In s3e7, hosts Ann Shafer and Tru Ludwig sit down with Elizabeth Wyckoff, Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Saint Louis Art Museum, to talk about the exhibition Catching the Moment: Contemporary Art from the Ted L. and Maryanne Ellison Simmons Collection, which ran June 26–September 11, 2022.

The Simmons collection provides an opportunity to take a deep dive into three artists they collected in depth: Kiki Smith, Enrique Chagoya, and Tom Huck. Other artists in the exhibition include Jaune Quick-to-See Smith, Bruce Nauman, Michael Barnes, H.C. Westermann, Tony Fitzpatrick, and Kara Walker. The major through line is works that critique a broad range of social, political, and art historical concepts.

There's lots to chew on in this show, but we're also there to talk to Elizabeth about her career as a curator of works on paper. Elizabeth, like so many curators of prints and drawings, is responsible for works of art on paper from the 15th century through tomorrow, even though her dissertation focused on Dutch print publisher Jan Pietersz Berendrecht, who was active in Haarlem in the 1620s. Hear about living in Amsterdam while researching Berendrecht, working with the Simmonses, and what her (fictitious) retirement gift will be.

Episode image of Elizabeth Wyckoff: Courtesy of the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606–1669). The Hundred Guilder Print, 1648. Etching, drypoint, and engraving. Plate: 10 15/16 x 15 7/16 in. (27.8 x 39.2 cm.); sheet: 11 1/8 x 15 5/8 in. (28.2 x 39.7 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

Rembrandt (Dutch, 1606–1669). Christ Presented to the People: Ecce Homo (state ii/viii), 1655. Drypoint. Plate: 15 1/8 x 17 5/8 in. (384 x 448 mm.); sheet: 15 3/8 x 17 7/8 in. (391 x 454 mm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch, 1606–1669). Abraham's Sacrifice (only state), 1655. Etching and drypoint on vellum. Sheet (trimmed to platemark): 5 14/16 x 5 in. (15.1 x 12.7 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

Hans Burgkmair the Elder (German, 1473–1531). Lovers Surprised by Death, 1510. Chiaroscuro woodcut. image: 8 3/8 in. x 6 in. (21.3 x 15.2 cm.); sheet (trimmed): 8 3/8 x 6 in. (21.3 x 15.2 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

Williams Ivins, Jr. Prints and Visual Communication. Cambridge, MIT Press, 1969.

Albrecht Dürer (German, 1471–1528). Triumphal Arch of Maximilian I, 1515. Woodcut, 195 woodblocks printed on 36 sheets of large folio paper. 354 x 298.5 cm (139 3/8 x 117 1/2 in.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Kiki Smith (American, born 1954), published by Artes Magnus. Finger Bowl, 1995. Sterling silver. 16 ½ x 16 x 16 in (16.5 x 40.6 x 40.6 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

Installation view of Kiki Smith (American, born 1954) works in Catching the Moment, Saint Louis Art Museum, 2022.

Installation view of Tom Huck (American, born 1971), published by Evil Prints. Snacktime Marcy, 1999. Blocks and prints in Catching the Moment, Saint Louis Art Museum, 2022.

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith (Enrolled Salish, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Nation, MT, born 1940), published by Washington University School of Art Collaborative Print Workshop. Celebrate 40,000 Years of American Art, 1995. Collagraph. 78 1/8 x 53 3/8 in. (198.4 x 135.6 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

Bruce Nauman (American, born 1941), published by Gemini G.E.L. Pay Attention, 1973. Lithograph. 38 3/8 x 28 5/16 in. (97.5 x 71.9 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

 

Francisco de Goya (Spanish, 1746–1828). Plate 43 from Los Caprichos: The sleep of reason produces monsters (El sueño de la razon produce monstruos), 1799. Etching and aquatint. Plate: 8 3/8 x 5 15/16 in. (21.2 x 15.1 cm.); sheet: 11 5/8 x 8 1/4 in. (29.5 x 21 cm.). Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

 

Enrique Chagoya (American, born Mexico, born 1953), published by Des Moines Art Center Print Club. Liberty Backwards, 2008. Photoetching and rubber stamp. 12 5/8 x 9 ½ in. (32.1 x 24.1 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

 

Enrique Chagoya (American, born Mexico, born 1953), published by Smith Anderson Editions. Liberty, 2006. Monotype. 34 5/8 x 47 7/8 in. (87.9 x 47.7/8 cm.). Saint Louis Art Museum, St. Louis.

 

USEFUL LINKS

 

Saint Louis Art Museum Print and Drawing Room link: https://www.slam.org/research/print-study-room/

 

Saint Louis Art Museum exhibition page: https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/catching-the-moment/