Dublin Art, Women's Caucus Shows at the Thorne

KEENE, N.H. 5/12/04 - Women’s Caucus for Art members explore personal, political, or social issues of interest in the show “In Our Hearts and on Our Minds, ” one of two art exhibitions open this summer at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College. The second exhibit, “Selections from the Collection featuring the Dublin Art Colony,” displays recent acquisitions to the Thorne’s Dublin Art Colony Collection. Both exhibits will open with a public reception on Friday, June 3, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Image to the left: ‘And the Women Must Weep,’ a 1937 print by Rockwell Kent, is one of three recently acquired prints showcased in ‘Selections from the Collection featuring the Dublin Art Colony’ on display from Saturday, June 4 to Friday, Aug. 5 at the Thorne-Sagendorph Art Gallery at Keene State College.

“In Our Hearts and on Our Minds” is a juried exhibition exploring issues close to the heart or in the thoughts of artists who are members of the Women’s Caucus for Art chapters in New Hampshire, Boston, and Central Massachusetts. Jurors Ruth Hansen, exhibitions coordinator of Women’s Caucus for Art-New Hampshire, and Peter Roos, associate professor of art at Keene State, chose 29 works of art for the exhibit created by 22 artists, most of who are from New Hampshire. Hansen said she was impressed with the quality and thoughtfulness of the artwork submitted to this juried exhibition, with 42 artists submitting 180 slides of their work. Each artist could submit between three and five slides of her work.

“I was pleased with the very strong work that was submitted; there was a lot of new work I hadn’t seen before by artists who regularly submit work to our shows,” said Hansen, who coordinates two to three exhibitions per year for the New Hampshire WCA chapter.

This WCA exhibit touches on political as well as religious and environmental subjects and ranges from a digital collage about America’s obsession with oil to a work depicting Pope John Paul II and a sculpture fashioned from tree branches and roots.

“The artists were very thoughtful as they created and it makes for an interesting exhibition,” said Hansen.

The second summer exhibition, “Selections from the Collection featuring the Dublin Art Colony,” showcases three recently acquired prints by Rockwell Kent and a first-time display of Barry Faulkner sketches, as well as other artwork from the Dublin Art Colony. The Colony, which flourished in the late 19th century and early 20th century around New Hampshire’s Mount Monadnock, comprised some of the country’s best-known artists, including Rockwell Kent, whose work is world-renowned. The Rockwell Kent prints, made in the 1930s and each signed by the artist, were acquired in the past six months as part of an ongoing campaign to acquire a broader representation of the highest quality work by the prolific group of 30 artists from the Dublin Art Colony.

Barry Faulkner was known for his murals. Some of his many commissions were for the RCA building in Rockefeller Center, New York City, and the National Archives in Washington D.C. The Faulkner sketches, some of which have never been seen before, were often the basis of his wall murals, several of which can be seen locally: in the foyer of Elliot Hall on the KSC campus, at the Cheshire County Historical Society on Main St., and at Bank of America on Central Square.

The Thorne continues to actively seek donations of art and contributions to enable the purchase and preservation of artwork to enhance its Dublin Art Colony holdings. We are especially looking for work by Frank Weston Benson, George de Forest Brush, Lilla Cabot Perry, and Edward Tarbell, and for contributions to preserve the Faulkner sketches. The Thorne Gallery’s mission to acquire works by Dublin Art Colony artists has been endorsed by the Dublin Historical Society and the Historical Society of Cheshire County. A video about the history of the Dublin Art Colony by Paul Tuller will be shown during the exhibition.

“Selections from the Collection featuring the Dublin Art Colony” and the Women’s Caucus for Art exhibits will be displayed from Saturday, June 4 to Friday, Aug. 5. “In Our Hearts and on Our Minds” reopens Sept. 6-23 when Keene State’s fall semester is in session.

During the summer the Gallery is open noon to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday and closed on Monday and Tuesday.

The reception and exhibits are free and open to the public. Located on Wyman Way on the Keene State campus, the Gallery is accessible to people with disabilities. To request accommodations for a disability, please call the Thorne Gallery at least two weeks before your visit. For information, call 603-358-2720 or visit www.keene.edu/tsag:[http://www.keene.edu/tsag].