Closing August 2025: Jack Whitten, Sargent, Amy Sherald, Queen Esther, Chinoiserie

Jack Whitten, 9.11.01, 2006

Installation view of Jack Whitten: The Messenger, 

The Museum of Modern Art, New York,

 from March 23 through August 2, 2025. 

Photo: Jonathan Dorado.

Dear Friends,

Only half the summer has passed and yet many exhibitions will end in early August.

Please try to see all these shows before they close soon.

Jack Whitten: The Messenger, the best show this spring and summer, closing August 2nd for the general public, August 3rd for MoMA members.

John Singer Sargent, Dr. Pozzi at Home, 1881

Sargent and Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art, through August 3rd.

Here is a recording of my lecture on "John Singer Sargent and the Gilded Age," hosted by the Alliance Française USA, July 17, 2025.

Amy Sherald, Michelle Obama, 2018

Amy Sherald: America Sublime, Whitney Museum, through August 10th.

Rembrandt, Esther Preparing for Ahasuras, c. 1633, 

National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa

The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt, The Jewish Museum, through August 10th.

Chinese, Anonymous, Woman with a Pipe, c. 1760-80

Monstrous Beauty: A Feminist Revision of Chinoiserie, Metropolitan Museum of Art, through August 17th.

Best wishes for the rest of your summer,

Beth and the New York Arts Exchange

 

Staycation 2019: August Exhibitions that Spark Joy!

"Camp: Notes on Fashion," 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, through September 8th

Franco Moschino (Italian, 1950–1994) for House of Moschino (Italian, founded 1983). 

Dress, fall/winter 1989. Courtesy of Moschino. Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2018

Dear friends,

There are times when writing this blog seems so trivial in the midst of tragedy here in the US or abroad.  Whether the circumstances are natural disasters or human actions that bring loss and pain, the notion that this blog shouts out "go see art" often feels inappropriate these days.

And yet - speaking only for myself - I need to go to museums and galleries to escape the gloomy thoughts about our current global mess.  For we still have so much to be thankful for,  especially the good fortune of living in or near New York, which this summer is brimming with exceptional opportunities in museums, theaters, concerts, performances, and lectures. 

"Camp: Notes on Fashion," 

Metropolitan Museum of Art, through September 8th

Jun Takahashi (Japanese, born 1969) for Undercover (Japanese, founded 1990). Ensemble, fall/winter 2017–18. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Friends of The Costume Institute Gifts, 2017 (2017.399a–d). Photo © Johnny Dufort, 2019

Here are a few museum exhibitions for those of you in search of art that "sparks joy":

Camp: Notes on Fashion,  Met Museum, through September 8th

Play It Loud, Met Museum, through October 1st.

Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything, Jewish Museum, through September 8th

"Play it Loud," Metropolitan Museum of Art, through October 1st

Ludwig Drum Company, Four Drum set with cymbals, 1963

Formerly in the Ringo Starr and Barbara Bach Collection. Photo: Courtesy of Jay Irsay and the Metropolitan Museum of Art

"Leonard Cohen: A Crack in Everything,"

Jewish Museum, through September 8th 

 Installation photograph, courtesy of the Jewish Museum

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That's how the light gets in.

--Leonard Cohen

May a day with art bring you joy and peace -

With warm wishes from the Big Apple,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange, LLC

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Last Call for Frida in Brooklyn; Tolkien at the Morgan, through May 12

Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving

Brooklyn Museum, through May 12th

The exciting exhibition of Frida Kahlo's art, fashion, personal possessions, and image in photos and film will close on Sunday, May 12th at 10 pm.  All advance-sale timed tickets are no longer available, but you can try to purchase a timed ticket through the Membership link on the Brooklyn Museum's website, provided you become a member.  Here is the info for new membership only 

I will be among those unfortunates who missed the show - but such is life.

Here are two reviews that offer views from afar:

Vivian Wang on Latin X

Stephanie Huber on Hyperallergic

Conversation with Smaug, a watercolour painted by Tolkien in 1937 as an illustration for the first American edition of The Hobbit. In this image, Bilbo Baggins, rendered invisible by a magic ring, converses with the fire-breathing dragon, Smaug.

