Join The Art Complex Museum Mailing List!
Get the latest news and online content in our weekly “Museletter”.
Get information on classes and workshops offered at The Art Complex Museum.
Exhibitions/Events/Newsletter
Workshops/Classes
Latest Facebook Posts
Thomas Hart Benton, The Little Fisherman, 1967, lithograph
The lithograph by Thomas Hart Benton, Little Fisherman, depicts a young boy wearing a straw hat while preparing his bamboo fishing pole to catch fish, an activity that many children enjoy doing with their father’s, especially on Father’s Day. The boy’s elongated, stylized hands and feet are typical features of Benton’s figures.
Thomas Hart Benton was one of the key interpreters of American life from the late 1920s through the mid-twentieth century, having created more than four thousand paintings and lithographs. Benton loved to trek through the back roads of the country and create pencil sketches of rural areas and the people who lived in them. Fishing was a favorite pastime of country life. His compositions celebrate America’s land, history, people and beauty.
While demonstrating Sekino Jun'ichirô’s mastery of composition and skill in printmaking, this print also exhibits the artist’s paternal love and admiration for his family (pets and all).
Sekino Jun'ichirô studied under Onichi Koshiro, one of the great founders of the Sōsaku-hanga, or “creative prints,” movement. Motivated by desires of self-expression, Sōsaku-hanga stressed the artist as the singular creator. This was in contrast to the Shin-hanga, or “new prints,” movement, which revived traditions of Ukiyo-e printmaking and nurtured a fundamentally collaborative philosophy.
🎨: Jun'ichirô Sekino (Japan, 1914-1988), "My Family," 1957, color woodcut on paper
#japaneseprintmaking #sosakuhanga #creativeprints #junichirosekino #japanesewoodblockprint #reliefprint #woodblockprint #blockprinting #artistsfamily #familyportrait #dogsinart #petportrait #catsofinstagram #artcomplexmuseum
Happy Father’s Day, from The Art Complex Museum to dads everywhere! We wish you a day filled with respect, adoration, and relaxation!
This lithograph by Thomas Hart Benton might remind some of us of our fathers and their resolute labors of love. No matter the “dad hobby” to which they dedicate themselves, whether it be woodworking, collecting, running or mechanics, a father’s stoic determination is often unshakable and something to be admired.
“Repairing the Sloop” depicts the artist’s son, T.P., working on his boat in Chilmark, Massachusetts. Following Thomas Hart Benton’s first arrival on Martha’s Vineyard in 1920, he and his wife Rita spent over fifty years summering on the island.
🎨 Thomas Hart Benton (United States, 1889-1975), “Repairing the Sloop,” 1973, lithograph
#happyfathersday #fathersday2020 #thomashartbenton #chilmark #marthasvinyard #sloop #boating #boatlife #boatrepair #printmaking #lithograph #americanregionalism
The Board of Trustees of The Art Complex Museum have decided to close the museum until June, 2021 or until such later time as the Trustees determine the museum can be reopened safely to the public and in reasonable furtherance of its mission. This was done due to the impact of COVID-19 and concerns about the safety of visitors, volunteers and staff. The uncertain trajectory of the pandemic and the evolving nature of government restrictions on museum operations make it difficult to plan for public operations for the next several months.
In addition, a number of capital projects to enhance the museum’s facilities and grounds had previously been approved. The time will be used to implement a number of projects which will enhance the visitor experience and upgrade the facilities to lay the groundwork for the museum’s next fifty years. Finally, the museum will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary in June, 2021. Plans are that the museum will reopen to the public with an exhibition of its collections.
The Trustees express their gratitude to the members of the museum community, who may be affected by the extended closure, for their patience and understanding. They also express their gratitude to the many volunteers who donate their time and energy and hope that they will return when the museum reopens to celebrate the museum’s fiftieth year. To the visual artists, performing artists, and community organizations who may have had exhibits, performances, or events planned during the coming year, the Trustees appreciate their ongoing partnership and support during these uncertain times and look forward to resuming public activity next year. And finally, the Trustees thank each member of the staff for their flexibility, support, and ongoing commitment to the museum’s mission.
youtu.be/SmIn5yMIdmo View Duxbury High School students' extraordinary outdoor art exhibit, "Social Distancing"in honor of retiring art teacher Linda Klein after forty-four years of service.
