The DART Board: 09.09.2019
When the poet William Butler Yeats [above, center] had his portrait done by John Singer Sargent in 1908, he said, “I wore a velvet jacket to remind myself how important he is.” Yeats, a lynchpin of the Irish literary scene, was one of many luminaries in the arts who was awed by Sargent’s gift for capturing the essence of those who withstood his compelling gaze. His portrait in charcoal is one of more than fifty currently on view at The Morgan Library & Museum.
Best known for his larger-than-life size oil paintings of the privileged, Sargent grew fatigued by the countless hours he had to spend with people who were, frankly, not up to his speed. Widely read, and an accomplished pianist, Sargent decided to shift gears. Around the age of fifty, he began taking portrait commissions only in the medium of charcoal on paper. These highly finished drawings that captured not only a likeness but also the essential spirit of his sitters, were generally done in just a few hours. They were offered for what, at the time, amounted to about $50; framing was extra. And the opportunity of having one done was limited to people with whom the artist wanted to spend time.
The exhibition includes depictions of luminaries in the arts, including author Henry James, the dancer Rudolf Nijinsky, the monologist Ruth Draper, along with Yeats and other notable public figures. Sargent would often entertain his sitters by playing the piano or having friends along to amuse them—and they clearly realized that they were not merely subjects, but performers showing off their best qualities to the artist.
So skillful was Sargent that he was able to capture the uniqueness of each person in deft strokes that never sought to hide their imperfections. Yet these depictions were also flattering in the sense that the features of even the oldest seem to emanate an inner glow.
John Singer Sargent: Portraits in Charcoal continues through January 12th at The Morgan Library & Museum. 225 Madison Avenue, NY, NY Info A series of discussions, gallery tours and workshops begins on Friday, October 18 with a Gallery Talk with Curatorial Fellow Laurel Peterson. Info Photos © Peggy Roalf
Lloyd Ziff,
Brooklyn, 1968; this week at Throckmorton Fine Art
Talks / Book Events / Open Studios / Screenings / and Beyond
Tuesday, October 9
Galleries: How to Get One | LIC Arts Open Professional Development lecture, 6-8 pm. Plaxall Gallery, 5-25 46th Avenue, Long Island City, NY Info
Thursday, October 10
Leonardo Drew in conversation with Brooke Kamin Rapaport, 6 pm. The Oval at Madison Square Park, Fifth Avenue at 26th Street, NY, NY Info
Versailles ’73 | American Runway Revolution, screening, 6 pm. Katie Murphy Amphitheatre, Fashion Institute of Technology, 7th Avenue at 27th Street, NY, NY Info
Embellishments Overload Workshop, 6-8 pm. Museum of Arts and Design, 2 Columbus Circle, NY, NY Info
Thursday, October 10-Saturday, October 12
The Masters Series: Steve Brodner, 6 to 8 pm. SVA Chelsea Gallery, 601 West 26th Street, 15th Floor, NY, NY Info More
Symposium: Teaching Photographs. Pratt Institute, ARC Auditorium, ARC Lower Level, D-05, 200 Willoughby Avenue, Brooklyn, NY Info Schedule
Thursday, October 10-Sunday, October 13
Clio Art Fair | The Anti-Fair for Independent Artists. 550 West 29th Street between 10th and 11thAvenues, NY, NY Info
Saturday, October 12
Lloyd Ziff | Patti Smith Robert Mapplethorpe: Desire, Photographs 1968-1969, book signing and presentation, 3 pm. Throckmorton Fine Art, 145 East 57th Street, NY, NY Info
Saturday, October 12-Sunday, October 13
The High Line Artists Open Studios, noon-6 pm. West Chelsea Arts Building, 526 West 26th Street, NY, NY Info courtesy of Tom Cocotos
Saturday, October 12-December 21
Light Field Festival | Exhibitions, Workshops, Data Visualization and more, Hudson, NY Info
Tuesday, October 15
