This theme comprises one section of the museum-wide exhibition, Tahoe: A Visual History.

The Sierra Nevada range was a physical and symbolic obstacle to America’s western expansion in the nineteenth century. The legendary struggles of the Donner Party in the winter of 1847, along with an enterprising drive to surmount the summit via railroad, fueled a young nation’s “Manifest Destiny” to stretch its boundary from coast to coast. Artists depicted Donner Lake, the closest body of water to Donner Summit, more frequently than any other in the Sierra range. Unlike the flat, picturesque expanse of Lake Tahoe’s surface, the view of Donner Lake from the summit offered a dramatic, sublime vista layered with historical and symbolic significance.

Visiting artists, photographers, and other tourists often lodged at the Summit Hotel near the top of Donner Pass. Built in 1870, the hotel was a way station for travelers on the Central Pacific Railroad (completed in 1869) and a destination from which travelers could explore the surrounding mountain terrain. For the most part, early photographers such as Alfred A. Hart, Andrew Russell, and Carleton E. Watkins, as well as painters including Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Hill, were drawn to the region because of lucrative commissions provided by railroad executives who sought grand images to celebrate and promote their transcontinental accomplishments.

The American conquest of the now-legendary summit predicted not only the joining of east and west with rails of steel, but the development of the entire far western United States—to which the Tahoe region stood as both barrier and gateway.

This theme comprises one section of the museum-wide exhibition, Tahoe: A Visual History.

During the Golden Age of American landscape painting in the second half of the nineteenth century, Lake Tahoe and its nearby lakes inspired paintings by artists who were primarily associated with the burgeoning art world of San Francisco. Lake Tahoe itself did not become a subject for serious artists until the 1860s after the discovery of silver on the nearby Comstock. Early tourists to the lake included the influential Unitarian minister, Thomas Starr King, who visited in the summer of 1863 and delivered a rapturous sermon on the beauties of the lake to San Franciscans upon his return—surely enticing many artists to visit.

From the 1860s through the 1880s Lake Tahoe was depicted by artists with an enhanced sense of realism known as the Hudson River School style. Painters associated with that style sought out beautiful natural landscapes and executed their paintings with considerable realism. At the same time, they sought to convey a spiritual or transcendental presence in their paintings to underscore the widely held nineteenth-century belief in nature’s divine origins. Like the California geologists John Muir and Joseph LeConte, many artists believed that nature was God’s handiwork. Painters visiting the Sierra reproduced natural features in ways that inspired thoughts of divinity: mountains were sublime and still water serene.

Many of America’s most noted nineteenth-century artists including  Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill, William Keith, John Ross Key, and William Marple considered Lake Tahoe a worthy subject for their landscape paintings. For most city dwellers of the time, the Sierra was considered a remote wilderness destination. However, one might experience a taste of the wilderness through the vicarious agency of a landscape painting. Contemplating a spiritually charged view of the lake in one’s San Francisco or New York living room could provide much of the same magic as being there in person. When exposed to a beautiful painting, the clamor and stress of urban life might be forgotten.

This theme comprises one section of the museum-wide exhibition, Tahoe: A Visual History.

Nineteenth-century American understanding of the Sierra Nevada was shaped by the maps, sketches, photographs, paintings, and written accounts produced by the first Euro-American pioneers to visit the region. John C. Frémont, a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army Corps of Topographical Engineers, is considered the first Euro-American to view Lake Tahoe on February 14, 1844 from Red Lake Mountain, a peak near what is today Carson Pass. The body of water we now call Lake Tahoe was referred to variously in the nineteenth century as Mountain Lake, Lake Bonpland, and Lake Bigler.

The discovery, mapping, depiction, and cultural assimilation of Lake Tahoe by Euro-Americans is linked to the exploration and settlement of the Great Basin—the last region of the United States to be officially explored and defined by the federal government. After Tahoe’s initial discovery by Euro-Americans, most early nineteenth century pioneers approached the Sierra from the east, after passing through the long desert stretches of the Great Basin.

By the mid-1850s, wagon roads through the Sierra, constructed primarily to service gold and silver mines, became better defined. These routes made the region accessible to travelers from both eastward  and westward directions—including artists and photographers.

