FOUNDATIONS: Building Our Collection (1944-2024)
December 9, 2023 - June 9, 2024
All Galleries
In anticipation of the Museum’s upcoming 80th Anniversary on February 4, 2024, this permanent collection take-over of our galleries pays homage to our roots and celebrates where we are going. 80 years of collecting will be anchored by HMA’s foundational artists – artists who helped make the museum a reality – Paul Austin Wayne Whitener, Wilford Seymour Conrow, and Frederick Ballard Williams.
For eight decades, Hickory Museum of Art has been a cornerstone of artistic expression, a source of inspiration, and a learning environment for all ages. To honor this milestone, we have curated an exhibition that provides insights into our entire collection which has grown to over 2,700 works through the years. Treasured fan-favorites such as Jane Peterson’s The Windowseat and George Pearse Ennis’ The Beachcombers will hang with never-seen-before works including new acquisitions by Jeffrey Gibson – who was recently selected to represent the U.S. in the 2024 Venice Biennale!
Text panels highlight collection stories, including the recent conservation of four new acquisitions by the first woman artist in HMA’s collection – Ella Richards, the painter of The Violinist, collected by first director Paul Whitener in 1950. Visitors will see the documentation of a century’s worth of grime removed from the surface of her paintings, and glimpse the paintings restored to their full glory.
Dont’ miss getting behind the wheel of a 1954 Dodge Coronet Station Wagon for a photo! This section tells the story of Paul Whitener borrowing $1,000 and a station wagon to go to NYC to purchase artwork for the Museum from the estate auction of famed art collector George Zabriskie.
FOUNDATIONS will be up for several months which will allow us to refresh artwork throughout the exhibition’s run. It is our goal to show as much of our collection as possible.
A kiosk in the exhibition asks, “What do YOU want to see?” Visitors will be able to make requests on what should to be exhibited next.
