Athens, Ga. – A Georgia native’s Italian-inspired work will be on display at the Georgia Museum of Art from Nov. 12 to Jan. 8. “Buon Natale: Holiday Prints by Libby Bailey,” will showcase Bailey’s Christmas prints of woodcuts on paper that have a distinctly Italian theme.
As a three-time University of Georgia Studies Abroad participant in the Cortona, Italy program, Bailey has strong ties to GMOA and the Athens community. Now an art history professor at Wesleyan College in Macon, Bailey wrote her dissertation in Florence, Italy.
“Studying art in Cortona was the turning point in my artistic life,” she said.
Bailey’s trips to Italy inspired the prints featured in the exhibition. Her work has been displayed throughout the United States as well as in Italy, and an Italian influence is evident throughout her works, such as in “Ave Maria Grazia Plena,” a detailed print with intricate lines and a composition that features an angel in mid-flight.
“My paintings reflect my love of art, architecture, history, religion and travel,” Bailey said.
“E Luce Vari Le Stelle” displays a distinctively Italian version of the nativity scene. The foreground is filled with elaborately detailed figures, and a quiet Italian landscape is in the background. It shows the influence of such works as Gentile da Fabriano’s “Adoration of the Magi” located in the Uffizi Museum in Florence.
The exhibition will chronicle Bailey’s life as well as her experiences in Tuscany and how they affected her art. It is sponsored by the W. Newton Morris Charitable Foundation and the Friends of the Georgia Museum of Art.
Museum Information
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the UGA Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located at 90 Carlton Street in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on UGA’s east campus. For more information, including hours, see www.georgiamuseum.org or call 706/542-4662.
