Highlights of The Ashby Collection
Selections from the exceptional Ashby Collection of paintings by
American artists were featured for seven weeks (from Aug. 24 to Oct. 2)
at the Ashby-Hodge Gallery of American Art at Central Methodist College
in Fayette.
The show was comprised of 36 works, including 12 pieces reproduced in a
four-color calendar being published by the Ashby-Hodge Gallery and nine
recent acquisitions that had not been shown in the Gallery previously.
Also featured was a special three-painting display of depictions of
"Leda" – in classical mythology the mother of Castor and Clytemnestra by
one husband and also of Pollus and Helen by Zeus, who appeared to her in
the form of a swan. Each work is by a different artist, including CMC
alumna Edith Schenk whose own collection of works was featured at the
Gallery this spring.
In addition to paintings from their collection, Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence D.
Ashby have given the Gallery a voluminous collection of art books,
auction-house catalogues and art magazines to enhance the collection.
These are available for visitors to examine in the reading room of the
Gallery. Since the opening of the Gallery in the fall of 1993, many
acquisitions and gifts have been added to the original Ashby Collection.
The special calendar being published in connection with the exhibition
is available for purchase at the Ashby-hodge Gallery. Each month is
represented by a work of a different artist. The cover features Oscar E.
Berninghaus’s "At the Ball," a painting being shown in the Ashby-Hodge
Gallery for the first time. Other works in the calendar include Charles
Dana Gibson’s "The Gibson Girl," Walter Bailey’s "Kansas City Skyline,"
Aaron Bohrod’s "String Musicians," Birger Sandzen’s "Fall Foliage" and
Emile Gruppe’s "New England Lighthouse."
"These are all extraordinary paintings by well-known artists," said Dr.
Joseph E. Geist, curator of the Ashby-Hodge Gallery. "The Year 2000
calendar will be a collector’s piece, something to be treasured for its
representation of some of our finest American artists of this century."