The Nevada Museum of Art is proud to present to our community The Horse, a comprehensive exhibition detailing the enduring bond between horses and humanity. The exhibition explores early interactions between horses and humans and portrays how horses have, over time, influenced civilization through advancements in warfare, trade, transportation, agriculture, sports, and many other facets of human life. The exhibition was created by leading scholars and scientists at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Dioramas, skeletal mounts, fossils, cultural artifacts from around the world, and interactive computerized modules – will draw visitors into the world of the horse as never before. An immersive multi-media experience, The Horse explores our history, inter-dependence, and emotional connection with this remarkable animal.

The Horse is organized by the American Museum of Natural History, New York, in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH); the Canadian Museum of History, Gatineau-Ottawa; The Field Museum, Chicago; and the San Diego Natural History Museum.

Premiere Sponsor

Louise A. Tarble Foundation

Lead Sponsors

Barrick Gold; The Bretzlaff Foundation; Irene and J. George Drews; The Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation; Anne Brockinton Lee and Robert M. Lee

Major Sponsors

Damonte Ranch, Perry M. DiLoreto; Deborah C. Day; Dickson Realty; Hooker Creek Ranch; Nevada Arts Council; Sandy Raffealli, Raffealli Family Trust; Wells Fargo; E. L. Wiegand Foundation

Supporting Sponsors

Kathie Bartlett; Leah Elizabeth Cashman and Rhonda Cashman Evans; Marshall R. Matley Foundation; Jennifer and Jason Patterson; Gigi and Lash Turville; Whittier Trust Company of Nevada

Additional Sponsors

Answerwest; Jeanne Blach; Marc Grock; Clark J. Guild Jr. Charitable Foundation; Charlotte and Dick McConnell; Karen and Bill Prezant

Media Sponsors

Getaway Reno-Tahoe; KUNR; Lake Tahoe TV; Reno-Tahoe International Airport; Tahoe Quarterly; Western Art & Architecture

Jennifer Steinkamp is among today’s best-known contemporary artists working in the field of new media art. Fly to Mars is a computer-animated projection of a tree that comes to life with movement as it cycles through the four seasons of the year. From colorful flowering buds in spring to leafless branches in winter, viewers experience the natural cycle of a tree’s foliage. Simultaneously, the tree bows up and down, as though attempting to break free from the earth’s gravity and take flight into the cosmos.

This exhibition is presented as part of the Art + Environment series, an initiative of the Nevada Museum of Art that brings together community, artists and scholars to explore the interaction between people and their environments.

During the Depression-era of the 1930s and 40s, thousands of artists throughout the United States were commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Federal Art Project to design public murals for post offices, government buildings, and outdoor spaces. Southern California-based Helen Lundeberg was commissioned in 1940 to design a mural illustrating the history of the transportation era. Lundeberg’s highly-detailed and superbly-crafted study for the mural was eventually realized in full-scale near Centinela Park in Inglewood, California. The imagery includes references to Native American ways of life, Spanish-era exploration, the contributions of Asian laborers to railroad construction, the introduction of the automobile, and the popularization of public transportation.

The works in this exhibition were recently added to the Nevada Museum of Art’s E.L. Wiegand Collection, whose thematic focus is on the work ethic in American art.

Presented by Arte ITALIA, through its relationship with New York-based Foundation for Italian Art & Culture, Raphael’s masterpiece painting The Woman with the Veil will be exhibited in the E. L. Wiegand Gallery at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, NV from January 9 through March 21, 2010.

Depicting a woman wearing a veil the painting embodies some of the high Renaissance master’s distinctive qualities: his control over pigment and color, and a serenity that contrasts with the style of his mentors and fellow icons of the era.

Founded in Reno, NV and operated by the E. L. Wiegand Foundation, Arte ITALIA promotes the exploration and conservation of Italian culture, including innovative exhibitions of classic Italian art and culinary programs featuring renowned Italian chefs.