Tolkien:Maker of Middle Earth at the Morgan Library also closes on Sunday, May 12th.  A brilliant show, I highly recommend going on Friday evening, when the Morgan is open until 9 pm.  The lines for this show will be painfully long over the weekend, I am sure.  (Don't forget to watch the video on the Morgan website, available with the link provided here.)

Augusta Savage, with Realization, 1938

For those of you who are seeking a less crowded museum visit for Mother's Day, may I suggest the New York Historical Society, which features two great shows:

Betye Saar, Keeping It Clean, through May 27

Augusta Savage, Renaissance Woman, through July 28

There are two choices for dining: Parliment café and Storico restaurant

Other exhibitions that may have substantial crowds:

Camp, the Costume Institute exhibition (through the summer), and The Tale of Genji (through June 17) at the Met Museum

Leonard Cohen at the Jewish Museum through September 8

Please consult our website's "Free or Pay-What-You-Wish" page for more ideas to celebrate Mom.

Happy Mother's Day to you and your families,

Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange, LLC

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Fall is Here! And so is 5779 too! Closings and Openings to Ring in the New Year

Heavenly Bodies: Fashion and the Catholic Imagination

Metropolitan Museum of Art through October 8th

At The Cloisters (above) and on Fifth Avenue

Fall is finally here and the crisp, clean winds are blowing away the heavy rain Hurricane Florence dumped on our region.  Ah - what a relief!  Our hearts and prayers to out to North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia, which sustained enormous damage and lost so many lives due to the storm.

Therefore, we must be thankful for one challenging day in New York and be grateful for all our bounty, especially the exciting exhibitions on view this past summer.  I hope you were able to see Giacometti at the Guggenheim and Chaim Soutine: Flesh at the Jewish Museum before these exhibition closed earlier this month.  My July newsletter listed the shows ending during the summer.

Please note that the Met Museum decided to keep their Costume Institute exhibition  Heavenly Bodies on view through October 8th.  The Cloisters has a fabulous portion of Heavenly Bodies on view, as you can see in the photo selected our blog post today.  At the Met Breuer, Obsession: Nudes by Klimt, Picasso and Shiele will close on October 7th.

 

Ann Cefola and I will join George Kraus, poet Filippo Naitana, and his translator Ann Lauinger for Poetry in Translation, Sunday, September 30, 1:30 - 3:30 PM, at Shames JCC on Hudson, 371 South Broadway, Tarrytown, NY.  Free for members of the JCC; $10 for non-members.  Ann will read from her translations of  Hélène Sanguinetti's poetry (including her most recent publications) and I will read excerpts from André Salmon's long poem Peindre (Painting), 1921. 

Other New York Arts Exchange opportunities down the pike:

• The Scarsdale Woman's Club, Wednesday, September 26, 2 pm: "Art after WWI: Surrealism."
• Learning in Retirement, Temple Beth El, Stamford,  Wednesday, October 4, 1 pm: "Andy Warhol and Alex Katz at the Neuberger Museum."
• Learning in Retirement, Wednesday, October 10, 1 pm-2 pm; 2 pm-3 pm: Tours of the Neuberger Museum.
• Alliance Française de Greenwich and Byram Shubert Library, at BSL, Tuesday, October 9, 5:15 pm: "Delacroix in Context" (preparing for the exhibition at the Met).

As usual, New York has an extraordinary amount of excellent exhibitions this fall.

A full list of recommendations will be in the next blog post.

Best wishes for Fall Art Season 2018 -

Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and Owner

New York Arts Exchange, LLC

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Last Call: "Life Like" at Met Breuer, Colonial Mexico at Met Fifth, Adrian Piper at MOMA, Radical Latin American Women Artists in Brooklyn through July 22; "Parks" and "Versailles" at Met through July 29

Philippe Curtius, Sleeping Beauty, 1989, after 1765 original

Courtesy of the Met Breuer

Closing dates mid-summer are rare, but indeed noteworthy as eight (8) very important exhibitions end this weekend, next weekend and the first weekend in August. Mark your calendars and make time to see these shows, if you haven't seen them already.  I have seen them several times and intend to see each one again to bid them a fond farewell. Yes, they are that good!

Ron Mueck, Old Woman in a Bed, 2000-2002, mixed media

Courtesy of Met Breuer

Life Like: Sculpture, Color and the Body at the Met Breuer, Madison Avenue between 74th and 75th Streets, through July 22.  Here is an excellent review with more photos on ArtNet

(NB - Obsession: Nudes by Klimt, Schiele and Picasso also on view at Met Breuer through October 7th.)

Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz, VIII, From Spaniard and Morisca Albino, c. 1760

Painter in Mexico, 1700-1790: Pinxit Mexici at the Met on Fifth Avenue, between 81st and 85th Streets, through July 22. Please read this review in Artsy to prepare for this exhibition.

Édouard Manet, The Monet Family in Their Garden at Argenteuil,  1874,

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Public Parks, Private Gardens: Paris to Provence at the Met on Fifth Avenue, between 81st and 85th Streets, through July 29.

Visitors to Versailles exhibition installation at the Met

Visitors to Versailles, 1682-1790 at the Met on Fifth Avenue, between 81st and 85th Streets, through July 29.

Adrian Piper, Mythic Being, Sol's Drawing #1-5, 1975

Walker Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN

Adrian Piper: A Synthesis of Intuitions, 1965-2016 at the Museum of Modern Art, entrance on 54th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, through July 22.

Here is an excellent with photos review on Artsy.

Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2011

Gift from Agnes Gund to MoMA

Studio Visit: Selected Works from the Agnes Gund at the Museum of Modern Art, entrance on 54th Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues, through July 22.

Ana Mendieta, Corazón de Roca Con Sangre, 1975

Rock Heart with Blood, a super-8 film transfered in digital, 3.03 minutes

Courtesy of the Estate of the Ana Mendieta Collection, LLC and Galleries LeLong, NY

Radical Women: Latin American Art, 1960-1985 at the Brooklyn Museum, 200 Eastern Parkway, through July 22.  Please read this review on ArtNet.

Marc Camille Chaimowicz, exhibition installation at the Jewish Museum

Marc Camille Chaimowicz: Your Place or Mine . . . . at the Jewish Museum, entrance on 92nd Street and Fifth Avenue, through August 5th.

(NB - Chaim Soutine: Flesh also on view through September 16th.)

Shirley Chisholm, Presidential Campaign Poster, 1972

Beyond Suffrage: A Century of New York Women in Politics at the Museum of the City of New York, Fifth Avenue between 103rd and 104th Streets, through August 5th.

Best wishes for the rest of the summer,

Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange, LLC

www.nyarts-exchange.com

FB: New York Arts Exchange

Twitter: @bethnewyork

Instagram: @bethnewyork

Last Call: Modigliani at the Jewish Museum, NY through February 4th

Modigliani Unmasked closes on Sunday, February 4th.  My review of the show was published today in Bonjour Paris.  Hopefully, you have visited this excellent exhibition already.  You have one more day to study these exquisite drawings from the private collection of Dr. Paul Alexandre.  From there, it is a treat and privilege to run to the Met for the Michelangelo drawing exhibition, closing next weekend (Yikes, already!), wherein you can see the influence of the Renaissance master on this 20th century modernist.  (I'll send out another notice for this show during the week.)

If you visit the Modigliani show today or tomorrow, you will also be able to see the wonderful exhibition of clothing Veiling Meaning: Fashioning Jewish Dress from the Collection of the Israel Museum, Jerusalem, on through March 18th.  Also, their new installation of highlights from the permanent collection, Scenes from a Collection, is now on view. 

Amedeo Modigliani, c. 1913.

Image provided by PVDE/Bridgeman Images, New York

Sorry to say the Groundhog saw his shadow - six more weeks of winter :(

I hope you are using this dreary weather to unleash your creative spirit at home, in your studio, at an art school, or through private lessons with professional artists.  I will send out information about opportunities you may not know about through the usual channels.  So  - stay tuned.

Best wishes for the weekend,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange, LLC

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Paschal Greetings 2015

Spring is here, or so we are told -  as snow, rain and sleet have been on the menu this past week.  Has there been a mix-up in the Vernal Equinox?  An unannounced delay?

Nevertheless, the spring holidays are definitely on the way, whether you wear Canada Goose or only an Easter bonnet for the festivities.

Nicole Eisenman, Seder, 2010

At the Jewish Museum, Nicole Eisenman's painting, Seder, is on view through August 9th.   This solemn image, based on Norman Rockwell's Freedom from Want, 1942-43, is a bit off-putting in its expressionist colors and emphasis on the red beet-flavored horseradish, an acquired a taste.  Perhaps, one acquires a taste for Eisenman's style in due time as well.  I'm working on it.

