Ariana Williams' Paper #1

Yale Center for British Art

For my visit to the Yale Center, I brought along my husband and two boys. At first I thought I was crazy for attempting to bring a 3-year old and a 2-year old to an art museum. The entire walk to the museum was a pep talk to our boys not to touch anything! It was a nice day out, with impending storms coming later in the afternoon. We walked in and the lobby felt spacious and airy. It was an atrium style, allowing visitors to look up and see the floors above. It was my first time here, and I thought from the outside the building was unassuming. But I realized that the building was designed to be modern and contemporary. Our family made its way over to the front desk where the workers were very friendly and informative. She recommended we start on the top floor and work our way down, which is what we did. They even gave my boys some coloring pencils and a coloring book based off the Bridget Riley: Perceptual Abstraction exhibits, which I thought was neat. Small things like that I feel are important to make museums more family-friendly places than one would think. 

The Yale Center for British Art was founded by Paul Mellon, who attended Yale in 1929. Mellon was of British descent through his mother's side, and lived in England while pursuing a second degree at Cambridge University. Coupled together, these experiences gave him a deep appreciation for British art and culture. He purchased his first painting in 1936, and would later become an extensive collector of British art, aided by an art historian. Located in London is the sister museum called the Paul Mellon Centre of British Art; and together with Yale they participate in research and scholarly work. Much of the artwork here was given to the museum by Mellon, including the building and an endowment. To see the portrait of Elizabeth I was very exciting to me. The museum itself was designed in a modernistic style and the architecture reflects that with clean lines, concrete and minimalistic design. Designed by American architect Louis I. Khan, the museum was completed in 1977. Yale Center is most famous for being the largest museum located outside of the United Kingdom to feature British art. Personally, I loved my experience here because I love history, especially on Tudor England and the Elizabethan Era. It was interesting to view art from a historical perspective and understand the context of the painting to the time periods. 

                                                   

           Elizabeth I. Attributed to George Gower. Ca. 1567. oil on canvas. transferred from panel

As we made our way to the fourth floor, we were greeted by the guards right off the elevator. We saw the Marc Quinn: History Painting + exhibit. I enjoyed it because it mixed photography with paint, but the images the artist chose were profound political statements. Quinn purchases the photographs for copyright, and then decides how he wants to edit and emphasize the message he wants to convey. For example, the artwork below is broken into four canvases to demonstrate both the gap between the state and its citizens, and also time. Each panel represents a different moment in time, almost like a story is being told in four parts even though technically it is only one photograph. The message the artist wants to convey in his work is that history is constantly being made, and is reflective of how the world is currently. 

                                               

History Painting Ieshia Evans Protesting the Death of Alton Sterling (Baton Rouge, 9 July 2016) GPBWOR. 2017. oil on canvas. 

History Painting Emma [X] Gonzalez Speaks at a Rally for Gun Control (Fort Lauderdale, 17 February 2018) RWB. 2018. oil on canvas. 

On the third and second floor is the Bridget Riley exhibit. It's unique because it is separated by two floors, the third is centered around black and white, and the fourth is centered around color. It was actually funny because the museum but up a warning due to the visual stimulation from the artwork, and they were right. The words out my mouth when we walked towards the black and white gallery were "Whoa trippy". We did not spend too much time on this exhibit because the abstract style wasn't appealing as much as the permanent collection and Marc Quinn exhibit. I do understand the concept behind her work however, as she is trying to convey messages about everyday shapes and how they can be perceived differently when looked at closely.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

                                                                                                                         

                                                        

    Top: Movement in Squares. Bridget Riley.1961.                   

    Synthetic Emulsion on board 

        

    Bottom: Nataraja. Bridget Riley. 1993. Oil                                         

My favorite piece from the Yale Center for British Art was a landscape done by Samuel Colman (b.1832-d.1920) titled, "The Rock of Salvation". Created in 1837, Colman utilized oil on canvas to make a detailed image of the Hudson River and is filled with religious symbolism. At first glance you see the difference between night and day in the painting with a rising moon, stars, and a setting sun. The light from both celestial bodies is reflected in the water and waves. In the middle you see a dark image that is hard to make out, until closer inspection. In the dark and swirly clouds, you can make out that their is a cross with Christ on top of a rock. Behind the rock on either side, you see details of mountains and trees. This painting shows Christ in black smoke, symbolizing deliverance and bridging the two worlds of heaven and Earth. 

Colman was an American artist born in Maine, who later moved to New York City. He attended the Hudson River School, whose focus was the diverse environment of the Hudson River Valley, New England, and the expanding West. Colman also journeyed to Europe where some of his works are centered around the landscape he encountered overseas. Colman painted mostly in watercolor and oil for his work. It was noted in the museum label that Colman was a Protestant dissenter from the Church of England, and "The Rock of Salvation" reflects his religious and political beliefs. His earlier work, "The Delivery of Israel out of Egypt", is most likely what inspired this painting, as it also depicts Christian imagery referring to salvation and deliverance. The label also tells us that Colman was an advocate for anti-slavery, another reason for his political beliefs and symbolism in his artwork. 

As mentioned earlier, Colman attended Hudson River School which was referred to as "America's first true artistic fraternity", by Kevin J. Avery of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He was a second generation-member, preceded by founder and English immigrant Thomas Cole. By the time Colman was a member of the school, Cole's techniques had set the precedence for all its members which was "reflecting the British aesthetic theory of the Sublime" (Avery). Sublime style artwork was first created in 1757 by Edmund Burke and is meant to convey a keen sense of emotion when viewed. This philosophical approach to painting is evident in Colman's "Rock of Salvation". 

 

The Yale Center of British Art was a great experience and left a great first impression for me and my family. If I had more time, I would have gone back to see the third floor collection one more time. They were so many different works to look at between sculpture and paintings it was really an enjoyable time and you almost feel like you might have missed something. I appreciate the mission of the museum, which is to foster an understanding of British culture and its influence on the arts. It provided more knowledge to me about the importance of British art. Overall, the museum did a great job on its exhibits and providing context to the artwork within the labels next to the work. 

Citations

Avery, Kevin J. “The Hudson River School.” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/hurs/hd_hurs.htm (October 2004)

https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.2442.html#biography

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/art-terms/s/sublime

https://britishart.yale.edu/stories/paul-mellon-founder