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An Interview with October Artist-in-Residence Glenda Joyce Hape

Posted by Cynthia Inaba on October 21, 2011

The Artist-in-Residence program resumes this month in the Kimball Education Gallery with Glenda Joyce Hape, a Māori artist from New Zealand. Glenda is a weaver who combines traditional and contemporary techniques and materials to create Māori kakahu, or cloaks. We recently sat down with Glenda to discuss her background, practice, and inspiration.

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FRAME|WORK: A Māori cloak

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on October 19, 2011

FRAME|WORK is a weekly blog series that highlights an artwork in the Museums' permanent collections. This week, we feature an exemplary Māori cloak from the Museums’ inaugural collections (currently on display at the de Young) in honor of the October Artist-in-Residence, Māori weaver Glenda Joyce Hape.

Chief's cloak, 19th century. Polynesia, New Zealand, North Island, West Coast, Wanganui region, Māori people. Flax, kiwi feathers, and commercial wool. Gift of M. H. de Young. 41520

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Celebrities in our Closets

Posted by Trish Daly on October 14, 2011

Clothes tell a story. Here at the Fine Arts Museums, our closets are filled with gowns, costumes, and accessories worn by countless cultural icons of days gone by. Today we give you a rare glimpse into our vaults as we reveal some of the most famous skeletons in our closet!

Fred Astaire

We don’t have any top hats, white ties or tails worn by the light-as-air Mr. Astaire, but we do have this bright red Chinese costume (with shoes!) that he wore in the “Limehouse Nights” sequence of MGM’s film Ziegfeld Follies, 1944.

Jacket, pants and shoes for Chinese film costume, Fred Astaire, 1944. United States. Orange-red wool, red-gold lame, red suede. Theater and Dance Collection, gift of Mrs. Gladys Lloyd Robinson. T&D1962.115a-d

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Word Gallery: Granulation

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on October 12, 2011

Throughout art history, scholars have devised a special vocabulary to talk about art. These terms are very useful, but they are not always self-explanatory. Enter into the art historical word gallery, where we provide some definitions commonly used to describe artistic styles, techniques, or movements in art.

Granulation

Fibula (Pin), 625–600 BC. Italy, Etruria. Gold. California Midwinter International Exposition, through M.H. deYoung. 391. Currently on view in the Hall of Antiquities on the Lower Level at the Legion of Honor.

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FRAME|WORK: A Ceiling from the Palacio de Altamira, Spain

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on October 12, 2011

FRAME|WORK is a weekly blog series that highlights an artwork in the Museums' permanent collections. This week, we feature an extraordinary Spanish ceiling from the era of Christopher Columbus, currently installed at the Legion of Honor.

Anonymous maker, Ceiling from the Palacio de Altamira, Spanish 1482–1503. Painted, gilded, and composed wood. Gift of Mrs. Richard Ely Danielson and Mrs. Chauncey McCormick. 46.16

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Will Work for Art: Rose Burke

Posted by Sarah Bailey Hogarty on October 11, 2011

"Will Work for Art" takes you behind the scenes to meet the people who make the Fine Arts Museums work. This week we step into the storeroom to meet Rose Burke, a buyer for the Museum Stores. Originally from right here in San Francisco, Burke has been with the Museums for six years.

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