Style Spotlight: Museums Update

December 2011 | BY Karol V. Menzie | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Judy Kensley McKie’s 1994 “Monkey Settee.” Credit: Tom Little

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS
The James A. Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pa., will open the Edgar N. Putnam Event Pavilion, a 2,500-square-foot glass structure, in the spring. The pavilion will host exhibition openings, lectures and musical events.

The Aspen Art Museum has broken ground for its new building. The structure will have 12,500 feet of exhibition space, including a classroom, cafe and rooftop sculpture garden. The design, by architect Shigeru Ban, incorporates strong wood and glass elements, and is meant to echo the museum’s mountain surroundings.

The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston is set to reopen Jan. 18 after a nine-week closure for construction of a new wing, restoration of the museum’s tapestry room, lighting upgrades and changes to the entrance. The new wing, designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano, adds 70,000 square feet and will house galleries, a greenhouse, a restaurant and a 296-seat concert hall.

Exhibition galleries at the Smithsonian’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, which closed in July, are expected to reopen in 2013. The galleries, located in New York’s historic Carnegie Mansion, are being renovated as part of a $64 million campaign that will increase exhibition space by 60 percent, improve the National Design Library, and increase the endowment.

Also closing for a major facelift is UrbanGlass, which is renovating its space at the historic Strand Theater in Brooklyn, N.Y. When it reopens in 2013, the facility will have new furnaces, as well as gallery and retail space.

GIFTS AND GRANTS
The Akron Art Museum in Ohio has opened the largest public collection of glass by the artist Paul Stankard, who is renowned for incorporating realistic sculpture in paperweights. The collection, a gift from Mike and Annie Belkin, contains 64 glass pieces. The works will be on display on the museum’s Myers Industries, Inc. Balcony, renovated especially to house Stankard’s work.

Deena and Jerome Kaplan, of Bethesda, Md., have given the Carnegie Museum of Art in Pittsburgh a sizeable collection of contemporary crafts. The 23 objects, on view at the museum through 2012, include ceramics, wood and furniture by artists including Kenneth Ferguson, Viola Frey, Sam Maloof and Judy Kensley McKie. The Kaplans’ home and collections were featured in the Spring 1996 issue of AmericanStyle.

The Smithsonian American Art Museum has received a gift from collector and patron Fleur Bresler to create an endowment for the position of curator of craft at the Renwick Gallery. Nicholas R. Bell, the current curator, will hold the title of The Fleur and Charles Bresler Curator of American Craft and Decorative Art. In 2010, the Breslers, who assembled a notable collection of American crafts, gave the Renwick 66 pieces of wood art.

AWARDS & CELEBRATIONS
Bruce W. Pepich, executive director of the Racine Art Museum, has been given the Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement Award. Pepich, whose career with RAM spans 37 years, oversees a collection of more than 5,000 works and a studio art program that offers classes for children and adults.

This year marked the 30th anniversary of the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis, Mass. Founders Harry Holl and Roy Freed were honored at a program in May. The museum’s two-fold mission is to exhibit works by artists with Cape Cod associations and to preserve the heritage of this artistic community.

COMINGS & GOINGS
Larry Wright is the new managing director of the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash. Wright was formerly chief executive of the National Mentoring Partnership in Washington, D.C.

Heather McElwee has been named new executive director of the Pittsburgh Glass Center. A glass artist, McElwee has been with the center, a nonprofit public-access studio and gallery, for 10 years.

The Art Institute of Chicago has chosen a former curator, Douglas Druick, as its new director. Druick, who joined the museum 26 years ago, headed the department of prints and drawings. He replaces James Cuno, who left earlier this year to become head of the J. Paul Getty Trust.

John Spiak, formerly curator of the Arizona State University Art Museum in Phoenix, is the new director and chief curator of the Grand Central Art Center of California State University Fullerton. The center is in Santa Ana.

The Rhode Island School of Design has named John W. Smith director of its Museum of Art. Smith was formerly director of the Smithsonian’s Archives of American Art.

