"Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch," closes on Sunday, August 4 🕰️
Born in 1890 to parents of Narragansett and African American heritage, Prophet became RISD’s first documented graduate of color, completing her degree in 1918. Prophet's first solo show features her distinct marble and wood sculptures, painted wood friezes, watercolors, and archival photographs which together highlight Prophet's astonishing strength of character and her unique modernist sensibility.
#RISDMuseum#RISD#NancyElizabethProphet
"soft presence, hard absence," is the winner of the 2024 Dorner Prize – an annual juried competition for RISD students to create new installations in the museum.
The installation, on view now in the chace lobby, is an interplay of soft fabrics that drape over storage shelving to explore the topic of accessibility of museum collections.
Repost @lendasock This is me pretending to not notice the photographer as I install my work at the @risdmuseum . soft absence hard presence will be on display May 7 - September 15
“She never submitted to patronage, cringed to the great, or begged of the small. She worked. She is still working." - W.E.B. Du Bois on Nancy Elizabeth Prophet
"Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch," on view now, features Prophet's unique sculptures made from a variety of woods; including cherry, ebony, and magnolia.
Ebony is among the most difficult woods to sculpt because it is a hard wood that's not easily bent and manipulated. In fact, ebony is ranked high on the Janka hardness scale, a test that measures the hardness and flexibility of wood. This sculpture in ebony exemplifies Prophet's masterful skill as this wood is known for its brittleness and can even ruin tools.
Image: Nancy Elizabeth Prophet, Head in Ebony, 1926-1929, altered later. Courtesy of Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.
#RISDMuseum#RISD#NancyElizabethProphet#Providence#RhodeIsland
Rising senior in Painting, @amadi13 served as an Objects Conversation Fellow at the museum for the past two years. While at the museum, Amadi worked on a variety of three-dimensional artworks including wooden wallpaper print blocks, 19th-century French wallpaper, and ceramics, and filled in missing tesserae for an ancient mosaic among many other objects!
In her painting practice, Amadi is invested in pushing forward in both form and content. To reframe the histories of public figures and private connections, she carefully considers her own memories and notions of Blackness.
If you haven’t had a chance yet, take a visit to the RISD Museum to check out the self-guided Pride Tour 🏳️🌈
🎥 Kaylee Pugliese
#RISD#RISD1877#RisdMuseum
"Nancy Elizabeth Prophet: I Will Not Bend an Inch," is on view now through August 4.
Prophet's figurative sculptures carved from wood and stone combine European classical traditions, modernist influences, and her own experiences as an Afro-Indigenous woman. Learn more about Prophet's singular and groundbreaking art by planning your visit today. Remember the museum is free to all on Sundays and Thursday evenings (5pm - 8pm).
#RISDMuseum#RISD#NancyElizabethProphet#Providence#RhodeIsland
#SummerSolstice is here! Let's celebrate the longest day of the year with joy and light. ☀️
In this oil painting entitled "Summer," the artist Frank Weston Benson captures a New England summer's day with loose brushwork and bright colors that convey the effects of natural sunlight and sea air. 🌊
Image: Frank Weston Benson, "Summer," 1909. Bequest of Isaac C. Bates.
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Our temperature-controlled galleries protect delicate artworks—and the humans who look at them! Escape the heat with a trip to our breezy galleries.
Remember, the museum is FREE on Thursday evenings (5pm - 8pm) and all day Sunday!
"Freedom is not something that one people can bestow on another as a gift. They claim it as their own and none can keep it from them." - Kwame Nkrumah, Prime Minister and President of Ghana
Celebrate freedom on #Juneteenth with @juneteenthri during their sixth annual free festival with music, food, and fun at 195 District Park on Saturday, June 22, 12pm - 7pm.
Please note that the museum will be closed this Wednesday, June 19 in recognition of this national holiday.
Image: Detail of Jazzmen Lee-Johnson, "Siyabashaya," 2019. Screenprint on paper. Museum purchase: gift of Joseph A. Chazan, MD.
Gallery Night Providence is on Thursday, June 20!
Explore galleries, art spaces, and museums in Providence with free guided art tours of the city hosted by @gallerynightprovidence . Trolley and walking tours are available at various times from 5 pm through 7 pm.
#RISDMuseum#RISD#Providence#RhodeIsland
📸: Dee Speaks
