Raise a glass and lift your fork! Our focus on food and wine celebrates the full range of art, from works that depict opulent tables of delicacies to those that portray people laboring to provide sustenance.

People often come together around food and wine. At the Nelson-Atkins, that is especially true each spring, during our annual ShuttleCork fundraiser. This year, in a time when we cannot gather, we salute days past and future and the sharing of fine wine and food.

ShuttleCork

Cheers to food, wine, and supporting the arts

A two-day celebration of fine art, wine, and food, ShuttleCork raises funds supporting education, community, and access for all at the museum. Consistently named one of the top multi-day fundraisers in Kansas City, we look forward to this annual event that offers one-of-a-kind experiences and provides support necessary to continue our mission.

 

 

While ShuttleCork was not able to take place in 2020, due to our commitment to health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic, funding the needs of the museum is ongoing. If you are able, we would be grateful for your support. 100% of contributions to the Museum Recovery Fund is tax deductible.

 

ShuttleCork Partners

Because the museum is closed to fight the spread of COVID-19, ShuttleCork was canceled in 2020. However, many people and supporters worked hard to prepare for the event. The museum is grateful to event co-chairs Mary Bloch and Greg Maday, and presenting sponsor Bank of America. Additional supporters included BMO Family Office, Mariner Wealth Advisors, American Century Investments, Faith Technologies, H&R Block, Loews Hotels, JE Dunn, Lockton, McCown Gordon Construction, Polsinelli, SpecChem, UMB, and US Engineering. A special thanks to home hosts Elle & Greyson Clymer, Gaye & Mark Cohen, Amy & Jeff Hargroves, Bethany & Trey Humphrey, Jackie & Lynn Johnson, and Stephanie & Tom Seigfreid.

We appreciate the efforts of ShuttleCork’s 2020 Committee: Ryan Anderson, Leah DiCarlo, Kathleen & Brewster Ellis, Deanna & Greg Graves, Dan Hesse, Ross Jackson, Margaret Jones, Katie Moreland, Courtney O’Farrell, Kate Ross, Mary Pat Shelledy, Courtney Sprague, and Chris Vaeth.

We lift a fork to local chefs Michael Corvino of Corvino Supper Club and Tasting Room, Ryan Brazeal of Novel, Joe West of The Savoy at Hotel 21C, Cody Hogan of Lidia’s, Colby & Megan Garrelts of Bluestem, and Ted Habiger of Room 39.

Cheers to winemakers Tor, Theorem, Domaine Clos de la Chappelle, Dakota Shy, Vérité, Brewer-Clifton, Booker, Continuum, Staglin and Handwritten, and the many other event attendees who are responsible for the annual success of ShuttleCork. We look forward to raising a glass next year.


Bringing People Together

Day Drinking at The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

Dreaming of a day when you can stop social distancing and get together with friends again over some good food and wine? We don’t blame you! That’s exactly what art dealers and museum friends Paul and Margot Mallon did when Museum Trustee Herbert Jones fêted them during a 1937 visit to Kansas City. Paul Mallon shot this film of the celebration, and now it’s part of our archives. Looks like a good time was had by all!.

Click here to see works of art donated to the museum by Paul and Margot Mallon.


Collection Connection

The Red Cliff Scroll

This 1000-year-old handscroll painting attributed to Qiao Zhongchang illustrates a poem about the power of food, friendship, and nature to uplift a soul in social exile. The story may resonate with our experiences in today’s socially distanced world.

The scenes, read from right to left, illustrate Su Shi’s (1037-1101) autobiographic Second Prose Poem on the Red Cliff written while Su, a renowned scholar, was in exile. After enjoying a picnic with his friends, Su ascends the forbidden Red Cliff alone to begin his journey of self-realization. Su’s lyrical adventure between the physical and spiritual worlds embodies the Daoist belief that “life is a dream.” What world do you dream of?

Starting at the right end of the scroll, follow Su Shi’s epic journey toward revelation. Click the red boxes to read Su’s poem (adapted from the translation by Richard Strassberg) and learn more about the artist’s revolutionary imagery.


Activities

Slow Looking Challenge

How much time do you think a person spends looking at one work of art in a museum? Take the Slow Looking Challenge to experience how much you learn from art when you spend more time looking.

Accept the Challenge

 

Woman looking at Artwork

Create Your Own Recipe Book

Think about your very favorite foods. Grandma’s Mac n’ Cheese? Uncle Jackson’s Chocolate Chip Cookies? YUM!
Keep the recipes for your favorites safe and ready in your own recipe book.


Recipes from Art History

Pieter Claesz, Dutch (ca. 1597-1661). Still Life, 1638. Oil on wood panel, 25 1/4 x 20 3/16 inches. Purchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust, 31-11.

Running out of ideas for what to bake during this time of social distancing? Try looking to Pieter Claesz’s still life which features berries and a lemon, and could have inspired the Lemon and Berry Tart recipe in the museum’s 1993 cookbook, Culinary Masterpieces: A Tasteful Collection of Recipes From the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. You might experiment with different seasonal berries, like the strawberries in Claesz’s still life.

 

Abraham Janssens, Flemish, 1575–1632. Diana and Her Companions with Trophies of the Hunt, 1609/1612, oil on copper. William Rockhill Nelson Trust through the George H. and Elizabeth O. Davis Fund, the Thomas L. Beckett Fund in memory of Samuel F. Beckett and Ethel K. Beckett, and the Westport Fund, 99-3

For tips to turn their “trophies” into dinner, Diana and her companions could have flipped through the 17th-century cookbook Le Cuisinier François, featuring modern (17th-century modern!) French cuisine and a recipe for “Pie of Young Rabbits.” This translation of the recipe is from The Art of Food: Culinary Inspiration from the Paintings of the Great Masters.

Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French, 1699-1779. Still Life with Cat and Fish, 1728, oil on canvas. Acquired through the generosity of an anonymous donor, F79-2

Intrigued by the ingredients in Jean Simeon Chardin’s Still Life with Cat and Fish? Take a look through John Collin’s 1682 cookbook, Salt and Fishery for your own inspiration.

Raphaelle Peale, American, 1774–1825. Still Life with Liqueur and Fruit, 1814, oil on panel. The Ever Glades Fund in honor of the 75th anniversary of The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, 2008.29

If Raphaelle Peale wanted to use his still life ingredients to bake a treat, he could have referenced the 1807 cookbook, The Complete Confectioner, or The Whole Art of Confectionary Made Easy by Frederic Nutt.


Library Guide Food, Society, and Creativity

Similar to creating a work of art, cooking and sharing food can be a creative outlet and means of connecting with others. The history of food and dining includes not only cuisine, but also table manners. At the Spencer Art Reference Library in the Nelson-Atkins, we offer many books and online resources that explore the history of food in society, food depicted in art, and the creative process.