Sheldon Museum of Art is hosting a new lecture series that will feature scholars and art experts exploring notable works in the museum’s collection.
The CollectionTalk series opens with a 5:30 p.m. April 19 presentation by author Amy Newman. She will discuss Barnett Newman’s painting “Horizon Light.”
Tickets, available online, are free for museum members, $10 general admission and $5 for students.
Along with being an editor on numerous books and catalogs, Amy Newman is author of “Challenging Art: Artforum 1962-1974” and co-editor of “Defining Modern Art: Selected Writings of Alfred H. Barr Jr.” She is currently writing a biography on Barnett Newman.
Amy Newman served on the New York State Council on the Arts and taught at Columbia University.
“Horizon Light” is one of four extant works in which Barnett Newman experimented with horizontal bands. In 1950, the then-untitled painting debuted in a show installed by Mark Rothko at Betty Parsons Gallery in New York City. Rothko allegedly insisted that the painting be oriented vertically, possibly to align with other similar works in the exhibition.
Five years later, in the painting’s second public showing, Barnett Newman asserted that the canvas should be installed horizontally as he intended.
At some point in the ensuing years, Barnett Newman provided additional safeguards to ensure that the painting would be properly placed.
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