The Collectors Road Show: Art, Heirlooms and Treasures

Imagine striking it rich and leaving behind your mundane life to live every day carefree. Whether it be buried treasure, winning the lottery or finding a suitcase full of millions of dollars, everyone is familiar with the rags-to-riches story, including the ones featured on PBS’ popular Antiques Roadshow program. If you’ve ever wondered whether the contents of your attic could have you living a life of leisure, you’ll have a chance to find out this May at the Georgia Museum of Art.

On May 11 and 12, the museum will host “The Collectors Road Show: Art, Heirlooms and Treasures,” with numerous appraisal opportunities for both members and non-members.

On May 11, expert appraisers from Bonhams will do formal, in-home valuations for upper-level event sponsors. The museum will then host a Patrons Party that evening, featuring more chances for in-depth appraisals and a silent auction. Patrons Party tickets may be purchased separately from event sponsorship, $100 for non-members and $85 for members.

On May 12, both museum members and the general public can bring items to the museum for informal, verbal appraisal by the Bonhams’ experts. Appointments are $15 for members and $20 for non-members per item. Each additional item will cost $10, with a limit of three items per person. Advance reservations are strongly recommended but not required. Visit bit.ly/collectors-road-show for additional sponsor information, benefits or to register online. The prestigious Bonhams auction house was established in 1793 and is world renowned for its international auction houses, sales and specialists. Bonhams is headquartered in London but has salesrooms in New York and Los Angeles. It specializes in buying and selling in every major area of art, antiques, jewelry and cars.

The event serves as the Collectors’ biennial fundraiser to benefit the museum’s permanent collection. Membership in the Collectors is open to contributing level members (and above). The group raises funds for acquisitions, organizes lectures, visits homes of art enthusiasts and hosts excursions to other cities. Every Collectors event is an opportunity to learn and appreciate art, and the group’s membership has continued to grow.

The Collectors have acquired various works of art that are beloved objects of the permanent collection. Most recently, the Collectors obtained the sculpture bust “Minnehaha” by famed African-American and Chippewa artist Edmonia Lewis, who is considered to be one of the most influential female artists of the 19th century. Other notable works of art that have been acquired by the Collectors include a lithograph after artist Édouard Manet, an engraving from the 1620s and an oil painting of the famed Blue Ridge Mountains by American landscape painter William Sonntag.

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Stephanie Motter

Intern, Department of Communications

Spotlight on Studio Workshops: Interview with Paige French

Paige French

With experience in everything from photography to ceramics and, of course, textiles, Paige French brings an unique approach to art. French will be leading a four-part series of studio-based courses at the Georgia Museum of Art that will explore weaving and fiber arts through various techniques and materials. The class is open to artists of all levels.

We spoke with French this week to learn more about the upcoming workshop and her own works as an artist, and we were met with both answers and engaging stories.

How did you come to work with textiles as an artist?

I taught myself how to sew. I would steal my mom’s sewing machine, because when I was 13 I realized clothes didn’t fit me, but all these other girls, their clothes fit them. I ruined a lot of clothing, which my mom was not happy about, but that started my interest in seamstress work and design. I think there are principles across so many art forms like composition, color theory and the rule of thirds that can even be applied to fashion. The concept of how things present based on what textures are combined and what colors are used, all of those things are relevant no matter what media you’re working within.

Paige has continued to sew, weave and interact with textiles throughout her life. These interests are often incorporated into her commercial and personal work such as shoots she has done for books on interior design. Paige has also featured her textile works over the years on her early professional blogs, at her own home and on more modern platforms such as Instagram. As she has said herself, some artistic concepts transcend all types of art. The care and manner in which she brings her art into the world suggests that her works are not limited by context.

How does a visit to the museum inspire your work?

I am incredibly floored, entering into a museum is like a spiritual experience. Especially at the Georgia Museum of Art because of the way it’s designed, with the outdoor patio and sculpture garden, it really does invite you in. It’s so sparse and minimal, which allows you to have a really powerful interaction with the pieces.

