YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Kim Novak will receive the Golden Lion Lifetime Achievement Award at the Venice Film Festival in August.
To celebrate the honor, The Butler Institute of American Art will present an exhibition of Novak’s paintings from its permanent collection. The exhibition will open July 20 and run through Nov. 23.
The exhibition will be in the Giffuni Gallery on the second floor of the museum. Novak is not scheduled to attend.
The Golden Lion is awarded to directors, actors and others from the world of cinema who have distinguished themselves.
The documentary “Kim Novak’s Vertigo” by Alexandre Philippe, made in collaboration with the actress, will get its world premiere screening at the film festival.
In a press release, Novak said she was “deeply touched” to receive the award. “To be recognized for my body of work at this time in my life is a dream come true,” she said. “I will treasure every moment I spend in Venice.”
Novak has painted most of her life. As a young girl, she won two scholarships from the Chicago Art Institute.
Her work has been exhibited several times at The Butler.
“Kim Novak’s art, so sensitively created, carries powerful lessons,” said Louis Zona, executive director of the museum.
“Through her career as a painter, she shares her innermost thoughts and reflections on the human condition. Her works captivate us just as her wide-ranging movie roles have, and they continue to amaze.”
Zona said The Butler is honored to share its collection of Novak’s work as the artist is being honored in Italy.
“She is an artist of remarkable skill and intellectual depth,” Zona said.
To mark the occasion, The Butler has reprinted Novak’s book “Her Art and Life,” which is on sale in the museum store and at ButlerArt.com.
Pictured at top: “Vertigo,” a painting by Kim Novak, is in The Butler Institute of American Art’s permanent collection. Novak gifted the painting to the museum several years ago.