Exhibitions 2007
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Andrée
Ruellan at 100
October 11, 2006 - January 28, 2007, Telfair
Academy
The
Telfair is pleased to present Andrée Ruellan at 100,
opening on October 11 at the Telfair Academy. Organized by the Georgia
Museum of Art in Athens, this exhibition presents 45 paintings,
drawings and prints by this remarkable American artist, including
the whose career spanned most of the 20th century. The exhibition
includes the Telfair’s signature Ruellan work, Savannah,
depicting the Barnard Street ramp leading to the river, circa 1942.
Born
in New York City in 1905 to French-émigré parents,
Ruellan was a child prodigy who was awarded her first solo exhibition
in Paris in 1925. The artist’s early work reflects her exposure
to European art trends as well as the influence of her mentor, Robert
Henri. After spending several years in Paris, Ruellan returned to
America in the 1930s and traveled to Savannah, Charleston, and New
Orleans. Some of Ruellan’s most notable paintings were inspired
by her travels in the South; her work from this period captures
the distinctive character of the region and its people during the
harsh years of the Depression.
Ruellan’s
work is typically associated with the American Scene, depicting
realistic images of everyday life in small-town America. Following
World War II, however, her style began to reflect the influence
of Cubism and Surrealism. Taken as a whole, Ruellan’s body
of work reveals her masterful ability to portray the evolving character
of modern America from the Great Depression through World War II
and into the 1960s. Andree Ruellan died at the age of 101 on July
15, 2006.
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