Stark Museum of Art Unveils Hidden Treasures for Thirtieth Anniversary

For three decades the Stark Museum of Art in Orange has delighted the region with one of the finest collections of American Western art in the nation. With more than 7,000 works of art in the permanent collection, the museum offers a captivating view of life in the American West during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Now, as the museum approaches its thirtieth anniversary on November 29, it prepares to unveil a special Thirtieth Anniversary Treasures exhibition that celebrates the museum’s impressive collection.

The Stark Museum of Art has a rich history beyond its thirty years in operation. The museum began as a vision of H.J. Lutcher Stark, who acquired his first painting as an undergraduate at the University of Texas in the 1920s. He went on to build a vast collection that includes American Western art, American Indian art, rare manuscripts, porcelains, glass, and more, many pieces collected during his travels with his wife Nelda Stark. In 1965, he passed away before realizing his dream of opening a museum. However, Nelda Stark, with the help of the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation, turned Lutcher Stark’s dream into a reality by building the Stark Museum of Art. The museum opened to the public on November 29, 1978, and continues to operate as a program of the Stark Foundation.

Today, the museum holds more than 7,000 works in its permanent collection, and more than 80 pieces have been selected for the Thirtieth Anniversary Treasures exhibition, on view August 19 – October 29, 2008. The exhibition offers an inspiring view not only of the American West but also of regions outside of the West, as depicted by some of the museum's most notable artists. These works have rarely or never before been displayed to the public, offering a rare treat for regular and new visitors alike.

The exhibition will be divided into five sections: The Necessity of Europe: Albert Bierstadt, featuring sketches by Bierstadt from his trips to Europe and the American West; Beyond the American West: Thomas Moran, featuring works created by Moran in his travels outside of the West; The American Context: East and West, featuring a range of American artists including Grandma (Anna Robertson) Moses, George Catlin, and Grafton Tyler Brown; Enlarging the Story: Artists of Texas, featuring landscape artists of Texas; and The Natural World: John Gould, which includes Gould’s published illustrations in Charles Darwin’s official report of his expedition on the Beagle and a first edition of Darwin’s Origin of the Species.

This special exhibition is a wonderful celebration of the breadth and depth of the museum’s collection, and it is just one more way the museum continues to give back to the community of Orange. For the past thirty years the Stark Museum of Art has engaged the public with some of the world’s finest works of art without ever charging an admission fee. Whether you’re a regular visitor or a first-time patron, this anniversary exhibition is the perfect opportunity to not only explore great works of art, but also to show the Stark Museum of Art your appreciation of everything it has brought to the community.