Museum Of Art

Judging by the sprawling yet solid show that opens today at the Baltimore Museum of Art, the seven finalists in this year's Janet & Walter Sondheim Prize competition are all such top-tier talents that choosing a winner will be a serious challenge. Selected from a field of 320 applicants, the finalists are sculptor Richard Cleaver, photographer Frank Hallam Day, animator Eric Dyer, artist/musician Geoff Grace, conceptual artist Baby Martinez, painter Tony Shore and video artist Karen Yasinsky.

PHOTOGRAPHY IN ART It will be a mix of art and education when the Baltimore Museum of Art welcomes eight internationally renowned artists to lead "Conversations With Contemporary Photographers," a series of discussions about the changing role of photography in contemporary art, today, March 21, April 12 and April 26. Acclaimed for their work in contemporary photography, James Welling, Thomas Struth, Jeff Wall and several other artists whose work has...

ART EXHIBIT MATISSE AND SCULPTURE Don't miss the last stop on the national tour of Matisse: Painter as Sculptor, the first exhibition of Henri Matisse's sculptures in 40 years. The Baltimore Museum of Art will host this collection of more than 160 sculptures, drawings and paintings from museums and private collections around the world that help explain how Matisse's skills in one medium influenced his work in another. The exhibit starts Sunday with ArtBlast, in which patrons can see it free, as well as get a taste of France with events including an Eiffel Tower-making contest, food and wine tasting.

Updated `Ulysses' The lowdown -- Wartime. A woman longs for the return of her soldier husband. Talk about a timeless plot. It's the driving story behind The Return of Ulysses, an opera by Claudio Monteverdi that premiered in Venice in 1640. In a rare local staging by Opera Vivente, the work will be updated to the 1930s by director John Bowen to emphasize the lasting relevancy of this tale about the Trojan Wars. "It's a great piece," Bowen says, "that can appeal not just to opera-goers, but people who like spoken theater, since a lot of it is a form of heightened speech."

Everybody loves to love the Impressionists -- think of their shimmering colors, pretty girls, handsome men and bucolic landscapes, all rendered in a serviceable evergreen style you don't have to have an advanced degree in art history to appreciate. PISSARRO: CREATING THE IMPRESSIONIST LANDSCAPE / / Through May 13 / / The Baltimore Museum of Art / / 443-573-1700 or artbma.org

Renoir Landscapes, now at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, comprises about 60 works from the early part of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's career. The French artist led the development of Impressionism. His robust and colorful works often captured people in intimate settings. The exhibit will be on display through Jan. 6 at the museum, 26th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Admission is $14 for adults; $12 for seniors; $10 for students with valid identification; and free for children younger than 12. The art museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday.

Art lovers and collectors from beginners to advanced get a chance to learn more about works on paper this Sunday, and perhaps acquire an original artwork or two, at the Baltimore Museum of Art's 10th Annual Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair.The fair features museum-quality prints and photographs, by established and emerging artists, offered for sale by nearly two dozen dealers. The event provides an opportunity for enthusiasts to learn about printmaking techniques, tips for starting a collection and conversations with contemporary artists Carroll Dunham, Alison Saar and Terry Winters.

Sarah Susanka, a Minnesota-based architect who co-wrote "The Not So Big House" and whose firm designed Life Magazine's 1999 "Dream House," will discuss her view of residential design during a lecture that starts at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Baltimore Museum of Art, on Art Museum Drive.Susanka is the lead-off speaker in the spring lecture series sponsored by the Baltimore chapter of the American Institute of Architects. Nationally, she has gained attention as a young architect who believes that bigger is not necessarily better.

ROBERT P. Bergman was an obscure Harvard scholar with little hands-on museum experience when the Walters Art Gallery picked him to succeed the late Richard H. Randall as director in 1981.The Walters was a treasure belonging to the people of Baltimore who did not necessarily know it. Like other museums, it had an open-door policy but did not shout about it. Its reputation for insular clubbiness was a bad rap but self-fulfilling.Mr. Bergman in 12 years presided over the Walters' transformation, in which it persuaded people not only to come in but to pay to do so, to belong as members and -- most important -- to feel the space is their own. Along the way, scholarship and the Walters' reputation among peer institutions remained high.

Talk about an impressive reception! Some of the Baltimore Museum of Art's biggest supporters gathered at the museum for cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a preview of the BMA's newest exhibition, "Faces of Impressionism: Portraits From American Collections." A dinner, honoring Gov. and Mrs. Parris Glendening, followed, in the museum's Fox Court.Among the faces making an impression in this crowd of 98: Doreen Bolger, BMA director; Sona Johnston, exhibition curator; Tony Deering, BMA board chair; Abe Rosenthal, Stiles Colwell and Ed Tabor, board members; Mayo Shattuck, Deutsche Banc Alex.

