Columbus Museum Presents Annotations: David Gilmour Blythe’s Land of Liberty
 January 29 – July 10, 2011
 Sidney H. Yarbrough III Gallery


Dec 14, 2010

CONTACT: Frank S. Etheridge IV
Editor and Public Relations Coordinator
The Columbus Museum
1251 Wynnton Road
Columbus, Georgia 31906
706.748.2562, ext. 540
fetheridge@columbusmuseum.com
 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Annotations: David Gilmour Blythe’s
Land of Liberty

at Columbus Museum's Sidney H. Yarbrough III Gallery
January 29 – July 10, 2011


Columbus, Georgia – During an era in which the American political discourse is dominated with talk of the Tea Party and immigration issues, an upcoming Columbus Museum exhibition looks to an artwork from a bygone era consumed by similar concerns.

Annotations is an ongoing exhibition series at the Columbus Museum that encourages visitors to take a closer look at the items on display. By annotating, or highlighting and explaining details in artwork, the series will help visitors understand the layers of meaning the pieces contain. These layers give clues as to how and why the pieces were created; the scenes they depict; and the purposes they serve.

The latest Annotations focuses on David Gilmour Blythe’s Land of Liberty, which is rich in period details and symbolism.

“One of the rare moments of self reflection occurs when a museum focuses on a single object from its collection and builds an entire exhibition around it. Such is the case with David Gilmore Blythe’s painting, “Land of Liberty,” says Columbus Museum Director Tom Butler. “Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Kristen Miller Zohn has assembled a stellar group of artworks and period ephemera that will fully explain the importance of this 19th century artwork as well as place it in a historical setting for the audience to learn more about our country in the 1850s.”

Blythe’s 19th-century painting, an excellent example of social satire, shows an Irish immigrant who has just gotten off a trans-Atlantic ship. The first person he meets is a cigar store Indian who has come to life to offer him a peace pipe of “native leaf” to replace his typical Irish clay pipe filled with foreign tobacco.

Annotations will put this painting into historical context by exploring Blythe’s life and oeuvre, the nativist movement, and stereotypical depictions of Irish and Native Americans in the 19th century and beyond. The exhibition will bring the painting to life by displaying real examples of the items found in the painting, including a cigar store Indian and an Irish shillelagh. Other works of art will be displayed to help place Land of Liberty in its time.

A companion website, available online at http://www.columbusmuseum.com/exhibitions/blythe/blythe.html and accessible on a computer in the gallery will provide a platform for visitors to share their stories about their own families’ arrivals in America and challenges they might have faced as a result of being a member of an ethnic group.

This exhibition is made possible by the support from the Edward Swift Shorter Bequest Fund.

Related Programs:
Thursday, February 24, 2011
What’s Wrong with this Picture?: The Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes 
Featuring Dr. Virginia Causey
Noon to 1 p.m. (part of the Columbus Museum’s 2011 Lunch & Lecture Series)

Euro-Americans began constructing stereotypical images of American Indians as soon as the two groups came into contact. Those images have been perpetuated over the centuries by popular media, becoming so ingrained that we often don’t even notice them. From the “Noble Savage” to the “Princess” to the “Sidekick,” these images show up everywhere in contemporary life, including television, advertising, children’s literature and athletic teams.
Columbus State University history professor Dr. Virginia Causey will trace the history of the most common stereotypes and analyze the potential harms that arise from the perpetuation of these images.

This lecture is free and open to the public. Please feel free to bring your own lunch. Water, tea and coffee will be served. Box lunches are available by advanced request; contact Melinda Durham at 706.748.2562, ext. 651 or mdurham@columbusmuseum.com.

For more information, please visit http://www.columbusmuseum.com
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You can also call the Columbus Museum at 706.748.2562. The Columbus Museum features exhibitions of American art and regional history and includes a hands-on discovery gallery for children. Admission is free. The Museum is open 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday; 10:00 a.m. - 9:00 p.m. Thursday; and 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday and holidays. 1251 Wynnton Road, Columbus, GA 31906. 

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