TWO CENTURIES OF AMERICAN LANDSCAPE PAINTING (OCTOBER 6, 2023 – JANUARY 15, 2024)
This rich exhibition features the bounty and beauty of the American landscape from the early nineteenth century through the twentieth century. Drawn from the permanent collection of the Reading Public Museum, the selections explore the Hudson River School and the emergence of the first uniquely American artistic movement; Impressionism and Tonalism at the turn of the century; and Modern trends in interpreting the landscape. Majestic and inspirational depictions of bucolic American vistas—intimate forest interiors, sweeping panoramic views of natural wonders, and dramatic images of the untamed land and sea—join dramatic scenes of Europe, the Near East, and South America by artists from the United States.
In Nature’s Studio: Two Centuries of American Landscape Paintings is organized by Reading Public Museum.
Mennello Museum of American Art and its exhibitions are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
(TOP) Frederic Edwin Church (American, 1826 – 1900), Syria: Ruins by the Sea, 1873 – 1874, oil on canvas, 10 1/2 x 16 inches, Museum Purchase, 1922.157.1. Reading Public Museum, Reading, Pennsylvania.
From the Collection with Recent Acquisitions | (JANUARY 26, 2024 – MAY 19, 2024)
This exhibition presents the work of 13 Black self-taught artists from the American South. It highlights excellent examples from the Mennello Museum’s permanent collection alongside the 2023 acquisition of works from the Polk Museum of Art. Works by Mary Proctor, Alyne Harris, Purvis Young, Jesse Aaron, and Mose Toliver are among the paintings and sculptures complemented and contextualized by the acquisition from the Polk Museum of Art. Additional artists include Nellie Mae Rowe, Clementine Hunter, Jimmy Lee Sudduth, and more.
(TOP) Nellie Mae Rowe, Untitled (Bearded Lady), 1978, crayon, graphite, marker on paper, Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, Museum Purchase, 1999-045-000
(BOTTOM) Purvis Young, Heads Above the Street, 1991 Oil, wood, vinyl, masonite, metal brackets, Collection of the Mennello Museum of American Art, Museum Purchase, 1998-002-000.
Anila Quayyum Agha is a Pakistani-American artist best known for her large-scale installations of elaborate, laser cut cubes. Suspended from above as though floating, and lit from within, the cubes cast lace-like, floor-to-ceiling shadows that completely transform the surrounding environment, flooding the space with allusions to the sacred geometric designs that developed across cultures and religions – especially those found in Islamic tradition and the richly ornamented public spaces, like Mosques, where Agha was excluded from as a female growing up in Lahore, Pakistan. Agha also creates wall-mounted sculptural works and drawings in which she employs embroidery, beads, and light to transcend the flat, two-dimensional plane on which she works.
Anila Quayyum Agha is organized by the Mennello Museum of American Art and curated by Katherine Page, Curator of Art and Education, Mennello Museum of American Art.
Mennello Museum of American Art and its exhibitions are generously supported by the City of Orlando and Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art. Additional funding is provided by Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program and United Arts of Central Florida. Sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.
Anila Quayyum Agha, Crossing Boundaries – Nuvo Red, n.d. Laser-cut lacquered steel and halogen bulb; Edition: 1/3. 48 x 48 x 48 inches. Courtesy of Anila Quayuum Agha and Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Every second Sunday of the month is Free Family Funday!
On the 2nd Sunday of each month – Join us at the museum for free admission all day, plus a fine art project! Docent touring and art making are back! Talk about the art with our knowledgable educators and then create your own work!
Each Free Family Funday has a different art project based on the artists of the current exhibition, their subject matter, and their methods. Check out the photos and videos below to see some of the projects we’ve been making between 2020 – 2023!
We would LOVE to see your projects. Share it with us on social media using #MennelloMuseum
Other past projects have included cyanotypes with Orlando based artist John Baker during the Edward Steichen photography exhibition; Ink Pouring Portraits during the Firelei Baez exhibit; and Stained Glass-like landscapes during the Lawrence Lebduska exhibit.
Families enjoy the creating and viewing art inside and outside of the museum year round
Free Family Fundays
November 12, 2023 | Nature Lanterns
September 10, 2023 | Textiles
August 13, 2023 | Pattern Play
July 9, 2023 | Light Boxes
June 11, 2023 | Starting out with a Palette Knife
May 14, 2023 | Watercolor Flowers
April 9, 2023 | Pastel Landscapes
March 12, 2023 | Portraiture in Impressionism and Realism
February 12, 2023 | Pinhole Cameras
January 8, 2023 | Free Family Funday | Binding your Artist Volume
December 11, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Cyanotype VS. Wet Plate
November 13, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Self Representation in Portraiture
October 9, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Flashy Fish, Creepy Crawlies, Perfect Pets
September 11, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Braiding Coasters in the Breeze
August 14, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Personifying Color Fields
July 10, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Carving Soap Sculptures
June 12, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Puffy Paint Party
May 8, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Kitchen Lithography
April 10, 2022 | Free Family Funday |
March 13, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Melting Wax Paintings
February 13, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Candy Crowns
January 9, 2022 | Free Family Funday | Blackout Poetry
December 12, 2021 | Free Family Funday | Freedom Lanterns
November 14, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Writing and Drawing Manga
October 10, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Wood Block Printing Patterns
September 12, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Origami Kimono Bookmarks
August 8 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Flowers and their Language
July 11 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Mumma and the Fauves
June 13, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Painting with Play-Doh
May 9, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Mumma’s Signature Portraits
April 14, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Ripped Landscapes
March 14, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Plant and Animal Motifs in Watercolor
February 14, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Relief Printing Valentine’s Cards
January 10, 2021 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Tablets
December 13, 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Chalk Murals
November 8, 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Painting on Wood
October 11, 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Create Your Own Zine
September 13, 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | DIY Watercolors
August 9, 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Eco Weaving
July 12, 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Mobiles
April 2020 | Virtual Free Family Funday | Botanical Printing
The Mennello Museum of American Art endeavors to preserve, exhibit, and interpret the Museum’s outstanding permanent collection of paintings by Earl Cunningham. The Museum also seeks to enrich the public through special exhibitions, publications, and programs that celebrate other outstanding traditional and contemporary American artists.
