An unprecedented new exhibit featuring 200 years of art expressing the Tahoe experience goes on display on Aug. 22 at the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno, Nev.
The “TAHOE: A Visual History” exhibit, which is accompanied by a book by the same name, took five years to create and will be on display until Jan. 10, 2016. It presents historical paintings, Native baskets, photography, architecture and contemporary art that interpret Lake Tahoe, Donner Pass and the surrounding Sierra Nevada.
The book includes nearly 500 illustrations and about 80 percent of the objects will be on view in the exhibition, said Ann Wolfe, senior curator and deputy director
“The exhibition is truly an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see these art works in the same place at the same time,” Wolfe explains. “It is very unlikely that they will ever be together in the same place again.”
She notes that it’s easy to conjure a mental image of art in Yosemite, Yellowstone and New York’s Hudson River Valley thanks to the many books and exhibits dedicated to these scenic locales.
“The same cannot be said for the vicinity of Lake Tahoe,” Wolfe says. “This exhibit, and accompanying book, surveys the contributions of hundreds of artists who have made work in or about the region.”
Not surprisingly, Wolfe believes that art is key to our collective sense of place.
“I don’t believe you can really know a place – celebrate it or examine it critically – without a shared or collective understanding of its art history. Art produced in and about a place helps define its cultural identity.”
Wolfe promises that the breadth of the exhibit will surprise even the most well-versed Tahoe aficionados. She says many of America’s most well-known artists have produced art in this region, particularly in the 19th Century. However, she adds that the majority of this artwork is unknown as it comes from private and museum collections outside the region and has never been seen publicly.
With such a comprehensive exhibition, are there any pieces that Wolfe advises attendees not to miss? It’s a tough question, but Wolfe has a few suggestions.
She says one should plan to take some time viewing a 6 x 10-foot painting of Donner Lake from the Summit painted in 1876 by Albert Bierstadt. The piece was commissioned by railroad executive Collis P. Huntington and is on loan from the New York Historical Society.
Additionally, she urges attendees to not miss original drawings by architect Frank Lloyd Wright for a summer colony he proposed for Emerald Bay in 1923.
Perhaps one of the most noteworthy components of the exhibit is the largest assembly of Washoe baskets ever in an art museum.
“This includes a number of Louisa Keyser masterpiece baskets,” Wolfe adds. “Keyser was the famed Washoe weaver who was known to the world as Dat-so-la-lee. She wove over 300 baskets in her lifetime, sometimes with as many as 35 stitches per inch.”
At press time the installation was still in progress, but early observers were vocal in their praise for both the exhibition and the book. Wolfe says people are enthused and believe that the joint project “puts our region on the map culturally and establishes our significance within the larger American art world.”
These types of comments are music to Wolfe’s ears, who feels that art produced in and about a place helps define its cultural identity.
“Without knowledge or shared understanding of a region’s art and history, it is impossible to celebrate or critically examine its contribution to the broader culture.”
More than 15 contemporary artists will be featured alongside historical notables. The NMA has commissioned a number of works for the show including three sculptures by internationally celebrated artist Maya Lin. Lin’s pieces reflect the annual precipitation in the Tahoe watershed and water clarity.
The exhibit features sections on Native Basketry of Lake Tahoe, Historical Mapping and Early Sketches, Historical Painting: Lake Tahoe in the 19th Century, and 150 Years of Lake Tahoe Photography. Additionally, attendees will get to view Architecture of the Lake: 1900 to the Present and Contemporary Artists Visualize the Future.
In addition to the exhibit, the museum co-produced a documentary with KNPB to explore the themes and highlights of the exhibition. The documentary is showing in the gallery and will be broadcast on KNPB in Reno.
For more information on the exhibit and the accompanying book, visit nevadaart.org.
