May August 2016

IMPRESSIONS

BOARD OF TRUSTEESTom Frost Chairman

Sarah E. Harte President

Connie McCombs McNab Vice President

Lucille Oppenheimer Travis Secretary

Barbie O’Connor Treasurer

Toby CalvertJohn W. FeikDon FrostWalton Vandiver GregoryJoan Buzzini HurdHarmon W. Kelley, MDJohn C. KerrShon J. ManascoJ. David OppenheimerBrad ParmanCarolyn Jeffers PatersonHarriett Romo, PhDKirk SaffellGeorge F. SchroederAmy Stieren Smiley

Inspiration EverywhereThis summer the McNay offers an array of exhibitions that demonstrate how artists can be inspired by the most varied sources. The season’s feature show, Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008, is a great example of how a particular place—a mecca of popular culture—can be the origin of an incredible variety of artistic expressions. Painters, sculptors, printmakers, photographers, filmmakers, and architects respond to this pleasure destination each in their own way, but always observing the people who seek a world different from their everyday lives.

Popular culture is also a point of departure for the works of Shepard Fairey, a street artist whose bold posters and large-scale prints find inspiration in commercial design and feature public figures from politics to sports. Drawn entirely from the museum’s collection, they are recent gifts of Harriett and Ricardo Romo.

By contrast, the ornament prints from the Blanton Museum of Art have their origin in the fertile imaginations and virtuoso abilities of the artists who created them centuries ago. They are art for art’s sake but are clearly linked to the world of the decorative arts and architectural embellishment of their era.

Leigh Ann Lester’s installation, A Variety of Forms Recovering from Transubstantiated Clarity, the fifth in the museum’s series of wall works for the AT&T Lobby, is an assemblage inspired by the worlds of botany and genetic modification. This assemblage is a prime example of science’s influence on art.

Ruloff Kip’s Toy Theatre recalls the theatrical attractions so prominent at Coney Island. A fully functioning toy theatre with moving parts and electric lights, it was made for a child to enjoy. Not surprisingly it is a gift to the museum of Robert L. B. Tobin, joining the models for The Nightmare Before Christmas he gave in order to introduce youth to the world of theatre arts.

Our array of summer exhibitions provides fertile ground for the museum’s burgeoning educational programs, catering to all ages and areas of interest since the opening of the Jane & Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions in 2008. Participation by the public grew some 25 percent last year alone, serving more than 80,000 visitors.

Programs serving youth are a major part of this growth. These include family activities, docent-led school tours that encompass partnerships with Communities in Schools and Child Advocates of San Antonio for at-risk youth, our ArtStrolls and Toddler Art Play programs for the youngest museum-goers and their caregivers, as well as services for teachers that extend the museum’s reach to many more young visitors.

This year, in addition to our Teen Art Guide Program, the museum now offers free admission to teens funded by a Santikos Passion Grant through the San Antonio Area Foundation. This is an important step in order to build an audience for the next generation.

Regardless of your age or area of interest, the McNay offers an exceptional variety of art experiences this summer. I look forward to seeing you here.

William J. Chiego Director

William J. Chiego and Sarah E. Harte, President of the Board of Trustees

Opposite page:

Little Fugitive (detail), production still, 1953, A Morris Engel Production. Image credit: Joseph Burstyn/Photofest; © Joseph Burstyn, Inc.; © Morris Engel

Shepard Fairey, Tested Performance (detail), 2014. Screenprint. Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo.

Ruloff Kip, Toy Theatre (detail), 1919. Painted paper and board, with found objects. Gift of Robert L. B. Tobin.

Agostino dei Musi, called Veneziano, Panel of Ornament with Acanthus and a Swan (detail), ca. 1535. Engraving. Collection of the Blanton Museum of Art, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, by exchange.

McNay Art Museum 6000 North New Braunfels San Antonio, Texas 78209 210.824.5368 phone mcnayart.org

Art for the Sake of Art Ornament Prints from the Blanton Museum of Art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

William J. Chiego Director

New Acquisitions 2016 Spring Party Coney Island at the McNay

Interview with William J. Chiego

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EMERITUS TRUSTEESCurt AnastasioLaura Bertetti BaucumSteve BlankJ. Bruce Bugg Jr.Jonathan C. CalvertFrancisco G. Cigarroa, MDBarbara Seale CondosE. H. CorriganRaye B. FosterJane Stieren LacyPeggy Pitman MaysBill McCartneyCharline McCombsAllan G. Paterson Jr. Ethel Thomson RunionThomas R. SemmesAlice C. SimkinsGaines VoigtJoe Westheimer

HONORARY TRUSTEEMrs. Nancy B. Negley

Video Installation: Greg Smith: Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9AT&T Lobby Installation: Leigh Anne Lester. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Museum News. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10New Acquisitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Special Events. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13One-on-One with William J. Chiego. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14McNay Scene. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Gifts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

HOURSSu Noon–5 pm M Closed Tu 10 am–4 pm W 10 am–4 pm Th 10 am–9 pm F 10 am–4 pm Sa 10 am–5 pm

Closed New Year’s Day, July 4, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. During Daylight Saving Time, grounds are open 7 am–7 pm. During Standard Time, grounds are open 7 am–6 pm.

