Guest written by The Ringling Archives intern Joy Feagan, this post asks what role historians should play in art museums, and looks at how history impacts every aspect of The Ringling today.
A remarkable relationship between two talented artists is on view in the Museum of Art. Guercino, the leading Bolognese painter of the Baroque period, painted this portrait of the Franciscan friar Bonaventura Bisi.
Curators and staff couldn't help but notice that performance, programs, and visual arts are organically centering around womanhood this spring at The Ringling, with the opening of "Natasha Mazurka: Order Systems" and the premiere of "girlwoman" by Moving Ethos Dance Company.
Of this photograuve, artist Lorna Simpson said: "My work over the past few months is about looking: looking, but not being close enough to know exactly what you're seeing, but piecing together what it is that you see."
Ringling Conservation staff and contracted conservators have been hard at work treating the "Watermelon Regatta" allegorical painting. In this latest step, an isolating varnish was applied to the entire canvas.
The original hardwood floor in Gallery 2 of the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art has long been in need of major restoration. This work began in early January, 2019, and will continue into April, during which time Galleries 1 and 2 will be closed to the public. But these are no ordinary floors...
Three more galleries in the Museum of Art have been reinstalled during the summer of 2018, as the major project to re-envision all 21 museum galleries continues. This exciting work is transforming the visitor experience of The Ringling’s collections of European art through new arrangements of artworks, updated labels and didactics, much improved lighting, and modern wall colors.
Selina Román's photographs have a keen sense of the unique surfaces and textures of her native state. For her 2016 series Please Disturb, hotel and motel rooms served as her temporary studio and models served as her collaborators.
