Winter approximately 1950: To give a greater opportunity to painters without gallery connections who are interested in showing in the Brooklyn Museum’s Biennial International Water Color Exhibitions, the Museum has announced a new policy of holding preliminary viewings at which such painters may place their work before the curator in charge of assembling the exhibition.
For the next show, which will be held this May, artists may submit up to six examples of their work (either framed or unframed) on Wednesday, Feb. 14, and must remove them on Friday, Feb. 16, 1951. Or they may submit work on Wednesday, Mar. 14 and remove it on Friday Mar. 16. Hours for submitting and removing work are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. All work must be clearly labeled with the artist’s name and title. Work is limited to water color, gouache and other allied water mediums, such as casein, when treated in a manner consonant with the general character of the show.
Painters whose work is accepted will be notified by April 1, and the Museum will arrange and pay for transportation of papers shown. It cannot be responsible for the transportation of pictures submitted to the viewings, nor can it accept express or parcel post shipments for this purpose.
The exhibition is an invited one, selected by the Curator of Paintings, John I. H. Baur. The coming show will be the 17th in a series which started thirty-four years ago, and will include German, Danish and Swiss sections in addition to the large United States group.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1947 - 1952. 10-12/1950, 138.
Date unknown, approximately 1951: The Brooklyn Museum announces the purchase of nine water colors from the Museum’s current "16th Biennial International Water Color Exhibition”, which includes work from Denmark, Germany, Switzerland and the United States.
The following six water colors were purchased from the United States section:
“Speculation” by Jimmy Ernst
“Jagged Clouds I” by Lyonel Feininger
“The Arrival of the Gods” by Sofia Sekula
“White Island” by Bill Bomar
“Against the Blue” by Charles Schucker
“No. 1-1951” by James Brooks
Three German water colors were purchased: --
“By the Roadside” by Fritz Winter
“The Dice” by Hans Jaenisch
“The Dancers” by Max Kans
The exhibition will remain on view through June 24 in the Entrance Hall and Special Exhibitions Galleries.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1947 - 1952. 04-06/1951, 060.
May 19, 1951: Modern German, Danish and Swiss water colors, in addition to a large group from the United States, comprise the 16th biennial International Water Color exhibition at The Brooklyn Museum which opens to the public today (May 9). A private viewing for artists and museum members was held on the afternoon of May 8. The exhibit will remain on view through June 24.
Special interest has centered around the German section, which is the first showing of its kind in New York City since the war. It was selected by Miss Charlotte Weidler of the Carnegie Institute in lectern Germany last summer and includes the work of many younger painters who have emerged in the post-war years.
The Swiss pictures were chosen by Siegfried Giedion, author of Space-Time and Architecture, in collaboration with the Zurich painter, Richard P. Lohse. The Danish group was selected by Leo Swane, Director of the Royal Museum, of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. The United States section was invited by the Museum’s Curator of Paintings and Sculpture, John I. H. Baur.
Following: its customary policy, the Museum limited foreign representation to three countries in order that the significant modern developments in water color painting could be covered fully in each case. The United States papers were chosen to show the progressive trends of the day in this medium and to give representation to some lesser known artists as well as those whose reputations are already well established.
The exhibition contains in all about 228 water colors of which 124 are European and 104 American. It is installed in the entrance Hall and Special Exhibition galleries on the main floor. An il1ustrated catalog will be available.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1947 - 1952. 04-06/1951, 046.
