100 Years of Bacon

The Metropolitan Museum of Art isn’t just for classical art. To see some amazing contemporary work, check out Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective through August 16. The first major New York exhibition in 20 years devoted to the Irish artist, who lived from 1909 to 1992, will bring together the most significant works from each period of Bacon’s career. Some 65 paintings and never-before-seen works and archival material from the Francis Bacon Estate will be on display—and you can’t see this exhibit anywhere else: The Metropolitan Museum is the only U.S. venue of the exhibition tour, and several pieces will only be presented at the Met, including Study for Portrait I, 1953; Painting, 1946; and Self Portrait, 1973.

If you want to learn more about the painter, a selection of 65 items from the Bacon’s famously cluttered London studio, his estate, and other archives will be included in the exhibition to help visitors understand the artist behind the art. The objects include pages the artist tore from books and magazines, photographs, and sketches—all of which are source materials for the finished paintings on view in the exhibition.

Visit www.metmuseum.org for more information.

Art Tours

After the Bacon exhibit closes, go on a world tour without leaving the City. Art Smart, an art-focused tour company, will take the culturally curious to exhibits in numerous museums featuring artwork from around the globe. Some of the options include:

Asia in New York

• Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Humanism in China: A Contemporary Record of Photography at China Institute Gallery
• Serizawa: Master of Japanese Textile Design at Japan Society
• A private tea ceremony
  

Paris in New York

• Monet's Water Lilies at The Museum of Modern Art
• Hopper in Paris at the Whitney Museum of American Art
• Watteau, Music, and Theatre at The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• The permanent Vanderlyn room at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Egypt and the Middle East 

• The Newly reinstalled Islamic art galleries at the Brooklyn Museum
• Overview of the Egyptian Galleries and Temple of Dedur at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Leila Taghinia-Milani Heller Gallery, specializing in Middle Eastern art

 Visit www.artsmart.com for more information.