When 15 Upper East Side galleries open their doors on the evening of October 30 to celebrate October Art Week, art lovers of all stripes will be treated to an eye-dazzling array of fine art and jewelry. Organized to coincide with TEFAF New York FALL, Christie’s Classic Art Week of auctions and selling exhibitions, and the AADLA Fine Art & Antiques Show, these pre-eminent fine art dealers add to the week’s exciting round of activities by curating and hosting special exhibitions—all within walking distance of one another and open to the public from 5 to 9 p.m.
Here are some of the prime highlights that deserve special attention:
Didier Aaron, Inc., showcases The Grotto of Neptune in Tivoli by François-Marius Granet, executed in 1810. With the Grotto of Neptune as his subject, Granet positioned himself below the waterfalls of Tivoli, and used all his talent to transmit the atmosphere of the setting. 32 East 67th Street
Driscoll Babcock shines a spotlight on Marsden Hartley’s Landscape, No 29,Vence, a unique and key work from the artist’s embrace—from 1925 to 1927—of Aix-en-Provence, the land of Cézanne, which was instrumental in the formulation of his thought, his vision of where he would ultimately have to go with his being and with his art. 22 East 80TH Street, 2nd floor
At the center of the Christopher Bishop Fine Art show is a newly discovered late Il Guercino drawing called Allegory of Vigilance, circa 1662. With interesting symbolism—an allegory of martial and theological vigilance—the figure likely represents Bologna herself, paralleled with the fierceness of the rooster. 1046 Madison Avenue, 2nd floor
Pia Gallo Old Master and Modern Prints and Drawings features Roman Countryside with a Bridge and Figures, circa 1638-41, by the Dutch painter Jan Both, a very talented and prolific Dutch draughtsman, etcher and painter known for his Italianate landscapes. 19 East 74th Street, at Conner Rosenkranz
Hammer Galleries presents Coastline at Antibes, 1888, a work not seen in public since 1970. Part of the Armand Hammer Foundation Collection, this late picture has the effect of timeless idylls, reminiscent of the fêtes champêtres of Fragonard and Watteau. 32 East 67th Street The Spitzer Renaissance Diamond, Ruby and Enamel Ring from Italy will dazzle the eye at Les Enluminures. The 16th-century ring epitomizes the grandeur of the best Renaissance jewelry and is likely to have been made for a princely patron who wished to be associated with the properties of invincibility, fortitude, and dignity signified by diamonds. 23 East 73rd Street
Jean Baptiste Camille Corot, "Ville d’Avray—Sur les Hauteurs " circa 1865-70Mark Murray Fine Paintings
At Mark Murray Fine Paintings,Ville d’Avray—Sur les Hauteurs by Jean Baptiste Camille Corot returns to the market after 30 years. Owned by Jean-Baptiste Fauré, the famous operatic baritone and avid Corot collector, the painting depicts two young women conversing with laborers on the hills above Ville d’Avray with a distant view of Paris on the horizon. 159 East 63rd Street At Ambrose Naumann Fine Art,The Share Reserved for Those Who Are Not in the Cheese by Marcel Delmotte, dated 1959, is a wonderful example of the artist’s interest in the surreal and bizarre. 74 East 79th Street, 1D
Pierre Bonnard "Le Cannet," 1941
Jill Newhouse Gallery, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, will present Le Cannet, by Pierre Bonnard completed in 1941. An exceptional example of his late landscapes of the south of France where he lived, this painting captures the dense, lush foliage, the rich soil and humidity of the south. The variety of leaves and tones of green contrast with his calm, muted landscapes of the Seine, north of Paris, which he painted years earlier. 4 East 81st Street In their joint exhibition, Richard L. Feigen & Co. withW.M. Brady are featuring a painting by Jacques-Emile Blanche, Autoportrait de l’artiste au salon de musique au Manoir du Tot, Offranville (Self-portrait of the Artist in the Salon du Musique at the Manoir du Tot, Offranville), a depiction of a charming and much loved interior, as well as a self-portrait of the artist at work. 16 East 77th Street
The Child Virgin Spinning by Juan Simón Gutiérrez is one of the showstoppers at Robert Simon Fine Art. The earliest and most elaborate depiction of the Child Virgin Spinning theme, this beautiful image is representative of the religious culture in Seville during the Baroque period–at a time of increased devotion to the cult of the Holy Childhood, most often through painting. 22 East 80th Street, 4th floor Taking center stage at the Tambaran Gallery is a rare Lega Bwami mask from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. 5 East 82nd Street
The AADLA Fine Art & Antiques Show features 25 of the top fine and decorative arts specialists and features an eclectic array of paintings, furniture, sculpture, tribal art, Native American art, Asian art, books, and jewelry that span five centuries. Wallace Hall at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, 980 Park Avenue
At Waterhouse and Dodd, Bedroom Face with Blowing Curtain by Tom Wesselmann re-creates the monumental scale of the advertising billboards from which the artist derived his iconoclastic iconography and is one of the largest and most highly worked examples of his metal cut-outs, and as such is very rare. 15 East 76th Street
Some of the galleries participating in October Art Week, which runs from October 30 through November 5, are open to the public during fair hours, including Saturday & Sunday. For an Art Walk map and each gallery’s hours, visit www.octoberartweek.com
