IT'S A DICKENS CHRISTMAS IN TINSEL TOWN (c) By Polly Guerin

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree you ignite the holidays all aglow, and an old fashioned Christmas welcomes everyone to celebrate the goodness that the Christmas brings with renewed hope, joy and love. Only in New York my dears, Only in New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

CHARLES DICKENS’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL Every holiday season, The Morgan Library & Museum displays Charles Dickens’s original manuscript of A Christmas Carol in the museum’s history library. Although Dickens wrote his iconic tale in a six-week flurry of activity, beginning in October 1843, the story still captivates the imagination of an old-fashioned celebration with conviviality and dancing. He wrote it in time for Christmas publication and had the manuscript bound in red morocco as a gift his solicitor, Thomas Mitton. The manuscript passed through several owners before Pierpont Morgan acquired it in the 1890s. During your visit travel back to Valley Forge on Christmas day, 1777, explore the impact of the handwritten manuscript of Truman Capote’s comical early story, A Christmas Vacation, and discover how the modern American concept of Santa Claus was shaped by Clement Clark Moore’s poem, Twas the Night Before Christmas. Through January 13, 2013. 225 Madison Ave, at 36th Street. Open Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

CHARLES DICKENS: The Key to Character Celebrates the power of Dickens’s characters to be imagined ever anew, examining important precedent for his art of characterizations as well as intersections between his personal life and his literary creations. His fictional creations represent a cross-section of society from law-clerk to crossing-sweeper, miser to midwife all united by the vividness with which they are described. The exhibit at the New York Public Library, Schwarzman building at 42nd Street and Fifth Avenue emphasizes how these characters, talk, dress and move. The exhibition features artworks by nearly thirty illustrators, including unpublished watercolors—along with rare translations, original sheet music, and the memoranda book the author used to jot down possible names for characters. Also on display is the 1867 pocket diary containing the code with which Dickens communicated with his mistress Ellen Ternan, along with audio-visual stations featuring unusual recordings from the period collection of the Library for the Performing Arts. Now through January 27th.

CHRISTMAS TREE and NEAPOLITAN BAROQUE CRECHE A long-standing yuletide tradition in New York the Metropolitan Museum of Art present the Christmas tree and Neapolitan Baroque Crèche on view now through January 6th. The brightly lit, 20-foot blue spruce---with a collection of 18th-century Neapolitan angels and cherubs hovering among its boughs and groups of realistic crèche figures flanking the Nativity scene at its base---will delight one and all in the Museum’s Sculpture Hall. Set in front of the 18th –century choir screen from the Cathedral of Valladolid, with recorded Christmas music in the background and daily lighting ceremonies…is a breathtaking tree of historical significance, not to be missed. The Museum will be open on two special Holiday Mondays December 24 and 31 from 9:30 to 5:00 pm. Lighting ceremonies on those dates will take place at 4:30 pm.

THE HOLIDAY TRAIN SHOW at The New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx is back with more trains and landmarks than ever before. Within the enchanting setting of the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, model trains zip over bridges and past replicas of New York landmarks made of plant parts such as nuts, bark, and leaves. Show favorites include the original Yankee Stadium, The Statue of Liberty, Brooklyn Bridge and even the Collectors Club in Murray Hill. Bar Nights at the Holiday Train Show let you get into the holiday spirit while sipping a complimentary signature cocktail. To round out this holiday outing with a the Bar Car Nights ticket also provides discounts and offers for partner restaurants in Little Italy’s Arthur Avenue nearby. Hop on the Metro North train at 42nd Street and get off at the Botanical Garden stop, a mere 25 minute ride from midtown Manhattan.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! My favorite is the Neapolitan tree at the Met!!! Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

FASHIONISTA'S HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS (c) By Polly Guerin

The glitz and glamour of fashion steals the holiday spotlight bringing with it a chance to take a diversion and revisit fashion at various venues around town. It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very best!!! Here’s the scoop!!!!

FASHION and TECHNOLOGY A new exhibition in the Fashion and Textile History Gallery at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology (MFIT) presents a fascinating review of how fashion has engaged with---and been altered by---technological advancements throughout history. Spanning 250 years, the exhibition is displayed in chronological order with a focus on technological innovations that had had an impact on the production, materials and function of fashion. The exhibit includes objects as diverse as an afternoon dress, circa, 1860, produced using synthetic dyes that resist fading, and Pierre Cardin’s seamless dress from 1968 that showcases his pioneering ‘Cardine’ textile. Also on view is Jean Paul Gaultier’s 1996 jumpsuit that utilizes the aesthetic of the “Cyber Age” as a decorative motif, and the LillyPad Arduino circuitboard, which allows designers to push the function of clothing further by integrating smart electronics directly into their garments. Free and Open to the Public. On view through May 2013. At 27th Street & Seventh Avenue. Image: Jean Paul Gaultier, jumpsuit, mulicolored nylon and spandex with Op-Art cyber graphic print, 1996, France.

125 ICONS Celebrates the work of Pratt alumni and faculty staged at the school’s Manhattan location at 144 West 14th street, and covers the past 125 years dating back to Pratt’s inception. Fashion’s favorites include snapshots of Norman Norell’s designs, as well as actual ensembles by Betsey Johnson and Jeffrey Banks. It was Pratt alumni, Kermit Love, who dressed Big Bird by figuring out the feather application for Jim Henson’s big-beaked friend. You’ll also see images of cartoon characters Betty Boop and Tom and Jerry, a 1995 Ford Thunderbird, Charles Lindberg’s ‘Spirit of St. Louis’ airplane and the Chrysler Building among the Pratt-related designs on display. More on view include Vera Maxwell’s ultrasuede dress, a “Fantasia” video with Bill Garrity’s sound engineering. The venue tells the history of art, design and architecture in America, just with the creations that Pratt produced. Worth your time! Ongoing.

DESIGNING TOMORROW: America’s World’s Fairs of the 1930s Breadlines and raging unemployment were a hard reality during the height of the Great Depression, but the world’s fairs of the 1930’s provided a spectacular diversion. Six American world’s fairs presented streamlined cars, models of skyscrapers, electric toasters, nylon stockings, and television, providing a vision of a brighter future for tens and millions of Americans. Visitors to the exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York will see sleek, modern furniture and appliances, vintage footage from the fairs, and futuristic drawings of the New York World’s Fair buildings, both built and proposed from advertising to architecture and domestic innovations and furnishings, all of the fairs’ most popular and recognizable attractions. Samples of tubular steel furniture, models of streamlined buses, and image of cities filled with light and color all illustrate the creativity and hope these fairs came to represent. At the Museum of the City of New York (MCNY) 103rd St and 5th Ave. Opened Dec. 5.

THE EVENT OF A THREAD is Ann Hamilton’s large-scale interactive installation at the Park Avenue Armory where visitors will be able to hear live performers reading aloud, or listen to the sound on portable radio transmitters as they walk through the armory. Inside the Drill Hall take a leap into the future and hop onto swings that hang from the trusses of the cavernous space; your movement swill rustle a giant piece of fabric, generating a massive kinetic sculpture, a flock of homing pigeons, spoken and written texts and transmissions of weight, sound and silence weave through this expansive space to create a fabric of experience. Open to the Public till January 6 at Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave., at 67th street. Admission $12/$10 for students, Seniors, Groups. Tues.-Sun. 12pm-7pm. Closed Mondays, except December 24 and 31.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! It’s time to hop on a swing at the Park Avenue Armory. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

REVISITING ZELDA FITZGERALD (c) By Polly Guerin

The mixed media of cultural venues warms the chill of the holiday weather to do nothing better than to get indoors and revisit Zelda Fitzgerald. It’s the best of New York, my friends, the very best. Here’s the Scoop!!! Photo Image: Edwin Cahill and Gardner Reed by Carol Rosegg.

ZELDA AT THE OASIS The riveting new drama by P.H. Lin transports use back to tormented life of Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald, the wife of the legendary American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Portrayed by the glamorous, one and only Zelda, Gardner Reed imbues the role with spit-fire imagery while Edwin Cahill in the role of the bar man, emerges as the ghost of Scott and in other guises becomes Zelda’s ballet teacher and even her mother. The director Andy Sandberg keeps the interaction of these stellar performers synergistically meshed into high drama.

