A Panorama of Pittsburgh
at the Frick through 10/5
Learn about Pittsburgh's past by viewing more than 130 printed views of the city.
Meissonier masterpiece
now on view at the Frick
1806, Jena is on view at the Frick through May 31, 2009.
This Sunday is
RADical Day at the Frick
Visit the Frick on 10/5 for a full day of activities and fun!
Rob Rogers discusses
political cartooning on 10/12
The Post-Gazette's award-winning editorial cartoonist will discuss his experiences covering the 2008 presidential campaign and conventions.
Music for Exhibitions
begins new season 11/18
Join Katherine Soroka and Chatham Baroque for an evening of memorable music.
View photos from the 2008 H. C. Frick Horseless Carriage Tour
Twenty-six teams of drivers made it a day of fun.
Sign up for the
Frick e-newsletter
Each month, receive the latest information about exhibitions; programs for adults, families, children, and teachers; events; specials at The Café and the Museum Shop; and more.
at the Frick through 10/5
Learn about Pittsburgh's past by viewing more than 130 printed views of the city.
Meissonier masterpiece
now on view at the Frick
1806, Jena is on view at the Frick through May 31, 2009.
This Sunday is
RADical Day at the Frick
Visit the Frick on 10/5 for a full day of activities and fun!
Rob Rogers discusses
political cartooning on 10/12
The Post-Gazette's award-winning editorial cartoonist will discuss his experiences covering the 2008 presidential campaign and conventions.
Music for Exhibitions
begins new season 11/18
Join Katherine Soroka and Chatham Baroque for an evening of memorable music.
View photos from the 2008 H. C. Frick Horseless Carriage Tour
Twenty-six teams of drivers made it a day of fun.
Sign up for the
Frick e-newsletter
Each month, receive the latest information about exhibitions; programs for adults, families, children, and teachers; events; specials at The Café and the Museum Shop; and more.
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July 29, 2006 - October 8, 2006 |
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On July 29, 2006, the Frick Art & Historical Center presents an exhibition of stunning works by artists of the Pre-Raphaelite movement. Organized and circulated by Art Services International, Alexandria, Virginia, the exhibition is drawn from the Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, which houses the most significant collection of Pre-Raphaelite art outside of the United Kingdom. The exhibition will be on view at The Frick Art Museum through October 8, 2006. Including close to 130 examples of oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, ceramics, jewelry, and furniture, Waking Dreams: The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites from the Delaware Art Museum explores the Pre-Raphaelite movement as practiced by its most important members. The collection spans most of the Victorian period, opening with the young Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s (1828–1882) 1848 practice work as a student of Ford Madox Brown (1821–1893) and extending to several paintings completed by Edward Burne-Jones (1833–1898) just before his death in 1898. This extraordinary collection was acquired by Samuel Bancroft, Jr. (1840–1915), a successful textile manufacturer and patron of the arts. The only American collector of Pre-Raphaelite art in the late nineteenth century, Bancroft purchased his first work, Rossetti’s Water Willow, in 1890, and added to his Pre-Raphaelite collection throughout the decade. His collection was donated by his heirs to the Delaware Art Museum. Bancroft and Henry Clay Frick were part of the same generation of wealthy industrialists whose interest in collecting, and eye for outstanding examples of European and Asian art, have formed the basis for major museum collections in America. THE PRE-RAPHAELITE BROTHERHOOD In 1848, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Holman Hunt (1827–1910), and John Everett Millais (1829–1896)—all students at the Royal Academy—joined with three other young men whose ambitions, both in the visual arts and literature, rebelled against the current artistic conventions and standards of the Royal Academy. The Pre-Raphaelites looked for artistic influences in art prior to the time of Italian High Renaissance master Raphael (1483–1520) believing that before him artists worked in a more honest, straightforward manner. In essence, the Brotherhood sought to return to an earlier time, one that deliberately excluded their immediate artistic predecessors—followers of Sir Joshua Reynolds, the leading academician of the day. Reynolds painted in a grand manner and urged his acolytes to “avoid the particular.” The Pre-Raphaelites, in contrast, praised the particular as being truer than the idealized world presented in the portraits and landscapes of Reynolds and his followers. Influenced by the art critic John Ruskin, their treatment of nature was sharp and direct. As the nineteenth century progressed, the young members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood developed their own artistic identities. A variety of styles emerged, coexisted, and often competed throughout the rest of the century. The medieval period, revived as a nationalistic and Romantic counterpoint to the soul-deadening Industrial Revolution, animated works inspired by the Arthurian legends, Dante, Chaucer, and Shakespeare. History and legend were highlighted through images depicting Biblical stories and ancient mythology. Artists turned to the English Romantic poets Byron, Keats and Tennyson for symbolism, sentiment and narrative. Exotic places—especially the “Orient”—inspired luxurious interiors and jeweled subjects. Real and imaginary portraits summoned forth the artists’ own models as well as mythic figures such as Dante’s “Beatrice” and “St. George.” Led by William Morris (1834–1896), the Arts and Crafts movement was the direct inheritor of many Pre-Raphaelite ideas. Believing in the handcrafted object and the close alliance of literature (especially poetry) with the visual arts, artists produced book illustration and design, furniture, stained glass, jewelry, and metalwork. An excellent example of this influence can be seen in two chairs, titled The Arming of the Knight (1857–1858) and Glorius Guendolen’s Golden Hair (1856) designed by Morris and decorated by Rossetti. