Art custodians celebrate 25-year milestone

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 25: “Masterworks is a cultural awakening of what Bermuda has to offer.”

This is the description by devoted and long-standing curator of the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art, Elise Outerbridge, and a sneak peek at the museum’s upcoming 25th anniversary schedule goes a long way to proving that.

From a show selling John Lennon lithographs to an exhibition of artistic giants such as Winslow Homer and Ross Turner, the museum appears to be pulling out all the stops for this momentous celebration.

Aside from the local-inspired offerings — the Queen herself has given the museum permission to exhibit a selection from her personal stamp collection which will be displayed in April.

When Masterwork was launched in 1987, its original mission was to secure Bermuda-inspired arts from around the world taking advantage of the fact that many well-known artists had used the island as their muse. “The fact that so many people were inspired by the island meant there was a lot for Bermudians and visitors to learn about our culture through our arts,” said Outerbridge.

“Thousands of people came in and it was empirical evidence that people were really interested in Bermudian-inspired artwork.”

The museum has come a long way since its humble beginnings when, during his days as a volunteer for the Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, founder and director Tom Butterfield borrowed an Andrew Wyeth painting called Royal Palms. Wyeth was an icon of 20th century landscapes and the painting attracted thousands of visitors to the gallery. It was then he realised the potential of a collection of Bermuda art from around the world. The collection has since exploded in size to more then 1,200 pieces of art including such greats as Georgia O’Keefe, Henry Moore and Ogden Pleissner.

For many years Masterworks had no fixed abode and moved from pillar to post before settling in the prime location of the Botanical Gardens, thanks to then Premier Dame Jennifer Smith, where it remains today.

“We lived a very nomadic lifestyle,” Outerbridge fondly recalls. “We were at the Crisson & Hind building then another little place on Front Street and we just carried the collection around in the back of my car for all intent and purposes! It was pretty wild.

“The first show was at City Hall. It was under the auspices of Government under Community and Cultural Affairs but Tom eventually decided to pull together a small band of directors to take it forward. The very next year we brought Georgia O’Keefe’s Banyan Tree Trunk here. People didn’t know how many famous people had come to Bermuda and painted. At that time we hit the ground running. Tom borrowed $60k and bought the first 12 paintings.”

It was in 1992 that a Bermudian family lent Masterworks its first Winslow Homer — Inland Water painted in Bermuda — one of three Homers the gallery now possesses.

“That really catapulted us into the international scene because there are only 21 known water colours that he did of Bermuda. All the rest are in museums or private collections.

“From the very beginning it was our hope that the culmination would be to have a building like this and exhibits like the Charman Prize because part of our mission statement has always been to collect art and encourage local artists.”

Masterworks came under heavy criticism from some sections of the community who felt its focus was more on bringing overseas art to Bermuda than championing local artists.

Outerbridge whole-heartedly defends the gallery’s mission in the early days: “We knew there were many art works out there with Bermuda content and our first goal was to secure those back to the island. It was our feeling that if we didn’t get these paintings here when they were available, then they would never come back to Bermuda. There were other galleries at that time whose mission was to support the local art community.

“Artists love that they can write on their CV they have been in the same collection as Winslow Homer, Georgia O’Keefe and Henry Moore. They are on an equal status as a lot of international artists and we have sold a lot of art work through that.

“There was never an intention to lock out artists — it was always intended to go back and embrace the whole evolving art scene.”

Masterworks did begin its student art programmes and it was then that they started fulfilling their pledge to give back to the local art community. One such programme was Artists Up Front Street featuring solo shows by local artists once every two weeks. Graham Foster was one of the first local artists featured by Masterworks and they went onto showcase the likes of Vernon Clarke, Jonah Jones, Chesley Trott and Otto Trott.

What’s more, Masterworks is now responsible for what is perhaps the biggest art award on the island — The Charman Prize now in its fourth year of showcasing the work of local artists.

“It equals any art prize and we are eternally grateful for John Charman who has put up a huge amount of money in support of this,” said Outerbridge. “The thing that thrills me the most is how diverse and talented Bermuda is. I was born in a city in the United States which was three times the size of the population of Bermuda and there is no way you could have ever pulled together this quality of artwork.”

As Masterworks approaches its 25th birthday (the official day is June 14) the public is in for a year of cultural offerings. In December there will be a soft opening of A Rock and an Ocean featuring all the most important works in the collection. It will explain the “development and the genesis” of masterworks with timelines and a lot of interactive displays.

The show will be divided into segments including Wonderful World of Water Colour which will be featuring works by Winslow Homer, Ogden Pleissner and Ross Turner. Another section is called The Twelve Apostles featuring the gallery’s first 12 works of art. Georgia O’Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz will also be featured.

Masterwork’s Artist in the Garden will be changed to the Four Plus Four Equals One show that will feature in the Rick Faries gallery and feature four pieces of work by four local artists to make one show regularly each year.

While the details are yet to be hammered out, plans are underway to bring numerous lithographs by John Lennon to the museum that will go on sale. This ties in with several other plans revolving around the iconic singer/songwriter including a statue to be built designed by Graham Foster and a concert in June at the gardens organized by Tony Brannon and Michael Freisenbruch.

These are just some of the events celebrating the stories history of Masterworks. The full schedule of events and dates is being finalised and will be released soon.