BEN SHAHN GALLERIES FEATURES EXHIBIT ON AFRICAN AMERICAN LIFE IN THE 19TH CENTURY A special exhibit, "Thomas Waterman Wood -- Images of African-Americans in the Civil War Era," will be on display at Ben Shahn Galleries at William Paterson University in Wayne from January 25 through February 26. The exhibit features photographic reproductions of original works by Wood, who is best known for his paintings of everyday life in the 19th century and works depicting African Americans during the Civil War era. The exhibit includes reproductions from the collections of the T.W. Wood Gallery in Montpelier, Vt., the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The National Museum of American Art (Smithsonian Institution), and The Detroit Institute of Fine Arts. The show, held during February to commemorate African-American Heritage Month, is organized by Nancy Einreinhofer, director of the Ben Shahn Galleries, and Jane Haw, art curator at the Paterson Free Public Library. Wood addressed the controversial issues of slavery and emancipation in his sensitive paintings of African-American life. Highlights of the exhibit include "A Southern Cornfield" (1861), which has been interpreted as slaves contemplating escape; "War Episodes: The Contraband," "The Volunteer," "The Veteran," (1866) a series of three paintings which show African-American participation in the Civil War; and "American Citizens (To the Polls)" (1867), which optimistically addresses the right to vote, showing a black man and three white men at the polls (the black man later lost that right in the South). Wood was born in 1823 and earned his living as a successful portrait painter. Though his studio was in New York City, he lived periodically in Paterson where he painted the Passaic Falls in 1853 and many portraits of prominent Patersonians and their families. He painted the Paterson Library's portrait of Paterson abolitionist Josiah P. Huntoon in 1874. In 1897, Wood established the T.W. Wood Art Gallery in Montpelier, Vt. (his birthplace) to house and exhibit his works. The gallery, which recently held its centennial celebration, now holds more than 2,000 of Wood's drawings, paintings and prints. The artist died in 1903. The exhibit is part of a larger project sponsored by the Paterson Free Public Library and the Underground Railroad Portrait Partnership and was funded by a grant from The Chase Manhattan Bank. A closing reception for the exhibit will be held on Wednesday, February 24 from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. in the galleries. Also on view in the Ben Shahn Galleries from January 25 through February 26 are "Selections from the Joan and Gordon Tobias Collection of African, Oceanic, and Tribal Arts and Artifacts" and the "William Paterson University Art Alumni Biennial." Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. For additional information, please call the Ben Shahn Galleries at 973-720-2654. ###
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