Indianapolis Museum of Art Blog

The IMA rarely has the luxury of reframing the paintings in its collection, since funds to pay for new frames are not readily available. A frame is an important part of a painting that serves not only to enhance the image but also to protect it.  Several paintings at the IMA have unsuitable frames that do nothing to enhance the beauty of the work and may actually detract from it.  One of those paintings is Abbott Thayer’s 1886 Still Life, a simple but lush depiction of a peony in a pewter-lined copper bowl.  This spare but dramatic still life was in a deteriorating reproduction frame that had a negative affect on the painting.

Last year the work appeared in the exhibition American Art and the East at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.  It was seen by Eli Wilner, a leading frame dealer and restorer, who noticed that the frame did not show the painting to its best advantage.  Mr. Wilner contacted the IMA and made a proposal to reframe the painting for a minimal payment from the museum.  The IMA was being given the opportunity to obtain a museum quality frame that we would not have been able to purchase if Mr. Wilner had not offered to donate most of its cost.

A comparison of Thayer’s still life before and after reframing shows a stunning transformation in the presentation of the painting.  It is now surrounded by a frame that resembles those of the period in which it was created and one that brings out the beauty of the image.  Mr. Wilner has offered to help the IMA reframe additional paintings with his support, so we are hoping that we will be able to take advantage of this very generous offer in the future.

The next time you are visiting the IMA come to the American galleries and see the Abbott Thayer still life in its new frame and experience what the appropriate frame can do for a painting.

I’m sorry. I know I’m supposed to be used to whatever nature throws my way. But really, 90-plus degrees in June? That’s just hateful. Hateful. I live in Indiana. I know the deal. It can be freezing one night and 80 a day or two later. I know to accept the weather. I – know – to – accept – the – weather. Knowing and doing ain’t always in sync. I love my tropicals and summer annuals and this weather is ideal for them. I want big bananas. I need big banana heat. The fact is though, normal June temps of 80 or so are just fine for growing bananas. I’m not freakin’ Carmen Miranda trying to grow a new hat.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just days before the opening of the exhibition “Kodachrome Culture: The American Tourist in Europe,” Kodak announced that it would discontinue Kodachrome film.

First Polaroid, now this?!

The slide film, known for its rich colors and clarity, has been available commercially since 1935. It now accounts for less than 1% of Kodak’s still-film sales. You’ve probably seen this famous Kodachrome portrait:

Sharbat Gula, Afghan Girl, 1984. © Steve McCurry

Read the rest of this entry »

A few weeks ago, when the weather was not as scorching as it’s predicted to be this week, I wandered outside for a walk around the lake with my camera after lunch. I had been out before earlier in the spring and created a great panorama from a set of photos that I had taken, but the sky was a bit overcast and the overall mood was somewhat gloomy.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ever since Indiana Jones began his pulpy adventure series into far-flung and exotic locations, the discovery of artifacts has gone from a virtually unheard of profession to a glamorous one, seemingly designed for a dichotomous group of swashbuckling rogues and charming intellectuals.  Archaeology has evolved (much like its subjects) from the cavalier work of aristocratic colonialists like Lord Elgin and Captain Cook to a field far more accessible to the public.  Some of said discoveries may even take place in, wonder of wonders, Indiana.  Mine was free of cannibalism and international conflict, but not, I promise, free of intrigue.

Now, Dear Reader, you can by a mere flick of the clicking finger discover what we’ve discovered at the IMA, which, I think, is pretty rad in the stealthy world of museum administration.  Most recently, what we’ve unearthed is not from Jaipur or Nimrud, but from an apparently long-forgotten box on a shelf.  But sometimes it happens that real life discoveries are just as romantic as those of Dr. Jones’s folklore.

Read the rest of this entry »