(“Street Car Journey” by Philip C. Curtis, photo courtesy Spring Arbor University)
The work of critically acclaimed and locally born artist Philip C. Curtis will be on display at Spring Arbor University’s Ganton Art Gallery from February 3 to March 12. Titled “Coming Home,” this display of Curtis’ work is the most historically and artistically significant show yet received by the Ganton Art Gallery.
The show opens to the public on Sunday, February 5, following a private, invitation-only opening the previous Friday. A week later on Sunday, February 12, the gallery will hold a Community Reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. SAU Art Department
lecturer in art Jonathan Rinck will be deliver a lecture on the style and significance of the pieces on display. Others will be on hand to answer questions and interact with attendees. Food and drink will be provided. The event is open to the public. Visit arbor.edu/philipcurtis for directions and contact information.
Philip Campbell Curtis was born May 26, 1907, in Jackson, Michigan, and received his bachelor of arts from Albion College, later attending the University of Michigan and Yale. During the Great Depression, Curtis served in the Work’s Progress Administration’s Federal Arts Program, which eventually relocated him to Phoenix, Arizona, and he spent the remainder of his life in the Phoenix area.
Throughout most of his career, Curtis devised and executed paintings and murals that would be categorized as belonging to the Surrealist or Magic Realist movements, designations he largely ignored. He died on November 12, 2000. Today, his work can be found in the Smithsonian’s Museum of Modern Art, the Phoenix Art Museum, and in numerous art museums around the nation.
