Mary Todd Lincoln at The National Portrait Gallery

By The Queen of Free

She was the subject of a portrait talk at the National Portrait Gallery Thursday evening.

Standing in front of this sketch by Pierre Morand which is part of the “One Life: The Mask of Lincoln” exhibit, Erin Carlson Mast, the curator of the Lincoln Cottage, presented a biographical sketch about Mrs. Lincoln whom Ms. Mast knows quite a lot about.

Mrs. Lincoln had 10 years of schooling; President Lincoln, one, Ms. Mast said. Mrs. Lincoln came from a wealthy family in Lexington, KY, and her Confederate roots were problematic. Like her husband, she loved the arts, literature and the theatre. She had her own “redeeming qualities,” Ms. Mask said.

She mentioned the military presence in the background of what looks like Lafayette Square in the 1864 sketch.

The crowd of about 40 packed the small gallery and strained to hear every word of the presentation. Mostly it was middle-aged women and a few men who attended.

How nice to be in surroundings where Mary Todd Lincoln was not castigated as a bad influence, and crazy, dazed, manipulative, extravagant, unfriendly, evil and what are some of the other adjectives used to describe her? Oh, yes, lest I forget, she may have had a hand in her husband’s assassination. He married her, didn’t he?

In May Catherine Clinton, the author of Mrs. Lincoln: A Life published this year, will speak about her book at Lincoln’s Cottage.

A Portrait Gallery representative told me the museum has received a lot of interest in its First Ladies portraits which the Portrait Gallery is trying to beef up.

Next up at these wonderful Thursday 6 p.m. “Face to Face” talks is Toni Morrison’s portrait, to be presented by Warren Perry April 2.

A Good Time at Ben's Chili Bowl

There was a party going on!

Now, seriously.

It was my first visit to Ben's and man, the place was rocking. Now, seriously. We were on our way to the Lincoln Theatre next door to see the Arena Stage production "Crowns" on opening night.

The whole neighborhood is a happenin' place!

The cashier was a whoopin' and a stompin'. The music was a 'rockin' and the cooks and servers were a swayin'. There must be a party goin' on! At the cash register I danced with the cashier on opposite sides of the counter throwing my hands in the air to match his.

So many people crammed in, a "crowd control monitor" stood at the entrance to temporarily stop customers from entering because there was no place to sit, the back room was reserved for a big party, and the lines in front of the counter to order doubled up.

A jivin' and a boppin', the place was a hoppin'. For a good time, go to Ben's! Did I mention the half smokes? Worth every dime, just to dance in a restaurant without room.

Cezanne and The Ballet in Philadelphia

The crowds line several aisleways on both sides of the hall to see Cezanne





The best $200 I’ve ever spent:

An all-day outing with the Smithsonian Associates to see the new Paul Cezanne show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the ballet, “Cinderella,” performed by the Pennsylvania Ballet at the 150-year-old Academy of Music, “the oldest grand opera house in the United States still used for its original purpose.”

A magnificent day in every way. We went up via chartered bus, leaving from the Air and Space Museum at 6:45 a.m.

The tour leaders were Ursula Rehn Wolfman, a frequent lecturer around town on all things about the arts and literature, and Harvey Walden of the Smithsonian.

The title of the art show is “Cezanne and Beyond,” and its only venue is Philadelphia. You are looking for Mont Sainte-Victoire? I counted eight (and a half; one may have been Mont Sainte-Victoire in the background) and likely missed a couple.

I suppose the words “and Beyond” mean to encompass some of the artists Cezanne influenced for many (!) of their works are in the show, too: Picasso, Matisse, Ellsworth Kelly, Jeff Wall (mind blowing light boxes: the clarity!), Giorgio Morandi, also now appearing at the Phillips. To the unsuspecting “and Beyond” may be even more of an attraction if one knew all the others included.

At times though they can dwarf the master with their own adaptations of Cezanne’s paintings which are juxtaposed after, in-between, and before the followers'. If this makes no sense, please go and see for yourself.

