Orlando, FL — March 9, 2017

We are excited to announce a few upcoming events at The Mennello Museum of American Art this month.

FREE FAMILY FUNDAY
Sunday, March 12  • 12 – 2:30 p.m.

Have a Rockwellian Good Time! Create your very own Saturday Evening Post cover just like Norman Rockwell, a great inspiration to Bo Bartlett and his compositions, subject matter, and American realism. And, join us for family-friendly docent touring throughout the day! The galleries will remain open until 4 p.m.

---

MOVIES AT THE MENNELLO
A monthly documentary film screening series

Join us at the museum each month for a featured documentary and opportunity to network with individuals in the community.
Admission: $5 for Guests, Free for Members

More movies to be added: mennellomuseum.org/moviesatthemennello

MARCH
Alice Neel
Wednesday, March 15 • 6 p.m.
(2007) 81 min. Portrait painter Alice Neel (1900-1984) was a self-described collector of souls who recorded her sitters on canvas through six decades of the 20th century, among them Andy Warhol, Bella Abzug, Allen Ginsberg and Annie Sprinkle. Neel always sought the “authentic”, moving from Greenwich Village to Spanish Harlem just as the Village was gaining reputation in the art scene. She sacrificed almost everything for her art, delving so far into the psyches of her sitters she would almost lose herself. Yet Neel was also a dedicated mother, raising two sons in the bohemian world she inhabited.
Filmmaker Andrew Neel, Alice Neel’s grandson, puts together the pieces of the painter’s life using intimate one-on-one interviews with Neel’s surviving family and personal archival video. The documentary explores the artist’s tumultuous biography and the legacy of Alice Neel’s determination to paint her era.

Upcoming films:

APRIL
Snow Hill
Wednesday, April 19 • 6 p.m.
(1995) 60 min. Snow Hill is the authorized documentary film of a lifetime about one of the greatest painters the world has ever known. A self portait of Andrew Wyeth, narrated by Stacy Keach and directed by long-time friend and mentee, Bo Bartlett. Bartlett incorporates Wyeth’s great works of art alongside family photographs, home movies, personal letters, never-before-seen footage of Mr. Wyeth and the first interview ever granted by famed model, Helga Testorf. This tremendously moving program lends a treasured and unforgettable insight into Andrew Wyeth’s very private world through his relationship with Bo Bartlett.
MAY
See
Wednesday, May 3 • 6 p.m.
(2013) 75 min. Artists Bo Bartlett and Betsy Eby set off to make a film about seeing. They travel the country, stumbling upon art sites, characters and luminaries. But then the unexpected happens, sending their adventure into unforeseen territory, and the clear becomes unclear. The visible world, a strain to see. A moving meditation, SEE delivers the beauty of America through the eyes of two artists, determined to see art in the everyday. The movie invites us to open our eyes anew and see the beauty and wonder in the world around us.

---

ARTIST TALK: ALICE AYCOCK
March 22  • 6 p.m.

Have you seen the incredible large-scale outdoor sculptures at our museum? Meet the artist behind them!

Join us for an artist talk with Alice Aycock on March 22. Enjoy a complimentary glass of champagne while Alice speaks about her influences and highlights of her work in sculpture and drawing over her career from the early 1970s to present.

Alice Aycock’s incredible large-scale sculptures are currently on view in our Marilyn L. Mennello sculpture garden as part of our Grounds for Exhibitions series. Stop by the museum today to see Aycock’s Waltzing Matilda and Twin Vortexes.

Admission 
Members: $5
Guests: $10

---

AN ARTFUL SUMMER: CAMP AT THE MUSEUM
Starting in June!

The Mennello Museum of American Art is hosting summer camp in June, and we invite students to explore art and be artful inside and outside of our museum! Our Summer Camp programs are led by professional artists who, in concert with educators, design and implement their own curriculum of exciting and unique art projects inspired by the exhibitions.

An Artful Summer: Camp at the Museum is open to elementary, middle and high school students looking to be inspired by our professional teaching artists to make unique, one-of-a-kind art projects that will ultimately be displayed right here at the museum on the final day of camp!

