Regarding Henri … and Others

As French Market visitors stroll Wisconsin Avenue, inhaling fresh air and enticing smells, they may find themselves asking, “What would Henri do?”

French artist and cabaret devotee Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is supposed to have advised: “Never be tempted by water. The water tap should be sealed at lunchtime.”

It so happens (Quelle coincidence!) that this year’s French Market will take place during the run of “Toulouse-Lautrec Illustrates the Belle Époque” at the Phillips Collection. Displaying rare prints and posters from throughout the notorious artist’s career, the exhibition, on view through April 30, demonstrates how Toulouse-Lautrec’s compositional and lithographic innovations continue to influence graphic design. At the market, the Phillips is hosting a Color Me French booth, offering Toulouse-Lautrec posters for coloring and the chance to win exhibition tickets.

Along these lines, there will be a Moulin Rouge photo booth, sponsored by Long & Foster Real Estate and Christie’s International Real Estate, where visitors can “cancan with the camcam.”

But why wait? Through April 27, you can take a selfie in front of the French Market banners at Wisconsin and R or at Francis Scott Key Park (or next to a French Market poster in the window of any participating store), post it to Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, tag the applicable account (such as @georgetowndc) and use the hashtags #GeorgetownFrenchMarket and #ThisWayToBeret. Four winners of gift cards, wine and other prizes will be randomly chosen the first morning of the French Market. 

For additional visual stimulation, there are the Book Hill art galleries: Addison/Ripley Fine Art, with “Joan Belmar: Cambalache”; Artist’s Proof, with “Home of Art: A Collection of Works by Spanish Photographer Pedro Correa”; Susan Calloway Fine Arts, with “Speaking Layers: New Work by Lindsay Mullen”; Cross MacKenzie Gallery, with “Wells: Neon Sculptures by Esther Ruiz”; Klagsbrun Studios, the working studios of Micheline Klagsbrun, Raye Leith and Joe Hall; Maurine Littleton Gallery, with “David Dodge Lewis and Ephraim Rubenstein: The Quickening Image”; and Washington Printmakers Gallery, with “Wild About Spring” by Marian Osher.