#layer-duo-325

Check out a sampling of our thematic galleries below, or view highlights of the CMA collection.

Become a member. Be a regular.

Don't feel compelled to see everything in one visit! Our members can enjoy a slower pace, knowing they can come back anytime to browse the galleries for FREE.

Join Today

#layer-duo-3279

Vice and Virtue

Good and bad, right or wrong, open and shut. It can be easy to believe we live in a world of strict binaries, but these lines often blur. Behaviors deemed acceptable by some might be considered immoral or offensive to others. Principles that guide civilizations have long acted as sources of fascination for many, whether in being drawn to the allure of the forbidden or exalting those qualities considered honorable.

Art can act as a window and a mirror when examining these uncertain areas. 

#layer-gallery-3283

Wine Tasters

Seated in a 19th-century parlor, two men are dressed in Colonial attire, one wearing a blue coat and the other a red one. Topped with powdered wigs, the two lean toward one another in conversation. With a rosy nose and pursed lips, the man in the red coat listens with curiosity as the other raises and points at his glass. Irving, a native of Charleston, South Carolina, studied in Germany and returned to the U.S. to visit New York where he began genre painting, depicting scenes of everyday life where costuming, rich color, and tone express characters to a theatrical point.

John Beaufain Irving

Reverend Charles Jaggers

Born enslaved in Fairfield County, South Carolina, Reverend Charles Jaggers found faith as a teenager and dedicated his life to charity work, founding the Jaggers Old Folks' Home here in Columbia. Though he was illiterate, he memorized one piece of scripture: "Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus." He used these words to minister to people less fortunate for more than 70 years. The artist captured the intensity of Jaggers' character through weathered clothes, a walking cane, and the undeniable joy in his expression.

Thomas Isaac Weston

Charity of St. Nicholas

The jolly St. Nick now associated with Christmas and gift-giving was indeed a real person who lived in the third and fourth centuries before he became a holiday icon. The saint's legacy is tied to his generosity, in part because of this story. Three girls and their father sit in despair, worried because he is unable to provide for their future. Unbeknownst to them, just outside the door, St. Nicholas prepares to give each of the daughters a golden ball, securing their fortune and sparing them from a lifetime of poverty.

Johannes Stradanus

Standing Warrior

This solemn figure's distinctive helmet, gleaming armor, and clenched fist (which would once have held a weapon) combine to indicate a steadfast warrior. This figure and similar ones would likely have been placed in a tomb to invoke the protective powers associated with the military class. While the warrior figure itself may symbolize discipline and strength, the very existence of the figure may speak to a sense or vanity and excess on the part of the deceased.

Chinese

The Decoy

Clad in a flowing gown with jewels and golden embellishments, this femme fatale is using her allure to lead someone to his death. From her mischievous expression to the rose dropped from her hand, the trap is clearly set. The castle setting is in a Gothic style with pointed arches and stained glass windows, characteristic of Pre-Raphaelite artists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. At the time, women were often represented in a negative fashion, as in using the power of their feminine beauty to deceive men.

John Collier

Cassone (wedding chest) with Biblical Scenes

This elaborately carved chest was likely given to a bride on the occasion of her wedding. The decoration of the cassone reflects cultural sentiments regarding weddings at the time - they were celebrations of the union between two families as well as devoutly religious ceremonies highlighting honor and obedience. On either end of the cassone are allegorical figures representing faith and hope, thought to be appropriate protectors for a young woman on the cusp of marriage.

Unidentified Italian Artisan

Christ at the Home of the Pharisee

Christ is in the home of Simon the Pharisee, who is clothed in fine velvet and fur. On the floor, a woman clings to the foot of Christ. In medieval tradition, the woman is believed to be Mary Magdalen, but the Bible is not explicit on this point. Yet the story is more than just a parable in which Christ forgives a sinful woman. He uses the opportunity to teach the self-righteous and disapproving Pharisee that his apathy and lack of hospitality are no different than the woman's sinful ways.

Arts Wolfaerts

#layer-duo-3288

Visions from Beyond

Diverse visual vocabularies have sprung from religious traditions across the globe. By employing symbols and icons, artists reference stories from sacred texts that communicate distinct aspects of spiritual life. Images of saints, buddhas, gods, and spirits provide moral guideposts to the faithful. In some cases, artworks might also act as devotional objects and intermediaries for the divine.

This gallery features works that engage spiritual themes, especially the topic of the afterlife. The transition from this life to the next is a common subject throughout art history. 

#layer-gallery-3293

The Nativity

Botticelli's Virgin Mary appears physically realistic, while at the same time her serene, statuesque pose tells us she is fully aware and accepting of her divine role. In keeping with the ideals of the Italian Renaissance, the artist infuses Mary with a psychological sensitivity and level of detail that make her feel fully human. This work is not only the sole Botticelli fresco in the United States, but the only one exhibited outside of Italy.

