Travels in the 2nd half

  October is when the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York City, opens its winter exhibits. With shows large and small, the museum always offers a great selection of art on display. Here are four of the Met’s exhibits this winter. Man Ray: When Objects Dream (through Feb 1, 2026)   Photographer Man Ray (1890-1976, b. Emmanuel Radnitzky) is well known for work that edges into the surrealistic. What I found fascinating about this exhibit, which focuses on his work from the 1920’s and 30’s, is that it delves into his efforts to bring other art forms into photography. By the 1920’s Man Ray had moved to Paris, and he had become friends with many artists there, including Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque. Picasso and Braque were at the forefront of the movement developing the genre of cubism, and Man Ray started working to bring that movement into photography. He adapted a process of creating photograms, the placing of objects directly onto photosensitive paper, and exposing them...

  The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City always hosts major special exhibits. One of the current shows is a retrospective of paintings by John Singer Sargent.  Sargent and Paris (through Aug 3, 2025)   John Singer Sargent (1856 - 1925) was born to American expatriates in Europe. His father was an eye surgeon based in Paris. Both of his parents encouraged Sargent’s interest in art, sending him to the Academy of Florence to study, and then supporting him in Paris as he worked under the portraitist Carolus-Duran . En Route pour la Pêche Atlantic Storm Staircase in Capri Portrait of Frances Sherborne Ridley Watts Rehearsal of the Pasdeloup Orchestra Early in his life, Sargent traveled around Europe with his parents. He continued to travel as an adult, and incorporated what he discovered into his early works. Madame Ramón Subercaseaux Venetian Street Fumée d'Ambre Gris As Sargent matured, he concentrated more on his portrait work. In the 1880’s many artists were pai...