Event

The Tile Club: Camaraderie and American Plein-Air Painting

February 23 to May 20 | Leslie and Johanna Garfield Galleries

The Tile Club: Camaraderie and American Plein-Air Painting

The Tile Club was one of many societies that formed across the United States during the late nineteenth century. Including such well-known artists as Winslow Homer, William Merritt Chase, Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Edwin Austin Abbey, J. Alden Weir, and John H. Twachtman, the club was founded in 1877 riding a wave of interest in the decorative arts. Members met once a week and would each contribute to the “decorative age” by painting an eight-by-eight-inch ceramic tile. These meetings became a time to socialize, dine, and enjoy the music performed by guests and honorary members.

Tiles formed only a small part of the Club’s output. Members made excursions to Long Island and up the Hudson River to sketch and paint. These trips were lively journeys, and the works completed during them document the first plein-air painting organization in the young nation. Tiles, paintings, sculptures, and sketches—many by distinguished artists working early in their careers—are showcased in this exhibition.

Exhibition Catalogue

Free Public Programs

Thursday, March 1, 2018

• 5:30–8 p.m. Reception for The Tile Club: Camaraderie and American Plein-Air Painting and Art History Curatorial Studies. Live music, refreshments, fun, and the premiere of Lovey Town.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

• 12–2 p.m. ART•SPIN Mead Witter Lobby
  Put on your walking shoes and take a trip to Lovey Town – a place where BIG imagination lives in miniature works of art! Meet the Mayor of Lovey Town, Michael Velliquette, and work together to create whimsical paper dolls of none other than YOU! Free family friendly FUN!

Thursday, April 19, 2018

• 6–7:30 p.m. The Studio, UW-Madison's Creative Arts Community, presents Youth Culture: an evening of visual art, music performance, and more!

IMAGE ABOVE: Francis Davis Millet (American, 1846–1912), Study for Proclaiming the King, 1901, oil on canvas, 20 x 27 in., Chazen Museum of Art, gift of D. Frederick Baker from the Baker/Pisano Collection, 2017.27.54

PREVIEW IMAGE: Charles Stanley Reinhart (American 1844–1896), Woman in Hammock, 1880, painted and glazed earthenware, 8 x 8 in., Chazen Museum of Art, gift of D. Frederick Baker from the Baker/Pisano Collection, 2017.27.90

HOME PAGE IMAGE: Winslow Homer (American, 1836–1910), Resting Shepherdess, 1877, painted and glazed ceramic tiles, 8 x 16 in., Heckscher Museum of Art, partial gift of Karen H. Bechtel in memory of Ronald G. Pisano and partial museum purchase with funds from the Acquisition Fund, the Eva Gatling Fund, and the Baker/Pisano Fund, 2005.2