A FASHIONISTA HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

Fashion takes a holiday in New York at a museum sportswear retrospective, in a fashion designer movie; The Best is Yet to Come musical extravaganza and dining 'al fresco.' It’s the Best of New York, the Very Best of New York my friends. Here’s the scoop!!!
THE SPORTING LIFE exhibition takes the viewer through the historical phases of active wear exploring the relationship between sportswear and fashion from the mid-19th Century through the present. Featuring more than 100 garments, accessories, and textiles representing 16 sports, viewers see the evolution in silhouette, construction and technology that shaped what women wore to bicycle, play tennis, golf, swimming and other sports. Clothing for the Sporting Life has often influenced fashionable street attire. The exhibition also juxtaposes active sportswear garments with ready-to-wear styles that they have influenced. This breathtaking array of garments gives testament to the fact that fashion designers continue to be motivated by the sporting life. On view at The Museum at FIT in New York, Seventh Avenue at 27th Street through November 5, 2011. www.fitnyc.edu.
L’AMOUR FOU, Polly’s Movie of the Week is a tour de force taking in the richness of the life of famous Haute Couture French designer, Yves St. Laurent and the auctioning off of his treasures collected in a lifetime with his partner. The movie has a sad opening with a dissipated Yves bloated, hair dyed blond and slurring his words saying goodbye and closing his Maison de Couture. I wish they had not put that scene in the movie. I wanted to remember the dark haired Adonis, black horn rimmed glasses, the genius floating down the runway after one of his amazing fashion collections. Nonetheless the movie is a sentimental scenario of gorgeous homes, Morocco to name one, and those devotees, the fashionistas would love it. Check newspaper for locations.
SAVAGE BEAUTY: Alexander McQueen which opened May 4, has already drawn more than l80,000 visitors. It's amazing!!! The exhibit has been extended to August 7th at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. starting on Mon. June 6th. www.metmuseum.org/alexandermcqueen.
THE BEST IS YET TO COME, Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week: features the unforgettable songs of music master Cy Coleman, in a musical romp, at its best, in a nightclub setting with orchestra and headline singers including Rachel York, Sally Mayes, Lillias White, Howard McGillin, Billy Stritch and David Burnham belting away favorites including over 30 songs: The Best is Yet to Come, Never Met a Man I didn’t like, Witchcraft, It Started With a Dream and Big Spender. In case you forgot Coleman also had numerous successes on Broadway. Larry Gelbart said “Cy's songs reflect our experiences, mirror our follies and encourage out fantasies.” My opinion: A show of this magnitude, versatility and enjoyment should be on Broadway. Not to be missed through July 3, 2011 at the 59E59 Theater. www.59E59.org.
ASTRA, Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is a welcome retreat from Bloomingdales and the hectic Third Avenue environment. Chill out on the terrace or dine inside on the 14th Floor of the D&D Building at 979 Third Avenue on Salads most refreshing to which you can add chicken, salmon or shrimp ranging from $12.50 to $l8.. Their burgers are nice a beefy or try the Turkey burger with Swiss cheese on a fresh baked snow flake roll. The Astra tuna salad on white or whole wheat is $11. Info: 212.644.9394 www.charliepalmer.com.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! Go and see, “The Best Is Yet to Come,” don’t miss it. You’ll be tapping your feet and yearning to sing along. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs can be accessed at www.pollytalk.com just click on the link in the right hand column to the Blog of your interest.

VISUAL ENTERTAINMENTS IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

Never say “bored” in New York!!! From decorator show houses to movies that transport us to Paris, the return of three martini lunch and Anything Goes it’s the Best of New York, the Very Best of New York my friends. Here’s the scoop!!!
The 39th Annual Kips Bay Decorator Show House Twenty-two top interior designers, landscape artists create living spaces to awe and inspire us in the Upper East Side mansion located at 163 E. 63rd St in Manhattan through May 26th. See the how the “swells’ lived. The striking neo-Federalist style home is the former residence of John hay “Jock” Whitney and boasts unique historical details. If you’re looking for design inspiration the show showcases the best in interior design to benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Clubs. $30 contribution. I loved the glamorously romantic guest bedroom, by Barbara Ostrom Associates, Inc. pictured at the top of this column. www.kipsbaydecoratorsshowhouse.org.
MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, POLLY’S MOVIE PICK OF THE WEEK, It’s Woody Allen at his best. Take a vicarious time travel visit to Paris with a nerdy writer, where the recreated digs of Ernest Hemingway, Toulouse- Lautrec, Salvador Dali, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Zelda become the writer’s muse and fantasy and even Gertrude Stein reads his novel. Such a happy romp is worth the time spent in the movies to laugh and remember that “We’ll Always Have Paris,” for romance and creative imagery. At most movies today, don’t miss a chance to revisit Paris and its historical personalities; you’ll even be convinced it’s possible.
THE MORGAN DINING ROOM is Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week where guests dine in the original family dining room in the Morgan Library & Museum. The “Three Martini Lunch,” my favorite libation, features three mini martini glasses garnished with either an olive, onion or twist. Executive chef Jared King’s Pierpont Salad or the Grilled Brook Trout is outstanding as are the desserts, particularly the Marcona almond tart or those yummy homemade cookies. 225 Madison Ave. at 36th Street. Reservations: 212.683.2130. .
ANYTHING GOES, POLLY’S THEATER PICK OF THE WEEK takes you on a nostalgic Art Deco romp on an Ocean Liner with a talented cast tap dancing its way through romantic escapes singing along with “I Get a Kick out of You,” “Easy to Love,” “It’s De-Lovely” and many other memorable Cole Porter songs. Joel Grey adds a whimsical touch as a gangster character twirling about among a cast of high energy actors/dancers that keep you riveted to your seats with hi jinks on the high seas. A Roundabout Theater Company production at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. Ta Ta Darlings!!! I'm off to the Decorator Show House to indulge my dreams of creating a romantic bedroom. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the Blog of your interest. There are five. Do please leave a comment...and better yet do become a Follower.