Mark Podwal, Spring, 2011

I much prefer Mark Podwal's Spring - and all its iconographic implications: growth, vitality and beauty flourishing from the illuminations of faith (here a menorah sprouts flowers where candles usually cast their glow).

Leonardo da Vici, The Last Supper, late 1490s.

Was the Last Supper a seder?  Questions remain unanswered in this inquiry. Several scholars doubt the occasion was a traditional seder.  Rather, it might have been a meal taken during the week of Passover, as declared in the Gospels of Mathew, Luke and specifically in Mark (14:12): "the first day of the unleavened bread."

Master of Perea, Last Supper, late 15th century, Spain

In Master of Perea's painting of the Last Supper, this anonymous Spanish artist seems to believe the gathering was indeed a seder, for he covers the table with ritual dishes circa 1492 (before or after the expulsion of the Jews?).   Historians often doubt that the seder performed during the life of Christ looked quite this way.  Others point out that the seder, as we know it, requires the Haggadah developed during the Middles Ages.  (The oldest fragments of a Haggadah date to 200 CE/AD and many medieval haggadot survive from the 13th through 15th centuries.)

Here are the sources I consulted:

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/was-jesus-last-supper-a-seder/ 

http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/passover-seder-meal.html
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-last-supper-a-Passover-seder-348420
http://www.bibleinterp.com/opeds/2013/coo378022.shtml

The seder celebrates the Exodus from Egypt and freedom of all kinds.  We are commanded to recline, rather than sit, like the free people of ancient Greece and Rome - symposium-style.  For the seder is supposed to be like the symposium of yore.

Interestingly, in most paintings of the Last Supper, Jesus and his disciples sit at attention, rigidly arranged in isocephalic harmony to demonstrate the equality among these men.

Leonardo, however, gives us animation - they are responding to Jesus statement that one among them will betray him.  "Are you talking about me?" they gesture.  "Or him?" The tumult seems truly authentic.  Seders are very noisy.

More important to consider: What did this gathering of men eat in 33 CE/AD?  The answer may be in today's Discovery.com.

Adi Nes, The Last Supper, 1999

From my perspective: the Paschal Week brings Christianity and Judaism together to savor the first days of the spring and the promise of renewal  - physically, mentally and spiritually.

Happy Passover and Happy Easter -
May you enjoy peace, love and art (Spring Tours begin next week: click on the website link below for our schedule),
Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.
Director
New York Arts Exchange
www.nyarts-exchange.com

Last Call: Bodleian Manuscripts at the Jewish Museum closing February 3; NYAE Tours begin Tuesday

Crossing Borders: Manuscripts from the Bodleiain Libraries at the Jewish Museum

through February 3rd.

The exceptional exhibition of manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries (Oxford, England) at the Jewish Museum is about to end on Sunday, February 3rd. Even in these multiculti times, this occasion to study Hebrew, Latin and Arabic manuscripts side by side in a museum is quite rare. Here, we learn through looking at the mutual influences among Christian, Muslim and Jewish artists during the Middle Ages and Renaissance.  The installation is beautifully arranged and suitable for lingering - provided there isn't a holiday mob.  

Please join us on Tuesday, January 29th for a conversational tour of this extraordinary exhibition and the Sharon Lockhart/Noa Eshkol installation on dance.

Sharon Lockhart/Noa Eshkol, at the Jewish Museum through March 24

Winter Tours on Tuesdays

January 29 through March 19, 2013

1 pm

January 29: Bodleian manuscripts/dance exhibition, Jewish Museum

February 5 – Museum of Art and Design:  Art of Fragrance, etc.

February 12 - Museum of Biblical Art and Museum of Folk Art

February 19 – Fifty-Seventh Street Galleries

February 26 – Chelsea Galleries

March 5 – Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity @ the Met

March 12 – Uptown Galleries

March 19 – National Museum of Native Americans

The series of 8 tours/classes $400; $60 a la carte.

Reservations: nyarts.exchange@verizon.net

Take care in this brutal cold - warmer temperatures on the way.

