Feast Blog

Despite my various travels, for some reason I had never made it to New York before. And how I ended here is a matter of some serendipity. Having just returned from 2 1/2 weeks in Europe, I read in the New York Times about the first production of Philip Glass’ opera, Satyagraha in 25 years. Being a long-time Glass fan, I had to figure out a way to see it. Checking the calendar, it so happened that the last performance was a mere day-and-a-half before I was going to be in Florida, departing on a Caribbean cruise. My thought? Well, gee, if I’m going to be on the East Coast anyway…  A flurry of e-mails with one of my oldest friends, Jerry, only shows how serendipity works; it turns out that my time line also coincides with his 50th birthday, he likes Glass music, and *poof* there just happen to be a few tickets left!

I arrived a little late on May Day, but still enough time to get in a little face time and meet-and-greet an online buddy (Hi, L!) before Jerry and I headed out for our adventure and #2 on my New York must-do list, the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Jerry arranged for lunch in the Trustee’s Room, a fabulous window seat where we had a view of the Egyptian obelisk in central park. The Museum itself was considerably bigger than I had anticipated and reminded me a great deal of The British Museum in its scope of cultures. I was very happy to peruse a Courbet exhibit and much of the permanent collection are paintings I had only read about, most notable for me a pre-Raphaelite Frederic, Lord Leighton, a handful of the Orientalist period likes the works of Jean-Léon Gérôme, and yet another of Parliament series paintings by Manet which affected me so much in London. There were some giant Koons sculptures but overall, it was the magnitude of the classical offerings which was so impressive and I was surprised to see how well attended the museum. A testament to the collection and hope that art is still loved and revered (I’m often surprised by how empty California museums are!).
More pictures on the next page!

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Besides trying to look at as much art as possible, I went to Harrods every, every day. Quite simply, their food court is a thing of beauty. A jaunt to Harrods started my days, partly because they are less crowded right when they open at 10:00 a.m., but also because the food court is so diverse in its offerings. I had oysters on the half-shell with Muscadet for breakfast. One morning it was the cylindrical meat pies (venison with Stilton and orange, thank you!). How can you not love a place that has FOUR different providers of Goose Fat? Or a fish market that offers varieties which can be brought home — or they will cook it for you there (fry, broil, etc.?) The butcher has Scottish-raised beef and Danish-raised lamb. And it isn’t just the First Floor food court that makes Harrods special; they have restaurants and bistros on every floor, including a specialized chocolate bar (I know, I should have at least tried a hot chocolate from there and I didn’t!)

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It is slightly sad for me that my time in London was so rushed; there are always so many more places I would like to visit than I had time for, but I applaud myself that I got to the three major art museums: The Victoria and Albert, the Tate Modern, and The National Gallery (oh yeah, and the County Hall Gallery for the Dalí exhibit, but I already mentioned that).

The Victoria and Albert Museum was my first serious expedition as it was terribly close to my hotel. It was exciting to see renovation and expansion, but damnably annoying that its jewelry collection was put away while a stunning new display is being prepared (and will be open in May, just a few weeks away!). It was not hard then to suffice through the stunning hall of silversmithing; rows and rows of tankards and teapots, samovars and spoons, or plates to pomanders. It made me wistful for my days of calloused hands and the methodical percussion of the hammers striking that softened, matte lunar metal.

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  William Bayer (left) is an internationally-renowned crime author. His novels have been translated into a dozen languages, his books have been transformed into television movies, and he has won numerous awards for his writing. He is also my Art Buddy.

Once a month, Bill and I go on various art adventures; galleries, private collections, or museums. Our gatherings involve lunch while we catch up on local chit-chat and gossip, plans and projects, and our respective artistic endeavors. Then we head out for several hours to the splendor of our eyes and minds and souls. We are cut from the same cloth, Bill and I are: Lovers of many mediums, aficionados of emotive arrangement, debaters of classical forms, or simply gluttons of the primal desire for beauty…

He is a man with exquisite and discerning taste. When I first met him — through his wife, Paula Wolfert — I was taken with his stunning collection of Art Deco silver, North African bedouin curved daggers, and a voluminous collection of over-sized film noir one-sheets (movie posters). How could I not be star-struck? We shared a love of film which for him, I’m sure began being raised by an Oscar-nominated screenwriter, Eleanor Perry. We bonded early over our love of films when he learned I was *trying* to explain to some online foodie community ignoramuses that Casablanca was NOT a noir film. It turned out that he had not only written numerous crime novels, but one specifically close to my heart, THE GREAT MOVIES:In Cinema History, 60 Films Deserve to be Called.

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I must confess a bit of shame. For over three years, I drove by the di Rosa Preserve and never stopped. You see, from the road, all I saw were what looked like cardboard sheep, strategically placed on a hillside by the parking lot, and an aluminum-siding building far too industrial to house any "worthwhile art." Yes, I am ashamed… I so it was with complete awe and astonishment that my Art Partner, B, and I set out for their two-hour tour. There are a number of tours available; from a simple one-hour Introductory tour to a far more extensive, two-and-a-half-hour Discovery tour (only available on Saturdays). As it was a Thursday for us, the best we could do was a two-hour Discovery tour which I certainly anticipated as sufficient as I tend to experience visual overload after about two hours.

What could most definitely NOT be anticipated was the shear magnitude and volume of art which exists at the Preserve. In my meager photo slide show, be aware that the Preserve does not allow photography inside galleries. Only photographs of those sculptures which are exterior to the buildings are permitted. The tour guide is a well-educated docent, eager to offer historical context to the establishment. In short, Rene di Rosa, who worked for the San Francisco Chronicle in the early 1960s, purchased some "farm land" in the Carneros region of the Napa county. That farm land became viable and lucrative vineyards for the burgeoning wine industry which enabled Rene to amass an uncomparable collection of Northern California artists’ works. The 53-acre estate contains a number of buildings for the collection, site-specific installations, as well as dozens (if not hundreds) of sculptures set amongst the foliage and landscape.

Besides the addition of constructed gallery space, the tour includes access to the di Rosa’s private house. Here one can see how Rene and his wife, Veronica (an artist in her own right), filled their life and living quarters to the brim with artwork. So extensive was their obsession, that multiple large paintings are even mounted on the ceiling of their French-built stone house. The true downside of the tour is the lack of time compared to the massive amount of art which exists. The docent has a tight time schedule to get the group through the multiple buildings and site-specific settings in the allotted time. Quite frankly, there is simply too much to see and take in and were I to live in the area again, I would gladly join just to have frequent access to the over 1,600 works of art by celebrated likes of which include Roy de Forest, Robert Hudson, Paul Kos, Viola Frey, and Mildred Howard.

Reservations required

5200 Carneros Highway 121
Napa, California 94559
707.226.5991