Evoking Edward Hopper's Blackwell's Island Painting, An Exhibition At Octagon Gallery Presented By Roosevelt Island Historical Society - Opening Reception 5 - 8 PM August 12

According to the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS):

Following the May 23rd sale of Edward Hopper's Blackwell Island (1928) at auction by Christie's, The Roosevelt Island Historical Society presents a full-size reproduction of the painting (35 x 60 inches), together with related historical images from contemporary photographs and sketches, in an exhibition Evoking Edward Hopper’s Blackwell’s Island at The Octagon Gallery, which is housed in a building depicted in the painting.

The exhibition will feature a full-sized canvas replica of Blackwell’s Island, alongside photographs of the actual historical images that Edward Hopper depicted in the work.

"Visitors will easily connect the buildings, scenery and people in the landscape with the images captured by contemporaries in photographs and sketches that are today part of the collection of the Roosevelt Island Historical Society," said Judith Berdy, president of the Society.

Blackwell’s Island sold for $19.2 million and was previously exhibited by several prominent galleries, including the Carnegie Institute, The Whitney Museum of American Art, The Museum of Modern Art, as well as the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The Opening Reception will be held on Monday, August 12, 2013, from 5:00 - 8:00 pm in The Octagon Gallery at 888 Main Street, on Roosevelt Island.

Evoking Edward Hopper’s Blackwell’s Island is free and open to the public daily, during normal Gallery hours from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm daily, through September 7, 2013.

Image Courtesy Roosevelt Island Historical Society

More on the Edward Hopper Blackwell's Island painting from previous post.

Free Talk On Edward Hopper's Blackwell's Island Painting By Roosevelt Island Historical Society May 14 - Christie's To Auction Blackwell's Island Painting May 23 For Estimated $15 To 20 Million

As previously reported via the NY Post:

...An Edward Hopper painting of New York City's Roosevelt Island is coming to auction where it's estimated to sell for up to $20 million....

Edward Hopper's Blackwell's Island Image From MWA

According to Christie's:

Christie’s New York is pleased to announce that the May 23rd American Art sale will be led by the magnificent, large-scale painting, Blackwell’s Island, by Edward Hopper. The work, which has never been offered at auction, has been exhibited at renowned institutions, such as The Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Institute. More recently, Blackwell’s Island was included in the first major retrospective of the artist’s work at the Grand Palais in Paris from October 2012 through February 2013. An impressive five feet wide, the work was painted in 1928 and is estimated at $15-20 million.

A native of Nyack, Edward Hopper was drawn to the New York’s East River and used the banks and bridges as his subject several times between 1911 and 1935. Originally known as Hog Island and today known as Roosevelt Island, Blackwell’s Island has a rather notorious history. Its varied architecture and isolation is likely what attracted Hopper to the locale....

More about Edward Hopper's Blackwell's Island painting from Christie's Press Release, audio recording below from Christie's Deputy Chairman Eric Widing



and at a free lecture by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society (RIHS) tomorrow. According to the RIHS:

The announcement that Edward Hopper's painting Blackwell's Island would be auctioned at Christie's on May 23rd has sparked a revival of interest in this work. The painting is the subject of a lecture by Judith Berdy, President, Roosevelt Island Historical Society, in a program sponsored by the Roosevelt Island Historical Society, at the New York Public Library Branch on Roosevelt Island, on Tuesday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. The painting features the north end of what is now Roosevelt Island; its dark silhouetted buildings includes the Metropolitan Hospital dome and other hospital buildings. The lecture will incorporate period photographs to explore the context of Hopper's 1928 work. Blackwell's Island, owned by a private American collector, has frequently been exhibited at leading museums, such as the Museum of Modern Art, The Whitney Museum of American Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The work has never been auctioned before. The painting is on view at Christies, 20 Rockefeller Plaza from May 19 to 22, 2013. The event is FREE and open to the public.

Ms. Berdy discussed the Blackwell's Island Painting and other RIHS activities during Public Session of the May Roosevelt Island Residents Association meeting. Here's what she had to say.  Stop on by the RIHS Visitors Kiosk at the Tram Plaza and learn about the interesting history of your neighborhood.

Things To Do This Weekend In New York City and Roosevelt Island - Punk Movie Festival and Auction, Ice Skating, Cheese Fondue & RI Guided Tour

Image of Cheese Fondue Takedown from Chili Takedown

Looking for fun things to do on Roosevelt Island or in some other part of New York City this weekend? Here are some suggestions.

Starting today, Brooklyn's BAM cinematek will be featuring a Punk Rock movie series starting with the film Breaking Glass. According to the NY Times:

THE movies never took too kindly to punk, but that’s only fair: punk never took kindly to anything. The whole movement, style, attitude, whatever you want to call it — the punks didn’t care — came into being in the mid-’70s and flamed out fast. Like a song by the Ramones or the Sex Pistols, it was over before you knew what hit you. In a way, the extremely peculiar film series called Punk ’n’ Pie, which begins Friday at BAMcinématek in Brooklyn, demonstrates pretty conclusively that punk remains, three decades later, defiantly resistant to definition, still pogoing so furiously that the camera can’t quite keep it in focus.

If you need to fulfill more of your interest in Punk Rock, Christies is holding a Punk Rock Auction Extravaganza with items from Lou Reed, Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, David Bowie, The Ramones and many others that can be viewed this weekend at their Rockefeller Center location prior to the auction.

On Saturday, the American Museum of Natural History debuts a new polar skating rink made from synthetic ice. Other ice skating options include Wollman and Lasker Rinks in Central Park, Bryant Park Skating Rink and Brooklyn's Prospect Park rink where I first learned to skate many years ago.

After all that ice skating, you need some food. On Sunday head on down to Union Pool in Williamsburg for the Cheese Fondue takedown. For $10, you can eat and judge:

The Most Important Fondue Contest In NYC!!

On Roosevelt Island this weekend, the Farmers Market will be open on Saturday as is Gallery RIVAA, the Roosevelt Island Visual Arts Association currently showing Georgette Sinclair's Great Escapes. Also, RIOC has produced a great self guided tour map (PDF File) of Roosevelt Island for any visitor or resident looking to stroll the Island and learn something more about it.

Good weekend transportation news. The MTA is reporting normal Roosevelt Island F Train subway service in both directions and RIOC is not reporting any Tram advisories.

Check out some other ideas on what to do in New York City this weekend from the NY Times Urban Eye, NY Post Weekend Calendar and Newyorkology.