Is there a particular Georgia Museum of Art exhibit that has evoked this feeling for you?

I remember I was invited to photograph the Ann Bonfoey Taylor exhibit at the museum in 2013. Having the opportunity to come into the museum and photograph these artifacts — artifacts in the sense of lives lived and time spent rather than physical age — was huge for me because of the work that I’m doing. In the context of this digital age, it can seem like I put [what I create] out there and “poof,” it’s gone. But that exhibit helped me to realize no, it’s actually lasting and it matters.

What can people look forward to doing and learning in this workshop?

The first day is going to be personal introductions, going up and observing the works and then talking about how we’ll be studying circular and rectangular compositions. The second day, participants will be making sketches of what we want to bring to life; weaving based on paintings, sculptures or whatever else is on display or that we look at from the archives. From there, participants will learn basic weaving knots and stitches, and begin to create their pieces throughout the rest of the workshop.

The workshop is supposed to draw inspiration from museum pieces on display and in the archives; what is your favorite (or a few favorites) of what you’ve pulled for the students?

The specific pieces are still to be determined, but Paige states there will likely be an emphasis on abstracts.

One of my goals with looking at pulled works and at the current MFA exhibit will be to see those concepts of color theory, composition and texture. Really just honing the students’ eyes to what is applicable across so many different formats of art. That’s my ideal; I want to introduce them to the fact that you can do this.

What sort of ways do you see these pieces inspiring the class?

The students will be making sketches of the exhibits to find out what they want to bring to life in the weavings they will make later in the class.

Paige plans to show students how to recognize patterns and themes in any kind of art, and to use those elements in works, specifically textile works, of their own. In the past, she has taught a number of workshops on everything from weaving to cyanotypes with students of all ages. Often, those classes also began with looking at art or art books to inspire students. She explained her reasoning for me, showing just how important this component is in terms of creating art:

“Let’s look at these [art books], spend some time with them and then make notes about what stands out. What is compelling to you, and why? If you could make any type of art in the world, what would it look like and how would you get to that point?” I kind of just asked them to open up the books and their selves with the firm belief that “Hey, I believe you have the potential to create art just as much as any other human being.”

“Studio Workshop: Fiber Arts” with Paige French begins May 3. The cost of the course is a $15 materials fee, which will cover all necessary supplies for all sessions (May 3, 10, 17 and 24). Call 706.542.8863 or email callan@uga.edu to register. Limited to 15 participants.

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Savannah Guenthner

Intern, Department of Communications

Publication Turns Abstracted Idea into Concrete Realization

The Clinton Hill publication

In addition to organizing many exhibitions, workshops and events, the Georgia Museum of Art also annually publishes a number of exhibition catalogues and other publications. The most recent of these publications is unique not only in its content, but its construction. The catalogue, “Clinton Hill,” was written by museum director Dr. William U. Eiland and surveys the life and career of Clinton Hill, a multitalented artist who was a Renaissance man of the abstract.

The structure of the physical book contains a number of unique elements that catch the eye of any who pass it. The front cover includes a die cut, allowing parts of the interior pages to be seen. The front and back covers are glued on in separate pieces, leaving the spine visible. The title of the book is printed on the folded edges of the signatures, with binders’ thread exposed over it. The book is also printed on two different types of paper: a high-recycled-content stock in a birch color, printed with a single Pantone color (including vintage photographs of Hill at work), and a silk-coated white art stock for the color plates. Hill’s work in collage and with handmade paper inspired its design, by Almanac of St. Louis.

In the foreword of the publication, Eiland describes Hill’s art as “works of intense vision, of radical experimentation, of lyrical loveliness . . . unknowable things of the unbridled imagination, of the human spirit, of the abstracted idea, and of its concrete realization.”

With an artist whose work inspires such passion, it is fitting that the publication is an out of the ordinary project suitable for the man who lived and worked “without apology or circumspection.”

Copies of “Clinton Hill” are available for purchase at the Museum Shop, on Amazon or on our website for $40.