2007

Lynda Benglis working on a commissioned project
involving poured pigmented latex for the
University of Rhode Island, Kingston, 1969.
Photo credit: Henry Groskinsky/Getty Images

The National Academy Museum presented High Times, Hard Times: New York Painting 1967-1975 bringing together over forty significant works by thirty-seven artists living and working in New York between 1967 and 1975. The groundbreaking works presented in this exhibition were created by painters who courageously crossed disciplines to take a nontraditional approach to the medium. High Times, Hard Times: New York Painting 1967-1975 was a traveling exhibition organized and circulated by Independent Curators International (iCI). The show was guest curatored by Katy Siegel with David Reed as advisor. The exhibition, tour, and catalogue were made possible, in part, with support from the Peter Norton Family Foundation, the Dedalus Foundation, Inc., the iCI International Associates, and the iCI Exhibition Partners, Kenneth S. Kuchin, and Gerrit and Sydie Lansing.

During the spring of 2007, the National Academy Museum mounted an installation of paintings, sculpture, and drawings from the permanent collection that charted the development of the human figure in American from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Featuring major works by George Henry Hall, William John Whittemore, Isabel Bishop, and Philip Pearlstein, Life School traced the progress of the figure over time from a classical ideal, to the individual body, to an abstracted form, and back again. The installation also highlighted the importance of the figure to the professional training of artists throughout the period.

William John Whittemore,
Charles C. Curran, 1888-1889,
oil on canvas, 17 x 21 in.  (1413-P)