GREAT ART IN AMERICA'S GREAT PLAINS

The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri opened in 1933 during the middle of the Great Depression.  Visitors were amazed at the innovations and the luxury of the massive Beaux Art Building.  Still, operations were modest: only three telephones serviced the entire building; lights in the galleries were turned off when people left a room; at opening and closing times, a huge bell was rung manually. 

Photo courtesy: www.nelson-atkins.org

William Rockhill Nelson was the founder of The Kansas City Star newspaper. When he arrived in Kansas City in the early 1880s, he described the town as “incredibly ugly and commonplace” and determined that “if I were to live here the town must be made over.”  So he set about beautifying the city, which at the time was becoming a major transportation hub, by creating parks, boulevards and planting trees.  As a man who loved beautiful architecture and the great paintings of Europe, part of his quest for making over Kansas City included the creation of an art gallery.  William Nelson died in 1915.  His will stipulated his estate be used to purchase works of fine art “which will contribute to the delectation and enjoyment of the public generally…” Nelson’s wife survived him by six years, and his only child, Laura died five years later. Upon their deaths, the will provided for the “construction of a building in Kansas City, Missouri, to bear the name of William Nelson and to be followed by the words "Gallery of Art.”  Laura’s husband, Irwin Kirkwood, survived her by less than two years. After he died, in 1927, the Nelson mansion and the 20 acres were deeded to the city as a building site for Nelson’s art museum.

Photo courtesy: www.nelson-atkins.org

Also during this same time, but unknown to William Nelson, there was another citizen of Kansas City who had a love of European art and a strong sense of community involvement. Mary McAfee was a school teacher who moved to Kansas City to marry James Burris Atkins.  James Atkins, like Mary, was originally from Kentucky, but he moved to Kansas City in 1865 to enter the milling business and to speculate in Kansas City real estate.  When he died in 1886, he left Mary grief-stricken but very wealthy.  At the beginning of the 20th century Mary began traveling to Europe, immersing herself in the collections of the Musée du Louvre and Musée du Luxembourg in Paris, the National Gallery of Art in London and the Saxon Royal Museum in Dresden.  Mary Atkins died in 1911; in her will she bequeathed $300,000 to build a museum.  By 1927 the $300,000, wisely invested, had increased to $700,000.  In 1927, by consensus among their respective trustees, the Nelson and Atkins funds were combined, resulting in a total of more than $3 million to build an art museum that would rival the best in the country.

Thus, what was created from this collaboration was:

We approached the museum by walking through the Kansas City Sculpture Park.  As you recall from my previous post, we walked to the museum from our hotel in a nearly 100° temperature.  Reaching the street corner of the museum, we walked through a winding, tree-lined pathway where on display were sculptures by some well-known artists:

Seated Woman (1958-1959) by Henry Moore

Eventually the pathway opened up into the vast open area of grass where we could see two easily-recognized, but much larger-than-life objects:

Shuttlecocks (1994) by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen

The husband and wife team of Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen were commissioned in 1994 to design a sculpture for The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. They responded to the formality of the original neoclassical building and the green expanse of its lawn by imagining the Museum as a badminton net and the lawn as a playing field. The pair designed four birdies or shuttlecocks that were placed as though they had just landed on opposite sides of the net. Each shuttlecock weighs 5,500 pounds, stands nearly 18 feet tall and has a diameter of some 16 feet. (Courtesy: Nelson-Atkins.org)

We turned around 180 degrees to face the entrance of the museum, and we were greeted by the pensive sculpture of:

The Thinker by Auguste Rodin

We haven't even made it inside and already loads of great art...

Unfortunately no photos were allowed in the Bloch exhibition, but non-flash photography was permitted in the permanent collection.  