Style Spotlight: Web Spot

December 2011 | BY Karol V. Menzie | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

Ever wonder what people think about the museum they’ve just visited? You can see what visitors were saying about the Museum of Modern Art in New York when, as requested, they scribbled, sketched and soliloquized on notepads provided by the museum for just that purpose. Some themes emerged: descriptions of the cafe’s food, reflections on the art, secrets, drawings, or (a common thread) love—found, lost and celebrated. MoMA has created an online gallery showcasing the notes, which range from juvenile (“Tipped over an exhibit and nobody noticed.”) to touching (“Just lovely to be here. I’ve waited 70 years for it and feel I deserve it!”). To view the gallery, go to www.moma.org and click on “I went to MoMA and …

Style Spotlight: Quilts Tell Life Stories in TV Series

December 2011 | BY Karol V. Menzie | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Why Quilts Matter airs on PBS.

What matters to historians, artists, politicians, anthropologists, collectors, curators, scholars, ordinary folks, small children and, yes, to the people who make them? Quilts, that’s what, and if you don’t see how all these people could be involved, the nine-part television documentary series Why Quilts Matter: History, Art & Politics will supply the answers.

The series was produced by The Kentucky Quilt Project, Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in 1981 to create quilt documentation projects. The episodes deal with everything from how quilts are made and valued to why people create quilts, to the history of textiles in quilt making, to quilting culture (one interviewee described it as “the greatest mass movement nobody ever heard of”). Series host and executive producer Shelly Zegart, a co-founder of The Kentucky Quilt Project, has been involved in the quilt world for more than three decades.

One episode showcases the unusual abstract quilts made by African American women in Gee’s Bend, a hamlet in southern Alabama. These quilts became a national sensation in 2002. Another episode deals with the scholarship of quilts, from the study of material culture to sociology.

The series began airing in the fall and will be available to PBS stations until 2014. However, if you’ve missed it, or if your station hasn’t shown it yet, the series is available on a two-DVD set. The discs, which include a number of exclusive bonus features, cost $39.95 and can be ordered from www.whyquiltsmatter.org.

Arts Travel: Historic Sites Decked Out for the Holidays

December 2011 | BY Kat McKerrow | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Old-fashioned hospitality and delicious desserts await visitors to the Wickwood Inn. Courtesy of the Wickwood Inn

’Tis the season to be … indulged? This December, why not let somebody else do the decorating? Historic sites around the country are celebrating with lavish decorations and fabulous art.

In Rhode Island, three Newport Mansions are dressing up in their holiday best. Hundreds of yards of garland and thousands of seasonal flowers will deck the halls at The Breakers, The Elms and Marble House. The mansions, once the homes of magnates and millionaires, are showcases for late 19th- and early 20th-century art and antiques. On Dec. 31, from 6-8 p.m., The Breakers will open for a Holiday Evening. Tour the resplendent 1895 house and enjoy live music, desserts and eggnog. After you’ve seen the grand homes, shop for art and crafts in downtown Newport.

Pittock Mansion, a 1909 chateau overlooking Portland, Ore., will be transformed into a winter wonderland. More than 100 volunteer decorators will adorn the mansion with trimmings celebrating “Christmas Around the World.” A free shuttle carries visitors to the site, perched 1,000 feet above the city’s skyline, through Jan. 1. And while you’re in town, check out the galleries in the Pearl District or any of the city’s artsy neighborhoods.

If you want to experience luxury firsthand, the staff at the Wickwood Inn in historic Saugatuck, Mich., is ready to pamper you. The inn is owned by legendary cook and food writer Julee Rosso (of Silver Palate fame), and she welcomes guests with champagne brunches and mouth-wathering delights. Every room is decorated with fine art and, through Jan. 2, will have a Christmas tree of its own. Relax and wander Saugatuck’s shopping streets–the town was voted No. 4 on AmericanStyle’s 2011 list of Top 25 Small Cities for Art.

Arts Travel: Freer Lets the Light Shine In

December 2011 | BY Karol V. Menzie | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: The Peacock Room at the Freer Gallery of Art. Credit: Freer Gallery of Art

For the first time in 25 years, visitors to the Smithsonian’s Freer Gallery of Art will be able to see the famous James McNeill Whistler “Peacock Room” in natural light—if you’re in the right place at the right time.

Subtle details, such as peacock motifs, the textures of the ceramics and the embossed patterns of the wall hangings, can be seen clearly as the museum—briefly—unlatches the shutters on the room’s windows.

The shutters will be open only from 12-5:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of every month. A docent will be on hand from 12-2 p.m. for informal conversations, and there will be an in-depth tour of the room at 2 p.m.

