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August 26, 2024
‘Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism’ Opens at the Chrysler Museum of Art
James Jacques Joseph Tissot (French, 1836-1902), The Artists’ Wives, 1885, Oil on canvas, Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr., and The Grandy Fund, Landmark Communications Fund, and “An Affair to Remember” 1982, 81.153
NORFOLK, Va., August 26, 2024 – The Chrysler Museum of Art is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism, on view in the Special Exhibition Gallery at the Museum, One Memorial Pl, Norfolk, from October 11, 2024, to January 5, 2025.
This year, museums worldwide are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris. Farm to Table takes a unique interpretative angle, placing the movement within the context of foodways and the dramatic changes in rural and urban life in France in the second half of the 19th century.
French cuisine had long been viewed as a reflection of the nation’s identity and a source of popular pride. However, in the decades following the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71), artists depicted the growing, cooking, transporting, serving, and eating of food as a means of highlighting the economic and social instabilities of this tumultuous period. Through more than fifty paintings and sculptures by leading artists, this exhibition explores this transformative era in French history.
Farm to Table brings together famous Impressionist artists, such as Marie Bracquemond, Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley, along with the contributions of leading figures in the French Salon, such as Eugene Boudin, Jean Béraud, William-Adolphe Bouguereau, Victor Gabriel Gilbert, and Léon Augustin Lhermitte, to form an intersection between French cuisine and period social discourse.
“Both food and art were foundational elements of 19th-century French culture, shaping and reflecting the complexities of national identity. This exhibition offers a new opportunity to look at their intersection during the age of Impressionism, a tumultuous period of social and political change,” says Andrew Eschelbacker, former Director of Curatorial Affairs at the American Federation of Arts (AFA). “I am thrilled to partner with the Chrysler Museum and the AFA to bring this exhibition to fruition and explore how the representations of France’s fin-de-siecle food ecology revealed the aspirations and anxieties of French society.”
Organized around three sections that trace the journey of food from its origin points to the tables of Paris, Farm to Table will lead visitors through the cultivation, harvest, purchase, and enjoyment of food. Both then and now, what we eat reflects who we are and where we came from, and much of this show still resonates with our culture today. Join us at the Chrysler Museum of Art for a feast for the eyes this fall.
EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING
MEMBER PREVIEW CELEBRATION
Thursday, October 10, 6–9 p.m.
Preview a rich selection of Impressionist works and stories that celebrate the intersection of French cuisine and social discourse.
Free for members, $20 for non-members. Registration required.
STILL-LIFE PAINTING STUDIO CLASS
Thursdays: October 10, 17, 24 from 1–3 p.m.
Class participants will explore the timeless tradition of still-life painting guided by an experienced instructor.
$65 for Museum members, $80 for non-members. Registration required.
WORLD BEATS CONCERT SERIES
Roused by Farm to Table, this series explores music with French influences and pairs each concert with French wine and food selected by guest chefs, sommeliers, and other culinary specialists.
- Les Zazous: Wednesday, October 16 at 7 p.m.
- T’Monde: Wednesday, November 20 at 7 p.m.
- Jessica Fichot: Thursday, December 12 at 7 p.m.
$15 for Museum members, $35 for non-members. Registration required
FARM TO TABLE SALON SERIES
Tuesdays and Saturdays from 10:30 a.m.–noon
Relive the historic French Salon tradition through an intimate and unique opportunity to probe beyond the canvas into the complex themes of Farm to Table.
- Tuesday, October 15: Impressionism and French Mélodie
- Saturday, October 26: Jefferson, Hemings, and American Cuisine
- Saturday, November 16: Identity and Gender in Food
- Tuesday, December 10: American Artists in France
Free for Museum members, 10 for non-members. Registration required
TEACHER WORKSHOP: FRENCH CULTURE AND CONNECTIONS IN ART
Thursday, November 7 from 5:30–7:30 p.m.
Experience two French-focused exhibitions with larger relevance in this evening teacher workshop. Discuss themes from both Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism and New Frames of Reference: Early French Photographers at Home and Abroad, then create a piece of your own to reflect on your experience. Refreshments provided.
$10. Registration required.
FIRST THURSDAYS: FARM TO TABLE
Thursdays, 5–8 p.m.
First Thursdays are the perfect occasion to meet new people, enjoy a free date night, or simply wind down the week. All ages welcome.
- November 7: Savor a farmer’s market with a twist, participate in a community garden collage, and listen to an Appalachian band honoring Virginia’s rural musical legacy.
- December 5: Put your skills to the test in the 6th Annual Bake Off. Bakers show off their creations inspired by a work of art in the Museum’s collection.
Free. Registration not required.
CHRYSLER BOOK AND LOOK CLUB
Sunday, November 17 from 1–3 p.m.
Join us in the Farm to Table exhibition to discuss the book Thomas Jefferson’s Crème Brûlée: How a Founding Father and His Slave James Hemings Introduced French Cuisine to America and make connections from the book with the works in the exhibition. Enjoy light refreshments afterward in the Jean Outland Chrysler Library.
Free. Registration required.
Farm to Table: Art, Food, and Identity in the Age of Impressionism is co-organized by the American Federation of Arts and the Chrysler Museum of Art. This exhibition is generously supported by Monique Schoen Warshaw, with additional support provided by Betsy S. Barbanell, the Dr. Lee MacCormick Edwards Charitable Foundation, the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, and the Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts. This project is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.
This traveling exhibition will be on view at the Chrysler Museum of Art in Norfolk, VA, from October 11, 2024, to January 5, 2025; the Frist Art Museum in Nashville, TN, from January 31 to May 4, 2025; the Cincinnati Art Museum in Cincinnati, OH, from June 13 to September 21, 2025; and the Seattle Art Museum in Seattle, WA, from October 23, 2025, to January 18, 2026.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF THE ARTS
The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is a leader in traveling exhibitions internationally. A nonprofit organization founded in 1909, the AFA is dedicated to enriching the public’s experience and understanding of the visual arts through organizing and touring art exhibitions for presentation in museums worldwide, publishing exhibition catalogues featuring important scholarly research, and developing educational programs.
ABOUT THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM OF ART
The Chrysler Museum of Art brings art and people together through experiences that delight, inform, and inspire. Internationally recognized for its collection of more than 35,000 objects, including one the largest glass collections in America, the Museum also includes free admission, the state-of-the-art Perry Glass Studio, a full-service restaurant, shop, theater, works on paper space, and oversees the historic Myers House. The Museum boasts an ambitious schedule of exhibitions, events, and programs, and has been nationally recognized for its commitment to inclusion through its innovative gallery host program. For more information, visit chrysler.org. Follow on social media @ChryslerMuseum to receive the latest updates.
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For more information or interview assistance, please contact Tanya Kaish Keller, Public Relations Advisor, at Qantm Creative. 757-618-3655 | tanya@qantmcreative.com
High-resolution images and credits are available. Permission and credit are required for the use of all images, print or digital. Cropping may not be permitted on some images; see caption sheet if applicable.