Museum is Gift of Mrs. Singer

Museum is Gift of Mrs. Singer          

Post by:           Jennifer Chapman Smith

                        Collections and Exhibitions Manager

 

 

On this date in 1928 the top headline of the Hagerstown Daily Mail read “Museum is Gift of Mrs. Singer.” The accompanying article stated that “Former Mrs. Brugh announces gift that will make Hagerstown one of leading art centers of nation” and the gift was “prompted by love for [her] community of birth.” This headline was followed by much planning and building and finally the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts opened its doors on September 15, 1931.

The Singers not only gave the funds to build the museum they also donated over 100 works of art to begin the museum’s permanent collection. These works of art began what has now become a nationally recognized collection of over 7,000 objects. Through the collections inventory project we are learning more about all of the works in the collection and just how significant the Singers’ gift to Hagerstown was and continues to be.

You will have the opportunity to learn more about William and Anna Singer when the Singer Memorial Gallery re-opens this summer!    

 

Thinking About Spring and Willard Metcalf’s New England Afternoon

Thinking About Spring and Willard Metcalf’s New England Afternoon

Post by: Jennifer Chapman Smith

              Collections and Exhibitions Manager

With the weather forecast calling for snow, we thought it might be nice to share a beautiful summery painting with you to get you through the cold days ahead.

 

 

Willard Metcalf’s New England Afternoon, ca.1909, was given to the WCMFA in 1931 by museum founders, William and Anna Singer, and has been a favorite of visitors since that time. William Singer, who was a painter himself, occasionally joined Metcalf on painting excursions in Old Lyme, Connecticut. Metcalf even visited the Singers when they lived in Norway and gifted them several paintings, this one among them.

 

Dr. Elizabeth Johns writes in One Hundred Stories: Highlights from the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts of the painting:

 

“New England Afternoon radiated the bright yellows and greens of summer. A dark, sinuous creak leads the viewer’s eye into the landscape through a foreground dotted with livestock. Blue-tinged mountains in the far distance, a church steeple in the background, and a sky filled with scudding clouds = typical characteristics of New England – give the scene its sweeping scale. Metcalf’s high point of view and nearly square canvas (popular at the time) create a deep space, which the delicate, short, brushstrokes fill with a pleasant softness”

 

This painting is not currently on view but is scheduled to be included in the re-installation of the Singer Memorial Gallery, happening later this year.

 

We hope this painting from the WCMFA collection will fill you with the warmth of summer and you can remember the lovely greens and yellows as you shovel snow.

 

We Need Your Opinion

From the WCMFA's Director

Dear Friend,
I write to invite you to participate in a brief survey relating to the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts in Hagerstown, Maryland. The survey should take no more than 10 minutes.

The museum is undertaking a survey of its audiences and potential audiences, and we would be grateful for your participation. The survey results will assist the museum in future planning for its exhibitions, programs and communications.

Your email will not be captured for the museum's marketing purposes and your identity will not be known when the survey results are compiled.

Please use this web like below to participate:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/QDKBP3V

Thank you for your help!

Rebecca Massie Lane, Director