National Sporting Library and Museum Press Release Jan 27, 2012/Upcoming 2012 Exhibitions

PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

DATE 1/27/2012

FROM: The National Sporting Library and Museum
102 The Plains Road
Middleburg, Virginia 20118

CONTACT: Mickey Gustafson
540-687-6542, ext. 11
mgustafson@nsl.org

Middleburg, Virginia - The National Sporting Library and Museum is pleased to announce two upcoming exhibitions in the new Museum building. Descriptions and captions are listed below and an image for each exhibition is attached. Please note that there are different hours for the Museum and the Library buildings.

The Wildlife Paintings of Bruno Liljefors (Swedish, 1860 - 1939)
February 4 - March 15, 2012

This exhibit is a collection of paintings by the Swedish artist Bruno Liljefors that depict grand, sweeping, and innovative scenes of the dance of predator and prey. Liljefors had a vision that was ahead of his time, foreshadowing a movement that would reach its heyday a half a century later. Many would follow but Liljefors was altogether without peers. "I paint animal portraits," he said, modestly.

Image caption: Bruno Liljefors (Swedish, 1860 - 1939)
Marine, 1927 (detail)
Oil on canvas, 41 x 63 inches
Courtesy of the Genesee Country Village & Museum, Mumford, New York

Scraps: British Sporting Drawings from the Paul Mellon Collection at the VMFA, Richmond
April 6 - June 30, 2012

This exhibition takes its title from Henry Alken's series of drawings and prints that depict varied and often-humorous episodes of sporting and country life. Unlike the more formal, traditional scenes represented in commissioned paintings, these works allowed artists to indulge a personal vision of animals, sport and country pursuits they encountered and observed directly.

Image caption: Thomas Miles Richardson, Jr.
English, 1813-1890
Study of a Horse and Cart
Pencil and watercolor with gouache
The Paul Mellon Collection, 85.1035
Courtesy of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts

National Sporting Library and Museum
Museum Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.
Library Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The NSLM is closed on federal holidays.
102 The Plains Road Middleburg, Virginia 20118-1335 Library: (540) 687-6542 Museum: (540) 446-0776
www.nsl.org

The National Sporting Library and Museum is dedicated to preserving and sharing the literature, art and culture of equestrian and field sports. Founded in 1954, the institution has over 17,000-books dating from the 16th-21st centuries. The John H. Daniels Fellowship program supports the research of visiting scholars. The Museum, a newly renovated and expanded historic building on the Library campus, houses exhibits of American and European fine sporting art. Information is shared through exhibitions, lectures, seminars, publications and special events. The NSLM is open to researchers and the general public. Admission is free.