Summer Camp registration will begin soon. Space is limited so early registration is encouraged. Please check mennellomuseum.org/summercamp for more details, or follow us on Facebook for the latest news.

Sessions	Dates	Time	Grades
Session 1	June 6 – 9, 2017	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	1st – 2nd
	June 13 – 16, 2017	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	3rd – 5th
Session 2	June 20 – 23 2017	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	6th – 8th
	June 27 – 30, 2017	8 a.m. – 3 p.m.	9th – 12th

WE’RE LOOKING FOR SUMMER CAMP TEACHERS

The Mennello Museum is now hiring two Professional Teaching Artists  to teach two sessions of our June “An Artful Summer: Camp at the Museum” summer camp programs. Apply today to lead Elementary, Middle and High School students on an exploration of art inside and outside of The Mennello Museum.
Create your own curriculum, in guidance with our educator, to inspire your students to make unique, one-of-a-kind art projects that will culminate in a student art display on the final day of camp inside the museum!

Please submit your (1) cover letter, (2) application, (3) session date preference, and (4) a curriculum proposal to Katherine Navarro at kpagemennello@gmail.com by March 20, 2017 at 5 p.m.

Download the application.

---

BO BARTLETT: AMERICAN ARTIST
On view now through May 7

The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to present the solo exhibition BO BARTLETT: AMERICAN ARTIST.  The exhibition presents large-scale oil paintings that are figurative, psychologically imbued, beautifully rendered, and wonderfully sublime by one of the most significant Realist painters of his generation.

BO BARTLETT: AMERICAN ARTIST is organized by The Mennello Museum of American Art and curated by Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director, The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando.  It is organized concurrently with The Orlando Museum of Art’s presentation of the exhibition The Wyeths and American Artist in Maine: Selections from the Farnsworth Art Museum.  This occasion provides the opportunity to follow a distinctive American art history, an artistic legacy and trajectory that continues, and one that is so compelling in Bartlett’s astonishing oeuvre.  This connective examination yields the rare opportunity to position a contemporary artists’ work in the context of his predecessors and peers working in the long-standing tradition of American realism.  Bo Bartlett keeps realism relevant and narrative enthralling in contemporary art discourse.

More information: www.mennellomuseum.org/bo-bartlett-american-artist/

---

RECIPROCAL DISCOUNT PARTNERSHIP WITH ORLANDO MUSEUM OF ART

20% off admission for members and visitors

For a limited time only, members of The Mennello Museum of American Art or Orlando Museum of Art can enjoy 20% off admission to both museums in celebration of Bo Bartlett: American Artist and The Wyeths and American Artists in Maine: Selections from the Collection of the Farnsworth Art Museum. Become a member today and support two extraordinary museums while being immersed in the inspiration Maine has offered American artists.

Visitors to the Orlando Museum of Art can save their receipt dated 1/27/17 or later, and receive 20% off admission to The Mennello Museum of American Art. The Mennello Museum of American Art will also offer 20% off admission to those visiting the Orlando Museum of Art with a receipt dated 1/27/17 or later. Members from both museums can also receive the discount by showing their membership cards.

Exclusions apply, discounts are valid 1/27/17 to 4/23/17. Cannot be combined with other offers. Not accepted for special events or public programs. Applies to Adult, Senior or Student admission tickets. 

Questions? Please call: 407.246.4278

 

The Mennello Museum of American Art, established in November 1998, is owned and operated by the City of Orlando. This intimate cultural gem located in Loch Haven Cultural Park, is just minutes from downtown Orlando, and is housed in what was once the private home of Howard Phillips, son of local philanthropist Dr. P. Phillips. Among the Mennello Museum’s many treasures is the permanent collection of paintings by self-taught artist Earl Cunningham (1893-1977), which was generously donated from the collection of Michael A. Mennello and Marilyn Logsdon Mennello.

On view now through May 7, BO BARTLETT: AMERICAN ARTIST. This exhibition presents large-scale oil paintings that are figurative, psychologically imbued, beautifully rendered, and wonderfully sublime by one of the most significant American Realist painters of his generation.

