Mellon show ends today at the National Gallery of Art

Paul Klee, Swiss, 1879 – 1940, Dampfer und Segelböte (Steamboat and Sailboats), 1931, watercolor. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983

Only a few hours remain to see the special exhibition devoted to a small portion of the hundreds of works of art formerly owned by Paul Mellon (1907-1999) before he gave them to the National Gallery of Art.

Edouard Manet, French, 1832–1883, The Raven Perched Upon a Bust of Pallas, 1875, gillotage. In Edgar Allan Poe, Le Corbeau, translated by Stephane Mallarme (Paris: Richard Lesclide,1875). National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon,

2014

Paul Mellon was the son of the founder of the National Gallery, Andrew Mellon (1855-1937), so it is fitting that the Gallery recognize the largesse of the family on its 75th birthday with a presentation of Paul and Bunny Mellon's collection found in their home, pieces which Paul Mellon hung himself. 

Jacques Villon, French, 1875–1963, A Woman in Blue at the Beach, 1902/1904, watercolor over graphite. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995 

The National Gallery is filled with the Mellons' gifts, including the 88 pastels, drawings, watercolors, illustrated books, and prints which make up this show and are not displayed often or for long periods of time due to light's damaging effects. 
The donor gave no thought really to the juxtaposition of the pieces in his home, said his friend and curator Andrew Robison when the exhibition opened.  Mellon only bought and hung what he liked, which matches the arrangement here.

Winslow Homer, American, 1836 – 1910, On the Stile, 1878, watercolor and gouache over graphite. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1994
 
Represented artists in the show include Mary Cassatt, Winslow Homer, Édouard Manet, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Edgar Degas, George Bellows, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

Rene Magritte, Belgian, 1898 –1967, The Murderous Sky, 1927, brush and ink with collage of sheet music cutouts, lithograph. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1995

Henri Matisse, French, 1869–1954, Self-Portrait, 1937, charcoal. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1985

On the walls are Mellon quotes which Robison pulled from books, news articles, and magazines. Robison described Paul Mellon as a man who had a "gentleness [and] shyness" about him, "reserved [with a] mischievous smile."

George Bellows, American, 1882 – 1925, Dempsey and Firpo, 1923/1924, lithograph. National Gallery of Art, Washington, Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, 1983

"He only bought what he said he wanted to live with," said Robison. Collecting was rather like "occupational therapy" for him.

His favorite artists were "probably" Degas and Homer whose watercolors he liked better than Degas'.

At the Paul Mellon exhibition/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Some of his favorite subjects were boxing, horse racing, the water, New York and Parisian night life, and woman's curves, all depicted in pictures and now on the walls of what used to be called "the Mellon Gallery," said Earl A. Powell, III, the National Gallery's director.
 
At the press preview of the show, Director Powell told a funny story about the time he was invited to the Mellons' shortly after Powell was hired in 1992 as the National Galley director.

At the Mellons' home, "Murray the Butler" greeted Powell. In one hand Murray held a sheet of paper and in the other, a martini, which later came to be known as the "Mellon Martini," created by Mellon himself, a concoction of vodka and gin because Mellon didn't like the smell of vermouth or maybe it was the other way around. 

Whatever, there was some smell he didn't like.

Murray said to Powell: "Sir, Mr. Mellon has made a list of art works on the wall he thought you might like to have, and if you want others, please add them to the list." (!!!!!)

What: In Celebration of Paul Mellon

When: Today is the last day, Sunday, September 18, 2016, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where: West Building, Galleries 72 and 73, the National Gallery of Art, between Third and Ninth streets at Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. On the Mall.
 
Admission charge: Never on Sunday or any day

Metro stations for the National Gallery of Art:
Smithsonian, Federal Triangle, Navy Memorial-Archives, or L'Enfant Plaza

For more information: 202-737-4215

patricialesli@gmail.com

Impressionist teacher and artist extraordinaire, William Merritt Chase, now at the Phillips

William Merritt Chase, Portrait of Dora Wheeler, 1882-1883, Cleveland Museum of Art.  A painting of one of his students, this was one Chase's early masterpieces which won an Honorable Mention at the 1883 Paris Salon and a Gold Medal at Munich's Crystal Palace exhibition.

