The Cleveland Museum of Art exhibits~The Gift Emma Amos With Friends~ including intergenerationa; artist, writes and friends. within their community.

THe series and monthly programs are listed below.   

New Exhibition Celebrates Emma Amos’s Monumental Portrait Series   The Gift will be on view in its entirety for the first time in over a decade  The Gift (detail), 1990–94, Emma Amos (American, 1937–2020). 48 watercolor (acrylic wash) portraits on Saunders Waterford watercolor paper; each about 66.5 x 50.5 cm. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund, 2023.126. © Emma Amos; Courtesy of RYAN LEE Gallery, New York Top, left to right: Moira Roth, bell hooks, and Mira Schor Bottom, left to right: Lucy R. Lippard, Faith Ringgold, and Emma Amos

CLEVELAND (September 10, 2026)—The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends, the Cleveland Museum of Art’s (CMA) newest exhibition, displays Emma Amos’s monumental portrait series The Gift (1990–94). Acquired by the CMA in 2023, this suite of 48 watercolor portraits, painted from life, depicts women artists, writers, and curators in Amos’s intergenerational community. Ranging from renowned figures—Elizabeth Catlett, Anna Deavere Smith, bell hooks, Lucy R. Lippard, Howardena Pindell, Faith Ringgold, Lorna Simpson, and Kay WalkingStick—to lesser-known individuals, the evocative paintings in The Gift are united in a vast grid whose scale radiates the force of its subjects. “The Gift is not possible to negate,” Amos stated. “Those women are too powerful to ignore.” Alongside The Gift, earlier portraits by Amos in the CMA’s collection as well as the artist’s own notebook, manuscripts, and film footage documenting The Gift’s production highlight how kinship—biological and elected—was an enduring motivation for her art. The exhibition also features selected loaned works that further contextualize The Gift within the artist’s decades-long practice.  Made as a birthday present for her daughter, India, The Gift animates the importance of creative community as a source of strength, support, and inspiration, which Amos learned from her own mother. Emma Amos with the women of The Gift (1990–94) at the opening of Emma Amos: Paintings and Prints, 1982–92, Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, January 1995. Left to right: Claire Khalil, Martha Wilson, Mary Anne Rose, Brahna Yassky, Joan Semmel, Carol Sun, Kathleen Caraccio, Mira Schor, Emma Amos, India Amos, Faith Ringgold, Helen Evans Ramsaran. Nancy St. Paul, Sabra Moore, Miriam Schapiro, and Grace Williams. Emma Amos papers, 1894–2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Photo © Mel Wright Photo Amos painted the portraits in The Gift over a four-year period from 1990 to 1994. Her subjects, who range in age, race, and ethnicity, would come to her studio and sit for 45 minutes to an hour. While she painted, Amos noted, “the sitter and I would discuss juggling jobs and careers, art making, success, having or not having babies, and the effect of jobs, boyfriends, girlfriends, college, and other choices on children as they grow to adulthood.” To complete The Gift, Amos also included portraits of herself and her daughter India, underscoring their place within this creative community and shared family.  bell hooks and Emma Amos in conversation seated in front of six watercolor portraits from The Gift (1990–94) in her studio, New York City, May 12, 1993. Top, left to right: Carole Byard, Faith Ringgold, and Miriam Schapiro; Bottom, left to right: May Stevens, Lorna Simpson, and Elizabeth Catlett. Emma Amos papers, 1894–2019. Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. Photo: The College of Wooster Art Museum. © Becket Logan, New York “Friendship, it seems, was lived through the making of The Gift. And watercolor, a highly unusual medium for Amos, was just right for capturing the immediacy of these dynamic encounters between artist and sitter,” said Emily Liebert, Lauren Rich Fine Curator of Contemporary Art and Chair of Art of the Americas and Modern and Contemporary Art. “The Gift brings to life the power of kinship and collectivity.” This exhibition marks the first time The Gift has been displayed since 2013. Visitors can view The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends free of charge from Sunday, September 13, 2026, through Sunday, January 24, 2027, in the Mark Schwartz and Bettina Katz Photography Galleries. Programming Lunchtime Lecture: “Friendship and Inheritance in Emma Amos’s The Gift”  Tuesday, October 6, 12:00 p.m. Gartner Auditorium, Suzanne and Paul Westlake Performing Arts Center Free; Ticket required Speaker: Gabriella Shypula, Leigh and Mary Carter Director’s Research Fellow, the Cleveland Museum of Art Emma Amos was an influential artist whose paintings, prints, and textiles celebrated her creative community of women, particularly women of color. This practice of picturing her social circle reached its peak in the monumental portrait series The Gift (1990–94), recently acquired by the Cleveland Museum of Art. Made as a birthday present for her daughter, India, this suite of 48 watercolor portraits, painted from life, depicts women artists, writers, and curators who range in age, race, and degrees of renown. Complementing the exhibition The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends, join Gabriella Shypula, Leigh and Mary Carter Director’s Research Fellow, as she explores the context in which Amos made The Gift, the vibrant community it documents, and its legacies.  Catalogue The Gift: Emma Amos with Friends is accompanied by a richly illustrated catalogue inspired by a book proposal that Amos drafted but never realized during her lifetime. This catalogue includes essays by Rhea L. Combs, Carmen Hermo, Emily Liebert, and Gabriella Shypula, as well as a reprinted interview of Amos by bell hooks. The intersection of portraiture and community is explored through a roundtable discussion with contemporary artists Jordan Casteel, Aliza Nisenbaum, and Amy Sherald, moderated by Rhea L. Combs. The catalogue also features never-before-published archives, as well as biographies for each of The Gift’s 48 sitters. In tandem, the CMA is expanding the exhibition’s reach through a complementary digital resource rooted in The Gift. All exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art are underwritten by the CMA Fund for Exhibitions. Principal annual support is provided by Michael Frank and the late Pat Snyder, the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation, the John and Jeanette Walton Exhibition Fund, and Margaret and Loyal Wilson. Major annual support is provided by the late Dick Blum and Harriet Warm and the Frankino-Dodero Family Fund for Exhibitions Endowment. Generous annual support is provided by two anonymous donors, Gini and Randy Barbato, Cynthia and Dale Brogan, Dr. Ben and Julia Brouhard, Brenda and Marshall Brown, Gail and Bill Calfee, the Leigh H. Carter family, Dr. William A. Chilcote Jr. and Dr. Barbara S. Kaplan, Mary and Jim Conway, Joseph and Susan Corsaro, Ron and Cheryl Davis, the Jeffery Wallace Ellis Trust in memory of Lloyd H. Ellis Jr., Leigh and Andy Fabens, Florence Kahane Goodman, Martha H. and Steven M. Hale, Janice Hammond and Edward Hemmelgarn, Linda Harper, Robin Heiser, the late Marta and the late Donald M. Jack Jr., the estate of Walter and Jean Kalberer, Robert M. Kaye, Jane and Doug Kern, the late Mrs. Nancy M. Lavelle, Eva and Rudolf Linnebach, William S. Lipscomb, Bill and Joyce Litzler, the Roy Minoff Family Fund, Lu Anne and the late Carl Morrison, Mrs. Peta and the late Dr. Roland Moskowitz, Jeffrey Mostade and Eric Nilson and Varun Shetty, Sarah Nash, Courtney and Michael Novak, Mark and Paula Nylander, Tim O’Brien and Breck Platner, Dr. Nicholas and Anne Ogan, William J. and Katherine T. O’Neill, Henry Ott-Hansen, Frank and Fran Porter, Christine Fae Powell, Peter and Julie Raskind, Michael and Cindy Resch, Marguerite and James Rigby, in memory of Dee Schafer, Betty T. and David M. Schneider, Elizabeth and Tim Sheeler, Saundra K. Stemen, Paula and Eugene Stevens, the Womens Council of the Cleveland Museum of Art, and Claudia Woods and David Osage. The Cleveland Museum of Art is funded in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. This exhibition was supported in part by the Ohio Arts Council, which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. ###   About the Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 68,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the leading encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.  The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org.  \n\n\n\n\n

