
• Two Danish Sisters in the Garden at Juziers, Paule Gobillard
• Branch of Plums, Paule Gobillard
• Parakeet at a Window, Julie Manet
• The Drawing Lesson, Berthe Morisot
• Parakeet at a Window, Berthe Morisot
• Man and Science, from the mural series "The Building of the House of Wisdom," Violet Oakley
• Portrait of Houston Woodward, Violet Oakley
• Gertrude and George in North Africa, Violet Oakley
• Mother and Daughter, Violet Oakley
• The Three Boys, Violet Oakley
• Lady with a Fan, Violet Oakley
• Blue Shawl, Violet Oakley
• Untitled (Two Women), Violet Oakley
• Untitled (Portrait of a Woman), Violet Oakley
• Catherine Nude Arranging Her Hair, Suzanne Valadon
• Study for Picking Apples, Martha Walter
• By the Bandstand, Luxembourg Gardens, Martha Walter

SOURCE Pennsylvania Office of the First Lady