The room was originally designed by architect Thomas Jeckyll for London shipping magnate Frederick Leyland, who wanted a place to show off his Chinese porcelain. American expatriate artist Whistler redecorated the room in 1876 and 1877 as “A Harmony in Blue and Gold,” inspired by the ceramics. The room was bought by Charles Lang Freer and moved to Freer’s Detroit mansion in 1904. Freer filled the room with his preferred Asian and Middle Eastern pottery. “The Peacock Room” was moved again when the Freer Gallery opened at the Smithsonian in 1923.

The museum has installed film on the windows to filter ultraviolet and visible light, minimizing the fading effect of having the shutters open. The gallery is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.

Arts Travel: Lots and Lots of Little Bricks at Legoland

December 2011 | BY Jennifer Clary | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Times Square, made of Lego bricks in the park’s Miniland USA, is almost just as exciting as the real thing. Credit: Chip Litherland Photography

You have to wonder how the folks at Legoland Florida put all those tiny bricks together to make buildings, statues and other miniatures. Puzzle it out for yourself at the world’s largest Lego theme park. The park opened in October in Winter Haven, between Tampa and Orlando. With more than 50 rides, shows, restaurants, shops and lush botanical gardens, it’s a destination for everyone and a must-see for Lego fans.

Among the numerous attractions is Miniland USA—a celebration of America made from the tiny bricks, including an ode to Florida, with Legos depicting state landmarks from Mallory Square in Key West to Bok Tower Gardens and carillon in Lake Wales, to the antebellum mansions of the Panhandle. There’s also an expanded area for the Kennedy Space Center and an interactive Daytona International Speedway. Miniland Las Vegas features the renowned Strip and, of course, a miniature wedding chapel. Miniland Washington, D.C., has the White House and U.S. Capitol, and Miniland New York City includes a fountain in Central Park and animated taxicabs. Visit www.legoland.com to plan your family’s trip.

Arts Travel: Inside Art Moves Out for All to See

December 2011 | BY Jennifer Clary | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Reginald Marsh’s painting “Savoy Ballroom” enlivened Detroit’s Rivard Plaza last fall.

If you happen to find yourself strolling through one of 11 communities in southeastern Michigan this spring, don’t be surprised to see a Renoir or a Fra Angelico placed inauspiciously on the street. The works are the result of the Detroit Institute of Arts’ third successful year of its Inside|Out program, an initiative that celebrates the richness and diversity of the museum’s extensive collection.

The project reaches audiences outside traditional museum walls by installing high-quality life-sized reproductions of some of DIA’s finest art in outdoor locations in the greater Detroit metro area.

The artworks are intended to add a splash of beauty to everyday life and to entice tourists and Michiganders to see the works in person at DIA’s newly renovated facility. “This project is a reminder of how important art is in our culture,” said Kathleen Fegley, a local business owner and participant in the project. Julie Farkas, director of the Novi Public Library, said of last year’s installations, “This was a great collaboration. Not everyone can make it to DIA, and this was a great way of bringing a taste of the museum to the community.”

From April to June, the Inside|Out project will present reproductions in 11 communities, and the pieces will be moved to 11 new locations in July, where they will remain until September. The program is scheduled to continue in 2013.

Arts Travel: Last Call

December 2011 | BY Kat McKerrow | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: “The Plumed Hat,” a 1919 painting by Henry Matisse. Credit: National Gallery of Art/Chester Dale Collection

Some of the world’s most beloved paintings are on view in “From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection” at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The exhibition showcases 83 paintings, mostly French, from one of America’s most important art collections. The Belle Époque masterpieces on view include works by Renoir, Cassatt, Picasso, Degas, Monet, Matisse … a veritable “who’s who” of the art world. The show was originally slated to close in July 2011, but its popularity has earned it some extra time. It will now close on Jan. 2, after nearly two years of delighting visitors.

Arts Travel: B&B Artfully

December 2011 | BY Jennifer Clary | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: The only remaining hotel in the world designed by Frank Lloyd Wright has been reopened in Mason City after an $18 million renovation. Credit: Wright on the Park

Visitors to Mason City, Iowa, and aficionados of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright now have the opportunity to stay in a hotel that he designed. The Historic Park Inn Hotel reopened in August after an $18 million renovation. The world’s only remaining Wright-designed hotel, the 27-room inn is a must-see for architecture enthusiasts. (Although his aesthetic touch on the Arizona Biltmore in Phoenix is obvious, he was not the architect of record.)

