Side by Side: Selections from the Permanent Collection on view September 19, 2019 – January 12, 2020 curated by Veronica Kessenich.

Side by Side: Selections from the Permanent Collection examines the nature of acquiring a collection, learning about art and exploring how artists’ taste and content evolve over time. Curated by Veronica Kessenich, executive director of Atlanta Contemporary and visiting instructor in art history in the Agnes Scott College Department of Art and Art History, the exhibition centers around never-before-seen pieces requiring framing, restoration and current cataloguing. Side by Side aspires to illustrate the unity of the collection, which has at times seemed fractured, thereby deepening the mission and values of the Department of Art and Art History within the values and aspirations of the college and community it serves. Works collected since 1925 reflect the storied history of the college and, thereby, present an illustration for today’s student to reflect on the social and intellectual challenges of our time, as seen through a century of changing values. New acquisitions, chosen specifically for this exhibition, strive to fill gaps and steward a collection that reflects our awakened and evolving values.

The permanent collection began at Agnes Scott in 1965 with a gift of 50 original works from Harry L. Dalton, given to the college in honor of his wife, Mary Keesler Dalton, class of 1925. The Dalton Gallery was subsequently named after them. Over the past five decades, Agnes Scott College has expanded this collection to include notable works by important Atlanta-based artists and nationally renowned contemporary feminist artists. Many of the works presented permanently reside in offices and buildings throughout the campus. This exhibition will highlight those rarely exhibited works and recently acquired acquisitions. The works will be re installed, campus-wide at the conclusion of the exhibition.