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The Cleveland Museum of Art begins it's Comprehensive Restoration of the Gardens. See details below.

 The Cleveland Museum Historial Fine Art Gardens will be worth the trip to experience when finished. Details below!

The Cleveland Museum of Art Begins Comprehensive Restoration of Historical Fine Arts Garden Multiyear initiative launches the first phase of the CMA Landscape Master Plan, preserving one of Cleveland’s most iconic public spaces while improving accessibility, sustainability, and visitor experience for generations to come. Rendering courtesy of STIMSON

— The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) today announced the beginning of the first phase of a multiyear restoration of its historical Fine Arts Garden, one of Cleveland’s most celebrated public landscapes. On August 24, the museum begins implementation of an important phase of the CMA Landscape Master Plan, an ambitious initiative to preserve, restore, and renew the museum’s iconic Fine Arts Garden, enhancing accessibility, ecological sustainability, and the visitor experience. The work marks the first major investment in the museum’s historical landscape in nearly a century and represents an important milestone in the CMA’s long-term commitment to preserving one of Northeast Ohio’s most treasured outdoor civic spaces. The campus was designed by renowned architect Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. and opened in 1928. The gardens, promenades, terraces, and Wade Lagoon have long welcomed visitors while serving as one of Cleveland’s most photographed landmarks. Each spring, thousands gather beneath the cherry blossoms surrounding Wade Lagoon, a seasonal tradition that has become woven into the cultural life of the region. “For nearly a century, the CMA’s Fine Arts Garden has been a place where people experience art, nature, architecture, and community together,” said William M. Griswold, the CMA’s Sarah S. and Alexander M. Cutler Director. “This work ensures that one of Cleveland’s most beloved public landscapes remains beautiful, welcoming, and accessible for generations to come, while honoring the vision that first inspired its creation.” Rendering courtesy of STIMSON “The Fine Arts Garden has long been woven into the fabric of Cleveland,” said Virginia Barbato, chair of the Cleveland Museum of Art’s Board of Trustees. “For nearly a century, it has been a place where people have celebrated milestones, admired the changing seasons, and found moments of beauty and connection. Restoring this remarkable landscape is an investment in our community and one of its most treasured public spaces.” The first phase of the Landscape Master Plan is planned to be completed in two sequential scopes of work. Scope A begins August 24, following project planning, permitting, and initial fundraising, and is expected to conclude in Summer 2027. Scope B begins following completion of the first scope. Phase I of the Landscape Master Plan represents an investment of approximately $24 million. Thanks to significant early philanthropic contributions—including the chair’s challenge initiated by Ellen Stirn Mavec, and transformational gifts from the Eric and Jane Nord Family Fund, Gertrude Kalnow Chisholm and Homer D. W. Chisholm, the Horace Kelley Art Foundation, the State of Ohio, and other generous supporters—the museum has secured more than $21 million toward Phase I of the construction project. In addition, early donor support established multiple endowment funds that provide for the long-term care and maintenance of the Fine Arts Garden. This early momentum has allowed construction to begin sooner than anticipated while ensuring the landscape can be thoughtfully maintained for generations to come. The museum continues to seek philanthropic support to complete Phase I and advance future phases of the Landscape Master Plan. The support of the Horace Kelley Art Foundation is especially meaningful, reflecting the enduring legacy of one of the CMA’s founders, Horace Kelley, whose visionary bequest helped to establish the CMA and began a tradition of civic philanthropy that continues to shape the museum and its future. Restoring the Historical Landscape The Landscape Master Plan was developed in collaboration with nationally recognized landscape architecture firm Sasaki and serves as the museum’s long-term framework for renewing the Fine Arts Garden. The CMA partnered with STIMSON, another nationally recognized landscape architecture firm, to develop detailed rehabilitation plans and technical drawings for construction. Rather than simply reimagining the landscape, the plan seeks to restore its historical elements while introducing improvements that make the grounds more welcoming, environmentally resilient, and accessible to all visitors. The work beginning this summer encompasses the first two of five planned scopes. Rendering courtesy of STIMSON Scope A: Zodiac Garden, Mall, and East and West Ovals The first scope focuses on the rehabilitation of the museum’s historical Zodiac Garden along with the Mall and new east and west Ovals, flanking the mall area on the museum’s south campus. This work includes: Construction of new ADA-accessible walkways Creation of new east and west Ovals Rehabilitation of the historical marble and sandstone paving throughout the Zodiac Garden, Mall, and