NEW YORK — The perfect French martini is judged not only by the ratio of vodka to pineapple juice but also the cocktail glass in which it is served. Presentation is important in all things, and using antique or vintage Baccarat barware to serve your cocktails can turn your next gathering with friends into a classy shindig, with crystal stemware and glasses that boast beauty, history and character.
NEW YORK – The Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) presents Vera Paints a Scarf: The Art and Life of Vera Neumann, the first museum exhibition to comprehensively examine the career of American artist and designer Vera Neumann (1907-1993). On view now through January 26, 2020, the exhibition spotlights one of the most successful female design entrepreneurs of the 20th century, and tells the story of an originator of the American lifestyle brand through more than 200 works—from a selection of Neumann’s paintings, the source of her whimsical design motifs, to her signature scarves, fashions, textiles, and table linens signed with a cursive “Vera” and stamped with a ladybug.
NEW YORK – The Vikings were known for their wanderlust and fearless adventures both at sea and on dry land, but when they weren’t looting and pillaging, they developed other skills that took them at the top of their game. Most notable was their talent for metalwork. Their ability to craft deadly swords, knives, spears and other weapons of war was balanced by the more genteel pursuit of designing and creating fine jewelry of silver and gold. Their handiwork has withstood the test of time and is admired by collectors worldwide.
CLEVELAND – Fine art, furniture and decorative art from estates across the country will be auctioned on Wednesday, August 28 by Gray’s Auctioneers of Cleveland. In all, 380 lots will be offered, with a start time of 11 a.m. ET. Bid absentee or live online through LiveAuctioneers.
GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) – Connecticut museums are trying to break free of seeming aloof and engage with their local communities, starting with free admission for those who receive food stamps.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – A group hoping to memorialize Kathryn Janeway, captain of the USS Voyager, is a few light years closer to making it a reality.
CHICAGO— The Art Institute of Chicago presents an examination of midcentury art and design with In a Cloud, In a Wall, In a Chair: Six Modernists in Mexico at Midcentury, on view from September 6, 2019–January 12, 2020. The exhibition brings together the work of Clara Porset (b.1895), Lola Álvarez Bravo (b.1903), Anni Albers (b.1899), Ruth Asawa (b.1926), Cynthia Sargent (b.1922), and Sheila Hicks (b.1934), reflecting the unique experiences of these designers and artists in Mexico between the 1940s and 1970s. Despite their singularities, they created work that reflected on artistic traditions, while at the same time opened up new readings of daily life at a time of great social and political change.