2019 Community Report 1 Board of Trustees 2019 Gala Co-chairs Development Council Billy Frist, Chair and President Susanne L. Cato Clay Blevins, Chair H. Lee Barfield II Kathleen J. Estes George Anderson Clay Blevins Laura Chadwick Laura Chadwick Audit Committee Bob Gordon Claire M. Gulmi, Chair Elizabeth Dennis Peggy S. Kinnard the president From Karyn McLaughlin Frist Frank M. Garrison, Jr. Neil B. Krugman Greetings, Frank M. Garrison, Jr. Ken Melkus Karen B. Moore Howard C. Gentry, Jr. Stephen S. Riven Jana Lisle Parham With profound gratitude to the donors, contributors, members, and patrons acknowl- Bob Gordon Joe N. Steakley Joe N. Steakley Claire M. Gulmi Leigha Wallace edged within, we present a recap of 2019 at the Frist Art Museum. Your investments James Harbison Finance Committee Julie W. Walker supported a wide array of exhibitions, programs, and opportunities for visitors on-site Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. Frank M. Garrison, Jr., Chair Stacy Widelitz and in the community to engage with art in profound ways. An unprecedented number Melvin N. Johnson, DBA H. Lee Barfield II Jim T. Womack of people immersed themselves in art from around the world and around town. Neil B. Krugman Ken Melkus Wanda Lyle Stephen S. Riven Honorary Members Exhibitions in 2019 drew visitors to beauty, intrigue, social justice, and wonder. We had Ken Melkus John Smithwick Trish C. Frist intimate access to the collecting strategy of Paul and Bunny Mellon. Their love of place, Karen B. Moore Joe N. Steakley Ronald L. Samuels gardening, and the sporting life offered delight and beauty in two exhibitions: Van Gogh, Stephen S. Riven Julie W. Walker Monet, Degas, and Their Times and A Sporting Vision. Natasha and Jacques Gelman Jamaal B. Sheats Education Council famously collected the art of Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, and Mexican Modernism. We John Smithwick Gail P. Carr Williams, Chair Human Resources Committee closed out the year with the delightful exhibition Eric Carle’s Picture Books, Joe N. Steakley Deborah E. Story, Chair Elyse Adler Deborah E. Story H. Lee Barfield II Corey R. Alexander demonstrating that it is never too early or too late to discover the power of art. Jay Turner Clay Blevins David Aydelott Julie W. Walker Laura Chadwick Glen Biggs We had ample opportunities for reflection as well. The alluring power of visual images— Gail P. Carr Williams Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. Cati Blitz from Dorothea Lange’s photographs to Surrealist art created during the war years, the Stephen S. Riven Maya M. Bugg work of Native women artists, and exhibitions in the Conte Community Arts Gallery— Executive Director and CEO John Smithwick Carol Crittenden made us think about and reconsider the overlooked. Susan H. Edwards, PhD McLean Fahnestock Community Engagement Council Catharine L. Hollifield In this report, you will find a complete list of the year’s exhibitions, along with more Directors Emeriti Howard C. Gentry, Chair Rocky Horton about the many programs offered on-site and in the community, designed by our Thomas F. Frist, Jr., MD, Chair Ramon L. Cisneros Carlyle D. Johnson educators to enhance an understanding of art, other cultures, and ourselves. Kenneth L. Roberts, President Michael Cooper J. C. Johnson Martha Rivers Ingram Donna DeStefano Melvin N. Johnson, DBA Karyn McLaughlin Frist Midori A. Lockett On behalf of the Board of Directors and myself, I want to thank each of you for being Ex Officio Jenn Garcia Robin Paris a part of our mission and for your generous support of the Frist Art Museum. David Briley, Mayor Aubrey B. Harwell, Jr. Marti Profitt-Streuli Courtney Adair Johnson Allison Ross Advisers Vanessa Lazón Delia Seigenthaler Peter F. Bird, Jr. Alex Macias Jamaal B. Sheats Jack F. Stringham II Lisa Maddox Debrah C. Sickler Voight, PhD Mayra Yu Morales Shayna Snider Sincerely, Honorary Trustees Cass Teague Daryl Wilkinson Bernice W. Gordon Tasneem Tewogbola Tom Williams Ellen H. Martin Joshua Wagner W. Lucas Simons Thaxton Waters Ex Officio for Councils and Committees J. Stephen Turner Billy Frist Marketing Council Thomas F. Frist, Jr., MD Billy Frist Board Intern John Smithwick, Chair Kenneth L. Roberts Marc J. Adesso Laura Chadwick Susan H. Edwards, PhD Terry Clements Executive Committee Genma Holmes Billy Frist, Chair Sharon Kay The lists on this page include Clay Blevins Laramey Lawson everyone who served on FAM’s Frank M. Garrison, Jr. Chris McPherson boards, committees, and Howard Gentry Brent Meredith councils in 2019. Claire M. Gulmi Heather Middleton John Smithwick Doug Regen Deborah E. Story John Sharpe Gail P. Carr Williams Daniel Tidwell Jay Turner 2 3 From the executive director From Greetings, Thanks to the generosity of the donors acknowledged in this report, the Frist remains a trea- sured community resource, valued for its historic architecture as well as the world-class art, public programs, art activities, and opportunities for fellowship. The mission and vision of the Frist are sustained not only by financial gifts but also by donations of time and talent. We thank