ArtHistoryInfo.com | Art News, Museum Exhibits, Art Reproductions, Museum Shows

French Masterpieces on Loan to New Orleans Museum of Art in Show: Femme, Femme, Femme

The French Cultural Ministry is living up to its promise made to New Orleans two months after hurricane Katrina. They have loaned masterpieces artworks (85 works from the Louvre, the Musée d'Orsay, and 40 other museums throughout France) to the New Orleans Museum of Art (NOMA) for a show illustrating the many roles of women. It is an unprecedented gathering of these artworks in the US in a show title "Femme, Femme, Femme" on display from March 4 - June 3, 2007.

The art exhibit examines the many roles of the modern women as seen through art including "timeless images of domestic life in the family circle from birth to death, progressing to the nineteenth-century phenomenon of women working outside the home and the emerging independence of the twentieth-century woman." -- From New Orleans Museum of Art Website. The show includes important works from well known masters including Renoir, Degas, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Picasso.

According to NOMA, the operations and surroundings have returned to normalcy now over a year since hurricane Katrina. They welcome visitors and encourage art lovers to return to one of the great cultural centers of the US.

Link: NOMA | New Orleans Museum of Art and Femme, Femme, Femme Info.

Link: Exhibition Guide at RMN for Femme, Femme, Femme

Link: Museum Replicas at eMuseumStore.com: Female Statue, Mother and Daughter Sculptures.

Spanish Masterpieces on View at Chrysler Museum: From Goya to Sorolla

Beginning a three-month run at the Chrysler Museum, The Hispanic Society of America has generously loaned 66 paintings for a show which marks the first time these works have traveled beyond their home in upper Manhattan in 50 years. The show celebrates the 100 year anniversary of this society.

Founded by one of the America's most prominent art collectors and philanthropists, Archer Milton Huntington, The Hispanic Society's collection of Spanish art is one of the most extensive and impressive here in the US. Mr. Huntington collected these pieces "with the aim of promoting the artistic, historic, and literary culture of Spain here in the United States" (from the Chrysler Museum's magazine).

The exhibition commences with two portraits by well-known 19th century Romanticism painter Francsco de Goya and culminates with ten paintings by Joaquin Sorolla of the 20th-century. Among his popular Valencian beach scenes included are his world-famous Sea Idyll and After the Bath of 1908. Others artworks included consider the development of Spanish art from late 19th- to 20th-century by masters Federico de Madrazo, Ignacio Zuloaga, Carlos Vazquez, Manuel Benedito and Aureliano de Beruete.

From Goya to Sorolla is on display from March 11 - June 10, 2007 at the Chrysler Museum.

Link: From Goya to Sorolla at Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia.

Link: NY Times Review of From Goya to Sorolla

Link: Statue replicas at eMuseumStore.com by other Spanish Artists: Salvador Dali, Pablo Picasso.

Feminism Gets Place in History with 9000 Square Feet

On March 23, 2007, the Elizabeth A Sackler Center for Feminist Art at the Brooklyn Museum officially opened its doors with an inaugural exhibit "Pharaohs, Queens, and Goddesses". This long running show, notes curator Maura Reily, will be "a wonderfull opportunity to work with the public, to engage in subjects in and around history of women and the impact of women".

As a centerpiece in the space and on permanent exhibit, Judy Chicago's iconic work, The Dinner Party from 1979 addresses early groundwork in the development of feminism. The large scale installation has 39 place settings around a triangular table, with each setting representing a woman of historical note from ancient goddesses to Georgia O'Keeffe. Tiles on the floor below the table are inscribed with the names of 999 women of significance.

In conjunction, objects from the Brooklyn Art Museum's Egyptian collection offer insight into important women of history including Queen Hatshepsut (one of the few women to become rulers in Egypta), Nefertiti, and Cleopatra VII, and others. At the center of this exhibit is the Brooklyn Museum's granite head of Hatshepsut, the fifth pharaoh from the 18th Dynasty (1539-1292 B.C.).

Link: Brooklyn Museum show information, Pharaohs, Queens, and Goddesses
Link: Article in the Baltimore Sun Newspaper, Center for Feminist Art in New York welcomes female artists to the table - BaltimoreSun.com
Link: Egyptian Reproductions at eMuseumStore.com including Queen Hatshepsut Bust

Rare Glimpse at Ancient Roman Living arrives at Chazen Museum in Wisconsin

For the past few years, a rare glimpse at Ancient Roman living has been touring the US in the exhibition, “In Stabiano: Exploring the Ancient Seaside Villas of the Roman Elite.” This week it opens at the Chazen Museum of Art in March 17 through June 3. The exhibition includes more than 70 works of art and artifacts, including 26 fresco wall paintings and 11 wall reliefs made of stucco. The exhibit also presents objects of Roman daily life, such as cooking utensils, glassware and even a pair of bronze tweezers.