Each room mixes both historic design and modern amenities such as flat-screen televisions and wireless Internet. The historic inn also features 8,000 square feet of conference space, a ballroom, restaurant and bar, as well as many original features, including a ladies’ parlor, gentlemen’s lounge, billiards room and the Skylight Room, which features Wright-designed art-glass windows.

For room reservations, call (800) 659-2220; for more information, visit www.historicparkinn.com.

Arts Travel: Artful Dining

December 2011 | BY Jennifer Clary | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Todd Gray’s Muse at the Corcoran features a fresh, clean look. Credit: Emily Clack

Two Washington, D.C., museums have combined art and cuisine for an enriching dining experience.

Fabric sculptor Lee Boroson’s “Lunar Bower,” is the newest addition to the Phillips Collection’s “Intersections” series. For the past two years, the museum has displayed mini-installations from contemporary artists in response to works found in the museum’s collection. The series’ latest piece—found in the museum’s ground-floor cafe—is a canopy of colorful felt and silk that filters the overhead lights, meant to give diners the moonlit aura of painter Albert Pinkham Ryder’s nighttime landscapes.

Across town at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, the artistry is on the menu.

Todd Gray’s Muse at the Corcoran, in the gallery’s atrium, will offer handcrafted, seasonal options with a focus on sustainable, local ingredients. Some offerings are vegan or vegetarian. Expect artistic fare such as hand-pulled Amish chicken salad and a warm spinach wrap with grilled vegetables. To find out what will be on the menu for the winter season, visit http://www.corcoran.org/muse/.

Arts Travel: Q&A Delray Beach

December 2011 | BY Kat McKerrow | Issue 78, Winter 2011-2012 | NO COMMENTS

: Handcrafted glass ornaments hang at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. Credit: Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens

Delray Beach, Fla., is a “Village by the Sea,” an oasis of small-town attitude in the midst of the bustling Miami metropolitan area. Just a hop, skip and jump from West Palm Beach and Boca Raton, Delray Beach boasts a thriving gallery district, vivid public art, and even tranquil Japanese gardens.

Q: Why should I make the trip?
A: Delray Beach has over 100 years of history, from its humble beginnings as a farming community and through its boom times in the 1920s, to today. Fantastic restaurants, delightful B&Bs and a world-class tennis center draw visitors year round. However, the arts are of paramount importance in this little city. After all, it took artists and gallery owners to revitalize the town in the 1990s after decades of neglect. Today, Delray Beach is one of South Florida’s premier arts destinations.

Q: Where can I buy art in Delray Beach?
A: If you’re a collector, you’re in luck. The Delray Beach Art District features nearly 20 independent galleries clustered along Atlantic Avenue. The Avalon Gallery at 425 E. Atlantic Ave. is a must-see, representing around 120 different artists, all from the U.S. or Canada. Vibrant flowers are the subjects many of Ora Sorensen’s paintings. You can view and purchase her art at her gallery at 445 E. Atlantic Ave. Just to the north is the Pineapple Arts District, home to still more galleries and studios, including Salvatore Principe Gallery. Located at 200 NE 2nd Ave. No. 106, Principe offers his own paintings “inspired by the spirit of human emotion.” And just a few doors down, Spotted on 2nd Gallery at 200 NE 2nd Ave. No. 102 sells the work of over 100 American artisans in all mediums. The entire downtown area is very walkable, so you can take a day to stroll around the galleries and stop for a bite at one of the myriad of restaurants.

Q: Are there special arts events in Delray Beach?
A: Every third Friday night, art lovers come out in full force for the Gallery Walk along East Atlantic Avenue and its side streets. Many of the galleries serve cocktails and hors d’oeuvres, and musicians play on the sidewalks. The city also hosts a number of arts and craft shows and cultural festivals throughout the year, including a spectacular First Night celebration on New Year’s Eve.

Q: What other cultural attractions will I find?
A: Delray Beach’s Old School Square Cultural Arts Center is a four-acre oasis for the arts. Its centerpiece is the Cornell Museum of Art and American Culture, whose five galleries present rotating exhibits of art from the region and around the world. The center also houses the Crest Theatre and the Old School Square Entertainment Pavilion, which host musical and theatrical events. Just a short drive from downtown Delray, the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens exhibits art and artifacts, as well as expansive, traditional Japanese gardens. Delray Beach is also loaded with public art, from murals on buildings to sculpture gardens, to artful water fountains. Check out www.downtowndelraybeach.com for more.