#AskAConservator Day
✨#AskAConservator Day is finally here ✨ This is your chance to learn about the work that goes into the exhibitions and preventive care of the collections held by the YCBA. Submit your questions to our conservators in the comments section below!
Video by Sophie Henry, (Yale University , Jonathan Edwards College '2023), Bursary Student in the Conservation department
Whitney
Cheers to the British artist Veronica Ryan on being selected to participate in the 2022 Whitney Biennial, the longest-running exhibition of its kind. Sixty-three artists and collectives will be featured from April 6 through September 5 at the Whitney Museum of American Art!
April Programs at the Center
"The Irish Girl" brought to life
Courtney J. Martin, Cerebral Women Podcast
Constable Cloud Study
Our latest coloring plate is inspired by the sublime beauty of John Constable's "Cloud Study." A beloved British landscape artist in the grand romantic tradition, Constable made nearly a hundred oil sketches of clouds, an activity he referred to as "skying." Painting outside in the open air, he capture the nuanced effects of light and atmospheric conditions true to a particular moment and place. These sketches then informed the skies Constable improvised for his larger studio works, such as "Hadleigh Castle" or "Stratford Mill." Although each cloud study is unique in composition, coloration, and mood, together they speak of a sky continually alive with sentiment, of nature forever in flux.
Will your clouds be true to the inflections of your present landscape or will they glow with the promise of a dreamscape all your own? Download the coloring plate, grab your artist's tools, and let your imagination float free. Get started! https://bit.ly/2QwG60k
We want to see your work. Share your creations by tagging @yalebritishart or email us at [email protected].
Spaniel Coloring Plate
The dog days of summer may be over but if you miss them, revisit our coloring plate inspired by George Stubbs's "Brown and White Norfolk or Water Spaniel". A favorite artist of the Center's founder, Paul Mellon (Yale University, Class of 1929), Stubbs was known for his lifelike animal portraits.
Will your spaniel be carefully realistic, or utterly fantastical? Grab your artist's tools, download our coloring plate, and let your imagination run wild! Learn more: https://bit.ly/2QwG60k
Dog Days
Has your summer gone to the dogs? Escape the lingering heat by relaxing with our latest coloring plate, inspired by George Stubbs's "Brown and White Norfolk or Water Spaniel." The eighteenth-century painter was a particular favorite of Paul Mellon, the Center's founder. Self-trained as an artist, and influenced by his fascination with, and study of, anatomy, Stubbs is best known for his paintings of animals. Masterly rendered with drama, pathos, and zoological verisimilitude, often on an epic scale, Stubbs's portraits of animals—ranging from dogs to horses to lions to zebras—continue to delight the Center's visitors.
Will your spaniel be carefully realistic or utterly fantastical? Download the coloring plate, gather your artist's tools, and let your imagination run wild! https://britishart.yale.edu/color-our-collections
We want to see your work. Share your creations by tagging @yalebritishart or email us at [email protected]. #YCBAdraw
"The Wave" activity
Catch a wave with us! Our latest coloring plate is inspired by C. R. W. Nevinson's "The Wave" (https://bit.ly/30nwSYz). A painter, printmaker, and avant-garde controversialist, Nevinson was most famous for his powerful depictions of the First World War. His work was the subject of a retrospective exhibition, "C. R. W. Nevinson: The Twentieth Century," on view at the Center in 2000.
Influenced by modernist movements such as futurism and cubism, the techniques with which Nevinson so memorably and effectively depicted the hard realities of the war were also evident in his landscapes of the period. Here, the faceted forms of the waves express immediacy and urgency of movement, while strong lines rhythmically repeated convey the forces of direction and speed.
Will your wave be turbulent? Or will it be beckoning? Download our latest coloring plate, gather your artist's tools, and let your creativity flow into a seascape all your own.
Make one now: https://bit.ly/3h0r8L3
We want to see your work. Share your creations by tagging @yalebritishart or #YCBAdraw.
Phillip King's "Slant" activity
This paper model is based on Phillip King’s "Slant" (https://bit.ly/38wilxG), a monumental sculpture that is about the size of a small car. The work was originally painted green and displayed outside in a large field. Try to picture this, and you will understand why the artist decided to change the color: King eventually repainted the entire surface bright red to contrast with the green grass. If you look very closely, you can still see tiny bits of green paint peeking through in some places.
King created this large sculpture from eight separate pieces of an industrial material known as arborite. He then paired the pieces together, joined the sections, and overlapped them on the floor.
Now it is your turn to make a version of "Slant!" Think about the size that you will make your sculpture, the colors you will use to decorate it, and where you will place it. How do these factors affect each other?