ADMISSIONDuring Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008, May 11–September 11, 2016:

McNay members FREEChildren 12 and under FREENEW Teens FREEAdults $20Students with I.D. $15Seniors (65+) $15Active Military* FREE

Admission price includes entrance to Main Collection Galleries and to Coney Island.

On H-E-B Thursday Nights (4−9 pm) and First Sundays of the Month, entrance to Main Collection Galleries is FREE.

FREE FIRST SUNDAYS is made possible by generous support from Dickson-Allen Foundation.

FREE admission for teens 19 and under provided by the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation Fund of the San Antonio Area Foundation.

* The McNay is a Blue Star Museum, offering FREE general admission to all active-duty military personnel and up to 5 family members this summer.

Shepard Fairey at the McNay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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Coney Island Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Parlour Games Ruloff Kip’s Toy Theatre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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May 11 | September 11, 2016

Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008

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Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008 celebrates the most iconic, uniquely American amusement park in the United States. Also called, “The People’s Playground,” Coney Island is a national cultural symbol that has inspired artists, musicians, novelists, poets, and filmmakers. From Coney Island’s beginning as a watering hole for the wealthy, through its transformation into an entertainment mecca for the masses, to the closing of Astroland Amusement Park following decades of urban decline, the exhibition explores 150 years of the lure of Coney Island. The modern American mass-culture industry was born at Coney Island, and the constant novelty of the resort made it a seductively liberating subject for artists. Taken together, these tableaux of wonder and menace, hope and despair, dreams and nightmares, become metaphors for the collective soul of a nation.

Coney Island is organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, and the McNay is the exhibition’s only Southwest venue. The exhibition features more than 140 objects—paintings, drawings, photographs, prints, documentary and popular film clips, posters, side show banners, architectural artifacts, memorabilia, and carousel animals. From early depictions of Coney Island by Impressionists William Merritt Chase and John Henry Twachtman to modern and contemporary images by Diane Arbus, Walker Evans, Red Grooms, Yasuo Kuniyoshi, Reginald Marsh, Joseph Stella, and George Tooker, Coney Island investigates this iconic and uniquely American amusement park as a place and an idea. A fully illustrated 304-page catalogue accompanies the exhibition as well.

This exhibition was organized by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut.

Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008 has been generously funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Celebrating 50 Years of Excellence, the Henry Luce Foundation, and The Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc.

Lead funding at the McNay is most generously given by the Dan and Gloria Oppenheimer and the John L. Santikos Charitable Foundation Funds of the San Antonio Area Foundation and an anonymous benefactor.

Additional support is provided by the Elizabeth Huth Coates Exhibition Endowment, the Arthur and Jane Stieren Fund for Exhibitions, the G.A.C. Halff Foundation, the Joan and Herb Kelleher Charitable Foundation, Barbara and Stanley Spigel, the Director’s Circle, and the Host Committee.

Above: Charles Carmel, Carousel Horse with Raised Head, Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York, c. 1914, paint on wood, jewels, glass eyes, horsehair tail, Collection American Folk Art Museum, New York, Gift of Laura Harding, 1978.18.2

Opposite page: Joseph Stella, Battle of Lights, Coney Island, Mardi Gras, 1913–14, oil on canvas, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, Gift of Collection Société Anonyme, 1941.689

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Clockwise from top left:

Morris Engel, Coney Island Embrace, New York City, 1938, gelatin silver print, Orkin/Engel Film and Photo Archive. © Morris Engel

Frederick Brosen, Fortune Teller, Jones Walk, Coney Island (detail), 2008, watercolor over graphite on paper, Courtesy of Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York. Photograph by Joshua Nefsky; Image courtesy of Hirschl & Adler Modern, New York; © 2016 Frederick Brosen/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Reginald Marsh, Wooden Horses, 1936, tempera on board, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Hartford, Connecticut, The Dorothy Clark Archibald and Thomas L. Archibald Fund, The Krieble Family Fund for American Art, The American Paintings Purchase Fund, and The Ella Gallup Sumner and Mary Catlin Sumner Collection Fund, 2013.1.1. © 2016 Estate of Reginald Marsh / Art Students League, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Frank Stella, Coney Island, 1958, oil on canvas, Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut, Gift of Larom B. Munson, B.A., 1951, 1971.38. © 2016 Frank Stella/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008

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Shepard Fairey is one of the country’s most famous and influential street artists. He rose to national prominence in 2008 when he designed the famous Hope poster for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign. Most of Fairey’s prints were produced in collaboration with the late Richard Duardo at Modern Multiples in Los Angeles, CA a print shop that has been a favorite of San Antonio collectors Harriett and Ricardo Romo. With Duardo’s encouragement, the Romos collected Fairey’s art for a number of years. While Fairey is not a Latino artist, his work often has a social or political message like the Chicano art the Romos are known for collecting.

Fairey’s work has created a unique visual and graphic language, a style that is immediately recognizable and legible as his own. He does this with a limited color palette of black, white, tan, and red, as well as bold, repeating patterns and motifs. One of his most famous motifs is the highly stylized face of the professional wrestler André the Giant emblazoned with the word “OBEY.” Based on a street installation the artist did while a student at the Rhode Island School of Design called André the Giant Has a Posse, the image has become Fairey’s trademark and it makes an appearance in a couple of the Romo prints.