Of course I always start with the Impressionists which really are my favorite group of artists.  Well, my goodness, nothing like starting out the visit by seeing this:

Waterlilies (1916-1926) by Claude Monet

This painting is just short of 14 feet wide and nearly 7 feet high!  The panel is the right-hand side of a triptych of a Waterlilies study that Monet painted.  No wonder it took him over 10 years to complete it...that's 42 feet of paintings!  The other two panels are at the Cleveland Museum of Art and the St. Louis Art Museum.  Click here to see the painting in my blog post about the St. Louis Art Museum.

Another spectacular work by Monet is this early-career painting of the view from his house he was renting:

View of Argenteuil: Snow (1874-1875) by Claude Monet

And another early masterpiece of the streets of Paris by Monet:

Boulevard des Capucines (1873-1874) by Claude Monet

Another wonderful, but maybe not so well known, French Impressionist landscape painter was Alfred Sisley:

The Embankment at Billencourt: Snow (1879) by Alfred Sisley

Camille Pissarro is called the Dean of the Impressionist Painters, not only because he was the oldest of the group, but also because of his wisdom and personality.  Here are four prime examples why: 

Poplars, Sunset at Eragny (1895) by Camille Pissarro

The Garden of Les Mathurins at Pontoise (1876) by Camille Pissarro

Wooded Landscape at L'Hermitage, Pontoise (1879) by Camille Pissarro

Market at Pontoise (1895) by Camille Pissarro

There is a beautiful work by Pissarro's great friend and fellow painter, Paul Cézanne.  Cézanne's somewhat abstract style like in this painting would lead to the Cubism style of Picasso and Braque.

Mont Sainte-Victoire by Paul Cézanne

Here is another view of the Degas painting that was the subject of my previous blog.  Click here to read more.

Rehearsal at the Ballet (1876) by Hilaire-Germain-Edgar Degas

Here are two wonderful portraits by two masters:

Portrait of Paul Haviland (1884) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Portrait of Lise Campineanu (1878) by Édouard Manet

And then there is the genius of Vincent van Gogh, executed at a time when his style was at its most agitated and expressive.

Olive Orchard (1889) by Vincent van Gogh

This is an example of van Gogh's early work when he was still painting with dark, moody colors:

Portrait of Gysbertus de Groot (1885) by Vincent van Gogh

Of course, I can't forget my German Expressionists.  Here are paintings by three of the German Expressionist masters.  Such bold colors! 

Portrait of the Poet Guthmann (1910) by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner

Baccarat (1947) by Max Beckmann

Masks (1911) by Emil Nolde

There were several other paintings that I photographed just because I liked them, but I was not necessarily familiar with the artist.  For example, I just love the colors in the painting, the heavier brushstrokes and the simplicity of the subject matter: a boat and its reflection on the water. 

Starboat (Tugboat and Riverboat) 1966 by Wayne Thiebaud

In this painting I just like the colors here and the great detailing...all that garbage took a great deal of time and effort to paint.

Heineken (1976) by Idelle Weber

Normally, I don't favor modern or contemporary art.  However, I did photograph these two works by Willem de Kooning because I haven't seen too many examples of his work in other museums plus keeping on the same theme, I love the bold colors.  The composition of the paintings, however, is another story... 

Woman IV (1952-1953) by Willem de Kooning

Boudoir (1951) by Willem de Kooning

The Nelson-Atkins Museum is one of the finest museums in the United States, if not the world.  Its collection contains more than 33,500 works of art.  Whether displayed in the original 1933 neoclassic building or the new 2007 modern, translucent-glass Bloch Building, the permanent collection rivals any museum I've personally visited.

For more information visit: http://nelson-atkins.org.

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

4525 Oak Street

Kansas City, MO   64111

Phone: 816.751.1ART (816.751.1278)

For directions: click here.

• Admission is FREE every day for all visitors.
• There may be a charge for special exhibitions.
• Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
• Closed New Year's Day, July 4, Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
• Open 10:00-4:00 on Wednesday.
• Open 10:00-9:00 on Thursday and Friday.
• Open 10:00-5:00 on Saturday.
• Open 12:00-5:00 on Sunday.