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE EXHIBITION Included in the exhibition are examples of the closely observed naturalism characteristic of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood in John Everett Millais’ The Waterfall (1853) and A Highland Lassie (1854), Ford Madox Brown’s Hampstead—a Sketch from Nature (1857) and Frederick Sandys’ (1829–1904) Mary Magdalene (1858–1860). Literary motifs abound in the Byronic and Shakespearean works of Ford Madox Brown, including Romeo and Juliet (1870), The Corsair’s Return (1871-80), and The Dream of Sardanapalus (1871). Finely wrought portraits by Fredrick Sandys and more lyrical ones by Marie Spartali Stillman (1844–1927) and George Watts (1817–1904) represent a spectrum of approaches to the face and character of the subject. Albert Moore’s (1841–1893) The Green Butterfly is typical of his female figures, delicate in color and timeless in expression. Also included are paintings by Edward Burne-Jones, the leader of the “second generation” Pre-Raphaelites, from the 1860s forward, when he embraced the principles of Aestheticism or “Art for Art’s Sake.” Each of Burne-Jones’s works reflects elements of his personal philosophy, his story-telling abilities, and his stylistic development. Works by Dante Gabriel Rossetti form the exhibition’s cornerstone. His working methods are evident in the early student work, Bottles (1848), and his “experiment in method,” Ruth Herbert (1858–1859). Found (begun in 1859 but never finished) was his only attempt to fulfill the Brotherhood’s commitment to issues of contemporary society. Rossetti’s watercolors, with their densely colored religious and moralizing subjects include Mary in the House of St. John (1858) and Hesterna Rosa (1865). The artist’s gradual move toward mysterious, often trance-like images of female figures in increasingly non-narrative contexts, render in paint the artist’s interior life. This group, replete with esoteric symbolism and closely allied with his poetry, is justifiably famous: Lady Lilith (1868); Water Willow (1871); Veronica Veronese (1872); La Bella Mano (1874-75); Mary Magdalene (1877); and Mnemosyne (1881). Known as “Stunners,” Rossetti’s women are a hallmark of the Pre-Raphaelite style. The collection includes fine examples of less well known artists associated with the Pre-Raphaelites, including a significant number of women, such as Marie Spartali Stillman, Winifred Sandys (1875–1944), Elizabeth Siddal (1833–1862), and Kate Greenaway (1846–1901). Women artists also made many contributions to design and production in the decorative arts. The genius of William Morris (1834–1896) steers the exhibition’s group of decorative arts. His close friendship with Rossetti and Burne-Jones resulted in the production of furniture, books, and household objects inspired by “medieval” design combined with the ideal of the handmade over factory produced items. Jewelry, ceramics, and metalwork present an array of styles and tastes, from Winifred Sandys’ charming miniatures on ivory of The Five Senses to handsome personal adornments by artists of the Silver Studio, Phoebe Traquair (1852–1936) and Charles Robert Ashbee (1863–1942). ABOUT THE EXHIBITION The exhibition objects have been selected by Guest Curator Stephen Wildman, Curator of the Ruskin Library, Lancaster University, England. All works in this major exhibition are from the Delaware Art Museum, comprising the most significant collection of Pre-Raphaelite art outside the United Kingdom. Administered by Art Services International in Alexandria, VA, Waking Dreams was launched on a nine-city tour across the United States and Europe on March 19, 2005. Following its premiere in Portland, Oregon, the exhibition has traveled to museums in the United States and abroad, including its Pittsburgh venue at The Frick Art Museum. CATALOGUE A sumptuous, illustrated 396-page softcover catalogue accompanies the exhibition. In addition to individual entries and full-color illustrations of all objects, this scholarly catalogue includes essays on a variety of aspects of the collection and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. It is available for purchase at the Museum Shop for $49.95 ($44.96 for Frick members). THE FRICK ART MUSEUM Part of the Frick Art & Historical Center in Pittsburgh, The Frick Art Museum contains the fine and decorative art collection of Helen Clay Frick, daughter of Henry Clay Frick. In addition to exhibiting its permanent collection, which concentrates on Italian Renaissance and French eighteenth-century works, the Museum has an active program of temporary exhibitions. GENERAL INFORMATION A suggested contribution will be requested to view this extraordinary exhibition (non-members: $5; members: free). Docent-led tours of Waking Dreams are available Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sunday at 2:00 p.m. for a suggested contribution of $5. Groups of five or more should schedule a private tour at an alternate time. Group tour reservations must be made one to two weeks in advance by calling 412-371-0600, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday. The Frick Art & Historical Center is located at 7227 Reynolds Street in Point Breeze. Free parking is available in the Frick’s off-street lot, or along adjacent streets. Hours of operation are Tuesday – Sunday, 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. The site is closed Mondays and major holidays. For information and reservations, call 412-371-0600, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Monday through Sunday. For further information or images, please contact Greg Langel at the Frick Art & Historical Center at 412-371-0600, ext. 524, or at glangel@frickart.org. Click here for special programs and events offered in conjunction with Waking Dreams |
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![Julia Margaret Cameron (1815–1879), <i>Lancelot and Guinevere [Lancelot and Elaine]</i>, 1873. Silver gelatin print, 13 3/4 x 111/4 inches. Samuel and Mary R. Bancroft Memorial, 1979. Delaware Art Museum.](/exhibition_photos/325/100x100_018_Cameron_Lancelot.jpg)
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