'Vintage Vaudeville' At The Barnes
By Pat Ciarrocchi
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The Barnes Foundation is staging a party for the young professionals of Philadelphia on Friday, January 30th. It's mixing a unique exhibit with the jazz music of vaudeville.
The art is the work of William Glackens, the newspaper illustrator-turned-fine-artist who brought life of the early 20th century alive with his brush. More than 90 works – some never seen in public before – are on exhibit at the Barns through February 16th.
"He loved painting women. He loved fashion. He loved painting the city. He loved painting where he was and what he was seeing," says Jan Rothschild, Senior V.P. of Communications.
And he liked to paint what he was hearing.
The party features Dandy Wellington and his Jazz Band, who will create the musical backdrop to the after-hours party called "Vintage Vaudeville."
"You walk through this gallery, and you see these fabulous paintings -- you actually hear music," says Wellington. " The marriage is always there between the visual and the music."
Glackens was an art taste-maker. He and Dr. Albert Barnes played baseball together at Central High. When Dr. Barnes' interest in modern art found its footing, he called his friend Glackens. It was 1912 when Barnes asked Glackens to travel to Paris to buy modern art. He gave him $20,000 to buy what he liked. In today's dollars, that would be a budget of $500,000!
"Glackens came back with Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Matisse, Renoir, Picasso. He brought 33 works back…it ignited Barnes' passion for Modern Art," explains Rothschild.
The Barnes is hoping to ignite new passions, among young professionals in particular, with the dancing, singing, music and great art.
For more on the Glackens Exhibit and the Vintage Vaudeville Party at the Barnes on Friday, January 30th, visit: www.theartsinphilly.org.
