Category: Art

Manhattan: Food, Art, & Drama

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SPLURGE-WORTHY DINING

The Modern

In a delayed celebration of our anniversary, we dined at The Modern, the restaurant next to the Museum of Modern Art.  With a table by the window, we looked out at MoMA’s sculpture garden and December’s bare trees. Lunch was a three-course prix fixe. Everything was beautifully plated and delicious.  I opted for the cold lobster salad with citrus and burrata followed by sea bass with some agnolotti and then a cheese course. 

Lobster salad
Roast chicken & sweet potato cake

The Chief Penguin had hamachi over basil to start and then roast chicken on a sweet potato cake followed an elegant lime parfait.  Service was impeccable, and we enjoyed chatting with our young waitress.  This is a wonderful venue for special occasions!

MATISSE AND MORE

Hanging Out at MoMA

The other morning, we walked down to W. 53rd Street and spent a most pleasant hour exploring several exhibits.  We headed first to the 3rd floor for a look at Matisse’s Cut-Outs: A Celebration, works from late in his career.  These paper cutouts are amazing.  His paper “stained glass” window, Christmas Eve (Nuit de Noel) has vibrant colors, but the glass version he had crafted is most impressive and so luminous. 

Christmas Eve, Matisse, in glass

Also of note are the figures he did for his swimming pool.  Rather than add a swimming pool to his home, he created blue leggy figures and adhered them to a band of paper around the perimeter of his dining room.  The overall effect was feeling like being in the water.

The Swimming Pool, Matisse, 1962
Rothko, No. 16, 1958 (Black, Red, Brown)

Leaving Matisse behind, we looked at some works from the permanent collection from around the world.  I was struck by the muted intensity of Mark Rothko’s No. 16 (Red, Brown, and Black) and by the mysterious figures underlying Blue Composition, c.1966-68, by Ethiopian artist Alexander “Skunder” Boghossian.  There appears to be both a horse and the snout of an alligator or crocodile. 

Detail, Blue Composition
Detail, No Shade but His Shade

And No Shade but His Shade by Sudanese artist Ibrahim El-Salahi is a compelling work all in browns including a man’s head with a bird perched on his scalp.

LIVE DRAMA

Left on Tenth (James Earl Jones Theatre)

I read Delia Ephron’s memoir, Left on Tenth, when it came out and was pleased when I saw that she was writing a script and working with Good Wife TV star Julianna Margulies.  The Chief Penguin and I went to the play and enjoyed it immensely.  The cast is small, just four people; Margulies and Peter Gallagher as the leads, two others who play cameo parts, and two dogs.  It is a story of newfound love, but it’s also about serious illness, specifically leukemia.  (A variety of that same disease took the life of Delia’s sister Nora.)

While one might expect this to be a depressing drama, it is not.  Yes, there are sad and tense moments, but there is joy and lightness.  The staging consists of a simple set, minor costume changes, and creative lighting and projection to change the mood or the season.  Margulies carries the work, projecting a full range of emotions, while Peter Francis James in brief roles as a friend, a gruff doctor, and a waiter adds a bit of humor and dance. 

Note: All photos ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.) Header photo of trees for sale along 3rd Avenue.

Sweden: Sculpture Park

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MILLESGARDEN MUSEUM

Sculpture terrace—MillesGarden

On the recommendation of our friends Mary and Joe, we visited the sculpture garden and house of Swedish sculptor, Carl Milles.  We took a cab from our hotel to a suburban residential area where the entrance to MilllesGarden is boldly signed on a quiet street.

Milles lived from 1875 to 1955, was in Paris for a few years early in his career, and then he and his wife Olga returned to his native Sweden on the outskirts of Stockholm.  Olga was also an artist, a painter, and Milles’ sister Ruth Milles too.

The grounds of the Milles property, built on several levels, include an expansive sculpture terrace facing the water, several pools, a couple of upper terraces, and their house. Many sculptures are mounted on tall pedestals.

Poseidon
Orfeus, (detail), 1936

Carl Milles collected antiquities and these pieces, along with plaster casts of some works, and art by both women, Olga and Ruth, are on display in the house.

Hylas cast, 1898-99
The Listening Woman, 1952

Milles favored classical and mythical figures from Europa to Orpheus in his work with the occasional fish or bison or other animal. It is an amazing collection (roughly 100 pieces) and was a treat to experience.

I liked several paintings by Olga Milles, one of a woman at the piano, and the other of some vibrant red poppies.

