On May 30th, 2020, artist Carmen Herrera celebrated her 105th birthday.
Between 1948 and 1953, Herrera and her husband lived in Paris where she was influenced by vanguard European abstract art and developed the signature style that she still employs today—a dynamic interplay of hard-edged, geometric forms. Although Herrera's creative productivity paralleled that of her male contemporaries, it wasn’t until 2004 that she sold her first painting. Twelve years later—at age 101—she received a solo exhibition at New York's Whitney Museum of American Art.
Carmen Herrera born Havana, Cuba 1915 Gemini Acrylic on canvas, 2007 36 1/8 × 72 inches Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Robert E. Schweser and Fern Beardsley Schweser Acquisition Fund, through the University of Nebraska Foundation, U-5637.2011More info
John Divola, N34°11.965'W115°54.308' (detail), 1995–1998, printed 2011
Between 1995 and 1998, John Divola made a series of photographs of isolated houses in the desert approximately 150 miles east of Los Angeles. He has said that although initially drawn to the striking color and light found in these desert vistas, his primary motivation was “to create images which are iconographic of a desire. A desire to be ‘beyond,’ a desire to be alone—a sign of man on the landscape.”
In October 2018, photographers Divola and Anthony Hernandez took part in a conversation at Sheldon on their shared interest in depicting remote and abandoned spaces in pursuit of the contemporary landscape. Toby Jurovics, Joslyn Art Museum’s Chief Curator and Richard & Mary Holland Curator of American Western Art, moderated the discussion.
The idea for Room in New York had been on Edward Hopper’s mind long before he put brush to canvas. In 1935, he shared that “it was suggested by glimpses of lighted interiors seen as I walked along the city streets at night ... it is no particular street or house, but is rather a synthesis of many impressions.”
Perhaps the most famous painting in Sheldon’s collection, Room in New York was purchased shortly after it was completed. The work was first shown at the University of Nebraska in March 1936, as part of the forty-sixth annual painting exhibition of the Nebraska Art Association, now the Sheldon Art Association. Records of the acquisition, justify the purchase presciently: “[Hopper] will undoubtedly be regarded as [a] leader among American artists in future years.”
Edward Hopper Nyack, NY 1882–New York, NY 1967 Room in New York Oil on canvas, 1932 29 × 36 5/8 inches Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Anna R. and Frank M. Hall Charitable Trust, H–166.1936
Art historian Leo Mazow gave insight to the work in “Edward Hopper’s ‘Hotel Consciousness,’” a 2019 lecture cosponsored by the School of Art, Art History & Design’s Hixson-Lied Visiting Artist & Scholar Lecture Series and Sheldon's CollectionTalk series. Mazow’s talk drew on his research for the book Edward Hopper and the American Hotel (2019, Yale University Press) and a similarly titled exhibition that opened in October 2019 at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond. Room in New York and Town Square (Washington Square and Judson Tower), a charcoal drawing by Hopper also in Sheldon's collection, were loaned to the exhibition.
Records for the 13,000 artworks in Sheldon's collection are accessible to students, researchers, and art lovers—at any time, from any place. Explore highlights of the collection at sheldonartmuseum.org/collection or search for specific works.
We’re grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts, Henry Luce Foundation, and Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), who provided grant funding to underwrite the digitization and documentation of Sheldon-held works. We’re equally thankful to the many members of the Sheldon Art Association and other individuals who gave $10 per artwork to support the online database project. Together, these grants and gifts have made it possible for people to visit Sheldon from home.
Lucas Foglia has photographed organizations, industries, and intentional communities that bring people into contact with nature. The complex relationships humans have with the natural world are evident through his images of the labor of agricultural workers, climate scientists, landscape architects, neuroscientists researching the beneficial effects of spending time outside, and others.
These photographs are part of Foglia’s series Human Nature that captures landscapes from melting glaciers to luscious gardens thriving in urban spaces. Foglia began the series in 2006, but was compelled to take a deeper look in 2012 after Hurricane Sandy affected his family farm located outside of New York City. He notes, “On the news, I heard scientists blame the storm on climate change caused by human activity. I realized that if humans are changing the weather, then there is no place on Earth unaltered by people. . . . Human Nature focuses on our current relationship with nature, on how we need wild places even if they have been shaped by us.”
Lucas Foglia born Long Island, NY 1983
Kate in an EEG Study of Cognition in the Wild, Strayer Lab, University of Utah, Utah (at top) Pigment print, 2015
Lava Boat Tour, Hawaii Pigment print, 2017
Esme Swimming, Parkroyal on Pickering, Singapore Pigment print, 2014
34 × 44 inches, each Sheldon Museum of Art, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Robert E. Schweser and Fern Beardsley Schweser Acquisition Fund through the University of Nebraska Foundation, U-6765.2018More info