All but one of the prints in the exhibition are recent gifts from the Romos to the museum. This is the first time these recent acquisitions have been on public view at the McNay.

April 27 | September 11, 2016

Shepard Fairey at the McNay

This exhibition is organized by the McNay Art Museum.

The Elizabeth Huth Coates Exhibition Endowment and the Arthur and Jane Stieren Fund for Exhibitions are generously funding this exhibition.

Shepard Fairey, Operation Oil Freedom, 2007. Screenprint. Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo.

Left: Shepard Fairey, Tested Performance, 2014. Screenprint. Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo.

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This presentation focuses on an intricate toy theatre created in the winter of 1919 by elite New Yorker Ruloff Kip. The toy was conceived and assembled by Kip for his young daughter, Elizabeth, while vacationing at the family’s Long Island country home. The large, elaborate theatre features moving mechanisms, several working lighting schemes, and an array of set drops and cut-out characters, all based on Kip’s house and family members.

This exceptionally crafted toy was originally attributed to Everett Shinn until last year when it was discovered to be the work of Kip. Research on this unique object—recently returned from conservation—revealed interesting new perspectives on the theatre itself, as well as the fascinating background of its true creator and family.

Parlour GamesRuloff Kip’s Toy Theatre

July 5, 2016 | February 5, 2017

April 27 | August, 7, 2016

The McNay’s collection is noted for its emphasis on the graphic arts of the modern era. Just up the road in Austin, however, the Blanton Museum of

Art has one of the finest encyclopedic collections in the region with prints tracing the entire history of the graphic arts in Western Europe. Drawn entirely from the Blanton’s outstanding old master collection, this exhibition focuses on jewel-like ornament prints from the sixteenth century. While this art may seem out of place at the modern McNay, there is something about the specific phenomenon of ornament prints that presages much of what was to come later in the world of printmaking. Ornament prints, with their emphasis on pure form—sinuous lines and entrancing patterns and textures—allowed artists to

Art for the Sake of ArtOrnament Prints from the Blanton Museum of Art

The exhibition’s accompanying video shows visitors the inner workings and various settings of the theatre, which undoubtedly captured Robert L. B. Tobin’s imagination when he gifted it to the McNay in 1993.

Ruloff Kip, Toy Theatre, 1919. Painted paper and board, with found objects. Gift of Robert L. B. Tobin.

experiment and freed them from the constraints that come with biblical or historical narratives or with portrait commissions. Looking at these incredibly complex images, one can imagine the artist getting lost in the process, completely absorbed by the very act of artistic creation.

One of the highlights of the exhibition is a beautiful, silvery impression of Agostino dei Musi’s Panel of Ornament with Acanthus and a Swan of the mid-1530s. This is considered to be the single finest ornament print of the High Renaissance.

Agostino dei Musi, called Veneziano, Panel of Ornament with Acanthus and a Swan, ca. 1535. Engraving. Collection of the Blanton Museum of Art, Archer M. Huntington Museum Fund, by exchange

This exhibition is organized by the McNay Art Museum from the collection of the Blanton Museum of Art.

The Elizabeth Huth Coates Exhibition Endowment and the Arthur and Jane Stieren Fund for Exhibitions are generously funding this exhibition.

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Greg Smith’s Loop is an exploration of invention, risk, and repetition. This video takes the viewer through the artist’s process of sewing together multicolored textiles and constructing absurdist contraptions that he both hangs from an elevated highway and mounts to a car. Attempting to combine all of his artistic practices into one performance, Smith sews more material together while he drives through the streets of New York City, his windshield partially blocked by a rolling canvas banner shrouding the car. Staying true to the video’s title, the sequence is repeated, and the viewer is taken along for another ride.

Born in DeKalb, Illinois, in 1970, Greg Smith earned a Master of Fine Arts from Hunter College, New York City, after earning a Doctorate in Physics from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. He is the recipient of a 2013 Guggenheim Fellowship. For the past decade, Smith has participated in solo and group exhibitions throughout the country. He lives and works in New York City.

This exhibition is organized by the McNay Art Museum.

The Elizabeth Huth Coates Exhibition Endowment and the Arthur and Jane Stieren Fund for Exhibitions are generously funding this exhibition.

Image courtesy of the artist and Susan Inglett Gallery, New York City.

VIDEO INSTALLATION

Greg SmithLoop

April 26 | August 28, 2016

San Antonio-based Leigh Anne Lester is the fifth artist to present work on the expansive entry wall in the McNay’s AT&T Lobby. For her year-long installation, Lester premieres a monumental new assemblage that incorporates ideas and images with which she has worked for some time, developed here on a grand scale. Elements of the installation are prefabricated in the artist’s studio before she works on-site for nearly a week with the museum’s installation team. While the artist’s interests span drawing, sculpture, and design, they also encompass the world of science, and in particular botany and genetic modification.