NOTE: All photos of the paintings in this blog post were taken by me on my visit to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in August, 2007.

THE CITY OF FOUNTAINS

Kansas City, Missouri is nicknamed The City of Fountains.  And it is...there are over 168 fountains located through the city.  

When we traveled to Kansas City to visit the previously mentioned art exhibition: Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, we stayed at the Hampton Inn located in the area of Kansas City known as the Country Club Plaza area.  This area, just a few blocks west of the museum, is located between 45th Street and 51st Street to the north and south and Broadway and Madison to the east and west (see map).  It has a myriad of upscale shopping and dining possibilities.  The architecture is based on the Moorish style of Seville, Spain (one of the city's sister cities) with buildings decorated with arches and beautiful mosaic tiles.

Some of the beautiful architecture...

And the colorful tiles decorating the buildings...

We walked from the hotel down West 47th Street to the museum. (In hindsight this wasn't such a great idea since it was mid-August with temperatures in the mid 90s.)  But our walk allowed us to see many of the city's beautiful fountains:

Located on 47th Street in front of the American Eagle Outfitters store, the fountain above shows Neptune in his chariot pulled by the trident, dolphin and sea horse.  A city favorite, the 1911 original lead cast was purchased just for its scrap metal.  In the 1950s, it was found on top of a train car full of scrap metal by workmen at a salvage company.

One block east on 47th Street located in front of the Cheesecake Factory is this fountain showing the Greek god Bacchus holding court, surrounded by nymphs and satyrs.  Another 1911 original lead statue, weighing 5 tons, it was purchased in England and installed in 1969 in its present location.

Just one block further east on the opposite side of 47th Street is the beautifully-designed Seville Light fountain.  Carved from several types of marble, this fountain is an exact replica of the Plaza de Los Reyes fountain in Seville, Spain.

Located just across the street from the Seville Light fountain is the J.C. Nichols Memorial Fountain, the most-popular and most-photographed of all the city's fountains.  The 1910 figures originally adorned a mansion on Long Island, New York.  In 1958 they were brought to Kansas City.  The four horsemen are said to represent the four major rivers: Mississippi River (the Indian riding the horse and beating off an alligator), the Volga River (with the bear), the Seine and the Rhine.  Over the years several figures have been stolen. J. C. Nichols was a prominent developer of commercial and residential real estate in Kansas City.

Located in a plaza located at the corner of Broadway and Ward Parkway is a statue of Pomona, the Roman goddess and protector of vineyards and orchards.  This fountain was imported from Italy and installed in 1969. 

For more information on the many other fountains in Kansas City you can visit the website: www.kcfountains.com.

THE PAINTING WAS STOLEN, BOUGHT, RETURNED, DONATED, RETURNED AND DONATED

I found out about the exhibition while reading an issue of Chicago magazine back in 2007.  There was an advertisement promoting Manet to Matisse: Impressionist Masters from the Marion and Henry Bloch Collection, an upcoming exhibition at Kansas City's Nelson-Atkins Museum.

Henry Bloch is the "H" of the H&R Block tax services.  To celebrate the opening of the Bloch Building at the museum. the Blochs agreed to an exhibition of 30 masterpiece Impressionist paintings from their private collection.  Henry Bloch has been a longtime trustee, chairman and benefactor of the museum.

One of the paintings included in the exhibition was a Degas pastel titled Dancer Making Points or in French, Danseuse Faisant des Pointes.  You can see a portion of the painting above because it was used in the promotion of the Bloch exhibition.  The Blochs had purchased the painting from a New York City art dealer in 1993 (THE "BOUGHT").

Imagine Henry Bloch's surprise when in 2005 he was contacted by the FBI regarding an art investigation of the Degas painting.  Mr. Bloch stated, "I believe I may have been first contacted in late 2005 by the FBI, who indicated that they were conducting an art investigation and wanted to confirm their information that we had purchased the Degas."  The FBI, Bloch said, "did not give any indication that it had been stolen and gave us assurances there was nothing to worry about. I nevertheless shared the inquiry with my attorney at the time who discussed it with the Director of the Nelson-Atkins. I do not believe I was contacted again by them until late 2007."

