Part I, Chan Gallery: March 13 – June 26, 2022
Part II, Haws Gallery: June 26 – October 16, 2022

Anna Elizabeth Klumpke (American, 1856-1942), Catinou Knitting (detail), 1887, oil on canvas, 55.5 x 69 in. Museum Purchase, Sellars Collection, Sponsored by Dr. John Rison Jones, Jr.

Harriet Whitney Frishmuth (American, 1880-1980), Crest of the Wave, 1925, bronze, 20 x 5 in. Museum Purchase, Sellars Collection, Sponsored by Kathy and C.H. “Tony” Chan

The permanent collection of the Huntsville Museum of Art was dramatically enhanced in 2008 by the acquisition of the Sellars Collection of Art by American Women. This private holding of historical works was formulated by Louise and Alan Sellars of Marietta, GA, to celebrate the achievements of important female artists active between roughly 1850 and 1940. Works in the Sellars Collection range from early efforts in the folk tradition through sophisticated accomplishments reflecting the various influences of European modernism—from Impressionism through early Abstraction.

While the names of many of the artists in the Sellars Collection may now be unfamiliar, in their time, these women exhibited alongside their male counterparts, received accolades and awards, and pioneered the way for those who would follow. Today, scholars are endeavoring to rediscover the artistic accomplishments of American women artists, and to give them their rightful place in the expanding history of Western art.

The Huntsville Museum of Art now has the privilege of preserving and exhibiting the Sellars Collection for all to discover and enjoy. Approximately two dozen selected highlights will be presented in this exhibition, underscoring the quality and breadth of the Collection and offering viewers the opportunity of experience over a century of outstanding art produced by accomplished American women. While some works have become familiar favorites to regular Museum visitors, others have not been displayed to the public in several years.