|
During our upcoming Art After Dark event on Thursday, October 23, join us for an optional art history talk with PAC gallery manager Michael Rose on a highlight from our permanent collection. This program will take place at 5:30pm and will last approximately 45 minutes. It is free and open to the public, but please RSVP to let us know you're attending.
The talk will focus on The Plaster Shop by American artist George Barse Jr. (1861 - 1938). Born in Detroit and raised in Kansas City, Barse studied at the famed École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the Académie Julian in Paris. He was immersed in the exciting art zeitgeist of the late nineteenth century and was married to popular Italian model Rosina Ferrara, a favorite sitter of John Singer Sargent. Among Barse's professional accomplishments, he earned The Academy Prize in Paris in 1882, the New England Art Prize at Boston in 1885, and the First Prize at the National Academy of Design in 1895. He was commissioned to paint murals for the Library of Congress and also illustrated posters to sell war bonds during the First World War. His paintings are held in a number of museums around the nation.
Barse's The Plaster Shop, executed in the early 1880's, is a favorite piece of the Art Club's 600+ object permanent collection and adorns the cover of the Club's history book. The evocative painting, which captures the bohemian atmosphere of the Caproni Plaster Shop, was exhibited at the 1887 Chicago Industrial Exposition. It crystalizes the art spirit which took the country by storm in the period when PAC was founded. Learn more about Barse and this work's place in American art during this special program.
Michael Rose is an art gallerist and writer based in Providence. The gallery manager at the Art Club since 2014, he is also the editor of New England Art News and wrote the weekly Inside Art column for GoLocalProv from 2021-2025. He is a sought after speaker, having been invited to give talks at numerous galleries, museums, and colleges including a recent semester long course on Art Appreciation in RISD's Continuing Education program. Michael earned his BA in Art History at Providence College and holds a Certificate in Appraisal Studies in Fine and Decorative Arts from New York University. Learn more about him at www.michaelrosefineart.com.
| 