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

 

mennellomuseum.org · facebook.com/mennellomuseum
instagram.com/mennellomuseum · twitter.com/mennellomuseum

 

The Mennello Museum of American Art is 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.

 

---

 

Download this press release.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113 

 

Orlando, FL — February 10, 2017

The Mennello Museum of American Art is collaborating with The Orlando Museum of Art and offering a discount to visitors from both museums. Show your ticket/receipt from The Mennello Museum or Orlando Museum of Art any time through April 23, 2017, and receive a 20% discount off of general admission to either institution. Applies to Adult, Senior or Student admission tickets. Members from both museums can also receive the discount by showing their membership cards. Excludes Antiques Vintage & Garden Show weekend, February 17-19, 2017. Tickets need to be dated 1/27/17 or later. Exclusions apply.

Currently on view at The Mennello Museum: Bo Bartlett: American Artist. On view at OMA: The Wyeths and American Artists in Maine.

January 27 – April 23, 2017

Mennello Museum of American Art Hours:
Tuesday-Saturday: 10:30am-4:30pm
Sunday: 12-4pm
Closed Mondays and Major Holidays

Orlando Museum of Art Hours:
Tuesday-Friday: 10am – 4pm
Saturday-Sunday: 12-4pm
Closed Monday and Major Holidays

Mennello Museum of American Art | 900 E Princeton St. | Orlando, FL 32803
Orlando Museum of Art | 2416 N. Mills Ave. | Orlando, FL 32803

---

The Mennello Museum of American Art, established in November 1998, is owned and operated by the City of Orlando. This intimate cultural gem located in Loch Haven Cultural Park, is just minutes from downtown Orlando, and is housed in what was once the private home of Howard Phillips, son of local philanthropist Dr. P. Phillips. Among the Mennello Museum’s many treasures is the permanent collection of paintings by self-taught artist Earl Cunningham (1893-1977), which was generously donated from the collection of Michael A. Mennello and Marilyn Logsdon Mennello.

On view now through May 7, BO BARTLETT: AMERICAN ARTIST. This exhibition presents large-scale oil paintings that are figurative, psychologically imbued, beautifully rendered, and wonderfully sublime by one of the most significant American Realist painters of his generation.

The Mennello Museum is located at 900 E. Princeton Street, Orlando, FL 32803.

mennellomuseum.org · facebook.com/mennellomuseum
instagram.com/mennellomuseum · twitter.com/mennellomuseum

              

The Mennello Museum of American Art is 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.

---

Download this media alert.

Francesca Ascione
Marketing & Graphic Design Coordinator
The Mennello Museum of American Art and Public Art, City of Orlando
francesca.ascione@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4113 

October 10, 2016

The Mennello Museum of American Art is pleased to announce our 2016 Fall Exhibitions featuring three extraordinary women sculptors: Alice Aycock, Deborah Butterfield and Barbara Sorensen. Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director, states: “We are delighted to present three outstanding American sculptors whose work powerfully explores materials and process in three different compelling ways to contemplate nature and the environment ranging from wind, earth, mountains, water and horses. Nationally renowned artists Alice Aycock and Deborah Butterfield push boundaries in scale, human perception and grace in aluminum, bronze, fiberglass and found scrap metal that awe. In addition, Orlando and

Shannon Fitzgerald, Executive Director, states: “We are delighted to present three outstanding American sculptors whose work powerfully explores materials and process in three different compelling ways to contemplate nature and the environment ranging from wind, earth, mountains, water and horses. Nationally renowned artists Alice Aycock and Deborah Butterfield push boundaries in scale, human perception and grace in aluminum, bronze, fiberglass and found scrap metal that awe. In addition, Orlando and Aspen-based artist Barbara Sorensen creates works in clay and aluminum that beautifully explore both the fragility and forces of our earthen elements.” She continues: “This season is a celebration of women sculptors who have, for decades, significantly contributed to the still largely male-dominate field of sculpture in monumental ways.

