Julien Dupré, Village Scene, ca. 1870-80; Oil on canvas; Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Justin H. Adler, 1976.1
It began with Margaret and Hugo Dixon, Julien Dupré’s Village Scene, and a path winding invitingly into the trees.
Village Scene, the Dixons’ first painting acquisition, depicts a charming rural village bursting with rich forest greens, sandy beige tones, and soft russet clay hues. A child stands off to the left, looking curiously down an overgrown dirt road whose path curves deeper into the landscape.
Fittingly, one of the first pictures of the Dixon Gallery & Gardens bears a startling resemblance to Village Scene. An early photo of the building shows the building’s brick facade and graceful white columns emerging from the trees at the end of a gently curved path, waiting for its first visitors to stroll down the road. The Dixon Gallery first opened its doors in 1976 with a humble collection of twenty-seven paintings, two paper works, and six sculptures. From the beginning, it cultivated an appreciation for Impressionist works, a focus that would eventually bring works by Monet, Degas, Renoir, Chagall, Gauguin, and others to adorn its gallery walls.
Over the following two decades, the gallery would expand and attract further renown through its acquisition of several notable collections, including a series of 100 lithographs from Dr. Armand Hammer and the Armand Hammer Foundation, a world-renowned collection of eighteenth-century German porcelain from Wanda Stevens Stout, a four-century collection of European and American pewter from Justin H. Adler, and a large donation of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century English continental ceramics from Charlotte Stout Hooker. The gallery’s garden section would flower into being in 1996, when ground was broken to plant the Memphis Garden Club Cutting Garden. Eight years later, the garden was established as an official arboretum site by the Tennessee Urban Forestry Council, and the garden has continued to flourish since then with its yearly cultivation of its spring bulb display.
This Sunday, the Dixon invites visitors to celebrate the legacy of the gallery and gardens at their 50-year anniversary celebration. Drive away the winter chill with cake, lemonade, tea, and hot chocolate, then stroll through the gallery halls on special tours, participate in a range of art activities open to all ages, and anticipate the garden’s spring bulb display, which boasts the largest spread of bulbs in the Dixon’s history specially for the 50th anniversary celebration.
For those interested in the history of the property, the Dixon will be screening the premiere of 50 Years of the Dixon Gallery and Gardens, a brand-new documentary directed by Matteo Servante, at 2 p.m. Servante’s film delves into the people, stories, and vision of the Dixon across the years, celebrating the legacy of the gallery’s commitment to art, education, and horticulture that has brought the Dixon to where it is today. Finally, the Dixon encourages viewers to contribute a Dixon Story on their website for those who wish to share stories, anecdotes, or other fond memories about their time at the Dixon.
