"Cotton Picking," circa 1974 Clementine Hunter Oil on cardboard Gift of the Hugh Schoephoerster family "Self-Portrait," circa 1939 Clementine Hunter Oil on paper Gift of the Hugh Schoephoerster family "Wedding Presents," circa 1960 Clementine Hunter Oil on canvas board Promised gift of the Hugh Schoephoerster family

Eye on exhibits

Chistera desk lamp, circa 1929 Jacques Le Chevallier Carnegie Museum of Art "Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets"

Artistic innovations take center stage at museums

November 24, 2000
Web posted at: 8:32 a.m. EST (1332 GMT)

(CNN) -- Exhibits across the United States brim with invention this fall.

Design in the modern age is a key theme in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and New York, with shows exploring the cultural impact of aluminum and the evolution of industrial furniture.

In Texas, 20th-century British fashion steps off the runway and into the gallery at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

Pioneers of modern art are the draw at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art in California. And the work of a celebrated self-taught artist warms things up in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

"Four Women," 1959 David Park

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
"Celebrating Modern Art: The Anderson Collection"
Through January 15

When Harry W. and Mary Margaret Anderson set out to collect art 35 years ago, they resolved, in their words, to "think big." At the time "big" was "maybe two dozen works," the couple told the museum. But they didn't stop there, and went on to amass more than 800 pieces. SFMOMA is showing about 300 pieces in an exhibition concentrating on the focal points of the couple's collection -- the New York School, art made in California, contemporary art, modern sculpture and works on paper.

SFMOMA, (415) 357-4000

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, Minnesota
"Clementine Hunter: From Cotton Fields to Canvas"
Through January 28

RESOURCES   ART MUSEUM SITES: international u.s. cities: a-h u.s. cities: i-q u.s. cities: r-z

Self-taught artist Clementine Hunter (1886-1988) was in her fifties when she created her first painting on a window shade. After working as a cotton picker well into middle age, she gained unprecedented recognition for a Southern African-American woman artist when Look magazine featured her in 1953. This exhibition showcases some 30 works documenting plantation life in Hunter's vibrant style.

Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, University of
Minnesota, (612) 625-9494

Wassily chair, 1925 Marcel Breuer

Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, New York
"Masterpieces from the Vitra Design Museum: Furnishing the Modern Era"
Through February 4

A collection of furniture, primarily chairs, from the Vitra Design Museum stops in New York before heading home to Weil am Rhein, Germany. Seats of all shapes and materials trace industrial furniture design from its birth in the 1850s to the present. Most examples, including designs by Marcel Breuer, Le Corbusier, Charles and Ray Eames and Ettore Sottsass, date from the 1920s forward.

Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum
(212) 849-8400

"Sex Sandals," circa 1974-77 Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas
"British Designers: From Monarchy to Anarchy"
Through February 11

The seesaw between tradition and modernity in Britain marks the nation's contributions to fashion. This exhibition chronicles 20th-century British fashion design from traditional, monarchy-influenced designs to the daring rock-star styles of Ossie Clark and Vivienne Westwood.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, (713) 639-7300

Berenice Tiara, 1899 René Lalique Aluminum, ivory and garnets

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
"Aluminum by Design: Jewelry to Jets"
Through February 11

Meat slicers, ball gowns, automobiles and tiaras have all flirted with aluminum since it first caught the public's eye at the Paris Exposition in 1855. From precious jewels to everyday appliances, this exhibition showcases more than 300 objects by artists and designers -- Rene Lalique, Paco Rabane, Jacques Le Chevallier and others -- that examine aluminum's role in shaping 20th-century architecture, design and industry. Sarah Nichols' book, "Aluminum by Design," (Harry N. Abrams, hardback, $75) accompanies the exhibit.

Carnegie Museum of Art, (412) 622-3131

"Portrait of the Artist's Son," circa 1880 Paul Cézanne

Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth, Texas
"From Renoir to Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musee de l'Orangerie"
Through February 25

Paintings by Pierre Auguste Renoir, Paul Cezanne, Pablo Picasso and other masters of French painting have been temporarily evicted from Paris' Musee de l'Orangerie. Renovations have put nearly 80 paintings, drawn from the collection assembled by visionary Parisian art dealer Paul Guillaume (1891-1934), on the road.

Kimbell Art Museum, (817) 332-8451

"Buildings" Niles Spencer

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, New Mexico
"Views of the City: 1910-1949"
Through March 14

See New York City's evolution through the eyes of Georgia O'Keeffe and her contemporaries. Works by 29 artists, including Berenice Abbott, Stuart Davis, Edward Hopper and Man Ray, capture the city's transformation from 1910 to 1949 into a modern metropolis spiked with skyscrapers.

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum, (505) 995-0785

Bittersweet memories of painting with O'Keeffe
May 5, 2000
Charles Eames: The sophistication of simplicity
November 22, 1999

Pablo Picasso - Artchive.com
Marcel Breuer - Great Buildings Online
René Lalique biography, auto mascots - Finesse Fine Art
Jacques Le Chevallier - Carnegie Museum of Art

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