Dover’s Biggs Museum of American Art welcomes two new exhibitions which showcase a variety of artistic styles. Both will run through June 19, 2021.
The artistic drive to leave the studio and collect inspiration, impressions and ideas directly from nature is featured in the larger of the two new exhibitions entitled, In Fresh Air: Impressionism and the Plein Air Movement. “Plein air” is a French term that translates to “open air”. Paintings in this style were created by artists who brought their supplies to scenic outdoor settings and painted what they saw. Drawn from works rarely seen at the Biggs Museum, the exhibition tracks the influence of plein air painting in the United States, particularly in Delaware, with a focus on the museum’s extensive Barbizon, Tonalist and Impressionist collections. Over 100 years of paintings connected by the plein air tradition will be brought together in this comprehensive exhibition.
Through the second new exhibition, Out of the Vault: Modern and Contemporary Art, witness an evolution of the Biggs through a reinstallation of the museum’s entire third-floor galleries to feature rarely exhibited paintings, photographs, sculpture and crafts from the Post WWI period to the contemporary arts of the present day. Much of this work has been added to the collection in the past ten years, but has rarely been shared with the public.
In addition to the new exhibitions, the Biggs has extended the exhibition, Toni Frissell: In Italy with the Tuskegee Airmen through April 24. The imminent fashion and society photographer, Toni Frissell (1907-88), held several official positions with the American Red Cross, the Women’s Army Corp and the US Air Force to document World War II. This exhibition highlights her images of the Tuskegee Airmen, the 332d Fighter Group, from the collection of the Library of Congress.
Located at 406 Federal Street in Dover, the Biggs Museum is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 4 PM. Reservations are recommended to avoid wait times. Daily admission tickets can be reserved in advance at BiggsMuseum.org or by calling 302-674-2111.
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~ Biggs Museum