Williams College Museum of Art presents
Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy
July 8 –November 11, 2007

Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy explores the extraordinary lives of Sara and Gerald Murphy and the couple’s influence on a remarkable constellation of creative artists that flourished in Paris and the Riviera in the 1920s and 1930s. Friends of Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Pablo Picasso, Igor Stravinsky, Cole Porter, Dorothy Parker, Alfred Hitchcock, and Fernand Léger, the Murphys strove to make something fine and beautiful of their lives through “living well”, creating art, and encouraging artist and writer friends. The result was some of the most noteworthy literature, music, theater, and art of the last century.  Often portrayed simply as wealthy patrons, the Murphys in fact improvised their own brand of unconventional modernism that was a source of inspiration to their many talented friends.

EXHIBITION OVERVIEW:
Making It New unfolds in sections, tracing the Murphys’ lives from their privileged Victorian upbringing to their years in Paris and on the Riviera, where they epitomized a new and modern style of living. The later tragic years, from 1928 to 1937, marked by their son Patrick’s illness, the Great Depression, and the eventual loss of both sons, will also be covered. In addition to Gerald Murphy’s own paintings, which have not been shown together since 1986, the exhibition includes paintings by the progressive artists the Murphys admired and knew, works inspired by the Murphys or created for them, posters of the avant-garde theatrical events the Murphys created and patronized, and photographs of the Murphys and their stellar circle of friends.

The Williams College Museum of Art is open Tuesday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is free and the museum is wheelchair accessible. Contact: Suzanne Augugliaro, Public Relations Coordinator, 413.597.3178.

Publicity Images Available

Publicity images for Making It New: The Art and Style of Sara and Gerald Murphy and other current exhibitions are available for use.

These images are for members of the press only. Click the thumbnails below for high resolution images and email Suzanne Augugliaro, Director of Public Relations and External Affairs , once you have downloaded them. Please be sure to include the correct credit information in your publication.