In celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Art in State Buildings Program, the VT Arts Council and VT Dept. of Buildings & General Services have created a traveling exhibit featuring approximately 50 of the 1,000 pieces in the Vermont State Art Collection. The exhibit includes works of art that are rarely seen by the general public and the people who own them--the citizens of Vermont.
Art of Vermont: The State Collection is on exhibit at the Bennington Museum in Bennington through October 27.
The traveling exhibit will vary from venue to venue, reflecting the particular aesthetic, historic or regional focus of the sponsoring institutions. View the complete exhibit schedule below. (Click on the thumbnails on this page to see larger images).
With the 1964 founding of the Vermont Arts Council, the state art collection expanded beyond the walls of the capitol itself. In 1968 the Council invited internationally-heralded sculptors to place large abstract marble and concrete pieces at rest areas along the newly-completed Interstate highways, where most remain to this day. The Council also purchased a variety of pieces for the newly-constructed Pavilion State Office Building and other state facilities throughout the 1970’s and 80’s.
In 1988 the Art in State Buildings Act was passed by the General Assembly. Through the Art in State Buildings program, Vermont artists are commissioned to create art to enhance state facilities. Over the past 20 years, funding for more than two dozen projects in state-owned facilities and public spaces has greatly expanded the state art collection.
The pieces exhibited in the Art of Vermont represent the wide variety of art from nearly 50 state facilities, including the State House and Vermont State Colleges. CLICK HERE FOR AN INTERACTIVE MAP indicating the location of Art in State Buildings installations, where you can see photos of the artwork, and in some cases, video interviews with the artists.
The traveling exhibit will vary from venue to venue, reflecting the particular aesthetic, historic or regional focus of the sponsoring institutions. What will remain constant are paintings and sculptures rarely seen outside a governmental or state office context, on display for the people who own them - the citizens of Vermont.
The State Art Collection
by David Schütz, State Curator, Dept. of Buildings and General Services
It was a tie. On a late November day in 1837, the Vermont Senate voted whether or not to purchase a large oil portrait of George Washington by a German-born artist named George Gassner. The painting was a more or less faithful copy of Gilbert Stuart’s full-length portrait of the first President hanging in Providence, Rhode Island, and it was offered for sale “at a reasonable rate” to hang in the newly constructed State House. Lt. Gov. David Camp cast the tie-breaking vote to purchase the painting, and the State of Vermont has been collecting art ever since.
Nearly 20 years later the portrait would join a B. F. Mason oil of Gov. Charles Williams and a Henry Kirke Brown marble bust of former U.S. Sen. Elijah Paine as the only works of art to survive a catastrophic fire which destroyed Vermont’s second capitol. The trio would form the nucleus of a reinstalled state art collection in the rebuilt State House of 1859, along with two sculptures by Larkin Mead. For the next century the collection would grow, particularly with additional portraits of former governors and various military heroes. Indeed, the State House would remain the only location where state-owned art would reside.
With the 1964 founding of the Vermont Arts Council, building a state art collection would become a goal beyond the walls of the capitol itself. In 1968 and 1971 UVM’s Paul Aschenbach invited internationally-heralded sculptors to place their large abstract marble and concrete pieces at rest areas all along the newly-completed Interstate highways, where most remain to this day. The Arts Council also purchased a wide variety of pieces for the newly-constructed Pavilion State Office Building when it was finished in 1971. That installation would prove to be the first public art specifically placed by the Council in a state facility, a practice they would continue for buildings throughout Vermont during the 1970’s and 80’s.
In 1988, with the establishment of the Art in State Buildings Program, the State Art Collection would really take off—and it is that public art program which has allowed the placement of a wide assortment of works of art in facilities all over the state. Many of these works have been integrated into the very fabric of the buildings for which they were created. All celebrate the special qualities and communities of Vermont. Art helps define who we are as people. As we look back over the works that constitute the State Art Collection, we cannot help but be struck by the amazing messages that are conveyed about Vermont and its people. We hope you will appreciate that whenever and wherever you encounter them.
As Vermont observes the 150th birthday of its State House, we celebrate not only a remarkably intimate and historic capitol building, but a truly wonderful collection of art that was created to help tell the story of our past. The valiant rescue of the large portrait of George Washington from the fire of 1857, among other works of art, is indicative of the value Vermonters have always placed on their public art.
We still use these works to interpret our past and keep us mindful of the principles that have always defined the character of the people who make Vermont so special.
The Vermont Arts Council and Vermont Department of Buildings and General Services have organized a traveling exhibit which hopes to share our substantial art collection with every part of the state. The exhibit represents but a small sampling of works collected over a century and a half, including those commissioned through the 20-year-old Art in State Buildings Program. Both endeavors significantly reveal the remarkable breadth of artistic quality in this collection—all owned by the people of Vermont.
In 1988 the Art in State Buildings Act was passed by the General Assembly “to enhance and preserve our cultural environment and to provide artistic enrichment for Vermont citizens and visitors, in recognition of the need to encourage the work of Vermont artists.” Twenty years later, we celebrate the enhanced working environments in facilities throughout the state, and the improved character and quality that these artistic endeavors have brought to state buildings.
I invite all Vermonters to visit one of our many state buildings or stop at one of the exhibits arranged at their local galleries to experience this rich and varied collection of Vermont art.
The Vermont Art in State Buildings program is a public art program administered by the Vermont Arts Council that supports and promotes the work of Vermont artists in communities throughout the state. The program is designed to preserve and enrich the state’s cultural landscape for its citizens and visitors. It is dedicated to enhancing public buildings and spaces by improving their character and the quality of our working environments.
How does public art do this?
- By engaging people in a civic dialogue about what matters most to them about their communities. The Art in State Buildings Program emphasizes education and the participation of the communities and agencies that will live and work with the selected art every day.
- By connecting artists with communities. Artists commissioned through the program spend many hours engaging the community and having a dialogue about their values and their priorities.
- By expanding and enhancing art experiences for the general public.
Placing works of art in state buildings offers opportunities for people to experience art –even if they have never set foot in a gallery or museum.
- By providing opportunities for economic benefit. By supporting Vermont artists, we also support the many businesses they work with – designers ,engineers, electricians, insurance agents, hardware stores, art supply stores, lumberyards, etc.
- By enhancing Vermont’s public spaces. By investing in Vermont’s public spaces and making them special places for our citizens and visitors, we create attractions for visitors. Public art can commemorate and memorialize people, places and events, add beauty, and provide us with an opportunity to step outside our daily lives – even if just for a moment.
We invite you to celebrate 20 years of the Art in State Buildings Program by viewing the wonderful and varied body of work that has been collected.
The Vermont Arts Council and The Department of Buildings & General Services would like to thank Paul Gruhler (left) for his hard work and dedication in organizing and curating this touring exhibition.
Many thanks as well for the organizing skills of Assistant State Curator Tracy Martin (pictured at right)
...and the superb photography of Jeb Wallace-Brodeur.
This exhibit is funded in part by the NEA “American Masterpieces” Program.