So what was this art investigation?

The painting, seen above, was originally owned by reclusive copper-heiress Huguette Clark.  Ms. Clark lived in New York City, but in 1991, at age 84, she moved out of her apartment and spend the remainder of her life in hospitals.  In 1992, the painting was discovered missing from her apartment (THE "STOLEN").

Huguette Clark's apartment (photo courtesy: www.dailymail.uk.co)

Valuing her privacy more than the painting, Ms. Clark chose not to file a police report nor did she register the painting on the international registry of stolen art.  Thus, the Bloch's attorney argued because Ms. Clark had made no attempt to try to find the missing painting that the Blochs now owned the painting in a kind of "finder's keepers, loser's weepers" claim.

Eventually through an agreement made between Ms. Clark and Mr. Bloch, Ms. Clark decided to donate the painting to the Nelson-Atkins Museum where the Blochs have agreed to donate their collection after their deaths.  The Blochs got to keep their painting and lucky Ms. Clark got a very large tax write-off.  But here's where it gets interesting...

In 2008 outside of the Bloch's home in Mission Hills, Kansas, one of the strangest (and shortest) art exchanges took place.  A representative of the Blochs walked outside and physically handed the painting to a representative of Ms. Clark (THE "RETURN").  

Ms. Clark's representative in turn walked over to a parked car in which a representative of the Nelson-Atkins Museum sat and gave him the painting (THE "DONATE") .

The museum representative turned around and gave the painting back to the Bloch's representative where it was rehung in the Bloch's living room (THE 2ND "RETURN").

The museum thus agreed to "lend" the painting to the Blochs; every year until their deaths, the loan will be renewed.  After the Bloch's death, all 30 paintings from the exhibition, including the Degas, will be donated permanently to the museum (THE 2ND "DONATE") even though technically the museum already owns the Degas.

All parties involved signed a confidentiality agreement so until recently only 3 of the 21 museum trustees were aware of the agreement.

All of this recently became public after the death of Ms. Clark in 2011 at age 104.  Many are questioning whether Ms. Clark was mentally capable of signing an agreement in 2008 at the age 102, basically giving away a $10 million masterpiece.  At the time of the painting donation her personal physician signed an affidavit confirming he felt his patient was "mentally and physically alert".  In addition, the trustees of the Nelson-Atkins Museum would not accept such a large donation from someone of Ms. Clark's age without verification of her mental capacity.

The real issue is the fact that three years prior to the painting exchange, Ms. Clark signed two new wills within six weeks of each other.  The first left her $400 million fortune to her family (the great-grandchildren from her father's first marriage); the second will cut them completely out of the fortune.  Instead the second will indicated Ms. Clark wanted her Santa Barbara, California home made into museum, gave millions of dollars to her nurse, gave a Monet masterpiece valued at $40 million to the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and gave huge gifts to her godchild, doctor, attorney and accountant.

So the question remains: If she was mentally capable of giving away the Degas at age 102, wouldn't she have been in her right mind when she basically disinherited her family at age 98.  However, the doctor is one of the beneficiaries of the second will and he also received substantial monetary gifts during the last years of Ms. Clark's life, so his truthfulness may be questionable.  Many family members also feel that Ms. Clark's attorney and accountant influenced her to sign a new will.  The attorney and accountant deny that charge.

To read more about this story there are several good web articles.  The most comprehensive is this one by MSNBC.  This MSNBC article give more information on the battle for Ms. Clark's estate such as her jewelry and apartments.  This article by the Daily Mail has old photos of Huguette Clark.  Here is a related article from the Santa Barbara Independent newspaper online where Ms. Clark wanted to built her museum.

In my next post I'll talk more about the exhibition and my favorite paintings in the museum's permanent collection. Until then, thank you for taking the time to read and feel free to leave a comment.