Leigh Anne Lester received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from The University of Texas at San Antonio. She exhibited her work at the McNay on two previous occasions: in 2006 she participated in the Artists Looking at Art series, and in 2015 was one of six artists to present work in the 60th anniversary weekend pop-up exhibition. In 2013 Lester filled the windows at Artpace with her sprawling installation, Cultivated Divergence, and recently exhibited in a two-person presentation at Muriel Guepin Gallery in New York City.

Leigh Anne Lester, Cultivated Divergence 1.3 (detail), 2014. Hand-cut drafting film, paint colors for GMO corporations, shadow, and magnets.

AT&T LOBBY INSTALLATION

Leigh Anne LesterA Variety of Forms Recovering from Transubstantiated Clarity

Museum News

On Loan Joan Mitchell, Hudson River Day Line

A fine example of gestural abstract painting is part of a four-venue tour of the exhibition Women of Abstract Expressionism. This groundbreaking presentation, organized by the Denver Art Museum and curated by Gwen Chanzit, celebrates often-unknown female artists of mid-twentieth century Abstract Expressionism.

The year-long tour begins at the Denver Art Museum, (June 12–September 26, 2016) and goes on to the Mint Museum, Charlotte (October 22, 2016–January 22, 2017); Palm Springs Art Museum, CA (February 18–May 14, 2017); and Whitechapel Gallery, London (June 7–September 3, 2017).

Hudson River Day Line was purchased for the museum in 1994 with funds from the Tobin Foundation, becoming an important work in the museum’s postwar collection.

Joan Mitchell, Hudson River Day Line, 1955. Oil on Canvas. Museum purchase with funds from the Tobin Foundation. © The Joan Mitchell Foundation

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60th Anniversary Wins Texas Star Award

Julie McGarraugh, Special Events Manager, was recently awarded a Texas Star Award in the category “Best Event for a Non-Profit Organization over $150,000” for the 60th Anniversary Celebration at the McNay. The Texas Star Awards were held February 28, 2016, in Houston, and Julie was up against two other organizations. She plans to submit for an Espirit Award, which is an international competition through the International Special Events Society.

Free Admission to Military Families May 30 | September 5, 2016

For the seventh summer, the McNay participates in the Blue Star Museums initiative, offering free general admission to all active-duty

military personnel and their families from Memorial Day, May 30, through Labor Day, September 5. In appreciation of the sacrifices that military families make, the McNay, along with more than 2,000 museums across America, encourages the U.S. military community to take advantage of the rich cultural heritage they defend and protect. Free admission is available with presentation of military I.D. for up to five immediate family members.

The Blue Star initiative involves a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families, along with the American Alliance of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, the Association of Children’s Museums, and the American Association of State and Local History. MetLife Foundation has provided leadership support through Blue Star Families.

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Betty Franklin, Visitor Services Manager, Retires

Since the opening of the Stieren Center in 2008, Betty Franklin, pictured above on right, has managed the Visitor Services staff and volunteer greeters. Betty’s hard work and dedication to the museum has kept admissions and programming running smoothly. The McNay’s greeter program is one of Betty’s passions, and she will be greatly missed by her staff, co-workers, and greeters. Her next adventure is an extended visit to France with her husband where they plan to enjoy the countryside, friends, food, and wine. The McNay would like to thank Betty for her years of service and loyalty.

Danielle Ferguson, New Visitor Services Manager

Upon Betty Franklin’s retirement, Danielle Ferguson steps into the role of Visitor Services Manager. Danielle started her employment with the McNay as a security officer. Last year, she joined the Visitor Services staff full-time, and became an immediate asset to the team. Her organization, customer service, institutional knowledge, and administration skills make Danielle the ideal candidate for this role. Danielle has a Bachelor of Applied Science degree from Wayland Baptist University, San Antonio, TX. She is currently working toward her MBA from Wayland Baptist, and graduates in 2017. Please join us in congratulating Danielle on her new role with the McNay.

McNay Welcomes New Trustees Amy Stieren Smiley

Amy Stieren Smiley served as a Trustee of the McNay in 2006 and was also a member of the Art Committee. In order to focus more on her young family, she served in Emeritus status from 2010-2015. The McNay is pleased to have Ms. Stieren Smiley return to our board. Currently, she also serves on the board

of the Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992. Amy is the President of Sonrisa Management, L.L.C., a corporation which manages several properties, including The Stieren Ranch, a working cattle operation in Gillett, TX. She and her husband, Chase Smiley, are also the co-owners of Naked Coconut Eats, a local Paleo food company. They were married in 2005 and have three sons.

J. David Oppenheimer

J. David Oppenheimer is an attorney with Strasburger & Price, LLP. He has a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA (1971) and a J.D. Degree from The University of Texas School of Law, Austin, TX (1974).

Mr. Oppenheimer is a committed community member serving on various

boards and councils, currently serving on TMI—the Episcopal School of Texas as Governor; and as a member of the President's Development Council at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio.

He holds several professional accolades including being named among The Best Banking and Finance Law and Corporate Lawyers in America's Best Lawyers (2001–2016); Recipient of the San Antonio Business Journal’s Outstanding Lawyer Award (2014); named among San Antonio’s Best Corporate and Securities Attorneys by San Antonio Scene Magazine (2005–2012, 2014); and named among Texas Super Lawyers by Thomson Reuters (2003–2009).