Set on a magical night in the 1930s, Zelda (Reed), engagingly dressed in a stunning evening dress, is ensconced in a New York City bar called The Club Oasis, where she escapes to drink alone…until a unique and unexpected friendship is forged with an aspiring musician who plays the piano and tends bar at the Oasis. Zelda wants nothing more than to be recognized as an artist in her own right but two things stand in her way: a growing mental instability and the overbearing shadow of her husband. Reed is the personification of Zelda and captivates with her dramatization of the tragic heroine. Vivid and haunting memories are triggered as Zelda transforms the Bar Man (Cahill)into those from her past who have shaped her self-image. Encounters with the ghost of her husband Scott add to the sad lament of her yearning to be published and recognized as an author. Reed is making her New York debut as Zelda, albeit a memorable one and Cahill as the bar tender demonstrates his versatility in role playing in this after-hours encounter. In the Club Oasis they share their dreams, missteps, and insights with one another, hoping to unlock the courage to go forward in their lives.

The show opens on Tuesday December 4th at 7pm at St. Luke’s Theater, 308 West 46th St., with shows also on Fridays at 5 pm and Tuesdays at 7 pm (with an additional performance on Sunday Dec. 9 at 7 pm.) Tickets $59.50 and $37.50 are available through Telecharge.com or call 212.239.6200.

Read Polly's Blog on Zelda at amazingartdecodivas.blogspot.com
Ta Ta darlings: Don’t miss seeing that riveting performance, Zelda at the Oasis. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

HOLIDAY EXHIBITIONS DAZZLE (c) By Polly Guerin

The holiday spirit dazzles and delights the onlooker but nothing soothes the mind more than an art gallery exhibition to remind us that cultural pursuits far outshine the decorations. Here’s the scoop!!!

Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde is the first museum exhibition to focus on the city of Tokyo during the remarkable period from the mid-1950s through the 1960s, when the city transformed itself from the capital of a war-torn nation into an international center for arts, culture, and commerce. The exhibition encompasses many mediums—including painting, sculpture, photography, drawings, graphic designs, architecture, video and documentary film representing over 200 works by more than 60 artists and art collectives. In conjunction with the exhibition, MoMA presents a performance program that brings together four contemporary artists and artist groups, based in Japan and New York. The performance series takes place in January and February 2013, in various places around the museum. The Museum of Modern Art, through February 25, 2013, 11 W. 53rd St. Image: Yokoo Tadanori: Diary of a Shinjuku Thief, 1968 screenprint. The Museum of Modern Art, Gift of the Designer.
MATISSE: In Search of True Painting. Henri Matisse, one of the most acclaimed artists working in France, throughout his career questioned, repainted and reevaluated his work. Fascinated by the artistic process he once hired a photographer to document the evolution of his paintings and then conceived an exhibition that juxtaposed finished works with pictures of their earlier incarnations. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Matisse: In Search of True Painting exhibition presents this particular aspect of Matisse’s painting process by showcasing 49 vibrantly colored canvases as well as a selection of sculptures and works on paper from a series titled “Themes and Variations.” Dec. 4, 2012 through March 13, 2013. 1000 Fifth Ave.
FERDINAND HODLER: View to Infinity. The Neue Galerie presents the first major New York museum show to focus on the late work of Ferdinand Hodler (1853-1918), the premier Swiss artist of the early twentieth century. The exhibition includes portrait paintings, majestic Swiss landscapes, incisive self-portraits, and the moving series of works chronicling the illness and early death of the artist’s lover, Valentine Gode-Darel. The artist’s landscapes have been described by one critic as “mystical celebrations of light and color.” Hodler attributed symbolic meaning to colors, "Blue is the color that, like the sky, like the sea, speak to me of all that is translucent and magnificent.” Through January 7, 2013. Neue Galerie New York at 1048 Fifth Avenue at 86th Street.
Polly’s Movie Pick of the Week: HYDE PARK on HUDSON. Bill Murray as Franklin D. Roosevelt and portrays the political life of the American Legend with charm and conviction. Roosevelt’s love affairs are another matter of interest; some exploits as never portrayed before.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! Hodler is worth the trip uptown and then, of course, there is the Café Sabarsky for afternoon tea. Fan mail welcome at pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s Blogs are best accessed at her website pollytalk.com. Just click on the link in the left-hand column for visonarymen, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

THANKSGIVING LEGEND (c) By Polly Guerin

As we celebrate Thanksgiving 2017 there are so many more reasons to be thankful and as a reminder it was Sarah Josepha Hale, a petite crusader in crinoline, who was the pioneering champion who inspired President Lincoln to declareThanksgiving a national holiday.
HALE’S LETTER WRITING CAMPAIGN
Sarah Josepha Hale’s relentless handwritten letter campaign spanned a period of almost three decades in which she urged that Thanksgiving be declared a national holiday. With tireless zeal she penned thousands of editorials and wrote handwritten letters to prominent, citizens, governors and went right to the White House, addressing the issue to United States Presidents. She never gave up on her campaign which had roots in the country’s unification.
CIVIL WAR UNIFICATION
As the dark days of the Civil War divided the country into two armed camps Mrs. Hale’s editorials became more vigilant. who wouold listen to a lone woman with her persistent plea for "just one day of peace amidst the blood and strife"? Eventually she came to see the nationalization of Thanksgiving not only as a day for counting our blessings, but as a logical bond of union, one more means of drawing the sympathies of the country together. Year after year without typewriter Hale continued to pour out her handwritten letters, which were sent to influential people urging them to join in establishing Thanksgiving the last Thursday in November.

LINCOLN DECLARES THE HOLIDAY
With the country gripped in the North and South divide, Mrs. Hale’s concept of unity finally caught the attention of one man in the White House. Prompted by a letter she had written to Secretary of State William Seward in 1863 President Lincoln recognized the urgency for unification and issued a proclamation appointing the last Thursday in November as a day of national Thanksgiving in America.
HALE, THE LADY EDITOR
Sarah Josepha Hale succeeded at a time when there were few opportunities for working women to escape the drudgery of domesticity. In addition, like other women of her era, she had been denied a formal education but found refuge in her father’s library, self-educating herself. After her husband died, leaving her penniless, she wrote and published a novel, Northwood, which captured the attention of a Boston publishing firm. She was offered editorship of one of their periodicals in 1836 and at the age of 40, with five children to support, she left her home town of Newport, New Hampshire and moved to Boston to assume the post of Lady Editor. Running one of the most powerful magazines in the country did not escape critics, but she always explained that she was forced to hold down a job to feed her children.
ARBITER OF WOMEN’S ISSUES
Sarah Josepha Hale, as Lady Editor, was the arbiter of parlor etiquette, fashion, manners and intellect. As a journalist, lobbyist, career woman and crusader in crinoline she spoke her mind and succeeded where others had failed. A petite woman, she dressed in the crinoline style of the 1800s. However, even in this cumbersome attire and the restrains of society she championed numerous women’s issue bringing about a number of important improvements in the lives of women in the Victorian era. She was the first to advocate women as teachers in public schools. She demanded for housekeeping the dignity of a profession and put the term “domestic science” into the language. Sarah Josepha Hale was to prove to be unique exception of her times.
AUTHOR OF MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB In addition, she helped to establish Vassar College, the first college for women. Hale was civic minded and among her credits she promoted the movement to preserve Mount Vernon as a National memorial and raised the money that finished Bunker Hill Monument. She was the author of some two dozen books and hundreds of poems, including the best known children’s rhyme in the English language, “Mary Had a Little Lamb.”
Sarah Josepha Hale stepped from the shelter of an early nineteenth century marriage untrained, unschooled and stepped forward to become the nation’s most celebrated Lady Editor. For her patriotic part in nationalizing Thanksgiving Day, we give thanks.

ALL VENUES GREAT AND MUSICAL IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

Never a dull moment in New York City where cultural events, great and musical, excite and invite the inquisitive nature of the city’s citizens to get out on these glorious days of spring-like weather. Only in New York my friends, the best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

FORTUNY Y MADRAZO: An Artistic Legacy The Queen Sofia Spanish Institute pays homage to Fortuny in a seminal exhibition that analyzes the work of the celebrated Spanish artist and designer in the context of the family of artists from which he descended. Conceived by and curated by Oscar de la Renta, this will be the first exhibition to examine Fortuny’s groundbreaking work in numerous fields, from textile and clothing design to visual arts and elaborates on the origins and influences that shaped his extraordinary career. From the luxurious textiles to many of his clothing designs, the iconic Delphos dress, emphasized movement and the natural shape of an un-corseted body. November 30-March 30, 2013. Queen Sofia Spanish Institute, 684 Park Avenue. T 212.628.0420. Image: Mariano Fortuny y Madrazo, Peplos (detail) 1910-1920, Courtesy of the Museo del Traje, Madrid.

