DATE: Sunday, April 27, 1997                TAG: 9704290520

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY TERESA ANNAS, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  254 lines

SHOWCASING GEMSHAMPTON UNIVERSITY'S TOP-NOTCH COLLECTION OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN ART FINALLY GETS A BUILDING WORTHY OF THE TREASURES WITHIN.

AFTER A COOL morning rain, landscapers last week were busy planting boxwoods along the entrance to the Huntington Building, formerly a library and now an important national museum opening today on the campus of Hampton University.

Important, because it contains a one-of-a-kind display that surveys the history of African-American art.

Important, because in 1894 it became the world's first museum to collect African-American art. That year, it acquired the painting ``The Banjo Lesson'' by Henry O. Tanner, who remains the most famous of all African-American artists, living or dead.

Important, because its holdings in African-American and American Indian art were acquired long ago, and much of it was obtained directly from the original makers and owners. So there's no guessing who used it, or how, and what it meant.

Important, because the rest of the museum world is just beginning to catch up with this institution, which has dealt with traditional cultures in a respectful way since its inception in 1868.

Inside the new, expanded Hampton University Museum, director Jeanne Zeidler was checking out the upstairs galleries, where the installation of 60 works from the 1,500-piece African-American art collection was in progress.

She couldn't help but beam.

``It's pretty exciting to see it finally coming around, and being every bit as good as we hoped it would be. It's something we've been working for for a long time - to build an African-American collection that's broad in scope.''

She was referring to holdings that begin with painter Joshua Johnson (active 1790-1825), the first known African-American artist with existing works, and continuing straight through to the present with the most notable living artists, such as John Biggers, Jacob Lawrence and Elizabeth Catlett.

At the time ``The Banjo Lesson'' was given to the institution in 1894, the museum was known as The Curiosity Room.

The museum's most recent home, the Academy Building, locked its doors for good on Saturday afternoon, bringing to a close the last remnants of the Curiosity Room era.

With the opening of the new facility - an elegant 1903 Beaux Arts-style structure that was given a $5 million face lift - Hampton University Museum finally has a home worthy of what's inside. And there's room to show much more of the collection.

In the previous building, the 5,000-square-foot gallery space allowed 5 percent of the collection to be exhibited. Now, with 12,000 square feet of exhibition area, more than twice that amount can be shown, and in an airier, more upscale setting.

``We loaned out more than 1,500 pieces from our collections in the last decade. That's a lot. The irony is, to see Hampton's collection, you had to go somewhere else.''

Major museums, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Art Institute of Chicago and the Studio Museum in Harlem, have borrowed liberally from Hampton's collections.

``We feel it's part of our obligation,'' Zeidler said. ``These works aren't in our collection to stay in storage.''

The touring shows and related catalogs and articles have brought attention to these works, and added to the scholarship. Some of the works have become very well known, just from being loaned out.

She pointed to a 1934 painting by Archibald Motley called ``Black Belt,'' a lively scene of African-Americans dressed up for a night on the town in Chicago. ``This one has been loaned a lot. It's a very important, becoming-famous work of art.''

The museum now boasts the nation's only permanent showcase for a comprehensive survey of African-American art. It's an ideal study collection, taking visitors from portraits by Joshua Johnson and later 19th century artists like Tanner on through the vital Renaissance period that blossomed in the 1920s in certain urban regions, from New York's Harlem to Southside Chicago.

In 1967 came AfriCOBRA (African Commune of Bad Relevant Artists) with its bold, black-power political message. They were followed by the 1980s Recherche group of artists, who shared a desire to present more global and less overtly African-American political concerns.

And there are even more recent works by famed artists Raymond Saunders, Sam Gilliam and Romare Bearden as well as accomplished artists with local ties, such as Persis Jennings, Ampofo-Anti and Greg Henry.

When Zeidler started at the museum in 1980, the school had a strong collection of African-American art dating from the 1920s to the 1960s, plus the one Tanner.

It was a handsome collection, as it was. But there was a chance to create something truly unique.

``We realized there were some real gaps, and we needed to start collecting,'' Zeidler said.

``We had an opportunity to do here what no museum in the country has done - or, aside from the Smithsonian, could do, because they don't have the collections.''

It's hard to believe no other museum has an ongoing display that presents the history of African-American art. ``But I know that it's true,'' said Dr. Samella Lewis, a Los Angeles artist, curator and art historian who is one of the most respected African-American art scholars.

``Other museums can't begin to touch what Hampton has. There is no museum where you can go and study the periods Hampton will be showing. Absolutely no place. That's it.

``It's going to be known for that. They have something they can really be proud of.''

Zeidler credited the support of the university's growth-oriented president, William R. Harvey, in being able to accomplish so much so fast.

She had become accustomed to seeing the art piecemeal, and in storage. ``We've never had the opportunity to see so many out at one time. The effect was pretty startling.''

As works were brought out for hanging, she began to notice relationships she hadn't seen before. The heads in the William H. Johnson paintings, for instance, all had the same shape. And it's the same head shape he used in a triple self-portrait, she said.

Now that they've built it, she's sure folks will come.

``It's also a tourist attraction. I believe people will travel great distances to see this.''

Mary Lou Hultgren, curator of collections, was among the staff members working overtime to make sure everything would be just right - works neatly hung, accompanied by the appropriate labels, at the very least - in time for the grand opening.

Hultgren and museum consultant Liza Broudy were checking gallery light levels and examining fresh-from-the-printer wall text.

``Everybody's got these under their eyes,'' said Broudy, humorously tracing a dark line on her face.

In a way, Hultgren said, ``this has been going on since Jeanne came on in 1980. It's been a thoughtful process of careful planning. It's something we've been working toward for a long time.''

