This program is free and open to the public. Seating is first come first served.

John R. Stomberg, the Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director at the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, worked directly with the late Ellsworth Kelly to create the exhibition Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection now on view at UMMA through February 18, 2018.

In this talk, Dr. Stomberg will begin by tracing the creative evolution of each artist in turn. Matisse got his start in Paris in the late 1880s just as construction workers completed the Eiffel Tower; Kelly moved there during the reconstruction years that followed World War II. While they shared a passion for color, the expressiveness of line, and the vast potential for a collage-based aesthetic, they did not have a personal relationship. Then, through an overview of the drawings included in the exhibition, Stomberg will share insights gleaned on both artists while co-curating the exhibition with Kelly.

John R. Stomberg is the Virginia Rice Kelsey 1961s Director of the Hood Museum of Art at Dartmouth College. Before joining Dartmouth he served as the Florence Finch Abbott Director of the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum and the Joseph Allen Skinner Museum and held leadership positions at the Williams College Museum of Art and the Boston University Art Gallery. He holds a BA from Georgetown University and both an MA and Ph.D from Boston University—all in art history. The primary focus of his curatorial work is American art and culture since 1900. Moving between photography, prints, paintings, sculpture, media art, and installation work, his exhibitions have been conceived to broaden our understanding of how art operates in, and often shapes, society. He publishes on modern and contemporary art and issues directly related to museums, education, and academia.

Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly from The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation Collection is organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum in collaboration with The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation.

This exhibition was made possible by the generous support of the Eugene V. and Clare E. Thaw Charitable Trust and The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation. Additional support provided by the JFM Foundation and Mrs. Donald M. Cox.

Lead support for the local presentation of this exhibition is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Michigan Medicine, the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, the Richard and Rosann Noel Endowment Fund, and the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and the Department of the History of Art.