Tuesday, May 24, 2011

How ‘ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?--right here in Philly!

You have 5 days left to see the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA)  French exhibition entitled “How ‘ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” This exhibition, on view since April 1 running through May 29, is presented in partnership with the Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts (PIFA), inspired by the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts.

PAFA is presenting an installation of art from the 1910s and 1920s showing American artists’ connections with France. This exhibition includes works from PAFA’s permanent collection. The title, “How ‘ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?” is taken from a World War I-era popular song alluding to an entire generation being turned on to cosmopolitan temptations in Paris, exposed to avant-garde styles and fruitful artistic exchange.

The installation centers on Florine Stettheimer's sumptuous scene of artist friends (including the three Stettheimer sisters, Marcel Duchamp and Elie Nadelman) enjoying a picnic idyll at the tail end of World War I. The Stettheimers were instrumental in fostering exchange between European modernists and Americans during the teens. Other prominent PAFA modernist paintings are included to bring out the influence of Parisian modernism on American art.

“How ‘ya gonna keep ‘em down on the farm after they’ve seen Paree?”
PA Academy of the Fine Arts
Gallery 7, Historic Landmark Building
118 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia
April 1 through May 29, 2011
Adults $10, Seniors (60+) and Students $8
Children ages 13-18, Free for children 12 and under
More info: www.pafa.org

Picnic at Bedford Hills, 1918,
oil on canvas by Florine Stettheimer (1871-1944) ,
40 5/16 x 50 1/4 inches, gift of Ettie Stettheimer, 1950.12

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