GRAND HOTEL, “People Come, People Go.” It’s The Blue Hill Troupe’s electrifying musical version of the classic play, The Grand Hotel, inspired by Vicki Baum’s period novel sweeps into the Theater at St. Clement’s with performances ongoing From Nov. 14 to 17 at 8pm and a 2pm performance on Nov. 17th . This multiple Tony Award-winning musical features music and lyrics in a powerful score that is certain to sweep you away with all the lavishness of the 1920s. It’s 1928 Berlin, the world is between wars and the stock market is booming and though the Grand Hotel’s revolving doors pass a cavalcade of desperate, ambitious characters, all yearning for one last chance at a better future. The Blue Hill Troupe supports the Go Project, a nonprofit mission to provide critical academic, social and emotional support starting in the early elementary years. At the Theater at St. Clement’s, 423 West 46th St. (between 9th and l0th Ave) For tickets call: 866.811.4111.

MUSIC FOR THANKSGIVING: The St. George’s Choral Society’s Music for Thanksgiving for choir and Organ is a timely program that honors ‘For All our Gifts,’ with Matthew Lewis, Artistic Director and Andrew Yeargin, at the organ. The program includes a commissioned work (World Premiere) by Andrew Bassi and also Make a Joyful Noise Unto the Lord, Isadore Freed; Hariu, Max Janowski; The Eyes of All, Wait Upon Thee, Jean Berger; Three Harvest Home Chorales, Charles E. Ives; Rejoice in the Lamb, Benjamin Britten. A select ensemble will sing: Paulus: Pilgrims Hymn, We Gather Together and Thompson: Antiphon. At the Church of the Incarnation, 209 Madison Ave., at 35th St. On Sunday November 18th at 3pm. Tickets $25 at the door. $20 in advance email stgeorgeschoralsociety@yahoo.com

META-Monumental Garage Sale at The Museum of Modern Art. For her first solo exhibition at MoMA, multimedia performance artist Martha Rosler will present her work Meta-Monumental, a large-scale version of the classic American garage sale, where visitors will be able to browse and purchase second-hand goods that are organized, displayed and sold by the artist and her floor assistants. From November 17th-30th and museum visitors will be encouraged buy, haggle over prices and make purchases, after get your photo taken with your purchase. At MoMA, 11 W. 53rd St.

Ta Ta darlings: Don’t miss seeing that delightful musical The Grand Hotel and I’ll be looking for you on Sunday, November 18th as I will be singing in the St. George’s program. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

CULTURAL VENUES RESTORE THE BIG APPLE'S HEART (c) By Polly Guerin

The rush of cultural venues restores the city on new ground with good reason to get out and enjoy the rich heritage that only New York City can offer in such abundance. Only in New York my friends, the best of New York. Here’s the scoop!

EDVARD MUNCH: The Scream, A haunting rendition of a hairless figure on a road under a yellow-orange sky, says it all about the reaction to Sandy. Here is an opportunity to see for yourself. The Scream has garnered worldwide attention for the stark portrayal of the human condition. The Museum of modern Art’s special six-month exhibition of Edvard Munch’s iconic ‘The Scream’ (1895) is among the most celebrated and recognized images in art history. The exhibition includes a small selection of works of the same period drawn primarily from the Museum’s collection. Of the four versions of the Scream that Munch created, this pastel of The Scream, is lent from a private collection and will on view at MoMA through April 2013, at 11 W. 53 St.

THE ROLLING STONES 50 years on Film: In celebration of the 50th anniversary of The Rolling Stones, MoMA presents the first comprehensive retrospective which chronicles the band from the mid-1960s until today with documentaries, fiction features, concert films, music videos, experimental shorts, and archival footage, training the film careers of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, and Ronnie Wood, as well as former band members, collectively as composers, performers, producers and actors. Over the past half century, The Rolling Stones have influenced music, cinema, and art, working with some of the most original directors of their generation. In The Roy and Niuta Titus Theater.

THE PURSUIT OF A VISION: Two Centuries of Collecting American at the American Antiquarian Society tells the story of the significant book, newspaper, and art collectors who helped develop and expand the Society’s collection, which is described as the greatest collection of early Americana in the world. On the second floor gallery, The Grolier Club present a groundbreaking examination of Italian-language publishing in pre-war America, ‘Strangers in a Strange lane’ showcases a wide range of literary works which entertained, educated and inflamed an Italian-language audience during a period of critical historical development. Free admission. The Grolier Club, 47 E. 60th St.

THE RODIN PROJECT: The Russell Maliphant Company performs the U. S. debut of its celebrated founder’s latest work, The Rodin Project. First presented in Paris this past January, it is inspired by the “energy and twisting” of the 19th century master’s forms. The six dancer piece blends street and contemporary idioms and features a score by the Russian composer and cellist Alexander Zekke. Dec. 5 through 9 at the Joyce Theater, joyce.org. Sneak preview and discussion with the choreographer Dec. 3 at the Guggenheim Museum, guggenheim.org.

THE SALON, ART & DESIGN at the Park Avenue Armory Nov. 8 to 12th opens with a gala to benefit the Kips Bay Boys & Girls club, Wed. Nov. 7th. Special events in the Tiffany Room, Friday Nov. 9th and Saturday Nov. 10th include Real Estate and Interiors: How does design affect the value of your home? In addition, French Flair: Top designers talk about designing in the French Style and Elements of Contemporary Style deatures the next generation of Interior Designers. At Park Avenue Armory, 643 Park Ave. at 67th St. Info: thesalonny.com.

Ta Ta darlings!!! It’s quite a relief to be back on board with my PollyTalk column. I trust you are all okay by now. Fan mail always welcome at pollytalk.com and my Blogs can be reached by clicking on the left-hand column links on pollytalk.com.

DIAMOND JUBILEE AND STORYTELLING IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

Music doth make mortals of us all and New York City’s diamond jubilee Mahler concert tops events coming up this week, with storytelling Beatrix Potter enchanting children. Only in New York, my friends, the best of New York. Here’s the scoop!!!

BEATRIX POTTER: The Picture Letters Bring a child with you and explore the extraordinary tale of how a largely self-taught artist and writer used a series of private letters to develop some of the most vividly depicted animal characters in all of children’s literature. The exhibition brings together for the first time twenty-two letters—including the famous Peter Rabbit letter---as well as printed books, original artwork, manuscripts, and early children’s toys and games inspired by Potter’s stories. Although Potter was most often associated with bunnies, mice and squirrels that she immortalized in her beloved children’s books, spiders, newts, snakes and snails held an equal place in her heart. At the Morgan Library and Museum, 225 Madison Ave. Opens November 2 through January 2013.

GUSTAV MAHLER, Eighth Symphony The Canterbury Choral Society’s 60th Anniversary Benefit Concert, Mahler’s 8th Symphony, takes place on Saturday, November 3rd at 8pm at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage. Under the baton of Charles Dodsley Walker, founder and conductor, this remarkable presentation engages a chorus of 600 and Symphony Orchestra. The Canterbury Choral Society will be augmented by The Long Island Choral Society, Faculty and Cadets from the US Military Academy at West Point and Coro ProMusica Mexico. Young singers from several schools lend their voices to the gala affair including Spence School and Trinity School. Order tickets by calling CarnegieCharge at 212.247.7800.

LOUIS C. TIFFANY, And the Art of Devotion Most of us know the artist by his famous Tiffany lamps, but his oeuvre goes way beyond this genre. This exhibition is the first to concentrate on Tiffany’s ecclesiastical division which was created when New York City was going through an enormous building boom in congregations (between 1890 and 1906). The exhibit focuses on the work Tiffany Studios designed and fabricated for America’s churches, and, on a few occasions, synagogues as well. Divided into 3 thematic sections, the visually striking exhibition focuses on cues Tiffany took from Western and Eastern decorative traditions, mingling Gothic and Byzantine elements with the flowing botanical lines of Art Nouveau, and many other styles. At The Museum of Biblical Art (MOBIA) through January 2013. FREE admission.

