BRANDY MCDONNELL

Preview: Oklahoma City Museum of Art opening blockbuster exhibit 'Van Gogh, Monet, Degas'

Brandy McDonnell
Museum staff and crew carefully examine a glass case over several bronze sculptures in the exhibit "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," ensuring the glass is dust free and clean, Thursday, June 13, 2019. The exhibit will be on view June 22 through Sept. 22 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. [Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman]
Vincent van Gogh's (Dutch, 1853–1890) "Daisies, Arles (detail)" from 1888 is included in the exhibit Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," which will be on view June 22 through Sept. 22, 2019, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. [Image provided]

An abbreviated version of this story appeared in Thursday's The Oklahoman. 

Magnifique masterworks: OKC Museum of Art showcasing exhibit of French art including 'Van Gogh, Monet, Degas'

Moving with concentrated precision, a herd of art installers carefully lifted a massive glass case just long enough for Chief Preparator Trent Lawson to carefully wipe away infinitesimal specks of fuzz and dust.

The glass had already been polished and dusted, but Ernesto Sánchez, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art’s head of design and installation, still studied it under a glaring spotlight, looking for any smudge or smear that might mar the view of the priceless ponies to be protected by the case.

The small crowd of curators, installers and registrars visibly relaxed once the glass was in place and the small string of priceless bronzes horses crafted by French master sculptor and painter Edgar Degas – as well as one of a “Dismounted Jockey and Racehorse (Vainqueur!!!)” by Pierre-Jules Mene – were safely displayed beneath it.

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art has been working for weeks to get its latest blockbuster special exhibition, “Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts,” into the starting gate. Featuring the works of additional iconic artists like Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, Manet, Gauguin and Rousseau, the exhibit opens to the public Saturday and is expected to attract thousands of art lovers, students and out-of-town visitors before it closes Sept. 22.

“It is literally all of the names that you study; they are in the art history books. It’s something you don’t want to miss. Maybe some of are a little lesser-known than Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, but they’re all pretty significant,” said OKC Museum of Art Assistant Curator Jessica Provencher. “I’m very excited that we’re bringing it to Oklahoma City. … A lot of these artists you won’t be able to see anywhere else in Oklahoma.”

Pierre-Auguste Renoir's (French, 1841–1919) "Pensive (La Songeuse) or Day Dreaming" is included in the exhibit Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," which will be on view June 22 through Sept. 22, 2019, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. [Image provided]
A worker helps with setup of the exhibit "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts" Thursday, June 13, 2019. The exhibit is on view June 22-Sept. 22 at the OKC museum. [Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman]

Expanded opportunities

Featuring more than 70 works – mostly paintings but also eight bronze sculptures – the traveling exhibit celebrates Paul and Rachel Mellon’s extraordinary gift of 19th and early 20th-century French art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

The OKC museum - which in 2015 showcased “Faberge: Jeweler to the Tsars,” another exhibit from the Virginia museum’s holdings - is the exclusive Southwest U.S. venue on the tour.

“This is another wonderful example of the partnership between the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art,” said OKC Museum of Art President and CEO E. Michael Whittington as he watched workers placing the glass case over the horse sculptures. “This is a chance to really see what an incredible legacy the Mellon family has left not only Virginia but the people of the United States as well.”

As with the 2016 special exhibition “Matisse in His Time: Masterworks of Modernism from the Centre Pompidou, Paris,” the OKC museum staff is using timed ticketing to manage what are anticipated to be large crowds, especially on weekends. The museum will be selling tickets in 15-minute increments daily for “Van Gogh, Monet, Degas,” and visitors can book online ahead of time or just come to the museum and get the next available time slot.

“There will be plenty of tickets, but the nice thing will be you’ll go into the exhibition with a group and you’ll be able to really get close to the paintings and not feel like there’s big crowds. It will be staggered so that we’re not just unleashing 200 people into the gallery at once. We think that will provide the best possible experience for people and make it easier on our staff,” said Becky Weintz, the museum’s marketing and communications director, adding that some time slots for opening weekend are already sold out.

In addition, the museum will go back to its extended summer schedule after the exhibit’s opening weekend, she said, resuming Tuesday daytime hours as well as Thursday evening hours.

Claude Monet's "Irises by a Pond," circa 1914-17, is included in the exhibit Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts," which will be on view June 22 through Sept. 22, 2019, at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. [Image provided]
Museum staff and crew carefully place a glass case over several bronze sculptures of horses in the exhibit "Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts" Thursday, June 13, 2019. The exhibit will be on view June 22 through Sept. 22 at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. [Doug Hoke/The Oklahoman]

Better than photos

Apart from his small sculptures of horses, Degas’ famed bronze “The Little Dancer, Aged Fourteen” is housed in her own glass case. The exhibit features examples of iconic artworks like vibrant landscapes by Monet, delicate portraits by Renoir and an impressive variety of dynamic paintings by Van Gogh.

Although these works are often reproduced in books, on posters, on T-shirts and tote bags, Provencher said nothing compares to seeing them in person.

“It’s incredibly exciting. As soon as every work gets on the table and they start unpacking it, I am there. Every single work I’ve been that way; I’m like, ‘I’m there, I’ve gotta see this.’ So, we’ve gotten into this good rhythm where they take a step back where I can get in there because I want to get up close and see,” Provencher said with a grin.

“I’ve been looking at and studying the images for months now preparing for the trainings and the tours, but the photos do not do the works justice. You really have to see it in person to see the detail, see the texture. Photos just are not the same.”

ON VIEW

“Van Gogh, Monet, Degas: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts”

When: Saturday through Sept. 22.  

Where: Oklahoma City Museum of Art, 415 Couch Drive.

Hours: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets: Exhibit tickets will be sold with a 15-minute window for arrival time, with slots available throughout regular museum hours. The last ticket will be sold at 4 p.m., except on Thursdays, when the the last ticket will be sold at 8:15 p.m.

Admission: $15, includes entry to the entire museum. Free for members.

Information and tickets: okcmoa.com/vangogh.

-BAM