Food And Art

February – July 2018

Perhaps our relationship with food is so dynamic and complicated simply because we cannot get along without it. Artists have long explored this relationship...Leonardo DaVinci's painting of the Last Supper in the dining room of a monastery in Milan, Italy; thousands of 17th century Dutch still lifes of fish, fruit, and flies; first century Roman murals depicting harvesting scenes; and contemporary expressions such as Judy Chicago's 1970s evocative Dinner Party that ponders a meal with 39 notable women.

The list can go on and on with tens of thousands of examples.

Art and food have been in a dialogue perhaps since images started being made...all those animals on cave walls from tens of thousands of years ago may simply have been valued sources of protein.

On the walls of the Museum's main gallery, contemporary artworks from the Museum's collection highlight some of our ever-changing relationships with food. These artists explore the dangers of some foods and the pleasures of others, the nutritional value of dark green vegetables and foods that have a special place (like Idaho potatoes), and the seasons and humor of food.