east and west Ovals Restoration of Chester Beach’s Fountain of the Waters Installation of new lawns, trees, shrubs, groundcovers, and irrigation Improvements to stormwater management and drainage New site lighting New security and information technology infrastructure Rendering courtesy of STIMSON Scope B: Museum Terraces and Historical South Facade The second scope focuses on restoring the museum’s south terraces and rehabilitating the exterior of the museum’s original 1916 building, which includes: Construction of a fully accessible east terrace Conservation and rehabilitation of the 1916 marble facade Restoration of the marble steps and sandstone paving on the south terraces New landscape plantings and irrigation Stormwater improvements Architectural lighting that highlights the museum’s historical facade New security and IT infrastructure Together, these projects represent the first step toward the comprehensive renewal of the museum’s historical landscape while preserving its defining architectural and horticultural character. Fountain of the Waters 1928. Chester A. Beach (American, 1881–1956). Marble. Conserving the Fountain of the Waters A centerpiece of the work beginning this fall is the conservation and rehabilitation of Chester Beach’s Fountain of the Waters, the beloved 1928 sculpture located at the center of the Zodiac Garden. Installed in 1928, the fountain features two seated allegorical figures representing the rivers that feed the Great Lakes, accompanied by two children symbolizing the flowers of the riverbanks. Decades of exposure to Cleveland’s weather have resulted in cracking, discoloration, and water infiltration that now require comprehensive conservation. Beginning August 24, the Zodiac Garden is temporarily closed to allow conservators to carefully remove the fountain for treatment. During this period, the museum also will conserve the 12 zodiac sculptures surrounding the fountain while restoring the surrounding stonework, paving, and landscape, improving lighting, and replanting gardens. Following conservation, Fountain of the Waters will return to its historical setting with improved structural stability and preserved artistic and historical integrity.   Looking Ahead The Landscape Master Plan continues over several years through additional phases that will include restoration of the historical promenades and sandstone staircases surrounding Wade Lagoon, rehabilitation of Harrison Dillard Trail, reconstruction of Wade Lagoon’s sandstone retaining walls, expanded accessible pathways throughout the campus, new outdoor dining amenities, and significant new landscape planting designed to improve ecological health while reinforcing the original design intent of the Olmsted Brothers firm. The complete Landscape Master Plan is expected to represent an investment of more than $40 million that is implemented over several years as funding is secured. While Phase I is well underway, the Cleveland Museum of Art continues fundraising to support future phases. Visitor Access During Construction Throughout construction, the museum’s galleries, Ingalls Library and Museum Archives, Gartner Auditorium, dining facilities, public spaces, and parking garage will continue normal operations, and exhibitions and public programs will proceed as scheduled. Beginning August 24, protective fencing surrounds the Zodiac Garden, Mall, and east and west Ovals, while Wade Lagoon, the Nord Family Greenway, the museum’s south steps, and Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker remain accessible. Chalk Festival, typically held each September in the Fine Arts Garden, is not taking place during the first phase of restoration and is expected to return in September 2027. Families looking for a chalk-inspired experience are invited to attend the Chalk Party (Fiesta de Tiza) on Sunday, September 6, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Community Arts Center, on Cleveland’s near west side. The museum does not anticipate any disruptions to the region's annual spring cherry blossom season surrounding Wade Lagoon. ### About the Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is renowned for the quality and breadth of its collection, which includes more than 68,000 artworks and spans 6,000 years of achievement in the arts. The museum is a significant international forum for exhibitions, scholarship, and performing arts, and is a leader in digital innovation. One of the leading encyclopedic art museums in the United States, the CMA is recognized for its award-winning open access program—which provides free digital access to images and information about works in the museum’s collection—and free of charge to all. The museum is located in the University Circle neighborhood with two satellite locations on Cleveland’s west side: the Community Arts Center and Transformer Station.   The museum is supported in part by residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture and made possible in part by the Ohio Arts Council (OAC), which receives support from the State of Ohio and the National Endowment for the Arts. The OAC is a state agency that funds and supports quality arts experiences to strengthen Ohio communities culturally, educationally, and economically. For more information about the museum and its holdings, programs, and events, call 888-CMA-0033 or visit cma.org. \n\n\n\n\n

