Author Erik Larson Discusses Churchill’s Darkest Year at Smithsonian Associates Event

Smithsonian Associates will present an evening with author Erik Larson, Monday, March 16, at George Washington University’s Lisner Auditorium. Larson will detail his extensive research for his newest book, The Splendid and the Vile, and his insights into how, in the face of unrelenting horror, Winston Churchill’s eloquence, courage and perseverance bound a country together.

For more than 50 years, Smithsonian Associates—the largest museum-based education program in the world—has produced vibrant educational and cultural programming that brings the Smithsonian to life. Inspired by the Smithsonian’s research, collections and exhibitions, nearly 1,000 public programs spark creativity and excite learning in people of all ages each year.

Larson, the author of New York Times bestsellers The Devil in the White City and In the Garden of Beasts, creates a vivid portrait of London and Churchill during the Blitz, detailing how the prime minister taught the British people “the art of being fearless.”

On Churchill’s first day as prime minister, Adolf Hitler invaded Holland and Belgium. Poland and Czechoslovakia had already fallen and the Dunkirk evacuation was just two weeks away. For the next 12 months, Hitler would wage a relentless bombing campaign, killing 45,000 Britons. It was up to Churchill to unite his country and persuade President Franklin Roosevelt that Britain was a worthy ally—and willing to fight to the end.

Drawing on diaries, original archival documents and once-secret intelligence reports—some released only recently—Larson offers a new lens on London’s darkest year through the day-to-day experience of Churchill, his family and his cadre of close advisors.

Ticket prices for the Smithsonian Associates’ presentation are $40. All general admission tickets include the featured book. For information, the public may call (202) 633-3030 or visit www.smithsonianassociates.org.

Final Slate Of 92nd Oscars® Presenters Announced

Jane Fonda, Josh Gad, Tom Hanks, Oscar Isaac, Sandra Oh, Natalie Portman, Chris Rock And Taika Waititi

Show producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain today announced the final slate of presenters for the 92nd Oscars® telecast. The Oscars will air live Sunday, February 9, on ABC.

The star lineup includes Jane Fonda, Josh Gad, Tom Hanks, Oscar Isaac, Sandra Oh, Natalie Portman, Chris Rock and Taika Waititi.

Previously announced Oscars presenters include Mahershala Ali, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Zazie Beetz, Timothée Chalamet, Olivia Colman, James Corden, Penélope Cruz, Beanie Feldstein, Will Ferrell, Gal Gadot, Zack Gottsagen, Salma Hayek, Mindy Kaling, Diane Keaton, Regina King, Shia LaBeouf, Brie Larson, Spike Lee, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, George MacKay, Rami Malek, Steve Martin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Anthony Ramos, Keanu Reeves, Ray Romano, Maya Rudolph, Mark Ruffalo, Kelly Marie Tran, Sigourney Weaver, Kristen Wiig and Rebel Wilson.

The 92nd Oscars will be held on Sunday, February 9, 2020, at the Dolby® Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center® in Hollywood, and will be televised live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. “The Oscars Red Carpet Show” will air at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT. The Oscars also will be televised live in more than 225 countries and territories worldwide.

“A Collector’s Vision” at The Philadelphia Museum of Art

Through June 7, 2020, the Philadelphia Museum of Art will present a selection of rare and noteworthy examples of American fine and decorative arts drawn from the collection of the late H. Richard Dietrich, Jr. (1938-2007). A Collector’s Vision: Highlights from the Dietrich American Foundation tells the story of a collector whose foundation has long shared Americana and rare books and manuscripts through an extensive loan program to institutions around the county.

Long-term loans to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, including many objects in the exhibition, began in 1966 and continue to this day. “This partnership has certainly supported our museum– but, more importantly, we hope it has helped foster an appreciation for American art and its history even more widely,” says Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, Philadelphia Museum of Art.

“Portrait of George Washington,” 1788, by James Peale (American, 1749 – 1831). Watercolor on ivory; gold case, 3 1/4 × 2 1/4 × 1/2 inches. On loan from The Dietrich American Foundation. 444-2008-2.

“Punch Bowl with Hongs of Canton,” c. 1790, Artist/maker unknown (Chinese, for the American market). Hard-paste porcelain with overglaze enamel decoration, Diameter: 14 3/8 inches. On loan from The Dietrich American Foundation. 68-1997-1.

