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In 1912 the Bruce Museum’s first art exhibit showcased the work of local impressionist and landscapists. Today, the museum is returning to their roots with their newest exhibit Charles Harold Davis: Mystic Impressionist.
“Harold Davis, who was the leader of the Mystic Art Colony, somehow was forgotten. This is the first major retrospective of his art in a museum since the 1930s,” said Dr. Peter C. Sutton, Executive Director of the Bruce Museum during a preview of the exhibit Friday morning. “He deserves a closer look.”
The exhibit, curated by guest curator Dr. Valerie Ann Leeds, includes more than 30 paintings by Davis that highlight his artistic transformation throughout his career.
“He was very much a New England painter. Most of his images are of his surroundings in Mystic where he lived virtually all of his life,” said Dr. Sutton. “He paints repeatedly these wonderful autumnal and dusk images, changes of the seasons, changes of the day. Very subtle. Lots of silhouetted trees.”
“I see him more starting representationally and kind of moving in a more spiritual vain, taking the essence of nature,” said Dr. Leeds.
In addition to a lecture series supporting the exhibit, students will be able to take advantage of Davis’ work as well.
Kathleen Holko, Manager of School and Tour Services said, “We will be talking to students about Charles Harold Davis’ techniques, characteristics of his artwork and how his style developed over time but we will also talking to them about the study of meteorology, particularly the study of clouds and how when we look at clouds, we can learn a little bit about weather that is coming up.”
As part of the program, museum educators will be using cloud finders to identify clouds in Charles Harold Davis’ paintings and talking to students about the find of weather those clouds would bring.
“He is a wonderful kind of ethereal painter who will make people feel good about the region in which we live and the beauty of our own landscape,” added Dr. Sutton.
Charles Harold Davis: Mystic Impressionist officially opens Saturday, September 26th. For more information about the exhibit and programming, visit brucemuseum.org.