Museum exhibitions. Around the world!

This Weekend's Featured Exhibit

Black in America: Louis Draper and Leonard FreedClevland Museum of art Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, USA Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. observed in 1963 that one hundred years after the abolition of slavery in America “the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination... [He] lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity.” This exhibition presents two views of African American daily life during the civil rights era through the photographs of Louis Draper, a black fine art photographer, and Leonard Freed, a white photojournalist... This weekend we're highlighting exhibitions in Los Angeles and London, and exploring the theme of fashion:

Fashion Rei Kawakubo Metropolitan Museum, USA Balenciaga Victoria & Albert, UK Jean-Paul Gaultier MBAM, Canada Iris van Herpen Dallas Museum, USA Christian Dior Arts Décoratifs, France Los Angeles Berlin/Los Angeles: Space for Music Getty Museum Home: So Different, So Appealing LACMA Oracle The Broad Marisa Merz: The Sky Is a Great Space Hammer   London Syria: A Conflict Explored Imperial War Museum Queer British Art Tate Britain Benedict Drew: Trickle-Down Syndrome Whitechapel Perfume: A Sensory Journey Somerset House

Tap into the power of community! See what visitors before you think of exhibitions, and rate and share the shows you see. Happy weekend! Tim and the culturaliv.com team Share Tweet #fineartmagazine