The Daura Gallery's Pink Panther exhibition - "Indelible (P)ink: The Pink Panther and Popular Culture" - is going on the road for nearly two years.
The recently acquired collection is heading for the Western Heritage Museum in Hobbs, New Mexico and then continues to Georgia Southern University in Statesville, Georgia, and the Saginaw Art Museum in Saginaw, Michigan. Several other museums are planning to feature the exhibition.
When Barbara Rothermel, director of Lynchburg College's Daura Gallery, saw the collection of original drawings from the Pink Panther cartoons on an on-line auction, she could not resist.
"We haven't often exhibited popular culture, so acquiring these cels (celluloids) and drawings was a great opportunity," she said. "The exhibition was curated by the Gallery staff and assisted by museum studies interns, resulting in a dynamic and fun educational experience."
Because the price was right, the Daura was able to acquire the collection. The loan to other museums will help recoup the cost.
"Indelible (P)ink: The Pink Panther and Popular Culture" was introduced to the community during an exhibition January 14 through Feb. 29, 2008.
The exhibition features forty-four original animation cels of the character created by Friz Freleng for the opening title sequence of Blake Edwards' 1963 film by the same name (MGM/United Artists), starring Peter Sellers as the bumbling Inspector Clouseau.