Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, Announces 2017 Exhibition Schedule

Exhibitions featuring Andrew Wyeth, Maurice Sendak, the art collection of figure skating legend Dick Button, and much more

COOPERSTOWN, N.Y. — Coming off a record-breaking season, Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, New York, has announced its 2017 schedule of new exhibitions on view April 1 through December 31. The season is filled with a mix of exciting exhibits featuring world-renowned artists such as Maurice Sendak, creator of the famous book Where the Wild Things Are, with 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons, Maurice Sendak: The Memorial Exhibition. Discover a never-before-seen collection of skating art and memorabilia from the private collection of Olympic champion Dick Button in The Art of Figure Skating through the Ages: The Dick Button Collection. Get an intimate look at the life of artist Andrew Wyeth through the eyes of his granddaughter Victoria Wyeth, guest curator of the exhibition Andrew Wyeth at 100: A Family Remembrance. A total of eleven exhibitions will be presented during the museum’s 2017 season.

Public programs will feature appearances by Victoria Wyeth and Dick Button. Figure skating celebrities will visit Fenimore on Saturday, July 15, to support The Art of Figure Skating through the Ages: The Dick Button Collection.

“The Fenimore Art Museum’s 2016 season set new attendance records with exhibits featuring Ansel Adams and Toulouse-Lautrec. We hope to reach new heights this year with another season of impressive art,” said Fenimore Art Museum President and CEO, Dr. Paul S. D’Ambrosio.  “Visitors to Cooperstown will be amazed by the variety of great exhibitions on view, which commence April 1 with Maurice Sendak and the art collection of legendary figure skater and sports commentator Dick Button. On Memorial Day weekend, we open a fascinating Andrew Wyeth exhibition featuring well-known masterpieces and never-before-seen works. Our guests will find something new and exciting throughout the season.”

The season opens April 1 with eight exhibitions including The Art of Figure Skating through the Ages: The Dick Button Collection (April 1–September 17, 2017); 50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons, Maurice Sendak: The Memorial Exhibition (April 1–May 14, 2017); Dwell with Beauty: Native Americans at Home (April 1–December 31, 2017); Hamilton’s Final Act (April 1–December 31, 2017); Edward Curtis among the Kwakiutl (April 1–December 31, 2017); The 11th Contemporary Iroquois Art Biennial (April 1–May 14, 2017); Between Observation and Imagination: Paintings by Tracy Helgeson (April 1–December 31, 2017); and Still and Solemn Chambers: Recent Paintings by Frank Farmer (April 1–December 31, 2017).

The highlight of the summer season is Andrew Wyeth at 100: A Family Remembrance (May 27–September 17, 2017) and Rise up Singing: Jazz Portraits by Herman Leonard (May 27–September 17, 2017).

Our fall season features Our Strength Is Our People: The Humanist Photographs of Lewis Hine (September 16–December 31, 2017).

The most significant works from Fenimore’s world-renowned Thaw Collection will be on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City from May 8, 2017, through January 2018, in the exhibition Masterpieces of American Indian Art from the Thaw Collection at Fenimore Art Museum.

For more information on our 2017 exhibitions and related programs visit FenimoreArtMuseum.org. The Fenimore Art Museum is open April 1 through December 31.  Spring hours (April 1–May 8): 10:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday (closed Mondays).  Summer hours (beginning May 9): open daily 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

This exhibition season is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

2017 Highlight Exhibitions

The Art of Figure Skating through the Ages: The Dick Button Collection
April 1–September 17, 2017

Richard “Dick” Button is a former American figure skater and a well-known network television skating commentator. He is a two-time Olympic champion (1948 and 1952) and five-time World Champion (1948–1952).

Button’s collection of ice skating art ranges from 17th-century Dutch paintings to 20th-century sculpture. This multidisciplinary collection showcases the full range of media in which ice skating has appeared, and tells the story of the pervasiveness of the sport in everyday life across various cultures and time periods. In addition to fine art, visitors will see costumes, photographs, advertising art, antique skates, and much more.

Dick Button will make appearances through the season. Special programming is scheduled July 15 featuring well-known names from the world of figure skating. Visit FenimoreArtMuseum.org for more information on dates and times.

