Arts in America

 Updated for  
 

  

American, The Hobby Horse, c. 1840, oil on canvas
National Gallery of Art, Gift of Edgar William and Bernice Chrysler Garbisch
© 2009 Board of Trustees, National Gallery of Art, Washington

 S T A T E S I D E

Edited by: Jeffrey & Frances Moorhouse

Covering the arts across the European continent for the readers of Luxury Traveler has occasionally left us with a challenged sense of cultural patriotism.   So we've decided to channel some effort to bringing you information on some of the arts events we discover right here in the U.S.A.   At the end of the day it's not a footrace.  We view it as an opportunity to exhibit a bit of pride in some of the enormous talents, great intellects, generous patrons and truly wonderful organizations that form the art's communities in America.  Hopefully, you'll find something that will become an arts interlude in your personal travels whether for business, pleasure or both.

Note:  All events are presented in chronological order and . . .

   this link will take you to a section devoted to a selection of performing arts

  this link will take you to a list of arts & cultural exhibitions in America

Links to other pages in Luxury Traveler

 CONTENTS   |  DESTINATIONS  |   MUSEUMS & GALLERIES  SEASONS   |  OPERA & BALLET  |  LONDON THEATRE  |  ENCORE

 

Portraits, Pastels, Prints: Whistler in The Frick Collection

 First Viewing Together in Twenty Years of the Frick's
Whistlers in Three Media, Accompanied by
East Gallery Refurbishment

Exhibition Dates: through August 23, 2009

This summer The Frick Collection will present a focus exhibition dedicated to the colorful and often controversial artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903). The Frick's ensemble of four full-length portraits by Whistler will be displayed in the museum's Oval Room alongside his evocative seascape, Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean (1866).  The presentation will include a Cabinet installation of fifteen pastels and etchings from his Venetian sojourn of 1879-80.These works show Whistler's command of three distinct media and demonstrate his concern for the harmony of form, color, and composition.  Whistler's oeuvre clearly had a special appeal for Henry Clay Frick, who acquired more works by this artist than by any other.  This presentation, drawn from the institution's celebrated holdings and accompanied by several gallery talks, marks the first time in more than twenty years that they will be exhibited together.  

Senior Curator Susan Grace Galassi notes, "Perhaps because we have not shown these paintings, etchings, and pastels together for more than twenty years, it may come as a surprise that Whistler-an American and a near contemporary to Frick-is actually one of the best represented artist in our collection.  We look forward to welcoming the public to enjoy these works together this summer in galleries adjacent to the Old Master paintings for which the institution is best known." The installation is organized by Curatorial Assistants Joanna Sheers and Caitlin Henningsen, in conjunction with Galassi.

Monet: Agapanthus

MoMA to Present Monet's Water Lilies

September 13, 2009 to March 29, 2010

New York, NY - The Museum of Modern Art presents Monet’s Water Lilies, an installation that will, for the first time since the Museum's reopening in 2004, feature the full group of Claude Monet's late paintings in the collection. These include a mural-sized triptych (Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, c. 1920) and a single panel painting of the water lilies in the Japanese-style pond that Monet cultivated on his property in Giverny, France (Water Lilies, c. 1920), as well as The Japanese Footbridge (c. 1920-22) and Agapanthus (1918-19), depicting the majestic plants in the pond’s vicinity. These works have long held a special status with the Museum’s audiences and, much like the MoMA's Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, these paintings provide a modern oasis in the center of midtown Manhattan. These works will be complemented by a few loans of closely related paintings. The exhibition, on view from September 13, 2009, to March 29, 2010, in the Special Exhibitions Gallery on the second floor, is organized by Ann Temkin, The Marie-Josée and Henry Kravis Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture, The Museum of Modern Art.

  Follow this link to visit MoMA online . . . .

Expedia.com

 

Noteworthy Exhibitions in America

by Frances Moorhouse, Arts & Calendar Editor

Until July 12th in California
"Treasures through Six Generations:  Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Weng Collection"
highlights masterworks spanning 900 years.  The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens will highlight one of the greatest private collections of Chinese art in the nation with the presentation of “Treasures through Six Generations: Chinese Painting and Calligraphy from the Weng Collection,” on view  in the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery.   Based on an exhibition organized in 2007 by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, The Huntington’s presentation will feature 41 masterworks created over a period of 900 years along with personal objects belonging to the Weng family. The exhibition will be complemented by an array of educational programs and a catalog based on new research published by Huntington Library Press.  San Marino,  California

Until August 31st in Pasadena.
Exceptionally Gifted:  Resent Donations to the Norton Simon Museum
- The Norton Simon Museum presents a selection of artworks donated to the Museum since 2002, featuring approximately 160 works that vary in medium, date and country of origin.  Among these are a substantive number of Indian and Southeast Asian paintings, manuscripts and sculpture, 20th century California prints, paintings and sculpture and photographs from the 1960s & 1970s.  Together, these gifts reflect the expansive range of the Norton Simon collections while simultaneously broadening the Museum's holdings.  Pasadena,  California

Through September 7th in Washington,  D. C.
The National Gallery of Art presents The Beffi Triptych: Preserving Abruzzo's Cultural Heritage,
on view in the West Building's Rotunda June 15 through September 7, 2009. The first work of art to be transported out of Abruzzo, Italy, in the aftermath of the violent earthquake struck the region on April 6, the triptych is one of the most important works from the National Museum of Abruzzo in the city of L'Aquila.  The Italian government has loaned the altarpiece for display at the National Gallery of Art in gratitude to the United States for being among the first to offer assistance to the region after the earthquake and as testimony to the Italian commitment to restore fully the cultural heritage of the region.  Washington,  D.C.

