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Jeppson Idea Lab: Renoir’s The Jewish Wedding

Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841-1919), after Eugène Delacroix (French, 1798-1863), The Jewish Wedding, about 1875, oil on canvas, Museum Purchase, 1943.1

On exhibit September 24, 2016 – March 26, 2017 at Jeppson Idea Lab in Worcester Art Museum.

This Idea Lab presentation gives insight into the recent conservation of The Jewish Wedding by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). In 1875, Renoir was commissioned to paint a replica of Eugène Delacroix’s 1839 The Jewish Wedding in Morocco, today in the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Although faithful to Delacroix’s original, Renoir adapted his Impressionist manner to the painting, creating a novel work of art, wholly distinct in its brushwork, palette, and use of light. Renoir’s work, obscured by a 70-year-old discolored varnish, has now been restored by Andrew W. Mellon Fellow Maja Rinck, a transformation that resulted in the recovery of its original tonality, revealing a major Impressionist painting.

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Meow: A Cat-Inspired Exhibition at Worcester Art Museum

Meow: Coming to Worcester Art Museum

Through September 4, 2016

WAM takes the theme of cats by the tail with this one-of-a-kind, multi-faceted project. Meow includes an exhibition exploring the feline as an iconic element of art, a self-guided “cat walk” through the Museum, an interactive installation featuring live cats, a community art show, a naughty kitty take-over of Helmutt’s House, a dog show curated by Helmutt, and special art classes. From serious art to mischievous fun, Meow promises to tickle the whiskers of museum and cat-lovers alike!

The Captivating Cat: Felines and the Artist’s Gaze
May 21-September 4, 2016
PDP Gallery
Explore the feline as an iconic artistic muse in this exhibition of prints, drawings, paintings, and sculptures of cats from WAM’s permanent collection. Guest curated by Ruthie Dibble, PhD candidate at Yale University, the exhibition features over 70 works, organized around ten themes, which put the spotlight on cats as art from ancient Egypt to the modern day. Included are works by Will Barnet, Albrecht Durer, Orovida Camille Pissarro, and Theophile Alexander Steinlein
Cat Walk
May 21-September 4, 2016
Throughout the Museum
Take a self-guided Cat Walk through WAM’s galleries to discover other amazing cats in art. Highlights include tigers in Worcester Hunt Mosaic, the painting, Woman with a Cat by Gustave Courbet, and an Egyptian cat sculpture.
Community Cat Show 
May 21-July 24, 2016 / Art Show celebration event:  Sunday, May 23
Higgins Education Wing
Be part of Meow by submitting your own cat art—self-made, commissioned, or purchased—for our community cat art exhibition. A suggested submission fee of $10 will help support the Worcester Animal Rescue League (WARL) and the Museum.
Read a WAM Update about the Community Cats for more inspiration.
Information / submissions: please review and fill out our Intent to Submit and Liability Form.
Cats-in-Residence Program
July 11-September 4, 2016
Studio 206, Higgins Education WingInteract with live cats in this unorthodox human/cat contemporary art installation, previously presented in Los Angeles, Hartford, and New York City. Guest curated by artist and critic Rhonda Lieberman, this exhibition is presented in partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League(WARL). Cats in the show will be available for adoption.
Rob Reger’s Emily the Strange and her Four Bad Kitties
February 10-September 25, 2016
Helmutt’s House
View original paintings of beloved character Emily the Strange by artist/illustrator Rob Reger. Get to know her four cats: Mystery, Miles, NeeChee, and Sabbath.
Helmutt’s Dog Show 
May 21-September 4, 2016
Take a break from WAM’s cat-mania for a canine art fix, specially curated by Helmutt the dog, including one of his favorite works of art, Head of a Dog by Abbott Handerson Thayer.
Cat Craft Classes
Spring and Summer 2016
Higgins Education Wing
Get paws-on with a variety of cat-related studio art classes and weekend workshops. Join us for Pet Portraits, Create Your Own Cat Toy, Curator Talks, and much more!