Manhattan Moments: More Art

JWF Leave a comment

FINE ART FOR AUCTION

Christie’s

Les Flamants, 1910

Christie’s has its New York gallery and auction headquarters in Rockefeller Center.  Thanks to a tip from our son, we went down to see a wonderful Rousseau and other marvelous works.  We walked into a wide lobby space, a coat check and coffee bar tucked in on the left.  No one spoke to us, and no one asked for identification or what our business was.  We wandered into a transverse hall and saw the first pieces of art.  

Eglise Saint-Philibert by Maurice Utrillo

Everything on display was from private collections. All were here to be auctioned off during a week of high-profile sales.  The art ranged from Impressionism to Contemporary and 20th and 21st century pieces.  

The Gate by David Hockney

Shown in the top photo, this beautiful Rousseau of flamingos by a shore (Les Flamants, 1910) sold for $43.5 million on May 11 in the largest sale price ever for this artist and as the highest price piece in the 20th Century Evening Sale.  That same week, the third chapter of Masterpieces from the S. I. Newhouse Collection was also very successful with its inclusion of notable works by de Kooning and Picasso.

Rachel Zurer by Alice Neel
Au Casino, Bonnard

We wandered from gallery to gallery as the intertwined spaces opened to us with more walls of art.  I especially liked a portrait by Alice Neel (having seen her work on exhibit at the Met two years ago); two portraits by Alex Katz, one on a vibrant orange background; Bonnard’s Au Casino; a church streetscape by Utrillo; several gloriously colorful landscapes by David Hockney; and a white rose by Georgia O’Keeffe.  It was a marvelous experience!  

White Calico Rose, O’Keeffe

Part of the fun was the people watching—the very professionally suited Christie’s staff with their notebooks and usually a small clutch of exhibit catalogues under their arms–and the mix of potential buyers and just lookers like us.  Dress in the latter groups ranged from an elegant black pants suit on an elegant white-haired woman to jeans and a white shirt, to khaki pants, and even the occasional rumpled sweater.  

ARTY SUMMER READ

The Price of Inheritance by Karin Tanabe

By happenstance, I read this early novel by Karin Tanabe just after being at Christie’s.  The Price of Inheritance is about the fine art industry and provides a detailed look at how dealers go about evaluating and acquiring pieces from private collectors.  Carolyn Everett, ambitious and intense, is a young star in the Furniture Department at Christie’s in Manhattan.  Botching her career after a record-breaking sale, Carolyn returns to small-time art buying and begins a questionable romance with a magnetic Marine.  Romance that is tied up with the inside world of buying and selling art.  A fast, suspenseful read!

Note: Art photos by JWFarrington. Header photo is Ada by Alex Katz.

Of Fashion: Art & Drama

JWF Leave a comment

FASHION GENIUS

Karl Lagerfeld:  A Line of Beauty

Floral dress for Fendi

The late Karl Lagerfeld was a giant in the world of fashion.  He designed for Chanel, Fendi, and his own studio.  The Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Institute exhibit, Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty, showcases his talent and his creativity in an almost endless series of beautiful ball gowns, funky and militaristic dresses and suits, and elaborately detailed wedding gowns.  

My favorite of his black dresses

He was a consummate sketcher, and it’s intriguing to see his freehand sketch of a design next to the finished product. 

For a black gown with a semi-train

 In the early galleries, there are also video interviews with several of his skilled seamstresses talking about what it was like to work from a sketch and how precise he was in what he wanted.  I would have liked to spend more time watching these videos, but I kept moving along.

Gold dress with gold metal

As one would expect, most of the clothes are black with white being the next dominant color; here and there are shades of pink or rose and only occasionally a blast of bold color.  One also sees gold fabric as well as gold accents or items depicted on a gown.

Bold use of objects on gowns
Design from the Pop-Art era

The Chief Penguin was somewhat reluctant to see this exhibit and indicated he would do part of it with me and then split off.  Instead, he too went through the many galleries, one of the sprinkling of males midst women of all ages.  

