From Spain to Virginia The Life and Times of Pierre Daura - Catalog - Page 11
for their expertise and collaboration. These include Museum Director
William U. Eiland, as well as Pierre Daura Curator of European Art Nelda
Damiano and Pierre Daura Curatorial Research Assistant Julia Kilgore.
We are also humbled and grateful for the guidance and leadership support
we received from Daura’s daughter, Martha Randolph Daura, of Medford,
Oregon, and the Daura Foundation. Daura’s nephew Louis Blair, of
Rockbridge Baths, Virginia, was thrilled to hear we would be showcasing
his uncle’s work, and he enthusiastically agreed to loan us the portrait that
Daura painted of him as a child, which you can view in this exhibition.
This catalogue is dedicated to the memory of Louis Blair, who passed
unexpectedly in September – both his spirit and love of life and art live on.
As somebody who has lived in both Europe and Virginia and is still madly
in love with both, strolling through the exhibition From Spain to Virginia:
The Art and Times of Pierre Daura truly feels like a homecoming to me.
So I invite you to come home to the Taubman Museum of Art or visit the
exhibition online to experience the joy and serenity, the excitement and
colors, the passion and genius of Pierre Daura.
Cindy M. Petersen, Ed.M.
Executive Director, Taubman Museum of Art
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