Make one now: https://bit.ly/3dWE8iX
We want to see your work. Share your creations by tagging @yalebritishart or email us at [email protected]. #YCBAcreate
Fourth of July
The Fourth of July, also called Independence Day, is the annual celebration of America’s independence from Great Britain. This national holiday commemorates the passage of the Declaration of Independence by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776. Early festivities celebrating the day included thirteen fireworks in honor of the thirteen colonies that were declared united and independent states as well as processions, picnics, contests, and games.
Today we highlight American artists in our collection, all of whom had careers in Britain. Stay safe and enjoy the holiday weekend!
Images one to five: James McNeill Whistler, "Nocturne in Blue and Silver," 1872 to 1878, butterfly added ca. 1885, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Fund (https://bit.ly/3eOsPL3); Thomas Sully, "Landscape Looking Through Ruined Archway," undated, watercolor, pen and brown ink, graphite and gouache on paper, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (https://bit.ly/3dPi9ut); Benjamin West, "The Artist and His Family," ca. 1772, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (https://bit.ly/3imbMlN); John Singleton Copley, "Mrs. Robert Hyde," 1778, oil on canvas, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection (https://bit.ly/3iqvwo8); Henry Pelham, "Portrait of the Fourth Baron Cleraine," undated, gouache and watercolor on ivory, Yale Center for British Art, Gift of Robert Bayne Powell (https://bit.ly/2VAv39e)
Paper sculpture zebra, courtesy of Melissa Leone, after George Stubbs, Zebra, 1763
These hooves were made for walkin’. . . . You know the rest! Sing along while you cut out, color, and construct your own sculptural masterpiece inspired by works from the Center's collection. Our most recent template takes after George Stubbs’s perennially popular painting "Zebra." Download it here: https://bit.ly/3cWIjuG
Share your creations by tagging #YCBAcreate (we'll repost!), and visit our website for more ideas and inspiration.
Staff Artist Spotlight | Center Connections
Staff members at the Yale Center for British Art are not only dedicated to caring for and making accessible thousands of works of art but many are also practicing artists. These employees, whose roles at the Center span every department, engage with the collection and interact with the Louis I. Kahn building in a myriad of ways. To highlight these experiences, an upcoming series of stories will illustrate how the Center inspires the unique perspectives and creative outputs of the artists on our staff.
Each week through our "Center Connections" campaign, we will present an original artwork by one of our staff members alongside a work from the Center’s collection, an architectural aspect of the building, or another point of connection.
Perhaps now more than ever, it is important that public museums like the Center find new ways to build community and make connections between artists, staff, visitors, and global audiences. Objects within the Center’s collection act as gateways to the past, encourage artists to explore the present, and serve as inspiration to create for the future. The opportunity to engage with these objects, their stories, and the wonders of technical production is, for our artistic colleagues, what makes working for the Center exciting and fulfilling. We hope you will learn something new about the Center and get to know the talented artists on our staff through this project.
Video: Eileen Hogan, who was the subject of an exhibition on view at the Center in 2019, paints different versions of her portrait of HRH The Prince of Wales, 2016, photo by Sandra Lousada; Rachel Hellerich, Senior Museum Preparator at the Center, works in her studio on "Polar Flare," 2016, photo by Damien Buchwald
Mary Leslie's sketchbook, ca. 1890
For World Bee Day, we're taking up the United Nations' call to stress how important pollinators are to the health of our global ecosystem. This sweet illustration, with its buzzing bees and watchful cat, may have been intended for a children's book project.
The drawing comes from a sketchbook by the artist Mary Leslie, which can be found in the Center's Charles Robert Leslie Collection. Mary was the fifth child of Harriet and Charles Robert Leslie (John Constable's biographer). Showing a keen artistic talent early in life, she became a book illustrator.
Learn more: https://bit.ly/3dQaVqq
Image: Mary Leslie, Sketchbook, ca. 1890, watercolor, graphite, and pen and ink, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
Exhibition Tour | Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement
Missing our sadly shuttered "Victorian Radicals" exhibition? You may now visit this stunning show through a virtual tour—narrated by Tim Barringer, Paul Mellon Professor of the History of Art at Yale University—and appreciate the unparalleled visual richness of Victorian art from the comfort of your own home.
Watch the full tour online: https://bit.ly/2SRERKD
"Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement" is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (UK). This exhibition is supported by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional funding is provided by Clare McKeon and the Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation.
Coloring book plate, after J. M. W. Turner's "Dort"
Had fun with our first coloring plate? Pick back up your artist's tools, download our new design, and show us your skills once again. This one takes after J. M. W. Turner's eight-foot-long masterpiece "Dort or Dordrecht: The Dort packet-boat from Rotterdam becalmed."
Share your work by tagging #YCBAdraw (we'll repost!), and visit our website for more information, ideas, and inspiration: https://bit.ly/2x3sfbN.
