Long Island Museum celebrates Art Nouveau with ‘The Triumph of Nature’
By Tara Mae
On view from June 12 to September 21 at the Long Island Museum (LIM) in Stony Brook, The Triumph of Nature: Art Nouveau from the Chrysler Museum of Art explores the sense and sensation of an art form that lauds the intricate vibrancy and nuances of nature.
“The Triumph of Nature celebrates the florid, languorous curves, natural motifs, and refined elegance of Art Nouveau furniture, glass, and other works that have entranced generations of collectors and museum-goers since the apex of this brief but intense movement around the turn of the twentieth century,” said LIM Co-Executive Director Joshua Ruff.
Large enough to span two of LIM’s galleries, this 120 piece exhibit is visiting from the Art Nouveau collection of the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.
It includes glassworks, furniture, paintings, and sculptures from artisans and artists of the late 1800s and early 1900s, including Louis Comfort Tiffany, Tiffany & Co., Gustav Klimt, Louis Majorelle, Alphonse Mucha, Emmanuel Lansyer, and Émile Gallé.
LIM’s showcase is just one stop on a 13 museum national tour.
“We heard about this traveling exhibition in 2022 and signed on as soon as we could, excited to share this incredible collection of objects with our audience. We are glad that we booked it when we did, it was fully scheduled almost immediately,” Ruff said. “It is traveling to art museums all around the country, including California, Texas, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, so we are pleased to be the only museum hosting it in New York.”
Both The Triumph of Nature and the Chrysler Museum have ties to Long Island. Tiffany lived on a 600-acre estate in Laurel Hollow, Laurelton Hall, an 84-room mansion of Art Nouveau design that blended Islamic and nature motifs. Walter P. Chrysler and his family, for whom the Chrysler Museum is named, had a summer home in Kings Point; it is now Wiley Hall at the US Merchant Marine Academy.
Walter P. Chrysler Junior grew up visiting the house and with his wife, Jean, established the Chrysler Museum’s extensive Art Nouveau holdings.
This is LIM’s first exhibit solely dedicated to the genre. A style generally inspired by natural imagery, defined by foliate forms and sinuous lines, its influence is found in many mediums. Popularized during the Belle Époque period, which started in France and swept Europe, Art Nouveau celebrates the whimsy, wit, and wonder of the movement, as well its ongoing impact on art.
“I think people are much more familiar with Art Deco, and this exhibition indicates the inheritance that Art Deco had from Art Nouveau. But I think that the curves and beautiful forms influenced much modern design, and you can see the continuing influence of Nouveau in contemporary graphic design, textile design, furniture, and fashion,” Ruff said.
Its narrative thread also weaves through two exhibits LIM will be installing later this season: Gatsby at 100, which looks at the centennial of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, and Giants and Gems, which examines scale in art and design.
“I think that there is a lot of synergy between these three exhibitions, and I’m looking forward to seeing it all through our visitors eyes and see what they take away and enjoy and learn from,” Ruff said.
Located at 1200 Route 25A in Stony Brook, the Long Island Museum is open Thursdays from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.; and Fridays through Sundays from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is $15 for adults; $10 for seniors, age 62 and older; $10 for students, ages 6-17 and college students with ID; $5 for persons with disabilities, personal care assistants are free. Admission for children under age six, active and retired military, and LIM members are also free.
For more information about The Triumph of Nature and other upcoming shows and events, visit www.longislandmuseum.org.