Lintschi Granner by the Piano, 1900

There is also a café, which we didn’t patronize, and a small shop where I purchased some note cards. There I got asked to do a visitor survey.  Using a QR code, I logged into the survey site on my phone.  Even after choosing English, it was not the easiest survey to navigate. I would have gladly provided some constructive suggestions, but was happy enough to just get through it! 

The desk staff called us a cab, and while we wondered for a bit if we’d be rescued, we were.  The taxi driver ferried us back and knew the streets well enough to turn away from a set of horses and riders slowly clopping their way down the road and backing up traffic.

OUTDOOR LUNCH

Bistro du Passage

This was Sunday, and many restaurants were closed, including almost all of them in Saluhall.  We spied outside tables at what we thought was Paula’s, but turned out to be Bistro du Passage according to the menu.  It was breezy and cool outside and I wanted to eat in, but the Chief Penguin insisted on an outdoor table. From our sidewalk seats, we watched family groups and individuals stroll by while we awaited our orders. 

Pappardelle with chèvre

This lunch was excellent.  I had pappardelle with chèvre which was lovely pasta with a goat cheese sauce and some little spears of asparagus, topped with thin slices of summer truffle, super yum!  The Chief Penguin had their chicken salad: greens, bell peppers, and sliced artichokes, all under a small chicken leg and thigh —some of the most flavorful chicken he’s had.  And I survived the gusty weather!

Note: All photos including header photo of sculpture terrace ©JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine Moments: Wyeth Family Art

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FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM: PART 2

Three Generations of Wyeths

The Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland is a center, along with the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pa., for the artwork of three generations of Wyeths.  A former church building houses almost exclusively Wyeth paintings and sculptures, while the contemporary building has a variety of different exhibits, often one highlighting one Wyeth or another.   

The featured exhibit this year is Jamie Wyeth Unsettled.  It’s a collection of his eerie, sometimes spooky, and outright ghoulish paintings from several decades.  I didn’t love this exhibit. Some images I found too graphic and very disturbing, but I’m including a few works I did appreciate.  

There’s also a small exhibit of abstract watercolors by Andrew Wyeth, father of Jamie and probably the most famous of the Wyeth threesome.

N. C. WYETH

In a separate exhibit of works associated with Maine, I was struck by an action-filled painting by the first Wyeth, Newell Convers, known as N. C.  He lived from 1882-1945 and was both a painter and an illustrator.  He illustrated a series of Scribner’s classics, and he is likely best known for that work.  Born, raised, and educated in art in Massachusetts, Wyeth then moved to Chadds Ford where he made his lifelong home.  

Cleaning Fish, N. C. Wyeth, 1933

There is so much suggested motion in this Port Clyde painting with the flock of birds surrounding the fisherman while he calmly guts the fish. I also like the soft light and the almost pastel colors.

JAMIE WYETH: HAUNTED, SUPERNATURAL, STRANGE

Julia on the Swing, J. Wyeth, 1999

Jamie Wyeth Unsettled is a large exhibit divided into three sections.  They are “Strangers and Specters,” “Haunted Places and Disturbing Spaces,” and “The Natural and Supernatural Worlds.”  Paintings of indoor places and outdoor spaces are sometimes eerie or suggest imprisonment. In others, Wyeth uses bones to depict grotesque scenes, and in still another, an uprooted tree appears distorted into something threatening, possibly evil.  It’s a strange collection overall.

Gull and Windsor, J. Wyeth 1993
Farm Talk, J. Wyeth, 2016
Lightning Struck, J. Wyeth 1975

ANDREW WYETH:  WATERCOLOR STUDIES

Unseen Andrew Wyeth is a small selection of abstract watercolors, a stark contrast to the Jamie Wyeth exhibit.  These have never been displayed before and show Wyeth working with shapes and moods in blacks and browns primarily.  Some of these pieces were studies for later paintings, but not all of them.  For such a representational painter as Andrew Wyeth was, these works show a different side of his aesthetic.  Here are two of them I found striking.

Fog & White Dory Study, A. Wyeth 1941
Untitled, A. Wyeth

SUSTENANCE: MIDCOAST DINING IN ROCKLAND

WATERWORKS RESTAURANT

After an intense morning of art, where does one eat lunch?  We used to have a favorite corner grill that produced a good lobster roll, but it closed and became a cannabis shop.  Other places we’d tried after that were just ordinary.  This time I did some research and discovered WaterWorks on a side street not far from the Farnsworth.