We didn’t use our preview day tickets so we ended up going another day and joining the virtual queue once inside the building.  I give the museum credit for managing interest this way.  We got text message confirmation of being in line and a notice of when it was our turn to enter the exhibit (essentially no wait then.)  If you are at all interested in high fashion, I recommend this exhibit.  I think it’s one of the best fashion ones I’ve seen here!

HIGH DRAMA—ROYAL STYLE

Queen Charlotte:  A Bridgerton Story (Netflix)

Mature Queen Charlotte in a fancy gown (People)

Although not explicitly about fashion, it’s hard to ignore the elaborate and beautiful gowns worn by the women in the Regency era.  And, if you watched any of the previous seasons of Bridgerton, you’d be familiar with the mature Queen Charlotte.  She was imperious, dictatorial, and not particularly likable.  She was also married to George III, known as “mad King George.”  

This new series gives us Charlotte’s backstory, how she was brought from Germany to marry George and to provide an heir.  

George & Charlotte

Their beginnings are not auspicious, and deviating from history, George is already suffering from mental illness, and his mother the dowager queen tries to control all.  The series is darker than the earlier Bridgertons with more depth as well as poignancy and pain. 

Mother-in-law and young Charlotte (Gold Derby)

In addition to Charlotte & George’s love story, there is romance between two male courtiers, and an exploration of both forced marriage and the loneliness of widowhood.  Lady Violet Bridgerton, mother of the young marrying Bridgertons, and Lady Agatha Danbury, a wise and elegant widow, reappear and one gets to know more about their earlier years and to participate in their growing friendship. 

Young Lady Danbury (Entertainment Weekly)

It’s also a lusty series (I thought about the “for mature audiences” warning from Call the Midwife) with plenty of bedroom scenes and lots of skin.  The Chief Penguin and I watched the entire six episodes over six nights and enjoyed it immensely.  It’s heartrending, touching, and complex.  Kudos to Shonda Rhimes, a very creative writer and producer.  Highly recommended!

Note: Lagerfeld photos by JWFarrington. Header photo was taken in the exhibit.

Manhattan Moments: Art at MoMA

JWF Leave a comment

Entrancing Video Art

One of the most compelling reasons to visit the Museum of Modern Art this season is the floor to ceiling video piece on the main lobby wall.  Created by Refik Anadol, Unsupervised, is an ever-changing mesmerizing mass of colors and shapes that at times flows beyond the boundaries of the screen. It is abstract in form, dark and mysterious sometimes and, at other moments, a riot of intense color.

Just one snippet of Unsupervised

Anadol used artificial intelligence and applied it to a database of the complete works in MoMA’s collection.  This area of the museum was the most populated with people of all ages the two times we visited.

Crowd at MoMA watching video

A Dynamic Collection, 1970s-Present

The Chief Penguin and I spent the remainder of this visit on the second level looking at and liking and not liking some of the stranger pieces of recent art, sculpture, and video. 

It’s the centennial of Ellsworth Kelly’s birth and two works of his dominated the first gallery.  I especially liked his aluminum paneled work with some colored panels, Sculpture for a Large Wall, which he created in 1957 for the Transportation Building in Philadelphia.  

Sculpture by E. Kelly

I also liked the brilliance of Spectrum IV which begins and ends with colorful strips of yellow and gold.  

Kelly’s Spectrum IV 1967

Indian artist Shambhavi is represented by a most intriguing metal work, a tree made of scythes saluting the farmer’s work.

Reaper’s Melody, 2011/2018

To See Takes Time

On our second MoMA visit, we delighted in To See Takes Time, a collection of watercolors, charcoal, and pastels by Georgia O’Keeffe.  In several instances, one sees the evolution of a work from early stages to a final version or to a version that is simply presented in a different color palette.  These are smaller works showing the diversity of O’Keefe’s interests and reflecting her travels (Maine, New Mexico) and her ongoing fascination with nature.