9 + 1 Ways of Being Political: 50 Years of Political Stances in Architecture and Urban Design offers a series of fresh perspectives on the ways in which, over the last half century, architects have responded actively and redeveloped political attitude to the ever-evolving condition of urban society. Comprised of works spanning the last 50 years, the exhibition presents a variety of institutional critiques through putting architectural stances in dialogue with the works of other urban practitioners; artists, photographers, and designers. At The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) through March 2013, 11 West 53rd Street. Te: 212.708.9431.

Ta Ta darlings: You will find me singing this Saturday in the chorus of the Canterbury Choral Society and I look forward to seeing you there. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

FASHIONISTA'S HOLIDAY IN THE BIG APPLE (c) By Polly Guerin

No wonder New York City is called the Fashion Capital of the World; from textiles to fashion and celebrity book signing there’s more than meets the eye in venues this week. Only in New York, my friends, the best of New York. Here’s the Scoop

THE WORLD OF D.D. AND LESLIE TILLET If you are waxing nostalgic and want to capture the glimpse of textile history The Museum of the City of New York honors the memory of the legendary textile designers, the Tillets. The D.D. stands for D.D. Doctorow who married Leslie Tillet and 60 years later, the lyrical but never-published pictures she took for a feature for Harper’s Bazaar bring the story of their collaboration to life. The Tillets moved to Manhattan in 1946, reaching a level of recognition all but unheard of in the fabric world. Their best known patterns are chrysanthemums busting like fireworks in a mélange of color. American sportswear designer, Claire McCardell included Tillet fabrics in her collections and celebrities like Jacqueline Kennedy had a favorite Tillet sundress. At MCNY Fifth Avenue between 103 and 104th Streets. (Image above: The Tillets)

MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD Here’s a lesson in fashion history. For its revival of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” the Roundabout Theater is costuming the musicians and the ushers as well as the cast of almost 30 in period costumes befitting the 1890s era—-63 hats, 33 wigs, 32 costumed house staff, 16 bustles, etc. etc. To bring the story to the stage, playwright and composer Rubert Holmes created a multiple-choice musical, whereby audience members at each performance vote for an ending which the actors then perform. Costume designer, William Ivey Long created the elaborate costumes which create a brand new way to appreciate historical fashion.

FASHION SYMPOSIUM Ivy Style will be FIT’s 12th fashion symposium, bring together diverse array of scholars, authors and designers to discuss, debate and celebrate the “Ivy League Look,” a distinctly American fashion genre that has been shaping the evolution of menswear for decades. Ivy Style has spread way beyond the university campuses where it began to become a major influence on many of today’s fashion designers including Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger and Thom Browne. You’re in for a treat. Speakers will include Richard Press, grandson of J. Press; journalist G. Bruce Boyer; designer Jeffrey Banks, Claudio Del Vecchio, chairman and chief executive officer of Brooks Brothers and Patricia Meers, FIT deputy director of the exhibition. Held in the Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Auditorium, Marvin Feldman Center, second floor on Thursday and Friday, November 8 and 9th. Free to the FIT community and to students everywhere (with ID). To register call: 212.217.4585.

INCOMPARABLE: WOMEN OF STYLE By Rose Hartman This photographer/fashionista’s book is a photo gallery of the goddesses who populate modern glamour—-models, actresses, jet-setters, editors and celebrities, famous or obscure. Rose Hartman is a whirlwind on the New York fashion scene and I keep bumping into her at many a press opening. Earlier this year a retrospective of her work, Selections from the Rose Hartman Photography Archives, 1977-2011, was shown at the Gladys Marcus Library at the Fashion Institute of Technology. She is a force and her uncanny lens is accompanied with texts by Anthony Haden-Guest and Alistair O’Neill with 132 color illustrations by the high priestess of fashion photography. Published by ACC Editions.

Ta Ta darlings: Looking forward to seeing you at the FIT Fashion Symposium. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

COSTUME DRAMA AND SCULPURAL VISTAS (c) By Polly Guerin

There’s nothing like fashion to turn a New York’s fashionista heads up on Ivy Style and Costume Drama exhibitions, while cultural venues of quite a historical nature also dominate this week. Here’s the Scoop!!!

ALINA SCAPOCZNIKOW: Sculpture Undone, 1955-1972 Leave it to the MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art to bring the first large-scale survey of Alina’s work to the United States with over 200 works including sculpture, drawings, photography and archival and documentary material. The sculptor who began working during the postwar period in a classical figurative style, Szapocznikow (Polish, 1926-1973) radically reconceptualized sculpture as an imprint not only of memory but also of her own body. The artist left a legacy of provocative subjects that evoke Surrealism, Nouveau Realism, and Pop art. Third Floor Gallery, through January 2013. 11 W. 53rd St. Image: Petit Dessert 1, colored polyester resin and glass. Photo by Thomas Mueller.
BERNINI’S TERRACOTTA MODELS Another sculptor of quite another genre also intrigues with powerful results. To visualize life-size or colossal marbles, the great Baroque sculptor Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) began by rapidly modeling small clay sketches. Fired as terracotta, these studies are old, expressive works in their own right and preserve the first traces of Bernini’s fervid imagination and unique creative process that evolved into some of the famous and spectacular statuary in Rome, including the fountains in the Piazza Navona and the angles on the Ponte Sant’ Angelo. Bernini: Sculpting in Clay offers the viewer a more profound insight into the artist’s dazzling creative mind, and his impact on the fabric of Baroque Rome. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Avenue, through January 2013.
SYMPOSIUM ON IVY STYLE, past and present, here and abroad, in conjunction with the exhibition of the same name currently on view at (MFIT) The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology takes place from Thursday, November 8 and Friday November 9th, 9:30 am-5:00pm in the Haft Auditorium. Speakers include Jeffrey Banks and Doria de Lia Chapelle, co-authors of Preppy: Cultivating Ivy Style and Tartan: Romancing the Plaid. For complete schedule, go to fitnyc.edu/museum.
KATHARINE HEPBURN: Dressed for the Stage and Screen. Hepburn’s consummate skill as an actress (including her still record-breaking four Oscars) will forever live on, as will her unparalleled sense of style. This captivating display includes her personal collection of performance clothes, the wardrobe that she wore for publicity, and examples of her ‘rebel chic’ from her casual and rehearsal wear. AT the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Opens Oct. 18.
COSTUME DRAMA London Style puts the spotlight on London’s Victoria and Alert Museum, where 130 costumes, span a century of Hollywood design magic. Hollywood costume explores what an essential tool costume is in cinema storytelling and how intricate the relationship is between designer, actor, and director. Opens this month.
Ta Ta darlings: I’m vicariously off to London to see Costume Drama but may settle for Hepburn instead. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

CULTURE CITY and ITS RICH VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

The treasure trove of cultural venues this fall fills the calendar with not-to-be-missed opportunities to acquire fuller knowledge on a scale from A to Z. Well you can’t help a girl wanting to improve her mind. Here’s the Scoop!!

