Tag Archives: Walter Von Nessen

Virtual Visits: The Art Institute of Chicago

1930 Illinois Central travel poster. Circa 1930 Illinois Central travel poster. Image from amazon.com.

 

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the largest and renowned art museums in the United States. Among its collection are some of the most famous paintings in the world. And no trip there is complete without seeing, George Seurat’s A Sunday of La Grande Jatte (1884-1886),

 

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, by George Seurat, from the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. A Sunday on La Grande Jatte, by George Seurat (1884-1886). In the Collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. Image from Wikipedia.

 

American Gothic, the 1930 painting by Grant Wood,

 

Grant Wood's 1930 painting, American Gothic, now part of the collection of the Art Institute of Chicago. American Gothic (1930), by Grant Wood. Image from Wikipedia.

 

and a personal favorite, the 1942 painting Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper.

 

The 1942 painting Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper. Nighthawks, Edward Hopper’s 1942 painting. Image from Wikipedia.

Former members of the Chicago Academy of Design founded The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts in 1879. That same year they acquired the assets of the Academy of Design at a bankruptcy auction. Changing their name to The Art Institute of Chicago in 1882 they also moved to a building on Michigan Avenue. Needing more space the institute built a new impressive building on the lot directly to the south in 1887. But with the coming of the Columbian Exposition in 1893, the art institute decided on a new home in Grant Park along Michigan Avenue. Constructed for the fair the Art Institute moved to their new and permanent home on October 31, 1893.

 

The 1893 building for the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago. Built for the 1893 World’s Fair in Grant Park. Image from Tripadvisor.

Now that we’ve seen some highlights, let’s start our virtual visit. I have to say that the Art Institute has one of the most user friendly websites of any museum. Here is the homepage where your “visit” begins at artic.edu.

 

Homepage for the Art Institute of Chicago. The Art Institute of Chicago homepage.

Once here, click the magnifying glass in the upper right. That will take you to this window.

 

The search page. The search page.

 

In the light gray box, I used Art Deco as my keyword search term. And here were my results.

 

The results of the Art Deco keyword search. The results of the Art Deco keyword search.

 

From here, scroll down to the middle of the page to see the collection items.

 

Art Deco Collection items. The start of the Art Institute’s Art Deco collection items.

 

As you can see, this search brought up a total of nearly 35,000 items. If this is too daunting a number (and not all of these are Deco items, this is bringing up any item with the words Art and Deco). There are ways to ratchet this search down. Click on “See all 34846 artworks”.

 

Using the filters to ratchet down the number of items in the search. Using filters to refine the search.

 

That will bring you to this window. On the left side of the screen there are filters to help refine the search. I keep “SORT” on relevance and move “DATE” to begin at 1900. Then click “OK”.

 

Results after refining the search using the built in filters. Results after refining the search using the built in filters.

 

This brought the search down to a reasonable 13,188 items. Now you can spend the next few hours enjoying some amazing Art Deco items and art works. Here are some of the items that caught Chris and my eyes.

 

Chris’s Picks

 

Protodeco Danish vase by Effie Hegermann-Lindencrone. Covered Vase (1916) by Effie Hegermann-Lindencrone.

 

KEM Weber arm chair (1928/1929) for the Grand Rapids Chair Company. KEM Weber arm chair (1928/1929) for the Grand Rapids Chair Company.

 

Deer and Hinds vase, 1924. 1924 Deer and Hinds vase by Boch Frères Keramis, designed by Charles Catteau.

 

Limoges vase, circa 1930. Limoges vase by Bernardaud & Co., circa 1930.

 

1925 Les Fontaines plate by Johnson Brothers. 1925 Les Fontaines plate by Johnson Brothers.

 

Anthony’s Picks

 

Carpet, made in France, circa 1925. Carpet, made in France, circa 1925.

 

Diana the Huntress, wall panel. André Marty wall panel of Diana the Huntress, 1925.

 

Skycraper Cabinet designed by Paul Frankl, 1927. Skycraper Cabinet designed by Paul Frankl, 1927.