On our visit we had a personal escort to squire us around and give short talks about many of the paintings before we ate a delicious lunch at the Museum with exquisite service.

Our next stop: Sergei Prokofiev’s ballet where many adorable little girls in all their ballet finery breathlessly awaited the performance, too.

It was all enthralling: The dancing, the lighting, the sets, the costuming (on loan from a Texas company, Edward Barnes, one of the dancers told us afterwards in a "private audience"). And the music! Not taped but performed live and in person (ahem) by the ballet company’s own orchestra. Everything merged to make a beautiful production in a glamorous hall. Beatrice Jona Affron was the conductor.

I could have looked much longer at the lovingly rendered coach which was drawn by four “horses” and which did not stay on stage long enough for me to grow weary of it. The step”sisters” (actually males) provided delightful humor with their antics and “gowns.”

If you think for one nanosecond that because the Cezanne show doesn't end until May 17, that the crowds will be smaller now, dream on. We visited on a Saturday morning, and I don't know how the Museum could have crammed more in. At about $24/head, the Museum is raking them in, and that's good, given the state of the arts these days. You go, Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Ballet, never disappointing, thoroughly entertaining and producing beautiful memories, visuals, and sounds of a lovely springtime day in Philadelphia.

Van Gogh Film Premiere in Washington

It was a sold-out audience at the Natural History Museum’s IMAX theatre on St. Patrick’s Day Night. We came to see anything about Van Gogh; we were not disappointed.

The title was "Brush with Genius," and it was the Washington, D.C. premiere.

The music, the telling, the art, the scenery gave much to delight. The paintings became the scenes which became the paintings in gentle descriptions. All told by Van Gogh "speaking" mostly from the letters he wrote describing his life, his passion, his tribulations.

Many galleries in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam served as locale for some scenes all of which were filmed on location in the Netherlands and in France. Many of the paintings were new to me. Van Gogh “said” his passion near the end of his life drove him to paint sometimes three canvasses a day.

Effectively interspersed throughout was actual filming of the movie by the co-creator (with Francois Bertrand), Peter Knapp, passionate Van Gogh aficionado.

By the minute (about 40 total) it was likely the most expensive movie I've ever seen, however, the value far exceeded the cost. Another hit by the Smithsonian Associates!

White Faces O-U-T At The Kennedy Center

The wedding dresses from 22 Arabic countries



The view (left) of the stage from the SRO Corral

By The Queen of Free


The only persons allowed in to the seating sections for the 6 p.m. Millennium Stage concert Friday night were from one of the 22 member countries of the Arab League, at least, beginning at 5:30 p.m. when I arrived.

“But I have a friend waiting for me,” pleaded one Arabic guest to the usher, and she got in.

And another and another.

"My friend has saved a seat for me," was the refrain.

"Where?" asked the usher, and the honored guests got in.

“I am one person. May I get in?” a Caucasian (me) asked.

“No!”

The unseated stood behind the roped off area and listened. If it was a private party, no one bothered to tell the riffraff.

Some say, “Well, it was the Arabesque festival” and they were there to see and hear their own, Ahmed Fathi. And not all Arabic people who wanted seats got them, but 100% of those who were seated beginning 30 minutes before show time were Arabic.

Noise at the back did not totally obliterate the sounds of the music, but one definitely had to strain to hear.

Thank goodness the unbelievably gorgeous wedding dresses from the Arabic nations were still up which did make the trek worthwhile. And many of us left early to see them.

White faces? Not here.

1934 at SAAM

"The Farmer's Kitchen" Ivan Albright 1934


"Chicago Interior" J. Theodore Johnson 1933-1934



"Skating in Central Park" by Agnes Tait 1934




"Radio Broadcast" by Julia Eckel 1933-1934


"Black Panther" by Alice Dinneen 1934

By The Queen of Free

Help!

Women, grab your hat, your dancing shoes, your party dress and hit the streets to party hearty for if anything says “carpe diem” it is the sad woman’s painting at the top, one of many intriguing art pieces in the new magnificent show at the Smithsonian American Art Museum: "1934: A New Deal for Artists."