MUSING AROUND AT HOME!
Museums around the world are inviting people who are staying at home during quarantine to reinterpret artworks from their collection. Using themselves, their pets and items from the house, people are coming up with clever and amusing photographs and sharing them on social media.
We decided to jump on the bandwagon and have some fun!
Our Education Coordinator, Sally Dean Mello, arranged this still life after the color etching from the museum’s collection.
We have chosen five images from our permanent collection for you to try. Have some fun! We will spotlight a few of them in our museletter. Email your images to sally@artcomplex.org, or post on Instagram- please tag us @theartcomplexmuseum and use the #inspiredbyacm.
This week the Duxbury Public Schools Art Department and The Art Complex Museum collaborated in a drive-by student art show installed on the museum grounds. The theme of the show was “Socially Distant” and each student portrait was remarkable. The paintings were well installed for those who wanted to view them while staying in their cars. And, even the parking lot was decorated! Those students who participated were: Kade Breiling, Audrey Ryan, Layla Frederico, Lydia Chesley, Adelyn Hovey, Charlotte White, Molly Bresnehan, Olivia O’Neil, Sydney Ropes, Katedyn Zamboni, Anna O’ Sullivan, Jillian Berry, and Cate Rosenberger.
Oh how I miss the days at the ACM with Olivia!
On June 8th, starting at 2:00 p.m., drive through the parking lot at the museum and see the exhibit "Social Distance" by Duxbury High School art students. The event, “Front Yard Art Show,” is a collaboration between the museum and the Duxbury Public School Art Department, #DPSAoutside
The Art Complex Museum has played an important part in the area’s cultural history for almost fifty years. Visitors have been offered events such as exhibit receptions, tea ceremony presentations, concerts, and educational activities.
Now, in the current COVID-19 climate, members of the staff continue to attempt meeting the needs of our community with a newly designed web site, additions to social media such as Face Book and Instagram and such new offerings as a new Museletter, Flashback Fridays and publishing information about highlights from our collection. Please remember that the museum is here for you - all be it virtually, right now. And, we hope that our offerings bring inspiration and enjoyment to you all.
Caption: masks created by Duxbury Middle School students which are the subject of just one of the many articles in the museum’s new Museletter.
Flashback Friday! One more gallery pic from our Wood as Muse exhibition in 2016. Guest curated by the Myth Makers, Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson. Some Pat Keck, Donna Dodson and Venessa German on the left. #flashbackfriday #patkeck #mythmakers, #donnadodsonartist #artcomplexmuseum #woodasmuse #vanessagerman
Flashback Friday! Looking past some of Pat Keck’s work, to some more of Pat Keck’s work. From our Wood as Muse, exhibition in 2016. Guest Curated by the Myth Makers, Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson. #flashbackfriday #patkeck #mythmakers #donnadodsonartist, #artcomplexmuseum #woodasmuse #andymoerlein
Flashback Friday! Another gallery shot from our Wood as Muse exhibition in 2016. Guest curated by the Myth Makers, Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson. These are by Cape artist Breon Dunigan. #flashbackfriday #patkeck #mythmakers #donnadodsonartist #artcomplexmuseum, #woodasmuse #breondunigan #andymoerlein
Flashback Friday! One of Mike Wrights pieces from the Wood as Muse, exhibition in 2016. Guest curated by the Myth Makers, Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson. Mike works with found materials and the assorted flotsam and jetsum she collects around her Truro home. #flashbackfridays #patkeck #mythmakers #donnadodsonartist #artcomplexmuseum #woodasmuse #breondunigan #mikewright #truro #andymoerlein