Until September 27th in Los Angeles
Cast in Bronze: French Sculpture from Renaissance to Revolution
- Opening at the Getty Museum after critically acclaimed presentations at the Louvre and The Metropolitan Museum of Art is this exhibition of spectacular French bronzes, many of which barely survived the upheaval of the French Revolution of 1789. Myths, monarchs, and maidens were brought to life by the few who mastered this exalted and uniquely demanding art form.  At the Getty Center,  Los Angeles,  CA
 

Until October 4th in Los Angeles
Come see how the rich and Roman lived!
   From the second century BC onward, prominent Romans retreated to their lavish villas around the Bay of Naples. The magnificent contents of their villas, including a recently excavated Roman dining room, and the breadth and richness of cultural and artistic life that thrived here before the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art - Los Angeles,  California

Until November 1st in Washington, D.C.
The Art of Power: Royal Armor and Portraits from Imperial Spain
at the National Gallery of Art, Washington — the only venue worldwide for this extraordinary exhibition pairing for the first time, armor worn by the Spanish Hapsburg dynasty with royal portraits by such renowned artists as Velázquez, Rubens, and Van Dyck as well as stunning Renaissance tapestries.  The Art of Power:  Royal Amor and Portraits from Imperial Spain will explore how armor was used to cultivate the image of the Spanish crown at the height of its international power through exquisitely wrought and richly symbolic battle and parade armor, magnificent tapestries, and alluring portraits by sought-after court painters.  On view at the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., West Building.  The exhibition is drawn from the celebrated collection of the Spanish Royal Armory in Madrid and public European collections.

July 16th to October 5th in California
The Golden Graves of Ancient Vani
- Dazzling jewelry, grave goods, and figurines from the ancient site of Vani, in what is now the Republic of Georgia, reveal the culture and history of the vanished kingdom of Colchis, land of the legendary Golden Fleece.  At the Getty Villa,  Pacific Palisades,  CA

July 16th to February 8th, 2010 in California
The Chimaera of Arezzo
- This spectacular Etruscan sculpture of the Chimaera, the multi-headed, fire-breathing monster of ancient myth, is on rare loan from the National Archaeological Museum of Florence.  At the Getty Villa,  Pacific Palisades,  CA

September 13th to March 29th, 2010 in New York City
Monet's Water Lilies -
The Museum of Modern Art presents Monet’s Water Lilies, an installation that will, for the first time since the Museum's reopening in 2004, feature the full group of Claude Monet's late paintings in the collection. These include a mural-sized triptych (Reflections of Clouds on the Water-Lily Pond, c. 1920) and a single panel painting of the water lilies in the Japanese-style pond that Monet cultivated on his property in Giverny, France (Water Lilies, c. 1920). The Special Exhibitions Gallery at the Museum of Modern Art.  New York City ,  New York

SELECTED PERFORMING ARTS VENUES

IN THE UNITED STATES

C A L I F O R N I A

• LOS ANGELES

The Music Center

Performing Arts Center of Los Angeles County
135 North Grand Avenue
Los Angeles  CA 90012
Tel: 213 972 7211

Link: 
www.musiccenter.org/index.html

Center Theater Group

S A N  D I E G O

• San Diego Opera

Civic Theatre
202 `C' Street
San Diego
California 92101

Links: www.sdopera.com/

Links to other venues in San Diego

• Santa  Barbara

Opera Santa Barbara

Lobero Theatre
123 W Padre St Suite A
Santa Barbara, California 93105

Link: www.operasb.com

 

San Francisco

San Francisco Ballet

War Memorial Opera House
301 Van Ness Avenue
at Grove Street
San Francisco, CA.
Tel: 415.861.5600
Link: www.sfballet.org/

 

San Francisco Opera

War Memorial Opera House
301 Van Ness Ave
at Grove Street
San Francisco CA  94102
Tel: +1 (415) 861 4008

Link: www.sfopera.com/

 

M A S S A C H U S E T T S

• BOSTON

Boston Lyric Opera
45 Franklin Street
4th Floor
Boston MA 02110 1316
Tel: (617) 542-4912

www.blo.orgedits

 

 N E W  Y O R K  S T A T E 

N E W  Y O R K  C I T Y

American Ballet Theatre

890 Broadway
New York, NY 10003
Tel: 212-477-3030

www.abt.org

 

The Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts

The Metropolitan Opera

Lincoln Center
New York, New York 10023
Tel :  212-362-6000

URL www.metoperafamily.org

New York City Ballet

New York State Theater
20 Lincoln Center
New York, NY 10023

URL: www.nycballet.com/

New York City Opera

New York State Theater at Lincoln Center
New York, NY 10023
Tel : (212) 870-5570

www.nycopera.com/

New York Philharmonic

Avery Fisher Hall
10 Lincoln Center Plaza
New York, NY 10023-6990
Tel:  (212) 875-5900

www.newyorkphilharmonic.org

Mostly Mozart Festival 

Lincoln Center Theater
150 West 65th Street
New York, NY 10023
www.lct.org

 

T E X A S

• Dallas

The Dallas Opera

The Music Hall
Fair Park
Dallas
Texas 75201
+1 (214) 443 1043

www.dallasopera.org

• Houston

Houston Grand Opera

Wortham Theater Complex
550 Prairie St
Houston Texas 77002
TEL: +1 713-546 0200

www.houstongrandopera.org

 

W A S H I N G T O N   D. C.

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts

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July 1, 2009