Nashville's Frist Center Presents "Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise"

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Nashville's Frist Center for the Visual Arts presents Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise, the largest and most comprehensive exhibition of Newcomb arts and crafts in more than a quarter century. Created and organized by the Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), the exhibition is making the final stop of its nine-city tour at the Frist Center. The public opening on July 29 will be celebrated with a lecture by the distinguished Newcomb Pottery authority Sally Main, former senior curator at the Newcomb Art Museum, and a special Frist Friday concert of New Orleans music.

Newcomb pottery is one of the most significant of all American art potteries, critically acclaimed and highly coveted. With more than 180 works that span 45 years of production (1895–1940), Women, Art, and Social Change offers new insights into the Newcomb community's enduring mark on American art and industry. The exhibition examines the role played by H. Sophie Newcomb Memorial College, Tulane University's coordinate institution for women, in promoting art for the advancement of women and, in turn, New Orleans' business and cultural communities, which were still struggling from the effects of the Civil War.

"Women, Art, and Social Change brings together a variety of objects created during the lifespan of the Newcomb enterprise," explains Sally Main. "The finest examples of the pottery art form will be displayed alongside pieces that will come as a revelation to many—not only a rich variety of crafts but also photos and artifacts that breathe life into the Newcomb legacy."

What began as an educational experiment flourished into a quasi-commercial venture that offered unprecedented opportunities for Southern women to support themselves financially during and after their training as artists. "When seen against the backdrop of social history, which this exhibition emphasizes, these beautiful works of art and the women who made them appear even more remarkable," observes Frist Center curator Trinita Kennedy. The Frist Center's presentation will include an educational component that demonstrates production techniques employed by Newcomb potters and decorators through a series of in-progress vessels made by Nashville ceramicists Danielle McDaniel, co-owner of the Clay Lady Studios, and Lyndy Rutledge.

Many works of the Newcomb Pottery enterprise were inspired by the native flora and fauna of the Gulf South, a distinctive hallmark that made them immediately recognizable and popular with collectors, curators and tastemakers across the country. This exhibition features iconic examples of the pottery, including a majestic daffodil motif vase by Harriet Coulter Joor recently acquired by the Newcomb Art Museum, and jewelry, such as the silver and moonstone necklace attributed to Mary Williams Butler, the head of Newcomb's metalwork department, along with textiles, metalwork, bookbinding, works on paper, and other historical artifacts.

Exhibition Credit

Women, Art, and Social Change: The Newcomb Pottery Enterprise, an exhibition created and organized by Newcomb Art Museum, Tulane University, and the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES), was made possible in part through the generous support of Henry Luce Foundation and an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.

The audio tour for this exhibition was created by The Wolfsonian–Florida International University, Miami Beach. Belmont University and Ocean Way Recording Studios donated recording time and professional expertise to adapt the tour for Frist Center visitors.

About SITES

SITES has been sharing the wealth of Smithsonian collections and research programs with millions of people outside Washington, D.C., for nearly 60 years. SITES connects Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science and history, which are shown wherever people live, work and play. Exhibition descriptions and tour schedules are available at www.sites.si.edu.              

Sponsor Acknowledgment

The exhibition is supported by grants from the Henry Luce Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts, Art Works.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts gratefully acknowledges the support of our Picasso Circle members as exhibition patrons.

The Frist Center for the Visual Arts is supported in part by the Metro Nashville Arts Commission, the Tennessee Arts Commission, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

About the Frist Center
Accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, the Frist Center for the Visual Arts is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit art exhibition center dedicated to presenting and originating high-quality exhibitions with related educational programs and community outreach activities. Located at 919 Broadway in downtown Nashville, Tenn., the Frist Center offers the finest visual art from local, regional, national, and international sources in a program of changing exhibitions that inspire people through art to look at their world in new ways. The Frist Center's Martin ArtQuest Gallery features interactive stations relating to Frist Center exhibitions. Information on accessibility may be found at fristcenter.org/accessibility. Gallery admission is free for visitors 18 and younger and to members; $12 for adults; $9 for seniors and college students with ID; and $7 for active military. College students are admitted free Thursday and Friday evenings (with the exception of Frist Fridays), 5:00–9:00 p.m. Discounts are offered for groups of 10 or more with advance reservations by calling 615.744.3247. The galleries, Café, and Gift Shop are open seven days a week: Mondays through Wednesdays, and Saturdays, 10:00 a.m.–5:30 p.m.; Thursdays and Fridays, 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m.; and Sundays, 1:00–5:30 p.m., with the Café opening at noon. Additional information is available by calling 615.244.3340 or by visiting fristcenter.org.

SOURCE Frist Center for the Visual Arts