Painting Promised to D.C. Exhibit
The Associated Press
Friday, Nov. 2, 2001; 8:53 p.m. EST
WASHINGTON A Claude Monet painting from Germany that was turned back on its Sept. 11 flight to an Impressionist exhibit is set to make the trip again later this month.
Officials at the Phillips Collection, the museum that originated the show, have been hopeful that the work would be sent a second time from Dresden, Germany, where it belongs to a state collection. Dieter Herz, spokesman for the Science Ministry of the state of Saxony, said on Friday that it will be sent.
"It looks like we'll be seeing it soon," said Eliza Rathbone, curator of the show "Impressionist Still Life."
An earlier statement by Deputy Director Birgit Dalbajewa of the Dresden collection suggested that the 135-year-old painting needed a rest after its earlier trip.
Many of the 84 works in the Washington show were borrowed from European collections. Sept. 11 was the deadline for their arrival.
The attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon brought a ban on the landing of planes from outside the United States. One plane that turned back carried the little Monet, chosen for the cover of the Washington show's catalogue. Three other paintings that failed to make the Sept. 22 opening have since appeared.
"Jar of Peaches" measures less than 22 inches by 19 inches, but is valued in the millions of dollars. It depicts a tall glass jar of the fruit, with five fresh peaches beside it.
Officials of the Phillips decided in 1997 that too little attention had been paid to what the Impressionists painted in still life, compared with their reputation as outdoor painters. The Fine Arts Museum of Boston joined in organizing the show.
The catalog says of the picture from Dresden, "It is striking in its departure from tradition and in its focus on reflection and transparency."
On the Net:
Phillips Collection: http://www.phillipscollection.org
© Copyright 2001 The Associated Press
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