'The Art of Baseball' Opens on Friday at the Concord Museum

Play Ball! The Art of Baseball at the Concord Museum opens to the public on Friday, April 17, 2015 through Sunday, September 20, 2015. The exhibition explores the many ways that artists have responded to what we fondly call “the national pastime.” The Art of Baseball features nearly 50 works of fine and folk art from a private collection. Boston Red Sox artifacts from the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum will also be on display. Ranging from fine art to folk art, the exhibition reflects many sides of baseball including the playing field, positions, equipment, uniforms, fans and larger issues of race and gender in the sport. Historian, Concord resident, and lifelong baseball fan, Doris Kearns Goodwin, is the Honorary Curator. The Art of Baseball celebrates baseball’s rich traditions, intergenerational connections, and all-American fun.

Drawn from The Gladstone Collection of Baseball Art, a private New York collection that has been gathered over the past forty years, the show features works by acclaimed American artists -- including William Merritt Chase, Robert Rauschenberg, and William Zorach – as well as folk artists inspired by the sport. The Gladstone Collection of Baseball Art has been over forty years in the making and includes sculpture such as Baseball Player by the Lithuanian born American sculptor William Zorach. Iconic paintings such as Saturday Afternoon at Sportsman’s Park by Edward Laning(1908-1981) are presented along with paintings such as Fastball by Lou Grant and a Pillow Sham depicting women in baseball.

A highlight for die-hard baseball fans is a Ted Williams glove from the 1946 season & World Series on loan from the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Also on loan from the National Baseball Hall of Fame are artifacts from the 2013 World Series when local fans will recall the Red Sox claimed the title in a tumultuous season finale. Other Red Sox Hall of Famers represented include Jim Rice with a bat used to hit his 301st Home Run.

Visit www.concordmuseum.org for information about baseball related programs and events all summer including an appraisal day, Movie Night, Vintage Base Ball and more.