Please join Mayor Buddy Dyer in celebration of the opening of Three American Sculptors. The City of Orlando, Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art, The Mennello Museum Board of Trustees together with Shannon Fitzgerald, invite you to celebrate the work of Alice Aycock, Deborah Butterfield and Barbara Sorensen on October 14.

Preview & Opening Reception
Friday, October 14, 2016

Member Preview: 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Free members-only event

Public Opening Reception: 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.
Free for members | $5 for Visitors

Culinary delights by Ruth’s Chris Steak House, signature drinks by Hanson’s Shoe Repair and music by Fox Force 005.

Alice Aycock: Waltzing Matilda and Twin Vortexes
Grounds for Exhibitions− Inaugural Outdoor Exhibitions Series
September 2016 through September 2017

The Mennello Museum inaugurates Grounds for Exhibitions with two large-scale works by American sculptor Alice Aycock installed in the Marilyn L. Mennello Sculpture Garden. The beautiful twin works, Waltzing Matilda and Twin Vortexes were originally part of series of seven sculptures in Aycock’s significant outdoor exhibition on Park Avenue in Manhattan entitled Park Avenue Paper Chase. Grounds for Exhibition features year long large-scale sculpture exhibitions by nationally renowned American artists who otherwise would not be shared with Orlando audiences.

Shannon Fitzgerald states: “It is thrilling to inaugurate this outdoor exhibition program with such beautiful work by Alice Aycock, one of America’s most recognized and respected sculptors of her generation. I think visitors will delight in experiencing the stunning sculptures nestled in our lakeside landscape that challenges perspective, materiality, whimsy, and nature—in all its power and fragility. She continues: “This is an extraordinary opportunity for our community to contemplate the vital role art has and the impact it can have when shared in the Public realm.”

Deborah Butterfield: Horses from Florida Collections
October 14, 2016 – January 8, 2017

The horse for Deborah Butterfield serves as a metaphoric self-portrait – it represents the embodiment of historic and deeply ingrained feelings of strength, beauty and an inherent spirituality. The horse can transport us from place to place and from realm to realm; since prehistory it has remained one of the most constant images created by human beings. Her work is a combination of abstraction and reality. Butterfield has sculpted horses from many materials including mud and sticks, copper, scrap metal, and cast bronze. She creates sculptures that are strong, grand—yet always gentle—representing grace, gesture, solitude, and beauty.

Barbara Sorensen: Recent Acquisitions & New Work
October 14, 2016 – January 8, 2017

The Mennello Museum of American Art is delighted to share with the community recent acquisitions from celebrated artist Barbara Sorensen. Based in Orlando and Aspen, Sorensen has long been inspired by nature and the diverse materiality of our every changing environment. Michael A. Mennello has followed Sorensen’s career for over thirty years, has acquired work for his personal collection, purchased work and donated it to Orlando Museum of Art, and is now gifting 14 major pieces to the Mennello Museum of American Art in honor of Marilyn L. Mennello. For this acquisition highlight exhibition, Sorensen is also creating a new, site-specific installation that continues her experimentation with materials, movement and form as located in nature and constantly shifting, in undulating rhythm, pattern and palette.

Shannon Fitzgerald states: “Barbara Sorensen creates work in clay and aluminum that beautifully explores both the dynamism and force of nature, but also its calm and quietude that remain in and outside time. We are thrilled also by the opportunity to unveil a new body of work entitled Ripples created this summer in her mountainside studio specifically for our space. It will inspire and surprise!”

Note: All dates are subject to change.

2015 Exhibitions

The “Storytellers of the South: Voices of Women” series continues through 2015.

Standing Strong in the Spirit: Selections of Folk Art by Southern Women
June 26 – September 27, 2015
Drawing from public and personal collections, this exhibit starts from a historical perspective, with pieces by master folk artists such as Nellie Mae Rowe and Clementine Hunter. A fresh perspective is added by new artists coming from a folk tradition, including Lucy Hunnicutt and Laurie Popp, among others. Come see a variety of artistic media, from traditional painting and sculpture to textiles and found-object sculpture. This exhibition teams three curators: Jeanine Taylor of Jeanine Taylor Folk Art gallery in Sanford; Frank Holt, executive director of the Mennello Museum; and Genevieve Bernard, curator of education for the Mennello Museum.

