The American South Consortium is a multi-year partnership of the Columbia Museum of Art, the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts (Montgomery, AL), the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art (Hartford, CT), and the Mobile Museum of Art (Mobile, AL) as part of the Art Bridges Cohort Program.
Together, the four institutions created the Spotlight Series to tell new and innovative stories with a unique emphasis on material culture among its curatorial offerings. These installations highlight the stories behind singular objects, one from each museum, through an in-depth presentation of its artistic, social, and historical frameworks.
March 25 – June 4, 2023
Spotlight: Thomas Day
A bureau made by Thomas Day demonstrates the accomplishments of a free Black craftsman in the face of restrictive conditions in the pre-Civil War South.
Thomas Day (American, 1801–1861)
Bureau, c. 1855
Mahogany, mahogany veneer, yellow pine, poplar, marble, mirror (replaced)
Columbia Museum of Art
Museum purchase with funds provided by the Mr. and Mrs. W. R. Clark and the Richard H. Jenrette Decorative Arts Purchase Fund, 1998.9
July 15 – October 22, 2023
Spotlight: Yvonne Wells
Yvonne Wells creates dynamic story quilts highlighting powerful historic Alabama figures such as Helen Keller.
From the collection of the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts.
Yvonne Wells (American, born 1939)
Helen Keller, 2006
Cotton/polyester blend, cotton, plastic buttons, embroidery thread, and lace Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts Association Purchase, 2012.11
November 11, 2023 – February 25, 2024
Spotlight: Alexander Calder
This rarely seen textile by Alexander Calder, Rasoir d’avion, which was produced by the distinguished manufacturer Pinton Freres in France, expands the story of modern design.
From the collection of the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art.
Alexander Calder (American, 1898 –1976)
Rasoir d’avion, c. 1971
Wool and synthetic yarn
Edition 1/6
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Gift of Susan Morse Hilles, 1992.9
© 2023 Calder Foundation, New York / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York.
April 6 – June 30, 2024
Spotlight: Dusti Bongé
This Abstract Expressionist painting titled Distillate of the Past (Fragment of the Past) was made by Dusti Bongé, considered to be Mississippi’s first modern artist.
From the collection of the Mobile Museum of Art.
Dusti Bongé (American, 1903 – 1993)
Distillate of the Past (Fragment of the Past), 1958
Oil on canvas
Mobile Museum of Art
Gift of the Dusti Bongé Foundation, P2006.02.01
This multi-year, multi-institutional exhibition partnership was formed by the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art as part of the Art Bridges Cohort Program.