 

Table Lamp by Walter von Nessen, 1930. 1930 Table Lamp by Walter von Nessen.

 

Casino Ware Tureen, 1932-1934. Casino Ware Tureen, Royal Doulton, 1932-1934.

 

And collection  item we both picked

 

Russel Wright spun aluminum and cork cocktail set, 1930. Cocktail Set Model 326 designed by Russel Wright in 1930.

 

These are only a very few of the many Art Deco items in the Art Institute of Chicago’s collection. Chicago is a city that Chris and I have only visited briefly once. It is full of Art Deco treasures, so I know we will be Driving for Deco there once the pandemic is no longer with us.

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)

 

 

 

Virtual Visits: Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art


Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art

As Chris mentioned in our last post, we are not Driving for Deco much right now. But it doesn’t mean we can’t “visit” some great museums. Thanks to the internet some of the best Art Deco collections are literally at our fingertips. One of the places at the top of our driving list is the Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art, in Denver, Colorado.

 

Vintage postcard of Denver Colorado.

VIntage Denver, Colorado postcard. Image from flickr.com.

The Kirkland Museum landed on our radar after being feature on The Antiques Road Show in 2010. Roadshow was there highlighting their very large collection of Ruba Rombic glass.

Vance Kirkland (1904 - 1981)

Vance Kirkland in front of his studio at 1311 Pearl Street, 1941. Photo courtesy of the Denver Public Library, Western History Collection, WH1062

In 1929, the University of Denver hired Kirkland to become their founding director of the School of Art. He only held the position for three years before resigning over a dispute with the University not granting credit for art courses toward graduation. Upon leaving the University he leased the Arts and Crafts style building at 1311 Pearl Street and opened the Kirkland School of Art in 1933. Classes he taught there were accredited by the University of Colorado. When he returned to the University of Denver as director of the School of Art in 1946, the Pearl Street building became his studio. Although he retired from academic life in 1969, Kirkland continue to paint up to his death in 1981. Being predeceased by his wife and having no children he will his estate to friend, Hugh A. Grant.

 

Hugh A. Grant

Hugh A. Grant, the Kirkland’s founding director and curator. Image from bonfils-stantonfoundation.org

 

 

 

Under Hugh A. Grant the founding director and curator, the museum started taking shape. Construction began in 1998 on a 8,830 square foot addition to the original studio for exhibition space and visitor amenities. Completed in 2000, the museum opened to the public in 2003.

 

Kirkland's original studio and the first home of the museum.

1311 Pearl Street. Vance Kirkland’s original studio and part of the museum’s first home. Image from kirklandmuseum.org.

 For thirteen years this was the home of the Kirkland Museum. The museum houses three primary collections:

1. International Decorative Arts, featuring objects from most of the major decorative movements between 1875 – 1990.

2. The Colorado / Regional Collection which includes over 7,000 works by 700 local artists.

3. Kirkland Retrospective highlighting his 55 years of paintings.

 

Using a salon-style to display collection items is somewhat unusual for museums. Instead of separating fine art from decorative art they are displayed together, much like in a home. And by placing furniture on the floor allows visitors to experience the pieces in their intended perspective.

 

The Art Deco Collection at the Pearl Street location.

The Art Deco collection as it was displayed at the Pearl Street location. Image from kirklandmuseum.org.

 

It only took less than a decade to realize a larger space would be needed. In 2016 construction began on the present museum. Because Kirkland’s studio was so integral to their identity it also made the move to its present location. At 1201 Bannock Street, in Denver’s Golden Triangle Creative District, the new Kirkland is more than four times the size of the original. The new building opened on March 10, 2018.

 

The new Kirkland Museum.

The Kirkland Museum at 1201 Bannock Street. Photo by Daniel Holton from Facebook.

 

Now that we’ve set the stage, here’s how to “visit” the Kirkland virtually. Start by going to the museum’s home page at kirklandmuseum.org.

 

Kirkland Museum's home page.

Home page at kirklandmuseum.org.

