For The Love of Art Opens at Meadows Museum of Art Nov. 22

John Webster Keefe

SHREVEPORT, La.— Uniquely Louisiana Curators- FOR THE LOVE OF ART, Selected Works from the Collection of John Webster Keefe, will open to the general public on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 1 p.m. and runs until January 31.

For the Love of Art features both American and European fine art and decorative art objects from the early through the late 19th Century. As part of programming, Mr. Keefe will present a gallery talk for the community and participate in a docent-board training session at which he will address the differences between collecting for the love of art with that of the building of collections for institutions such as the New Orleans Museum of Art or for collectors whose goal is to have their collection available for viewing by the general public.

From the time he was a teenager, Keefe was fascinated by all aspects of the nineteenth-century, beginning to collect objects from the period 1800 to 1900 at a young age. Fortunately, such works were then not widely respected and were readily available at reasonable prices. Since museum professionals are subject to strict guidelines in their private collecting, the low esteem in which nineteenth-century works of art were held in the 1960s meant that the young collector had a relatively free hand in selecting works from sources ranging from bona fide dealers to estate sales to antiques shops. Those pieces have become part of the daily life of the owner, reflecting a highly personal taste. This special exhibition represents the first time that selections of drawings, paintings and small sculpture from the private collection of Keefe will be exhibited.

The staff of the Meadows Museum of Art has developed the following Exhibition and Program Calendar for Uniquely Louisiana Curators: For the Love of Art, Selected Works from the Collection of John Webster Keefe. For further information regarding the Exhibition and Program calendar, please call the Meadows Museum at 318.869.5040 or 318.869.5169.

Exhibition and Program Calendar

Saturday, Nov. 21: Friends of the Algur Meadows exhibition preview with special guests John Webster Keefe and members of the staff of the New Orleans Museum of Art, 5:30 — 7:30 p.m., in the museum galleries, hors d'oeuvres.

Sunday, Nov. 22: Museum lecture entitled FOR THE LOVE OF ART with John Webster Keefe, 2 — 3 p.m. in the museum galleries; light refreshments.

Monday, Nov. 23: Docent-Board training session on FOR THE LOVE OF ART, with special guest John Webster Keefe, 9:30-11:30 a.m. in the museum galleries; breakfast refreshments.

Tuesday, Dec. 1: Public tours of FOR THE LOVE OF ART begin. To schedule a tour of the exhibition for your class or community group, please call the Meadows Museum of Art Museum Educator, Mandy Perdue at 841.7271 at your earliest convenience.

The Meadows Museum of Art is located on the campus of Centenary College at 2911 Centenary Boulevard in Shreveport. The Museum is open to the general public from noon to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday; from noon to 5 p.m. on Thursday; from 1- 4 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. The Museum is closed on Monday. The Museum is free of charge to the general public. For further information call 318.869.5040.

About Centenary College of Louisiana

Centenary College is a private, four-year arts and sciences college affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Founded in 1825, it is the oldest chartered liberal arts college west of the Mississippi River and is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. Centenary is one of 16 colleges and universities constituting the Associated Colleges of the South and has been recognized as "One of the Best 371 Colleges" by the Princeton Review and one of "America's Best Colleges" and one of "America's Best Private Colleges" by Forbes.com. In 2008 Centenary College celebrated 100 years in Shreveport and Bossier City.