Hang in there,

Beth New York

aka Beth Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

September 2012 Newsletter - Fall Tours

Dear friends,

The chill of fall is just beginning to cool our mornings and evenings.  Labor Day Weekend has past and it is time to plan for an exciting Fall Art Season in New York.

Please note that a few summer shows are still running through September.

Closing this month:
Edouard Vuillard, The Jewish Museum, through September 23.
"Ghosts in the Machine,"  Artists romance with technology in art, New Museum, through September 30.
Alighiero Boetti, Museum of Modern Art, through October 1.

Fall Tours:

Dr. Paul Werner's Tours 
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art:
"Art and the American Revolution," Thursdays, September 13 and 20, 1:30 pm
"Art through the Ages," Sundays, September 9 through December 16, 2 pm
"Art through the Ages," Tuesdays, September 11 through December 18, 10 am
"European Art," Sundays, September 9 and 16, 11 am
"European Art," Tuesdays, September 11 and 18, 1 pm
"Bernini, Sculpture in Clay," October 3 through January 6, 2012 - schedule TBA

To reserve a place, please contact Dr. Werner at werner@theorangepress.com
For further information, please visit the events page at www.theorangepress.com  
Syllabi for each course is also located on The Orange Press website.
Fees are pay you wish.  Everyone is welcome.

Dr. Beth Gersh-Nesic's Museum Tours 
Wednesdays at 1 - 3 pm
October 3, The Bodleian Medieval Manuscripts and contemporary art, The Jewish Museum
October 10, Andy Warhol, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
October 17, "Toxic Beauty: Art of Frank Moore," The Grey Art Gallery
October 24, Ruth Abrams, Yeshiva University Museum
October 31, Rosemary Trockel, The New Museum
November 7, Caribbean Art, El Museo del Barrio
November 14, Hudson River School, New York Historical Society
November 28, Georges Bellows, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
December 5, A studio visit with artist Ellen Levy
December 12, Matisse, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Series of 10: $500; $60 a la carte
Reservations: nyarts.exchange@verizon.net

Beth's Gallery Tours and Excursions
Saturdays, 1 - 3 pm:
October 6 - Chelsea
October 13 - Midtown
October 27 - Upper Eastside
November 3 - Hispanic Society
November 10 - Brooklyn Museum
November 17 - SoHo

Series of 6: $300; $60 a la carte; $20 each with museum series of 10.
Reservations: nyarts.exchange@verizon.net 

Dr. Kim de Beaumont's Tours of 18th century art 
at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
January 2013 - 2 tours for $100 or $60 a la carte. Specific dates TBA
Reservations: nyarts.exchange@verizon.net

We look forward to sharing this bountiful fall season with you.

With best wishes for the fall holidays,
Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic
Director
New York Arts Exchange

June 2012 Newsletter - June Tours

Dear friends,


Please join us for a Cindy Sherman and Post Exhibition Schmooze on Friday, June 8 at the Museum of Modern Art, at 1 pm.  This is not a tour.  
We will  meet in the exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art on Friday at 1 pm in the exhibition, followed by coffee in the cafe at Trump Tower, Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th Street.  At the Trump cafe we will schmooze about the show, current identity issues and the "Pictures Generation" - which produced Sherman et al.   This  event is just for fun (no charge).


Museum Mile will take place on Tuesday, June 12 this year.   Please check out the website for a full list of participating venues and activities during this exciting evening on Fifth Avenue:
Museum Mile 2012 Website





Late Spring Tours: Wednesdays and Thursdays at 1 pm Tour prices:  Series of 4: $200; or $60 a la carte


Thursday, June 7 - Vuillard at the Jewish Museum
Wednesday, June 13 - Francesca Woodman and Abstraction, Guggenheim
Wednesday, June 20 - Bellini, Titian and Lotto at the Met.
Wednesday, June 27 - French Drawings at the Grey Art Gallery, NYU: 
                                 Max Ferguson at HUC.


Please reserve a place as soon as possible:  nyarts.exchange@verizon.net


Closing Soon:
The Stein Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, through June 3.  
                                    Review on Beth New York
Cindy Sherman; Museum of Modern Art, through June 11 
Picasso/Gilot: Gagosian, 980 Madison Ave, through June 30.



Best wishes for all your happy June occasions,
Beth


Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.
Director
New York Arts Exchange
www.nyarts-exchange.com 
Blog: Beth New York