Casual and attractive with lots of tables and a bar, WaterWorks delivered an excellent cup of clam chowder (one of the best we’ve had!) followed by tasty, not greasy, cheese and chicken quesadillas.  It was a delicious lunch and just what we needed.  Recommended!

Note: Header photo is of the painting, Boothbay Harbor by Edward Redfield, 1937. All photos taken by JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)

Maine Moments: Art & Drama

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FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM: PART 1

The Farnsworth Art Museum is in Rockland around two hours north of Portland.  It’s noted for its extensive collection of works by three generations of the Wyeth family and its focus on Maine and artists working in Maine.  The Chief Penguin and I visit this museum annually; this time our motivation was a new exhibit of Jamie Wyeth’s work, but more about that exhibit in a future blog post.

This week we enjoyed Magwintegwak: A Legacy of Penobscot Basketry, were impressed by Louise Nevelson’s paintings and sculpture, and were introduced to a tsunami of color in Lynne Drexler’s recently restored pieces, Color Notes, Paintings from 1959-1969.

WABANAKI BASKETS

The Penobscot Indian Island Reservation, informally known as Indian Island, was the site of basket weaving going back to 1800. North of Rockland along the Penobscot River, part of it extends to Bangor.  Wabanaki weavers here made a variety of baskets for daily life as well as more decorative artistic ones.  For many years, they set up basket-selling tents on well-traveled routes and sold their handmade creations to tourists and others. Their baskets were, and still are, generally made of brown ash and lovely fragrant sweetgrass.  

Curly bowl Penobscot basket, 1920
Glowing Sunset Carrabbassett, Sarah Sockbeson, 2011

Robert Anderson spent much of his life collecting and documenting the basketry of these Penobscot weavers, learning from his grandparents Leo and Florence Shay and from successive generations of weavers.  It’s thanks to his legacy that this exhibit was possible.  The Wabanaki also made miniature baskets to use or to show off their skills.

Strawberry, blueberry & pumpkin miniatures

LOUISE NEVELSON: SCULPTOR & PAINTER

Child from a collection, Nevelson

Louise Nevelson was born in Ukraine, but grew up in Rockland after her parents emigrated.  Years later, she was astonished and delighted to discover this wonderful art museum in her small hometown.  She donated many of her works to the Farnsworth, and this exhibit is just a sample from the collection.

I liked the small black figures and also her two self portraits. She favored black for virtually all of her sculpted work, but later she created an elaborate and monumental wedding piece in white. The Farnsworth owns one column from it.

Woman with a Red Scarf, self portrait, 1947

COLOR NOTES: “I COULD ALWAYS FIND THE COLOR”

Lynne Drexler (1928-1999) was considered a second-generation Abstract Expressionist whose work was influenced by time spent in Hawaii, California, and Mexico.  She created with colored chalk, crayons, paint, and colored pencils. Later in her life, she lived like a hermit on Monhegan Island. Years after her death, this little known artist’s paintings sold for more than a million dollars.

Shimmering Rays

Some of her works use different materials that make the colors pop and look alive like this vibrant study in pinks, greens, and lavender.

Untitled, Lynne Drexler

WATCHING: SPANISH SOAP

Betrayal (PBS Passport)

Roberto backed by mother and siblings (rmpbs.org)

Passport offerings curated by Walter Presents are generally very good.  I’m less sure about Betrayal, although the Chief Penguin and I seem to be committed enough to keep watching.  We have completed six of the eight episodes.

Influential, well-connected attorney Julio Fuentes and his firm were close to merging with a UK law firm when he died suddenly.  His family—widow, three daughters, and one son—are in disarray when his death is ruled a murder and when another son, Carlos, unknown to them, shows up. 

Emotions in this group run high with shouting, angry outbursts, and hasty actions.  Son Roberto wants to divorce his wife and has another woman; brother-in-law Victor, the firm’s financial manager, has personal money troubles; and sister Almudena’s son Sergio is suspicious of his stepfather’s behavior and believes he’s lying to his mother.  Meanwhile matriarch Pilar works mightily to control everyone’s actions to her bidding.  

This is just a sampling of the layers of complexity, the lies, and the secrets.  Who is betraying whom or how many betrayals are there?  And who killed Julio Fuentes?  Overall, the plot is less than convincing, the characters lack depth, and yet we keep tuning in!  In Castilian Spanish with English subtitles.

Note: Header photo is a point basket by Ganessa Frey, 2006. Unattributed photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved.)