One of the city's most iconic landmarks hits a major milestone this year.
The Amon Carter Museum of American Art is turning 60, releasing a new exhibition schedule and announcing an expansion of its digital offerings for 2021.
Highlights from the lineup include the first comprehensive survey of the work of Vietnamese-American photographer An-My Lê, along with the first comprehensive retrospective of Fort Worth artists Scott and Stuart Gentling.
The Carter is also expanding its digital initiatives, improving the design and search capabilities of its collection pages, as well as completing the museum’s 2017 Institute of Museum and Library Services grant supporting the digitization of the Carter’s holdings of eight photographer archives (Carlotta Corpron, Nell Dorr, Laura Gilpin, Eliot Porter, Helen Post, Clara Sipprell, Erwin E. Smith, and Karl Struss). The website will also feature virtual gallery experiences offering further insight on special exhibitions and collection galleries.
Established by siblings Amon G. Carter Jr. and Ruth Carter Stevenson — and named after their father, Fort Worth Star-Telegram founding publisher Amon G. Carter Sr. — the museum first welcomed visitors on Jan. 21, 1961, and has since grown its collection from Carter Sr.'s western art holdings to, now, a world-renowned institution showcasing American works from paintings and sculpture to works on paper and photography.
“In 60 years of fostering intimate and meaningful encounters with American art, the Carter has become an important cultural resource for Fort Worth and the global arts community alike,” executive director Andrew J. Walker said in a statement. “Our 2021 anniversary program —from exploring an important new acquisition by Thomas Moran to hosting Anila Quayyum Agha’s immersive, multimedia installation illuminating the modern American experience — exemplifies our ongoing commitment to telling the evolving story of American creativity. While we celebrate the accomplishments of the past six decades, we also look ahead to building on the Carter’s legacy of innovative programming and pivotal scholarship in American art.”
The 2021 program includes the following exhibits:
"An-My Lê: On Contested Terrain," April 18 – Aug. 8
The first comprehensive survey of the work of Vietnamese-American photographer An-My Lê, this nationally touring exhibition will feature a selection of photographs from the artist's nearly 25-year career.
"Photography Is Art," April 18 – Aug. 8
Showcases 41 prints from the Carter's collection, telling the story of American photographers' efforts to explore creativity and deem photography an art form.
"An Expanding Vision: Six Decades of Works on Paper," April 24 – Aug. 22
Highlights key moments in the Carter's history of collecting works on paper, including acquisitions of work by artists such as Mary Cassatt, Glenn Ligon, Louise Nevelson, Kara Walker, Charles Wilbert White, and more.
"Thomas Moran’s Mount Superior," Aug. 28 – Dec. 12
With the recent acquisition of Mount Superior, as viewed from Alta, Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah (ca. 1879) by Thomas Moran, the museum will highlight photography, works on paper, and popular culture from the 19th century while documenting a rarely explored time of Moran’s career.
"Anila Quayyum Agha: A Beautiful Despair," Sept. 25 – Jan. 9, 2022
The Carter has commissioned multidisciplinary artist Anila Quayyum Agha to create an immersive, site-specific sculptural installation using metal armatures of open geometric and curvilinear designs to encase a single light source. The work, inspired by her multicultural, migrant experience, comes accompanied by a new series of drawings that incorporate textile processes like wax, dyes, and embroidery — what's traditionally seen as domestic servitude, presented as a fine art form.
"Imagined Realism: Scott and Stuart Gentling," Sept. 25 – Jan. 9, 2022
The first comprehensive retrospective of Fort Worth artists (and twin brothers) Scott and Stuart Gentling, this exhibit will feature more than 150 works and archival objects as part of a multiyear initiative to further the scholarship and research on these two artists.
More information is available at cartermuseum.org.