 

There are two ways to view the museum’s items: for in depth details about select pieces, select collections from the header. Then click on “SEARCH COLLECTION HIGHLIGHTS” from the drop down menu.

 

Choose search collection highlights.

Choose search collection highlights.

Once the “Collection Search” window pops up, type in “Art Deco” and hit enter.

Collection search window.

The Collection Search window.

 

 

Here are the results. To learn more about any of these items, just click on the photo.

Search collection results.

Results of “Search the Collection”.

 

I really love the black chair by Wolfgang Hoffmann. So to learn more about it, I’m going to click on its photo.

 

Wolfgang Hoffmann lounge chair.

Information about the Wolfgang Hoffmann, Art Deco lounge chair.

 

And here is a lot of great information about this item. Facts about the designer, when the chair dates from, its manufacturer, dimensions to what gallery it is on view in.  And when you are done with this slide, clicking on the “Art Deco” tab on top, will bring up even more great collection pieces.

Kirkland's Art Deco collection highlights.

Highlights of the Kirkland Museums Art Deco Collection.

It’s impossible for a museum to have all of its collection on display. But by going to a museum’s website one can see much more of the collection. I think the Kirkland Museum is an exception to this rule. It seems there’s a lot more of its Art Deco collection on display, than online. I found this out by “walking” through the museum on their virtual tour. To begin “click” on the “Explore our Virtual Exhibition Online!” window. That will take you to the page with the “Take a 360 Degree Virtual Tour!”

 

The start of the Kirkland Museum's virtual visit.

The “entrance” to the virtual tour on the Kirkland Museum’s Home page.

 

 

This works just like Google Street View, so click on the arrows and start to explore.

 

Kirkland Museum admission desk.

The Kirkland’s admission desk.

 

Here are some of the great Art Deco pieces I saw on my tour.

 

Display case of Art Deco, ceramics, metal and glass pieces.

Art Deco glass, ceramics and metal works.

 

This display case features ceramics by Viktor and Paul Schreckengost, Chase metal work including the Pretzel Man by Lurelle Guild and some wonderful glass items.

 

More Art Deco glass and ceramics, including Ruba Rombic.

More Art Deco glass and ceramics.

Here is another case chock full of Art Deco glass and ceramics. Not only do they have Reuben Haley’s Ruba Rombic glassware he designed for Consolidated Glass in 1928, there’s also his Ruba Rombic ceramics he made for Muncie Pottery. Also in the case are pieces in the Tearoom and Pyramid patterns by Indiana Glass. And in the lower right is Norman Bel Geddes’ Manhattan cocktail set (tray, shaker and two cups) for Revere.

 

Salon setting for larger pieces, including furniture and paintings.

Salon setting for furniture , accessories and paintings.

 

A few of the Deco standouts in this Salon Setting are, a teal and gold Skyscraper bookcase by Paul Frankl, circa 1927. There’s the Wolfgang Hoffmann lounge chair, a machine age Pattyn Products Company table lamp, circa 1935 attributed to Walter von Nessen. And a wonderful green leather and aluminum tube chair by Warren McArthur.

 

Another Kirkland Museum Salon Setting, with pieces by Gilbert Rohde, Walter von Nessen and Paul Frankl.

Another setting with a impressive pieces.

 

Aside from a couple of great chairs and a terrific rug, the standout in this grouping the sideboard. This is a piece designed in 1933 by Gilbert Rohde for the Herman Miller Furniture Company. Sitting on top is the Chase Coronet Coffee service, another von Nessen design. And all the way on the right of the case is Paul Fankl’s Modernique or Fifty Dollar clock (because that how much it cost in 1929) made by Telechron.

 

This was just the tip of the iceberg of their collection of over 4,400 pieces. So when it is really safe to travel and gather together once more, consider making the Kirkland Museum a place to visit. You might even see us there.

 

Exterior of the Kirkland Museum.

Exterior of the Kirkland Museum on Bannock Street. Photo by Wes Magyar, from kirklandmuseum.org.

 

Anthony & Chris – The Freakin”tiquen Guys.