Docent’s Corner | Web’s Favorites
From his families “Alexander Collection”
Mauric Brazil Prendergast, Small Fishing Boats, Tréport, France, 1894, gouache on paper, collection of Web Alexander.
About a month ago, when we were all involved with looking over the amazing Alexander Collection, and from which an Impressionist-inspired exhibit would be selected, I knew we all would have favorite works of art. So many beautiful works are in Web Alexander’s family collection. In a phone interview to I asked him to tell me about his experience with the work, and which ones were his favorites. Like us, he too had his favorites. With a longer connection to the work, Web was quick to name three pieces that to him were so powerful and spoke to him.
Web began our conversation, after a quick catch up of his move from Boone to Clemmons, near Winston Salem, with a summary of how his parents, Welborn and Patty started purchasing American works of art from the turn of the 20 th century. Web had started school at Wake Forrest at the time his folks retired in 1987 and were living in Jacksonville. He related how his parents met the Hubers on a bicycle trip in France a few years later. Not only did Welborn and Patty begin a new friendship, but without knowing it at the time, the Hubers, who were purchasing American paintings, became the inspiration that lead the Alexander couple to create their own amazing collection. Web explained that after he finished college, he married Beth. With the birth of their daughter, Katie, he moved his family to the Boone/Blowing Rock area, where his parents also had settled. It was then that he was introduced to his parent’s collection. Web said that the portraits in the home were “like brothers and sisters” to the family. it was Katie, his daughter, who spent so much time as a child in her grandparent’s home, and knew the paintings best.
I was not surprised to hear Web say that one of his favorite paintings was Robert Henri’s “Stella”. The painting he described as the city street urchin with flaming red hair (his daughter also has gorgeous red hair). This painting was the first to greet you at the front door of his parent’s home in Blowing Rock. For the twenty years or so before Katie started college and they all made their move down the mountain, Henri’s painting of the young mischievous girl, “Stella” was more than just a familiar sight, it was almost like a member of the family.
Web talked about another wonderful painting from the “Eight”; George Luks’ painting of the “Pawnbroker”, another beautifully painted portrait with eyes that stare out at you from a darken background. This rugged face with a flowing white beard, is not a youthful depiction, but is of a man who has seen better days. Luk’s masterful and expressive brushwork captures the viewer’s heart.
Lastly, I got the impression, that Maurice Prendergast’s “Small Fishing Boats” was Web’s most favorite. The Prendergast is a small watercolor that expresses best the mosaic, playful style that was unique to this artist. Prendergast traveled Europe, spending much time in Venice and Paris. Many of his watercolors capture the essence of the moment through the plein air experience of painting at the site. Another point about this work of art is that Web enjoyed this painting on the wall of his own home for a while before its loan to the BRAHM’s Alexander Collection exhibit. It is indeed now the BRAHM’s pleasure, as it is Web’s to live with such a beautiful work for a long summer booking here in Blowing Rock.
It is our pleasure to be able to view all the work selected from the Alexander Collection. We, the docents selected our favorites and they are now on display. Our visitors during the next 4 months will also be able to enjoy and choose their favorites. Thank you Web for sharing your favorites with us, and thank you to your family for sharing this amazing collection of historical American Art with the BRAHM.
This Docent’s Corner is brought to you by Cathy Futral
George Luks, Pawnbroker, n.d., oil on canvas, collection of the Alexander family.
Robert Henri, Portrait of Stella, 1907, oil on canvas, Alexander Collection, Blowing Rock Art & History Museum, Blowing Rock, NC.