California Calling: Works from Santa Barbara Collections, 1948 - 2008

Part I:  July 18 - December 27, 2009

Part II:  September 12 - December 20, 2009

Eclectic, inventive, anti-conformist… these are just a few of the widespread characterizations of artists who have lived and worked in the richest, most diverse, and most populous region in the United States since the end of World War II.  California Calling is a two-part exhibition highlighting works from a selection of artists and movements in California from the past sixty years.  Drawn from the Museum’s permanent collection and selected local collections, works included exemplify the distinctive vitality of art in the region and the significance of the SBMA as a venue for art on the West Coast.

Noble Tombs at Mawangdui: Art and Life in the Changsha Kingdom (3rd Century BCE - 1st Century CE)

September 19 - December 13, 2009

Originating from the Hunan Provincial Museum and organized by the China Institute in New York, this exhibition, traveling to the United Stated for the first time, highlights one of the most important archaeological excavations in China-- the unearthing of Mawangdui, the tomb of the first lady and family of the Changsha Kingdom (died 168 BC) in the Western Han dynasty (206 BC-8 AD).  The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will be the second and only west coast venue.  This exhibition will include some of the finest and among the earliest extant lacquers, silks, paintings, and written strips (early calligraphy/books). Through these various art works, the exhibition will also examine and reconstruct the art and culture of the Western Han dynasty, a formative period of Chinese culture and civilization, focusing on daily cuisine and drink, cosmetics and fashion, music and entertainment, healthcare and exercise, and the fascinating beliefs of the immortal world. The accompanying exhibition catalogue will be bilingual and published by the Hunan Provincial Museum.

An American Century: 20th-Century Master Drawings

January 16 - June 6, 2010

Delacroix to Monet: Masterpieces of 19^th-Century Painting from the Walters Art Museum

January 30 – May 2, 2010

Assembled over a period of more than 140 years, the collection of the Walters Art Museum entails one of the finest holdings of 19^th-century paintings in the United States.  The only West Coast venue for the exhibition, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art is pleased to present 40 works from this renowned collection, selected for their art-historical significance and superior quality.  Although strongly weighted in favor of French painting, this exhibition, like the collection, also includes major works by British, Spanish, and American artists.

Included are such masterpieces as Eugène Delacroix’s powerful Christ on the Sea of Galilee (1854), Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres’ perfected, late version of Oedipus and the Sphinx (1864), Edgar Degas’ splendid Before the Race (1882-1884), and such favorites as Edouard Manet’s At the Café (ca. 1879) and Claude Monet’s Springtime (ca. 1872).  The paintings by Monet form the core of a strong group of Impressionist works, including beautiful landscapes by Camille Pissarro and Alfred Sisley.

Each painting is deeply satisfying on its own and displayed together, make for a ravishing exhibition that well captures the historical breadth and depth of the Walters’ collection.

Chaotic Harmony: Korean Contemporary Photography

May 29 - August 22, 2010