December 15, 1925
The Brooklyn Museum announces that in conjunction with the current exhibition of the drawings of the eminent Swedish architect, Ferdinand Boberg, it will continue to present the remarkable series of motion pictures illustrating life and scenes throughout Sweden. This series of motion pictures consists of ten reels of film which will be shown in groups of four every Saturday and Sunday afternoon in the Museum Auditorium at three o'clock. These presentations are free to the public, and the exhibition of the Boberg pictures is also free, except on Mondays and Fridays when it is the custom to charge 25 cents as Museum admission. The Boberg exhibition which consists of five hundred drawings and which has been described as constituting a pictorial and artistic review of the whole of Sweden will continue through January 11th.
The Museum has arranged a special Christmas exhibition for children entitled "Christmas in the East and West". This exhibit is placed in the rotunda gallery on the third floor and is free to all children during the holiday period. Among its several items is a collection of dolls dressed in the costumes of the various countries, as well as a Christmas crib or manger, while in contrast with the familiar American Christmas tree there is shown an Oriental Christmas exhibit. This consists of the Shrine of the Celestial Sage of Long Life which is erected annually in China at the Festival of the Winter Solstice, the Chinese New Year. The Sage or Fairy of Long Life, represented as a benevolent old man with a bag of toys, is the especial friend and patron of children. Among the objects placed upon his altar are two bouquets of artificial flowers called "golden flowers" which correspond to our Christmas tree. In Japan two fir trees are set up at the gate at the New Year. The Christmas tree with its lights belonged to the old celebration of the Winter Solstice Festival and was transferred to Christmas, coming to England and America from Germany. The "Light Tree" is of high antiquity in China.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 1925, 072-3. View Original
December 5, 1925
The Brooklyn Museum announces that on Saturday, December 5th, it will open another of the galleries of its new wing with an exhibition of the work of the eminent Swedish architect, Ferdinand Boberg. This exhibition will comprise more than five hundred drawings in pen and ink and in charcoal which Boberg made during a period covering more than ten years and which represent a wide range of subjects and scenes throughout the whole of his native country.
Boberg was born in Delecarlia, the district which was also the home of the painter Zorn. In the field of architecture Boberg's name may be said to be as typical of Swedish achievement as is that of Zorn in the field of painting. He also presents the unique figure of an architect who has attained eminence as an etcher and draftsman. At the exposition at Stockholm in 1897 his Hall of Arts aroused a general admiration. In 1909 he built the Industrial Arts Building in Stockholm and was responsible for the main architectural scheme of the Malmo Exposition in 1914. The Royal Technical Academy, the House of Parliament in Stockholm and the private palaces of Prince Carl and Prince Eugene are other examples of his work. Boberg has made several visits to this country and by appointment of the Swedish Government made the plans for the Swedish Building at the St. Louis Exposition in 1904 and at the San Francisco Exposition in 1915. He has developed a highly personal type of architectural expression and although his work is exceedingly varied it is especially distinguished for the great strength of its masses and for the organized unity of its concentrated decorative details. It is unusual to find a man who has achieved so many great public monuments, also developing a pictorial art as Boberg has done. He recently presented more than four thousand of his etchings and drawings to the Northern Museum at Stockholm. The list of his drawings in the forthcoming exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum is divided into numerous groups and the titles of a few of these will indicate their wide range. They include city buildings, castles and mansions, churches, peasants' homes, pavillions, fishing scenes. ruins and factories. The presentation of the exhibit in this country is due largely to the efforts and interest of the U. S. Minister to Sweden, Robert W. Bliss, and the generosity of Mr. G. H. Lundbeck, the General Director of the Swedish-American Line. During the period of the exhibition which will extend until January 4th it has been arranged that frequent showings will be made of the so-called "Swedish Film", an elaborate series of moving picture reels showing contemporary scenes of life and activity throughout the whole of Sweden which has been sent to this country in the interest of the Swedish population of America. A private view of Boberg's drawings and a first showing of the motion pictures will be held for for Museum members and guests on the afternoon of Saturday, December 5th, after which the exhibition will be open to the public.
Brooklyn Museum Archives. Records of the Department of Public Information. Press releases, 1916 - 1930. 1925, 068-9. View Original