Sandro Botticelli (called)

Water-Moon Guanyin Bodhisattva

In Chinese Buddhism, Guanyin is the bodhisattva of infinite compassion. Here she is shown sitting on rocks by the sea. The relaxed posture is a convention called "royal ease," emphasizing dignity and elegance. A bodhisattva is one who can attain nirvana but chooses to lead an earthly life in order to help others. Guanyin is often rendered with one foot resting on a rock and the other on a lotus flower - symbolic of her status as one who occupies two worlds, the sacred and profane.

Anonymous (Chinese)

Where the Angels Play

"Years ago, I mentioned in an article...that when my body dies, I want to wake up on a beautiful beach. So there we have it. The title is mine, with no known reference. Consider how many doors we walk though in our lifetime. In this painting we find THE DOOR, embedded in the earth like an ancient tomb; the final door is death of our earthen vessels. I believe we are eternal, passing through a purification process handled by the Creator. In the meantime, we have the Earth, represented in the painting as a little beach town..." – Matthew Baumgardner

Matthew Baumgardner

Lökapala

Lokapalas refer to the Four Heavenly Kings, protectors from evil and keepers of the cardinal directions (north, south, east, and west). The Buddhist lokapala is a spiritual being characterized by fierceness. These gods are dressed as contemporary palace guards and appear extremely ornate. Their armor is carved with animal forms such as dragon shoulders. In their hands, they once held wooden swords that have long since decayed. Under their feet lie vanquished demons.

Anonymous (Chinese)

#layer-duo-510

Art and Identity

Artists often explore characteristics that communicate a person's status, personality, and distinctiveness. Gender, ethnicity, sexuality, nationality, and heritage can be constructed or reconstructed through the use of color, form, and technique. These attributes determine and contribute to our self-identification within a complex network of social, political, religious, national, and local groups. In addition to representing the people who populate their visual world, artists have the power to express the maker's sense of self.

Art gives us the opportunity to think about individuals who may or may not be familiar to us. Do these pieces articulate a sense of who we are as individuals, as society, or as a nation? 

#layer-gallery-515

Mom, Dad, Worlds Apart

This painting depicts a religious ritual: the artist’s mother is seen at her stove in prayer over a Sabbath meal she is preparing. Behind her, a small figure of the artist’s Orthodox Jewish father stands in prayer on the refrigerator. What cannot be seen are the artist’s deeper motives. For Abeles, this painting was a way to express his desire to see his parents together.

Sigmund Abeles

Speak No

Michaela Pilar Brown’s body is a battleground. In Speak No, she uses toy soldiers, rhinestones, and a Kewpie doll to make a powerful statement about the colonialization of white beauty standards on the black female form. Her crossed mouth emphasizes the oft-muted black woman’s voice, and the red color alludes to a kind of gaping wound. The artist is demonstrating the internal battle women of color often experience regarding their beauty and self-worth; she is also declaring victory over her body, reclaiming control of her own form, blackness, and identity.

Michaela Pilar Brown

El Hombre de Conocimiento [Man of Knowledge]

"My work is an ongoing investigation of Latin America and Latin American culture. Half-Panamanian and half-American, my identity is twofold, wrestling with two cultures and two languages. As a young man, I spoke English and often dreamed in Spanish. Travels to Latin America have provided the basis for my art by informing dreams and exploring subject matter that is both foreign and familiar. Subsequently, my paintings are not documentations of specific places or events, but rather landscapes of memory, exploring a line between dream and wake time and striving for a balance between the sublime and the melancholy." – Mel Rosas

Mel Rosas

Square Dance

Square Dance was painted at the end of World War II. Its brilliant color, dynamic figures, and sense of energetic movement all speak to the joy expressed by the American folk-dance from which its title derives. During the war, Markham devoted her art to anti-Nazi propaganda and the promotion of patriotism at home. Here, she uses the square dance to symbolize the triumph of American values over tyranny. Though the square dance as we know it today is typically perceived as a largely white rural tradition, it is actually a product of multiple cultures. European settlers brought with them the dances of their homelands, including the Scottish reel and the French quadrille, which were then influenced by Native American ceremonial dancing. The call-and-response format, which can be traced directly to sub-Saharan Africa, was brought to the U.S. by way of the enslaved, who were required to perform at white dance balls.

Square Dance

#layer-wysiwyg-213

Want to see more?

Plan your visit to the CMA today to see our themed collection.

Visit Us

#layer-events-414

Dig into the Collection

See All Collection Events
See All Collection Events