Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Degas/Cassatt Show @ NGA

I can't wait to see this Degas/Cassatt show at the National Gallery of Art, which is still on through Oct. 5.

The museum's description of the show made me realize that both artists preferred to paint the human form versus landscapes and came from similar, highly educated and wealthy backgrounds. I also was not aware they were such good friends and champions of each other's work, which is quite touching really. I previously wrote about Cassatt for this blog in 2012.

If you stop by the NGA before Sept. 18, you can also still see this Van Gogh painting now on loan to the museum from the Netherlands.

While the National Museum of the American Indian arguably boasts the best museum cafeteria dining experience in Washington, the NGA would certainly be a close runner up, with healthy and tasty fare on offer - albeit for a slightly higher price than the more greasy fast food available at many of the Smithsonian museums just a stone's throw away on the National Mall - in a delightful indoor cafeteria setting with an excellent gelato and espresso bar (some people just go for the gelato!).

A more formal cafe and a small cafe with coffee, wine and snacks at the museum's delightful sculpture garden round out its culinary repertoire.

Here are some impressions of the sculpture garden, from a time when I was going a bit overboard with my amateur Photoshop skills while I was enrolled in a cool weekend multimedia journalism program at the University of Maryland, which really made my life at the time ... :

Metropolitain

Spider

Silver Tree

I Signed Up for ...

Given that I love The Phillips Collection so much and have seen many great art shows - as well as attended the odd lecture or concert - there over the years, I finally signed up today as an individual member.

Truth be told, I have no idea why I never did this before.

Here are some of the perks of an individual membership at the Phillips. For an annual fee of $60, you get:
  • Unlimited free admission to special exhibitions and the permanent collection
  • Members-only preview days for special exhibitions
  • Discounts on events, lectures, and eductional programming
  • Two one-day member passes to share with friends
  • 10% discount in the museum shop and cafe
  • 20% discount in the shop during member holiday shopping days
  • Subscription to the e-newsletter
If you have a partner or family you can sign up for a dual membership. And if you have deep pockets you can sign up as a patron who gets invited to swanky exclusive events for special donors who support the museum.

The main reason I signed up as a regular, individual member now is that I really want to try and make it to this upcoming "Bonnard vs. Matisse" lecture on August 21 at the Phillips.

This is also the final week to see the MADE IN THE USA exhibition that ends on August 31.

On a separate note, I love the look and feel of this blog from the Phillips.

Let there be art!

Thursday, May 31, 2012

The Mona Lisa of Vienna @ Jewish Ideas Daily

Here's an int. item by Susan Hertog for Jewish IDEAS Daily re. Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" now permanently on display at the Neue Galerie in New York.

Gustav Klimt: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer (c) Wikimedia Commons
I've mentioned this stunning portrait here and here during my continual worship / pilgrimages to the Neue Galerie and Ron Lauder's ongoing personal commitment to collecting - and sharing - great art with the world.

Albrecht Dürer, Gabriele Münter @ Germany.info

Here's some art-related stuff I posted last week during my deskbound, digital-era day job:

"Jawlensky and Werefkin" (1908/1909) by Gabriele Münter, oil on cardboard, 32.7 x 44.5 cm, Städtische Galerie im Lenbachhaus (© Deutsche Bundespost/Wikimedia Commons)
(1) Intro. - The Week in Germany (=all about art! JA!)

(2) Albrecht Dürer

(3) Gabriele Münter 

(I had also recently posted this here on this blog.)

When in Munich, I highly recommend the Lenbachhaus, which is perhaps my favorite museum in Germany, and certainly one of my favorite art museums in the world. (OK, so I may not have seen, like, EVERY single art museum in the world, but THIS ONE is a real gem - if you like German Expressionism and the Blue Rider movement, you will LOVE this museum. I guarantee it. The Lenbachhaus is due to reopen after an extended period of renovation in 2013.)