RICH CULTURAL VENUES IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

Astonishing archaeological discoveries, monumental art works, rich cultural venues right here in the Big Apple, plus Polly's Picks in restaurant and theater. It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very of Best in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!
HISTORIC IMAGES OF THE GREEK BRONZE AGE A breathtaking visit to the Minoan and Mycenaean civilizations, focuses on the work of Swiss-born Emile Gillieron (1850-1924) and his son who were among the foremost art restorers of their time. The installation of exquisite reproductions of the "Ladies in Blue" pictured above and “Throne of Minos” at Knossos includes original works and numerous watercolors. The restored frescoes created by the Gillierons’ are a tribute to their creative ability to recapture the past. Curator Sean Hemingway, an archaeologist in his own right, cites the fact that the installation draws from the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s own collection of Gillieron works, which is the largest in existence. Immerse yourself in the exquisite terracotta and the dulcet blues that are as translucent as the Aegean Sea itself. Though November 13, 2011 www.metmuseu.org.
RYOJI IKEDA the transfinite Not to be Missed!!! Japan’s leading electronic composer and visual artist Ryoji Ikeda unveils ‘the transfinite’ an immersive sonic and visual environment that subsumes visitors within abstract expressions of digital information and binary code on a scale that defies comprehension. Breathtakingly provocative black and white projections are keyed to a tightly synchronized musical composition that explores how data defines the world we live in. At the Park Avenue Armory’s Wade Thompson Drill Hall, 643 Park Ave. at 67th St. For information and ticketing, visit www.armoryonpark.org or call 212.933.5812
A LITTLE JOURNEY BY RACHEL CROTHERS, Polly’s Theater Pick of the Week features a stellar cast in a heartfelt human comedy, circa 1918, when ten strangers on a train take the ride of their lives on a 4-day trip westbound for the Coast. The story unfolds with love and sorrow showcasing an eccentric and charming array of unforgettable personalities traveling on a Pullman style train in the round (very much like a merry-go-round) as it moves into different vignettes and the multi-faceted stories unfold with passenger interaction. At the Mint Theater, 311 W. 43rd St., 212.315.0231, www.minttheater.org.
‘ELSEWHERE’ Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week is affordable and quaint right in the heart of Theater Row at 403 W. 43rd St. Brunch is a value and the maple soaked French toast ($15) is divine. I had eggs Benedict ($12) and Coffee ($3) and a Rhubarb Cobbler ($7) that was as delicious as grandmother made. Libations are separate. Lunch is not pricey, nor is dinner. It’s a ‘find’ and there’s cozy dining in a little glass-ceiling enclosed garden room. Call 212.315.2121 www.elsewherenyc.com
Ta Ta darlings!! I’m going to immerse myself in “The Transfinite,” and define my role in the digital age. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. For Polly Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right-hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

INTELLECTURAL CULTURE, THE BEST OF NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

Art, Literary Celebrities and sculpture venues provide dazzling intellectual culture in the Big Apple, and most are free for the viewing. It’s the Best of New York my friends, the very Best in New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!
'ECHO' IN MADISON SQUARE PARK It’s startling, it’s amazing!!! Among the trees on the central Oval Lawn of Madison Square Park Spanish sculptor, Jaume Plensa’s 'ECHO' a 44-foot-tall sculpture of an elongated white head overpowers the view. A monument to everyday people the fiberglass-reinforced sculpture of the head and neck of a young girl, its monumental size and vertical orientation, reflects the architecture surrounding the park, yet the sculpture exudes a welcoming tranquility in this urban oasis. Location: 23rd Street and Fifth Avenue. www.madisonsquarepark.org. ROOMS WITH A VIEW The Open Window in the 19th Century is the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s small but elegant exhibition gives us a peak into the refined interiors of houses where singular people peer out of windows in melancholy repose or lover’s chat by an open window and the artist’s studio of Caspar David Friedrich with its spare interior enchants with its spare floor boards and casement window. Most fetching is “Woman at the Window” (1822) by Friedrich pictured above. As sunlight streams through the window one only can imagine that she is dreaming of some far off reverie. A precious exhibition both nostalgic and winsome. Through July 4, 2011. www.metmuseum.org. A LITERARY CELEBRITY: LETITIA ELIZABETH LANDON A woman determined to succeed, in her day Letitia Landon was an international literary celebrity, whose works were widely circulated throughout the British Isles, on the Continent, and in the United States. Her success as a young single woman carving out an independent career in the tough arena of literary London in the 1830s is also profiled in Polly’s Blog: http://www.amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com. On view through May 27th at the Grolier Club 47 East 60th Street are manuscripts, first editions, prints, photos, and other materials that illuminate the life and art of a leading British writer of the late Georgian and early Victorian period. www.grolierclub.org. FREE of charge, Monday-Saturday, 10am to 5pm. ILLUMINATING FASHION Dress in the Art of Medieval France and the Netherlands explores the evolution of fashionable clothing in Northern Europe drawn from The Morgan & Library’s collections, over fifty illuminated medieval and Renaissance manuscripts and early printed books are feature. The exhibition demonstrates the richness of symbolism and how artists used clothing and costume as codes to help viewers interpret an image. In these works of art, what people wear is a clue to their identities and moral character. Discover for yourself. Exhibit May 20 through September 4, 2011. www.themorgan.org.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I am dashing off for the press preview of Illuminated Fashion to hopefully shed light on historical costume. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly Blogs: www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.