Stabiae suffered the same fate as better known Roman cities, Pompeii and Herculaneum, when it was covered by ash in 79 AD after the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. (View a modern photo of these cities - Stabiae today). These coastal communities around Naples were celebrated getaway destinations for the wealthy Roman elite who maintained large villa estates with extensive farming grounds. These villas have varied architecture, grand porticoes, and multiple living spaces for summer and winter. Read about Cicero's Villa from Tusculum at Cicero's Villa.

The exhibition's look into Roman living is part of the RAS (Restoring Ancient Stabiae) project on site in Stabiae to transform a 150-acre archeological site into an innovative park where the visitor can experience the large villas, breathtaking vistas, and home decor of the elite. This foundation also hopes to promote Italian-American educational cultural exchange by sponsoring study abroad programs for American university students. To this end, they are actively seeking sponsorship from individuals at all donation levels.

Link: The Badger Herald - Chazen Museum brings Ancient Rome to UW.

For more information on the Restoring Ancient Stabiae Foundation or the traveling tour, visit Restoring Ancient Stabiae RAS

How do you find a traveling art exhibit for your museum?

Do you run a museum exhibition department or other exhibiting institution? Are you perpetually challenged with filling your galleries with interesting shows? I came across a very good resource today which resolves this challenge: ExhibitsUSA (EUSA), a division of MAAA.org. ExhibitsUSA is a vehicle for linking pre-made art shows with available space in your local neighborhood.

The mission of ExhibitsUSA (EUSA) is to create access to an array of arts and humanities exhibitions, nurture the development and understanding of diverse arts forms and cultures, and encourage the expanding depth and breadth of cultural life in local communities.

The ExhibitsUSA website offers a list of approximately 50 traveling shows available "for rent" which have already been curated, come with educational materials, provide a press release for marketing, specify the amount of space needed, overview the security requirements, and even include full insurance and installation instructions. The program solves most of the issues for you. All you have to do is pay a rental fee, prepare a secure display gallery, and schedule your upcoming event approximately 1 year in advance.

The list of show possibilities is diverse and suited for a variety of audiences and regional interests. Some of the titles include: Elements from the Front Range Contemporary Quilters, Fly Now! Aviation Posters from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, No Boundaries: Contemporary Basketry, Paper Cuts: The Art of Contemporary Paper, Pocketbook Anthropology: A Treasure of Handbags, Raymond Loewy: Designs for a Consumer Culture, Snoopy as WWI Flying Ace, Teapots: Object, and more.

ExhibitsUSA (EUSA) helps promote learning and diversity as it provides a vehicle for US cultural institutions to have access to resources that each alone they may not have. I appreciate their support of arts education and hope you too will spread the word about EUSA.

Link: ExhibitsUSA.

Atwater Kent Museum: Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America

While scrolling through the art headlines today, I came across a noteworthy art show, "Have You Eaten Yet? The Chinese Restaurant in America," currently on display from April 5-September 10, 2006 in Philadelphia. The subject is novel and yet so much a part of americana. Chinese food is woven into the fabric of American existence with over 41,000 Chinese restaurants in America, more than the number of McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King's combined (according to Chinese Restaurant News).

An article from MAAA.org describes more details of the traveling show. Originally installed at The Museum of Chinese in the Americas (MoCA), it garnered rave reviews in the New York Times. The show overviews the introduction of Chinese food via immigrants during the mid-1800's through 50 vintage restaurant menus, 25 historic photos, and sound clips. Many dishes were created to tempt the American palette such as egg foo yong and chop suey. Awareness of Chinese food evolved from "chow chow" eateries of the mid-1800s, to nightclub fare of the 1940s, to "authentic" food after President Nixon's historic 1972 trip to China.

The title itself "Have You Eaten Yet?" comes from a Chinese greeting, the equivalent of "how are you?". It seems that even in Chinese culture, food is a form of greeting -- as it has become a welcoming introduction to most American towns of any size. If you've visited the show, I welcome comments about the exhibit as I have not seen it personally!

Link: Atwater Kent Museum Information.
Link: Show details from MAAA.org
Photo: Borrowed from Atwater Kent Museum publicity announcement.
Link: Asian Art Reproductions at eMuseumStore.com

CBC Arts: Hours extended to midnight for Michelangelo show

Since March, a once-in-a-lifetime art show of Michelangelo's drawings has been on display at the British Museum. The exhibit traces sixty years of his life through his art and reunites material not seen together since its dispersal 400 years ago. Receiving some 140,000 visitors to the show since it opened, the British Museum is keeping the galleries open until midnight -- for the first time in its history -- on Saturdays until the show closes later this month (June 06).

Michelangelo's body of work has touched the lives of many through every chisel stroke and pencil shadow which emphasizes the corporeality of being human. Evoking a purity of spirit underscored by Greek Classical perfection, he reintroduced an emphasis on being human that had not been a focus in art since greco-roman times. Whether rounding out a washboard stomach with multiple bulges on the male physique or softening the fullness of Mary's cheeks in the Pieta, he makes us believe we are looking at a living being involved in a human moment -- very much entwined with the philosophical fashion of the elite in Florence who were known as the Humanists. They studied Greek texts with a philosophical vigor untried since before the Middle Ages. They discussed the liberal arts as a course of study in addition to christian religious writings.