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Helen Torr, White Feather and Grasses

Though she is not as well-known as her husband Arthur Dove, Helen Torr created paintings and drawings, primarily abstractions inspired by the natural world, that rank among the finest created by any American modernist. These two works, acquired by Alice C. Simkins and Tom Wright at the McNay’s Collectors Gallery in 1975, are the first works by the artist to enter the collection. Both drawings are from the early 1930s, arguably Torr’s most productive period, when she and Dove lived on a sailboat anchored off the coast of Long Island. In White Feather, Torr works with objects that were easily found on the shore near where her boat, called Mona, was moored—a rock, a shell, and a white feather possibly from a sea bird. The drawing is tightly

composed and resolved with repeated lines at the edges suggesting a pulsating rhythm that seems to hold and press the composition together. Grasses, though much more representational, could also be read as a formal exercise in carefully drawn, elegant lines, and subtly modulated tonalities.

The McNay has a particularly fine group of works by artists championed by the New York art dealer Alfred Stieglitz, including Georgia O’Keeffe (who included Torr in a show she organized in 1927), John Marin, Charles Demuth, Marsden Hartley, and of course, Arthur Dove. These two drawings are beautiful and important additions to this group.

Helen Torr, White Feather, 1930. Gouache on paper. Gift of Alice C. Simkins.

Helen Torr, Grasses, ca. 1930. Charcoal on paper. Gift of C. Thomas Wright in honor of Alice C. Simkins

Charles Biederman, Untitled, Paris, April 10, 1937

For Charles Biederman, one of the most gifted American abstract artists of the early 20th century, 1936 and 1937 were pivotal years. Coming to Paris from New York, he was influenced by European modernism, including the late Cubism of Fernand Léger. The paintings of this time represent a breakthrough, using color and form to create objects in space of sculptural weight and solidity, far more muscular than his previous works. By the following year, Biederman made the leap from painting to relief sculpture, which he pursued for the rest of his long career.

Untitled, Paris, April 10, 1937 is an important addition to the museum’s growing collection of early American abstraction. It joins works by John Storrs, Charles Green Shaw, Burgoyne Diller and Helen Miller Pierce, acquired by the museum in recent years.

Charles Biederman, Untitled, Paris, April 10, 1937, 1937. Oil on Canvas. Museum purchase with the Helen and Everett H. Jones Purchase Fund.

New Acquisitions

SAVE THESE DATES!

FAV3 FASHION | ART | VIEW & VOTE

This year the McNay Contemporary Collectors Forum (MCCF) is hosting a series of events in conjunction with its mission—to support the acquisition of contemporary art for the McNay Art Museum and to enhance the public’s understanding and appreciation of contemporary art.

■Julian Gold Fashion Show

Wednesday, August 17 This brand new event features a runway fashion show styled by Julian Gold, a cocktail reception, and private viewing of Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008.

■Art to the Power of Ten Friday, September 16 Now in its sixth year, this unique one-night art fair features ten galleries, dealers, and artists, as well as creative food and cocktails in a festive atmosphere.

■View & VoteTuesday, October 18 The culmination of MCCF’s fundraising year is View & Vote. At this annual fall event exclusive to MCCF members, guests vote on a work of art to purchase for the McNay’s permanent collection.

For more information on joining MCCF, call 210.805.1722 or email jaqueline.edwards@ mcnayart.org.

at the McNay8th Annual Spring Party Cocktail Party & Silent Auction Friday, June 3, 7:00 pm–midnight $100 per person

Join us for the 8th Annual Spring Party as we head to Coney Island! Don your boardwalk best attire as you stroll the McNay’s grounds partaking in games, fabulous sideshow acts, and amazing musical entertainment. All your favorite Coney Island delicacies and cocktails will be served. Our fabulous silent auction is also back, with items from the city’s best restaurants, boutiques, sports, and entertainment businesses.

TO PURCHASE TICKETS, VISIT MCNAYART.ORG/CONEYISLAND OR CALL 210.805.1772.

MEET OUR CHAIRSOur spring party chairs Rene and Emma Farret recently moved to San Antonio from El Paso, TX. Rene holds an MBA from The University of Texas at Austin and a B.S. and a B.B.A. with a concentration in finance from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX; while Emma holds a B.A. degree from St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX. Rene has been in the financial services industry with Merrill Lynch for more than 15 years and is now Senior Vice President-Senior Resident Director-International Wealth Management Advisor at the Merrill Lynch office at La Cantera. Emma keeps her schedule busy with Sebastian, a 9-year-old boy; Emma and Andrea, 4-year-old twins, and Choco their Labrador.

