Jewish Museum cuts hours, adds 2-for-1 July admission
Due to budget reasons, the Jewish Museum is changing its hours starting this week, closing its doors entirely on Wednesdays, and closing other galleries on some weekdays.
It will also add hours on Friday. Previously the museum was closed on Friday, but starting this week it will remain open until 5:45 p.m. until Oct. 16. For two Fridays — Oct. 23 and Oct. 30 — it will close at 5 p.m. Then from Nov. 6 through March 13, the Friday closing time will drop to 4 p.m.
On Thursdays, the museums will close at 5:45 pm rather than 8 p.m. In addition, the galleries to the permanent collection will close on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
The change in the hours comes on top of a 10 percent staff cut through attrition and layoffs in March, which meant the loss of about 13 or 14 people, said Anne Scher, the director of communications for the museum. The recession, along with declines in the endowment and contributions, is the cause, but every effort is being made to limit the impact, Scher said.
Le Cirque, Nobu, Del Posto, Telepan, 21 Club, The Modern, The Oak Room at The Plaza, Perry Street, Esca, Red Cat, Tabla, Gallagher’s, Shun Lee, Central Park Boathouse, Fives at The Peninsula, Le Colonial, Lure, Morimoto, Petrossian, David Burke Townhouse, Water Club and The River Café have all signed on for Summer Restaurant Week and reservations are now open.
The summer deal will run from July 12-31, excluding weekends although some restaurants will participate on Sundays.
Restaurants will offer three-course lunches for $24.07 and/or dinners for $35. Tax, tip and drinks cost extra.
Technically, reservations don’t open until Tuesday, but sponsoring group NYC & Co, released the list early on its @nycgo Twitter account.
“The Torment of Saint Anthony” may not seem obvious subject matter for a first painting, especially by a 12- or 13-year old, but in this case, the novice was most likely Michelangelo.
The painting is now on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which undertook its conservation, including varnish removal. The Met’s technical examination included infrared reflectography that revealed how the artist modified the image from the original Martin Schongauer engraving, which the painting is based on.
“If the picture is indeed the real thing,” the New York Times writes, “it’s quite a catch, being one of only four known easel paintings by Michelangelo, and the only one in an American collection.
The work is the centerpiece of a small temporary exhibition at the Met called “Michelangelo’s First Painting.” The painting will be on loan to the Met from the Kimbell Art Museum of Fort Worth until Sept. 7.
Image credit:
Michelangelo Buonarroti (Florence 1475-Rome 1564)
The Torment of Saint Anthony, ca. 1487-88
Oil and tempera on panel, 18 1/2 × 13 3/4 inches
Kimbell Art Museum, Fort Worth
Photograph: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Provided to NewYorkology by the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Guggenheim cuts staff as endowment, donations shrink
Although the Guggenheim is enjoying record attendance, it will cut 8 percent of its staff due to unspecified “losses in donations and its endowment,” Crain’s reports.
Update: The Guggenheim’s endowment dropped about 18 percent, to about $113 million, Richard Armstrong, the director of the museum and the Guggenheim Foundation, told the New York Times.
Of the 25 positions to go, some will be eliminated through attrition.
The cast of “Twelfth Night” also features Stark Sands, Audra McDonald, Julie White, Raúl Esparza, David Pittu, Michael Cumpsty and others. Daniel Sullivan directs. Opening night is set for June 25, according to Playbill.
“Twelfth Night” wraps up July 12, making way for Euripides’ “The Bacchae,” which will feature Jonathan Groff and a choral score by Philip Glass. “The Bacchae” will play from Aug. 11 to 30.
The Virtual Line returns today, allowing anyone to enter the daily lottery between midnight and 1 p.m. You sign back in between 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. to see if you have a pair of tickets. Tickets not picked up at least half an hour prior to curtain will be released to the stand-by line.
The Public Theater does not say how many seats are up for grabs this way: “It changes on a daily basis but the majority of Free tickets for Shakespeare in the Park are distributed via the Free line at the Delacorte Theater.”
Best free offerings at annual Museum Mile Festival
The annual Museum Mile Festival kicks off this evening at 6 p.m. with free entry to several cultural venues — including the Guggenheim and Met — though most have free or pay-what-you-like hours every week.
Fifth Avenue will also be closed to traffic, filled with chalk drawings, vendors and performances by the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, Pablo Mayor and Folklore Urbano, Silly Billy the Very Funny Clown and others, See the block-by-block lineup.
Tonight’s museums with their normal admission and free hours:
VIP auctions: Broadway backstage to Agassi's US Open
VIP New York is yours for the taking — from a private U.S. Open tête-à-tête with Andre Agassi to a table for eight at Rao’s — merely for a contribution to a worthy charity.
A number of auction sites can get you into Fashion Week, backstage on Broadway, ono the set of “30 Rock,” or even high up a crane in the Brooklyn container port.
Free French films on Fridays in city parks this summer
French films will be screened for free on Fridays in city parks this summer as part of the Films on the Green series presented by the Cultural Services of the French Embassy and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
The series kicks off in Central Park this Friday with the U.S. premiere of “Home,” a environmental call-to-action documentary shot entirely from the air over 54 countries.
All the screenings are free, and will start at sunset, with the parks opening for seating at 8:15 p.m.
The schedule this far:
June 5 - “Home”
(Update: Postponed to Sun. June 7 due to rain.)
Central Park - Cedar Hill (79th St & 5th Ave)
June 12 - “March of the Penguins”
Washington Square Park
Pierre reopens on Central Park with rooms from $537
The Pierre officially reopened its doors Monday on Central Park after a $100 million renovation to its 189 guest rooms.
Summer room rates start at $537 through September 7. (In March, the hotel’s website said it would open June 1 with an “Early Bird Promotion” rate of $816.) Currently the website lists rates as high as $2,175 for a night in the premier suite.
First opened in October 1930, the Pierre was designed by Schultze & Weaver, the same firm that designed the nearby Sherry-Netherland, as well as the Waldorf-Astoria.
Rooms now feature Turkish marble bathrooms, wall-mounted 40-inch flat-screen high-definition TVs, high-def DVD players, Bose Wave Studio with iPod docking stations, high-speed wired and wi-fi Internet access, as well as laptop safes with charging capabilities.
Almost all of the rooms were completed in time for the re-opening, except for a few of the 49 suites, a hotel representative told NewYorkology.
The hotel’s new restaurant, Le Caprice, is on track to open late this summer. Room service is available now.
Image source: Deluxe king bedroom, Pierre website.
