Athens, Ga. – The Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia will present the film series “Americans in Italy,” in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name. The films shown will be Three Coins in the Fountain (Jan. 24), Summertime (Jan. 31) and Roman Holiday (Feb. 14). All films will begin at 7 p.m. in the museum’s M. Smith Griffith Auditorium and are free and open to the public.
Three Coins in the Fountain, written by John Patrick and directed by Jean Negulesco, dates from 1954 and follows three American women as they look for love in Rome. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for best picture, and its title song, sung by Frank Sinatra, became a classic. Bosley Crowther, who reviewed it for the New York Times upon its release, called it “a nice way to take the movie audience on a sightseeing tour of Rome, with a flying side trip to Venice, through the courtesy of CinemaScope.”
Summertime, a 1955 film directed and co-written by David Lean, follows the romance between American Katharine Hepburn, playing a middle-aged secretary on her dream vacation in Rome, and Rosano Brazzi as an Italian antiques dealer. “Summertime” was nominated for Academy Awards for best actress and best director. Lean would later make The Bridge on the River Kwai and is well known for Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, all of which demonstrate his gift for depicting beautiful scenery and sweeping vistas.
The last film in the series is Roman Holiday (1953), which will screen on Valentine’s Day 2013. The film follows an American reporter (Gregory Peck) as he escorts a runaway princess (Audrey Hepburn) through Rome. The film was nominated for and won several awards, many for Hepburn, and is famous for a scene in which the two cruise through the streets of the Eternal City while sharing a Vespa scooter. Before and after the film, visitors to the museum are encouraged to decorate valentines in the education resource center, then leave the completed hearts near their favorite works of art in the museum’s collection. The most loved works of arts then will be shared via the museum’s social media channels.
The Americans in Italy exhibition is on display at the museum Jan. 19 to April 21. It features works of art dealing with Italian landscapes, people, buildings and life fashioned by American artists. This small display draws from works on paper in the museum’s permanent collection and makes connections to objects on full-time display elsewhere in the museum. The exhibition serves as a parallel to a UGA art history course taught by chief curator and curator of American art Paul Manoguerra.
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 University of Georgia Foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton St., University of Georgia, Athens, Ga. 30602-6719. For more information, including hours, see georgiamuseum.org or call 706-542-GMOA (4662).
