Bringing Egypt to Philbrook

Our marvelous staff installs the upcoming Egyptian show, "To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum"

LIFE DRAWING INSTRUCTION

Have you wanted to try life drawing, but need the basics to begin? Have you had experience with life drawing, but want new ways to approach the figure? The first Thursday of each month during our regular Life Drawing sessions, artist Rhonda Davis will offer instruction, new steps and techniques for life and figure drawing. Explore new approaches to practice throughout the month!

THE PLAYER AND THE PAWN

John Drewe (b 1948) is a British purveyor of art forgeries who commissioned artist John Myatt (below) to paint them. Drewe earned about £1.8 million executing these art crimes.

John Myatt, (born 1945), is a British artist and convicted forger who, with John Drewe (above), perpetrated what has been described as "the biggest art fraud of the 20th century".

These two men, and the fraud they perpetrated, are the subject of the book "Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art". The book's author, Laney Salisbury, will join us tomorrow at 6:30 to discuss this case and these men. It's a story almost to strange to be true.

ONE MORE REASON

If Thursday's event weren't enticing enough already (awesome speaker, fun topic, cash bar, trivia, music), we've just added one more reason to be here.

Introducing our guest will be our very own Tanya Paul, Philbrook's Ruth G. Hardman Curator of European Art. Tanya has been going through the vault so to speak to put together a fun little presentation that will tie Philbrook's history into the theme of the evening.

Frauds, conspiracy theories, and more. Don't miss it!!!

WHEN: Thursday, May 27, 2010

WHAT TIME: 6:30pm to 8:00pm

HOW MUCH: Free

LOCAL HERO

In case you haven't heard, our restaurant has just been remodeled. And we also have a recently updated menu. But one thing you might now know is that our daily specials (there are usually 3 or 4) will now be made with locally resourced ingredients. Come out and join us for a wonderful meal.

THE BIGGEST ART FRAUD OF THE 20th CENTURY

Next Thursday (May 27th) at 6:30pm we will be hosting another great event with Book Smart Tulsa for the book, Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art

Learn about what Scotland Yard called the "biggest art fraud of the 20th century". And meet author and investigator, Laney Salisbury. There will be a reading, trivia, cash bar, music, prizes and much more.

THE FOLLOWING IS AN EXCERPT:

The grand moment in the reception finally arrived. Two white-gloved Tate conservators entered the room with a pair of paintings, each about five feet tall. There was a moment of respectful silence. Myatt was stunned.

"Ahh, the Bissières, how lovely," someone in the room whispered.

Myatt cringed as the group praised the paintings and Drewe's taste and generosity. The two works were carried around the room, and long before they reached Myatt, he recognized the faint but acrid smell of the varnish he had sprayed on them when he'd finished them a few weeks earlier.

Myatt gripped his chair. If they so much as touched the canvas with a fine brush, the paint would give way and the game would be up. A little further investigative work would reveal that the pieces—purportedly painted more than forty years earlier—had been made with modern, ordinary house paint.

The reception over, the Tate brass escorted Drewe and Myatt down the winding staircase. Stopping at a landing, one of the officials pointed at a place on the wall and said: "This is where we'll hang these two wonderful pieces."

Placing a work at the Tate was a remarkable achievement for any artist—forger or not—but Myatt could see only one possible end to what had transpired. He had survived many low points in his past, but none as low as this. Surely he would end up in prison.

Once in the taxi, Myatt, usually deferential toward Drewe, exploded. "You have to get them back."

Drewe argued that if they were to ask for the paintings back, it would involve a terrible loss of credibility, putting at risk all the time he had put into cultivating the confidence of the Tate's archivists. But he also saw that as long as the twoc arelessly done forgeries remained in the hands of museum curators, Myatt would remain paralyzed by the fear that they would be his undoing.

The following day Drewe was back at the Tate to withdraw the Bissières. There was a problem with their provenance, questions having to do with the previous owners. In place of the two works, he was prepared to offer a sizable cash donation to the Tate's archives.

Within days the Tate received a check for twenty thousand pounds (forty thousand dollars) to help catalog the archives, along with a promise of half a million more to come. With this donation, Drewe established himself as a respected donor for whom the doors of the heavily guarded archival department would stand open. The historical records of one of the world's great museums, and its cherished credibility, were about to become irreparably compromised.

Excerpted from Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo. Reprinted by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc. Copyright (c) July, 2009.

Bound To Be Fun

Have you ever been interested in making your own books? If so, join us on Saturday for "Bookarts Unbound". Join book artist Milissa Burkart to create a pyramidal “book object” that will incorporate found objects, fine papers, text and images. Tap into your inner bookworm and discover sculptural bookart constructions.

