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Flora B. Giffuni Gallery of American Pastels

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The Giffuni Gallery of American Pastels is located at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio

Pastel Exhibited at PSA 2008 Show is Purchased by the Butler

A pastel entitled "Sargent's Madam X" by Connie Renner, shown at the 2008 PSA Annual Exhibition, was among works that the Butler selected from PSA's show for an exhibition at the Giffuni Gallery. The exhibit, curated by Dr. Louis Zona, took place Dec. 2008/Jan. 2009. It was double good news for Ms. Renner when the Butler decided to purchase her painting for its permanent collection.

Pastels from PSA 2009 Show Exhibited at the Butler

Several outstanding pastels from PSA's Annual Open Juried Exhibition in September 2009 were selected by the Butler Institute of American Art for an exhibit there in Dec. 2009/Jan. 2010 at the Giffuni Gallery. It was curated by Dr. Louis Zona, the Butler's Executive Director. Artists chosen for this PSA show at the Butler were the following: Brian Bailey, Deborah Bays, Margaret Farrell, Bruno Lorenzo Chavez, Doug Dawson, Mally DeSomma, Judy Evans, Kaye Franklin, Liz Haywood-Sullivan, Akiko Hoshino, Fong Ling, Patrick Milbourn, Paul Murray, Sangita Phadke, Peggy Rose, Junko Ono Rothwell, Stacy Seuberling, Rae Smith, Duane Wakeham and Jimmy Wright

To view artwork selected from the 2009 Annual for the PSA Show at the Butler please click here

To view selected artwork from the 2007 annual exhibition please click here

Butler Exhibit of Work by Rhoda Yanow, PSA

Rhoda Yanow, longtime Board member of the Pastel Society of America, was the subject of a prestigious show at the Butler Institute of American Art, April 7 – May 27, 2007. Yanow, whose art was already represented in The Butler's permanent collection, exhibited 41 of her pastels in this exhibit, curated by Gary T. Erbe. In an introduction to the show's catalog, Dr. Louis A. Zona, Butler's Executive Director, described the uniqueness of her artistry:

"The Butler Institute of American Art is honored to present the remarkable pastel works of Rhoda Yanow. What makes an artist stand out from the crowd is the ability to portray aspects of life in ways that cause us to stop and to ponder. Rhoda Yanow has the wonderful gift of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary. Her depictions of the commonplace are stated with flair and with elegance. Art is about examining the world, filtering it through life experiences and imagination, and offering it back to us. If the artist is successful, we have learned something special or are made to realize that nothing really should be taken for granted. Yanow, through the brilliant use of the difficult medium of pastels, offers us a feast for the eye and the mind. She exploits the pastel medium as few artists have. In her hand the medium can offer the delicacy of a child’s features or the powerful forces of nature. Her work is both painterly and highly controlled and it is in this balance that she has found a most unique and impressive style."

About Flora B. Giffuni (1919-2009)

At the 2004 opening of the Giffuni Gallery of American Pastels at the Butler Institute of American Art, Dr. Louis A. Zona, Executive Director said, “If the world of art had such designations Flora Giffuni would be deemed the ‘Patron Saint of Pastels.’ I say that, not just because of her founding of the Pastel Society of America and other good works on behalf of the medium and practitioners of the medium, but also because of her other mission which is to give the art of pastel the kind of recognition and honor that it deserves. She has been tireless in her efforts to promote and to educate, demonstrating a missionary-like zeal as she works to raise the art of the American pastel to greater levels of recognition."

The Flora B. Giffuni Gallery of American Pastel Art, located at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio, bears the name of the founder of the Pastel Society of America. Created in 2004, thanks to the generosity of Mrs. Giffuni, it is the only museum gallery in the U.S. devoted exclusively to works in the pastel medium, and its creation was a lifelong "dream come true" of the late Mrs. Giffuni. The gallery offers exhibitions of accomplished pastel artists, group shows from the Pastel Society of America, as well as the display of works from the Butler's prestigious collection

Pastel Society of America

America’s Oldest Existing Pastel Society