Rockwell Museum of Western Art
Corning, New York
The Rockwell Museum is an imposing 19th century building that once housed Corning's City Hall.
Open the front door, and once past the wonderful gift shop full of unique items, this visitor took the stairs to see the paintings and sculpture on view, and to visit with an exceptional collection of Southwestern pottery from the Nancy and Alan Cameros Collection. The show titled "ON FIRE"allows one to compare the pottery which is a mixture of pure form and sometimes intricate decoration which builds on the early American Indian traditions and more recent ceramists like Maria Martinez.
Nancy and Alan Cameros Collection
There is a figurative show of carving and casting by the artist Abraham Anghik Ruben called: "The World of Man, Animals, and Spirits". Here the artist portrays comparisons of northern people and investigates a tradition of Inuit art that has correlations with Asian brush painting but visualized in three dimensions.
Amergin's Prayer: The Poem of Eire, 2013
Abraham Anghik Ruben at The Rockwell Museum of Western Art
Upstairs, in the Rockwell Museum are some paintings from the late 1800's and the collection continues all the way up through the present. Historical figures like Thomas Moran, Albert Bierstadt ( his landscape painting here of Mount Whitney is among his finest works ) N.C.Wyeth, and Carl Rungius are memorable. Charles M. Russell's cowboy and Indian paintings are not up to this artist's best work, while around the corner there is a room full of color etchings from Karl Bodmer that are exquisite.
Alfred Jacob Miller
"Crow Indian on Horseback", 1844
at the Rockwell Museum
A short distance away, the Corning Museum of Glass attracts huge crowds during the summer, and it is a magnet for tourists groups arriving by the busload. You can learn so much from a visit to this museum - be prepared to spend hours there because there is so much to see and so much history to unravel.
Lalique at the Corning Museum of Glass
The modern glass section of the museum is so inspiring, yet the displays of early glass are so full of detail that I found it a bit overwhelming. My last visit to the Corning Museum, we found our way to the hot glass shop where they demonstrate how to blow and shape molten glass. This time we concentrated on some of the separate shows, for example they had terrific examples of glass from the studios of Lalique - known for its art nouveau and art deco forms from the early 20th century.
A history of glass in Corning
If you have time, you can trace the early traditions of glass making from the Middle East, from Venice, and so much more. The examples that are displayed, and the helpful wall labels all take time to peruse. You will find yourself wanting to come back for more and catch up not only on the history of glass making, but to see the glass artistry of today, - all very eye-catching!
20th Century glass table top at
The Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, New York