Saturday, May 22, 2010
1:00pm to 4:00pm
$32/member, $40/not yet member

Philbrook In Blum

Meet Martin Blum, one half of the design firm black+blum.

Don't forget to join us tomorrow at 5:30 when these designers join us for a great 3rd Thursday event.

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE THINGS

One of our favorite things out in the garden are these wonderful glass and metal trees created by artist Eric Baker. It's called "Oklahoma Autumn". Medium: Kiln-Formed Glass, Steel, Agate. When the artist happened to be here today, we just had to snap a photo.

These pieces sneak up on you with their simple beauty. And in the dead of winter, when no life can be found, these leaves are always bright and colorful.

Bookarts Unbound

Get inspired by Philbrook’s Bookworks II exhibition and gear up for To Live Forever: Egyptian Treasures from the Brooklyn Museum with this hands-on workshop. Join book artist Milissa Burkart to create a pyramidal “book object” that will incorporate found objects, fine papers, text and images. Tap into your inner bookworm and discover sculptural bookart constructions.

Date: Saturday, May 22, 2010
Times: 1:00pm to 4:00pm
$32/member, $40/not yet member

Artist: Milissa Burkart

A RESTAURANT REBORN

It's been a Tulsa favorite for years, but it was time to change things up a bit in our restaurant, la Villa. And boy, did we change things! From the carpet and chairs to the lights and the sconces, you'll hardly recognize the place. We even replaced the wall art with a wonderful painting from our permanent collection.


Saturday (tomorrow) we will re-open for all the world to see. And did we mention that the menu has just been changed as well? It has and you won't be able to resist these tasty culinary creations.

la Villa Restaurant Hours:

Lunch Menu Tuesday-Saturday, 11am-2pm
Brunch Sunday, 11am-2pm
Reservations are strongly recommended for brunch. Call 918-748-5367.
Admission is not necessary for entrance into la Villa restaurant.

THE EGYPTIANS ARE COMING

We are just weeks away from the opening of our next AMAZING exhibition...

BLACK + BLUM + YOU!

We are just about one week away from our next great 3rd Thursday event. Our guests will be Dan Black and Martin Blum of the design firm Black + Blum.

Not only do we sell many of this duo's designs in our gift shop, we even have their work on permanent display in our George R. Kravis II Collection.

Join us Thursday, May 20th at 5:30pm

DEBORAH MADISON, MEDIA DARLING

Our upcoming Garden Brunch guest Deborah Madison has been all over the place lately. In today's Tulsa World there was a wonderful interview and a recipe to boot. To see that piece, click HERE.

And check her out on yesterday's CBS Early Show...

3RD THURSDAY AND A GIVEAWAY

For our upcoming 3rd Thursday event with the guys behind the super-cool design firm Black + Blum, we will be doing many fun activities and hearing a marvelous talk. But we will also be giving away 125 pieces designed by these guys on a first come/first serve basis.

The piece in question is called "Jimmy" and it's a keychain/bottle opener combo that is way cool.
Get here and have a blast.

The fun starts at 5:30pm on Thursday, May 20th. Free with Museum Admission.

WHAT DO YOU EAT WHEN YOU EAT ALONE?

That is exactly the question asked by author Deborah Madison in her book, What We Eat When We Eat Alone. Including wonderful illustrations by her husband, artist Patrick McFarlin, this is a fabulous book to read anytime. And a wonderful gift. Deborah Madison will be joining us as our featured Garden Brunch speaker on Monday, May 17th.

For more on this event and how you can attend, click HERE.

MORE SELECTIONS FROM OUR SKETCHBOOKS

Every now and then we like to share some of the drawings and doodles our guests leave in our gallery sketchbooks. Have a look...

In The Green Kitchen w/ Deborah Madison

The Green Kitchen is an ongoing video experiment in teaching the art of simple cooking. It began at Slow Food Nation 2008, when the iconic Alice Waters gathered together a circle of her favorite cooks -- chefs, authors, and home cooks -- and recorded each one teaching a brief hands-on cooking lesson about an uncomplicated, but fundamental, kitchen technique.

The guest for our upcoming Garden Brunch on Monday, May 17th is Deborah Madison. She is one of the featured cooks in this series. Check out her video here.

Deborah Madison from Green Kitchen on Vimeo.

WHAT WE EAT WHEN WE EAT ALONE

We are two weeks away from our 4th annual Garden Brunch, featuring iconic cook and food writer, Deborah Madison. Deborah will join us to discuss sustainability, food and more.
Deborah's latest book is the delectable, Seasonal Fruit Desserts, but she is the author of many including, What We Eat When We Eat Alone.

To hear a great piece on/with Deborah Madison from NPR, click HERE.