{"id":32453,"date":"2024-02-13T14:54:42","date_gmt":"2024-02-13T19:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thewestmoreland.org\/?p=32453"},"modified":"2024-03-15T16:48:20","modified_gmt":"2024-03-15T20:48:20","slug":"65-artists-65-years-an-anniversary-exhibition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thewestmoreland.org\/blog\/65-artists-65-years-an-anniversary-exhibition\/","title":{"rendered":"65 Artists, 65 Years: An Anniversary Exhibition<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

February 11 – September 8, 2024<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Author: Jeremiah William McCarthy, Chief Curator  <\/strong><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

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In 2024, The Westmoreland Museum of American Art celebrates the 65th anniversary of officially opening its doors to the public. Originally established through the generous bequest of Mary Marchand Woods, a Greensburg resident with a vision for her community, the Museum serves as an enduring symbol of and catalyst for arts and culture in the region and beyond. An experimental, responsive, and self-reflective take on The Westmoreland\u2019s permanent collection, 65 Artists, 65 Years: An Anniversary Exhibition<\/em> presents artworks from well-known artists such as Mary Cassatt, John Kane, and Thaddeus Mosley, as well as lesser-known figures such as Alex Fletcher and Elijah Pierce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Organized as a timeline with thematic interludes, the exhibition starts with a retrospective look at the Museum’s inaugural exhibition, 250 Years of Art in Pennsylvania<\/em>, which presented some of the first artworks acquired for the collection. Sections that follow address key moments in the Museum’s story, such as the acquisition of groupings of deep holdings\u2014multiple artworks by a single artist that provide insight into their development and body of work. For example, The Westmoreland has nearly fifty artworks each by path-breaking women artists Dorothy Lauer Davids and Rachel McClelland Sutton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Dorothy Lauer Davids, Saying Grace<\/i>, date unknown. Oil on board, 29 1\/2 x 40 in. Gift of Robert Errett, family and friends in memory of Pam Errett<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The exhibition also celebrates the pivotal role played by transformative gifts of art in defining the Museum’s identity and fostering its growth. Whether arriving at the Museum as purchases, gifts from remarkable collectors, or gifts from artists, such artworks have meant so much to generations of visitors. In one instance in 2008, with the acquisition of more than 200 fraktur gathered by area residents Joy and David Brocklebank, The Westmoreland became home to the most historically significant examples of this tradition in the county, preserving the stories of countless early Pennsylvanians from all walks of life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n