Leonard Baskin: Imaginary Artists

Leonard Baskin: Imaginary Artists

September 8 – October 21, 2017

Reception: September 8, 5-7 pm

Gallery Talk by Curators Kathya Lopez ’18 and Erica Schaumberg ’18: September 8, 5pm

Leonard Baskin: Imaginary Artists, an exhibition curated by students Kathya Lopez ’18 and Erica Schaumberg ’18 will be on view from September 8 through October 21^, 2017 in Gettysburg College’s Schmucker Art Gallery.

Leonard Baskin (1922-2000) was an American sculptor, illustrator, and printmaker. He is perhaps best known as a figurative sculptor and a creator of monumental woodcuts. The Gehenna Press, Baskin’s private press, operated for over 50 years (1942-2000) and produced more than 100 volumes of fine art books. His most prominent public commissions include sculpture for the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial and the Woodrow Wilson Memorial, both in Washington D.C., and the Holocaust Memorial in Ann Arbor, MI. Baskin received numerous honors, among them a Guggenheim Fellowship, the Gold Medal of the National Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Jewish Cultural Achievement Award. His work is held in major private and public institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Art Institute of Chicago; the British Museum, London, and the Vatican Museums.

Imaginary Artists, a collection of 25 watercolor sketches, was completed in 1976 as a gift for Baskin’s friend, the distinguished Philadelphia lawyer Edwin Rome, and his wife, Rita. In this series Baskin skillfully acknowledges the Western art historical canon through irreverent references to traditional compositions and famous artists. His group of imaginary—or one can imagine uncredited—artists were often figured as the assistants, students, or rivals to the most noted painters of the centuries and include “Smedley Webb, little-known student of T. Eakins” and “Antonin du Colines, assistant to Poussin.”

The 1,600-square-foot Schmucker Art Gallery is a lively art space that displays nine different exhibitions each year. Included in the gallery calendar are shows by local, national, and international contemporary artists, a faculty exhibition, a student exhibition, the annual senior art-major show, and exhibits of works selected from public and private collections. The Schmucker Art Gallery is located on the main floor of Schmucker Hall (conveniently located at the intersection of N. Washington and Water streets) and is fully accessible. Free parking is available in one of the visitor parking lots on campus, or free two-hour parking can be found on the streets adjacent to Schmucker Hall. The main entrance is through the quadrangle side of the building. All events are free and open to the public. Gallery hours are Tuesdays through Saturdays, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Building is accessible.

Founded in 1832, Gettysburg College is a highly selective four-year residential college of liberal arts and sciences with a strong academic tradition. Alumni include Rhodes Scholars, a Nobel laureate, and other distinguished scholars. The college enrolls 2,600 undergraduate students and is located on a 200-acre campus adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park in Pennsylvania.

For more information, please contact Shannon Egan, Director of Schmucker Art Gallery, at segan@gettysburg.edu or (717) 337-6125. An exhibition catalogue is available. This exhibition is supported in part by Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library, Gettysburg College.