A Wonderful Gift

We keep forgetting to post something about this, but a few weeks ago, Valeria Gennaro Lerda, wife of the late artist Piero Lerda, stopped by the museum with her family, visiting from Italy, to give several works by her husband to GMOA. We documented the signing of the deed of gift, and Valeria held forth on the four works: "La creazione del mondo," "Art Blakey: On the Street Where You Live," "Personaggio--Schermo" and an untitled work. She was an engaging speaker, and it was interesting to hear her take on her husband's inspiration, which was frequently musical but also engaged with and commented on popular culture (e.g., television) and made use of collage.

Holiday Hours

If you haven't received notice of our holiday hours, please note them below. Also, the Museum Shop will be closed Black Friday but open for Small Business Saturday (Nov. 26). If you want to support small businesses and support the museum, come see what we have in the shop!

The galleries at the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will be open Nov. 23, Nov. 25, Dec. 24 and Dec. 28-31. The museum will be completely closed Nov. 24, Dec. 25-27 and Jan. 1-2. The museum’s galleries are normally closed on Mondays and Tuesdays, with its shop, lobby and café open on Tuesdays.

The museum will resume normal hours Jan. 3.

GMOA special holiday events include:

· The GMOA Book Sale: Dec. 8-9, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., retailing both GMOA and other publications. The sale is free and open to the public.

· Family Day: Dec. 10, 10 a.m. to noon. Families can make holiday cards inspired by the permanent collection and listen to a performance by Meridian Women’s Chorus. The event is free and open to the public.

· Buon Natale: Holiday Prints by Libby Bailey: The exhibition is on view through Jan. 8.

Also, beginning Nov. 19, Ike and Jane Café at GMOA will no longer be open on Saturdays. Its new hours will be Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Acquires Rare Work

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) in New York recently acquired a two-sided panel by German Renaissance artist Hans Schäufelein, a pupil of Albrecht Dürer.

The panel has aroused some excitement due to the slim holdings of works by Dürer in the Met. Since the chances of acquiring any more substantial works by Dürer are slim, his student’s panel is of great importance.

The two-sided panel was part of a winged alterpiece dating from around 1510. One side depicts the “Dormition of the Virgin,” or death of the Virgin, a subject well rehearsed by Dürer. The opposite side is “Christ Carrying the Cross,” which art historians suspect to be jointly painted by Schäufelein and another artist known as the Engerda Master.

The panel is currently in the Met’s conservation department for cleaning and is scheduled to be on view next year.

Article here.