THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT  
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Sunday, January 21, 1996               TAG: 9601180114
SECTION: HOME                     PAGE: G1   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ROBERT STIFFLER
                                             LENGTH: Short :   46 lines

MUSEUM TOUR FOCUSES ON NATURE'S WORKS OF ART

ALL FLOWERS are not found in gardens. Many show up in works of art, including statuary, glassware and paintings. Ann Dearsley-Vernon, The Chrysler Museum of Art's director of education, wants to show you how flowers have influenced artists since the beginning of time.

Next Sunday at 2 p.m., she will lead a tour of the museum, focusing on flower and plant motifs from Medieval times through the 20th century.

The tour will show the Medieval Catholic significance of weeds and wildflowers, the importance of plants in Greek mythology and the inclusion of flowers in contemporary art.

Prunus, (the rose family, which includes almonds, apricots, cherries, peaches, plums, nectarines and other fruit-bearing plants) has always been the symbol of strength and adversity. You'll see this displayed in the arts on the tour. The Chrysler has a large collection of art nouveau pieces by French artists, who use tendrils and vines in their art.

The Chrysler glass collection, according to Vernon, is ``one of this country's outstanding collections, the third largest in the U.S.'' The glass on display, especially vases, includes many flowers. One grouping of blown glass pieces makes use of the lily as the sign of purity and roses as the symbol of charity. The flower form is also widely used in Tiffany vases and lamps.

The tour is free and begins in the main lobby of The Chrysler Museum. There is no admission fee to the Chrysler, but there is a suggested donation of $4 for adults and $3 for seniors and students.

After the tour, Kathleen Redfern will present a slide lecture on the French village of Giverny and Claude Monet's garden. Redfern has worked in Monet's Garden, Sir Harold Hiller's Garden in England and at Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. The lecture is also free and starts at 3 p.m. in the Chrysler Museum Theater. Call 664-6270. ILLUSTRATION: Color photos

THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM

FROM TOP: Blown glass pitcher by Daum Freres; French vase by Galle;

and portrait by English artist Sir Martin Archer Shee.

by CNB