March e-bulletin

Bowdoin College Museum of Art bulletin 3.2026

As we welcome spring with longer days and thawing grounds, we hope you will join us to celebrate all the BCMA has to offer. Take advantage of the final week of From Guild to Genius: Inventing "The Artist" in Western Culture, curated by Marianna Zingone ’26, and enjoy her analysis in this issue of one of the exhibition’s intriguing objects: Eugène Pirou’s Portrait of Cléo de Mérode. Also, stay tuned for Creating the Modern: Works on Paper from a Recent Gift by Howard M. Haimes ’76, which opens on March 26 with a tour and conversation with the collector. Finally, enjoy learning more about the activities of the Collectors’ Collaborative and one of the BCMA’s most recent acquisitions: LJ Robert’s T4T-AM (Motor City Mayhem).

We look forward to seeing you in the galleries!

Anne Collins Goodyear & Frank H. Goodyear III

Co-Directors, Bowdoin College Museum of Art

exhibitions

A 17th century woodcut of two bearded saints flanking an image of the Virgin and Child

Closing Soon

From Guild to Genius: Inventing “The Artist” in Western Culture

This exhibition traces shifting conceptions of “the artist” in the Western world from the medieval era, through the Renaissance, until today. It asks how and when individual creative genius came to be prized and protected and what recognizing these historical forces might mean for the future.

An abstract image of bold graphic shapes in a teal color scheme

Opening Soon

Creating the Modern: Works on Paper from a Recent Gift by Howard M. Haimes ’76

This exhibition brings together a selection of works on paper created between 1893 and 1947 in Europe and the United States generously donated to the Bowdoin College Museum of Art by Howard M. Haimes ’76 on the occasion of his fiftieth reunion.

spotlight

People listen to an artist speak in his studio

The Latest Collectors Collaborative Outing

Members of the BCMA’s Collectors Collaborative group visited artist Tommy Kha in Brooklyn, touring his residency at Pioneer Works and his installation Leftovers at Higher Pictures while discussing his photography, performance, and installation practice.

news

An embroidery depicting a vehicle with the words Motor City Mayhem

Welcoming LJ Roberts’ T4T-AM (Motor City Mayhem) to the Collection

The BCMA has acquired LJ Roberts’s 2025 textile work T4T-AM (Motor City Mayhem), first shown at Hales Gallery as part of the artist’s solo exhibition foregrounding queer history and community networks.

Object of the Month

Research by Marianna Zingone '26 identifies a cabinet card by Eugène Pirou as a portrait of Belle Époque dance celebrity Cléo de Mérode. more

calendar

Wednesday, March 4, 2026

Gallery Talk | From Guild to Genius: Inventing "The Artist" in Western Culture

12:00-1:00 p.m. | Zuckert Classroom, Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Thursday, March 5, 2026

Visual Alchemy: Artist Discussion with Samira Abbassy

5:00-6:30 p.m. | Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center

Tuesday, March 24, 2026

"Rematerialized Bodies: Argentine 'New Images' and Dictatorship" with Daniel Ricardo Quiles

5:00-6:00 p.m. | Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center

Thursday, March 26, 2026

Gallery Talk | Creating the Modern: Works on Paper from a Recent Gift by Howard M. Haimes ’76

4:30-5:30 p.m. | Zuckert Classroom, Bowdoin College Museum of Art

Monday, March 30, 2026

"Creative Sovereignty and the Story of Falling Rock" with Gerald Clarke

7:30-8:30 p.m. | Kresge Auditorium, Visual Arts Center

Museum Hours

Tuesday-Saturday: 10:00 a.m.-5:00 pm | Thursday: 10:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m. | Sunday: 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. | Closed on Mondays and national holidays.

The Bowdoin College Museum of Art is open to the public free of charge. The Museum is wheelchair accessible through the Pavilion entrance.

Bowdoin College Museum of Art | 9400 College Station | Brunswick, ME 04011 | 207.725.3275

artmuseum@bowdoin.edu bowdoin.edu/art-museum

Banner: Eugène Pirou, Portrait of Cléo de Mérode, late 19th century-early 20th century, photograph. Gift of Isaac Lagnado, Class of 1971, 2010.68.11