The Henry Luce Foundation has awarded The Hyde Collection a grant of $200,000 in support of the Museum’s exhibition Modern Nature: Georgia O’Keeffe and Lake George, its accompanying catalogue, and national tour. The exhibition, which will open at The Hyde on June 15, 2013, is curated by Erin B. Coe, the Museum’s interim co-director and chief curator, and is organized in association with the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Modern Nature will be the centerpiece of The Hyde Collection’s 50th anniversary year.

“We are thrilled to receive this endorsement from the Luce Foundation which acknowledges the scholarly significance of this project and its contribution to O’Keeffe studies,” said Coe. Modern Nature will be the first exhibition to examine the significant body of artistic work created by O’Keeffe of and at Lake George from 1918 to the mid-1930s. Through a selection of 60 works from public and private collections, the exhibition will demonstrate that Lake George served as a rural retreat for the artist, inspired her art, and evoked the spirit of place that was essential to O’Keeffe’s modern approach to the natural world. The works assembled in this exhibition have never been so intimately connected to the natural setting that inspired their creation.

“Modern Nature is compelling not only because of the new scholarship it brings to light about O’Keeffe’s life and work, but because The Hyde is located in the region that influenced and inspired her to create the art that it explores,” explained Ellen Holtzman, Luce Foundation Program Director for American Art. “This direct connection to Lake George reinforces the significance of place in O’Keeffe’s early work.”

“We recognize this as a timely and valuable contribution to the study of American art, and are delighted to offer support,” added Michael Gilligan, president of the Henry Luce Foundation.

“We are honored to be the recipients of this grant from The Luce Foundation,” said Candace Wait, chair of The Hyde’s board of trustees. “It is an extraordinary award, and reflects the scope and importance of this exhibition. We expect Modern Nature to make an enduring contribution to the artistic and cultural history of our region and community. This is the first time The Hyde has organized a nationally-touring exhibition, and our goal for the project is not only to place O’Keeffe’s life and work within the context of our own local landscape and history, but to ensure that we share that story with the world.”

Modern Nature will open June 15 at The Hyde Collection and remain on view until September 15, 2013. It will travel to the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum, Santa Fe, from October 4, 2013 through January 26, 2014; and then to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, de Young Museum, February 8 through May 11, 2014. The accompanying exhibition catalogue will be published and distributed across the country and around the world by the international art publisher, Thames & Hudson.

The Henry Luce Foundation was established in 1936 by the late Henry R. Luce, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Time Inc. Through its American Art Program, begun in 1982, the Foundation has distributed over $145 million to some 250 museums, universities and services organizations in 46 states, the District of Columbia and internationally.