Hartwick’s Yager Museum Celebrates New Exhibits with Fall Reception

Hartwick College’s Yager Museum of Art & Culture invites the public to help celebrate the launch of its latest exhibitions at a Fall Reception on Thursday, September 27 from 5 – 7 p.m. Admission to the reception is free and refreshments will be served.

The Museum’s newest exhibit, Sculptures in Silver: America’s Standing Liberty Quarters, 1916-1930, recalls a time when the United States Mint commissioned currency designs from the nation’s finest sculptors. The Standing Liberty quarter was designed by Hermon Atkins MacNeil (1866-1947), who also created Justice, the Guardian of Liberty, the East Façade sculpture at the United States Supreme Court building in Washington, D.C. The complete collection of MacNeil’s quarter in all of its variations was donated to the Yager Museum by Jeffrey Hendrickson ’91, “with appreciation for Hartwick College.”

Sculptures in Silver: America’s Standing Liberty Quarters, 1916-1930 joins two current exhibitions at the Yager Museum. Contested Identities: Images of Native Americans, 1880-1930, draws on compelling photographs from the Museum’s Falconer Collection to illustrate the struggles of Native Americans in retaining their cultural identity in the face of government efforts to assimilate them into general American culture.

Black Lives at Hartwick Then and Now is an exploration of the history of African Americans and African-American Life at Hartwick Seminary and Hartwick College from the 19th century to present. The exhibition features photos and documents from the College’s Paul F. Cooper Jr., Archives and artifacts from the Museum collections.

Other exhibitions continuing on view include:

• Of Time and the River: 12,000 Years in the Upper Susquehanna Region, which features many Native American artifacts collected by the Museum’s founder, Willard Yager.
• Masterpieces of European and American Art: Hartwick College’s Art Treasure Room, a permanent exhibition of works ranging from the Italian Renaissance to 20th century pieces by Rockwell Kent and Childe Hassam.
• Along the Rails: Willard Yager, Native American Art and 20th Century Tourism is a student-curated exhibition that examines the Museum founder’s journey to the American Southwest, the cultures he encountered there, and the artifacts he brought back to Oneonta.
• In a Modern Vein: Contemporary Art from the Yager Museum Collection highlights the Museum’s modern art collections, featuring works by Rauschenberg, Calder, Warhol, and more.

The Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. when the College is in session. The Museum is closed Sundays, Mondays, and College holidays.

The Yager is the Oneonta area’s only museum of art and culture. Admission is free and parking is available near the entrance on the first floor of Yager Hall. To reach the Museum, take West Street to Clinton Street and turn right onto Cayuga Drive. Follow Cayuga Drive to Yager Hall. Parking is available adjacent to the Museum entrance.

For more information on The Yager Museum and its exhibitions, visit its website or Facebook page, call 607-431-4480, or e-mail Museum Coordinator Doug Kendall at [email protected].