Day 29 – 7/25/15: Rearranged Modern Galleries, Sargent Exhibit

Edward Hopper: Tables for Ladies

Just two weeks after my last trip, I came back to see the special Sargent exhibit with Bev, as well as the new layout for the Modern galleries. The new layout, entitled Reimagining Modernism 1900-1950, arranges paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts around seven broad themes: Avant-Garde, Direct Expression, Abstraction, Bodies, Work and Industry, The Metropolis, and Retreat. While the new explanations are useful, it is not clear that the artworks are arranged any better than previously, which  also seemed fairly coherent. The collection as exhibited is a nice overview but fairly thin. There was only one work each by major artists such as Hopper, O'Keefe, Rockwell, or Benton, among others. This appears to be a work in progress. Gallery 913, which was supposed to be included, was closed, breaking up the two halves of the exhibit. Also closed were the back galleries (904-907), which previously (and perhaps still) also encompassed this time period, so I’ll wait to see what develops. All this may be temporary. According to news reports, the Met plans to move its entire Modern and Contemporary collection to the old Whitney Museum temporarily while it completely rebuilds its Modern Wing. 

Sargent, Lily Millet (Private Collection)

After lunch Bev and I went to the special exhibit, John Singer Sargent: Portraits of Artists and Friends, which contained more Sargent portraits than we ever imagined existed. They were drawn from a huge number of collections, including many simply labeled as “Private,” so we're unlikely to see them again. The Met asserts that its own collection of works by Sargent is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world – a claim that Boston’s MFA also makes. Which collection is actually better will have to be resolved later. I did note that the very day we saw this exhibit, the MFA opened an exhibit of Sargent letters, photographs, and sketches from The John Singer Sargent Archive, which was just donated to the MFA. 

Finally, after resting at the Balcony Lounge, with interesting contemporary classical music and overpriced drinks and snacks, we finished the evening at another special exhibit, Sultans of Deccan India, 1500-1700.

Day 28 – 7/12/15: European Decorative Arts (end)

Sunday, after again spending time in Central Park’s Ramble, I visited two more special exhibits: Van Gough’s Irises and Roses and Maurice Prendergast’s Boston Public Garden Watercolors. I returned to the Decorative Arts area and found the Linsky Galleries open. This was another instance of galleries arranged by donor rather than subject, which I often don’t like, but this eclectic collection was rather pleasant. In fact, if someone wants to spend only a short time in the Decorative Arts area, this would be a good way to do it. The seven rooms include Renaissance and Old Master paintings, unusual German porcelain sculptures (photos above), and a hodgepodge of small sculptures and household objects from many different countries.

Detail from Mirrored Double Doors, Italian, 1743-44

The remainder of the Decorative Arts galleries (rooms 550-556) – beyond the Petrie Sculpture Court – covered a potpourri of objects and eras, starting with Baroque and Rococo, Neoclassical, various revival styles, and finally Art Nouveau at the dawn of 20th Century.  The Arts Noveau I found rather refreshing after so many room of old styles. 

I can understand my initial aversion to the Decorative Arts area, since it is overwhelming in size and not consistently organized -- sometimes by country, sometime by period, sometimes by medium, and sometimes by donor. However, among the chaos are many gems waiting to be discovered.

With some time left, I wandered to the adjacent part of the museum, Modern and Contemporary, where the first floor galleries had been redesigned a year ago under the theme, "Reimagining Modernism: 1900–1950." As I entered, I noticed an impressive new installation: a 10-panel mural by Thomas Hart Benton entitled America Today. This mural had been created for the New School in 1931, was donated to the Met in 2012, and was just installed (within the last month or so) in a new room that replicates the original site. It was particularly striking, since just a week earlier I had seen the Benton exhibition at the Peabody Essex Museum, which featured another mural, American Epic History. In both murals, it’s clear that Benton loves America but is not afraid to show unflattering aspects – in the historical mural, the exploitation of Native Americans or African Americans, and in America Today, the impact of the Great Depression and the seedy sides of New York.

"City Activities with Dance Hall" and "City Building" from Benton's America Today

Day 27 – 7/11/15: European Decorative Arts (part)

Saturday I drove to New York in the morning, and spent some in Central Park and visiting my nephew, so was at the Met mainly for the evening hours. I had completed the first half of the European Decorative Arts galleries, which is arranged coherently by country: Italian (galleries 500-508), British (509-519), French (522-532), and Spanish (534-535). The remainder is not as clearly organized. I saw a gallery of Rococo items from German-speaking Central Europe (533) followed by a room of Italian Renaissance bronze sculptures (536). The next seven galleries (537-543) are devoted to the Jack and Belle Linsky Collection but were, unfortunately, closed (I feared another section might prove difficult to get into). Next were some additional Wrightsman (French) Galleries (544-547) -- which somehow were separated numerically from the other Wrightsman Galleries (so my notion of always proceeding numerically does not always make sense). These galleries completed the wonderful French collection with some smaller period rooms and miscellaneous objects.

Next was the spectacular Petrie European Sculpture Court (548-549), which provides a dramatic view of the 1888 museum façade. I had been through this court dozens of times getting across the museum, and often stopped at some of the remarkable sculptures, but I had not seen them all. The most striking sculptures depict people in agony, and many of them are featured in the Met’s new “Body Language” audio tour. The centerpiece of this courtyard is “Perseus with the Head of Medusa”. Apparently decapitation used to be considered admirable, even heroic, but one would think with our increased repulsion to this practice that the Met might move it to a less prominent location. I completed the day with a special exhibit on George Caleb Bingham and the River.

Antonio Canova: Perseus with the Head of Medusa

Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux: Ugolino and His Sons

Balthasar Permoser: Marsyas

Domenico Guidi: Andromeda and the Sea Monster

The Met's new David Koch Plaza