The Toledo Museum of Art (TMA) Apollo Society will celebrate its 25th anniversary with “Inspired Giving: The Apollo Society’s 25th Anniversary Exhibition,” which will feature the 47 pieces donated to the museum by the society in the past 25 years as well as an additional 17 pieces donated by society members during that time.

“Patrons will be stupefied at how much and the quality of the works of art that have been donated,” said Lawrence Nichols, the exhibition’s curator. Nichols also serves as TMA’s William Hutton curator of European and American painting and sculpture before 1900. “The giving is on par with the collection that the museum has done on its own. It’s not one century, one region or one medium; the collection is in all areas the museum collects.”

Georgia Welles

While the pieces have been on display throughout the museum since they were donated, the artwork has only once been grouped together as an exhibit when the society was celebrating its 10th anniversary, Nichols said. Since that time a number of works have been acquired.

Artworks from the society range from Greek gold of the 4th century to contemporary works of art and the curators designed the exhibit to be a visual experience, Nichols said.

“I find this a great virtue of the collection, it makes a forced juxtaposition. A photograph next to gold jewelry, porcelain works next to a sculpture,” he said. “The installation is thrilling.”

The Apollo Society was founded by Georgia Welles and her late husband David as a way for museum members to be part of the selection process for artwork entering TMA’s collection.

Each year a different curator from the museum presents works of art the museum hopes to acquire to the Apollo Society and members vote which piece or pieces to purchase for TMA.

“I’m very proud that the members in the second year chose Chuck Close’s painting of Alex Katz. It’s a painting that has stood the test of time and which we would never have been able to purchase in this day and age,” said Georgia Welles, chairwoman for the Apollo Society.

Additional pieces purchased by the society include a 15th century Tibetan seated Buddha, a 250-150 BC diadem, the painting “Bonchurch, Isles of Wight” by Jasper Francis Cropsey and most recently the painting “Landscape Near Cava” by Achille Etna Michallon.

The exhibit opens Oct. 15 and runs through Feb. 13 in the Canaday Gallery.

On Oct. 15, the museum will host the Apollo Encounter, a free event to teach participants about how the Apollo Society selects works of art. Curators will present artwork and then the audience will participate in a mock vote.

“The event is really important because we want the public to understand how the Apollo Society works,” Welles said.

Reservations are required for the Apollo Encounter. To register, call (419) 255-8000 ext. 7432. Membership in the Apollo Society is open to members of the TMA at the president council level, Welles said.

TMA is open Tuesdays to Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Admission to the museum is free. For more information, visit the TMA website at www.toledomuseum.org.

Tags: Apollo Society, Georgia Welles, Lawrence Nichols, Toledo Museum of Art

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 5th, 2010 at 9:55 am and is filed under Star, Toledo Museum of Art.
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