On the River, 1964
Canna Lily 1918-20 (O’Keeffe)
House with Tree-Green

One surprise is the realistic portrait of fellow artist Delaney.

Beaufort Delaney, 1943

Bar Food

Buena Onda

Since Cinco de Mayo was this week, it seems appropriate to mention the new Mexican place we tried.  (We avoided a crowd by not going on the 5th!)  Buena Onda on 1st Avenue is more a bar than a restaurant, with a few tables up front and several booths in the back.  It was recommended to us for its tacos by the waiter at Canyon Road, its sister restaurant up the street.  

We began with guacamole and margaritas, both very good, and then sampled some gorditas filled with chorizo and peppers and two of their tacos, beef and chicken.  Everything was very tasty and fresh so we will definitely return.

Note: Header photo is Pink and Green Mountains No. IV, 1917 by Georgia O’Keeffe.

Watching, Reading, & Eating

JWF Leave a comment

FEEL GOOD MOVIE

Downton Abbey:  A New Era

Lady Mary with family and staff (TVLine)

The characters in the original Downton Abbey TV series, are the favorites of many, me included.  This latest movie, the second one, brings everyone together again prompted by Tom Branson’s wedding to Lucy.  There are several children running around, Lady Violet is hanging on, just, and Lady Mary has grown into her lady of the manor role.  A short trip to France raises some puzzling family history.  Against this backdrop, Lord Grantham grudgingly agrees to let the abbey be the set for one of the first talking films.  The filming provides fodder for several subplots.

Isobel Crawley (Baroness Merton) & Lady Violet Crawley (NPR)

Overall, this is a set piece rather than high drama.  There are sweet vignettes between Downton’s married staff and some couples who aren’t.  Add in nostalgia and the recognition that the mantle is being passed on to a new generation.  What would have been the logical ending was instead followed by a scene preparing the way for yet another film.  

The Chief Penguin and I thoroughly enjoyed this return to Downton.  It’s fun and affirming in a good way.  

CIVIL WAR NOVEL

Wild, Beautiful and Free by Sophfronia Scott

Author Scott (Rob Berkley)

E-mails from Amazon bring newly published titles to my attention.  A few are freebies while others are bargains from mostly unfamiliar authors.  This new novel from Sophfronia Scott came via that route.

It’s the story of a Jeannette, a mixed-race young woman in Louisiana.  Her slave mother died in childbirth, her white stepmother loathes her, and her rich landowner father dotes on her and oversees her education.  He also tutors her in the layout of the Catalpa plantation and tells her she will inherit a portion of it one day.  When he dies, his wife sells her and sends her to a distant plantation.  

Jeannette’s greatest wish is to someday return to Catalpa and claim her heritage.  Narrated in the first person, this is a compelling story of hardship, danger, determination, and love.  Boldness and daring acts shape Jeannette’s journey, making for a most absorbing book. 

Scott began her career as an award-winning magazine journalist and is the author of other novels and numerous essays.  Her young son was at school in Sandy Hook on that fateful day in 2013; Scott’s memoir, This Child of Faith, outlines how religion has played a beneficial role in his life.

WHITE LINEN ITALIAN

Lusardi’s (Upper East Side, Manhattan)

We returned to Lusardi’s for dinner after a long absence.  It’s traditional and elegant in an Old-World sense. Wait staff is all male and the service is impeccable, but not stiff.  It’s perfect for a special occasion, but so welcoming that I could easily dine here frequently.

On this night, we shared an order of tagliolini cacio e pepe to start.  These pasta strands coated in butter sauce with Pecorino cheese and pepper and the added ingredient of strips of zucchini were sublime. The zucchini elevated the dish.  

For our mains, I had delicious almond-crusted John Dory on sauteed spinach while the Chief Penguin went for the chicken breast with black truffle sauce accompanied by butternut squash and Brussels sprouts.  It was a lovely meal. The menu has so many temptations, we’ve vowed to go back again soon!

Chicken with black truffle sauce (Lusardi’s)

Note: Header photo of Lusardi’s dining room is from lusardis.com