Morris Museum of Art, Augusta, Georgia
When we think of American centers of arts and culture, we might not always put Savannah, GA in the top ranks, but we perhaps should. Among the many great cultural figures the area produced are the members of the Murphy family. First generation American Christopher P.H. Murphy, a self-taught artist, and his wife Lucile Desbouillons, a highly trained and skilled painter, made their mark on Savannah and the American art world at large in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Of their seven children, the first-born, Christopher A.D. Murphy and the fourth-born, Margaret Augusta Murphy, carried on their legacy as artists and became prominent members of the Savannah art community. The Morris Museum of Art is celebrating this family’s broad influence in a new exhibition entitled The Murphy’s of Savannah. Boasting more than 175 works by the family of artists, this exhibition is must-see. So, make sure to check here to plan your trip before the exhibition opens on July 17.
Cincinnati Museum Center, Ohio
Housed in a 200-year-old historic building, the Taft Museum of Art is closed while restorations take place. Have no fear, however, for 47 works from the collection of Charles Phelps and Anna Sinton Taft will be cared for and exhibited by the Cincinnati Museum Center in the meantime in the show Borrowed Gems from the Taft Museum of Art. Organized by subject matter, the exhibition includes a broad range of works, from paintings by great European artists to Qing dynasty ceramics. Other works on view portray the quotidian life of Cincinnatians, this is one exhibition that Queen City residents should not miss. As you’re making plans to head over to CMC, make sure to check here.
Phoenix Art Museum, Arizona
German-American photographer Marion Palfi meticulously documented 20th-century American life throughout her career, focusing on the economic and social injustices she witnessed in her adopted country. Palfi’s work will be celebrated in a new exhibition at the Phoenix Art Museum entitled Freedom Must Be Lived: Marion Palfi’s America, 1940–1978. As a retrospective exhibition, Freedom Must Be Lived showcases more than 100 photographs as well as archival materials such as photobooks, magazine spreads, research journals, and grant applications all drawn from the Center for Creative Photography’s Marion Palfi Archive. With many of the objects in this exhibition having never been exhibited, visitors are in for a one-of-a-kind look at Palfi’s work and her outraged examination of American inequality. Check here to plan your trip in advance.
Savannah College of Art and Design Museum of Art, Georgia
American painter Helen Frankenthaler’s long and illustrious career is being celebrated at the SCAD Museum of Art in an exhibition entitled Deliberate Risks: Prints by Helen Frankenthaler. As a major player in the transition from Abstract Expressionism to the Color Field school of painting, Frankenthaler continually pushed the boundaries of her art, even creating new styles of painting such as the “soak-stain technique”. A ceramist, sculptor, and textile artist as well as a painter, Frankenthaler also made contributions in the realm of printmaking. The exhibition highlights ten prints and four proofs from the artist’s work in the medium. Make sure to plan a trip to the SCAD Museum of Art here before the exhibition closes on July 25.