Her mournful eyes depicted in almost 3-D fashion convey her sorrowful and empty life (or so I suppose) just before she enters the grave. I imagine her husband standing outside the kitchen window screaming something negative at his wife.

The pallor of her skin: It is grey up to her scalp, suggesting her lifelong’s work inside a cave for she is seems to be covered in soot.

Small amounts of red dominate the painting: The red circles in her dress match the red radishes in her lap which match her red knuckles which match the small circles in the wallpaper. Has her life been an endless repetition of meaningless tasks?

Her hands! The label says even the cat withdraws from this poor woman who is a horror movie in one frame.

What did she ever do that she liked to do? My former husband criticized me once for “doing what you like to do.” End of that!

So many things to think about.

The painting’s label says the artist, Ivan Albright, always drew his subjects aged, distressed, and tormented. His neighbor in Illinois was his model for the painting which is entitled, “The Farmer’s Kitchen.”

Contrast it with the vibrant, warm “Chicago Interior,” which J. Theodore Johnson lovingly (it shows) painted in 1933-1934 of his wife which faces “The Farmer’s Kitchen” from across the gallery. What were Robert Herrick's words?

GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying :
And this same flower that smiles to-day
To-morrow will be dying.

The glorious lamp of heaven, the sun,
The higher he's a-getting,
The sooner will his race be run,
And nearer he's to setting

.

The paintings originated under Franklin Roosevelt's Public Works of Art Program in 1933. Withing six months of the program's announcement almost 3,800 artists created about 15,500 works of art which were displayed in public buildings, says the Smithsonian at the entrances to the exhibit. The Roosevelts selected 32 of them for the White House and Congressional members chose others from a show of 500 at the Corcoran Gallery.

"1934: A New Deal for Artists" is up through January 3, 2010. I've only been twice in a week.

That age is best which is the first,
When youth and blood are warmer ;
But being spent, the worse, and worst
Times still succeed the former

Lady Bird Johnson at The National Portrait Gallery

By The Queen of Free

At the National Portrait Gallery the only portrait of a First Lady to hang in a gallery with Presidents Lyndon Baines Johnson, Gerald Ford, John F. Kennedy, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, and Harry Truman is one of Lady Bird Johnson.

Where is everybody else?

Curatorial Assistant Amy Baskette who gave a “portrait talk” about Lady Bird on Thursday evening said the Portrait Gallery began beefing up its First Ladies collection about four years ago, and an exhibit on them will open “soon.”

The comparatively small painting of Lady Bird by Boris Artzybasheff (cool first syllable) commissioned by Time magazine for a cover in 1964, is sandwiched between portraits of her husband, Lyndon, and President Ford. Hanging perpendicular to the Johnsons is John F. Kennedy who is captured brilliantly by Elaine de Kooning in a striking, contemporary, large vertical masterpiece with lots of green splashes.

Perhaps it is the dove behind Lady Bird, the colors, and style which suggest art deco and precisionism. Why the dove?

Ms. Baskette spoke in glowing terms about Lady Bird Johnson, her business acumen and other achievements. Her image and issues (beautification and the environment) are more esteemed every day. That Lady Bird even had issues she promoted gallantly, unlike the Bush First Ladies who wasted their pulpits, is laudatory, especially considering that Lady Bird’s era preceded the elevation and promotion of women as equal citizens (and no, we haven’t made it).

Lady Bird Johnson died in 2007.

The group of eight who listened intently to Ms. Baskette for her 20-minute talk ranged in age from 20-somethings to 60-somethings, mostly female (6), and 100% Caucasian.

On March 19 at 6 p.m. Martha Washington’s portrait will be featured in a talk by Sidney Hart, and on March 26 at 6 p.m., Erin Carlson Mast from Lincoln’s Cottage will talk about the poor, the sad, the much maligned Mary Todd Lincoln. All, free!

The National Portrait Gallery is open from 11:30 a.m. until 7 p.m. every day.