 William Merritt Chase, The Young Orphan, c. 1884, National Academy Museum, New York.  His subject for this painting likely came from the orphan asylum located next door to Chase's Tenth Street Studio in New York.  It's reminiscent of The Artist's Mother by James Abbott McNeill Whistler, an artist Chase admired.

 William Merritt Chase, Washing Day - A Backyard Reminiscence of Brooklyn, c. 1887, from the collection of Lilly Endowment, Inc.

 William Merritt Chase, The End of the Season, c. 1884-1885, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum

 William Merritt Chase, I Think I Am Ready Now, c. 1883, private collection

 William Merritt Chase, The Tenth Street Studio, 1880, Saint Louis Art Museum. Chase's well-known studio, filled with what he loved: art, bric-a-brac, people, his Russian hound, and, on one side, there he is.

 William Merritt Chase, Sunlight and Shadow, 1884, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. Chase painted this in Holland where he resided during the summer at the coastal cottage of his friend and artist, Robert Blum, the man above.  Chase referred to this work as The Tift.  A partially hidden woman lies in the hammock while another one scurries away.  The Triangle?

William Merritt Chase, Self-Portrait in 4th Avenue Studio, 1915-1916, Richmond Art Museum, Indiana, completed the year he died.

William Merritt Chase, Lydia Field Emmet, 1892, Brooklyn Museum, one of his students who became "one of the foremost American woman portrait painters of the late 19th century," according to the wall copy.

All it takes to win a chance for a trip for two to Boston in celebration of the William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) exhibition now at the Phillips Collection, is a brief explanation on social media of your favorite Chase work by September 11, 2016. (See line below for details.)
 
Artist and teacher of Marsden Hartley, Edward Hopper, Georgia O'Keeffe, Joseph Stella, John Marin, and George Bellows, among many others, William Merritt Chase is honored by the Phillips in the centenary year of his death in this first Chase retrospective in 30 years.

A must for any fan of Impressionism.

The 70 works span 40 years in an enthralling presentation which seems much larger, perhaps because it is easy to lose yourself in the paintings and get carried away.

His obituary in the Washington Times on October 26, 1916 noted his career path followed that of many artists: His father wanted him to be something else. To be like him! A retail merchant, but the son used his father's business supplies, wrapping papers, to draw sketches, and, at age 20 took off from middle America for New York.

About a year later, the ailing family business, now in St. Louis, beckoned Chase to come and help out, and he did.
 
There, art aficionados recognized his talents and, in exchange for original works, arranged training for him in Europe where he studied for several years in Munich and Italy.

Returning to the U.S. and "representing the new wave of European-educated American talent" (Wikipedia), his "first fame" came with "Keying Up"-The Court Jester (1875) which won a medal at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition and which viewers may see at the Phillips.

Chase etched and painted portraits, landscapes, still lifes, urban and domestic scenes using watercolor, oils, pastels, and ink. His subjects included notable persons of the era including his wife, Alice, and their eight children during his "most energetic" period. At Shinnecoke Hills, Long Island, N.Y. he was persuaded to take over an art school where he taught from 1891 to 1902, among many places. (Now his Shinnecoke home and studio are on the National Register of Historic Places.)
 
His Tenth Street Studio in New York was considered "the most famous artist's studio in America and a virtual manifesto of his and his generation's artistic practices and beliefs, and of the dignity of the artistic calling," according to a biographical sketch at the National Gallery of Art. Several of his works at the Phillips are titled Tenth Street Studio.

Chase established the Chase School, which later became Parsons The New School for Design, and for a decade (1885-1895) he was president of the Society of American Artists.

At the turn of the century he and his rival instructor, Robert Henri, were considered the nation's most important teachers of American artists.

