Program to discuss designing the Kennedy White House
Submitted by Fox Valley Community Associates
The Fox Valley Community Associates of the Art Institute of Chicago announces its new program schedule for the 2013-14 season and details its first program of the year.
The locally presented programs cover a wide range of artistic interests from Camelot to the Roaring 1920s. The year starts in September with presentation on designing Camelot, the Kennedy White House. In December, they will hear about the saints and their symbols in art. The new year starts with a January program describing the influence of “Japonisme” on 19th-century French art. In February, the study series includes two local lectures on American art from “Cultivating a Taste for Scenery” to the urban Ashcan group. The final local program, at the annual meeting in March, addresses the Roaring Twenties. Guests are welcome to all local meetings.
The other programs involve bus trips to Chicago or elsewhere. These trips are also open to nonmembers of the Fox Valley Associates. However, members have reservation priority. If you are interested in membership to participate in these programs, call Pat at (630) 377-1305.
The first such program, in October, is a lecture and tour of the AIC’s reinstallation of Greek, Roman and Byzantine art. The next lecture in November, combined with other associates groups, is a presentation by artist Nick Cave. The culmination of the February study series is a lecture and gallery tour of Terra Foundation art at AIC and consideration of paintings by the Hudson River School and Ashcan School. In April, the program celebrates the art and music of the Golden Age of Spain.
A special four-day art tour of Bentonville, Arkansas is being arranged at the beginning of May. Reservations and initial deposits are due by Dec. 1.
The first program of the season will be Wednesday Sept. 18, at the Dunham Woods Riding Club, off Army Trail Road in Wayne. The topic will be “Designing Camelot: The Kennedy White House Restoration.” Jacqueline Kennedy’s restoration of the White House, a project often described as “Designing Camelot,” reflected her personal taste as well as the talents of decorator Sister Parish, Parisian Stephane Boudin, American furniture expert Henry Francis DuPont, and curator Lorraine Pearce. Join Kathleen Cummings as she recounts how Jacqueline Kennedy refashioned the presidential home, produced the first official guidebook, and established the White House Historical Association to create her American Camelot.
Join Kathleen Cumming, an independent art historian and adjunct professor at the Art Institute. She teaches architectural history for Northwestern University’s School of Continuing Studies.
Guests are welcome to this program. The lecture fee is $10 for members and $15 for nonmembers. The costs for lecture and lunch are $30 and $35, respectively. Coffee is served at 10 a.m., followed by the lecture at 10:30 and lunch at noon. For reservations, call Pauline, (630) 587-6468 by Wednesday, Sept. 11.