Best known for his roles in more than 160 films, television programs, and theater productions’earning him two Academy Awards and six nominations’Anthony Quinn was also a writer and visual artist who spent the last five years of his life in nearby Bristol, Rhode Island. He wrote two autobiographies and produced thousands of works of art’paintings, drawings, prints, and sculpture’in a wide range of media, from pencil and oil paint to marble and wood.
Katherine Quinn, Anthony’s wife and studio assistant for 17 years before he passed away in 2001, recognized his insatiable desire to create, his internal fire, as duende. Duende is a term frequently used in the Spanish arts that Frederico Garc??a Lorca refers to as ‘a momentary burst of inspiration, the blush of all that is truly alive, all that the performer is creating in a certain moment.’1 Guided by duende, Quinn’s endless pursuit of creative truth’of those magical, haunting moments of inspiration’led him to use his entire body, mind, and spirit to make beautiful objects and deliver award-winning performances.
With more than 90 objects, this exhibition for the Narrows Center for the Arts will showcase a small slice of Quinn’s enormous body of artwork and is designed to highlight his creative process. It will include small sketches, drawings, paintings, and sculptures, as well as photographs of the artist at work and artifacts from his studio, including his work benches, tools, library resources, sketchbooks, and more.
The Arbella Insurance Foundation is the Presenting Sponsor of Duende: The Art of Anthony Quinn. Arbella Insurance Group, a Massachusetts auto, home, and business insurance company, founded the Arbella Insurance Foundation in 2004. The mission of the Foundation is to engage in activities and to support not-for-profit organizations that have a significant positive impact on the people and communities served by Arbella. ‘We’re pleased to sponsor this very special exhibit,’ said John Donohue, chairman and president of Arbella’s Foundation. ‘Arbella is a local company, committed to New England. Anthony Quinn spent the last years of his life in Rhode Island, and like us, he appreciated the region’s beauty and unique attributes. We’re proud to help the Narrows Center for the Arts showcase the varied talents of this local legend.’
‘Duende’ is curated by Michele L’Heureux, who has exhibited her own work and has curated numerous exhibitions at the Narrows Gallery. L’Heureux is the Gallery Director at Wheaton College and also the Curator and Director of the Arts at the Women’s Studies Research Center at Brandeis University. She has curated numerous group and solo exhibitions at Wheaton, Brandeis and other arts venues in New England. Her work can be viewed at www.michelelheureux.com
This exhibition is made possible by the generous support of lead sponsor Arbella Insurance Foundation and additional support from Hadley Insurit Group and BankFive.
Duende: The Art of Anthony Quinnis on view through December 29. There will be an opening reception on Thursday, November 8 from 7-9 p.m. where Anthony Quinn’s two Academy Awards and his Golden Globe award will also be on view. The gallery is open Wednesday’Saturday from 12-5 p.m. and by appointment. Admission to the gallery is free. Concert ticket-holders are also welcome to view the work on performance night.
About the Anthony Quinn Foundation The Anthony Quinn Foundation is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation advancing the belief that art, in all its forms, is inseparable and essential to learning and the enrichment of the mind. The purpose of Anthony Quinn Foundation is to promote, pay tribute to and share Anthony Quinn’s creative legacy as a means to inspire people to constantly challenge their artistic spirit and build confidence in their creative potential. The Foundation provides scholarship support to gifted young adults seeking to advance their artistic talents in the fields of Visual Arts & Design, Performing Arts, Media Arts, and Literary Arts. To learn more about the Anthony Quinn Foundation visit anthonyquinnfoundation.org.
About the Arbella Insurance Group and the Arbella Insurance Foundation Established in 1988, the Arbella Insurance Group (www.arbella.com) is a company with over $600M in revenue with approximately $1B in assets, headquartered in Quincy, Massachusetts. Arbella is a customer-focused regional property and casualty insurance company, providing personal and business insurance in Massachusetts and Connecticut, and business insurance in Rhode Island and New Hampshire. Arbella Insurance Group founded the Arbella Insurance Foundation in 2004. The mission of Arbella’s Foundation is to engage in activities and to support not-for-profit organizations that have a significant positive impact on the people and communities served by Arbella.
