Events at The Grace

Wednesday means #IllustratedHappyHour with the Grace! This week we discuss artist Michael Frary who is known for his beautiful seascapes in honor of #worldoceansday2020 and make a beach worthy cocktail with Cypress Street Station! Don’t forget your watercolors for the activity at the end.

Raid your pantry and get creative in the kitchen with the Mitchell family for these Food Art activities!

For this week’s Illustrated Happy Hour we are sharing a real Grace Museum celebrity – Clint Hamilton! Make a Manhattan with Cypress Street Station then learn about this Abilene-born artist and Andy Warhol contemporary and friend who was vastly influential on the arts scene in Abilene and whose life is beyond interesting!

Kathryn Mitchell, Director of Education, shares one of her favorite pieces from the Grace Museum permanent art collection, Water Spirits by Melissa Miller.

Bill Wright, photographer, author, and namesake to the Grace Museum’s dedicated photography gallery (with wife Alice), has donated over 700 fine art photographs and other works of art to the collection. In addition, the Grace photography collection features over 160 of his own photographs.

The Permanent Collection of the Grace Museum is home to works of art by many Celebrities of the art world including Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol, Henri Matisse, Alice Neel, Romare Bearden, Francisco Goya, Joan Miro, Ansel Adams, Robert Rauschenberg, and many more!

The members of this artist collective, a rare occurrence today, were close companions who supported independent and shared artistic pursuits. Much of the art in this exhibition was created in response to their relationships with one another resulting in visual puns, inside jokes and shared experiences at home, in the studio and in the art world.

Artists have played key roles in times of war. From documenting maneuvers and battles – to illustrating equipment and use manuals – their skills have served in ways that may sometimes be overlooked.

It’s time for another Illustrated Happy Hour – this week highlighting artist Benton Spruance. Learn how to make a French 75 cocktail from Cypress Street Station, learn about the artist, and then get your watercolor paints out to paint along!

In the wake of severe economic uncertainty, social upheaval and political shifts that followed the disastrous Great Depression, American artists maintained a commitment to projecting a very personal view. Intent on shunning the influence of European artists and instruction, these artists struggled to establish and maintain their own identity. Much of this work, especially that now known as Social Realism and Regionalism, falls within the larger movement known as American Scene.

We are kicking off Home Essentials week with The Grace Museum’s painting (with a twist), The Farmer, by Marie A. Hull – coincidentally the first painting ever acquired by the Abilene Museum of Fine Arts. For national pet month we followed some of our museum friends at the #GettyMuseumChallenge and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art by “updating” our collection this week with special pet guests and a fun art activity.

Next in our Home Essentials series we are featuring sculptor, David Everett and his piece “Cotillion” in the Grace Museum permanent Collection. Inspired by his sculpture for #NationalPetMonth we made our own stacked sculpture of some of our Grace Staff pets and a fun “Exquisite Corpse” art activity as a fun extension.

We have our next Pet Takeover of our permanent art collection with Pippa posing as Miss Beverly Kirk by Corporal Samuel David Smith as well as a free coloring page!

Meet Rebecca Bridges, Programming & Interpretation for The Grace and learn about her favorite painting in the Grace permanent collection by artist Sarah Williams – then – meet Sarah!

Create your own layered paper sculpture inspired by the work of artist, Terry Hays, whose exhibition “Cosmic Garden” was on-view at The Grace Museum in 2019 and is now in the Grace permanent collection.

Head to the kitchen to make these fun and artful Easter themed food activities!