It was a true ensemble effort, bonded by shared vision.

``What more can you want than to make this collection available for present and future generations? This building is going to be here another 100 years. And this collection will be here, too,'' Hultgren said.

``This will all be here. It's just really exciting.''

Nearby, Jeffrey Bruce, curator of exhibitions, was touring the temporary shows featuring two important African-American women artists - Lilian T. Burwell and Samella Lewis.

He began with ``From Painting to Painting as Sculpture: The Journey of Lilian T. Burwell.''

The show opens with her 1960s, nature-inspired paintings, Bruce said. Then her work became more abstract. Gradually, her imagery comes off the wall and takes on a shape. It becomes sculptural, even airborne. By the final gallery, Burwell has constructed an environment of what look like pieces of a giant painting you can walk into and around.

``She's always trying to draw people in. To come closer, and closer. Until finally, she has brought you in to the painting,'' Bruce said.

The Burwell show wraps around one large open gallery that houses ``Samella Lewis: A Retrospective.''

The Lewis show offers a very different experience - a people orientation and an engagement with issues of society, religion and racism.

``Social realism,'' said Bruce, standing before the entrance to Lewis' exhibit, which spans more than half a century.

The show starts with a sublime portrait of a young man painted in 1940, when Lewis was a teen-ager in New Orleans. It continues with works painted while at Hampton University, from 1943 to 1947, including a mural-sized painting of a young black soldier painted under the tutelage of the legendary Hampton instructor Viktor Lowenfeld.

When Lewis received her Ph.D. in art history in 1951 from Ohio State, she became the first African-American to earn a doctorate in that discipline. She since founded the Museum of African American Art in Los Angeles as well as the 25-year-old International Review of African American Art, published by Hampton University since 1992.

``Oh yeah, she's major,'' stressed Bruce.

He paused at Lewis' 1943 painting of the World War II soldier on a visit home. Mother and sister gaze at him with adoration, while dad reaches out to offer him a plate of food.

``It's the passing of the torch - or, the biscuit,'' Bruce said. ``It's the father acknowledging that his son has come of age.''

Cultural continuity is a running theme throughout the galleries at the new museum. ``That's our overall point,'' Bruce said.

``What we're trying to show is, this is a living tradition. It's not stagnant. It's living, growing and evolving. And hopefully, maybe by putting these objects out there, maybe that'll show.'' ILLUSTRATION: COLOR PHOTOS BY LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot

``It's something we've been working for for a long time,'' says

Jeanne Zeidler, director of the Hampton University Museum.

``What we're trying to show is, this is a living tradition,'' says

Jeffrey Bruce, curator of exhibitions.

``The Peddlers,'' a 1943 painting of a Harlem scene by Jacob

Lawrence.

The museum is now housed in the 1903 Huntington Building.

Photo

HAMPTON UNIVERSITY MUSEUM

In 1894, the Hampton University Museum acquired ``The Banjo Lesson''

by famed African-American artist Henry O. Tanner.

Graphics

THE NEW HAMPTON

UNIVERSITY MUSEUM

Where is it? In the newly renovated 1903 Huntington Building,

which faces Ogden Circle on Hampton University's campus

Where was it? In a 5,000-square-foot portion of the Academy

Building on campus

How large is the new space? The 34,300-square-foot structure

includes 12,000 square feet of gallery space on two floors

How much did the renovation cost? $5 million

How much art can be shown? While the Academy Building galleries

displayed about 5 percent of the museum's holdings, the new home can

accommodate more than twice that sum in a more spacious, elegant

setting.

What's in the collection? Founded in 1868, the museum has a

widely admired collection of more than 9,000 objects, much of it

traditional art from Africa, Asia & Oceania and by Native Americans.

They also have an important African-American art collection that

spans the early 19th century to the present.

What's going on view today? The permanent African-American art

galleries, featuring about 60 out of 1,500 pieces, plus two

temporary exhibits that are retrospectives of the work of Samella

Lewis and Lilian Thomas Burwell.

When will the other collections go on view? Works from the

3,500-piece African collection will be unveiled in April 1998. Works

from the 1,600-piece Native American collection will be reinstalled

in October 1998. The Asian/Pacific collection, which contains 700

pieces, will go on view in April 1999. Finally, the Hampton History

Gallery containing objects related to the university's history will

open in October 1999.

Are visitor parking passes required on campus? For weekend

visits, including today's festivities, parking passes are not

required; park anywhere except in spaces marked reserved or for

handicapped. On weekdays before 5 p.m., obtain a parking pass from

the university's Traffic Administration Office, located in the

Administrative Services Center on campus.

How can I get there from South Hampton Roads? Heading west on

I-64, take exit 267. At the bottom of the ramp, turn left onto

Settlers Landing Road. Turn left at first stoplight (Tyler Road).

Bear left through entry gates onto campus. Continue to Ogden Circle.

The museum is in the Huntington Building facing the circle on the

right.

TODAY'S GRAND OPENING

What: Opening festivities for the relocated Hampton University

Museum, which features new permanent galleries of African-American

art and temporary exhibits by artists Samella Lewis and Lilian T.

Burwell.

Where: On the campus of Hampton University

When: noon to 5 p.m. today; the Lewis and Burwell exhibits remain

on view through July 28.

Events: A one-hour play on Lewis' life will be staged at 1 and 4

p.m.; Lewis, Burwell and other artists will meet the public in

galleries containing their art from 3 to 4 p.m. Live jazz, gospel

and other music will be performed all day.

How much: admission and events are free

Hours: The museum will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays, noon to

4 p.m. weekends.

Call: 727-5308

Map

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