Gallery Gatherings

Hundreds of works from Gauguin, Van Gogh, Winslow Homer, and even contemporary photographer Annie Leibovitz were viewed by hundreds of alumni and friends this fall at gallery receptions and lectures in Atlanta, Chicago, and Seattle. These popular events, sponsored by the Duke Alumni Association and organized by the alumni affairs office's Alumni Education and Travel program, were executed with the assistance of the development office and local Duke clubs.

"Winslow Homer and the Critics: Forging a National Art in the 1870s" was the exhibition at Atlanta's High Museum of Art; the private viewing was arranged for October 10. Homer was one of the leading American artists in the nineteenth century, and the 1870s were among the most productive and public years of his career. David E. Little Ph.D. '01, a specialist in modern and contemporary art, lent his expertise in a discussion for the nearly 300 in attendance. He has lectured on the permanent collection at New York's Museum of Modern Art and currently teaches contemporary art and theory for Duke's Leadership and the Arts program in New York and at the Maryland Institute, College of Art, in Baltimore.

On October 16, nearly 500 attended the private viewing of "Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South" at the Art Institute of Chicago. The exhibition, which includes 130 paintings, sixteen drawings, and nine ceramic pieces, examines the personal and professional histories of the two friendly rivals, who lived and collaborated together briefly in Arles in 1888. Hans J. Van Miegroet, associate professor and director of graduate studies in Duke's art history department, was guest lecturer. Since 1989, Van Miegroet has directed the Duke in the Netherlands program. In 1991, he was awarded Trinity College's Distinguished Teaching Award.

An exhibition of ninety-four iris prints comprised "Annie Leibovitz: Women." The private viewing at the Seattle Art Museum attracted nearly 100 alumni and friends on November 7. Photographer Leibovitz is renowned for her work for Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker magazines. Her "Women" encompasses a broad spectrum of subjects: a rap artist, an astronaut, two Supreme Court justices, a senator, a surgeon, teachers, singers, athletes, farmers, movie stars, writers, artists, coal miners, and businesswomen.

Alumni Education and Travel is planning similar events for 2002. Alumni in participating cities will receive save-the-date cards and invitations by mail. Other information about Alumni Education and Travel can be found online at www.dukealumni.com