April 14 - August 30, 2009
West Bedroom Gallery

Reynolda's collection of early-twentieth-century bronze sculptures presents an exciting diversity of style and subject matter.  The deeply-carved realism of Frederic Remington's The Rattlesnake contrasts with the smooth surfaces and suppressed detail in Robert Aitken's nude figure, A Thing of Beauty.  Bessie Potter Vonnoh's intimate Family group, on loan from Barbara Babcock Millhouse, is markedly distinct from the dramatic, mythological Flight of Europa by Paul Manship.  Yet, all of these works were completed within twenty-five years of each other.  By exhibiting these pieces together, we are able to explore the reasons behind the broad range of styles and stories.

This exhibition also gives us the opportunity to debut one of our most recent acquisitions, Robert Aitken's A Thing of Beauty.  Donated by Winston-Salem native Richard Johnson, the piece is an elegant example of the Beaux-Arts style, a style of American sculpture previously unrepresented in the Reynolda collection.