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Emma and Rene Farret, ChairsSuhail ArastuSarah BlankenshipMarie BrownRuth Chiego & Scott NissonAna Lety CibrianTy EdwardsJennie EmbreyPam EmbreyTonya & Dane EmbreyTrey EvansKarina Flores

Kelly & Ryan MoodyRuth MorrisRebecca Oppenheimer NathanTraci NixMayra Farret PeraltaLaura PoyeSandra RyanChesley SealsCatharine & Jeff VexlerJaime WaltmanAdam WetherellAlejandra Zertuche

Steeplechase Funny Face, n.d., painted metal, Collection of Ken Harck

FREE COMMUNITY DAY: William J. Chiego Chalks Up 25 Years Sunday, June 5, noon–4:00 pm

Celebrate Dr. Chiego’s 25 years of leadership at McNay with a fun-filled, Coney Island escape. Free Community Day includes:

■Live musical performance■Ice-cream social■Chalkboard tribute & photo op

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One-on-One with William J. Chiego

■Poetry performance: Coney Island LIVE!■Art activities including screenprinting

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KATE: Now that you look back to your childhood, was there anything prophetic about becoming a curator?

DR. CHIEGO: Yes, an obsession with my mother’s button box. I found out my very first boss, the former Director of the Toledo Museum of Art, had the same obsession. When he was a boy he would like to take his mother’s button box and spread the buttons out and compare and decide which were the most beautiful or the best made, and I would do the same thing. I don’t know what happened to my mother’s button box, which drives me crazy because I can still remember some of those buttons. It’s that kind of comparison and way of looking at things, how they’re made, and how they’re designed that was probably an early signal of why I would become a curator.

KATE: What were your first impressions of the McNay Art Museum when you initially visited?

DR. CHIEGO: I had only been to San Antonio passing through on my way to Mexico for the summer as a graduate student. However, I knew about the collection from publications and from colleagues in the field, so I had an interest in the museum. When I first came here to visit, I was alone, then my wife Liz and I came here together, and my impression was a beautiful place with a fine collection. As Liz will probably tell you, I took one look at the house and its condition in 1991, and said, “If I take the position it would probably make me very old.” And it has! I knew there was a great deal of work that needed to be done to improve the physical plant, but I loved the people that I met and was convinced by the quality of the collection and the beauty and charm of the site. Eventually, we would solve some of those problems.

KATE: Which was harder—a restoration or a ground-up addition?

DR. CHIEGO: Well, in some ways the restoration was a little bit scarier. I will never forget the day that I walked into the house, after it was gutted inside. I got that awful feeling in the pit of my stomach that it would never be the same again. I know that a lot of people in the community were nervous about it too. There was a certain amount of apprehension about making it all come back together and feel like the old McNay. In that sense it was different, whereas in building the Jane & Arthur Stieren Center for Exhibitions, we knew what we were going to create. It was just a long project that took so much more time, effort, and money.

KATE: Essentially the Stieren Center is a part of your legacy here, and the building is a great addition.

DR. CHIEGO: Of course, our growing collection was the motivation. Our space for both the collections and exhibitions was getting tighter and tighter. Achieving the Stieren Center, beginning with Arthur Stieren’s bequest, was something I never dreamed we could do so beautifully. We were lucky to get such a great architect and to receive the support we got for the project to make it happen. It has transformed the museum. It took much longer than I expected, but projects like this always do. The shift to the Stieren Center took a few years to develop in terms of the programing because we essentially doubled in space.

KATE: In terms of curating such a large space, how do you create conversations between the objects?

DR. CHIEGO: It evolves over time. I frequently walk through a gallery to see if there is something I am missing—a connection we could be making. I think I used to be more rigid in terms of installing in a chronological way when I was a younger curator, but as you work with art longer and longer you become more sensitive to the formal connections.

KATE: What is a style or period of art that you love?

DR. CHIEGO: That is so hard for me to answer. I am so eclectic in my taste, but there are so many periods of art that I love.

KATE: Here’s an equally impossible question to answer—what is a style or period of art that you don’t care if you ever see again?

DR. CHIEGO: I don’t know, there’s hardly a period in art where I don’t find something interesting.

KATE: What's a profession, other than your own, that you would attempt? And one that you could not see yourself doing?

DR. CHIEGO: Probably I would be a musician, but never a politician.

KATE: Can you share any hopes you have for the future of the McNay?

DR. CHIEGO: Well as you may know, we have been working on a master plan for the museum grounds and the buildings projected for the next 20-25 years. There is a lot of hope that we will be making major improvements so that the McNay will be more accessible for pedestrians, more open to viewing from outside, and will have more extensive space for sculpture. We want to make all that come together and reorient some of what we’ve already done. In terms of the building, our space for post-war art is limited, so part of the plans have to do with creating much larger gallery space for contemporary art. It has been great fun working on these plans. I’m looking forward to seeing a lot of it happen in the next several years. I’m also looking forward to seeing how the McNay continues to evolve and grow because it has changed so much in the last 25 years, and it is going to continue to change. Growth and change will have to happen for the museum to continue to be important.

As we prepare to pay tribute to our director of nearly 25 years, Kate Carey, Director of Education, visits with William J. Chiego about his tenure at the museum.

McNay Scene

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This page, clockwise from top:

1 Best time winners proudly display their awards, created by artist Sarah Fox. Founder’s Day: 5k Run/Walk & Family Fun. February 28, 2016.

2 Liz and Bill Chiego with Jane and Bill Lacy. Meet the Future Celebration. January 22, 2016.

3 Visitors display their newly acquired print. 2016 McNay Print Fair. March 5 & 6, 2016.

4 The family that runs together, stays together. Founder’s Day: 5k Run/Walk & Family Fun. February 28, 2016.

5 Liz and Bill Chiego, 5k race/walk best time winners in their respective categories. Founder’s Day: 5k Run/Walk & Family Fun. February 28, 2016.

