I checked with my airline before going to bed, and again when I woke up. There were no delay or cancellation notices. I had received an email from Brooklyn Museum indicating that their show was going on but the Gracie Mansion Conservancy had not provided any guidance. After noting that the City had received 3.5, rather than the expected 8 inches, I headed out to the airport hoping for the best.
The plane took off and landed on time. That was promising. I took a taxi over to Gracie Mansion (97 East End Avenue, NYC) and hung around outside waiting for the appointed time (They would not allow me inside earlier.).
I was frozen stiff by the time a woman came and checked my name off on a clipboard. After that initial check-in, we were shepherded through a physical security screening process after which we were allowed to enter the building.
As we were escorted inside (due to weather conditions, only five of us showed up), Paul Gunther, the Executive Director of the Conservancy, was coming up a set of stairs from the basement offices. He was leading the tour and was visibly disappointed by the low attendance. He launched into his discourse without pause, though, and welcomed us to the Mansion and the installation.
The history of Gracie Mansion is summarized in the timeline below.
… brings together women and women-identified artists and the artworks they have created to spark a desire to see the world more deeply and perhaps even empathetically. The 60 artworks, objects, and archival ephemera on view, ranging from the earliest years of the 20th century to the present … tell the story of tenacious endurance across modern history, even in the face of great adversity.Paul had been addressing us in the entrance foyer which itself is home to the initial works in the installation -- The Cathedrals by Florine Stettheimer, and American-born, German-influenced painter, poet, and designer whose modern style "defies categorization."
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| Florine Stettheimer The Cathedrals of Art 1942 |
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| Florine Stettheimer The Cathedrals of Fifth Avenue, 1931 The Cathedrals of Broadway, 1929 |
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| Florine Stettheimer The Cathedrals of Wall Street 1939 |
From the Foyer we ascended a short stairway into a ceremonial hall and off, that entered the Peach Room (Rooms in the Mansion are designated by their color.), a small sitting room wherein a number of artworks reposed. Two noteworthy pieces were Haven, a fictional painting of a couple overlooking the Brooklyn-based neighborhood of Weeksville, and a Penelope Jacobs sculpture of Eleanor Roosevelt.
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| The Peach Room with Betty Blayton-Taylor's Ancestors Bearing Light (2007) to the left and her Sound Intruding (1980) to the right |
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| Paul Gunther, Executive Director, Gracie Mansion Conservancy |
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| Elizabeth Colomba Haven 2015 |
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| Penelope Jencks Eleanor Roosevelt 2003 |
The Blue Room was initially renovated in 1981 and was further renovated at the behest of Michael Bloomberg during his three-term stint as Mayor of New York City. The standout effort in this room was an Alice Neel portrait of her son Hartley's wife with their first daughter.
While portraying motherhood, Ginny is not depicted as a serene Madonna. She appears tired and overwhelmed by her new role as she tries to keep her baby from moving. Wide-eyed Elizabeth seems fascinated by her grandmother, who made little noises to get her attention as she watched Neel paint.
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| Alice Neel Ginny and Elizabeth 1975 |
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| Simone Leigh The Village Seires #7 2019 |
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| Betty Parsons Brick in the Sky 1968 |
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| Ruth Orkin Mother and Daughter at Penn Station 1948 |
The Grace Room was the exception to the rule of color nomenclature. This room was notable for the presence of a chandelier that dated back to the time of the original owners as well as memorabilia from the Presidential campaign of Shirley Chisolm who was initially a member of Congress from the New York City area. This was especially poignant as Kamala Harris had just recently launched her campaign for President on the anniversary of the day that Shirley Chisolm had launched hers.
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| The Grace Room |
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| The Grace Chandelier |
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| Theresa Bernstein Flower Piece ca. 1943 |
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| Jennifer Packer Say Her Name 2017 |
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| Exhibit of Shirley Chisolm Presidential Campaign memorabilia |
The rooms that have been described to this time, are in the public-facing portions of the mansion. Official ceremonies and meetings are held in those spaces. This public area is connected to the living quarters by a passageway called the Hyphen.
The Library is the closest of the rooms to the way things looked back in 1799 with the exception of the mantel which was replaced by Robert Moses. Robert Moses features again in this room as Dorothy Eisner, in her painting Washington Square Park, captures the neighborhood spirit that drove the defeat -- after a seven-year battle -- of Moses' proposal to cut a road through the Square's green space.
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| Lauren Kelley Lindy Lane 2010 |
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| Dorothy Eisner Washington Square Park 1938 |
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| Cecily Brown The Bay of Opal 2018 |
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| Betty Woodman Grey Stripe Diptych 2016 |
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| Beverly Buchanan Yellow Yard 2003 |
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| Faith Ringgold Tar Beach II 1990 ED 1 |
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| Grace Hartigan Coffee Pot and Gladiolas 1954 |
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| Kaveri Raina Vortex to Hover 2018 |
I had lived in New York for almost 20 years and had never visited Gracie Mansion. As a matter of fact, I did not even know where it was located. So it was a great to combine an art and historic home tour in one. I enjoyed this thoroughly, especially given the depth of knowledge and enthusiasm of Kurt. The art installation posited to be focused along four broad themes but those themes were not evident, even with the benefit of time. But that takes nothing away from the effort.
The tours are open to the public at three separate times on Mondays. Pre-registration on the Gracie Mansion website is required.
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