Widely Acclaimed Vatican Splendors Exhibition To Be On View At Museum Of Art | Fort Lauderdale From Jan. 29 – April 24, 2011

Presented by Holy Cross Hospital in Association with PNC Bank and AutoNation;
Group and Single Tickets Now Available

WHAT:
Vatican Splendors: A Journey through Faith and Art, one of the largest collections of art, documents and historically significant objects from the Vatican to ever tour North America, will be on view at the Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University, from Jan. 29-April 24, 2011. Group tickets (for groups of 15 or more) and single tickets are now available for purchase. The renowned exhibition is presented by Holy Cross Hospital, in association with PNC Bank and AutoNation.

Vatican Splendors illustrates the evolution of the Catholic Church and its papacy beginning with Saint Peter, with special emphasis on art and historical objects reflecting significant events and periods relating to Christianity. The exhibition includes nearly 200 objects, many of which have never been on public view. It features spectacular paintings by artists such as Giotto and Il Guercino, sculpture by Baroque master Gian Lorenzo Bernini, and unique objects including paintings, mosaics, sculpture, jewels, intricately embroidered silk vestments, uniforms of the Papal Swiss Guard, as well as an elaborately decorated gold and silver reliquary containing bone fragments of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.

The objects are presented in the Museum’s galleries and in specially-created environments that enhance the visitor’s understanding of both the historical and artistic significance of each work. Descriptive labels throughout the exhibition are bilingual in both English and Spanish, as is an audio tour, which is available for an additional fee.

The Web site for Vatican Splendors, www.vaticansplendors.com, offers a direct link to ticket purchase, as well as complete information about the exhibition, photographs of objects, downloadable educator guides for schools, gallery layouts, descriptions for the media and information about the lenders.

Irvin Lippman, the Museum’s Executive Director, said, “This exhibition provides residents and visitors to South Florida a singular opportunity to view an enormously important artistic and historic collection that literally opens a window onto the development of Catholic Church, its contributions to the political and cultural life of the western world, and depictions of faith and art.”

WHEN:
Vatican Splendors will be on display at Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale from Jan. 29 until April 24, 2011 daily from 11 a.m. until 6 p.m., with extended hours on Thursday evenings until 8 p.m. Special early pre-opening hours are available for group and school tours by prior arrangement by calling the Group Sales Office at (954) 262-0202.

WHERE:
Museum of Art | Fort Lauderdale
One East Las Olas Boulevard at Andrews Avenue
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
954.525.5500
www.moafl.org

COST:
Single Vatican Splendors tickets, which include general admission to the Museum, are priced at $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, and $13 for children, and are now available. Single tickets for Vatican Splendors can be purchased at www.vaticansplendors.com, at the Museum Box Office, at www.ticketmaster.com, or by phone at 1-877-2VATICAN (1-877-282-8422).

Group tickets (for groups of 15 or more) are NOW available for $17 per adult group ticket and $8 for a student who is part of a school group. To arrange a group tour, email moagroupsales@moafl.org or call (954) 262-0202.

Museum members may purchase anytime tickets at the special rate of $15 for adults and $11 for children ages 6 through 12. Members at the Reciprocal ($150) level and above receive two free anytime admissions to the exhibition. For Museum membership information, call Membership Development Associate Shelley Edwards at (954) 262-0221.

ABOUT VATICAN SPLENDORS
Funding for the exhibition in Fort Lauderdale has been provided by Presenting Sponsor Holy Cross Hospital, and Associate Sponsors PNC Bank and AutoNation. Additional support is provided by LXR Resorts and Hotels, including Bahia Mar and the Official Fort Lauderdale Host Hotel, the Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six and Castronovo Vineyards’ Montepulciano D’Abruzzo – The Official Wine of the Museum’s Vatican Splendors exhibition. Media support is being provided by the Sun-Sentinel and Clear Channel.

Funding for the Museum of Art is provided, in part, by the Broward County Board of County Commissioners as recommended by the Broward Cultural Council, the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Cultural Affairs, and the Florida Council on Arts and Culture.

Organized and circulated in conjunction with the Congregazione per l’Evangelizzazione dei Popoli of the Vatican City State, the exhibition is produced by Evergreen Exhibitions in association with the Museum of Art I Fort Lauderdale, Nova Southeastern University.

ABOUT THE MUSEUM OF ART I FORT LAUDERDALE
Since its founding in 1958, the Museum of Art I Fort Lauderdale has served our growing community as a gathering place for friends and neighbors, a lifelong learning center for children and adults, and as a dynamic hub for the cultural life of Broward County. Housed since 1986 in a distinguished modernist building designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, the Museum is South Florida’s premiere destination for quality exhibitions and programs that encompass every facet of civilization’s visual history. During the past five years, more than one and one-half million visitors have enjoyed remarkable exhibitions like Cradle of Christianity, Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs, and American Chronicles: The Art of Norman Rockwell. In 2008, the Museum became part of Nova Southeastern University, the sixth largest private university in the nation, to form an expanded arts campus that joins the school’s Davie location with the Museum’s downtown Fort Lauderdale address.

The Museum of Art is located at One East Las Olas Boulevard at Andrews Avenue and is always open at www.moafl.org.

Media Contacts:

Emily McCrater, Museum of Art I Fort Lauderdale
954-262-0236
emccrater@moafl.org

or

Duree Ross, Duree & Company, Inc.
954-723-9350
duree@dureeandcompany.com