On his death the New York Tribune on Oct. 27, 1916 called him "one of the most useful painters we ever had."  

The Terra Foundation for American Art whose mission is dedicated that of its founder, Daniel J. Terra (1911-1996) who believed "engagement with original works of art could be a transformative experience," has enabled the presentation of the Chase show at the Phillips where the Terra team succeeds!

This is the first Chase exhibition to travel abroad where it will stop in Venice in February at the International Gallery of Modern Art after a tour at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (October, 2016 - January, 2017).
 
At the show's opening, curator Elsa Smithgall called Chase "a painter's painter."
 
Catalogues are available in the gift shop.

What: William Merritt Chase: A Modern Master
 
When: Now through September 11, 2016 (except Mondays), 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sundays, 12-7 p.m. Extended hours until 8:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month for separate ticketed event September 1, "Art and Play," inspired by Chase's art and Karel Appel's (another exhibition currently at the Phillips) with music by Color Palette, food and drink presented in partnership with the Embassy of the Netherlands. The Thursday events often sell out.
 
Contest! Enter the Chase Contest at the Phillips by September 11, 2016 for a chance to win a trip for two to Boston. Just mention a favorite Chase work on social media (with certain hash tags) and submit! Easy! See complete details here.

Where: The Phillips Collection, 1600 21st St., N.W. at Q St., Washington, D.C. 20009
 
Tickets: $12, $10 for students and those over 62, free for members and for children 18 and under.
 
Metro Station: Dupont Circle (Q Street exit. Turn left and walk one block.)

For more information: 202-387-2151


Patricialesli@gmail.com

A hot night with 'Carmen' at the Olney

Ensemble member Karla Choko and Camilo (Caesar Samayoa) in Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical directed by Moisés Kaufman. Photo: Stan Barouh

Perfectly timed, exquisite dancing under the direction of Broadway's Sergio Trujillo stars in Olney Theatre Center's newest presentation, Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical, another in Olney's big, flashy shows, this one, a world premier co-production with Tectonic Theater Project.

And it's just in time for Black History Month and heating us up on chilly nights (and days). 

The ensemble of Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical, directed by Moisés Kaufman, choreography by Sergio Truijillo. Photo: Stan Barouh

Triangular love and sex are the nuclei of the story while, on the periphery, actors become 1958 revolutionaries in Cuba's war between the U.S.-backed Batista government and the upstart Fidel Castro. (And the winner was...)

This Carmen production coincides nicely with the opening of U.S. gates to Cuba (thank you, President Obama) and is only one of many place settings around the globe where the play has been performed over the years, in London, Spain, Chicago, to name a few.  ("All the world's a stage...")


At the Olney the plot takes a backseat to fast action and dancing.

José (Brandon Andrus) and Carmen (Christina Sajous) in Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical directed by Moisés Kaufman. Photo: Stan Barouh

Brandon Andrus is José, an army guy and participant in two simultaneous love affairs, natch, while he works for Batista. His occupation and dueling romances may explain his perfunctory passion after he links up with Carmen. (Houston:  We have a mismatch on the runway.)

At the beginning, José is an urbane, reserved military man who, over the course of the production, shrinks into a blithering mess.  That's what love can do.

Meanwhile, there is Christina Sajous, Carmen, the monopolizing siren who consumes center stage a tad too much. A Whitney Houston look-alike, she dances non-stop while attracting men and more men who are lucky enough to be linked with her in brief romance (under six months) before she moves on to the next big thing.  

She is also the nation, "Cuba," testing her freedom,  strength, confidence, and independence.

Caesar Samayoa is Camilo, a champion boxer, who comes along to woo Carmen just when she's ready to ditch José. So long, José, and welcome, Camilo!  

Next!  (So many men and so little time.)

The best voice of the night belongs to Briana Carlson-Goodman who, as Micaela, José's girlfriend, is left for dust after he is smitten by Carmen. Ms. Carlson-Goodman's small role leaves us longing for more of her distinctive and melodious sounds.