Baskets & Boxes: The Ceramic World of Sang Roberson
June 26 – September 27, 2015
Sang Roberson’s work is greatly influenced by her love of nature and organic forms. She grew up in the Mississippi Delta surrounded by natural beauty and her goal is to re-create the simple, serene shapes of nature in her terracotta art. Roberson has exhibited at the Smithsonian Craft Show and in galleries and museums throughout the U.S., as well as in Europe and South America. She is recipient of an NEA fellowship.

Mary Whyte: Portrait of Us
October 16, 2015 – January 3, 2016
Watercolor artist Mary Whyte is a teacher and author whose figurative paintings have earned national recognition. A resident of Johns Island, S.C., Whyte garners much of her inspiration from the Gullah descendants of coastal Carolina slaves. Her portraits are included in numerous corporate, private, university and museum collections and have been featured in a variety of national and international publications and on CBS Sunday Morning. The Mennello Museum will include a series of iPad installations throughout the gallery to allow visitors to listen to audio recordings collected by Whyte that share stories behind her work. In cooperation with Coleman Fine Art, Charleston, S.C.

2016 Exhibitions

Celebrating the unique indoor and outdoor artistic treasures of the museum and its lakeside Sculpture Garden, The Mennello Museum of American Art will present the “Inside/Out: Steel, Paper, Bronze” series throughout 2016. Through exhibitions and programming, the MMAA welcomes visitors to discover and interact with the sculptural and natural outdoor amenities of the museum as well as the museum’s distinctive indoor exhibitions.

January 15−April 10, 2016
Albert Paley: Forging Sculpture 1979-2015
Forging steel in a form of plasticity and pliability, internationally renowned metal artist Albert Paley deals with the transformational change of the material through tapering, swaging, splitting, upsetting and punching. The result is sculpture developed of organic form analogous to processes seen in nature, such as the development of organic form in response to gravity with the emphasis on transition through the quality of line. This exhibition incorporates recent works Paley has completed in the forged process alongside earlier pieces and drawings. Included in this exhibition are several sculptures completed at Steneby, The School of Craft and Design at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and other smaller works that exemplify his mastery of the forged technique. Exquisite drawings completed for finished works show the depth of his process, taking the idea from two to three dimensions. Paley’s use of steel can be described as industrial poetry: His large sculptures “Interlace” and “Star” stand in the museum’s Sculpture Garden, dedicated in the memory of the late founder, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello.

May 6−August 14, 2016
Pop Art Prints
Pop Art took the American art scene by storm approximately 50 years ago. When New York dealer Leo Castelli first showed Pop Art in his gallery in 1962, it was embraced by the audience who responded to the familiar subjects — flat forms, bright colors and sly commentaries made on the mass culture of the era. Printmaking was an ideal medium for the Pop artists. The commercial techniques of screen printing and lithography were well suited to reproducing the magazine, newspaper and comic-strip images favored by many of the artists. From the commercial viewpoint of the galleries, print editions made this imagery more affordable to a large audience that wanted to buy the art.

Pop Art Prints presents a selection of 37 prints from the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s permanent collection. The installation includes works from primarily the 1960s by Allan D’Arcangelo, Jim Dine, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Roy Lichtenstein, Claes Oldenburg, Mel Ramos, Robert Rauschenberg, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol and Tom Wesselmann. The installation is part of a series that highlights objects from the Smithsonian’s collection that are rarely on public view. This exhibition will be the first of only three museum engagements. The prints on display were selected by Joann Moser, deputy chief curator. Pop Art Prints is organized by the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The C.F. Foundation in Atlanta supports the museum’s traveling exhibition program, Treasures to Go.