We hope someday that such a collection could make its way across the Atlantic to America as we are greatly lacking here in a few examples of his work. Perhaps our diplomatic ties are strong enough with Britain to persuade them?

Link: News Article at CBC Arts: Hours extended to midnight for Michelangelo show.

Link: Online tour of Michelangelo Exhibit at British Museum; More info about visiting the show

Link: Purchase Michelangelo Reproductions at eMuseumStore.com such as the Pieta, Moses, David, Adam and God, Lorenzo Medici, Sistine Chapel Reliefs.

Wedding Traditions on Long Island Art Show at Long Island Museum

Planning a wedding? Want to take notes from history and select a wedding dress based on traditions of long ago eras? Look for inspiration at the art show "Down the Isle: Wedding Traditions on Long Island" hosted by the Long Island Museum of American Art, History and Carriages from June 3 through October 22, 2006.

The new exhibit shows examples of varying color fashion trends for the bridal gown. Although white or ivory is the favored color today, tea brown was popular in the 1780s and 1790s and olive green was favored by the Quakers in the 1820s. Wherever possible, photos accompany each gown. Other topics include wedding photos, cakes and cake toppers.

Link: The Long Island Museum of American Art, History, and Carriages.

Link: Show Review by Aileen Jacobson at Newsday.com

Link: Historic art gifts for weddings, brides and grooms in the Romance Collection at eMuseumStore.com

Raising a glass to the cocktail -- Newsday.com

Often art history includes the study of "cultural history" and in the US, the history of the cocktail can't be overlooked. The Museum of the American Cocktail (MAC) feels this way too as they are hosting an exhibit in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the cocktail now until the end of the year at The Balance, a space above a club called The Nest, at 215 W. 28th St. at Eighth Avenue in Manhattan, New York.

This show focuses on the history of the cocktail prior to prohibition. According to Sylvia Carter's article from Newsday.com, "The cocktail, which initially was not a genre of drink but another name for what became known as an old-fashioned, was first mentioned in print in 1803, but it was not until May 13, 1806, that it was defined. In response to a mention of the word in the May 6 issue of The Balance and Columbia Repository in Hudson, a reader wrote in to inquire what on earth a cocktail was. The next week, the paper's editor wrote that it was composed of spirits, bitters, sugar and enough water to dissolve the sugar, and that the potent concoction was useful for "electioneering" - persuading people to vote in favor of the party that bought the drink."

The Museum of the American Cocktail™ is a nonprofit organization providing education in mixology and preserving the rich history of the American cocktail. View over two hundred years of cocktail history including vintage cocktail shakers, Prohibition-era books, drink archives, tools, and other cocktail memorabilia from the outstanding collections of the museum founders.

Link: Raising a glass to the cocktail -- Newsday.com by Sylvia Carter.

Link: For Show Details: www.MuseumoftheAmericanCocktail.org

Link: Alcohol and Spirits in the Yahoo! Directory

Five Rare Klimt Paintings on Display at LACMA

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art currently has a rare show of five Gustav Klimt paintings including the mega star Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907 estimated value of $120 million. (Photo insert: Adele Bloch-Bauer I, 1907, Oil, silver, and gold on canvas, 55 1/8 x 55 1/8 in. (140 x 140 cm), Estate of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, Photo © 2006 Museum Associates/LACMA). The paintings have been returned to Maria Altmann and other heirs of the Jewish family -- after a seven year legal battle -- who had owned the paintings before the Nazis took over Austria in 1938. The Austrian government had hoped to buy the back the paintings but couldn't afford the $300 million value of these important Viennese Secession art works.

One Los Angeles Times Critic comments on the rarity of having this collection here in Los Angeles: "Luck, according to the Roman dramatist Seneca, is what happens when preparation meets opportunity. If so, Los Angeles is the luckiest city in the world for Modern art right now. Preparation just met opportunity, and the stunning result is Gustav Klimt: Five Paintings From the Collection of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer, which opened this week to a jostling media throng at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art ... As a group their power radiates outward, like ripples from a stone dropped into the pond of Modern art. At the center is the singular 1907 tour de force, Adele Bloch-Bauer I, among the greatest early Modern paintings now in the U.S. For LACMA it ranks as a destination work — the kind one travels just to see — comparable to Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon at New York's Museum of Modern Art ... " Christopher Knight, The Los Angeles Times

Links:
1) View Art replicas with Gustav Klimt images such as The Kiss at eMuseumStore.com
2) Read more about Gustav Klimt's life: Talaria Enterprises Teach Newsletter
3) "Stolen Klimt paintings sent to California: Austria releases master works looted by Nazis in World War II." MSNBC.com on the Web 15 March 2006. 15 March 2006 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11840343/
4)LACMA Gustav Klimt Show: "Five Paintings from the Collection of Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer". View the Klimt show