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Works on paper portray the ‘Southern experience’
at Jule Collins Smith Museum

AUBURN, Ala.-- Auburn Collects: Imprinting the South: Works on Paper from the Collection of Lynn Barstis Williams and Stephen J. Goldfarb opens May 24, 2008 and runs through August 23, 2008 at the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art.  The exhibition features works on paper that represent a view of the South’s social, economic, cultural and topographical identity.  Images in the collection range from southern landmarks, picturesque cities, scenes of cotton and tobacco farming to depictions of religion and recreation.

Former Auburn University library faculty member, Lynn Barstis Williams, began collecting these images for research.  She was attracted to the genre during a print fair in Atlanta, Ga., where she saw a satirical lithograph by George Biddle inspired by the Scottsboro case.  Stephen Goldfarb joined her in an effort to acquire prints revealing both the positive and critical views of the south.  Williams and Goldfarb’s shared passion resulted in this comprehensive exhibition containing nearly 100 woodcuts, etchings, lithographs and other print media.

Williams and Goldfarb will be at the museum June 19, 2008 at 5:00 p.m. to give a slide presentation and discussion illuminating their collection and exhibition.  A wine tasting and reception will follow the discussion.  The event is free and open to the public.
Originating at the Georgia Museum of Art, and augmented with a selection of recent print acquisitions  by Williams, this exhibition is presented as a part of JCSM’s continuing series, Auburn Collects, and celebrates the concurrent publication of Williams’ book, Imprinting the South: Southern Printmakers and Their Images of the Region, 1920s-1940s (University of Alabama Press, 2007).

Open since 2003, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University is Alabama’s only university art museum.  Serving as the gateway into Auburn University, the museum is home to many pieces of culturally significant art. The collection includes 100 Audubon prints, a rare group of more than 40 Tibetan bronzes dating back from the 14th century and works by important American artists, such as Arthur Dove, Georgia O’Keeffe and Lyonel Feininger. The museum rotunda hangs a three-tiered, hand-blown glass chandelier created especially for the museum by internationally-renowned glass artist Dale Chihuly.  The beauty continues onto the grounds of the museum with fifteen acres of gardens, walking paths and water features, complete with an eleven and a half foot tall brass sculpture, Spinoff, created by Auburn alumna Jean Woodham. 

CONTACT: Colleen Bourdeau, Marketing and Events Manager
334.844.7075
cbourdeau@auburn.edu