Arts & Society

Robert Devaney • February 27, 2014

Hometown favorite Benetton showed off its Autumn-Winter 2013 collection at its Georgetown flagship at Wisconsin and M. Some of Washington’s most fashionable and their families — many wearing Benetton products — met Benetton USA President and CEO Ari Hoffman, who flew in from New York for the Oct. 30 event.
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Robert Devaney •

The American News Women’s Club celebrated one of its own — Helen Thomas — with a celebratory hanging of artwork by Patty Raine, depicting the White House correspondent playing the piano and singing with 10 U.S. presidents. With family and friends on hand Nov. 7, toasts at the club on 22nd Street included priceless and loving remarks about the feisty news legend. [gallery ids="101562,148661,148666,148670,148674,148679,148681" nav="thumbs"]

Ari Post •

Thanksgiving came and went, and the Christmas lights went up faster than you can say “Black Friday.” The season is upon us—the season of parades, of family, of thanks, beauty and giving. It is a season marked by visual splendor, from Christmas lights and snowy mountaintops, to gingerbread houses, parade floats and the glitzy intrigue of wrapping paper.

There is a traceable line between the spirit of the holiday season and the ethos of visual art, both of which build upon and reflect a collective understanding of our shared experiences, almost regardless of religion in this day and age. They carry with them an innate lineage unseen in almost all other objects or experiences that pull at our nostalgic heartstrings while moving steadily into the future.

Washington is abuzz with activities and events through the end of the year. If you are among the many households with family coming to town for the holidays, there are going to be plenty of options to keep your restless out-of-towners distracted. For those so visually predisposed, there are two unique and interesting museum exhibits which are both complimentary and starkly contrasting, and which hover beyond the radar of most visitors to the city so accustomed to the prevalence of the Smithsonian and National Gallery. The offerings at The Corcoran Gallery of Art and the National Museum of Women in the Arts will please any audience, while taking them around the city for a true taste of the holidays in Washington.

The National Museum of Women in the Arts is exhibiting “Wanderer,” an exhibit of travel prints, drawings and original printing plates by Ellen Day Hale (1855–1940), on view through January 5, which demonstrate the artist’s passion for travel and her mastery of printmaking. Hale achieved acclaim as a renowned portrait painter and printmaker, training in the ateliers of Boston artists and then traveling to Paris in the early 1880s to study painting. While abroad, Hale published accounts of her studies and the Parisian art world, encouraging female artists in Boston and inspiring them to travel.

Throughout her career, Hale took multiple trips throughout the United States, Europe, and the Middle East, recording crumbling ruins, scenic land and cityscapes, and local people at work, embracing the spontaneity and intimate scale of printmaking to capture her impressions of the many local cultures she experienced. This collection is an inspiring travelogue to any journeyer who might be resting their boots in the District over the holidays. www.NMWA.org.

In sharp contrast to Hale, contemporary artist Mia Feuer’s current installation at the Corcoran Gallery of Art, “An Unkindness,” is a haunting vision of our world consumed, transformed and twisted by human need. Inspired by the artist’s experiences in the oil-producing landscapes of the Canadian tar sands, the Arctic Circle, and the Suez Canal, the project explores the relationships between human infrastructure and the natural world. Feuer merges imagery from the oil sands with research into ecological systems worldwide, creating a series of immersive and interactive installations that are at once topical and deeply personal. The exhibit highlight includes a synthetic black skating rink open to the public in the museum’s Rotunda, which contrasts our own gleeful pleasure against the ominous natural symbolism, which is especially thought-provoking around the holidays. For skating rink hours and more information, visit www.Corcoran.org/Exhibitions.
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Robert Devaney •

Night Nouveau was presented by the S&R Foundation at historic Evermay Estate Nov. 2. Guests
could solve a three-murder mystery or just enjoy the house and gardens and sample whiskey and
specialty cocktails and along with great food. The evening ended with a silent disco in the ballroom
to music provided by Heist deejay, Chuck Koch. The mystery was planned by Joshua Morgan of No
Rules Theater. [gallery ids="101529,150194,150189,150198,150213,150211,150203,150206" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

Suellen and Melvyn Estrin hosted a cocktail reception at their home Oct. 24 to support and join
the fight Innocents at Risk is waging against child trafficking. The hostess spoke of the “magnitude
and inhumanity of child trafficking.” Deborah Sigmund founded the not-for-profit in 2005 to protect
women and children by raising public awareness of the issue which goes under reported and is a
$32-billion industry worldwide. [gallery ids="101530,150177,150164,150187,150181,150168,150172,150184" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The special show and sale of jewelry and wearable art Craft2Wear opened with an invitational Advance Chance Party on Oct. 22 prior to the two-day public exhibit at the National Building Museum. Exhibitors had been previously juried into the Smithsonian Craft Show. The proceeds benefit The Smithsonian Women’s Committee, which through its grant process, supports education, outreach and research programs at the Smithsonian Institution. – Mary Bird [gallery ids="99456,99457,99458,99459,99460,99461,99462,99463,99464" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

Ambassador of Monaco Gilles Noghès and Ellen Noghès will “migrate” to “Clair de Loon” in her native
Michigan in December. On Nov. 1, Bonnie McElveen Hunter hosted a cocktail buffet to bid them a fond farewell.
Guests were treated to a special performance by Soloman Howard, a young bass accompanied by Kevin
Miller. Howard was a Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist and made his Carnegie Hall debut earlier in the week. [gallery ids="101531,150152,150161,150159,150142,150147" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The National Women’s History Museum presented the de Pizan Honors in a gala celebration at the Ronald Reagan Building Nov. 16. Catherine de Pizan was born in Venice and the first Western woman to write about women’s history in 1405. The evening celebrated the legend of pioneering women by showcasing their achievements alongside the contributions of their modern inheritors. Marissa Mayer, Cathy Hughes and Helen Greiner were the honorees. Actress Meryl Streep, the museum’s spokesperson, served as host of the gala before departing directly for China. Retired Sen. John Warner, recipient of the Henry Blackwell Award, advised women to “always sleep with one eye open.” [gallery ids="100406,113277,113328,113319,113287,113311,113304,113297" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The LUNGevity Foundation Arabian Nights-themed gala at the Andrew Mellon Auditorium on Oct. 26 celebrated the great progress that has been made in lung cancer research. WUSA9’s Andrea Roane emceed the event, where LUNGevity President and Chairman Andrea Ferris presented the Hope Award for Corporate Leadership to The Dow Chemical Company and the Face of Hope Award to Representative John D. Dingell, who urged the over 300 attendees to continue to work to erase lung cancer for all. [gallery ids="101532,150138,150120,150125,150141,150135,150130" nav="thumbs"]

Mary Bird •

The 2013 Gala Victory Awards took place at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Oct. 30. Patton Boggs Partner Martie Kendrick chaired the evening. Awards were presented to Congresswoman Tammy Duckworth, who was severely wounded as a U.S. Army helicopter pilot in Iraq and became the first disabled woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives; Boston Marathon bombing amputee Adrienne Hasslet-Davis, and young Delaney Saslav, a near drowning victim and former MedStar NRH pediatric brain injury patient. All Gala proceeds will support the new National Center for Brain Injury and Stroke Rehabilitation & Research. [gallery ids="101533,150115,150118,150103,150107,150098,150093,150083,150088,150111" nav="thumbs"]