The Art of Spain Falls on the Plain

Dallas benefactor Algur H. Meadow found himself at a Spanish museum during a business trip in the 1950s, and it changed everything for him. Story has it, he fell in love with the Prado Museum and with the works contained within it, and decided to open his own “Prado on the Prairie.” Hence, the birth of the Meadows Museum, 5900 Bishop Blvd., no longer “on the Prairie” so much as “off the freeway,” which functions as a repository for one of the largest Spanish art collections outside of Spain. In its latest exhibition, The Stewart Album: Art, Letters, and Souvenirs to an American Patron in Paris, the Meadows Museum celebrates William H. Stewart, a man who largely made “modern” Spanish art available for American viewing through his impressive collection, dispersed at his death in 1897. This collection of correspondence, including letters, photos and drawings from collectors, dealers and Spanish artists (including Mariano Fortuny y Marsal), gives viewers insight into the genesis of the modern Spanish arts movement, and into the collection that blazed a trail for Algur Meadow’s own. The show will be on display at the Museum through November 10 and is available for viewing Tuesdays through Saturdays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., with extended hours through 9 p.m. on Thursdays, and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors and $4 for students. Visit meadowsmuseumdallas.org.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Sept. 10. Continues through Nov. 10, 2013