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.

Klimt's 150th Birthday @ Neue Galerie New York

Never fear if you missed the recent highlights from the Ronald S. Lauder collection shown at the NEUE GALERIE NEW YORK - the museum's next major exhibition promises to be a blockbuster feature of paintings by none other than the universally adored Austrian mastermind artist Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918).

Ron Lauder owns Klimt's exquisite 1910 portrait "Der schwarze Hut/The Black Hat," which he describes as an "oh my God" masterpiece. It was just on show at the Neue Galerie among the highlights of Lauder's private collection and will be on display there again as part of the new Klimt exhibition opening in May. (Photo The Yorck Project/Wikimedia Commons)

As the museum states on its website:

"Throughout 2012, Austria is celebrating the 150th birthday of Gustav Klimt with exhibitions devoted to his work.  Several Viennese museums, including the Albertina, the Belvedere, the Kunsthistorisches, the Leopold, and the Wien Museum, are honoring different aspects of Klimt’s extraordinary legacy. The Neue Galerie is joining in these celebrations with a special summer 2012 installation of his work."

This special exhibition will include more than a half dozen major Klimt paintings (including of course the famous Adele Bloch-Bauer portrait) from the museum's collection, as well as a wide range of Klimt drawings and "a number of rare and never-before-seen photographs of the artist and his close companion, the fashion designer Emilie Flöge."
 

"GUSTAV KLIMT: 150th ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION" 

will be on view at the Neue Galerie from May 24 to August 27, 2012.

Another new Neue Galerie exhibition featuring works by Austrian photographer Heinrich Kuehn, which opens on April 26 and closes on August 27, also looks interesting.

So if you cannot make it to Vienna in 2012 to indulge in all the Klimt festivities and exhibitions "Vorort" (on the ground/locally), then the Neue Galerie is a great option to indulge your Klimt cravings right here in the USA.

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!)

Mixed Bag @ artexpo New York

artexpo New York (Photos by Karen Carstens)

I visited the artexpo in New York on Sunday, March 25, which featured what one might expect - an eclectic mix of art spread out over a vast space (Pier 92 along the Hudson River, to be precise).

"International Artexpo New York has stood at the pinnacle of the commercial fine art market for the past 33 years," states on official press release.

"The list of past exhibitors is a veritable Who's Who of visual artists, including Andy Warhol, Peter Max, Robert Rauschenberg, Robert Indiana, Keith Haring and Leroy Neiman."

artexpo New York 2012

What was on display this year by a variety of gallery owners, art dealers and individual artists were mostly paintings, as well as some photography, mixed media works, sculptures, and works in glass and metal, plus a smidgeon of multimedia elements such as video - although surprisingly few such digital-era works were actually on display.

(One exception to this rule was an über-cute "claymation" video by a young artist called Susi Q which many passersby - including myself - found highly amusing and absolutely adorable. I also must have missed this.)

One particular booth I steered clear of was that of the famous Thomas Kinkade Gallery.

I was just not that into him.

(If you're unfamiliar with this reference, you're probably not a fan of the now defunct HBO series Sex in the City.)

There were many more artists and artworks I was more drawn to, and some that I found truly breathtaking, or at the very least something I thought would look cool in my office or apartment.

Life-sized sculptures at artexpo New York

But as I had visited the breathtaking Ron Lauder exhibition at the Neue Galerie earlier that same day, I was by contrast somewhat underwhelmed by most of the contemporary artworks on display at artexpo.

Let's face it. For any artist alive today it is really hard to come close to the likes of Klimt, Schiele, Cezanne, Picasso, Van Gogh, Degas, Brancusi, Richter, Polke, the German Expressionists or the chief designers and artists of the Wiener Werkstätte, whose works - among others - have been collected by Lauder and are now on display at the Neue Galerie through April 2.

Those preternaturally talented artists of yesteryear are all pretty tough acts to follow!

There was nevertheless quite a lot of good - and possibly also some great - art on disply at the artexpo.

Paintings at artexpo New York

Among several of the artists whose works caught my eye at the artexpo were Ahni Kruger, Anne Marchand, Nick Paciorek, Diana Pinck, Julie Satinover and Boris Giulian, whose somewhat surreal "Alphabets - Beauty of Diversity" paintings are clever and amusing pieces. (By contrast I was less into this, which somehow left me cold.)

The creative stylings of Sophie's Dervieux and Martin Kaupp also amused me.

I also LOVE this Web site - The World of Ed Heck - very cool!

And I know a friend of mine who is professional Porsche mechanic would absolutely ADORE this, as well as possibly the photograps of vintage pick-up trucks by Nancy Louise Formn (Weezy).

Spotting the art of Dr. Seuss on the premises was fun too.

(There were, of course, many more artists represented at this international art event. You can peruse their works via this complete exhibitor list featuring hundreds of artists and gallery owners. One of the galleries that caught my eye for its nice selection of imported oil paintings was Paul Robinson Fine Art.)

One of several art-filled corridors at the artexpo

The upshot: there was a lot of pretty nifty and fun stuff to see at artexpo (where I admittedly only had a limited amount of time to spend - less than two hours).

