Robert Henri Museum and Art Gallery opens for summer season May 1
COZAD — The Robert Henri Museum and Art Gallery announced that it will begin its regular summer season hours on Friday, May 1.
The complex will be open Tuesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. until Sunday, Nov. 1.
The museum is located at 218 E. Eighth St., Cozad, and the gallery is directly behind it at 207 E. Ninth St. Visitors must first come to the gallery.
To kick off the season, the museum and gallery will host its annual program for artists until Nov. 1.
The artists, who are coming from all over the country and will be exhibiting, are:
- Jenifer Berge Sauter, Artist of the Month – May 1-30
- Karrie Steely, Artist in Residence – June 10-24
- Impact Nebraska Artists – Waters of Life, Artist of the Month – July 1-31
- Beth Jasnoch and Jeri Schultheiss, Artist of the Month – Aug. 1-29
- Jude Valentine, Artist in Residence – Sept. 15-30
- Leslie McAllister, Artist of the Month – Oct. 1-31
The museum’s first artist this summer, Sauter, is a Nebraska-based artist known for her contemporary paintings in acrylic, pastel and oil.
Sauter’s early years were spent on a hog farm in Lisco, where she learned how much she loved animals, being outside in the trees and drawing.
She continued working outdoors in gardens and nurseries as an adult, which influenced the color, movement and rhythm in her paintings of her rural home.
Sauter worked with artist Lanny Fiegenschuh early on and continues to make connections and take in knowledge to refine her work practice.
Her work is in business and private collections across the country and her paintings have been included in group and solo shows in Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Wisconsin.
Sauter also continues a pet portrait fundraiser with the Panhandle Humane Society of Scottsbluff that she started in 1999. She has completed over 1,000 portraits and has continuously donated 50% of the proceeds to this cause.
Sauter works at her home studio in Gering and enjoys spending time with family, friends and pets, as well as gardening and plein air painting.
"Working with my hands has always been a thing for me," she says in her artist statement. "Painting and working with plants and the repetition of both seem to be essential to my life and art. Living in a rural place most of my life has shaped my work, where the animals, plants, people and experiences that form in this strange landscape become paintings that are my friends. Temperature might be most important to me as it's the key to the mood of a piece. Controlling temperature with glazes just might be my favorite right now. There are so many things I need to paint, I will never be done, and this makes me happy."
The museum’s artist program, in its 24th year, was established to encourage understanding and appreciation of the arts in central Nebraska and to promote the legacy of Robert Henri, one of America’s greatest art instructors.
He taught hundreds of students over his long career, including Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, Marjorie Ryerson and Elizabeth Grandin.
As part of its ongoing lecture series, the museum will host a free program, "Our Paintings and Robert Henri’s Art Spirit." The program will take place on Thursday, April 23, at 6:30 p.m. in the museum.
The lecture by the museum’s director, Peter Osborne, will explore the lessons in Henri’s seminal book with the museum’s collection of paintings now on display.
The museum will also have five exhibits to see, including "From Cozad to the State Prison: The Colorful Character of Miles Maryott," "Robert Henri: From the 100th Meridian to International Fame," "Painters of A New Century" and "Passing on the Art Spirit." Three of the exhibits look at the life and career of Robert Henri, including his time in Nebraska.
A fifth, newly opened show, "Painter, Teacher and Pioneer: A Journey Through the Life of Robert Henri," is the most extensive show to interpret the artist’s life since one at the Sheldon Museum of Art in the 1990s.
It includes 45 sketches attributed to Henri or believed to be by him. Henri completed 31 paintings and prints. In addition, there are seven works by his wives and several by his students.
The museum has embarked on a new chapter in its long and storied history.
Donations can be made to the new gallery project by going to the museum’s website or mailing them to the museum directly. They are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.
The museum provides regular updates about the gallery and its programs on its Facebook page.
For more information about its programs, call 308-784-4343 or visit roberthenrimuseum.org.
