De Soto Exhibition Among Appleton's September Highlights
July 31, 2012
“New World Treasures: Artifacts from Hernando De Soto’s Florida Expedition” will be unveiled to the public for the first time on Sept. 22 at the Appleton Museum of Art, College of Central Florida. The Appleton will also open two other exhibitions that month starting on Sept. 8 with “Pure Photography: Pictorial and Modern Photographs from the Syracuse University Art Collection” and followed on Sept. 16 with “FLORAda and Flowing Waters: The Art of Mark Messersmith, Margaret Ross Tolbert and Anna Tomczak.” Other activities during September include the docent tour “Appleton’s Animals: Real and Legendary” on Sept. 27 and a performance of the Ocala Symphony Orchestra’s SoundArt Music Series “Gershwin!” on Sept. 30.
Daily admission to the Appleton Museum is $6 for adults; $4 for seniors 55 or better and students 19 and over; $3 for youths ages 10-18; and free for members, CF students, children age 9 and under, and active military personnel and their immediate families.
“New World Treasures: Artifacts from Hernando De Soto’s Florida Expedition” opens on Saturday, Sept. 22, and showcases rare 16th century Spanish artifacts found recently in Marion County. The artifacts are from Hernando De Soto’s journey through the Ocala area in August 1539 and include delicate blue glass Murano beads from Italy, pieces of chain mail from Spanish armor and the largest cache of medieval coins found to date on the American mainland. The display will be at the Appleton through late 2013 in conjunction with the statewide “Viva Florida 500” celebration.
The first exhibition of the month will be “Pure Photography: Pictorial and Modern Photographs from the Syracuse University Art Collection,” opening on Saturday, Sept. 8. Featured will be 30 works by the best photographers starting in the early 20th century such as Berenice Abbott, Imogen Cunningham, Edward Weston and Alfred Steiglitz. On Sunday, Sept. 16, the Appleton will open “FLORAda and Flowing Waters: The Art of Mark Messersmith, Margaret Ross Tolbert and Anna Tomczak.” This exhibition will present a lush and beautiful portrait of natural Florida as interpreted by three of the state’s most prominent artists.
The Appleton’s popular monthly docent tours will continue on Thursday, Sept. 27, with the theme “Appleton’s Animals: Real and Legendary.” The tour will begin in the lobby at 2 p.m. and is free for members, included with admission for yet-to-be members.
“Gershwin!” will be the SoundArt Music Series program presented by the Ocala Symphony Orchestra at 3 p.m. in the Auditorium on Sunday, Sept. 30. On stage will be OSO’s guest pianist Darren Mattias who will perform many of George Gershwin’s finest compositions such as “Rhapsody in Blue,” “An American in Paris” and the opera “Porgy and Bess.” Tickets are $15 per person, or $55 for the four-part SoundArt Music Series. Tickets are available at the Appleton or by contacting the Ocala Symphony Orchestra at 352-351-1606 or www.ocalasymphony.com.
In addition, the Appleton Museum of Art offers a permanent collection of European, American and Contemporary art, plus Asian, African, Islamic and pre-Columbian artifacts and antiquities. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, noon to 5 p.m. Sundays and closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. A 12-month membership is available for $25 for seniors 55 and over, $30 for adults 18 and over, $40 for two seniors over age 55, $50 for a family of two adults and any children under age 18, and $15 for all college students and current or retired educators. Owned and operated by College of Central Florida, the Appleton Museum of Art is located at 4333 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala, east of downtown on SR40 (exit 352 east off I-75 or exit 268 west off I-95). For more information call the Appleton Museum of Art at 352-291-4455 or visit www.AppletonMuseum.org.
