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New Chair Appointed--Michael Hammond has been confirmed by the Senate as the new chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Hammond is a composer and dean at Rice University in Houston, TX.

Portrait Stirs Controversy--An oil portrait of Queen Elizabeth by Lucian Freud, grandson of Sigmund Freud, has been met with mixed reviews because of its "unflattering style." It will go on public view in Royal Treasures: A Golden Jubilee Celebration at the new Queen's Gallery in Buckingham Palace on May 22.

Sculpture Installed--The National Gallery of Art has completed the installation of Prinz Friedrich von Homburg, Ein Schauspiel, 3X, 1998-2001. This monumental outdoor work by Frank Stella is on view at the northeast corner of the Gallery's East Building.

Show Scheduled--The 14th Annual Works on Paper show is scheduled to be held Feb. 27 - March 3 in its original location--The Park Avenue Armory, New York City. A special preview on Feb. 27 from 6-9p.m. will benefit the Citizens' Committee for Children of New York. 212.777.5218.

Milestone Reached--The creator of the cartoon character Casper the Friendly Ghost has died in New York City at 83. Seymour V. Reit created the character in 1940, and comic books are still occasionally published.

WTC Memorial Reconsidered--New options are being considered by the FDNY after a planned memorial received criticism from firefighters. The statue design was based on a widely published photo taken on 9/11 that depicts three firefighters standing on a pile of rubble as they raise an American flag. However, the ethnicity of two of the original firefighters was changed from the original photo in order to be more symbolic. StudioEis in Brooklyn created the clay model, and the Tallix Art Foundry in Beacon, NY, was casting it. The 19-foot-high $180,000 bronze sculpture had been scheduled for installation in April at the MetroTech complex near the Fire Department of New York headquarters in downtown Brooklyn.

Olympic Competition Scheduled--The National Ice Carving Association is manager of the "Olympic Arts Festival Ice Carving Competition" in Provo, Utah, this month. Thirty teams from around the world will test their skills against the best carvers in the world for Olympic Gold. Two-person teams will be given ten blocks of crystal clear ice and have 17 hours to complete their masterpieces.

Finalists Announced--The shortlist for the biennial Hugo Boss Prize 2002 has been announced by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation. Finalists hail from Belgium, Denmark, Japan, France, Korea and Albania. The winner will be selected and announced this fall, followed by an exhibition of the prize-winning artist's work to be presented in early 2003 at the Guggenheim Museum.

Black History Month Celebrated--The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore, MD, will host a number of programs that celebrate Black History Month, ranging from lectures and films to a free family festival. Tickets for these events may be purchased in advance. Visit www.thewalters.org or call 410.547.9000.

Exhibitions:

Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Art, FL -- From Fauvism to Impressionism: Albert Marquet at the Pompidou features 45 paintings and 20 works on paper from the largest and most distinguished repository of Marquet's works--the Centre Pompidou in Paris. Through April 7.

Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. -- The Potter's Brush: The Kenzan Style in Japanese Ceramics presents gallery founder Charles Lang Freer's entire ceramics collection for the first time. The Kenzan style incorporates images from literature, painting, crafts, and ceramics and continues to be a distinctive mode of Japanese ceramics today. Through Oct. 27. Also on view through March 31 is Whistler in Venice: The First Set of Etchings.

Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX -- The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery is taking its most prized portrait on the road. George Washington: A National Treasure features the famous portrait of Washington by Gilbert Stuart. The cross-country tour begins in Houston on Feb. 15 through June 16 and then travels through 2004 to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, Oklahoma, Arkansas and New York City.

California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, CA -- 18th Annual Bouquets to Art 2002, which opens March 12 and runs through March 15, will feature over 100 innovative floral arrangements created to complement the Legion's works of art, as well as lectures, a benefit drawing, a silent auction, and luncheons and teas available by reservation. The flowers and foliage are arranged to follow the form, line and color of the fine art displayed at the museum. 415.750.3504.

Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA -- Impressionist Still Life is the first major exhibition devoted to Impressionist still-life painting. Ninety spectacular works reveal the surprising innovations in late 19th century still life by such masters as Monet, Manet, Degas, Renoir, Cassatt, Courbet, Cezanne, van Gogh and Gauguin. Highlights include two still lifes by Monet never before seen in the U.S. and 15 works by Cezanne. Opens Feb. 17 through June 9.

February Birthdays:
  8    John Ruskin
11    William Talbot
17    Raphaelle Peale
18    Max Klinger
20    Elie Nadelman
22    Rembrandt Peale
24    Charles Le Brun

Copyright ARTtalk Vol. 12 No. 4 -- February 2002