Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future
February 19–May 2, 2010

Eero Saarinen: Shaping the Future is the first major exhibition to examine the architect’s wide-ranging career from the 1930s through the early 1960s. Saarinen was one of the most prolific, unorthodox, and controversial masters of 20th-century architecture. His iconic designs, ranging from the tulip chair to the 630-foot-tall Gateway Arch in Saint Louis, helped create the international image of the United States in the decades following World War II. Saarinen also continued Yale’s commitment to modern architecture through the swooping concrete vaults of Ingalls Hockey Rink. Presented in conjunction with the Yale University School of Architecture, the traveling exhibition features drawings, models, furniture, photographs, films, and ephemera.

Exhibition organized by the Finnish Cultural Institute of New York, Museum of Finnish Architecture, and National Building Museum, with the support of the Yale University School of Architecture.

Image: Eero Saarinen, Side Chair, 1956. Aluminum base, fused plastic finish, molded plastic shell reinforced with fiberglass, and upholstered seat cushion. Yale University Art Gallery, Mabel Brady Garvan Collection

Italian Paintings from the Richard L. Feigen Collection
May 28–September 12, 2010

Italian Paintings from the Richard L. Feigen Collection features some 50 paintings from the 14th through the 17th century by such celebrated artists as Taddeo Gaddi, Orcagna, Lorenzo Monaco, Fra Angelico, Annibale and Ludovico Carracci, Domenichino, Guercino, and Orazio Gentileschi. The exhibition draws from the wide-ranging collection assembled by noted author, collector, and dealer Richard L. Feigen, B.A. 1952, which has never before been catalogued or exhibited in its entirety. This presentation provides a rare opportunity for Gallery visitors to view significant examples of Italian art, ranging from the greatest of Giotto’s followers to the Baroque masters of Bologna, Rome, and Florence. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, copublished with Yale University Press, with a preface by Feigen and entries by Laurence Kanter and John Marciari.

Exhibition and publication organized by Laurence Kanter, the Lionel Goldfrank III Curator of European Art, Yale University Art Gallery, and John Marciari, Curator of Italian and Spanish Painting and Head of Provenance Research, San Diego Museum of Art. Made possible by an endowment created with a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Robert Lehman Exhibition and Publication Fund.

Image: Orazio Gentileschi, Danaë and the Shower of Gold, 1621–22. Oil on canvas. Collection of Richard L. Feigen

John La Farge’s Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890–1891
October 19, 2010–January 2, 2011

Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, Mass.
January 22–March 27, 2011

In 1890, John La Farge and his close friend, the historian Henry Adams, embarked on a journey to the islands of the South Pacific—Hawaii, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Fiji, Sidney, Java, Singapore, and Ceylon—a journey that would keep them away from their homes for well over a year. John La Farge’s Second Paradise: Voyages in the South Seas, 1890–1891 showcases the most important La Farge oils, watercolors, and sketches from that trip—some executed on site, others upon La Farge’s return to his home studio. The exhibition is inspired by the acquisition by the Gallery of 11 previously unknown sketchbooks from the trip—also on display in the exhibition—filled with drawings of people and landscapes, as well as copious notes on culture and language, providing new insight into this period in La Farge’s career. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue, copublished with Yale University Press.

Exhibition and publication organized by Elisabeth Hodermarksy, the Sutphin Family Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs, Yale University Art Gallery. Made possible by a grant from the Terra Foundation for American Art; Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Sherrill, B.A. 1975; Denise Bouché Fitch in memory of George Hopper Fitch, B.A. 1932; Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Sutphin, B.A. 1981; and Mr. and Mrs. James E. Duffy, B.A. 1951, with additional support provided by an endowment created with a challenge grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Image: John La Farge, Boy in Canoe Passing in front of Our House, Vaiala, Samoa, 1896. Watercolor and gouache with graphite underdrawing. Yale University Art Gallery, Gift of Mrs. John Hay Whitney