THE 24TH ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL FINE ART & ANTIQUE DEALERS SHOW The New York Times once described the IFAADS show as “a sprawling cabinet of wonders, an awesome hodgepodge of rare, beautiful and strange objects.” Fair description for the myriad of works or art, craft and design displayed represent a wide array or periods at price points from A to Z. However, the show is known for its high quality standards of quality. The world renowned “International Show,” founded in 1989 as New York’s first vetted fair; it was the first to require that all objects be authenticated by a panel of experts. This year’s show brings together 67 top American and European dealers featuring works of art, antiquities to contemporary including furniture, paintings rare books, jewelry, Faberge, maritime, textiles and ceramics. From October 19th through 25th at New York’s Park Avenue Armory at 67th St. Daily 11am-7:30pm. Last day Sunday 11am-6pm. Admission $20. For information about the preview party phone: 212.642.8572.
IMAGE: Daniel Crouch Rare Books exhibits an outstanding handscroll depicting Commodore Perry’s historic visit to Japan in 1854.
PICASSO BLACK AND WHITE They seek him here they seek him there, Picasso seems everywhere this year and The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum’s presents another lesser-studied aspect of Picasso’s work, his use of black and white and gray. It’s an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see 118 black and white paintings, sculptures, and works on paper by the great Spanish artist, many of which are on public view for the first time, including “Mother and Dead Child II, Postscript to Guernica and Head of a Woman, Right Profile (Marie-Therese) oil and charcoal on canvas. Many of the works are on loan from the Picasso family. By working in black and white Picasso once said color ‘weakens.’ This is a new way to see Picasso and it shows how much he said with little. Through January 2013. Programs include the October 14th and 15th performance of Picasso’s Desire Caught by the Tail. At 1071 Fifth Ave. (at 89th Street) Phone 212.423.350
MASTER DRAWINGS FROM MUNICH The Morgan Library & Museum hosts an extraordinary exhibition of rarely-seen master drawings from the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, marks the first time that that such an important group of drawings has been lent to an American Museum. The exhibition includes drawings from Italian, French, Dutch and Flemish artists of the Renaissance and baroque periods; German draftsmen of the nineteenth century; and an international contingent of modern and contemporary craftsmen. Among the artists represent are Willem de Kooning, Max Liebermann, Franz Marc, Johann Georg Bergmuller and Leonardo da Vinci. Through January 2013. Madison Ave.@ 36/37th Street.
EDVARD MUNCH’S ‘THE SCREAM’ This is a rare opportunity to see Edvard Munch’s iconic The Scream (1895) among the most celebrated and recognized images in art history, it goes on view at The Museum of Modern Art for a period of six months beginning October 24. Of the four versions of The Scream made by Munch between 1893 and 1910, this pastel-on-board from 1895 is the only one remaining in private hands. The three other versions are in the collections of museums in Norway. “As an iconic image, The Scream has garnered worldwide attention for its start portrayal of the human condition,” said Glenn D. Lowry, director of the museum. This haunting rendition of a hairless figure on a bridge under a yellow-orange sky has captured the popular since the time of its making and now is your chance to see it through April 2013. MoMA at 11 W. 53 St.
Ta Ta darlings: Don’t miss “The Scream,” where you might discover your own meaning in the painting. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed on the Internet just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

AUTUMN AWAKENING, RICH CULTURAL VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

Rich cultural venues drive the wealth of museum openings to keep New Yorkers and tourists busy in the world’s most fascinating city, fueling inspiration on a broad scale from historical to modern. Here’s the scoop!!! Image: Faking It: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop.

CROSSING BORDERS: Manuscripts from the Bodleian Libraries. For a rare glimpse into antiquity when books were unique works of art as well as repositories of knowledge, head uptown to The Jewish Museum for Crossing Borders, the meeting place of medieval cultures, where illuminated manuscripts from England’s Bodleian Library, established by Thomas Bodley in 1602 are on display. Renowned for its great treasures, this exhibition features over 60 works, Hebrew, Arabic and Latin manuscripts, the majority of which have never been seen in the United States including the splendid Kennicott Bible, the most lavishly illuminated Hebrew Bible to survive from medieval Spain. In addition to viewing the actual illuminated manuscript, visitors will be able to look at digital images of every page in several of the bibles and examine details on touch screens. At The Jewish Museum, 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd St., through February 3, 2013, T-212.423.3200.
DURER TO de KOONING: 100 Master Drawings from Munich marks the first time such a comprehensive and prestigious selection of works has been lent to a single exhibition. The Morgan Library & Museum hosts an extraordinary exhibition of rarely-seen master drawings from the Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, Munich, one of Europe’s most distinguished drawings collections. Durer to de Kooning occupies the Morgan’s principal galleries containing more than 60 Italian, German, Dutch, French drawings of the 15th through the 19th centuries with celebrated artists Rubens, Michelangelo, Rembrandt and Titian while the second gallery features late-nineteenth-century and modern contemporary works. Through January 2013. 225 Madison Ave.
FAKING IT: Manipulated Photography Before Photoshop While digital photography and image editing software have brought about an increased awareness of the degree to which camera images can be manipulated, the practice of doctoring photographs has existed since the medium was invent. Featuring some 200 visually captivating photographs created between the 1840s and 1990s in the service of art, politics news, entertainment and commerce, this exhibition offers a provocative new perspective on the history of photography. The photographs in the exhibition were altered using a variety of techniques including multiple exposure, photomontage, over painting and retouching on the negative or print. The Metropolitan Museum of Art through May 2013. 1000 Fifth Avenue.
SAGA SITES, Landscapes of the Icelandic Sagas. The American-Scandinavian Foundation (ASF) presents a unique exhibition tracking the great, medieval narratives of Iceland, known collectively as the Sagas of Islanders, through the 19th century watercolors of British artist W. G. Collingwood and the contemporary photographs of renowned Iceland artist Einar Falur Ingolfsson. The first of its kind in the U.S., the exhibition explores the inimitable visual dialog forged between Collingwood and Ingolfsson and highlights the significance of the sagas within Ireland’s literary heritage and their enduring cultural inspiration. Free Admission. ASF, 58 Park Ave., @38th St., through January 2012.
Ta Ta darlings: Don’t miss an opportunity to see breathtaking treasures in the Jewish Museum’s rare illuminated manuscripts. Fan mail welcome. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, womendeterminedtosucceed, poetry or fashion.

CRISP WEATHER BRINGS HALLMARK CELEBRATIONS (c) By Polly Guerin

Such glorious days set us on a social whirl of events that make living in New York City the best place to be for entertainment and some Hallmark Celebrations. Only in New York my friends, so cherish the privilege and enjoy the show. Here’s the scoop!!!

THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES Before all seats are gone reserve for the Tribute to Florenz Ziegfeld’s inspiration for The Ziegfeld Follies at the famous Birdland. With Sarah as Rice Anna Held and Frank Basile and a cast of 11 and Mark York at the piano, John DeMan on percussion and Eva Weiss on guitar, it’s going to be a spectacular costumed show. This production will have plenty of feathers and glitz, as well as, a cast of talented singers and dancers taking you back to the glory days of the Ziegfeld Follies and the Folies Bergere. Saturday, Sept. 29th at 5pm (doors open at 4:30pm) Cover Charge $5 members, $12 non-members, plus $10 food/drink min. Reserve: 917.37l.5509, ziegfeldsociety@aol.
TIFFANY & CO. LEGENDARY FOR 175 YEARS Celebrates a Brilliant Heritage while Tiffany’s blue box continues to make hearts beat faster for 175 years. Tiffany’s roots run deep in our nation’s history. Founder Charles Lewis Tiffany had an abiding passion for the most beautiful diamonds in the world and acquired a large cache of important jewels and New York dubbed him “The King of Diamonds.” He also acquired other sensational diamonds like the 128.54-carat diamond and the French Crown Jewels that confirmed his status as the authority on magnificent diamonds. In 1886 Tiffany introduced the Tiffany setting diamond engagement ring and it has played a part in the world’s greatest love stories. At the Tiffany flagship store Fifth Avenue and 57th St.
EDITH WHARTON’S NEW YORK CITY, This Backward Glance exhibition celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of one of America’s most acclaimed authors, Edith Wharton at the New York Society Library, 53 E.79th Street, through December 31, 2012. The exhibition reveals exciting new information about Wharton’s world and the Library then located at 67 Livingston Place. On display are rare family portraits, Wharton letters to family members, and first editions of novels and short stories, including Wharton’s autobiography A Backward Glance. T-212.288.6900.

BEAUTY ENDURES An exhibition of elegance; contemporary photographs by Cathleen Naundorf and drawings by Paul Cesar Helleu are presented at Trinity House 24 East 64th Street, 11 to 5pm.Daily. T-212.813.0700. A rare opportunity to capture the essence of fashion and beauty on a scale of heightened beauty.
PRESENT LAUGHTER A company called Gotham Radio Theatre, whose intention is to revive the experience of radio broadcasts before a live audience puts on Noel Coward’s Present Laughter this evening at 7pm at the Arclight Theatre, 152 W. 71st Street. Call 886.992.9263 for ticket $20.
Ta Ta darlings: Don’t miss Edith Wharton, it’s worth A Backward Glance. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

NEW YORK, CULTURE CITY A MYRIAD VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

Arts and entertainment in the center of the cultural universe crowns New York with the title “Culture City,” for its diverse and myriad venues from pop to historical illuminations, there’s more than meets the eye for the inquiring public. Only in New York my friends, the best of New York, Here’s the scoop!!!

