Williams College Museum of Art Presents The Gelato Debates
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.- In connection with the exhibition, Prendergast in Italy, the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA) presents The Gelato Debates: An Unconventional Study Day, Saturday, September 12 from 1:00 to 5:00 pm.Which is the greater dessert - gelato or ice cream? This is just one of the many questions being presented at this free, public event. Beginning the day at 1:00 pm, exhibition curators Nancy Mowll Mathews and Elizabeth Kennedy will welcome visitors to the museum. Following the welcome, scholars from the Berkshires and beyond will engage in wide-ranging gallery conversations about Prendergast and the artistic, literary, and historical context of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century Italy. At 3:00 pm, visitors may participate in a walking tour of Prendergast's Italy with Williams College professor, E.J. Johnson.
At 4:00 pm, attend the first debate titled "Isabella Stewart Gardner vs. Sarah Sears: Dueling Salons," with curator Alan Chong, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and curator Erica Hirshler from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Gardner and Sears were two patronesses in turn-of-the-century Boston and each of these women represented a worldview diametrically opposed to the other. While Sears patronized Maurice Prendergast and more progressive American modernists such as Mary Cassatt and Alfred Stieglitz, Gardner supported the well-known artist John Singer Sargent and author Henry James, both of whom came to represent European thought and American tradition. Chong and Hirshler will debate the opposing worldviews of these women. At 5:00 pm, scholars, foodies, students, and the community will participate in the age-old debate of gelato versus ice cream. At this dessert reception, visitors will be invited to sample both and cast their vote.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Attendees may enjoy the whole day or sample the events à la carte. For more information, visit www.wcma.org.
Prendergast in Italy is the first exhibition devoted exclusively to the Italian watercolors, monotypes, and oil paintings of American artist Maurice Prendergast. Featuring over 60 views of Venice, Rome, Siena, and Capri, the exhibition also features the artist's personal sketchbooks, letters, photographs, and guidebooks from the turn of the last century. Prendergast in Italy will be on view through September 20.
The Williams College Museum of Art is located on Main Street in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 am-5 pm and Sunday from 1-5 pm. The museum is wheelchair accessible and open to the public. Admission is FREE. For more information, contact the museum at 413-597-2429.
