A bird in the hand
M
any Rome residents didn’t see a very special art exhibit at the Martha Berry Museum. And that’s a shame. They probably will never get to see it again.
What’s so special about the “Menaboni’s Birds: Georgia’s Own Artist as Naturalist” was that all the pieces by the Italian- born Georgia artist came from private collections and were assembled just for the exhibit. That probably won’t every happen again.
“It was 37 paintings, all oil, which came from private collections,” said Tim Brown, director of Oak Hill and the Martha Berry Museum. “They had never been assembled before and I don’t think they ever will be again.”
Last week, Brown attended the annual meeting of the Georgia Association of Museums and Galleries where he accepted an award for Museum Exhibition of the Year among exhibitions with budgets under $ 100,000.
Athos Menaboni was born in Italy but lived more than 60 years in Georgia where he became one of the most prominent artists of the 20th century. His work was seen on such iconic structures as Atlanta’s Swan House and Sapelo Island’s R. J. Reynolds estate. His longtime friendship with Robert W. Woodruff produced many works including murals in Coca- Cola’s corporate jets and four decades of the Woodruff family’s annual Christmas cards.
“One series of his paintings that was most special to people was his birds,” Brown said. “Time Magazine called him the Audubon of the South. What’s special about this series is that the paintings are scientific but very beautiful. He always tried to pair the birds with native plants and use white space very well.”
Brown said the recent award reflects not only the aesthetic value of the exhibit but its academic significance as well.
Guest curated by a friend of Menaboni’s, retired scholar Russell Clayton, the exhibit made a permanent contribution to Menaboni scholarship, Brown added. And while it was a labor of love for Clayton, it brought many people to Rome and the Martha Berry Museum, even Georgia Governor Nathan Deal and his wife who visited for the exhibit’s opening reception.
“When they were all together it was a beautiful show,” Brown said. “It was a onetime only thing and I think that was the reason many people came to see it. Many of the owners had never ever seen their piece next to others of its kind.
The pieces were assembled from private collections including those of Coca- Cola, Fernbank Museum and Kennesaw State University.
While the exhibit has been disassembled and its various pieces have returned to their places in private collections all over Georgia, Rome residents can see some of those in this Rome News- Tribune feature and can see the entire collection in a catalog that is on sale for $ 24.99 at the Oak Hill Gift Shop as well as online at oakhillgifts@ berry. edu.