REGARDING WARHOL: Sixty Artists, Fifty Years. Give yourself ‘15 minutes of fame’ at the Metropolitan Museum of Art celebrating the Pop master’s influence on contemporary art by pairing his works with dozens of artists in a 145 work venue that casts new light on the icon artists innovations. Case in point; Warhol’s Popsicle-colored self portraits of celebrities like Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Jackie Kennedy Onassis are mounted alongside photographer Cindy Sherman’s glossy self-portraits and Karen Kilimnik’s portrait of real-estate heiress Paris Hilton. Not to be missed are the Warhol’s penchant for papering gallery walls with repeated images which helped to usher in the wall-to-wall installations so popular today. The event also celebrates the 50th anniversary of Warhol’s famed soup can art and the unique connection between Warhol and the iconic red and white label. Through December 31. 2012. At 1000 Fifth Avenue at 82nd St. For more information 212.570.3951.
CAMPBELL CELEBRATES To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Any Warhol’s 1962 famed work, 32 Campbell Soup Cans, Campbell Soup Company, is introducing limited-edition cans of Campbell’s Condensed Tomato soup with labels derived from Warhol artwork. The four specially—designed labels reflect Warhol’s pop-art style and use vibrant, eye-catching color combinations like orange and blue, and pink and teal. When asked why he painted Campbell’s soup cans, Warhol famously quipped, I used to have the same (Campbell’s soup) lunch every day for twenty years. In 1962 in Los Angeles, Warhol exhibited his famous paintings of 32 Campbell’s Condensed soup cans and each of the 32 canvases depicted one variety of soup, side-by-side like cans of soup on a grocery shelf. The painting helped to launch Warhol’s career and ushered in Pop Art as a major art movement in the United States. The limited edition cans were produced under the Andy Warhol Foundation, a not for profit corporation that promotes the visual arts. These soup cans could become famous collectibles themselves and are exclusively available at most Target locations nationwide for $.75.
CROSSING BORDERS; MANUSCRIPTS FROM THE BODLEIAN LIBRARIES On a more serious note over 60 works---Hebrew, Arabic, and Latin manuscripts—the majority of which have never been seen in the United States illuminate the dark interiors of The Jewish Museum’s galleries. England’s Bodleian Library at Oxford University, established by Sir Thomas Bodleian in 1602 and now the largest of the University’s group of ‘Bodleian Libraries,’ is renowned for its great treasures and among them is one of the most important collections of medieval Hebrew illuminated manuscripts in the world. A rare opportunity, this exhibition includes the Kennicott Bible; the most lavishly illuminated Hebrew Bible to survive from medieval Spain. In addition to viewing the actual illuminated manuscripts, visitors will be able to look at digital images of every page of the Kennicott Bible and examine details on touch screens in the gallery. Through February 3, 2013. At 1109 Fifth Avenue at 92nd St. More info, 212.423.3200.
ILLUMINATING PHILOSOPHY, The Illuminations of Girolamo Da Cremona, in Peter Ugelheimer’s works of Aristotle (1483) Why not make a day of it and visit the Morgan Library & Museum’s illuminated printed books. The works include spectacular decorative elements including gemstones set in gold, antique cameos, landscapes, seated animals, darling putti and some really eye-popping trompe-l’oeil effects. Of special note is the depiction of Aristotle and Averroes in animated conversation with architecture, jewelry and flora on a page with textural passages. At the Morgan Library and Museum, Madison Avenue at 36th-37th Streets. Through Sept. 23.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m off to Target to get Warhol’s ‘fifteen minutes of fame,’ featured on the Campbell soup cans. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

FASHIONISTAS' HOLIDAY IN NEW YORK (c) By Polly Guerin

Fashionable New York opens the season with stylish reasons to view the Fashion Week collections and revisit “Ivy Style” or tap into new documentaries or magazines that make the art of fashion the reason New York is the Fashion Capital of the World. Only the Best of New York my friends. Here’s the Scoop!!!

FASHION ILLUSTRATION gets its due venue at the Brooklyn Public Library where the never-before-seen illustrations of ANTONIO LOPEZ and works by Richard Haines and Samantha Hahn are among the rare collections on view Monday through Thursdays, 9am-9pm, Friday and Saturday, 10am- 6pm. and Sunday 1-5 pm. The exhibit also includes a fashion film series, panel discussions and author talks throughout the fall. For aspiring illustrators there will be fashion illustrations classes. Check it out a brooklypubliclibary.org, Central Library, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn. 718.230.2100.
IVY STYLE celebrates one of the most enduring clothing styles of the 20th century at The Museum at the Fashion Institute of Technology. From its origins in the prestigious college campuses of America in the late 1910s to the many reinterpretations seen in contemporary fashion, the “Ivy” League Look” or “Ivy Style” has come to be viewed as a classic form of dressing. More than 60 ensembles, both historic and contemporary, will be on display. A more in-depth study of Ivy Style will be featured in the accompanying book also titled, Ivy Style. Opens September 14 to January 5, 2013. FREE and open to the public. Museum Hours Tuesday-Friday-noon-8pm, Saturday 10am-5pm. fitnyc.edu/museum. The museum’s annual fashion symposium takes place November 8 and 9, 2012, in conjunction with the exhibition.
DIANA VREELAND: THE EYE HAS TO TRAVEL an entertaining new documentary is in preview right now about the legendary fashion editor, Diana Vreeland whose amazing eye on fashion fascinates us even today. Vreeland’s voice seemingly pervades the film (an actress actually narrates) with her early years in Paris, London and New York and of course, we see her pages from Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue, which she transformed into a pop-culture venue. The film opens in limited release on Sept. 21 and will be shown at the Paris Theater on 58th Street, opposite the Plaza. Two other new documentaries came out during Fashion Week, Scatter My Ashes at Bergdorf’s and Versailles 73, which will be shown for one week only at the IFC Center, beginning Sept. 7th.
CHRISTIAN DIOR’S famous name launches its own print magazine, DIOR, to be published twice a year, September and March in nine languages and a controlled circulation to its best customers and prospects. French and English versions will be released first, around September 10th. The print issue follows the February introduction of online editorial at Diormag.com. Meanwhile if you are in Paris during the holidays Printemps’ public façade, starting in November, features mechanical windows with dolls dressed in exact replicas of iconic Dior outfits, created by its couture ateliers.

TA TA Darlings!!! I’ll vicariously be off to Paris to catch the fashion buzz and enjoy the sights!!! Fan mail welcome at pollytalk.com. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at pollytalk.com website, just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

SEPTEMBER OPENS A MYRIAD OF CULTURAL VENUES (c) By Polly Guerin

It’s the last rose of summer and the cultural calendar is brimming with venues to enlighten, entertain and engross every minute with museum, gallery and restaurant hopping. Only in New York, my friends, it’s the Best of New York. Here’s the Scoop!!!