J. M. W. Turner's “Channel Sketchbook,” ca. 1845
In honor of J. M. W. Turner—who would have been 245 years old today—and World Book Day, we bring you his "Channel Sketchbook" (ca. 1845). The artist worked in sketchbooks throughout much of his career, leaving nearly 300 of them in his bequest to the British nation, now at Tate. Our Turner sketchbook is a rare exception, making its way to the US after it was acquired by the Center's founder, Paul Mellon.
Within its pages, drawings and annotations make for fascinating viewing and provide a striking insight into Turner's methods late in his career, as it’s thought to be his final sketchbook. It’s also believed that the artist worked from front to back on the right-hand pages, and then he turned the sketchbook over and worked in the opposite direction.
While many fellow landscape painters worked “en plein air”—with easel, canvas or paper, and a full watercolor set—Turner’s quick drawings and notes allowed for a great number of sketches that he could then reference in his studio. Sketching outdoors allowed Turner to study nature and its effects, while training his eye and hand. Some of the elements or details from a sketch would then make their way into finished studio paintings. Many of the 74 watercolors and 26 graphite drawings comprising this sketchbook are thought to have been rapidly made on the spot along England’s south coast and France’s north coast in the mid-1840s, while others appear to be imaginary.
Images: J. M. W. Turner, “Channel Sketchbook,” ca. 1845, graphite and watercolor on paper, Yale Center for British Art, Paul Mellon Collection
The Quiet Intensity of Gwen John's Painting
We believe art is for everyone. Thanks to Google, and its many cultural partners, there’s more of it at your fingertips than ever before.
As part of World Art Day, the Center has made over 10,000 additional artworks available through the Google Arts & Culture web platform and mobile app. This includes selections from the Center’s growing collection of photographs, along with a host of acquisitions made since 2011 of paintings, sculpture, and works on paper. Alongside these artworks, there are number of exhibits that feature highlights from the Center’s collection, including works by Gwen John, William Hogarth, and William Larkin.
Visit our collections on Google Arts & Culture: https://bit.ly/3ereRPi
Coloring book plate, after George Stubbs, Zebra
Add some color to your day by getting creative with our collection. Download a coloring book plate from our website, inspired by George Stubbs's "Zebra," and show us your skills! Share your work by tagging #YCBAdraw.
For more information, visit: https://bit.ly/3498trd
Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement
The Center presents "Victorian Radicals: From the Pre-Raphaelites to the Arts and Crafts Movement," an exhibition focused on three generations of young and rebellious artists and designers who responded to the rise of industrialization by revolutionizing art in Victorian Britain.
This exhibition is organized by the American Federation of Arts and Birmingham Museums Trust.
YCBA Institutional Archives
Ever wonder what you can find in the Center’s Institutional Archives?
The repository contains collections that document the museum’s history and the people who’ve brought it to life. Since 2012, our archivists have worked tirelessly to collect and manage a variety of material.
Inside our archives, you can examine all manner of records, but some highlights include: architectural drawings by Louis I. Kahn, exhibition records, art provenance, and our founder Paul Mellon’s personal archive.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll showcase some of our favorite gems. Keep an eye out!
Yale Shopping Week | December 9–15, 2019
Celebrate Yale Shopping Week by supporting the university’s art museums this holiday season. Yale faculty, staff, and students receive 20 percent off of entire purchases at the Center’s Museum Shop and the Art Gallery’s Museum Store. Save big between December 9 and 15, 2019.
Holiday Cheer from the Museum Shop
Are you putting off your holiday shopping? Too cold? Too crowded? Too commercial? Too everything?
Let the Museum Shop come to your aid—receive 10 percent off your entire purchase (members receive 20 percent) and benefit the Center while fulfilling your holiday obligations. Save now through December 31, 2019.
Museum Store Sunday | December 1, 2019
On Sunday, December 1, the Center’s Museum Shop offers an inspired shopping experience as part of Museum Store Sunday—a global initiative with 1,100 participating cultural institutions that celebrates the vital and unique role museum stores play in their communities and within the broader culture. Enjoy 25 percent off all purchases from noon to 5 pm.
Migrating Worlds: The Art of the Moving Image in Britain
The Center opens its first exhibition ever dedicated to the power of the moving image with ten works by some of Britain’s leading film and video artists.
"Migrating Worlds: The Art of the Moving Image in Britain" presents a range of approaches to contemporary filmmaking, from the poetic to the conceptual. Featuring Theo Eshetu, Isaac Julien, Rosalind Nashashibi, Charlotte Prodger, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Zineb Sedira, John Smith, and Alia Syed, this exhibition offers insights into British life and culture, and questions the definitions of identity and belonging.
The Hilton Als Series: Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
We present an exhibition of recent works by the acclaimed British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
This display is the second in a series of three devoted to women artists working in Britain today, curated by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hilton Als in collaboration with Yiadom-Boakye and the Center.
The selection of paintings from private lenders and etchings from our own collection, focus on Yiadom-Boakye’s interest in making portraits of fictional people of color drawn from found images and her rich imagination.
