Greenville County Museum of Art

Nov 13, 2019 — Mar 8, 2020

According to Rod Stewart, every picture tells a story. Whether its subject is a familiar Old Testament morality tale or an apocalyptic warning of impending nuclear doom, the physical process of making a picture (or a print, painting, or sculpture) sometimes assumes an equal role in the story’s telling. If nothing else, the manipulation of a medium can be the message.

This exhibition explores a variety of narrative paths traveled by disparate artists over the past two centuries. Some artists are inspired by the historical importance or celebrity of their subjects, some focus on familial relationships, some simply paint themselves.

More complex stories are constructed as propaganda, symbolism, or allegory—with or without overt intentions. In each case, once the stories are told in the pictures, their meanings are our own.