Mississippi river art explored in exhibit

Art Business News, June, 2004

Art exemplifying the lifestyles of communities along the Mississippi River will be on display starting June 27 at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts' exhibit, "Currents of Change: Art and Life Along the Mississippi River, 1850-1861." The exhibition commemorates the 150th anniversary of two major events that garnered the upper Mississippi River status: the 1854 Grand Excursion, when prominent citizens from the east were invited on a train and riverboat trip to and along the Mississippi River, and the writing of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha.

The mid-1800s were a tumultuous time for the United States; the railroad was new, the Industrial Revolution had begun and civil war was looming. This exhibit contends that nowhere are all these dramatic changes better embodied than around and along the Mississippi River. The river itself, long used for trading purposes, was suddenly becoming the conduit to a culturally thriving and artistically rich environment.

"Currents of Change" explores the world of art along the Mississippi River through an assembly of approximately 150 objects, including paintings, photographs, drawings, furniture, sculptures and ceramics. The exhibit features a Rococo Revival pitcher created for one of seven steamboat captains on the Grand Excursion, as well as the only existing panorama of the Mississippi River. Spanning 340 feet, the moving landscape will be shown in a theatrical setting, similarly to how it would have been viewed in the 1850s.

Rarely seen works on loan from museums, historical societies, and private collections will be included. The exhibition will also feature three essays addressing Longfellow's impact on the country's identity, the patterns of patronage and decoration along the river, and the landscape, people, and architecture in paintings of the era. The exhibit runs through Sept. 26.

SHOW FACTS

"Currents of Change: Art and Life Along the Mississippi River, 1850--1861"

June 27-Sept. 26

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Address: 2400 Third Ave. S. Minneapolis, MN

Phone: (612) 870-3171

Web site: www.artsmia.org