painting & sculpture

The painting and sculpture collection consists of more than 800 objects that survey the development of Western European and American art, from the early Renaissance to modern and contemporary works.

American to 1900

The majority of the museum’s collection of early American paintings consists of landscapes and portraiture. Included are landscapes by Thomas Doughty, George Inness, Alexander Wyant, Childe Hassam, and Ralph A. Blakelock; portraits by Gilbert Stuart, Chester Harding, Edward A. Bell, and Thomas Sully; genre paintings by James Earl, William Bliss Baker, and Winslow Homer; and a still life by Harriet Cany Peale. Regionally, the Mid-South is represented by artists such as Ralph E.W. Earl, William and Washington Cooper, William Hart, Kate Carl, and an extensive collection of paintings and oil sketches by Carl Gutherz.

European to 1900

The Samuel H. Kress Collection of Italian Renaissance and Baroque works, which forms the core of the museum’s European holdings, dates from the late 13th century to the 18th. Included are paintings by Girolamo Romanino, Sebastiano Ricci, and Canaletto. Other European artists represented are the Dutch and Flemish masters Sir Anthony van Dyck, Jan van Goyen, Philips Wouwerman, and Roelof Koets; French academic and Impressionist painters William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Camille Pissarro; and English artists such as George Romney, Thomas Gainsborough, and Sir Henry Raeburn. The collection also comprises 19th century French sculpture by Antoine Bayre and François Rude.

Modern and Contemporary

The museum’s survey of European and American art from 1900 to the present is strongest in pre-1945 American works, with examples by Thomas Hart Benton, Arthur B. Davies, John Steuart Curry, Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe, Jack Levine, and the three Soyer brothers – Isaac, Moses, and Raphael.

The contemporary collection, with works by Barbara Kruger, Sam Gilliam, James Surls, and Elizabeth Murray, is continually growing with recent additions by artists, such as Tim Rollins, Donald Sultan, Red Grooms, Nam June Paik, Roger Brown, Chakaia Booker, and Whitfield Lovell. The museum's holdings are enhanced by the long-term loan of the Fogelman collection of contemporary art with works by Deborah Butterfield, Frank Stella, Laurie Simmons, Cindy Sherman, and Kenneth Noland. The gift of the AutoZone Collection has significantly increased the scope of the museum's regional artwork and includes works by William Edmondson, John Buck, Carroll Cloar, Burton Callicott, and Ida Kohlmeyer.
The museum also has begun acquiring works by self-taught artists, including Purvis Young and Edwin Jeffery.

DETAILS

Alfred Sisley (French, 1839-1899)
Le Pont d'Argenteuil (The Bridge at Argenteuil), 1872
Oil on canvas
15 1/4" x 24" (38.7 cm x 61 cm)
Signed and dated: lower right
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Hugo N. Dixon 54.64