each of you for investing in the quality of life in Nashville by supporting the Frist. Our gratitude extends to trustees, those who serve on councils and committees, sponsors, foundations, government agencies, members, community partners, visitors, and hardworking, loyal staff. For over one hundred years, Tennessee has been known as the Volunteer State because of the role played by volunteer soldiers. That tradition of selflessness extends to community service, and we gratefully acknowledge the many hours of work by our volunteers, who help in myriad ways. Each year, the Frist Art Museum receives generous support from its major annual fundraiser. The 2019 Frist Gala co-chairs, Susanne Cato and Kathleen Estes, marshaled a team of dedi- cated friends and colleagues to work tirelessly to ensure the financial success of Gala events, including a patron dinner, in conjunction with Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art and A Sporting Vision: The Paul Mellon Collection of British Sporting Art, two exhibitions from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. We thank all who attend and contribute funds and fun to make these parties unforgettable. In this report, you will read about the exhibitions and programs the Frist offered members and visitors throughout 2019. Without your help, they would not have been possible. With each story of a path changed, an idea revealed, or a window opened, we rededicate ourselves to providing Middle Tennessee with a place for visitors to see, learn, and interact with art. Thank you again for your generosity. We pledge responsible stewardship and our full commit- ment to the mission of bringing great art to Nashville, serving the vision of inspiring people through art to see their world in new ways. We hope that when you visit the Frist, you find the experience you seek. Please join us as often as you can. Sincerely, Susan H. Edwards, PhD Executive Director and CEO Photo: Kendyl Matthews 4 5 Van Gogh, Monet, Degas, and Their Times: The Mellon Collection of French Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts February 2–May 5, 2019 • Ingram Gallery Organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Offering more than seventy works by masters such as Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Claude Monet, Henri Rousseau, and Vincent van Gogh, this broadly appealing exhibition celebrated Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon’s extraordinary gift of French 19th- and early 20th-century art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. With its core of Impressionist paint- ings, the collection also comprised masterpieces from every important school of French art, from Romanticism through the School of Paris. These works represent more than 150 years of art and exemplify the Mellons’ personal vision and highly original acquisition strategies, which provide a context for understanding this unique collection. Claude Monet. Field of Poppies, Giverny, 1885. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 28 3/4 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 85.499. Image © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photo: Katherine Wetzel 6 7 A Sporting Vision: The Paul Mellon Collection of British Sporting Art from the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts February 2–May 5, 2019 • Ingram Gallery Organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts With representative masterpieces of the genre—including works by Sir Francis Grant, John Frederick Herring, Benjamin Marshall, George Morland, and George Stubbs—this exhibition celebrated Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon’s gift of British sporting art to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and marked an opportunity to view the entire breadth of this out- standing and comprehensive collection. It also proposed a fresh look at sporting art within wider social and artistic contexts, including the scientific and industrial revolutions of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the transformation of the British countryside, the evolu- tionary history of the horse and other animals, and society’s changing habits and customs. George Stubbs. Hyena with a Groom on Newmarket Heath, ca. 1765–67. Oil on canvas, 40 1/8 x 50 1/8 in. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, Paul Mellon Collection, 99.93. Image © Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Photo: Katherine Wetzel 8 9 Claudio Parmiggiani: Dematerialization February 2–May 5, 2019 • Gordon Contemporary Artists Project Gallery Organized by the Frist Art Museum Italian artist Claudio Parmiggiani (b. 1943) resists classification. Though associated with the Arte Povera movement and conceptualism of the 1960s and ’70s, he works somewhere in between. His art evokes uni- versal themes of time, absence, memory, and silence, while drawing on classical references as well as the subtle quietude of paintings by Giorgio Morandi. Parmiggiani’s signature process of delocazione (displacement) was originally inspired by the silhouettes of dust left behind after objects were removed.