Brooklyn Museum: How Modern is Modern?

10:39 07/21/2009

In our archives, most of the research requests have been on specific modern exhibitions and not on the broader topic of modern art and the Brooklyn Museum. One of the exhibitions which is consistently asked about is the International Exhibition of Modern Art Assembled by Société Anonyme (1926). As you probably already know, this exhibition was one of the most important shows of modern art in America. It presented hundreds of works of art by over a hundred artists.

posted by Angie

08:34 07/18/2009

Hmm...let me make some queries here - there are a few different parties that may know some information on this. Note also, the press release project is going slow, but going - I think we've released up to 1939, but we've got a lot more on the way.

posted by

shelley

01:21 07/18/2009

Has anyone done a PhD dissertation on Brooklyn Museum and the history of Modern art? The more one searches through these databases, the more it seems BMA was very important in bringing this art to light for New Yorkers.

posted by

MuseumNerd

How Modern is Modern?

Press Releases

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Date unknown, approximately 1939: An exhibition posing the question “How Modern is Modern?” will be on view in the Brooklyn Museum from Saturday, October 7th, through Sunday, October 29th. Its content will be plates taken from the Museum’s Library material showing reproductions of prehistoric drawings and paintings placed side by side with reproductions of drawings and paintings in what is called the modern style. It will demonstrate that it is very difficult to distinguish the prehistoric from the contemporary.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1939 - 1941. 09-10/1939, 232. View Original

The Brooklyn Museum Archives maintains a collection of historical press releases. Many of these have been scanned and made available on our Web site. The releases range from brief announcements to extensive articles; images of the original releases have been included for your reference. Please note that all the original typographical elements, including occasional errors, have been retained. Releases may also contain errors as a result of the scanning process. We welcome your feedback about corrections.

For select exhibitions, we have made available some or all of the informative text panels written by the curator or organizer. Called "didactics," these panels are presented to the public during the exhibition's run, and we reproduce them here for your reference and archival interest. Please note that any illustrations on the original didactics have not been retained, and that the text may contain errors as a result of the scanning process. We welcome your feedback about corrections.

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