Landscapes

Landscape seems to say it all with no words. Sitting at the mantle at the

Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts main room, the serigraph print depicts green and yellow trees that look like they were sponge-painted and a horizon line that seems to be pixelated with dots.

The work takes the name of the exhibit, "Landscapes: Selections from the Wells Fargo Advisors Corporate Art Collection," and the coveted display spot at the museum's focal point.

"Landscape" is by probably the most famed artist in the collection, pop artist Roy Lichtenstein, a peer of Andy Warhol and famous for his comic-book influenced prints.

Landscapes tend to relate to people, said Barbara Broach, director at Kennedy-Douglass.

"I think the public will enjoy them because they are landscapes, and they will be easy for them to identify with," she said.

"Fall is the perfect time to have this because our landscape in Florence is absolutely beautiful right now."

If patrons want a change from vivid scenery outside, they find it in the mostly black-and-white original prints of deserts and plateaus in the American West and Germany.

But this art doesn't come from sconced living room walls or fancy beach-front homes.

It serves as a brief daydream during a hectic work day.

In 1967, Benjamin F. Edwards III, got the idea to use art as a necessary work distraction in St. Louis - an investment in his employees, said Shelley Hagen, curator of Wells Fargo Historical Services in St. Louis.

"He didn't want his employees to have to stare at bare, white walls," she said.

The Florence branch of Wells Fargo sponsors the traveling exhibit, on display until Dec. 31. Allen Wall, financial adviser at Wells Fargo in Florence, thought the exhibit would fit into Florence's art scene.

"I think that, you know, the culture of a community is a reflection of not only the performing arts, but the visual arts. I think art is a part of your daily life," said Wall, who oversaw the exhibit's visit to town. He and Hagen stress that the traveling exhibits are not for the company's best interest but for its employees. Wall adds that such exhibits enhance the company's image.

"By promoting and sponsoring exhibits like this, it shows we're committed to the community and the individuals," he said.

Since 1991, the traveling program has visited more than 90 venues. Now named Wells Fargo Traveling Art Exhibition Program, it continues after merging with A.G. Edwards.

Wells Fargo's St. Louis headquarters houses the 4,200 pieces of art, and about 70 percent of those pieces are on display, including "Cascade, Yosemite N.P., California," by Bob Kolbrener, who studied with famed nature photographer, Ansel Adams. He captured a water fall in mid-flow using "straight" photography, meaning no editing or enhancement.

Art fans will recognize names such as Jeanne-Claude and Christo, Lichtenstein and other artists, most of whose works has never visited Florence, Broach said.

She expects Lichtenstein's modern-yet vintage "Landscape" to appeal to a variety of viewers.

"Well it's timeless," she said. "It would be good you, good for me and good for people who have not yet been born."

The collection, which originally contained paintings, expanded to include prints and photography in the 1980s, Hagen said.

But don't worry. St. Louis Wells Fargo employees aren't being deprived of their art while it's on the road. They can imagine their stress away as they pass art in common areas such as hallways and meeting rooms.

Jennifer Crossley can be reached at 740-5743 or jennifer.crossley@timesdaily.com.