NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 1, 2009
Contact: Dr. Joan Stack (573) 882-7083
Twentieth-Century Portraits
Columbia—The art exhibit Twentieth-Century Portraits: From Famous to Familiar will open September 19, 2009, in the Main Gallery of The State Historical Society of Missouri. The exhibition explores how twentieth-century Missouri artists answered the difficult question “What is a portrait?” in an age when photographs became widely available and audiences began to question whether the complexities of identity could be captured by traditional artistic imitation.
A special work that will be included in the exhibit, The Truman Family by Greta Kempton (1952), represents President Truman, Mrs. Truman, and their daughter, Margaret. Kempton also painted Truman’s official presidential portrait. The Truman Family was commissioned for the Society by Richard R. Nacy of Jefferson City with extra funds raised by Missouri Democrats for Truman’s 1948 inaugural celebration. The large painting is one of the Society’s most significant portraits, and has been on loan to the Missouri State Governor’s Mansion for several years. This exhibition offers visitors an opportunity to view this important work from the Society’s permanent collection.
The exhibit will feature portraits of and by Missourians, and include likenesses of such famous residents as Mark Twain and President Harry S. Truman, as well as images of less well-known citizens. Portraits in a variety of media will be exhibited, including several lithographs by Thomas Hart Benton. The renderings will range from naturalistic to abstract and reflect the diversity of our people and inventiveness of our artists.
About The State Historical Society of Missouri
Founded in 1898 by the Missouri Press Association and a trustee of the state since 1899, the Society is the preeminent research facility for the study of the Show Me State’s heritage and a leader in programming designed to share that heritage with the public. Through educational outreach, such as the Missouri History Speakers’ Bureau and genealogy workshops, or the performing arts, like MoHiP Theatre, the Society not only brings Missouri history to the state’s citizens, but also gives Missourians the tools to uncover the history in their own lives. The Society is located on the ground floor of Ellis Library on the University of Missouri campus at Hitt Street and Lowry Mall.