Support provided by a Market NY grant through I LOVE NY/NewYork State’s Division of Tourism as a part of the Regional Economic Development Council awards.

50 Years, 50 Works, 50 Reasons
Maurice Sendak: The Memorial Exhibition
April 1–May 14, 2017

In words and images, Maurice Sendak gave form to the fierce power of a child’s imagination. This commemorative exhibition will include many highlights from his 60-year-long career, including original illustrations from Where the Wild Things Are, Little Bear, In the Night Kitchen, and other books; set design and costume sketches; animation reels; posters; sculpture; and more. The fifty works of art will be accompanied by quotes from fifty celebrities, renowned illustrators, friends of the artist, politicians, and other personalities who will share their thoughts about Maurice Sendak and how he inspired them, influenced their careers, and touched their lives. In the words of former President Bill Clinton, “Perhaps no one has done as much to show the power of the written word on children, not to mention on their parents, as Maurice Sendak.”

Exhibit organized by Opar, Inc.

Andrew Wyeth at 100: A Family Remembrance
May 27–September 4, 2017

This exhibition celebrates Andrew Wyeth’s 100th birthday as expressed by his granddaughter and guest curator, Victoria Wyeth. The exhibition will include objects from Ms. Wyeth’s personal collection, many never-before exhibited, including Andrew Wyeth’s sketches, studies, paintings, artifacts, and ephemera, as well as Ms. Wyeth’s own photographs of her grandfather. It will also include Andrew Wyeth paintings from public and private collections. The exhibition will share an intimate view of the artist in his role as husband, father, and grandfather, and explore those relationships through art, artifacts, and photographs. On view will be two of Wyeth’s most popular works—Master Bedroom (1965) and The Revenant (1949). Public programs for the exhibition will feature appearances by Victoria Wyeth.

Rise up Singing: Jazz Portraits by Herman Leonard
May 27–September 17, 2017

Photographer Herman Leonard (1923-2010) was renowned for his photographs of many of the 20th century’s greatest jazz artists. This exhibition features Leonard’s portraits of jazz legends such as Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Dizzy Gillespie, and Lena Horne.

Exhibit organized by Herman Leonard Photography, LLC

Our Strength Is Our People: The Humanist Photographs of Lewis Hine
September 16–December 31, 2017

Lewis Wickes Hine (1874–1940) was considered the father of American documentary photography. This exhibition consists of rare vintage prints, and covers the three overarching themes of Hine’s three-decade career: the immigrant experience; child labor; and the American worker, culminating in his magnificent studies of the construction of the Empire State Building.

All works are from the collection of Michael Mattis and Judith Hochberg. This exhibition was organized by art2art Circulating Exhibitions.

Hamilton’s Final Act
April 1–December 31, 2017

On July 11, 1804, one of the most infamous duels in history took place, which led to the death of one of America’s Founding Fathers—Alexander Hamilton. The Fenimore marks this tragic occurrence with Hamilton’s Final Act. The exhibit focuses on the letters between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr that led to the eventual confrontation in Weehawken, New Jersey. Fenimore Art Museum possesses thirty-four original documents relating to the events, including original correspondence, drafts of correspondence, and reports. Examples from this collection will be on display.

In addition, the exhibit presents items relating to Hamilton and Burr including a lock of Hamilton’s hair, clipped from his head by his wife on the day he died, paintings, and other personal artifacts. The exhibit also features painted circles on the museum floor, indicating the exact distance between the men during the final moments of the duel.

About Fenimore Art Museum
The Fenimore Art Museum, located on the shores of Otsego Lake—James Fenimore Cooper’s “Glimmerglass Lake”—in historic Cooperstown, New York, features a wide-ranging collection of American art including: folk art; important American 18th- and 19th-century landscape, genre, and portrait paintings; an extensive collection of domestic artifacts; more than 125,000 historical photographs representing the technical developments made in photography and providing extensive visual documentation of the region’s unique history; and the renowned Eugene and Clare Thaw Collection of American Indian Art comprising more than 800 art objects representative of a broad geographic range of North American Indian cultures, from the Northwest Coast, Eastern Woodlands, Plains, Southwest, Great Lakes, and Prairie regions.