A print publisher who worked with all the leading contemporary American and European artists, Peter Blum made a gift to the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston of more than 40 finished projects by some 23 artists in 1996. As a bonus, he included all of the related preparatory materials. In 2006, a show based on the archive took up more than 35,000 square feet in the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and that was with less than a third of the archive’s works on display. So it’s easy to see why the MFAH decided to do an abbreviated version of that show with the current ”Highlights of the Peter Blum Edition Archive.”
One don’t-miss image is Eric Fischl’s Year of the Drowned Dog, made up of six overlapping colored prints. It’s a beautiful beach scene, with a colorful yellow umbrella and lounge chair set among brilliant white sand. In the background is a dark-green mountain and a soft blue sky. Several groups of people stand near the drowned dog — a few children, with a trio of men in white uniforms standing watching them. Viewers can’t see any of the figures’ faces clearly, but their postures convey their feelings of indifference, mild curiosity and sadness.
The exhibition runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 12:15 to 7 p.m. Sundays. Through February 20. 1001 Bissonnet. For information, call 713‑639‑7300 or visit www.mfah.org. $5 to $10.
Tuesdays-Sundays. Starts: Dec. 23. Continues through Feb. 20, 2011
This article appears in Jan 19-25, 2012.