The Springfield Art Museum has received a gift from the Enamel Arts Foundation, which will add 33 modern and contemporary enamel works to the museum’s collection.
The collection spans the 1950s to the present and features luminaries like June Schwarcz, Doris Hall and Edward Winter with contemporary leaders in the enamel arts field: Kat Cole, Jessica Calderwood and Zachary Lechtenberg.
Speaking to KSMU Arts Producer Jimmy Rea on Arts News, Springfield Art Museum spokesperson Nicole Chilton said the Enamel Arts Foundation is based out of California, "and they’re really striving to get more awareness about enamel arts.”
She said the pieces complement the museum’s permanent collection, which consists of work by Springfield-based contemporary enamels artist Sarah Perkins.
“She’s one of the premiere enamel artists in the country and so we're really excited about that," she said. "We’re always excited to showcase our regional artists, and so it’s a great gift and we’ll get to show it when we reopen.”
The new pieces are expected to arrive this year, and the museum plans to integrate them into its exhibition and educational programs in the future.
The museum is closed for at least two years for renovations but is doing outreach and classes during that time from the Wilhoit Building downtown.
