Wishing all a Happy, Safe, Prosperous New Year!

Wishing everyone a very blessed

Merry Christmas!

Martha

Great Museums of London

After Christmas, after the college bowl games, and before the Super Bowl, treat yourself to a tour of London's great museums. Check out the details at: http://www.marcoarttours.com

Lawsuit Involving Art Work Stolen by Nazis

Carol Farquhar sent me a very interesting article from Texas Lawyer dated 10-25-2010. I cannot seem to get the pdf of the article on the blog, so I am going to quote from Carol's excellent synopsis for non-lawyers.


It is a ruling from the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the ownership of art confiscated by the Nazis.


From Carol: " Essentially someone in Louisiana is claiming ownership of a painting someone else alleges was confiscated from her family by the Nazis.


The current owner inherited the painting after it was sold at a forced sale in 1939. The heir of the seller demanded that it be returned. The current owner filed suit in Louisiana claiming that under Louisiana law, enough time had gone by that she was now the owner (essentially adverse possession of statute of limitations). The heir of the seller argued that federal law (the Terezin Declaration) overrode Louisiana law.

The Fifth Circuit held that all of the courts that decided claims involving Nazi-confiscated artwork consistently applied the state law statutes of limitations. It also held that the heir of the seller didn't timely raise the Terezin Declaration, but that, even if she had, the result would still be the same because Louisiana's law does not apply only to Holocaust victims of Nazi confiscated artwork.


In short, too much time has gone by and now the artwork belongs to the family of the buyer."



Thank you Carol for sending me this. I thought is was most interesting.

Arts Night Out at SMU

Very good reception at Arts Night Out, the SMU Informal Courses' beginning of the semester kick-off. Well done!

End of Summer Reading

For those interested in the World War II era, I would highly recommend Eva Braun: Hitler's Mistress by Nerin E. Gun. This is the best biography of Braun, who was totally unknown to the German people before her suicide with Hitler. While this book is long out of print, you could find it in a library, or by buying it online from Alibris etc.

MFA Houston - National Gallery of Art, Wash., D.C.

This is truly a WOW exhibit that is coming to the Museum of Fine Arts Houston: http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=38903

Check out the Museum of Fine Arts Houston website: http://www.mfah.org/exhibition.asp?par1=1&par2=2&par3=685&par4=1&par5=1&par6=1&par7=&lgc=4&eid=&currentPage==

SMU Fall Classes

Take a look fall registration for SMU classes is open:https://contsturegister.smu.edu/ShowSchedule.awp?&Search=INSTRUCTOR&Target=NDUwODAyNjYw &Title=Courses Taught by Martha Fielder

Art History Classes: a course on German Impressionism built around the major exhibit that opens at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, but also includes other artists such Klimt and Munch. A Medieval Treasury which will include a trip to the Dallas Museum of Art to see The Mourners exhibition. Finally, a course on the Early Renaissance in Italy. I have wanted to do this one for a long time. We'll visit: Florence, Rome, Assisi and many other sites.

History Classes: for the Anglophiles, Queen Victoria's Sons. For the World War II students, Five Stars: MacArthur and Nimitz. This is the beginning of a series that will go through the spring 2011 semester. Don't miss the series on WWII in the Pacific.

Meadows Museum & the Prado in Madrid

Read about the new partnership between the Meadows Museum, SMU, and the Prado Museum in Madrid. Take a look at the El Greco that will be visiting this fall: http://smu.edu/meadowsmuseum/exh_Prado_Meadows.htm

The Mourners are Coming to the Dallas Museum of Art!

This fall I will be teaching A Medieval Treasury in SMU's Informal Courses for Adults in conjunction with the Dallas Museum of Art special exhibition, The Mourners. The course beings November 10, and concludes with a visit to the DMA to see the show.


Thanks to Donna Laski for sending me an interesting article about the upcoming exhibit. Take a look: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/13/arts/design/13mourners.html?_r=3

Also, check out the DMA website: http://www.dm-art.org/View/FutureExhibitions/dma_205640

And the Wall Street Journal: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704131404575117683669100778.html

North Platte, Nebraska Canteen During World War II

Jim Carvell sent me this about the story of the North Platte, Nebraska Canteen for U.S. troops during World War II. I did not know about this. http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=07DGeLvDw8I. This is a very interesting and inspiring side of the American homefront during World War II.

Tour Dates for Royal Splendor Exhibit at the Meadows Museum

Guided lecture tour of Royal Splendor in the Age of Enlightenment: Charles IV of Spain as Patron & Collector at the Meadows Museum.

Two dates: Saturday, June 19, and the additional date of July 17. Early discounted registration for June 19 is due no later than June 16.

Early discounted registration for July 17 tour is July 8. The exhibit ends July18.

For registration details, please visit: http://www.marcoarttours.com/SplendorMeadows.html

Read what's coming in the Fall 2010 and 2011 to the Meadows from the Prado: http://smu.edu/meadowsmuseum/exh_Prado_Meadows.htm

Next Tour of Royal Splendor at the Meadows Museum

Please visit: http://www.marcoarttours.com/SplendorMeadows.html for complete details about the upcoming tour of Royal Splendor in the Enlightenment: Charles IV of Spain Patron & Collector plus the additional small exhibit Goya & Lopez. Tour is Sat., June 19, early discounted registration needs to be received by June 16.

Lens of Impressionism

If you have not see The Lens of Impressionism: Photography & Painting Along the Normandy Coast at the Dallas Museum of Art, it leaves Sunday, May 23. Good exhibit if you are fond of the Normandy region of France.

Imperial War Museum & Battle of Britain

My sister, Elizabeth Warrick, sent me this link about the Imperial War Museum broadcasting the diaries of pilots during the Battle of Britain over Twitter. This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain when Hitler's Luftwaffe thought they could bomb England into submission.

Check out this article:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/7583534/Battle-of-Britain-diaries-to-be-tweeted-in-real-time.html. From the article, "the details of 605 diary entries, all taken from the Operational Record Books in the National Archives at Duxford, will be tweeted."


Up until now, I have not personally gotten into Twitter, but I think this may just get me to sign up. I think it's great that the Imperial War Museum is doing this. Imagine what it would have been like had there been Twitter, or all of these modern devices in 1940, and we were civilians living in Britain.



Thanks Elizabeth!

Guided Lecture Tour of Lens of Impressionism at the Dallas Museum of Art

Join us on a guided lecture tour of the The Lens of Impressionism: Photography & Painting Along the Coast of Normandy at the Dallas Museum of Art on Saturday, April 17. For complete details and for prices, please visit: http://www.marcoarttours.com. Advanced registration required.

Guided Lecture Tour of Lens of Impressionism

Dallas Museum of Art, Guided Lecture Tour of Lens of Impressionism: Saturday, May 1, 11:00 a.m. Early discounted registration is due April 22.

For details, please visit: http://www.marcoarttours.com/Lens.html.

Revised In the Steps of the Third Reich Tour

In the Steps of the Third Reich Tour Summer 2010 Update

Take a look at the updates of In the Steps of the Third Reich, June 28-July 7, or if you choose to add on the Passion Play in Oberammergau, then through July 9. Please visit: http://marcoarttours.com/

The movie, Young Victoria

Seen the movie The Young Victoria? What did you think? Let me know.

SMU Winter Courses

Queen Victoria's Daughters: starts Wednesday, January 20. Register at:
http://www.smu.edu/education/informal. Read more about my courses on my website: http://www.marcoarttours.com/


Guided Lecture tour of the Permanent Collection of the Meadows Museum, Saturday, January 23. Details at: http://www.marcoarttours.com/