We visited the Columbus Museum in Georgia to see the ‘Shalom Y’all’ exhibit (through July 13). Impressed by some of the pieces in their permanent collection:
*So* happy (thrilled!) to see ‘Trailer Park, Truck Stop’ by Roger Brown, a Chicago Imagist from the Opelika, Alabama area.
His Rock House in Beulah, Alabama was opened as a museum after his death. From SAIC:
Brown knew his time was short. The 1224 Glenn Street project was realized on paper only, as he turned his attention to the Rock House, an 1870s stone building in Beulah, Alabama, about 15 miles from his parents’ home. Brown had loved this building since he was a child. He perhaps noticed it first when the family drove past it on their way to enjoy chicken dinners at a nearby restaurant. In his youth Roger documented the Rock House on super-8 film, and years later, when he decided to come full circle and create a home, studio, and garden in Alabama, he turned his sights to the Rock House. Although it was not for sale at the time, Brown nonetheless drew plans for the renovation of the building and began collecting furnishings: ceramic vessels, quilts and rugs, and examples of his own work for the Rock House. The owner eventually agreed to sell the building, and Brown purchased almost everything necessary for the renovation––washer, dryer, dishwasher, hardware, and many other things––shipping it all to his brother, Greg,
in Montgomery.
Brown died on November 22, 1997, a few days before the Rock House real estate closing was scheduled. His parents and brother purchased the home and lovingly renovated the building, opening it as the Roger Brown Memorial Rock House Museum, on Brown’s birthday (November 10), 1999.
Two visits to the museum are documented here and here (although I haven’t yet been, I hope to soon). And how terrific, all the happenings from the Roger Brown Study Collection going on at SAIC.
‘Boadicea in Background’ by Robert Gordy
‘Sunday Morning’ by Robert Gwathmey
‘Columbus Wall’ by William Christenberry
Craig Nutt‘s ‘Tomato Table’
…and these two very special pieces by Lamar Baker:
‘Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen but Jesus’
‘Sinner, What You Gonna Do?’
Just a small selection of favorites from the permanent collection; I imagine their ‘Let There Be Art‘ sale in April would be pretty interesting also. Among those artists: Tarleton Blackwell, Anelecia Hannah, Julie Silvers, David Boyd Jr, Leslie Lori Shirah, Jon Davenport…