Museum Plans Special Events

By Rosanne Pellegrini
Staff Writer

On Saturday, Sept. 16, the museum will present a symposium from 12:30-5 p.m. in Devlin 101 titled "The Incredible Commerce: The Art and Fashion of the Fan Trade in Eighteenth-Century France" to accompany its exhibition of 18th-century fans. At the symposium, experts will discuss the artistic, commercial and social aspects of hand-held fans, which became an essential element of women's attire as well as art objects in their own right.

This abstract by Francoise Gilot is one of the 46 paintings on display at the McMullen Museum. The artist will make a special appearance at the museum Sept. 17 to discuss her life and work.

Exhibition guest curator Timothy Sullivan '00 will serve as symposium chairman, and speakers will include: Asst. Prof. Andrew Sofer (English); Karina Corrigan, assistant curator of Asian Export Art for the Peabody Essex Museum; Fulbright scholar Geraldine Sheridan, an associate professor of French at the University of Limerick in Ireland; Ellen Dennis, an independent scholar; and fan consultant Sandra Lawrence.

The display of fans will continue until Sept. 24, as will the exclusive exhibition of works by Gilot, whose appearance at Boston College on Sunday, Sept. 17, will mark her first public speaking engagement in Boston in many years.

Gilot will discuss her life and work during a reception to be held in her honor from 2-4 p.m. in Devlin Hall. Her lecture is scheduled to begin at approximately 2:30 p.m.

The McMullen Museum exhibition, "Francoise Gilot: 1940-1950," features 46 paintings and drawings from the first decade of her career. Gilot has been acclaimed as an artist since her first Paris exhibition in 1943, and is considered a major feminine voice for the School of Paris. In 1990, she received the grade of Knight in the Legion of Honor, France's greatest distinction.

Her work with abstracts has been compared with that of Henri Matisse and especially Picasso, with whom she developed an intense personal relationship. She is the mother of two of his children, Claude and Paloma.

"The McMullen Museum is very grateful to Francoise Gilot for sharing with us the very finest works from one of the stellar periods of her long career as an artist," said McMullen Museum Director Nancy Netzer. "Previous exhibitions of Picasso's work have focused on 'his women'; here we see how one of those women looked at him."

For more information on museum hours, exhibitions and events, call the BC Arts line at ext.2-8100, or visit the museum's World Wide Web site.