Visitors to the Yale University Art Gallery will have the occasion to see four special exhibitions this summer. "First Masters of American Silver: The Craft of the Silversmith in Colonial Massachusetts" constructs a history of colonial Massachusetts out of the achievements of its silversmiths. Items on view include monumental presentation cups, church silver, jewelry, snuffboxes, elegant domestic silverware, swords and coins. The exhibition continues through Sunday, July 21.
"The Art of Colonial Massachusetts," which is offered in conjunction with the silver show, guides visitors through the growth of the Massachusetts colony from its isolated Puritan founding through its secular prosperity and the eve of the American Revolution. Paintings by John Singleton Copley and John Smibert, engravings by Paul Revere and Amos Doolittle, as well as myriad books, furniture, metalware, ceramics and textiles, are on display through Sunday, July 28.
Modern America is the focus in the works of a third exhibit, "Saul Steinberg: About America," which includes 50 works from the collection of Silvia and Jeffrey Loria. These include Mr. Steinberg's New Yorker magazine cover illustrations, such as his famous "View of the World from 9th Avenue." Personal comments from members of the New Haven and Yale community accompany the works on view. The exhibit continues through Sunday, June 9.
Screens, lacquerwares and woodcuts are on display in the exhibit "Tastes and Traditions: Japanese Arts of the Edo Period, 1615-1868," which will be on display through Sunday, Sept. 15.
In addition to the special exhibits, the gallery boasts a permanent collection of works from every major period in the history of art, from ancient Egypt to the present. Gallery talks on special exhibitions and on the ermanent collection take place on Tuesdays at 2 p.m. and Thursdays at 1 p.m. The following is a schedule of summer talks:
June 4 and 6 -- "Louis Kahn's Art Gallery, Inside and Out," by docent Shirley Gonzales.
June 11 and 13 -- "Twentieth-Century Sculpture" by docent Joan Binder.
June 18 and 20 -- "Tastes and Traditions: Japanese Arts of the Edo Period" by Melanie Drogin, graduate student in the history of art.
June 25 and 27 -- "Connecticut Politicians Take Power, 1638-1776: John Davenport, Ezra Stiles, Roger Sherman, Eli Whitney and John Trumbull" by David J. Cross, director of education at the New Haven Colony Historical Society.
July 2 -- "The American Revolution in John Trumbull's Paintings" by Mary L. Kordak, associate curator of education.
July 9 and 11 -- "Craft Techniques of Master Silversmiths in Colonial Massachusetts, from Hull and Sanderson to Paul Revere" by Patricia E. Kane, curator of American decorative arts and organizer of the silver exhibition.
July 16 and 18 -- "Artistry in Boston Silver" by Ms. Kane.
July 23 and 25 -- "The Art of Colonial Massachusetts" by Robin Jaffee Frank, assistant curator of American paintings and sculpture, on July 23, and by David Barquist, associate curator of American decorative arts, on July 25.
Located at 1111 Chapel St., the Yale University Art Gallery and its museum shop and sculpture garden are open to the public Tuesday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, 2-5 p.m. The gallery is closed during the month of August. Admission to the museum and its events is free. A wheelchair entrance with a reserved parking space nearby is available at 201 York St. For more information, call 432-0600.