Nebraska’s Eisentrager•Howard Gallery opens the fall semester with a three-part exhibition that celebrates the history of University of Nebraska–Lincoln painting faculty.
The exhibition, “Past and Present: A Celebration of Painting at UNL,” is on display Aug. 29 through Sept. 24. It includes three shows — two retrospectives and a group exhibition.
The center gallery space features the works of professor emeritus James Eisentrager in “James Eisentrager: A Retrospective.” Eisentrager taught at Nebraska from 1961 to 1996. He died in 2002.
Professor emeritus Dan Howard’s retrospective, “Dan Howard: A Modest Survey of Paintings — 1967-2017,” is in the west gallery. Howard taught at Nebraska from 1974 to 1996.
The exhibition is the first time artwork by Howard and Eisentrager — benefactors and namesakes of the gallery — is on display together in the space.
“We used to both have work in the faculty shows at the Sheldon Museum in the 1970s and 1980s,” Howard said. “But this is the first time we will exhibit together any sizable amount of work since we were graduate students together at the University of Iowa. I think it’s a great idea. I’m very pleased about it.”
The third portion of the exhibition features representative work from a selection of 14 current and previous faculty who have taught painting at Nebraska. The timeline begins with a piece by Sarah Wool Moore, who taught from 1884-1892, and ends with works by current painting and drawing faculty, Aaron Holz and Matthew Sontheimer.
“We look at the alumni who graduate from the program, and we showcase them — from Aaron Douglas to Bruce Conner to T.L. Solien,” Holz said. “But we haven’t taken the time to really look at the faculty who have taught them, and this is the perfect opportunity to do so during the university’s 150th anniversary.”
Faculty artists featured and the years they taught at Nebraska are:
- Sarah Wool Moore, 1888-1892
- Cora Parker, 1892-1899
- Sarah Sewell Hayden, 1899-1916
- Katherine (Kady) Burnap Faulkner, 1930-1950
- Frederick (Dwight) Kirsch, 1924-1950
- Richard Trickey, 1956-1991
- LeRoy Burket, 1948-1957
- Gail H. Butt, Jr., 1949-1990
- Douglas (Doug) Ross, 1966-1998
- David Routon, 1976-1997
- James (Jim) Eisentrager, 1961-1996
- Keith Jacobshagen, 1968-2008
- Dan Howard, 1976-1996
- Martha Horvay, 1983-2000, 2005-2014
- Aaron Holz, 2004-
- Matthew Sontheimer, 2011-
The Eisentrager•Howard Gallery is located on the first floor of Richards Hall. Gallery hours, which have been temporarily adjusted for the exhibition, are weekdays, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. A closing reception is 5 to 7 p.m. Sept. 7. Admission is free and open to the public.