DORIS DUKE’S SHANGRI LA Take a vicarious trip to Honolulu, Hawaii. The tobacco heiress, world adventurer and philanthropist was ahead of her time when it came to collecting Islamic treasures and the Museum of Arts and Design stages a remarkable tribute to the iconic collector. Amassing 3,500 objects spanning the Muslim world from Spain through the Middle East and into Asia she was a nonstop collector from the time she was just 23 to the time she died in 1993. Her acquisitions include objects dating from the early first millennium B. C. to the early 20th Century. One fascinating object the l8th century Indian rosewater sprinkler was once housed in her Honolulu estate, Shangri La. At MAD MUSEUM, 2 Columbus Circle, September 7 through January 6, 2013.
WE ARE HERE! Eiteljorg Contemporary Art Fellowship. This remarkable exhibition features the rich history and cultural traditions of the ancestors and the artists’ modern artistic approach to contemporary and modern life. The National Museum of the American Indian features five focus shows devoted to the artists who recently received contemporary art fellowships from the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art in Indianapolis. Alan Michelson works with moving elegies for the lost environs and traditions of dislocated Indians with channeling them in light boxes showing photographs of his great-grandfather’s farmland, models of log cabins and a video of the Hudson River shoreline. Bonnie Devine offers objects of sheer beauty that express the circumstances of her people. Downtown at 1 Bowling Green at Broadway. Through September 23rd, 2012. 212.514.3700.
THE BEARDEN PROJECT Day trip it up to Harlem and visit the Studio Museum where a year-long tribute to Romare Bearden features work by 100 contemporary artists, inspired by or made in response to Bearden’s genre including works resonating with the artist’s themes in mind such as Emma Amos, a contemporary of Bearden and a member of his collective, Spiral, as well as young emerging artists like Lorna Williams and Noah Davis. For the Bearden Project the Studio Museum sent each artist sheets of 22x30 inch paper and asked them to make collages. Bearden’s work is a kind of visual African-American history and this exhibit broadens Bearden’s legacy. At 144 W. 125th St., at Malcolm X Blvd. Tel: 212.864.4500. Image above by Emma Amos 708 yo man ray yo.
RED ROOSTER HARLEM, Polly’s restaurant pick of the week. Gospel Sunday at Red Rooster Harlem is a ‘must’ for Sunday, or go for lunch or dinner anytime you’re up that way in Harlem. Start off with a spicy Bloody Mary and you’ll be clapping and dancing in your seats at brunch on Sunday. The menu, courtesy of Swedish chef Marcus Samuelsson, is served from 11:30 to 3:30 pm, but the no reservation policy means you need to arrive at least a half hour in advance as it fills up early. Otherwise arrive on any weekday when there’s an impressive mix of artsy and professional types dishing the news and dining on the Yard Bird, fried chicken served on a bed of braised greens and mashed potatoes slithered with gravy and house-made hot sauce. At 310 Lenox Ave, between 125th and 126th Streets. 212.792.9001.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! PollyTalk is taking off for Harlem where its happenings are all the rage. Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the Blog that interests you from fashion to poetry and visionary men.

NYC MUSEUMS WITH BIG VENUES(c) By Polly Guerin

There’s no end to museum attractions to satisfy everyone’s taste for the extraordinary. From comics to lip-reading puppets and a stroll down memories lane it’s the Best of New York, my friends the very best. Here’s the scoop!!!
QUAY BROTHERS at MOMA: On Deciphering the Pharmacist’s Prescription for Lip-Reading Puppets is the first major retrospective encompassing the full range of work by the identical twin, Quay Brothers who have labored together in their London studio, Atelier Koninck, for over 30 years, creating avant-garde stop-motion puppet animation, live-action films, and graphic design. As filmmakers, stage designers, and illustrators in a range of genres, the Quays have penetrated many fields of visual expression for a number of different audiences including signature works such as films, The Metamorphosis by Frank Kafka (2012) and the music video Long Way Down (1992). Unusual, provocative and worth your inspection their signature style, a mix graphic effects combined with sensual emotional content and intellectually stimulating subjects. MOMA, opens August 12-January 7, 2013. 11 West 53 St.
COMIC MUSEUM MOVES UPTOWN Welcome news!!! MoCCA, a museum devoted to the art of comics and cartoons and its superheroes has moved from its Soho location and is now part of The Society of Illustrators at 128 East 63rd Street off Lexington Avenue. In its tony uptown site the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art will have its own permanent gallery in a climate-controlled setting and continue to conduct educational programs. This should be good news to aficionados of this art form. “New York is important to comics and cartoons because it has been the birthplace of many artists and publishers,” said Ellen Abramowitz, president of MoCCA,”A lot of superhero stories are set in an urban environment almost identical to that of New York City.” What’s more the prestigious Society of Illustrators is a world class holding and exhibits the art of America’s most celebrated illustrators. A membership organization is boosts a fine dining room. Society of Illustrators, 212.838.2560.
BEYOND HUMAN is yet another museum ‘find’ in the city. This exhibit seems right in pace with people walking around attached it their machines. FILM/RIGHT appears in the new museum’s prismatic exhibition “Ghosts in the Machine,” which explores the ties between humans, machines and art leading up to the digital era. The curators organized the show as a Wunderkammer, or cabinet of curiosities. The “curiosities” include recreations of exhibitions and lost works as well as fictional museums. Viewers can recline inside a re-creation to watch a hypnotic collage of overlapping films and slide projections as though their bodies are being swept away on a sea of images. Through September 30. New Museum, 235 Bowery.
JEAN-MICHEL OTHONIEL: MY WAY introduces one of France’s most prominent contemporary artist’s, features sixty-seven pieces that trace the artist’s career over the past twenty-five years. His organic and geometrical glass sculptures conjure historical and popular references while also evoking the fantasy universe of the fairytale. Works on view include Self-Portrait in Priest’s Robe; The Soul Molded in the Bottom, Black is Beautiful. A group of detailed watercolor sketches for large-scale projects and commissions realized later, include the Kiosk of Nightwalkers (2000), a Metro entrance that has become one of the beloved landmarks of Paris. At the Brooklyn Museum, 200 eastern Parkway.

Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m taking off for vacation as of Monday August 13 for 10 days. PollyTalk will resume on August 27th. Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the Blog that interests you from fashion to poetry and visionary men.

CULTURAL MEDLEY, IT'S ALL ABOUT CHILD'S PLAY(c) By Polly Guerin

There’s more than meets the eye in cultural venues this week; a chance to remember when child’s play was fun then ‘play well,’ and spend the lunch hour at the library. It’s the Best of New York, my friends, the very best of children's venues to entertain and stimulate your senses. Here’s the scoop!!!
CENTURY OF THE CHILD: Growing by Design, 1900-2000 invites you to learn how designers had fun creating toys, furniture, playgrounds and school architecture. The Museum of Modern Art’s ambitious survey of 20th-century design for children is the first large-scale overview of the modernist occupation with children and a growing movement to advance the well-being of children by ending child labor, reforming education and encouraging emotional development through creative play. Hundreds of works on view, from designs by Charles Rennie Mackintosh to elements from Pee-wee’s Playhouse include my favorite: American Modern Play Dishes replicating in miniature melamine play dishes by America’s Best Known designer Russel Wright, “It’s fun to serve your friends in real Russel Wright dishes…just like mother’s,” produced by the Ideal Toy Corp. Screenings include 400 Blows, Bicycle Thieves, The Virgin Suicides. Check schedule at MOMA 11 West 53rd St. Through Nov. 5, 2012. IMAGE: Minka Podhajska ( 1881-1930) (Czechoslovak, born Moravia (now Czech Republic).  Series of Personifications of Childhood Misdeeds, 1930. Painted wood, dimensions vary. Museum of Decorative Arts, Prague.
ORBIS PICTUS: Play Well,transforms the Czech Center gallery into a symbiotic playground of site-specific installations in which artists and children collaborate to create sound and motion and visual installation. Over the course of sixteen weeks adults and children alike will come together to stage happenings, both free form and through a series of events, workshops, and concerts that draw upon the instinctual play’s ability to spark imaginative growth and unite disparate individuals through non-verbal communication. Play Well, the gallery of the Czech Center New York will become an artistic workshop and sonic landscape, where through direct physical contact with the artworks participants will create a symphony of light and sound. At the Gallery of the Czech Center New York, Bohemian National Hall, 321 East 73rd St. through October 17, 2012.
LUNCH HOUR at the New York Public Library “Everything is done differently in New York from anywhere else—but in eating the different is more striking than in any other branch of human economy,” said George Foster, New York in Slices, 1849. He was right on target, the clamor and chaos of lunch hour in New York has been a defining feature of the city for some 150 years. Of the three meals that mark the American day, lunch is the one that acquired its modern identity here on the street s of New York. Nowhere was he change more dramatic than right here in the city where employees were given a fixed time for their midday meal, often a half hour or less. Lunch Hour NYC looks back at more than a century of New York lunches, when the city’s early power brokers invents what was yet to be called ‘power lunch,’ local charities established a 3-cent school lunch, and visitors with guidebooks thronged Times Square to eat lunch at the Automat, a section is replicated in the exhibition. FREE Through February 17, 2013. For information call 917.ASK.NYPL (917.275.6975.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! Take time for child’s play to stimulate your creativity, these exhibits are worth seeing. Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the Blog that interests you from fashion to poetry and visionary men.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, IS A CULTURE CURE TOWN(c) By Polly Guerin

Study for Homage to the Square, Josef Albers

Whether you’re day tripping in New York or staying put in town there’s more than meets the eye in entertainment venues, museums and galleries. I can’t blame you for wanting to improve your mind!!! Here’s the scoop!!!

