Neue Galerie @ New York

The Ronald S. Lauder exhibition at the NEUE GALERIE NEW YORK, which I recently visited and which has now drawn to a close, was a veritable tour de force featuring highlights from one of the finest art collections in the world.

Ron Lauder refers to the "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" as "our Mona Lisa." It is the jewel in the crown of the permanent collection at the Neue Galerie New York.

From masterpieces by, among others, Cezanne, Picasso and Kandinsky to Austrian art, furnishings, silverwork and jewelry (Klimt, Schiele, Wiener Werkstätte) to postwar German art (Richter, Polke, Beuys), this show pulled out all the stops, thanks to Lauder's fine eye and truly remarkable collection amassed over a lifetime of loving art.

One room, darkened to protect the works on display there, for instance, contained several sketches and watercolor studies by Degas, Van Gogh, and Cezanne. Audible gasps could be heard from museumgoers who "stumbled" into this little gem of a room towards the end of the exhibition, which was spread out over two compact but cleverly utilized floors inside the elegant historic Manhattan villa that has housed the Neue Galerie for the past decade.

Heavy metal masterpieces

Museumgoers enter the Neue Galerie
(Photos by Karen Carstens)

To my own great surprise, I even lingered over Lauder's collection of centuries-old European armor that was showcased towards the beginning of the exhibition. I knew this would be on show alongside all the paintings I was so eager to see, and I thought all this vintage armor would bore me, er, stiff as it really seemed like more of a "guy thing" to me.

Most of the trappings of warfare, including weaponry and defensive garments through the ages, just don't float my boat as much as, say, a single painting by Van Gogh, Klimt or Hopper, which could leave me breathless and even render me utterly speechless (an occurance about as rare as a solar eclipse, anyone who knows me well would surely agree).

So I was amazed to find myself drawn to the often quite detailed craftsmanship - only visible up close - of these historic full suits of armor, some matched to metal headgear and other "defensive accessories" for horses, as well as the strangely futuristic (think Hieronymus Bosch creatures meet Samurai warriors meet "Star Wars" stormtroopers) heavy metal stylings of differently shaped helmets that comprise part of Lauder's collection.

Easter decor at the Café Fledermaus

Hearing Lauder himself explain on a free audio guide that accompanied the exhibition how each of these helmets started out "as a single ball of metal" before craftsmen wrestled them into these amazing shapes featuring various types of slanted openings for eyes, noses and mouths helped to underscore just how rare and special these items really are.

Lauder also explained how it is erroneous to believe that people were smaller back then because these suits of armor seem quite compact compared to the average height of men today. The reason they are so small is that they were often the first ever, ceremonial suits of armor presented to young teenage boys. And so they tended to stay at home - put on display in hallways, or perhaps stuffed into castle attics or similar - as these boys matured into men who may have taken to bloody battlefields, thus surviving unscathed for centuries.

Mona Lisa smile

Spring has sprung at the Café Fledermaus

Of course it was, moreover, as always wonderful to see the Klimt masterpiece which Lauder refers to as the Neue Galerie's "Mona Lisa" - the stunning "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I."

Lauder, a former US ambassador to Austria, purchased it at auction for the museum for $135 million in June 2006, which made it at that time the most expensive painting ever sold.

His soft spot for Klimt's work was evident via one audioguide entry during which he referred to his personal method for gauging great art. According to Lauder, there are some works that elicit a response of "oh," others of "oh my," and still others of "oh my God." He tries to chose only the latter, if possible, for his personal collection and for the museum.

Wide array of art books, high-end reproductions

After visiting any exhibition at the Neue Galerie, it's fun to linger in the elegant book store, which resembles a miniature yet well-stocked library featuring a wide array of delightful art books, and the adjacent design shop stocked with select reproductions of early 20th-century Austrian tea sets, textiles and jewels.

(Although these latter items, kept largely under lock and key, are more attainable for the alleged "1 percent" of Americans NOT somehow adversely affected by the 2008 economic downturn, or anyone about to "marry rich" - wedding registry information is available at this posh little shop staffed by elegant ladies.) 

Food and drink fit for an Austrian empress

Creamy Spätzle at the Café Fledermaus

No visit to the Neue Galerie would moreover be complete without setting foot inside one of the two cafés on the premises. As is usual for the Neue Galerie on a Sunday, there was a line to get into the Café Sabarsky, which is modeled after the elegant cafes of Vienna. So I headed down to the Café Fledermaus on the basement level, which is also quite charming and features the same menu as the more crowded upstairs cafe.

I indulged in a traditional springtime dish of Spätzle (egg dumplings), smothered in a divine creamy sauce made slightly healthier via the addition of some fresh peas, carrots and mushrooms. I washed this down with a wine spritzer (a mixture of club soda and white wine known as a "Weinschorle" in German).

All of the items on the menu are listed in both English and German, a charming touch that lends a solid air of authenticity to the proceedings (and makes former residents of Germany and lovers of the global art metropolis of Vienna such as myself feel mighty homesick for this stuff in Europe!). The dish I ordered, for instance, was listed on the menu as follows: "Spätzle mit Schwammerln, Erbsen, Karotten & Estragon" (Creamed Spätzle with wild Mushrooms, Peas, Carrots & Tarragon).

I followed this main lunch course up with a slice of the famous Austrian chocolate cake known as "Sachertorte" and a "Wiener mélange" (espresso with steamed milk and foam). Other diners meanhwile were enjoying bratwurst and gulash dishes, as well as other delectable desserts such as "Apfelstrudel" (apple strudel).

Must-see Galerie

I would recommend going to virtually any exhibition, the bookstore and one of the cafes at the Neue Galerie in a heartbeat. Ron Lauder and the Neue Galerie staff have done an excellent job of showcasing Austrian and German art in a stunning setting conveniently located near major New York art museums.

Dessert does not survive for long at the Neue Galerie. Here's my virtually untouched, frothy "Wiener mélange" and a nearly devoured slice of delicious "Sachertorte," which is perhaps the most famous of all Austrian cakes. (It must be moist - a dry Sachertorte is a bad/old Sachertorte!)