American art and its French ties

Elia Powers

A walk through the Orange County Museum of Art’s current exhibition

is a journey through the evolution of early 20th century American

art.

But it is more than that.

There are French undertones in the collection, called “Villa

America: American Moderns, 1900-1950.” The exhibition is named after

painter Gerald Murphy’s “Villa America” abode in southern France that

was a destination for traveling American artists early in the 1900s.

“During this time period, you have some of the most important

American artists going to Europe,” said Elizabeth Armstrong, deputy

director for programs and chief curator at the museum. “The symbiosis

between the two cultures is what made art great during that time

period.”

“Villa America” is also the title of one of Murphy’s paintings,

which shows the French tricolors and a portion of the American flag

bound together. The piece, accompanied by photographs of Murphy’s

residence, greets gallery visitors in the entryway.

The 75-piece exhibition, on display at the museum through Oct. 2,

is part of a collection from Myron Kunin, a Minnesota businessman who

owns a second home in Laguna Beach.

Over 25 years, Kunin has amassed a group of paintings from some of

his favorite 20th century American artists.

Armstrong, who wrote her graduate thesis on one of the artists in

Kunin’s collection, befriended Kunin and persuaded him to loan

paintings for the exhibition.

“I’ve admired this collection for a long time,” Armstrong said. “I

always thought this was one of the best collections of the first half

of the 20th century.”

The museum’s exhibition is the first museum show devoted entirely

to Kunin’s collection.

This summer, Armstrong is editing a book about the exhibition that

she hopes will be ready by mid-September.

The exhibition is separated into five rooms, three of which have a

specific time element. Armstrong said she wanted to give museum

visitors some sense of chronology.

“It gave it a feeling of history unfolding and the art was part of

that history,” said Melanie Gottlieb, a docent at the Museum of Latin

American Art in Long Beach.

The works are eclectic, showing sprawling landscapes and

still-life images and urban skyscrapers.

The vibrancy of the era is best represented in a painting that

depicts a jazz concert. The image is juxtaposed with a nearby piece

called “Death of a Miner,” which shows darkened subjects standing

over a white casket.

“The collection has so many different styles. That was exciting to

me,” Gottlieb said. “Being an artist, my eyes went everywhere at

once. It was hard for me to focus.”

Two of the rooms transcend the five decades, showing artists’ self

portraits and a series of figure paintings.

Some of the featured artists are famous, such as Grant Wood and

Georgia O’Keeffe. Others are lesser-known painters, ones whose

careers Armstrong hopes the exhibition will help resurrect.

“This art is more diverse than what they show in [American art]

history books,” Armstrong said. “There’s a freshness in seeing

artists who are lost from history.”

An added element: The museum is offering guided iPod tours, which

feature narration and music from the time period.

“It’s fun to watch a group of seniors having a blast with the

technology,” Armstrong said.

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

elia.powers@latimes.com.