Contact: Mike Horyczun Director of Public Relations (203) 413-6735 For Immediate Release June 17, 2009 BRUCE MUSEUM, 1 MUSEUM DRIVE, GREENWICH, CT Ongoing and Upcoming Exhibitions Through September 6, 2009 Masterpieces of European Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce The Bruce Museum’s major summer exhibition features selected works from the Museo de Arte de Ponce (MAP), located in Ponce, Puerto Rico, which is undergoing a major renovation and expansion of its site and is temporarily closed. The exhibition includes works by Francisco de Goya, Peter Paul Rubens, Anthony van Dyck, Philippe de Champaigne, James Tissot, and Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida, and brings together over thirty five iconic works from the collection’s Italian, French, Dutch, Flemish, Spanish, German, and Austrian schools of painting. Spanning the 14th through the early 20th centuries, many of the works in this touring exhibition have never been exhibited outside of Puerto Rico. Through July 5, 2009 Illuminating the Sea: The Marine Paintings of James E. Buttersworth, 1817-1894 Paintings in the exhibition will span the entire career of James Edward Buttersworth (1817-1894), who has long been recognized as a premier marine artist distinguished by his story-telling prowess and meticulous attention to detail with the brush and pallet. Organized by Mystic Seaport, this exhibition features approximately 28 paintings and includes scale models of two American Cup ships.. Through September 27, 2009 Focus on Color: The Photography of Jeannette Klute From landscapes to intimate “woodland portraits” of orchids, ferns, and trees, Jeannette Klute’s groundbreaking color photographs of New England are vibrant compositions produced through the labor intensive dye transfer process. Approximately 30 images from the Bruce Museum’s permanent collection are on view. The exhibition is supported by the Charles M. and Deborah G. Royce Exhibition Fund. Please note that this exhibition is held in the Bantle Lecture Gallery, which may be closed for viewing due to programs taking place. Please call ahead or check the website for non-viewing times. Through July 26, 2009 Digging for Dinosaurs Discover where to look for dinosaurs, how to uncover their fossil remains, and what the fossils reveal about these “terrible lizards.” Imagine being a paleontologist as you explore fossil and rock specimens, scrape away matrix to free cast dinosaur bones, and view expedition images. - more - -2- July 25, 2009 - October 18, 2009 The Mouse House: Art from the Olga HIrshhorn Collection The small-scale collection of one of Greenwich’s most intriguing native daughters, Olga Hirshhorn, will be on view this summer. These artworks include sculptures by August Rodin, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Man Ray, Alberto Giacometti, David Smith, Louise Nevelson, and Barbara Hepworth, and paintings and works on paper by Sonia Delaunay, Salvador Dalí, Max Weber, Willem de Kooning, Larry Rivers, and Saul Steinberg. Olga is the widow of famed art collector Joseph H. Hirshhorn, who together with his wife founded the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden that opened on the Mall in our nation’s capitol in 1974. To facilitate her regular visits to Washington, Olga acquired a small town house comprised of only 600 square feet that had been converted from a garage built in 1900 for an electric car. The diminutive residence was not named for its mouse-like scale but because it sat in the shadow of the mansion The Argyle House next door, which features a statue of a cat on its roof. The Bruce Museum’s exhibition team will seek to evoke some of the original architecture and character of this home. The show also will have a related, pendant exhibition beginning in August, devoted to Olga Hirshhorn’s collection of ceremonial African gold jewelry. August 8, 2009 – November 8, 2009 West African Gold Ornaments from the Olga Hirshhorn Collection Former Greenwich native Olga Hirshhorn, née Olga Zatorsky to working class Ukrainian immigrants, grew up in Greenwich and has reminisced, “Bruce Park was my playground, and the Bruce Museum was my classroom.” She married famed art collector Joseph H. Hirshhorn, and together they founded the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. in 1974. An exhibition of her West African gold ornaments, comprised of about 90 pieces, will be on view and consist of finely wrought works of gold depicting human faces and animals made by the Baule people, who now inhabit parts of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, in West Africa. September 26, 2009 - January 3, 2010 Alchemy: Magic, Myth or Science? Paintings, engravings, artifacts and natural history specimens illustrate the history and influence of the ancient discipline of alchemy on modern science. The exhibition is organized by the Bruce Museum and is a registered resource for the Year of Science 2009 sponsored by the Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science. Alexander Calder: Printmaker October 31, 2009 – January 31, 2010 One of America’s best-known sculptors, Alexander Calder became famous for his kinetic abstract mobiles. However, he was a prolific producer in all facets of art and design including the creation of hundreds of etching and lithograph prints throughout his long career. This exhibition will focus on Calder as printmaker showcasing twenty eight of his fine art prints along with several watercolor paintings and small pieces of sculpture that visually relate to the prints on exhibition. Several prints in the exhibition will clearly illustrate the connections between Calder’s graphic work and his better-known sculptural works. ___________________________________________________________________________________ The Bruce Museum is located at 1 Museum Drive in Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. General admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and students, and free for children under five and Bruce Museum members. Free admission to all on Tuesdays. The Museum is located near Interstate-95, Exit 3, and a short walk from the Greenwich, CT, train station. Museum hours are: Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., and closed Mondays and major holidays. Groups of eight or more require advance reservations. Museum exhibition tours are held Fridays at 12:30 p.m. Free, on-site parking is available. The Bruce Museum is accessible to individuals with disabilities. For information, call the Bruce Museum at (203) 869-0376, or visit the Bruce Museum website at www.brucemuseum.org. *****