Page 16, clockwise from top:

1 Don and Mera Rubell, members-only preview for Made in Germany: Contemporary Art from the Rubell Family Collection. February 8, 2016.

2 Co-chairs Caroline and William Carrington & Emma and Toby Calvert with Liz and Bill Chiego, Meet the Future Celebration. January 22, 2016.

3 Dress-up fun. Spring Break Free Family Days: We are Royals! March 15–17, 2016.

4 Emma and Toby Calvert. Meet the Future after-party McNay After Dark. January 22, 2016.

5 Caroline and William Carrington. Meet the Future after-party McNay After Dark. January 22, 2016.

6 A toddler enjoys a fun Friday morning. Toddler Art Play: Surreal Stories. October 9, 2015.

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Gifts

Director's Circleas of February 29, 2016

$25,000 & aboveMr. & Mrs. Tobin R. CalvertMr. & Mrs. Tom C. Frost Jr.Betty Murray HalffMarie HalffMr. & Mrs. Houston H. HarteSarah E. Harte & John S. GutzlerMr. & Mrs. J.R. HurdMr. & Mrs. John C. KerrJane & Bill LacyPeggy & Lowry MaysMr. & Mrs. B.J. McCombsMr. & Mrs. Sandy McNabMr. & Mrs. Thomas I. O'Connor IIIMrs. Frederic J. OppenheimerCarolyn & Allan PatersonMr. & Mrs. William Scanlan Jr.Mr. & Mrs. George SchroederMr. & Mrs. Thomas R. SemmesAlice C. SimkinsThe Tobin EndowmentThe Tobin Theatre Arts FundMrs. Terence W. Touhey

Leadership Membersas of February 29, 2016

Philanthropist $10,000Charles ButtMr. & Mrs. J.R. HurdMr. & Mrs. Thomas I. O'Connor IIIMrs. Jesse Oppenheimer

Benefactor $5,000Mr. & Mrs. James R. AdamsAnn Griffith AshMrs. Lawrence BertettiMrs. Walter F. BrownMr. & Mrs. Tobin R. CalvertMr. & Mrs. Jim Dicke IIDonald J. DouglassMr. & Mrs. John FeikH. Rugeley FergusonNoelle & Shon Manasco

Peggy & Lowry MaysMr. & Mrs. Sandy McNabMr. & Mrs. Alex H. OliverClaire O. O'MalleyCarolyn & Allan PatersonRoxana McAllister Richardson

& Bruce RichardsonLaura & Jack RichmondMr. & Mrs. George SchroederMr. & Mrs. Thomas R. SemmesAlice C. SimkinsAmy Stieren Smiley & Chase SmileyLucille & Jim Travis

Sponsor $2,500Mr. & Mrs. Rowan AltgeltMr. & Mrs. William D. BalthropeMr. & Mrs. Charles E. Cheever Jr.Flora C. CrichtonMr. & Mrs. John Paul GouldMr. & Mrs. Fred HamiltonMr. & Mrs. John L. Hendry IIIKaren & Tim HixonMr. & Mrs. Michael HumphreysMr. & Mrs. Ralph LeathermanDonna C. MartelMr. & Mrs. David MeriwetherBradley J. Parman & Tim SeeligerMr. & Mrs. Kirk SaffellErika Ivanyi & Matthias SchubnellMrs. Louis H. StumbergCourtney J. WalkerMr. & Mrs. Joe M. Westheimer Jr.

Associate $1,500Mr. & Mrs. Richard N. Azar IIMrs. Sam BarshopDrs. Maryan & Otis BaskinMr. & Mrs. Steve BlankMr. & Mrs. Guy BodineAlison & Taylor BooneMr. & Mrs. Walter F. Brown Jr.James S. CalvertMr. & Mrs. Richard W. CalvertBarbara CarrizalesEdward E. Collins, lll

Barbara Seale CondosMr. & Mrs. William E. DreyerDr. & Mrs. Charles Du ValThomas H. EdsonSusan Toomey FrostMr. & Mrs. Stephen J. GoebelMr. & Mrs. Curtis C. Gunn Jr.Dr. P. Allen HartsellMr. & Mrs. Reagan Houston IVMr. & Mrs. H. Glenn HuddlestonJohn S. JockuschDianne KamolsriMr. & Mrs. Darrell J. KirkseyKim LewisMr. & Mrs. Clark R. MandigoMr. & Mrs. Peter MargolisDr. & Mrs. James McMullanDr. & Mrs. Alfred A. MillerMr. & Mrs. Stuart D. MoilesJudé Clarke MuellerRebecca & Scott NathanMr. & Mrs. Lawrence B. NicholasJane Cheever Powell &

Thomas L. Powell Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Stanley D. RosenbergEthel T. RunionMr. & Mrs. William Scanlan Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Curtis T. Vaughan IIIMr. & Mrs. Gaines VoigtMr. & Mrs. Mark E. Watson Jr.Mrs. Leon Wulfe Jr.Mr. & Mrs. Phrixos O. Xenakis