AR VERNISSAGES ALL AROUND THE TOWN (c) By Polly Guerin

Eastside/Westside all around the town rich cultural venues in galleries and museums reach new heights of entertainment from an exhibition devoted to Picasso’s muse, contemporary art at Sotheby’s, the Cone Sisters collection to McQueen the wizard of fashion art. It’s the best of New York my friends, the very Best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!
PICASSO AND MARIE-THERESE “L’Amour Fou” The woman at the show at the Gagosian Gallery is Marie-Therese Walter, called the greatest sexual passion of Picasso’s life. Not only was she his submissive sexual conquest, artistic muse and the mother of his daughter, she is credited with bringing Picasso out of Cubism into the fleshy portraits infused with color, decoration and sensuality. The mistress was seventeen, he was 45, and she had never heard of Picasso but became his longtime secret between-the-wars mistress-muse for ten years. In the 80-work show the many guises of Marie-Therese are portrayed but most fitting to their clandestine relationship he sews her mouth shut to indicate the close-lipped secret affair that he was hiding from his wife Olga. At Gagosian Gallery, 522 W. 21st St., through June 25. 212.741.1717.
KOONS’ PINK PANTHER
Sotheby’s Contemporary Art auction will be led by Jeff Koons' iconic Pink Panther. One of the most important works by the artist, the porcelain figure of a bare-breasted blonde hugging the Pink Panther is showcased in a mirrored alcove as the statue revolves in a glittering display of sensuality. All of the art including major works by many leading artists of the 20th and 21st centuries are on view from May 6 to April 29; the auction takes place on May 10. On May 25 Sotheby’s will present “A Discerning Eye,” a remarkable single owner sale that includes a delightful miniature of Frida Kahlo, just 2 inches in height, the smallest self-portrait of the Mexican painter for her lover, the artist Jose Batoli, who kept the small treasure in his possession for over 50 years. Pre-sale exhibition opens on May 21. Sotheby’s New York, 1334York Ave. @ 72nd St. 212.606.7000.
THE CONE SISTERS OF BALTIMORE
Claribel and Etta Cone began buying art directly out of the Parisian studios of avant-garde artists in 1905 and eventually amassed one of the world’s greatest art collections including works by such artists as Gauguin, Renoir, van Gogh and Cezanne. They followed their passion and discovered the unknown Pablo Picasso and included Henri Matisse and Gertrude Stein among their friends. In addition to the masterworks of French art, textiles, decorative arts, photographs and memorabilia provide an insight into the Cone sisters’ remarkable story. “Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters” exhibit at The Jewish Museum opens May 6. http://www.thejewishmuseum.org. Pictured above from the Cone Collection, Henri Matisee, Striped Robe, Fruit and Anemones. (1940)
THE MET’S EXTRAVAGANZA
Homage to the late Alexander McQueen at Monday night’s gala took on a Scottish theme with bagpipers to wood décor and a verdant garden ambiance. Prior to gala night Daphne Guinness honored the designer publically getting dressed in a window of Barney’s Madison Avenue store for street viewers to see her stepping into McQueen’s floor-length gown made out of ostrich features. A stunning list of celebrities turned out to pay tribute to the daring designer wearing dramatic curve-hugging silhouettes to fabulous, frothy ball gowns everywhere. There was the macabre as well, such as the scene “Highland Rape,” in a destructed scene with mauled models. The spectacle at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute, 1000 Fifth Ave., from May 4-July 31. http://www.metmuseum.org/.
Ta Ta darlings!!! Picasso’s amazing oeuvre at Sotheby’s includes his surrealist “Woman,” but I’m also heading West to the Gagosian to see the many faces of Marie-Therese. Fan mail to pollytalk@verizon.net and for Polly Blogs go to www.pollytalk.com and in the right hand column click on the link to the Blog of your interest.