The problem for me was that I was (subconsciously) comparing a lot of it to Ron Lauder's collection, which I had just viewed at the Neue Galerie, and which literally blew my mind (even his medieval armor collection got to me - he had me at the 15th century!).

If I were a professional gallery owner or art dealer I would, however, have likely approached everything I saw at artexpo quite differently, ie with a view to the value and marketability of the artworks on display. Taste in art naturally also remains purely subjective, which is part of what makes it so much fun to behold.

(Ron Lauder's private collection is, incidentally, one of the finest in the world. I blogged about this before here.)

Wrapping things up at the end of artexpo New York on March 25, 2012

Art Explosion @ New York

Chrysler Building, New York City (detail)
Photo by Postdlf/Wikimedia Commons

New York is hopping with art this weekend. I'm taking a bus up to Manhattan tommorrow morning with a view to attending artexpo, the world's largest fine art trade show, which concludes on Sunday, March 25.

I also plan to go see the Ron Lauder collection now on show at the Neue Galerie, which I mentioned in an earlier blogpost.

Then there is the Whitney Biennial, not to mention an endless array of options at the Met, MoMA and the Guggenheim ... As if that were not enough to blow your mind, The Art Newspaper has provided these suggestions of "What to see outside the fairs."

I am SO excited to immerse myself in this FABULOUS world of art - New York is an art lovers paradise!

"Calvin and Hobbes" @ Auction

Remember the charming antics of "Calvin and Hobbes"?

Bill Watterson may have retired these popular comic characters in the mid-90's, but his original artwork is still going strong.

As recently reported by Michael Cavna for The Washington Post, an original Watterson "Calvin and Hobbes" watercolor has sold at auction for $107,550.

This may not be as much as Ron Lauder paid in 2006 for Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer" ($135 million - the most expensive painting ever sold at the time), but it is nothing to scoff at either.

'Calvin and Hobbes'-style snowmen. (See the strip that appeared on January 21, 1991.) (c) Photo: Vegas Bleeds Neon/Wikimedia Commons

Watterson, a reclusive cartoonist who has reportedly granted few interviews, was born in 1958 in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Chagrin Falls, a suburb of Cleveland, Ohio.

The comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes" was syndicated from 1985 to 1995.

Along with other classics of the American cartoon universe, such as  "Peanuts" by Charles M. Schulz and "The Far Side" by Gary Larson, Watterson's "Calvin and Hobbes" characters can definitely be considered part of the cannon of American art.

Lauder Collection @ Neue Galerie New York

My favorite museum in Europe is the LENBACHHAUS in Munich, due to re-open after renovations in 2013.

Lenbachhaus redux

It houses a breathtaking collection of works by the early 20th-century Blue Rider (Der Blaue Reiter) group of German and Russian Expressionist painters that included Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Gabriele Muenter, Alexej von Jawlensky, Marianne von Werefkin, Lyonel Feininger and August Macke.

When I first visited the Lenbachhaus at the tender age of 20 I came as close as I ever have, at least in the non-romantic sense, to pure rapture.

German and Austrian art in America

Gustav Klimt - Portrait of Adele-Bloch Bauer I (1907) - Wikimedia Commons

My favorite museum in America is the NEUE GALERIE NEW YORK, for both the art it displays and its mission statement - to showcase 20th-century German and Austrian art with a view to re-establishing on this side of the Atlantic the pivotal role it has played in the cannon of modern art history.

Ronald S. Lauder, a billionaire businessman, philanthropist and art collector, promised art dealer Serge Sabarsky, who died in 1996, that he would realize their mutual dream of setting up such a museum in Manhattan.

It is a fitting testimony to a true friendship and to a deep love of art.

Art transcends everything

The Neue Galerie, which means "New Gallery" in German, serves to underscore that art - like nature - transcends everything, including all human-induced horrors. Sabarsky survived the Shoah by immigrating as a young man from his native Austria to New York City, where he lived a life dedicated to art.

Now his legacy has been immortalized through the Neue Galerie by Lauder, who has also been active at international level in the restitution of art looted by Germany's Nazi regime to its rightful heirs.

(Lauder has, for instance, hailed the jewel in the Neue Galerie's crown - Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele-Bloch Bauer I" - as "our Mona Lisa.")

Lauder collection now on show at the Neue Galerie

I hope to return to New York soon to see a special show at the Neue Galerie exhibiting select works from Lauder's personal collection spanning several centuries and genres.

*** FYI this exhibition ENDS on APRIL 2, 2012 ***

I was so excited about the Neue Galerie's 10th anniversary and this exhibition that I wrote something about it during my "day job" which you can read here.

Cafe Sabarsky

On a more gastronomic note, an Austrian friend who visited the Neue Galerie with me in July 2007 confirmed that everything in the museum's cafe - from the coffee and cake to the newspapers to the beer and sausage - was authentically Austrian.

I can confirm that it was all super delicious.

I can also confirm that I did not want to leave the museum's book store, ever.

Neue Galerie New York on Facebook

Stealing Klimt - A Film by Jane Chablani

"Degenerate Art": The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Nazi Germany (LACMA)