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Abstract Art
The Visionary
In 1930, at the age of 37, Charles Burchfield was given a one-man exhibition by the Museum of Modern Art. While by no means indifferent to the honor and in no way dissatisfied with the way his work was presented, the artist didn’t trouble himself to make the trip from his home in Buffalo, N.Y., to attend his own show. To MoMA director Alfred H. Barr Jr., he wrote, somewhat sheepishly, “I wish I had been able to come to the exhibit, but found it was impossible just now.”
Outside In
Russel Wright’s longtime home and studio, Dragon Rock, was built along a rocky slope overlooking the Hudson River about an hour north of Manhattan. The designer envisioned Dragon Rock as a modern country retreat that melds unnoticed into 75 acres of oaks, ferns, white pines, wildflowers, streams, moss, meadows and Chevy-size boulders. “His key philosophy in developing and creating Manitoga (meaning, ‘place of the great spirit’) was to live in harmony with nature, and he achieved this by blending the indoors with the outdoors,” says Lori Moss, assistant director of the Russel Wright Design Center
Collecting: Take Me Away
Toward the end of the 1920s real estate entrepreneur Carl Fisher attempted to repeat the huge success of his Miami Beach residential development, promoting what he called the “Miami Beach of the North” on New York’s Long Island. To promote the 10,000-acre luxury resort, Fisher commissioned a poster that featured star athletes of the time posing in the foreground of his grandiose 200-room Montauk Manor.
Critic’s Notebook: Conceptualizing Tradition
In 1997, the Chinese artist Ai Weiwei published a photograph showing Tiananmen Square blocked out by his middle finger. He titled his image Study in Perspective, in a phrase making a provocative statement out of an obscene gesture. Formulating his contempt for power in a manner akin to a classical painter extending a digit to reckon proportions, Ai suggested that the individual artist might eclipse even the most oppressive government.
Coats of Many Colors
The difference between a mediocre piece of American painted furniture and a great one is measured in a span smaller than an inch. Vulnerable to the ravages of time and the whims of fashion, few of these furnishings have survived the centuries with their painted surfaces intact.
Exhibitions: Sèvres’ Success
Since the mid-18th century, Sèvres has produced porcelain for monarchs, diplomats and private collectors alike. Even as the factory’s wealthy clients were put to the guillotine in the midst of the French Revolution, the National Convention decided that Sèvres must continue to run. “We all know that French history is riddled with changes of regime and political and social turmoil over the centuries,” says Liana Paredes, curator of a new Sèvres exhibition at the Hillwood Estate, Museum and Gardens in Washington, D.C. “What were the factors that safeguarded this factory and its production through such a long history?”
In Perspective
By: The Editors EXHIBITIONS Back to Nature: Babcock Galleries in New York has a comprehensive show of the work of Alan Gussow from Oct. 8–Nov. 25. Gussow, who died in 1997, combined abstraction with observation in landscape paintings that expressed his conservationist philosophy. Buried With the Pharaohs: Opening Oct. 18 at the Museum of Fine…
Market: On the Continent
By: John Dorfman Although relatively little known to art buyers in the English-speaking countries, German and Austrian auction houses are excellent hunting grounds for unusual finds at sometimes bargain prices. This month and next, a large number of sales in a wide variety of categories will be held. Starting off the fall season, the storied…
Market: Splendors of the East
By: Sallie Brady It’s time for enthusiasts of Asian art and antiques to journey to London for the fortnight of gallery exhibitions, auctions, lectures and museum exhibitions collectively known as Asian Art in London. In Kensington Church Street, St. James’ and Mayfair—the three areas where these specialists cluster—collectors and curators can look forward to themed…
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