As a survivor of two damaging earthquakes, the Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford University has a lot in common with the works in its newest exhibit, Spared From the Storm: Masterworks from the New Orleans Museum of Art. The exhibit, which runs through October 5, showcases 80 sculptures, paintings and drawings by major artists from the 17th to mid-20th centuries, all of which escaped Hurricane Katrina's devastating grip in 2005. The exhibit was organized by the New Orleans Museum of Art to benefit its Katrina Recovery Fund.
The collection has a strong emphasis on French works, such as the impressive, larger-than-life “Portrait of Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France” by renowned courtier painter Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun and a sensual depiction of afternoon intrigue, “The Surprise,” by Rococo master François Boucher. Other works include Pierre-Auguste Renoir's simple and delicate portrait of quotidian life, “Seamstress at a Window;” Edgar Degas' ethereal “Dancer in Green;” and George Braque's Fauvist “Landscape at L'Estaque.”
While French artists are displayed prominently, other artists hailing from countries like the United States, Spain, Belgium and German also share the limelight. Artist Jackson Pollack's early 1948 drip painting, “Composition (White, Black, Blue and Red on White),” makes an appearance, as does Pablo Picasso's “Woman in an Armchair.” René Magritte offers a surrealist perspective with “The Art of Conversation;” while Max Ernst presents “Turtle,” a whimsical yet simple sculpture.
The artists represented in this collection are too many to mention, but art lovers will appreciate seeing familiar works as well as unfamilar ones. It's remarkable that these masterpieces survived one of the most catastrophic disasters in recent history, but they also go to show that as long as appreciation of the arts live on, works like these will continue to capture the imaginations of all who view them. —Stephanie Soong
Where:
Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, 328 Lomita Dr. (at Museum Way), Palo Alto
Hours:
Wed, Fri-Sun, 11-5; Thurs, 11-8
Info:
650/723-4177
www.museum.stanford.edu
