Decades: Looking Back/Moving Forward, 1940 – 1959

May 17 – September 28, 2024

As we march toward MMofA’s sixtieth anniversary in October, we are pleased to present the final chapter of DECADES: Looking Back, Moving Forward. This popular and innovative series of exhibitions has immersed our visitors in the art, history, and creativity of the decades leading up to the 1960s. We scheduled this trip through time in experiential exhibitions of two decades each, and the last, 1940 – 1959, will open May 17th.

The 1940s were marked by enormous uncertainty and vast transformation across all aspects of life in the United States as the nation became involved in World War II. Cities across the country, including Mobile, would see influxes of people as factories switched production to military goods. As U.S. citizens adapted to war-time shortages of food, fabric, and other materials, the areas of art, fashion, and design continued to adapt and evolve. The 1950s saw the United States prospering economically and socially as a sense of optimism and exploration pervaded the country and made it look to the future.

The exhibition features highlights from the Museum’s collection, as well as carefully selected works that bring important historical moments to life, which will be installed alongside period dresses from the History Museum of Mobile. Masterworks of Surrealism by leading figures in the movement, including Peter Blume, Max Ernst, Kay Sage, and Yves Tanguy have been generously lent by The Museum of Modern Art, New York as part of Art Bridges’ Collection Loan Partnership program. Photographs throughout the gallery have been provided by the Doy Leale McCall Rare Book and Manuscript Library, University of South Alabama.

Visitors shouldn’t worry if they can’t remember their Social Studies lessons from the early twentieth century because timelines, films, and biographies will trace the monumental events of the period, as well as what was happening in the art world.