Among the 55 objects on view in A Collector’s Vision are a delicate watercolor miniature of George Washington painted by James Peale and enshrined in a small gold case with a lock of Washington’s hair in the back; a signed Daniel Goddard bureau table from Newport; a quilt with squares depicting the life of President James Buchanan; Pennsylvania German frakturs and furniture; Chinese Export porcelain; and prints and watercolors.

“Coffeepot,” 1765-1770, by William Hollingshead (American (Philadelphia), c. 1723 –1808, active 1754 – 1785). Silver; wood handle. Including handle: 13 × 8 1/2 inches; Diameter (foot): 4 9/16 inches. On permanent deposit from The Dietrich American Foundation Collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. D-2007-37.

“Teapot,” 1765-1770, by Paul Revere, Jr. (American (active Boston), 1735 – 1818). Silver; wood handle, 5 3/4 x 9 1/2 x 5 inches. On permanent deposit from The Dietrich American Foundation Collection to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. D-2007-59.

A centerpiece is the re-creation of part of the Dietrich family’s living room in Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, which includes a Paul Revere teapot, a John Singleton Copley portrait of John Bee Holmes; and a bombe desk attributed to Nathaniel Gould.

Significant Modern and Contemporary Works from the Collection of Michael and Juliet Rubenstein to Go on View at The Met Breuer

January 29–March 29, 2020, The Met Breuer, Floor 5

In 1954, at the age of 17, the architect Michael A. Rubenstein bought his first work of art—a painting by the American artist John Hartell (1902–1995)—and it marked the beginning of a lifelong passion for collecting. Today the collection spans two centuries and consists mostly of drawings and watercolors, of which 160 are promised gifts to The Met from Rubenstein and his late wife, Juliet van Vliet Rubenstein. On view at The Met Breuer now through March 29, 2020, From Géricault to Rockburne: Selections from the Michael and Juliet Rubenstein Gift will highlight some 50 works, ranging from a drawing by the French artist Théodore Géricault from about 1818—the earliest work in the show—to a 2019 mixed-media work on paper by Rubenstein’s friend and artist Dorothea Rockburne.

Dorothea Rockburne (American [born Canada], 1932). Copper Element # 1, 2002. Copper, cut and pasted printed papers, and wax crayon on paper. 9 3/4 x 7 1/2 in. (24.8 x 19.1 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Promised Gift of Michael A. Rubenstein, from the collection of Michael A. and Juliet van Vliet Rubenstein. © 2019 Dorothea Rockburne / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

The gift is part of The Met’s 2020 Collections Initiative celebrating The Museum’s 150th anniversary.

“We are thrilled and grateful to receive this tremendous gift from Michael Rubenstein, which he assembled with his late wife, Juliet,” said Max Hollein, Director of The Met. “It is a remarkable act of generosity that will greatly strengthen The Met’s holdings of drawings, paintings, and watercolors from the 19th and 20th centuries.”

In developing an informed and discerning eye as a collector, Mr. Rubenstein visited galleries and museums—including frequent visits to The Met that started in his childhood—attended auctions, and befriended artists. “The Rubensteins’ collection is not just the gathering over many decades of works by artists they loved,” commented Sheena Wagstaff, Leonard A. Lauder Chairman, Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Met, “but its significance is also a testament to their passion for connoisseurship and the desire to live surrounded by art.”

The exhibition will feature drawings, paintings, and watercolors by European and American modern and contemporary artists—both widely and lesser known—including Eve Aschheim (b. 1958), Pierre Bonnard (1867–1947), Philip Guston (1913–1980), Franz Kline (1910–1962), and Anne Ryan (1889–1954). The works on view, all acquired over the 65-year period from 1954 to 2019, represent Rubenstein’s wide-ranging taste, as they vary in style and subject matter, ranging from the abstract, geometric, and linear to the lyrical and figural.

From Géricault to Rockburne: Selections from the Michael and Juliet Rubenstein Gift is organized by Sabine Rewald, the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Curator for Modern Art in the Department of Modern and Contemporary Art at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 2020, The Metropolitan Museum of Art will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding with a dynamic range of exhibitions, programs, and public events. Highlights of the year will include the exhibition Making The Met, 1870–2020, on view March 30–August 2; the opening of the newly renovated and reimagined galleries devoted to British decorative arts and design in March; the display of new gifts throughout the Museum; a three-day-long celebration in June; and a story-collecting initiative. More information is available at www.metmuseum.org/150.