The Phillipian

The Musée National des Beaux in Québec. (Courtesy Photo)

The Musée National des Beaux in Québec City, Québec, Canada is the Addison Gallery collection’s final stop in its worldwide tour. Susan Faxon, Associate Director and Curator of Art Before 1950 for the Addison Gallery moderated the Addison opening on Wednesday, May 20 in Québec. She wrote her thoughts of the opening in an email to The Phillipian.

“Let me describe the events on Wednesday. At 9:30 in the morning, the Musée National des Beaux Arts de Quebec hosted a tour of the Coming of Age show for the press which I attended as well. Both the curator responsible for the installation and the director of the museum led the group through the exhibition. [Although] they spoke in French, [and] I missed what they were saying, it was obvious that they both approached the works and the totality of the show with great appreciation and enthusiasm. The press responded to the show with much of the same interest and appreciation. Many of the members of the press approached me to point out favorite works.

Wednesday was the occasion for the opening of two temporary loan exhibitions—ours, and a historical exhibition organized by their museum staff, called The Taking of Quebec, to commemorate the battle of Quebec between the English and the French in 1759-1760. The press toured both shows in the morning, and VIP visitors—donors, supporters and dignitaries representing both exhibitions—were given special tours in the late afternoon. The acting director of the American Federation of Arts (our co-organizer) and I were there both morning and afternoon.

Following the VIP tour, the opening reception began with short introductory remarks by the museum director, me, the AFA director and a number of others. There were at least 1000 people in attendance and throughout the opening the galleries where Coming of Age was installed were filled with people. A dinner for about 20 people including the American consul-general for Quebec and donors followed with elegant food prepared by the museum’s chef. It was a full and lively day!

As for the installation itself, the Musée National is a large multi-building institution with galleries throughout the museum hung with works from their significant Canadian art collection. In addition there are numbers of galleries set aside for temporary exhibitions. The Coming of Age exhibition is installed in the original 1933 Classical Revival building of the museum. It is hung in two very large matching galleries both opening into a grand rotunda, where the exhibition title, introductory texts, and credits are installed. In the gallery to the left, the earlier works are arranged thematically, starting with the mid-19th century landscapes, followed by the realist paintings of Homer and Eakins, the impressionist landscapes, and ending with the social realist paintings of the early 20th century. Across the rotunda in the gallery to the right are the later works, from early modernist paintings and sculpture to the later works of Pollock, David Smith and Franz Kline, ending with Frank Stella’s East Broadway.

I thought the whole installation, from the sequencing of works, the installation design, the wall colors and the sensitive lighting, was very skillful and very successful. As a curator it is always interesting and enlightening to see how differently other curators and institutions install the same show. Most often, and in this case for sure, it gives a new way of seeing and understanding the works for me.

The appreciation of those who came to the opening was wonderful. The meticulous planning of all the events of the day and evening by the museum staff made the day unfold perfectly. And the warm cordiality of all the staff, from curators to director to PR people, made my visit truly a pleasure. In addition, Quebec is a wonderful city—historic, beautiful, and filled with gracious and helpful people. The daffodils were out in the park surrounding the museum, the St. Lawrence river meandered along, spied across lush green lawns, the sun was out and the sky blue. I suggest a visit this summer to see the Addison’s wonderful treasures and experience them in a striking city!”