October 14−January 8, 2017
Deborah Butterfield: Horses
An enormously popular American artist, Deborah Butterfield’s work first gained wide notice at the 1979 Whitney Biennial. Since that time horses have been the single focus of her work for more than 30 years. The museum will feature works in welded metal, bronze, clay and wood and will show an evolution of her materials and scale. Working with natural materials, Butterfield creates works that are both fragile and at the same time full of strength. It is her intent to have the viewer consider that the horse is mankind’s most reliable, and yet mysterious ally. Butterfield’s sculptures convey the sense of movement, weight, energy and volume found in the horses that she lives with on her Montana ranch. The exhibition will include loans from Florida museums and private collections to include the Museum of Fine Arts, Florida State University; The Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida; the L.A. Louver Gallery, Venice, CA; and the Collection of Michael A. Mennello.

Events

Friday, June 26th, 6-8 p.m.
Opening Reception for “Standing in the Spirit: Selections of Folk Art by Southern Women” and “Baskets and Boxes: The Ceramic World of Sang Roberson”
Admission is $5, and free to MMAA members. Exhibition continues through September 27.

Sunday, July 12th
Free Family Day on the Second Sunday
The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, July 28th, 6 p.m.
$5, free to MMAA members
Gallery Talk with Jeanine Taylor
The owner of Jeanine Taylor Folk Art Gallery in Sanford was co-curator of Standing in the Spirit: Selections of Folk Art by Southern Women, and she shares her wealth of knowledge and passion about the folk artists represented in the exhibition.

Sunday, August 9th
Free Family Day on the Second Sunday
The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Tuesday, August 18th, 6 p.m.
$5, free to MMAA members
Collector’s Talk with CJ Williams
Join CJ Williams to hear more about the folk art pieces he loaned from his collection for Standing in the Spirit: Selections of Folk Art by Southern Women.

Sunday, September 13th
Free Family Day on the Second Sunday
The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, September 26th, 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live!
Visit the Smithsonian Magazine’s Museum Day Live! website to download a ticket for you plus a guest to visit the Mennello Museum at no charge on this one-day annual promotion.

October 2, 2015
Fall Fashion Show presented by The Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort 10100 Dream Tree Blvd. Lake Buena Vista, FL 32836 Annual lunch and fashion show to benefit The Mennello Museum of American Art.

Sunday, October 11th
Free Family Day on the Second Sunday
The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m. Friday,

October 16th, 6-8 p.m.
$5, free to MMAA members
Opening Reception for “Mary Whyte: A Portrait of Us” Exhibition continues through January 3, 2016.

Saturday, October 17th, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Included with admission; free to MMAA members
Gallery Tours with Mary Whyte Visiting from South Carolina, watercolor artist Mary Whyte leads two tours, at 11 a.m. and at 1 p.m., of her exhibition “Mary Whyte: A Portrait of Us,” which continues through January 3, 2016.

Sunday, November 8th
Free Family Day on the Second Sunday
The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 13th
Free Family Day on the Second Sunday
The make-and-take craft table is open from noon-2:30 p.m., and docents are available to give mini-tours of the museum. Then it’s open house in the galleries until 4:30 p.m.

Friday, January 15th , 2016, 6-8 p.m.
Opening Reception: Albert Paley: Forging Sculpture 1979-2015
$5, free to MMAA members Exhibition continues through April 10.

Saturday, February 13th , 2016, noon-5 p.m.
Indie-Folkfest at the Mennello Museum
Free admission
Last year’s debut Indie-Folkfest put a twist on our traditional Orlando Folk Festival turning it into a Valentine’s Day-themed family folk picnic that features local music, art and food. We partnered with East End Market for food, Joseph Martens for the music lineup, as well as local bars to throw a fun-filled picnic in the beautiful Sculpture Garden of The Mennello Museum of American Art. Approximately 3,000 guests – including plenty of dogs and kids – spread out picnic blankets, made Valentine cards and enjoyed a daylong lineup of music against the backdrop of Lake Formosa in the winter sunshine. Join us for the second annual day dedicated to Music + Art + Picnic + Love.

February 27, 2016
13th Annual Evening With Fabulous Friends Gala, presented by The Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art
Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort 10100 Dream Tree Blvd. Lake Buena Vista, FL 32836 The elegant annual dinner and auction benefits The Mennello Museum of American Art.

