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The Week in Germany: Culture April 13, 2007 The Jewel on Foxhall: How the Kreeger Combines Art, Music and Architecture, and Why DC is Hopping with Color in 2007!
Nestled amid tranquil woodlands just up the road from the German Embassy is "The Jewel on Foxhall", an oasis of calm that invites visitors to take in colorful canvasses by great artists in a sprawling and luminous stone complex. It was lovingly amassed by philanthropist David Lloyd Kreeger and his wife Carmen Kreeger. They enhanced their lives through both music and art, as reflected in their lyrical modern residence designed by noted American architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster expressly for this purpose. And they bequeathed it all to the world as a museum celebrating these twin passions. The Kreeger Museum opened its doors to the public in 1994. Off the beaten track of the National Mall, ringed by most of Washington's world-class museums, it is well worth a visit to connect with art, music and architecture in an unparalleled tranquil setting. The museum displays the Kreegers personal collection of European and American 19th- and 20th-century painting and sculpture alongside choice examples of traditional African and Asian sacred art. More than 180 works of art are displayed in the museum, including works by Monet, Van Gogh, Picasso, Braque, Cezanne, Léger as well as renowned American contemporaries Stella, Rosenquist, Still and Christenberry. This spring the Kreeger is encouraging an active participatory relationship between the arts and the nation's capital, starting with the exhibition GENE DAVIS: INTERVAL, which runs from April 14 to July 31. Gene Davis was one of Washington's most successful artists, best known for his paintings of vertical stripes. The exhibition showcases Davis as a major figure in the Washington Color School and is an integral part of ColorField remix, a citywide project involving over 30 venues. Kreeger Director Judy A. Greenberg recently told TWIG editor Karen Carstens
about the museum's mission and collection, and why DC will be "hopping
with color" from April to July.
TWIG: During a guided tour of the museum, one of your docents explained that Mr. Kreeger liked Picasso and Mrs. Kreeger liked Monet. Are there more of his favorite artists or hers in the collection? They purchased all their works together, so it was always a mutual decision. She definitely preferred "prettier pieces", however, like Monet and Sisley. It's often been said that if Mr. Kreeger had been given the opportunity it would have been a more adventuresome collection. But I think that it's a very harmonious collection, because it's purely personal taste. When someone is collecting with personal taste in mind, as opposed to for a museum where you want to fill all the gaps all the time, you get a different kind of collection. This is a collection because it spoke to them. As you walk through it you can see the colors, that there is a definite relationship with color throughout. There's a textural thing going on in a good portion of the works too. And that holds it together, that gives it unity. And of course there is a sequence, starting out in the 1850s, with some of the Barbizon painters, followed by Felix Ziem, who inspired many impressionists in the use of pure color. And then we move into the impressionists, the cubists and the surrealists. There's no doubt that when the Kreegers had a particular affinity for an artist, they collected more than one work - we have a number of Monets and Picassos, we have Sisleys, Bonnards, two Beckmanns and two Dubuffets. It's a mixture of what they both liked. Most of these works were revolutionary, and they purchased them together. So it's a wonderful collection ranging to about 1975. We also have a few pieces that were bought in the 1980s by artists from Washington. And there are a few contemporary pieces that were donated to us. TWIG: Is that what you would call the strength of the museum? What really sets this museum apart? This is the only museum that is located on five and a half wooded acres. It was designed by the renowned American architect Philip Johnson. He knew Mr. Kreeger was a collector. As a matter of fact that's why they hired Johnson - they knew he was a collector, and they wanted somebody who would be sensitive to their art. We have a few things that set us apart. I opened the museum in 1994. It had been a residence until then, so it had to be transformed into a museum, although much of the main level I left as the Kreegers had it, because I felt it was important to show that historical aspect. But I also knew that it was important for this museum to have its own identity in Washington. We're surrounded by mega-museums - the Smithsonian, the National Gallery of Art, an expanded Phillips Collection, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art. And I thought "how is this museum going to fit in so it really develops its own personality?" We did it by focusing on three things totally related to the founders. One was the fact that the Kreegers loved music and were very involved with the music community here - he was chairman of the board of the opera and of the national symphony, he played a stradivarius and hung out with a lot of musicians, so this was totally a part of their life and lifestyle. Hence the great hall was built, with these wonderful domes. The acoustics are outstanding there, so we stage many concerts in that hall and have continued this musical element. The collection speaks for itself, and we have developed programs, especially educational programs, for students to learn about the art and we bring artists in to do workshops with them. The third aspect is the architecture, and that's become just as important as the collection itself. When a docent gives a tour the architecture is included. I also like to combine artists and architects and have them enter into dialogue with one another. So that's how we differ, and it's very focused: We really continue with what our mission is - music, art and architecture. TWIG: How often do you mount special exhibitions?
I try to have an exhibition a year. The one that we have now is Gene Davis. We own a Gene Davis, so it made perfect sense to have a show of this artist's work. He really helped put Washington on the map as an artistic area, because he was part of the Washington Color School movement, which was very hot in the '60s and continued into the '70s. When we decided that we were going to do the Gene Davis show, I thought that it was time for Washington to pay homage to its roots, and the one recognized movement here was the Washington Color School. Now that was part of a larger movement which were Color Field artists - Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler - a number of very well-known artists came under that umbrella. The Washington Color School consisted of about five or six artists who worked in the same vein, focusing on pure color. They were getting away from what the abstract expressionists did in New York, which was very emotional painting, and using the brush and the stroke. What they did is isolate color. Color became their emotion, and a lack of a brushstroke. I thought that the rest of Washington should pay homage to this particular period in time, so I called every museum in Washington and said "you have holdings from this period". What we have finally accomplished is that over 30 venues are involved in this project. So it's not just us - the National Gallery is taking out work by Helen Frankenthaler, the Phillips Collection is putting together an exhibition having to do with color field artists, there's going to be a street painting on 8th Street which is a Gene Davis concept that was done many years ago. Galleries are also involved, some showing works by contemporary artists influenced by this particular point in time. So from April to the end of July, Washington is going to be hopping with color. In this sense, we are like "the little engine that could". We are tiny, but very exciting and we have the support of the other museums, which is great - and our community. Also, for a visitor, it's so tranquil here - you don't really have this environment in any other locale in Washington. This has a very spiritual quality to it. (Just then, a graceful white-tailed deer drifted by in the museums massive wooded "backyard", visible through a panel of sheer glass that forms an entire wall of Greenwood's office featuring abstract works of art against a chocolate-hued backdrop and the same calm quality that pervades the entire museum.) Docent-guided tours are given Tuesday through Friday at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm. Saturday hours are from 10 am to 4 pm, including tours at 10:30 am, 12 noon and 2 pm. Suggested donations are $8 per person, $5 for students and seniors. Visitors, including groups of up to 45, can make advance reservations by calling 202-338-3552. Parking is available on the museum grounds, and several taxi companies
serve the museum area, which is not situated near metro lines, although
there is a distant bus stop. For more information, send an email to visitorservice@kreegermuseum.org
or call 202-337-3050. Links: ColorField remix (information about all ColorField events in Washington) |
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