Summer Attraction

Art coup: Rare Dutch and English masterworks to make U.S. debut at MFAH thanksto London revamp

Joseph Mallord William Turner, A Coast Scene with Fisherman Hauling a BoatAshore (“The Iveagh Sea Piece”), c. 1803-1804, oil on canvas, Kenwood House,English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest, 1927
Anthony van Dyck, Flemish, Princess Henrietta of Lorraine Attended by a Page,1634, oil on canvas, Kenwood House, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest, 1927
Rembrandt van Rijn, Portrait of the Artist, c. 1665, oil on canvas, KenwoodHouse, English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest, 1927
Thomas Gainsborough, Mary, Countess Howe, c. 1764, oil on canvas, Kenwood House,English Heritage, Iveagh Bequest, 1927

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston is set to host an exquisite collection of European paintings from London's Kenwood House, including masterworks by Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Thomas Gainsborough and J.M.W. Turner.

Perched atop North London's Hampstead Heath, Kenwood House has been home to the renowned paintings for more than a century, drawing more than a million visitors each year. With this summer's "Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London" at the MFAH, American audiences will get a rare opportunity to view one of England's most important art collections.

The works offer a window into the aristocratic tastes of its own time: Full-length portraits of London courtesans, Italian and Dutch landscapes and a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself.

Acquired from 1887 to 1891 by the manor's last private resident, Edward Cecil Guinness — the 1st Earl of Iveagh and the heir to beloved Irish brewery — the group of Dutch, Flemish and English works from the 17th and 18th centuries offer a window into the aristocratic tastes of its own time: Full-length portraits of London courtesans, Italian and Dutch landscapes and a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself.

Built in the early 1600s and remodeled by famed neoclassical architect Robert Adam in the late 18th century, the Kenwood House will close to the public in the summer 2012 for a year-long series of major renovations to repair a dangerously-aging roof and restore the building's exterior.

A portion of the conservation efforts will be funded by loaning portions of the collection to museums in the United States, where many of the paintings will make their first American debut. Organized by the American Federation of Arts (AFA), "Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough" features 48 pieces from Kenwood which will travel first to the MFAH before making stops in Milwaukee and Seattle.

“We are extremely proud to be able to give greater exposure to this magnificent selection of paintings while Kenwood undergoes a major refurbishment,” AFA chief operating officer Pauline Willis said in a statement.

Prior to this exhibition's opening in Houston, Rembrandt’s Portrait of the Artist will be on view throughout April and May at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where new MFAH director Gary Tinterow is currently putting the finishing touches on an acclaimed 28-year tenure as curator of 19th-century, modern, and contemporary art.

"Rembrandt, Van Dyck, Gainsborough: The Treasures of Kenwood House, London" will run from June 3 through Sept. 3, 2012 at MFAH.

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Concert News

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles brings Good Grief tour to Houston

Photo courtesy of Sara Bareilles

Sara Bareilles is touring in support of Good Grief, her first new album in seven years.

Singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles is hitting the stage on her new Good Grief Tour, which promotes not just her new album but also a new documentary, Sara Bareilles: Good Grief. The tour stops at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Houston on October 7

Bareilles will start the relatively short tour in Boston, Massachusetts, on September 9 and close it out in Seattle, Washington, on October 19. In addition to Houston, she'll stop in Austin at the Bass Concert Hall in Austin on October 6.

The Good Grief Tour announcement is highly coordinated, setting a preorder date of August 28 for Bareilles' seventh album, Good Grief, and debuting the album's first single, "Home." The documentary will also make its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival on Thursday, June 4. Viewers will get to see the process that brought the album to life as Bareilles returned to the studio for the first time in seven years, since recording the Grammy-winning album Amidst the Chaos.

Good Grief, which Bareilles produced herself, features work by Charley Drayton, Butterfly Boucher, Misty Boyce, Solomon Dorsey and Rob Moose in the band, and includes collaborations with Brandi Carlile, Andrea Gibson, Ingrid Michaelson, Joe Tippett and Megan Falley. "Hope" was inspired by an interview between Stephen Colbert and Anderson Cooper, making this an especially communal effort.

“This whole collection of songs felt like transmissions rather than a deliberate attempt to make sense of the world,” said Bareilles in a press release. “My deepest hope is that Good Grief provides some kind of comfort or catharsis.”

Tickets sales will open with artist, Verizon, and CITI pre-sales on Monday, June 8. General sales start Wednesday, June 10, at 10 am. One dollar from each ticket will go to mental health organization the Jed Foundation via Plus One and Live Nation. All net proceeds from VIP upgrades will go to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

Sara Bareilles — Good Grief Tour dates

September 9—Boston, MA—MGM Music Hall at Fenway
September 12—Washington, D.C.—The Anthem
September 15—Toronto, ON—Massey Hall
September 18—New York, NY—Radio City Music Hall
September 21—Philadelphia, PA—The Met Philadelphia presented by Highmark
September 24—Atlanta, GA—Fox Theatre
September 25—Cincinnati, OH—Taft Theatre
September 27—Chicago, IL—The Chicago Theatre
September 30—Minneapolis, MN—Orpheum Theatre
October 2—St. Louis, MO—Stifel Theatre
October 4—Denver, CO—Bellco Theatre
October 6—Austin, TX—Bass Concert Hall
October 7—Houston, TX—The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts
October 12—Los Angeles, CA—Dolby Theatre
October 13—Los Angeles, CA—Dolby Theatre
October 16—San Francisco, CA—Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
October 19—Seattle, WA—The Paramount Theatre

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