The Columbus Museum

COLLECTION SPOTLIGHT! ✨
Romare Bearden is one of the most significant American artists of the twentieth century. His creativity exceeded the bounds of the visual arts to encompass musical composition, costume design, children's literature, historical scholarship, and social activism. His collages, the medium for which he is probably best known, usually foregrounded African American experience, whether in the rural South or the urban North. In recognition of his many contributions to the culture of the United States, President Ronald Reagan awarded Bearden the National Medal of Arts in 1987.

"Madeline Jones's Wonderful Garden" is an exemplary collage from the late 1970s, one of the most productive moments of the artist's career. The theme, a celebration of fecundity and bounty, appears frequently throughout art history, from Botticelli's Primavera to Childe Hassam's portraits of Celia Thaxter tending flowers. This piece is notable for its intricately cut-out elements and its heavily worked surface, comprised of almost every media for which Bearden is known: ink washes, graphite lines, and intentional scuffing. The specific subject, a memory from the artist's childhood days in Mecklenburg, North Carolina, makes an appealing connection to the renowned Olmsted plantings that abut The Columbus Museum.

Today is the day for 'Columbus At Play!'

Play was widely accepted as a key part of childhood by the late 19th century. Adults understood that children needed time to move around and develop social skills between periods of study and learning. Today, play is recognized as not just serious fun for children but a basic human need at all ages. This exhibition explores how Chattahoochee Valley residents have enjoyed games and recreation over the past 200 years.

Come explore how Columbus like to play!