The fight choreography is some of the best I have seen.  Applause to the choreographer, Ben Cunis, and fight captain, Mr. Samayoa.

One especially memorable scene (it's hard to phrase this adequately but, please bear with me or, better, go and see the show yourself and see what I mean) is reversed when two lovers fight under the spotlight (lighting by David Lander) center stage in front of us but behind the audience on stage which becomes the backdrop.  

The stage audience sits stationary in folding chairs and leaning in under dim light with their backs to center stage while they watch a boxing match in shadowy slow motion in front of them. Get it?  (You will when you see the scene. Who could forget the artistry?)

(It reminded me of a scene right out of George Bellows' painting, Club Night (sometimes on the walls at the National Gallery of Art and sometimes not, like now).)

In Carmen, Clint Ramos presents fun and flirty 1950s costuming, when women dressed as women, and men, as men. Hatted male dancers in wife-beater shirts were highly appealing.  

The sets (by Narelle Sissons) are marvelous.  Take one bar with huge columns; make it a hideout, an arena to watch a boxing match, and other places, with clever transitions which occur so naturally they go unnoticed by the audience with its eyes focused on high-powered Olympic dancing. 

I would not think this play would be recommended for children, although there's nothing wrong with the language, but the story...hmmmm. 

On stage before the show began, Jason Loewith, the Olney artistic director, smiled and said: "It may be cold out there, but it's very hot in here." Amen, bro'!  

Directing Carmen is Loewith's buddy, Moisés Kaufman, the founder of the Teutonic Theater Project whose Laramie Project and 33 Variations are two of his best known works. In his Broadway directing debut in 2004, Kaufman received a Tony nomination for I Am My Own Wife.

Kaufman and Eduardo Machado wrote the book for Carmen, and Arturo O’Farrill composed and adapted the music based on the French composer Georges Bizet's 1875 opera, Carmen. Kaufman, Loewith and  Christopher Youstra (who leads the 11-piece brassy orchestra on stage) wrote the lyrics.

  
Carmen in one form or another may be almost 200 years old. The original may stem from an 1824 poem, The Gypsies, by Alexander Pushkin, followed by a novella of 1846 which was used by Bizet to create his opera. (The Olney got a eight-year jump on Carmen's bicentennial celebration.)


Additional Carmen cast members are George Akram, Sumayya Ali, Michelle Alves, Moses Bernal, Nick Duckart, Calvin McCullough, Skizzo Arnedillo, Ronald Bruce, Tiffany Byrd, Karla Choko, Nurney, Alejandra Matos, José Ozuna, and Kara-Tameika Watkins.

Other members of the creative team are Robert Kaplowitz, sound, Marcos Santana, additional choreography, Andrea Grady, Alejandro Aviles, Josiane M. Lemieux, and Dennis A. Blackledge.

Contrary to impressions, it's not a trip to reach the Olney from Northern Virginia. From the Beltway, take 270, exit at Wootton Parkway, drive Norbeck, left on Georgia Avenue, right on Old Baltimore and right on Olney Sandy Spring Road which puts you two lights and about a quarter mile from the Olney, and you've bypassed Maryland's toll fees.  Under 45 minutes.  Take your GPS.

 What: Carmen: An Afro-Cuban Jazz Musical 
 
When: Now through March 6, Wednesdays through Saturdays at 8 p.m. with Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m., and a Wednesday matinee at 2 p.m. on March 2.
 
Audio described performance for the blind and vision impaired:  Tonight at 8 p.m., provided by the Metropolitan Washington Ear.  Sign interpretation is available upon request.

Post-show discussion: AfterWords, Saturday, March 5 after the 2 p.m. performance


Where: Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD 20832

How much: Tickets start at $38, with discounts for military, groups, seniors, and students.

Duration: About 100 minutes without intermission.

Refreshments: Available for purchase and may be taken to seats.

Parking: Abundant, free, and on-site

For more information: 301-924-3400
 
patricialesli@gmail.com