"Currier & Ives" Opens at Kennedy Museum
of Art
Contact: Clair Carpenter, Kennedy Museum of Art, 740-593-0955
Editors: At the end of this release is a list of images from the exhibition available for download
from the web.
ATHENS, Ohio (May 5, 2000) -- "Currier & Ives: Selections from the Nationwide Collection" is open
at the Kennedy Museum of Art from April 28 and will remain on display through July 2, 2000.
The exhibition, curated by museum director Kent Ahrens, captures 19th century American life with 74 Currier
& Ives lithographs. "The Nationwide Collection contains many fine rare and unique prints that were produced by
the firm N. Currier and later Currier & Ives. It has been a special privilege to have the opportunity of organizing
this exhibition at the Kennedy Museum of Art," said Ahrens.
Well-known pieces including winter scenes such as The Road (1853) by Otto Knirsch, as well as hunting scenes
by Louis Maurer, will be on display. Also featured in the exhibition is the 19th century woman artist Frances
Flora Bond Palmer, known as Fanny Palmer. Recognized for her ability to capture her audience's visual imagination,
Palmer excelled in lithography and became well known for her work, which includes American Farm Scenes:
No. 4 (1853) and Landscape, Fruit and Flowers (1862). To celebrate the exhibition, the museum held a reception
Friday, May 5 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Lithography became popular in the 19th century because prints could be reproduced quickly, allowing the public
to purchase art inexpensively for the first time. N. Currier began producing lithographs in the 1830s. The firm
was renamed Currier & Ives in 1857 with the addition of James Merritt Ives as partner. At least 7,500 lithographs
were published in its 72 years of operation.
The Nationwide Collection began in 1936 when the organization, then known as the Farm Bureau
Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, moved its home office to Columbus, Ohio. The company's
president, Murray D. Lincoln, and his wife, suggested Currier & Ives prints to decorate the new
office. By 1940, the collection grew to 35 prints and was displayed to the public in the main
lobby. Over the years -- through auctions, private collectors and dealers -- Nationwide has
expanded its collection. Currently, the Nationwide Collection hangs in the company headquarters
at Nationwide Plaza in Columbus, Ohio.
Many of the lithographs in the Nationwide Collection were purchased from The Old Print Shop, a New York City gallery
specializing in Currier & Ives lithographs. The current owner, Robert Newman, is the third generation in his family
to operate the gallery. Mr. Newman loaned one piece in the exhibition to the museum. A catalog, written by Ahrens, is
available.
Also on view at the museum is the Education Gallery, which hosts samples from the permanent collection of Native
American jewelry and weavings donated by Edwin and Ruth Kennedy.
The Kennedy Museum of Art is located in Lin Hall at The Ridges, Ohio University. regular gallery hours are noon
to 5 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday; noon to 8 p.m. Thursday; and 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Museum
Guides are available on Saturdays at 1:30 p.m. to provide information about the museum and current exhibitions.
Admission and parking is free to the public.