JOSEF ALBERS IN AMERCIA: Painting on Paper You’ll be seeing squares of a different kind that will tempt your imagination and your usual take on color. At least if Josef Albers has his way. He repeatedly explored color relationships within a similar format of concentric squares. Much less familiar, however, are the painted studies on paper. Although expressively experimental, the works offer a revealing look at the artist’s lifelong investigation of color and form. The profound effect of Mexico’s colors and pre-Columbian architecture and sculpture upon Alber’s work is difficult to overestimate as these places would have a lasting influence upon his work. In 1936, he wrote, “Mexico is truly the promised land of abstract Art. At The Morgan Library & Museum, 225 Madison Avenue, at 36th Street. Trough October 14, 1012. General information: 212.685.0008.
SAINT-SAENS AND HIS WORK Hop on a bus or train for Annandale –the-Hudson, New York where the 23rd-annual Bard Music Festival focuses on Saint-Saens and his World, treating you to an in-depth auditory tour of Belle Époque France through 12 concerts of works by the composer and his contemporaries. The programs include masterpieces from all of the musician’s expansive oeuvre, from such well-known pieces as his “Carnival of Animals” and Organ Symphony” to his score for the 1908 film The Assassination of the Duke of Guise. There is also a concert performance of his rarely heard grand opera Henry VIII. August 10-29th at the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. 845.758.7649.
TRIBUTE: FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT’S Usonian House and Pavilion In 1953, six years befoe the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum opened to the public, two of his structures—a pavilion and model Usonian house were built on the future site of the museum to house a temporary exhibition displaying the architect’s lifelong work. From July 27 to February 13, 1913, the Sackler Center for Arts Education at the Museum will present an exhibition comprised a rich selection of over thirty archival objects, including correspondence about planning, sketches, blueprints, and a plot models of the first Wright building erected in New York City. Newspaper and magazine clippings give a sense of the public reception of Wright’s buildings, and photographs range from documentation of construction---Frank L. Wright and David Henken reviewing architectural drawing or Taliesin apprentices on-site—to those taken at the opening. At the Guggenheim, 1071 Fifth Avenue.
CROSSING THE LINE Francophiles, this may interest you. Crossing the Line is a month-long festival devoted to the talents of avant-garde visual and performing artist based in France and New York City. The 2012 edition includes the participation of stage director Joris Lacoste, whose recent work has explored hypnosis as art, and performer, songwriter and radio artist Gerald Kurdian, whose varied projects range from “Je suis putain,” an audio-documentary about female prostitutes in Toulouse, to an “anti-pop solo band” called This is the hello monster! At various venues. Contact fiaf.org
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I went to Annandale to see Bard’s production of Moliere’s, Imaginary Invalid this weekend, which was rivetingly funny. The King in Spite of Himself, a classic comic opera is on the schedule from July 27 to August 5. Fan mail welcome: pollytalk@verizon.net. Polly’s blogs are best accessed at www.pollytalk.com...just click in the left hand column for a direct link to visionary men, amazing women, poetry or fashion.

CULTURAL ESCAPES IN NYC and BEYOND(c) By Polly Guerin

Take a trip beyond the Big Apple to cast your line out for cultural delights that include plays, cabarets and film festivals. Stay in town for Einstein on the Beach, get dotty and spotty, and enjoy a sidewalk dinner al fresco. Here’s the scoop!!!

MOLIERE’s THE IMAGINARY INVALID (le malade imaginaire) The Richard B. Fisher for the Performing Arts at Bard College (pictured left) opens with SummerScape’s, new all-male production featuring Ethan Phillips, best-known for long–running roles on TV’s Star Trek: Voyager and Benson. In this phantom comedy Phillips plays Argan, a housebound hypochondriac who schemes to marry his daughter to a doctor. July 13 to July 22. THE KING in SPITE OF HIMSELF (Le roi malgre lui) In Emmanuel Chabrier’s witty comic opera, this hapless 16th century French noble has been chosen by the Poles to be their king. Poor Henri de Valois is repelled by the weather, the food, and the fashion, and pines for his milieu in Anjou. Farce ensues when he tries to eschew the crown. The production is the first to be staged in New York and the first staged revival of the 1887 version. July 27 to August 1. BARD: Tel: 845.758.7900, fishercenter.bard.edu.                                                                                                                               
MORGAN GETS TOTHE BEACH and You Can too!!! Robert Wilson/Philip Glass: The Morgan Library & Museum presents Philip Glass’s handwritten 62-page score for the ground-breaking 1976 opera “Einstein on the Beach,” united with Robert Wilson’s production storyboards. Also included in the exhibition is an archival film from the production's premieres in Brussels and Paris as well as an excerpt from a New York rehearsal are viewed in the museum’s auditorium. Don’t miss “The Changing Image of Opera,” a documentary about the 1984 restaging of the production at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, which is being screened throughout the run of the exhibition. 225 Madison Ave., at 36th Street, themorgan.org. Tel: 212.685.0008                                                                                                                        
GETTING DOTTY Yes, you’re seeing spots, but there is nothing ordinary about them. Dots of widely imaginary nature are covering the façade of the Louis Vuitton Fifth Avenue Sore, which in collaboration with the 83-year- old artist Yayoi Kusama created windows and merchandise being sold in the shop covered with her signature dots. My dear, what a gasp! Inside one window a lifelike model of the diminutive artist places herself within her dots. Only in New York, my Friends, only in New York. All this following the Whitney Museum of American Art’s retro-spective exhibition of the Japanese artist.
Polly’s Restaurant Pick of the Week: TONY’S, Di Napoli serves up the best Italian fare al fresco or inside the AC restaurant and bar. Quite simply put the eggplant parmigiano and broccoli rabe melt in your mouth. 1081 Third Ave. at 63/64 Sts. P: 212.888.6333.                                                                                                         
Ta Ta Darlings!!! I’m getting dotty with all those dots, but their fascinating rhythm is worth seeing . Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the Blog that interests you from fashion to poetry and visionary men.

CHILL OUT AT A MUSEUM, DINE ALONE, SAVOUR CULTURE(c) By Polly Guerin

Bergamo Comes to Manhattan and blazing sunsets invite you to cocktails while  we sip away the moments in the cool comfort of cultural sites and beat he heat wave.. Here’s the Scoop!!!

BELLINI, TITIAN, AND Lorenzo LOTTO The Accademia Carrara in Bergamo (northeast of Milan), one of the jewels of Italian museums and a haven for art lovers has loaned the Metropolitan Museum 15 little masterpieces by Venetian and north Italian painters of the 15th and 16th centuries. No need to book a flight to Italy just head uptown to view paintings from about 1450 and 1550 when the golden age for Bergamo local artists were trained in the great workshops of Venice. Lorenzo Lotto seems to be the star of the show which includes three panels fron Lotto’s magisterial alter piece and early poetic, pastoral work by Titian. Every work is a noteworthy and it’s the next best thing to a trip to Bergamo. Through Sept. 3, 2012 Pictured here: Portrait of Lucina Brembati, Venice ca. 1480-1556 Lorenzo Lotto, Accademia Carrara, Bergamo.
DINE AT THE COUNTER in the MET’S Petri Court restaurant with a huge window views of Central Park. No lines, no long wait to get a table. I highly recommend the BTL with a glass of wine.And catch Argentinean artist Tomas Saracento's "Cloud Cities/Air Port City," a futuristic constellation of mirrored modules.
ROOFTOP DELIGHTS Pull up a chair at the Strand on W. 37th Street and watch the glorious New York sunset descend into darkness...head for Pod 39's rooftop terrace that serves up cocktails and sweeping views of the Chrysler and Empire State Buildings, then chill out and head for Je & Jo in Hell's Kitchen for homemade ice cream and bakery delights. Need pamper yourself in the summer heat head for Gloria Cabrera's salon on West 23rd Street where Sita's facial will make you glow with youthful vigor.
BASTILLE DAY celebrates oh la la!!! at the Alliance Francaise on 60th Street, Between Madison and Park with entertainments, fancy foods and Parisien music. For an authenic French dinner go to  Mangoire on Second Avenue and 53rd Street, avec some marvelous wine, like Bordeaux Cherie.
Ta Ta Darlings!!! There are so many tempting things to do in NYC.  It is truly a magical place.. Fan mail welcome www.pollytalk.com. Visit Polly’s Blogs at www.pollytalk.com and in the left-hand column click on the Blog that interests you from fashion to poetry and visionary men