Ben Hassett | Color, book signing, 6-8 pm. Dashwood Books, 33 Bond Street, NY, NY Info
Elinor Carucci, Paul Graham, Gus Powell, Sasha Wolf | on PhotoWork, panel, 7 pm. Aperture Foundation, 547 West 27th Street, NY, NY Info
Continuing
Penumbra Foundation Artist Series Lectures. 36 East 30th Street, NY, NY Info
Looking Ahead
Wednesday, October 16
Patti Smith in conversation with Anthony Alofsin | The Crucible of Creativity, 6:30 pm. Museum of the City of New York, 1220 Fifth Avenue at 103rd Street, NY, NY Info
Tuesday November 5
The Business of Art | 3-part Workshop, 5-6:30. Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, 1 East 53rd Street, NY, NY Info
Daniela Edburg, Boundary, 2016; this week
at Elizabeth Houston Gallery
In Galleries / Lens-based Art
Wednesday, October 9
SHE | works by Svetlana Bailey, Arielle Bobb-Willis, Daniela Edburg, Sally Gall, Weronika Gesicka, Cig Harvey, Sandra Kantanen, Kathrin Linkersdorff, Liz Nielsen, Laura Pannack, Chloe Rosser, Corine Vermeulen, 7-9 pm. Elizabeth Houston Gallery, 190 Orchard Street, NY, NY Info
Alice Miceli | Projeto Chernobyl. Americas Society, 680 Park Avenue, NY, NY Info
Thursday, October 10
Collin Leitch | Camera Rider, 6-8 pm. Team Gallery, 83 Grand Street, NY, NY Info
Sunday, October 13
Daniel Arnold | 1:2:1, 4-7 pm. Larrie, 27 Orchard Street, NY, NY Info
Robert Kushner, Betty's Blue Basket with Oranges, 2018; this week at DC Moore Gallery
In Galleries
Wednesday, October 9
Agnes Denes. The Shed, 545 West 30th Street, NY, NY Info
Thursday, October 10
Sarah McEneaney | Trestletown Stomping Ground, 6-8 pm. Tibor De Nagy Gallery, 11 Rivington Street, NY, NY Info
What About the Human Figure? | MarthaEdelheit, Shirley Gorelick, Marcia Marcus, 6-8 pm. Eric Firestone Gallery, 4 Great Jones Street, NY, NY Info
Vik Muniz | Pictures of Paint and Museum of Ashes, 6-8 pm. Sikkema Jenkins & Co., 535 West 22ndStreet, NY, NY Info
Robert Kushner | By My Window, 6-8 pm. DC Moore Gallery, 535 West 22nd Street, NY, NY Info
Type A | Menace, 6-8 pm. Peter Hay Halpert Fine Art, 547 West 27th Street, NY, NY Info
A Composite Leviathan | 12 emerging artists from China, 6-8 pm. Luhring Augustine Bushwick, 25 Knickerbocker Avenue, Brooklyn, NY Info
Friday, October 11
Pat Passlof | The Brush Is the Finger of the Brain, 6-8 pm. Milton Resnick and Pat Passlof Foundation, 87 Eldridge Street, NY, NY Info
Alex Bradley Cohen | Personal Space, 6-8 pm. Nicelle Beauchene Gallery, 327 Broome Street, NY, NY Info
Meredith James | Shadows on a Wall, 6-8 pm. Jack Hanley Gallery, 327 Broome Street, NY, NY Info
Arghavan Khosravi | Tightrope Walking the Red Lines, 6-8 pm. Lyles & King, 106 Forsyth Street, NY, NY Info
The Many Faces of Tamara de Lempicka. Kosciuszko Foundation, 15 East 65th Street, NY, NY Info
Robert Morris | Pre-Architectural Projects, 6-8 pm. Leubsdorf Art Gallery, Hunter College, 132 East 68thStreet, NY, NY Info
From the Bronx to Maine | Bronx Junior Photo League Maine workshop exhibition, 6-8 pm. Bronx Documentary Center, 614 Courtandt Avenue, Bronx, NY Info
Saturday, October 12
Petra Cortright | Domestic Landscapes. Danziger Gallery, 980 Madison Avenue, NY, NY Info
Picasso, The Studio, Paris, winter 1927-28, at MoMA
In Museums
Friday, October 11
The Pencil Is a Key | Drawings by Incarcerated Artists | including pages by Gustave Courbet, Ruth Asawa, Hans Bellmer and more. The Drawing Center, 35 Wooster Street, NY, NY Info
Made in Tokyo | Architecture and Living, 1964-2020; curated by Atelier Bow-Wow. Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, NY, NY Info
Tuesday, October 15
Narrative Art, Sculpture and Illustration, 6:30 pm. Society of Illustrators, 123 East 68th Street, NY, NY Info
Friday, October 18
Edith Halpert and the Rise of American Art. The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd Street, NY, NY Info
Monday, October 21
Museum of Modern Art opens to public, 10am-5:30 pm. 11 West 53rd Street, NY, NY Info