–by Mark Andrew Harris, Founder & Director
On behalf of the DAC Foundation Board of Directors, I am excited to announce a major gift made to the DAC Foundation by the MOBILE MUSEUM OF ART. In October of 2019, I was contacted by Melissa Mutert, Curator of Collections & Research at the museum. Shortly after that, I traveled to Moblie to meet with Melissa and their museum director Deborah Velders. The primary purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of the museum gifting a large body of work related to the Dixie Art Colony and the Alabama Bayou Painters to the DAC Foundation.
Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, progress on the transfer stalled for more than two years. Finally, after an extended pause, the museum recently approved the transfer of MORE THAN 500 WORKS OF ART from the Mobile Museum of Art to the DAC Foundation. The gift includes oil and watercolor paintings, several sketchbooks, and an extensive collection of stone lithographs.
Melissa stated in a letter to the DAC Foundation: "Due to COVID-19, our Alabama Arts Committee was prevented from meeting until this week. They met, and I am delighted to say that they agree that the DAC Foundation should have our material from both the Bayou and Dixie Colonies. Our decision was based on the desire to give this work greater public exposure and centralize this unique collection for both exhibition and study. We believe the gift will assure the recognition of the contribution these artists made to the art and culture of our state."
Through this gift, we are adding works by Carlos Alpha "Shiney" Moon, Doris Alexander Thompson, William Broughton Bush, Oleta Blan Delaplaine, George Hubbard Bryant, Gladys Reid, Roy Harvard Staples, Henry Martin Gasser, Frances Elizabeth Harris, Lucy Anne Harris, Genevieve McClure Southerland, Richard Burrell Brough, Dorothy S. Boone, and Ruth M. Dyrud.
CARLOS ALPHA "SHINEY" MOON, Moonlight on Pickle Hill, circa 1949, oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches, CAM-2022.AW.0001 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Family of Carlos Alpha Moon
Included in the 2004 traveling exhibition titled "Tales from the Easel: American Narrative Paintings from Southeastern Museums, circa 1800–1959."
In this body of work, the standout piece is a large oil painting by Carlos Alpha "Shiney" Moon titled "Moonlight on Pickle Hill," circa 1948. This dreamlike example of Moon's work demonstrates his signature style of distorted realism. This painting was included in the 2004 traveling exhibition titled "Tales from the Easel: American Narrative Paintings from Southeastern Museums, circa 1800–1959." In this exhibition, Moon's painting hung alongside works of well-known American painters such as Thomas Hart Benton, Francis William Edmonds, William Glackens, Robert Gwathmey, Childe Hassam, Edward Hicks, Winslow Homer, Jack Levine, Reginald Marsh, and Andrew Wyeth.
Five works included in this gift were part of an exhibition curated by the U.S. Department of State as part of their "Art in Embassies" program. The exhibition traveled to Bucharest, Romania, in 2011. Numerous works were published in the February 2006 issue of "American Art Review." Five pieces were also part of an exhibition titled "The Bayou Painters: South Alabama's Art Colony (1946–1953)" held at the Mobile Museum of Art in 2006.
Thank you to the Mobile Museum of Art for your confidence in our mission. Now that the transfer to Wetumpka is complete, we are photographing the work and look forward to sharing this significant body of work with our followers.
CARLOS ALPHA "SHINEY" MOON, Shell Road Post Office, Coden, Alabama, circa 1950, watercolor on paper, 23 x 27 inches, CAM-2022.AW.0004 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Family of Carlos Alpha Moon
Included in the following exhibitions: "Art in Embassies," in Bucharest, Romania, 2011; "The Bayou Painters: South Alabama's Art Colony (1946–1953)," Mobile Museum of Art, 2006; Published in the February 2006 issue of "American Art Review."
CARLOS ALPHA "SHINEY" MOON, Mandy's Shanty, n.d., watercolor on paper, 15 x 22.5 inches, CAM-2022.AW.0004 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Family of Carlos Alpha Moon
Included in the following exhibitions: "Art in Embassies," in Bucharest, Romania, 2011; "The Bayou Painters: South Alabama's Art Colony (1946–1953)," Mobile Museum of Art, 2006.
GENEVIEVE MCCLURE SOUTHERLAND, Live Oaks in the Bayou, 1948, oil on canvas, 19.5 x 23.75 inches, GMS-2022.AW.0001 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Family of Lucy Anne Harris and Frances Elizabeth Harris.
DOROTHY S. BOONE, Bayou Cottage and Boathouse, circa 1950, watercolor on paper, 11.5 x 17.75 inches, DSB-2022.AW.0001 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Family of Carlos Alpha Moon
Included in the following exhibition: The Bayou Painters: South Alabama's Art Colony (1946–1953)," Mobile Museum of Art, 2006; Published in the February 2006 issue of "American Art Review."
WILLIAM BROUGHTON BUSH, Untitled Landscape, circa 1950s, watercolor on paper, 15.25 x 22.5 inches, WBB-2022.AW.0001 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Family of Lucy Anne Harris and Frances Elizabeth Harris.
RICHARD BURRELL BROUGH, Landscape with Live Oaks, circa 1970, watercolor on paper, 22.5 x 30 inches, RBB-2022.AW.0002 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Greater Mobile Ford Dealers Community Affairs Committee.
WILLIAM BROUGHTON BUSH, Wind Blown Trees, circa 1950, oil on board, 24 x 28.5 inches, WBB-2022.AW.0003 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: G. B. Kahn.
DORIS ALEXANDER THOMPSON, Alabama Landscape, 1947, silkscreen on paper, 24 x 28.5 inches, DAT-2022.AW.0004 | Gift of the Mobile Museum of Art, Provenance: Mobile Museum of Art Purchase
This extraordinary gift emphasizes our need for a larger facility to house and display our collection. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be behind us, we will resume our efforts to plan and build the Elmore County Cultural Arts Center, which will provide a new home for our collection of more than 1,300 works of art.
Dixie Art Colony Foundation, Wetumpka, Alabama