A shipping delay will not stop the Margaret Harwell Art Museum’s much-anticipated Dean Mitchell exhibition. In the meantime, museum fans and Christmas shoppers can visit the museum gift shop’s Christmas Open House.
The Mitchell show was originally scheduled for Saturday, said museum director Steve Whitworth, but pickup delays meant the artist’s work is only now leaving Tampa, Florida. Mitchell advised COVID shipping delays could further compound the problem. New show dates are to be determined.
“It’s up in the air and on the road,” said Whitworth. He hopes delays will be few, but in the meantime explained visitors can see Mitchell’s works in the permanent collection at MHAM: “Street Looker,” “Harlem Lady” and an untitled pencil drawing.
Mitchell held his first solo exhibition in MHAM about 45 years ago, and since then the Florida native has achieved national acclaim for his abstract paintings and watercolor depictions of the Black experience in America. His work hangs in the St. Louis Art Museum, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City and the Phoenix Art Museum, among others. He is scheduled to give a presentation at MHAM on Dec. 4 and his works will be displayed until the end of the year.
“We’re just really excited…to get him here and meet in person again,” said Whitworth.
The exhibit is supported by Commerce Bank and the Missouri Arts Council. Souvenir painting catalogs will also be sold at $10 to help cover the shipping costs of the paintings.
The Christmas Open House at the Friends Gift Shoppe, which was meant to open concurrently with the show’s opening day, is still on. The museum gift shop is stocked with glass ornaments, pottery, jewelry and prints, plus handmade Christmas cards and decor. Prices begin below $5 and are sourced from local creatives.
“[It’s] just all kinds of great things that are done by local artists,” said Whitworth.
The Friends Gift Shoppe is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. More information on MHAM and its exhibits can be found at mham.org, on the Margaret Harwell Art Museum Facebook page, or by calling 573-686-8002.