Sunday, March 13 th, 2016, 2 p.m.
Artist Talk: Albert Paley
$5, free to MMAA members Internationally renowned metal artist Albert Paley talks about the works in his new traveling exhibition: Albert Paley: Forging Sculpture 1979-2015. Exhibition continues through April 10.

Friday, May 6, 2016, 6-8 p.m.
Opening Reception: Pop Art Prints
$5, free to MMAA members. Exhibition continues through August 14.

October 14, 2016, 6-8 p.m.
Opening Reception: Deborah Butterfield: Horses
$5, free to MMAA members. Exhibition continues through January 8, 2017.

Contact: Lindy.Shepherd@cityoforlando.net
407.246.4278, ext. 4860

Images sent: Photograph: Mary Whyte by Jack Alterman Artworks: “Aspen Leaf,” 2014, watercolor on paper and “Graffiti,” 2008, watercolor on paper; both on loan from Coleman Fine Art.

• Mary Whyte: A Portrait of Us
  October 16th, 2015 through January 3rd, 2016
  Watercolor artist Mary Whyte also is a teacher and author whose figurative paintings have earned national recognition. A resident of Johns Island, S.C., Whyte garners much of her inspiration from the Gullah descendants of coastal Carolina slaves. Her portraits are included in numerous corporate, private, university and museum collections and have been featured in a variety of national and international publications. Her work can be found at Coleman Fine Art in Charleston, S.C., where her husband, Smith Coleman, makes gilded and hand-carved frames.
• Join us for the opening reception with Mary Whyte as our special guest Friday, October 16th, from 6 to 8 p.m., $5, MMAA members free.
• The following day, Mary Whyte will lead tours through her exhibition. Saturday, October 17th, 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., included with admission, MMAA members free.

In Mary Whyte’s new exhibition at The Mennello Museum of American Art, the spirit of our country is presented in the artist’s provocative watercolors of everyday people. Using broad washes of vibrant watercolor coupled with focused areas of intricate detail, Whyte brings to life the expression, perseverance and character of a nation’s citizenry. From Whyte’s paintings of her African-American neighbors in South Carolina to her depictions of weathered farmers and laborers of the Midwest, the artist tells the story of an American people that is contemporary, candid and often moving.

Mary Whyte: A Portrait of Us is the final exhibition in the museum’s yearlong “Storytellers of the South: Voices of Women” series of exhibitions.

When Whyte’s paintings are exhibited together, the viewer is offered a rare glimpse into the artist’s private world. Here are the folks Whyte has met along the way and has gotten to know. The result is the feeling that we have ventured into a family reunion, and are surrounded by faces that feel familiar to us. We are drawn in, and become witness to not only to our universal commonality, but also to the life and work of an accomplished artist.

Whyte’s paintings have earned international recognition and are held in numerous private, corporate and museum collections. She is the author of several books, including Working South, Down Bohicket Road and Painting Portraits and Figures in Watercolor. In 2013 the biography of her life and work by Martha Severens, More Than a Likeness: The Enduring Art of Mary Whyte was published by University of South Carolina Press.

Interviews with Mary Whyte are available through Coleman Fine Art, 79 Church St., Charleston, SC, 29401 (843) 853-7000. www.marywhyte.com www.colemanfineart.com

ABOUT THE MENNELLO MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART
Owned and operated by the City of Orlando, 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.

The Mennello Museum is located in Loch Haven Cultural Park, at 900 E. Princeton St., Orlando, FL, 32803. Museum hours are 10:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, noon- 4:30 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $5 adults, $4 seniors, $1 students with ID, $1 children ages 6-18, free to children ages 5 and younger, free to active military with ID. Follow the museum on Twitter and Facebook. Museum information: (407) 246-4278. Website: www.mennellomuseum.com.

The “Storytellers of the South: Voices of Women” series of exhibitions are sponsored by the City of Orlando and The Friends of the Mennello Museum of American Art with funding from Orange County Government through the Arts & Cultural Affairs Program. The Mennello Museum is supported by United Arts of Central Florida, host of power2give.org/ centralflorida and the collaborative Campaign for the Arts.