VMFA CELEBRATES BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH SPECIAL LECTURES AND SCREENING

The Pursuit, circa 1898, is an oil on canvas by American artist Frederic Remington (1861-1909). VMFA's associate curator of American arts, Dr. Elizabeth L. O'Leary, will lecture on Remington and the Buffalo Soldiers Feb. 24 at VMFA. (Photo by Katherine Wetzel, © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts)

Wednesday, Feb 24, 6 pm
Lecture: In Pursuit: Frederic Remington and the Buffalo Soldiers
VMFA Marble Hall
Dr. Elizabeth L. O’Leary, VMFA associate curator of American arts
Tickets $8 (VMFA members $5, FOAAA members free)
Few artists are as closely associated with the American West as Frederic Remington (1861-1909). Best known for his illustrations, bronze sculptures and paintings of cowboys, he also found a favorite subject in U.S. cavalrymen, especially the hard-riding soldiers of the 9th and 10th regiments who came to be known as the Buffalo Soldiers. Dr. Elizabeth L. O’Leary will explore Remington’s images of these renowned African American regiments and, in particular, Remington’s striking canvas The Pursuit (circa 1898) from the VMFA collection.

Saturday, Feb 27, 1 pm
Film Screening and Discussion: Sergeant Rutledge
Virginia Historical Society, 428 N. Boulevard, Richmond
Discussion by Dr. Lauranett L. Lee, VHS curator of African-American history; and Trent Nicholas, VMFA media resource coordinator and Virginia Commonwealth University film history instructor Free, advance tickets required
Director John Ford’s Western film revolves around the court-martial of a Buffalo Soldier in the late 1880s. After the screening, Dr. Lauranett L. Lee, VHS curator of African-American history, and Trent Nicholas, VMFA media resource coordinator and film history instructor at Virginia Commonwealth University, will discuss the film. The film is not rated and includes mature subject matter.

Thursday, Mar 4 6:30 pm
Lecture: Beyond Social Content
VMFA Marble Hall
Mel Edwards, sculptor, and his daughter, Ana Edwards
Tickets $8, (VMFA members $5, FOAAA members free)
Mel Edwards, one of America’s foremost contemporary public-art sculptors, is renowned for his Lynch Fragments, small-scale welded-metal wall reliefs inspired by the Civil Rights Movement. Edwards recently completed a commission for Lafayette College in Easton, Pa. Transcendence honors an 1844 graduate who was perhaps the first person of slave status to receive a college degree. A native of Houston, Texas, Edwards studied art and art history on the West Coast and moved to New York in the late 1960s, where the Civil Rights Movement offered a backdrop for his artistic development. His sculptural projects deal with black history and culture through abstraction. Edwards will provide a retrospective of his work as a sculptor. His daughter Ana, an artist and community activist in Richmond, has exhibited her work in local galleries. She will describe how her father’s work and life as an artist have shaped her artistic development and her commitment to social justice.

All programs are subject to change. Details and registration information are available by phoning the VMFA ticket desk, 804.340.1405.