joy magnetism: Legacy of the admantine ladies




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Sunday, April 11, 2010

Legacy of the admantine ladies

Magnet #773 - Museum of Modern Art

Love the MoMA. Even if sometimes it makes me think too hard, it's still one of the best museums in town.

I just visited last weekend, to see the Tim Burton exhibit (way too crowded, but fun) and the Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present exhibition (way too out there, but interesting).

And, finally the weather was good enough to visit the Sculpture Garden, which is one of the best vantage points to see how the building's expanded over the years, from the Philip Johnson work in the 50s, to Cesar Pelli residential tower from the 80s, to the recent revitalization by Yoshio Taniguchi.

It's just one of the coolest Modern architecture buildings in town, and fairly apropos, given the museum's purpose over the last 80 years.

Not surprisingly, it was begun by Abby Aldrich Rockefeller and a couple of friends, called "the adamantine ladies," opening up just nine days after the stock market crash of 1929 with the likes of Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat.

I do love that Abby's husband didn't really like Modern Art and so kept the purse strings shut for a bit. It was years before he'd donate any funds, but of course, in the end, the Rockefellers became one of the museum's greatest benefactors.

Me? I'm just trying to figure out how I can get to be called an adamantine lady.
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