CINCINNATI, OH.- The Cincinnati Art Museum’s Early Cincinnati galleries in the Cincinnati Wing will reopen on Aug. 1.

These galleries tell the first chapter in the story of the Cincinnati Wing, detailing the city’s rise as an artistic center from its founding in the late 18th century through the years leading to the Civil War. Recent renovations allow for the galleries to lead chronologically into the other galleries of the Cincinnati Wing for the first time since the Wing’s debut in 2003. The refreshed and reoriented galleries will feature some recent acquisitions and items not previously on display presented with new interpretation (via wall texts and labels) and against a new color palette of painted walls. A special emphasis on the story of art patronage in Cincinnati has also been added.

A permanent display, The Cincinnati Wing: The Story of Art in the Queen City houses art created by Cincinnati artists or with Cincinnati ties. With 15 galleries, the Cincinnati Wing is home to about 400 objects, covering 18,000 square feet, and has received national recognition as one the first major art museum installation to focus exclusively on the artistic contributions and heritage of its own region. Galleries 106, 107 and 108 were closed in June 26, 2014, as part of the Art Museum’s Phase B construction renovations that included new galleries and the new Rosenthal Education Center (REC), which provides interactive activities for families.

New works from the Museum’s permanent collection highlighted in the re-opened galleries include items from the celebrated 2014 exhibition, Cincinnati Silver: 1788-1940; a folk portrait of Friedrich Billiods, one of Cincinnati’s earliest and most successful brewers; a Neoclassical sculpture of a woman by Nathan Flint Baker; and a table with carved dog attributed to H.N. Wenning & Co. of Cincinnati.

Julie Aronson, Curator of American Painting, Sculpture and Drawings, and Amy Dehan, Curator of Decorative Arts and Design, led the refresh of the galleries.