Corporate Partners as of February 29, 2016

Philanthropist $10,000 & aboveBank of AmericaBroadway BankArgo Group, Inc.AT&T Inc.The Capital Group Companies

Charitable FoundationFrost BankGunn Automotive LLC

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HEB Grocery CompanyLuther King Capital ManagementMejia Engineering CompanyRackspaceValero Energy Foundation

Benefactor $5,000 & aboveJP Morgan Chase SecuritiesLucifer Lighting CompanyParatus Group II, Inc.Prism Technologies GroupSouth Texas Money Management

Educational $5,000 & aboveAlamo Community College DistrictTrinity UniversityThe University of Texas at San AntonioUniversity of the Incarnate Word

Sponsor $2,500 & aboveBDO USA, LLPCatto & Catto LLPSchroeder Interests LLC

Associate $1,500 & aboveArgent Court Assisted LivingBolner's Fiesta Products, Inc.Christie's—New York & HoustonData Projections, Inc.Ford, Powell & Carson,

Architects & Planners, Inc.Hanor Law Firm PCNorth American Development BankPhyllis Browning CompanySalient Partners LPSoleil Advertising, Inc.

Business Partners $1,000Anne Zanikos Art ConservationCrossvault Capital Management, LLCMission PharmacalPorter Loring Mortuaries

Business Partners $500Giles-ParscaleHamlin Capital Management, LLCHot Joy

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HonorariaNovember 1–February 29, 2016Mr. & Mrs. Tobin R. Calvert

Jane Cheever Powell & Thomas L. Powell Jr.

Kate Carey & the Education DepartmentDr. Sandra L. Ragan

Mr. & Mrs. William Claiborne CarringtonMr. & Mrs. Philip Locke

Dr. William J. ChiegoMr. & Mrs. Jonathan C. CalvertMr. & Mrs. John V. McLaughlinCynthia McMurrayJane Cheever Powell &

Thomas L. Powell Jr.Lisa & Wally Cox

Jane & Bill LacyKelly & Jim Daniell

Jane & Bill LacyMadeline Donnelly

Mr. Joe DonnellySarah Harte & John Gutzler

C. Thomas WrightDr. & Mrs. Alfred A. Miller

Mr. & Mrs. William KnoblerTimothy Retzloff

Mrs. Susan Evers & Mr. Allen PierceEthel Shipton

Nate CassieAmy Stieren Smiley & Chase Smiley

Jane & Bill LacyMr. & Mrs. George Stieren

Jane & Bill LacyLucille & Jim Travis

Mr. & Mrs. Tom GuggolzMr. & Mrs. Thomas A. Wirth

Jane & Bill Lacy

MemorialsNovember 1–February 29, 2016Lucille Albright

McNay Docent CouncilJoanna Barilleaux

Joan C. ChildressDr. & Mrs. Harvey M. GoldsteinTerri & Glenn HuddlestonDr. & Mrs. Alfred A. Miller

Leroy Denman Jr.Suzanne S. Hagino

Suzy FinesilverMrs. Jane Wood

Grace FornaySuzanne S. Hagino

Jose (Pepe) Lucerio & Linda WinstonSan Antonio Area Foundation

Anne Hill McMahanMcNay Docent Council

Martin M. PolancoBradley J. Parman & Tim Seeliger

Weldon SeeligerSarah E. Harte & John S. GutzlerLisa HalffBradley J. Parman & Tim Seeliger

Library & ArchivesAs of February 29, 2016Susan Toomey FrostRose M. GlennonPeg ZipermanIn honor of Lyle Williams

Alice C. SimkinsIn honor of Margaret L. Ziperman

Dr. Don B. Ziperman In memory of Mrs. Renate M. Beebe

Robert W. Beebe In memory of John Patrick Doran

Rose M. GlennonIn memory of Jennifer A. Lopez

Dr. Rafael & Mrs. Noris LopezWith thanks to Sally & George Muellich

Rose M. Glennon

Special ThanksCentral MarketHEB Grocery CompanySantikos Entertainment—

Bijou at CrossroadsWhole Food Markets

STEP RIGHT UP to the Museum Store this summer for all things Coney Island.

6000 North New Braunfels | PO Box 6069San Antonio, Texas 78209-0069 mcnayart.org

Address service requested

Nonprofit OrganizationU.S. Postage PA I DSan Antonio, TexasPermit No. 2978

IMPRESSIONS a members magazine

Cover:

Gambling Wheel, 1900–20, wood, glass, metal, Collection of The New-York Historical Society, Purchase, 1995.2

Red Grooms, Weegee 1940 (detail), 1998–99, acrylic on paper, Private Collection. Image Courtesy Marlborough Gallery, New York; © 2016 Red Grooms/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

This handsome pedestal light printed with a poster in the exhibition is $90 (member price $81).

Whimsical, retro, collectible tin toys harken back to the fun on the boardwalk. The Rocket Ride retails for $30 (member price $27), the Ferris Wheel is $13 (member price $11.70), and the miniature pinball games are $2.95 each (member price $2.66).

A beautifully illustrated book accompanies this exhibition for $50 (member price $45).

2015 NEW YORK CITY BOOK

AWARD WINNER