What:

Join us for our 6^th stop on the YaleWomen Connecticut Museum Trail:  Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland, 1861–2008

Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland is the first major exhibition to use visual art as a lens to explore the lure that Coney Island exerted on American culture over a period of 150 years. An extraordinary array of artists viewed Coney Island as a microcosm of the American experience, from its beginnings as a watering hole for the wealthy, through its transformation into an entertainment mecca for the masses, to the closing of Astroland Amusement Park following decades of urban decline.

Robin Jaffee Frank '81 MA, '91 MPhil, '95 PhD, the Atheneum’s Chief Curator and the Curator of this Exhibition, will lead us on a private tour.  “Ms. Frank, a Brooklyn native who visited Coney Island often as a child, vividly recalls being terrified by sights like the Cyclops head that hung at the Spook-A-Rama, a 1950s thrill ride that took passengers under a blood-red waterfall and past horror figures.  She grew increasingly fascinated by art about the landmark over her more than two decades at the Yale University Art Gallery, where she became senior associate curator of American paintings and sculpture in 2006. She brought her research for the show with her when the Wadsworth Atheneum hired her as chief curator in 2011. The Yale University Art Gallery is the exhibit’s biggest lender.  (WSJ, 1/16/15)

Prior to the tour, there will be an optional pay-as-you-go live jazz brunch with Goza Latin Jazz at 11:00 am at the Atheneum’s Museum Café.  The buffet includes a complimentary Blood Mary or Mimosa, chef's specialty egg entrée, thick cut bacon and home fries, seasonal French toast, sliced roast turkey breast, seasonal fruit, tossed salad, roasted vegetables, and assorted breakfast sweet breads and muffins.

When:

Sunday, March 15, 2015

11:00 am Brunch

1:00 pm Exhibition Tour

Where:

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, 600 Main Street, Hartford

Founded in 1842, the Atheneum is the oldest continually-operating public art museum in the United States.

Cost:

$35, which includes brunch (with a mimosa) and the Museum entrance fee

$ 9 for the Museum entrance fee for the tour only

Directions and Parking:

Go to http://thewadsworth.org/visit/#directions

RSVP:

Space is limited to 15 alums.  RSVP to Anne Boucher ’80 at [email protected] no later than Sunday, March 8^th.  If you register and your plans change and are no longer able to join us, please let Anne know so that we can open your slot to an alum on the wait list.

Recommended Reading:

American Art Review, January 2015, Coney Island: Visions of an American Dreamland by Robin Jaffee Frank http://4eg99614zvx21of7ql3apu8c.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/2015_01_american_art_review.pdf