A Year in New England: Weekend Thirty-Four

(Frivolity by Elihu Vedder)

We decided to go to see Janet Evanovich’s One For The Money on opening night. Not much of a crowd. And while the critics trashed the movie, we had a good time comparing it to the book, which we read years ago. They’re going to have to make some big changes if they expect to continue making movies for each of the books (now up to eighteen).

Debbie Reynolds and Katherine Heigl

On Saturday we drove down to New Haven. New Haven was founded in 1638 by Puritans. It is the first planned community in America, with the Town Green dating from that founding. The major attraction, of course, is Yale University. In 1716, the Collegiate School relocated from Old Saybrook and two years later the name was changed to Yale College thanks to a large donation from British East India Company merchant Elihu Yale, former Governor of Madras. Among the many firsts in the city are the cotton gin, designed by Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate who remained in New Haven and also had a gun-manufacturing plant. It was in that plant that Samuel Colt invented the automatic revolver in 1836.

Marie imitating Art

After finding a free parking space a few blocks away from the center, we went to Chapel Street and began with the Yale University Art Gallery. I should mention a little history as the Gallery’s forerunner was the first public art institution in the county when in 1838 John Trumbull made a deal to donate twenty-eight paintings and sixty miniature portraits to the college in exchange for a $1,000 annuity. He also designed the original gallery. (See more about Trumbull in my new Connecticut Arts & Artists site.) Since then there have been many changes. The section built in 1928, where the Trumbull collection has been residing, is undergoing restoration which was supposed to have been finished last year.

And even though we were there between special exhibitions of American Art, there was plenty to see. After being greeted by a Sol LeWitt,

Wall Drawing #614 by Sol LeWitt, 1989

we began with the African and Asian Art on the second floor. The African was especially interesting. They often provided photos of the objects being worn, which added greatly.

from the Ivory Coast

from Nigeria

from The Congo

also from The Congo

from Sierra Leone

And from Asia:

Listening to the Waves by Sakiyama Takayuki, 2006

Portrait of Lady with a Rosewater Flask, India, late 18th cent

The third floor displayed American and European Art. I’ve included a few of the pieces here, but you can see many more if you click here.

Well Nell by Robert Rauschenberg, 1959

The Waterfall by Wassily Kandinsky, 1909

Sunrise III by Arthur Dove, 1936

Snow and Glow by Oscar Bluemner, 1935

The False Start by Edgar Degas, ca 1869-72

Le cafe de nuit by Vincent van Gogh, 1888

Elements mecaniques by Fernand Leger, 1924

There was also Ancient and Pre-Columbian Art:

Relief from the Palace of Assurnasirpal II at Nimrud depicting a human-headed Genie watering a sacred tree, 883-852 bc

Aztec brazier with a deity combining elements of the rain god (Tlaloc) and the maize god, ca 1325-1521

Aztec head of the god of games and music (Macuilxochitl) ca 1440-1521

And a sculpture garden or two:

Cubi XXII by David Smith, 1964

Stacks by Richard Serra, 1990

Atmosphere and Environment XI by Louise Nevelson, 1971

Our plan was to go to the University School of Art Gallery, just up Chapel Street. But discovered the doors locked to all but students. So we reversed and walked down Chapel the other way to the Center for British Art, which holds the largest and most comprehensive collection outside of the UK. I believe all the Art, books, and building were a gift from Paul Mellon, who was a Yale alum. And while British Art is not usually our cup of tea, we found several interesting pieces. Here are a few:

Favourites, the Property of HRH Prince George of Cambridge by Sir Edwin Henry Landseer, 1834

The Sense of Taste by Philipper Mercier, 1744-1747

The George Stubbs Gallery

Biolith by Barbara Hepworth, 1948-49

There are more than 120 restaurants located within two blocks of the New Haven Green. We held out for the Red Lentil, which I read about offering excellent vegetarian fare. We were not disappointed. We both had the red lentil soup, and Marie got the Roasted Beet and Walnut Salad, while I had a tempeh Rueben. Both delicious.

We went back to the car to drive to the last two stops on the day’s tour. First we went to City Gallery, a small space up on State Street, which was showing the work of Roberta Friedman:

And Roslyn Meyer:

It was just a short drive over to the John Slade Ely House Center for Contemporary Art on Trumbull. The building was interesting, with lots of dark wood moldings (except for where they painted it white) and a staircase that seemed to fill half the space.

They were showing Exploded Views, with work by Aimée Burg, Geoffrey Detrani, Martha W. Lewis, and Mark Wilson. Here are a couple of shots:

Legia by Martha W. Lewis, 2012

Marionettes by Geoffrey Detrani, 2011

There is more to see in New Haven and, if time permits, we will visit again.

We started Marie’s birthday celebration early with dinner at the Noah Webster House’s Tavern Nights. These are special dinners they offer once a month for four months as a fundraising activity. Volunteers and staff dress up to serve, and the fare is perhaps appropriate. Noah Webster, you may recall, was an early lexicographer, whose name is synonymous with dictionary. Here is his portrait painted by Samuel Morse (see more on him in my new Connecticut Art & Artists site):

After our complimentary glass of wine,

we had Chicken Pot Pie, served family style, squash, and cranberry chutney, with a piece of cake for desert.

Our entertainment for the evening was Don Sineti, whom we saw at the Mystic Seaport Sea Chanters event last spring (see Weekend Six). Here’s a bit of what we heard:

Since it was a nice sunny Sunday, we decided to go downtown Hartford to visit Winterfest at Bushnell Park. Winterfest is just a temporary skating rink they put up next to the Pump House. Skates and skating are free. It wasn’t too crowded and we just wanted to see if we could still do it. Marie soon discovered she couldn’t, as her ankles were too wobbly. I did better, but not quite ready for the Olympics. BTW, I posted some figure skating video on "Catching Up."