Many folks this weekend have asked for more information about my recent invitation to exhibit at the Carrousel in the Louvre, Paris France... December 8-11 2011. The organization I juried with is the Salon Societe Nationale des Beau-Arts. Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts (SNBA) was the term under which two groups of French artists united, the first for some exhibitions in the early 1860s, the second since 1890 for annual exhibitions.
Established in 1862, the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was first chaired by the writer Théophile Gautier, with the painter Aimé Millet as deputy chairman. The committee consisted of the painters Eugène Delacroix, Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, Puvis de Chavannes and among the exhibitors were Léon Bonnat, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, Charles-François Daubigny, Laura Fredducci, Gustave Doré, and Edouard Manet. In 1864, just after the death of Delacroix, the society organized a retrospective exhibition of 248 paintings and lithographs of this famous painter and step-uncle of the emperor - and ceased to mount further exhibitions.
In 1890, the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was re-vitalised under the rule of Ernest Meissonier, Puvis de Chavannes, Jules Dalou, Auguste Rodin, Carolus-Duran, Bracquemond and Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse, and since then its annual exhibition was reviewed as the Salon de Champ-de-Mars, traditionally opening a fortnight later than the official Salon de Champs-Élysées, organised by the Société des Artistes Français. In both societies the president was a painter and the vice-president a sculptor. The first president of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts was Ernest Meissonier, but he died soon, and the vice-president was Jules Dalou. The second president was Puvis de Chavannes and the vice-president was Auguste Rodin.
When Gail and I went to Highpoint NC for a show, our neighbor-artist, Audrey Triani, was from Canada and suggested that the curator of the show, Benedicte Lecat, might be interested in my work. She was not sure of my chances as they had never had "an American delegation." before. I followed her advice and sent my images in for the jury process. Weeks later I received the invite... and I have been allowed to become "chief" of future American delegations! Right now there are only French, Swiss, German, Mexican, Spanish, and Danish delegations. The piece above was chosen from 15 digitals of my work.
As plans stand now, we are to be in Paris on December 7th to hang "Clarisse," (a 4' x 4' watercolor on canvas), attend a welcoming party and a "prize" party, spend a few days seeing some city sites, and then, on the 12th, take "the Lady" down and wrap her up for shipment back to south GA.
Clarisse can be seen in the No-Frill Grill on Spotswood Ave in the Ghent area of Norfolk VA. I had to have her spend some time "dining out and imbibing the ambience" of the No-Frill to prepare her for the night life in Paris!
I am right now searching boutique hotels, flights from Atlanta, and crash courses in French.
I am also planning a commemorative giclee print for my patrons. It will be a 12" x 12" reproduction, framed, with archival finishes, signed, numbered and shipped for $250. There will only be 50 of them done.
The exhibit will kick off my 20th year of painting!