This exhibition is presented and exclusively sponsored by E.L. Wiegand Foundation’s Arte ITALIA, organized by the Portland Art Museum and supported by an indemnity from the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities. This exhibition was made possible by the Foundation for Italian Art and Culture.

“Presented by arte italia, through its relationship with New York-based Foundation for Italian Art & Culture, Titian’s Renaissance masterpiece painting La Bella: Woman in a Blue Dress will be exhibited in the Museum’s E. L. Wiegand Gallery. An expanded exhibition of Titian’s life and art is on view through Titian’s Venice at arte italia located at 442 Flint Street.

The most celebrated artist in Renaissance Venice, Titian is unsurpassed as a portrait painter and member of the 16 Century Venetian School. One of his most iconic artworks is the single masterpiece popularly known as La Bella,  the beautiful woman. The luminous painting is a classic portrait of a beautiful woman in a magnificent dress and luxurious accessories of the day. La Bella’s blue gown is accented with gold embroidery with ruffles at the neckline and cuffs, and gold, ruby, and pearl jewelry accents her elegant presentation.

The painting was first commissioned by Francesco Maria I della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, a mercenary military leader. In 1536, the duke sent a letter to his agent in Venice inquiring about the progress of “”that portrait of that woman in a blue dress,”” whose completion he eagerly awaited. The painting in question was doubtless La Bella, which is today in the collection of the Galleria Palatina in Florence. The canvas has been cleaned recently, and the removal of discolored varnish has revealed the splendor of the woman’s blue dress and the luminosity of her flesh.

In 2010, the Museum featured Raphael: The Woman with the Veil and with La Bella visitors can continue their exploration of Italian Renaissance masterpieces.

This exhibition is made possible by the Foundation for Italian Art & Culture.

Sponsor

E. L. Wiegand Foundation

Founded in Reno, NV and operated by the E. L. Wiegand Foundation, arte italia promotes the exploration and conservation of Italian culture, including innovative exhibitions of classic Italian art and culinary programs featuring renowned Italian chefs.

The exhibition tour was organized by the Kimbell Art Museum in collaboration with the Nevada Museum of Art and the Portland Art Museum.”

The Museum presents an exhibition of artwork created by northern Nevada middle and high school students as part of The Scholastic Art Awards of 2012, a national program established to recognize and reward impressive talent among students. The Nevada Museum of Art has administered the Scholastic Art Awards since 1999 and is proud once again to showcase the outstanding talent of our local youth. Serving 13 counties in Northern Nevada, the program invites students to compete for awards and scholarships. Entries are evaluated by a panel of local artists and art professionals and are judged on originality, technical skill and the emergence of a personal vision. Exceptional entries are awarded a Gold Key, Silver Key or Honorable Mention award. Gold Key award winning works are featured in this month-long exhibition which will be housed at the new Holland Project Gallery space at 140 Vesta Street in Reno from March 3 – March 30. The top five pieces are awarded the American Visions Nomination – these five pieces will be on display at the Museum through April 1. Additional information on the national Scholastic Art Awards can be found by clicking here.

2012 Art Award Winners (PDF)

Sponsor

U.S. Bancorp Foundation and Michael and Tammy Dermody

Additional support

the Wild Women Artists and Sierra Watercolor Society

Michael Light’s landscape photographs document-and thereby provoke-human dialogue with nature. His images are at once scathing and celebratory, exploring the complex and ever-evolving relationship between contemporary American culture and the environment. Concerned both with the politics of that relationship and the seductive power of landscapes, Light’s work deals in paradoxes that traverse the nebulous terrain where beauty, horror, wonder, and fear converge. The resulting large-format aerial images address themes of mapping, vertigo, geology, and human impact on the land. Like all of Light’s work, these images provide a beautiful yet thought-provoking glimpse into American traditions of expansion and exploration-the insatiable human need to pursue the unknown.

The Nevada Museum of Art gratefully acknowledges the Carol Franc Buck Foundation for support of the publication and the accompanying exhibition. Additional support provided by the City of Reno Arts and Culture Commission.

This exhibition is presented as part of the Art + Environment series, an initiative of the Nevada Museum of Art that brings community, artists, and scholars together to explore the interaction between people and their environments.