The Museum of Art looks forward to welcoming alumni back to campus for Reunion weekend on June 2 and 3. Please drop by on these two days, as Museum staff will provide tours at 1:30 and 3:00 pm. Among the different exhibitions awaiting visitors is the recently-opened Why Draw? 500 Years of Drawings and Watercolors at Bowdoin College, a gathering of 150 remarkable works on paper drawn exclusively from the Museum's collection. Later in the month, on June 24, the much-anticipated exhibition The Ivory Mirror: The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe opens to the public with a keynote lecture by the exhibition's curator Stephen Perkinson, the Peter M. Small Associate Professor of Art History at Bowdoin. This exhibition will focus in particular on a group of rare carved ivories borrowed from major museums such as the Victoria & Albert and the Metropolitan Museum of Art and will demonstrate the artistic interest in the macabre and human mortality during the Renaissance.
 
Anne Collins Goodyear & Frank H. Goodyear
Co-Directors
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
exhibitions
OPENING SOON     
 
The Ivory Mirror: The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe
 
Opening June 24, 2017

This exhibition examines a critical facet of late medieval and early modern culture: the centrality of the macabre. The theme reached the apex of its popularity in the years around 1500, when artists working in a variety of media treated it in innovative and compelling ways. The exhibition focuses in particular on a group of carved ivories, but will also display related works in other media to demonstrate the widespread interest in human mortality.
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CLOSING SOON

Modern Medieval: Materiality and Spirituality in German Expressionism 
     
Closing June 4, 2017

This exhibition positions art works from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries in dialogue with German works from the early twentieth century, traversing the boundary of time to draw visual and conceptual connections. The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: the use of late-medieval techniques, references to medieval themes, and the representation of medieval subjects in German art.  
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spotlight
 
The opening of The Ivory Mirror: The Art of Mortality in Renaissance Europe on June 24 will bring together objects that reflect Renaissance Europe's understanding of death. The objects that will be on view provide insight into the macabre imagery that reached its height of popularity in the years around 1500.
museum news

The Museum of Art is excited to announce its acquisition of a Neolithic Chinese guan, or jar, generously gifted to the Museum by George and Elaine Keyes in honor of Barry Mills. This 5,000 year-old ceramic vessel is now the oldest object in the Museum's collections.

This summer the Museum will participate in 2nd Friday Brunswick. This event occurs from June through September on the second Friday of each month from 4 pm to 7 pm. Visitors are encouraged to join the festivities which stretch from the Museum to Fort Andross. This year's series will include visual art, live music, dance performances, and extended shopping hours throughout the heart of Brunswick .  

membership
Become a Member of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Welcome back alumni! We hope you'll visit the Museum this summer! There are several exhibitions, featuring art from ancient times to the present, on view for your enjoyment. For more information, please check our home page, or contact Caroline Baljon, Membership and Programs Coordinator, at (207)-725-3276.
 
The support of our members helps us to realize future exhibitions, public programs, and educational offerings, which are always open to students and the general public free of charge. Membership offers special access to events and serves as a connection to a community of students and faculty who are actively engaged at the Museum. If you are not already a member, we hope that you will show your support for the Bowdoin College Museum of Art by joining today !  
 
calendar



June 9
2nd Friday Brunswick
4:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Museum of Art
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June 24
"Lessons for Living: The Macabre in Renaissance Europe ", Stephen Perkinson, Professor of Art History and guest curator of The Ivory Mirror
4:00 pm
Kresge Auditorium
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June 24
Opening Reception and Family Activities
5:00 pm to 6:30 pm
Museum of Art
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June 29
Bowdoin International Music Festival at the Museum 
11:00 am
Museum of Art
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Museum Hours
Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 am - 5:00 pm  |  Thursday: 10:00 am - 8:30 pm  |  Sunday: 1:00 - 5:00 pm

Closed on Mondays and national holidays. 

 

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is open to the public FREE of charge, although donations are welcome. The Museum is wheelchair accessible through the Pavilion entrance.

 

Bowdoin College Museum of Art  |  9400 College Station |  Brunswick, ME 04011  |  207.725.3275 

[email protected]  
    bowdoin.edu/art-museum       Directions

Banner image:
Office of the Dead, Book of Hours, (detail), beginning of the sixteenth century, unknown artist, French. The Huntington Library, San Marino, California