European Art Society Past Events

10th Annual EAS Dinner 
April 17, 2013

  

The European Art Society has more than 70 members whose dues support a purchase for the collection. At this exciting and festive annual dinner, a spirited voting takes place when members have an opportunity to voice their opinions and decide which of several works - brought in from all over the world – will be the next significant addition to the Museum’s collection.

This year the European Art Society made possible the acquisition of a painting by the distinguished French artist, Narcisse Virgile Diaz de la Peña titled The Shepherd and his Flock, ca. 1860s. Diaz had a notable career as a landscape artist, and this richly painted mature canvas with its expressive brushwork and dramatic lighting explores the romantic power of nature. The atmospheric painting strategically deepens the BMA’s collection of mid-nineteenth-century landscapes, particularly in relation to our Corot masterpiece, as both artists were associated with the same school called the Barbizon painters, after the French village where they gathered. Come visit the two paintings hanging together in the Nineteenth-Century Gallery.

In celebration of the European Art Society’s 10th annual dinner, the group also paused to pay tribute to the Museum’s growing collection of Old Master paintings, sculpture, and works on paper, and the instrumental role that the EAS and its members have played in that growth.

Cocktails & Connoisseurship
March 28, 2013
Private home in Forest Park

Thomas Deans, of the eponymously named gallery in Atlanta, brought 18th-c. British drawings and watercolors for the group to view and discuss.

Lunch and Learn with Prof. Tanja Jones, Assistant Professor of Art History, University of Alabama: "Ursula and Her Sisters: The Birmingham Museum's Female Saint (c. 1500) in Context"
February 19, 2012

Dr. Jones identified the museum's nearly life-sized polychrome wood sculpture of a Female Saint (c. 1500) with late medieval reliquaries dedicated to St. Ursula and the 11,000 virgins with whom, tradition held, she was martyred at Cologne. The Birmingham Female Saint is identified as a particularly fascinating example for representing a blend of full-sized sculpture and two reliquary types, the body-part reliquary and the worn reliquary pendant.

Gallery Tour
December 5, 2012

Curator Jeannine O’Grody and art historian Amanda Schedler led EAS members on a hunt for rarely seen prints and drawings in the Dutch, English, French, and 19th-century galleries. Afterward, members gatherd for lunch in the Café.  

Library and Libations

October 4, 2012, in the Museum's Clarence B. Hanson, Jr. Library

EAS members enjoyed a sneak peek at how their 2009 EAS dinner vote transformed the Museum’s Clarence B. Hanson, Jr. Library. Librarian Tatum Preston and curator Jeannine O’Grody highlighted the library’s significant holdings on European art while everyone enjoyed wine and light snacks.

Lunch and Learn: Cooking and Eating in Renaissance Italy: From Kitchen to Table with Professor Katherine McIver

September 19, 2012

In this lively Lunch and learn, EAS members learned where people ate their meals and where and how meals were prepared in Renaissance Italy. Prof. McIver presened a picture of the dining experience, from food preparation to the final presentation. 

 

A Future Perfect Private Tour

 

On July 12, 2012, members of the European Art Society were treated to an after-hours tour of the grand finale to the Museum’s 60th anniversary celebrations, Future Perfect: The Birmingham Museum of Art at 60. Deputy Director and Chief Curator Jeannine O’Grody revealed a few of the stories behind the 150 gifts in the exhibition, and shared curatorial plans to build a collection of surpassing quality for the future.

European Art Society Lunch and Learn
The Samuel H. Kress Lasting Legacy and the Birmingham Museum of Art

With Dario Zorza, student of Art History and History of Collecting, University of Padua; BMA intern

Friday, February 24, 2012

Sixty years after the inception of the BMA, we uncover the fascinating story that led to the Museum’s first large gift. 

Gallery Tour with curators Jeannine O'Grody and Anne Forschler

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

European Art Society members were cordially invited to a private tour of our newly refurbished and expanded 18th-century European Galleries with curators Jeannine O'Grody and Anne Forschler. 

Annual EAS Dinner
April 14, 2011 

On Thursday, April 14, the European Art Society held its 8th Annual Dinner. Every two years members vote to spend the group’s accumulated dues on a work of art for the permanent collection. This year’s rousing vote was more competitive than ever before. In the end, a 17th century Dutch landscape by Allaert van Everdingen was chosen for purchase. A Mountainous River Landscape with Travelers, dating to the 1660s, is the Museum's first "traditional" Dutch landscape. Thanks to the generosity of loyal EAS member Patty McDonald, one of the other works under consideration was also able to stay at the Museum: an exceptional portrait of Hyacinthe Rigaud, engraved by Pierre Drevet in 1741.

Lunch and Learn
February 23, 2011

UAB Curatorial Fellow Nicole Jordan and Chief Curator and Curator of European Art Jeannine O'Grody discussed the Museum's Fall 2011 exhibition, Daumier: Art for the Masses, which will feature 150 prints from this master of 19th century art. 

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Trip to Spain's Basque Country and Madrid

September 21-29, 2010

photoIn September 2010, European Art Society and upper level members joined Gail Andrews and Jeannine O’Grody on an eight-day trip to Spain. With stops in Bilbao, Segovia, Madrid, and Toledo, the group visited outstanding private collections including that of BBVA-Compass Bank; artists’ studios; and museums such as the Guggenheim Bilbao, Prado, Thyssen-Bornemisza, and Reina Sofia. During the evenings, discussions of the day’s highlights occurred while sampling tapas and txaktoli (a white wine from the Basque region). The travelers were obliged to spend an extra day in Madrid when a country-wide strike delayed their return to the U.S.!




A Celebration of Acquisitions: the Seventh Annual Dinner

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

European Art Society members enjoyed cocktails, a tour of the galleries by Chief Curator and Curator of European Art Jeannine O'Grody, and dinner with fellow EAS members.

Visit to frame maker Jose Manuel Garcia’s studio

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Did you catch the recent feature on José Manuel Garcia in the Black & White? We now have a master frame maker and conservator living in Birmingham. Spaniard Garcia moved from Madrid last year but continues to hand carve frames for museums such as the Prado, as well as private clients worldwide. Members of the European Art Society had the opportunity to visit his studio with curator Jeannine O’Grody and learned about the art of the frame.

Print connoisseurship with Armin Kunz, Director of C.G. Boerner in New York

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

European Art Society members enjoyed the rare opportunity to view 16th-19th century European prints “up close and personal” with no frames between them and the paper. Members learned how to spot a high quality print from one of the best eyes in the business.

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