Fun / No Fun: Children's Book Art by James Stevenson Curator's Tour

Kids know him as the author and illustrator of hundreds of children’s books that induce fits of giggles with silliness voiced in an honest, simple, and gentle way. Deftly drawn with an assured line and colored with soft watercolor washes, Stevenson’s whimsical sketches evoke a sense of memory and nostalgia. The understated drawings are populated by a cast of characters in settings that Stevenson conjured precisely to suit the story. A 1990 New York Times article articulates how movies, a favorite entertainment, were his inspiration in the development of children’s books, ''You cast, write the script, set design, find the right actors, people you care about, have them say the right things, find locations, the right stove for the kitchen.'' In a 2019 documentary, Stevenson - Lost and Found, his family describes how the self-taught artist was always sketching and that the familial soundtrack was accompanied by the constant scratching of his pen on paper.

African American “Protest” Art Lecture – Professor Mary Ann Calo

The Bruce Contemporaries hosted an engaging and informative lecture on the topic of African American "Protest" Art given by Professor Mary Ann Calo.

This lecture examined how Black artists in the 20th century sought to convey ideas about racial injustice through their artworks. 

  Beginning with the fairly reserved approach to protest in the Harlem Renaissance and during the Depression, moving to the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, and ending with the various approaches that emerged in contemporary art at the end of the century.

Mary Ann Calo, Batza Professor of Art History, Emerita, recently retired from the faculty of Colgate University where she taught courses on modern and contemporary art history, the arts and public policy, and American art. During her 25 years at Colgate, she also served as Chair of the Art and Art History Department, Associate Dean of the Faculty, Director of the Institute for the Creative and Performing Arts, and Director of the Division of Arts and Humanities. 

Prof. Calo is the author of three books and numerous articles. Her edited volume, Critical Issues in American Art, is widely used as a textbook for college courses on American Art. Calo’s most recent book, Distinction and Denial: Race, Nation and the Critical Construction of the African American Artist, 1920-1940, focused on the critical reception of African American artists in the early 20th century. She has just completed a study of African American artists and the New Deal federal art projects of the 1930s.

Calo also spent many years living and working in Italy, initially as a student and then later as a professor. She led a study group for Colgate in Venice and was a visiting professor of modern art at Syracuse University in Florence. Since her retirement, Prof. Calo has led study tours to Rome and Venice, for Colgate alumni, parents, and friends, focused on “Italy: Past and Present.” She is hoping to visit Florence in 2021 as part of this series.

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Floating Beauty: Women in the Art of Ukiyo-e - Virtual Tour

Private tour of the Bruce Museum's exhibition Floating Beauty: Women in the Art of Ukiyo-e that examines historical perspectives on women and their depiction in art in Edo Period Japan (1615 – 1858). Made up entirely of woodblock prints created in the ukiyo-e style, this exhibition highlights female characters in literature, kabuki theatre, and poetry; the courtesans and geisha of the Yoshiwara district; and wives and mothers from different social classes performing the duties of their station, in order to gain some insight into the lives of women in pre-modern Japan.

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Bruce Museum to Reopen to the Public

Skye Anker, Greenwich Academy, Grade 12, Rhino Poaching, Digital Media

The Bruce Museum reopened the Museum to members and the public Saturday, June 27, 2020,

Says Robert Wolterstorff, The Susan E. Lynch Executive Director: “Heartfelt thanks to you—our visiting public, and especially our passionate Museum members—for your steadfast support of the Bruce during the past three months while we were closed due to the pandemic.”

“I’m pleased that so many of you discovered, used, and enjoyed the new online programs, exhibitions, and events that we developed to serve you. We plan on continuing our increased digital presence in the future—but as a Museum, we are really about providing you with the chance to experience real objects in real space. We have some great Art and Science exhibitions right now. That’s why we can’t wait to welcome you back to the Museum. We have made many changes to procedures and protocols to make you safe during your visit. We look forward to seeing you here again soon.”

Admission to the Bruce Museum beginning June 27 will be by advance reservation, with timed ticketing to ensure the comfort and safety of visitors and staff. Admission will be free to all visitors upon the Museum’s reopening to the public.

The following hours of operation and admission policy will be in effect starting June 27 until further notice:

9:30 – 10:30 am, Tuesday through Sunday: The Museum is open only to self-selected individuals over the age of 65 or who are immunocompromised.

10:30 – 11:30 am, Tuesday through Sunday: The Bruce is pleased to welcome Museum members only for one hour of special access.

All remaining Museum hours are unchanged. To reserve a timed ticket to visit the Bruce Museum, visit brucemuseum.org or call 203-869-0376. (Please note that the Museum will be closed on Saturday, July 4, in observance of the Fourth of July Holiday.)

Maximum safe occupancy for each exhibition space or area has been calculated to allow for social distancing between groups (including staff) and to comply with state social gathering size guidance.

Visitors are required to wear a mask or cloth face covering that completely covers the nose and mouth, as directed by state law and CDC guidelines. The exhibition galleries of the Museum will employ one-way flow and limited capacities. Signage in the parking lot, outside the entrance, and inside the Museum will indicate social distance markers and visitor flow. Touchable interactives will be disabled throughout the galleries. Hand sanitizer shall be made available at entrance points and common areas. The Museum Store will be open, with controlled access and minimal touch transactions.

On view in the Bantle Lecture Gallery is the iCreate 2020 exhibition of emerging artists. This highly regarded annual juried competition, in its11th consecutive year, will feature approximately 55 works of fine art selected from more than 850 submissions from high school students throughout Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York. iCreate 2020 will be on view through August 2.

The Bruce Museum is pleased to announce that the major international exhibition, On the Edge of the World: Masterworks by Laurits Andersen Ring from SMK—the National Gallery of Denmark, has been extended and will be on view in the main gallery through August 9. On the Edge of the World showcases 25 of the most important pieces that represent the key themes and sheer variety and complexity of the work of L.A. Ring, considered one of the most important figures in Danish art. The Bruce Museum is the only East Coast venue to host the exhibition in the U.S.

The Under the Skin science exhibition is on view in the Museum’s newly expanded gallery space. Under the Skin samples images made possible by a remarkable array of technologies—CT scanning, infrared cameras, electron microscopy, and more—that allow scientists to visualize the marvels of evolution that lie below the surface. Natural history specimens from the Bruce Museum and on loan from other collections complement each image.

If you have any questions about the safety guidelines, please review this set of FAQs or call 203-869-0376 prior to your visit.