ON EXHIBIT
Americans in Boston, Via Paris
Sunday, June 18, 2006; Page P04
WHAT: "Americans in Paris, 1860-1900" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston
WHEN: June 25-Sept. 24
  The "Americans in Paris, 1860-1900" exhibit at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts explores the works of such expatriate artists as John Singer Sargent and his "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" (1882). (Gift Of Mary Louisa Boit, Julia Overing Boit, Jane Hubbard Boit, And Florence D. Boit In Memory Of Their Father, Edward Darley Boit. Photo © Museum Of Fine Arts, Boston) |
HOW MUCH: $23
WHY GO: We owe Paris a big merci for some of the finest American masterpieces of the 19th century.
In the years following the Civil War, such prominent artists as James McNeill Whistler, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt and Winslow Homer flocked to Paris to polish their artistic education, studying works by the great French masters that weren't available to them in the States at the time.
During their time in the capital of the Western art world, they created influential, iconic and recognizable works. Organized both chronologically and thematically, "Americans in Paris" presents 100 pieces on loan from public and private collections throughout the world and provides a glimpse into the artists' day-to-day lives.
"It's the first major exhibition dedicated to the role that Paris played in American arts," says MFA senior curator Erica Hirshler. "It's a topic people have written quite a bit about, but this is the first major show. The paintings we've been able to borrow . . . are some of the most important works, so the exhibit will be looking at this topic through the best examples."
DON'T MISS . . . " Whistler's Mother" (1871), on loan from the Musee d'Orsay in Paris and rarely shown in the United States. Whistler painted it in London, but felt his career was validated when the French state bought the painting in 1891.
A self-portrait of Boston artist Ellen Day Hale (1885), the daughter of a U.S. Senate chaplain, presents a forthright look of the artist who was no conventional beauty. "To my eye, it shows her determination to be a painter, which was hard for a woman in 1885," Hirshler says. "The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit" (1882) by Sargent is a large painting of four girls that, depending on your interpretation, is either a portrait of charming children or a study of the stages of childhood.
EXTRAS: Get into a French state of mind during the 11th annual Boston French Film Festival on July 6-23, held in the museum's Remis Auditorium (screening times vary; admission is $10, with tickets available at the MFA box office or by calling 617-369-3306). The festival features an estimated 25 new French films from both veteran and debut directors . . . Every Wednesday night, the museum's Norma Jean Calderwood Courtyard is home to a summer concert series . On July 19, the French-language African group Konono No. 1 performs its unique blend of Afro-Latin music (concerts at 6 and 8:30 p.m.; tickets are $26.50 and available at http:/
SLEEPS: Several Boston hotels, including such chains as the Doubletree, Hilton and Westin, offer packages that include tickets to the exhibit. Visit http:/
The Eliot Hotel (370 Commonwealth Ave., 800-443-5468, http:/
EATS: The museum's Bravo restaurant offers up dishes and cocktails to complement the exhibit. Start with a "John Swinger Sargent," with Knob Creek bourbon, or the gin-based "Pink Madame X With a Sapphire Ring." The restaurant's French-inspired menu includes steak frites ($25) and crepes of the day ($20).
Other Boston restaurants and bars are also catching Paris fever. Craigie Street Bistro (5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, 617-497-5511) has a French-themed three-course meal for $33 most nights, and the owners plan to restock the restaurant's little library of French books for people to browse over a glass of wine. Aujourd'hui (200 Boylston St., 617-351-2037) is a modern French restaurant that will go a more traditional route with its tasting menus in recognition of the exhibit. Its five-course prix-fixe meal, which features pan-seared foie gras and striped bass, is $88 per person.
INFORMATION: The Museum of Fine Arts is at 465 Huntington Ave. Details: 617-267-9300, http:/
-- John Maynard
