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ALBANY, NY – Cast Images: American Bronze Sculpture from The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens at the New York State Museum October 20.

On view through February 24, 2008 in the Museum’s West Gallery, the exhibition is the 18th installment of the Bank of America Great Art Exhibition and Education Program, which brings art from New York State’s leading art museums to the State Museum. This is also the fifth exhibition in the Great Art Series drawn from The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s collections—a collaboration that began in the early 1990s.

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art is delighted to continue its longstanding association with the New York State Museum through the presentation of the Cast Images exhibition,” said Emily Kernan Rafferty, president of the Metropolitan Museum. “We are pleased to have this opportunity to share highlights from our comprehensive collection of American bronze sculptures with residents of upstate New York.”

Curated by Thayer Tolles, associate curator in the Metropolitan’s Department of American Paintings and Sculpture, the exhibition features 50 small-scale bronze sculptures from the Metropolitan’s permanent collection. Artists represented in the exhibition, many of whom worked in New York, include Augustus Saint-Gaudens, Frederic Remington, Daniel Chester French, Bessie Potter Vonnoh and Paul Manship.

The centuries-old tradition of casting bronze into sculptural form reached the United States by 1850, reaching its apex in the early decades of the 20th century. Small bronze statuettes, busts, and medallions enjoyed great popularity as fine collectible objects for domestic decoration. Bronze was heralded as a democratic, readily accessible American medium because bronze sculptures were easily produced in the United States, in contrast to marble sculptures that were primarily carved in Europe. A short video explaining the bronze-casting process is featured in the exhibition installation.

Cast Images traces the historical development of the small American bronze from aesthetic and

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thematic standpoints. The exhibition is centered on four distinct themes — American life, history and heroes, myth and allegory and the American West. Included are such familiar sculptures as The Bronco Buster by Remington, a native of Canton, New York, and Victory, a gilded allegorical figure by Saint-Gaudens, drawn from his Sherman Monument in New York City.

Artists responded to a call for subjects that were rendered with realistic detail and addressed aspects of the American experience. John Quincy Adams Ward was inspired by Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of September 1862 to model his Freedman, a sensitive representation of a former slave released from the shackles of servitude. Likewise, Abastenia St. Leger Eberle drew her inspiration for Girl Skating from Lower East Side working-class immigrants. The joyful girl in the sculpture experiences the popular pastime of roller skating on just one skate.

The State Museum plans several programs to complement this exhibition. A special evening viewing will be held on Friday, November 2, from 5 to 9 p.m., as part of the Museum’s 1st Friday program. Museum staff will be available to answer questions and complimentary refreshments will be served. Further information is available at www.1stfridayalbany.org.

A free “Creative Art Day” program on Saturday, October 20, from 1 to 3 p.m., invites families to engage in “artful” activities based on this exhibition. No registration is necessary.

Professional sculptor Liza Todd-Tivey will conduct a workshop on Saturday, October 27 and Saturday, November 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., demonstrating the fundamentals of sculpting. Todd-Tivey attended the Hornsey College of Art in London and the Otis Institute in Los Angeles. She is recognized as one of the world’s foremost equestrian sculptors and her work has been exhibited in galleries throughout the U.S. and Europe. Objects from the Museum’s collections will be used as models for the sculpture class. Participants will also go on a guided tour of the Cast Images exhibition. The fee is $85 for Museum members and $95 for non-members. Participation is limited. Pre-registration, required by October 22, may be made by calling (518) 473-7154 or emailing psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

The “ARTventures” program, on Saturday, December 29, will include a visit to the Cast Images exhibition, followed by a hands-on, art-making experience with instructor Peggy Seinbach. The program, from 1-3 p.m., is free to Museum members and $5 for non-members. Participation is limited. Pre-registration is suggested and may be made by calling (518) 473-7154 or emailing psteinba@mail.nysed.gov.

A free lecture by exhibition curator Thayer Tolles about American bronze sculpture and Cast Images will be held on Saturday, February 2 at 2 p.m. No registration is necessary.

Cast Images was organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The Museum’s American Wing is now in the midst of a major multi-phase construction project to improve the presentation of its collections. When the galleries for the permanent collections of paintings and sculpture reopen in late 2010, the expanded and redesigned spaces will feature more easily navigable and accessible

installations, enhancing every visitor’s experience of this nation’s greatest artistic treasures. Further

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information on the American Wing and the American sculpture collection is available by visiting the Metropolitan’s website at www.metmuseum.org.

The New York State Museum expresses its gratitude to Bank of America, the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly for making Cast Images possible. Additional support is provided by Hodgson Russ LLP, a Buffalo-based law firm with an office in Albany, and media sponsors Time Warner Cable/Capital News 9 and the Times Union.

The New York State Museum is a cultural program of the New York State Education Department. Started in 1836, the Museum has the longest continuously operating state natural history research and collection survey in the United States. Located on Madison Avenue in Albany, the Museum is open daily from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. except on Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Admission is free. Further information can be obtained by calling (518) 474-5877 or visiting the Museum website at www.nysm.nysed.gov.

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