On July 4, 2009, E A memorial service will be held Tuesday, July 21 at 11 A.M. in the chapel at St. David's Church, 4700 Roland Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21210. In lieu of flowers contributions in her memory may be made to St. David's Church at the above address or to support the Cone Collection at the Baltimore Museum of Art. Contributions to the BMA may be sent to Development Office, Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218.

If there is a common theme linking the finalists for the Janet & Walker Sondheim Prize, it may be that the methods of creating art can be as important as the art itself. "This year is a very process-oriented, installation-based type of show," says Gary Kachadourian, visual arts coordinator with the Baltimore Office for Promotion in the Arts, which created the prize to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Artscape in 2006. "It is a good mix of people, representing a good mix of ideas." Those ideas include finding the artistic potential in dirt, photocopied books, recycled materials, barren parking lots, a polar bear's heart rate and even vintage cartoon character Mr. Magoo.

cezanne and beyond Where:: Philadelphia Museum of Art, Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 26th Street When:: Now through May 17. Hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Sundays, 10 a.m.-8:45 p.m. Fridays. What:: Exhibit features more than 40 paintings, 20 watercolors and drawings by the French artist Paul Cezanne. His works are displayed alongside works by more than 15 artists for whom, it has been said, Cezanne was an inspiration, including Max Beckmann, Henri Matisse and Pablo Picasso. How much: : Admission is $14; $12 for seniors; $10 for students; free for children 12 and younger.

If your image of Cleveland is that of an industrial town in the country's Midwest, you need an updated picture. On the banks of Lake Erie, Cleveland boasts a vibrant cultural and arts scene. In the coming weeks, the city will be in the headlines as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its newest members April 4. 1 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum : Cleveland is where a disc jockey coined the term "rock 'n roll" in the 1950s and the museum pays tribute to that music. The museum's treasures include handwritten lyrics, costumes, posters and videos.

A bright winter sun streams into a room at the Baltimore Museum of Art, far removed from the public galleries. Her eyes dense with concentration, Angie Elliott picks up what looks like a long toothpick and winds a small clump of cotton around its point, an improvised Q-tip, and dips it into a bottle of ethanol. Bending over a table, Elliott uses the damp tool to gently swab the surface of an ornate 16th-century chamfron, a piece of steel armor with inlays of gold and silver, made to protect a horse's forehead and nose in battle.

Philadelphia Flower Show Where: : Pennsylvania Convention Center, 12th and Arch Streets, Philadelphia When: : 8 a.m.-6 p.m. today What: : This year's theme is "Bella Italia," highlighting the landscapes of Italy. The show features acres of gardens and plants, live music, Italian folk dancing, cooking demonstrations, 150 vendors and more. How much: : Tickets are $22, $13 for children ages 2-16 What's nearby: : The Philadelphia Museum of Art (philamuseum.org) has a new exhibition of works by French artist Paul Cezanne Amtrak is offering 20 percent off regular fares to Philadelphia.

"Nothing is as round as the circus," the French artist Fernand Leger observed in 1950. "It is an enormous bowl in which circular forms unroll. Nothing stops, everything is connected." The same could be said of A Circus Family: Picasso to Leger, a whirling, swirling, merry-go-round of an exhibit that opens today at the Baltimore Museum of Art. While the title may suggest a bright, breezy look at the glamour and spectacle of the circus, this show is actually a darker, more nuanced examination of the human condition by many of Europe's leading artists from the 1890s to 1950.

In tough times, arts need support The arts community and the audiences we serve are grateful to The Baltimore Sun for Tim Smith's thoughtful analysis of the financial challenges we face ("Hard times for the arts," Nov. 23) and for the subsequent editorial "A gift of art" (Nov. 26), which noted, "In tough times, music, theater, dance and the visual arts offer a boost - and their patrons and supporters can come from all walks of life." Truer words were never spoken. Last year, 14 million people attended arts events in Maryland, many of them in Baltimore, the art epicenter of the state.

The financial crisis that's affecting every sector of the economy, from home values to manufacturing to consumer spending, has taken its toll on the arts, too. Theaters, symphony orchestras, opera companies and museums have been hit by a triple whammy of falling box-office revenues, plummeting donations and shrinking endowments as the values of their stock portfolios decline. The Baltimore Sun's Tim Smith reported recently that some organizations are considering cutting expenses or trimming staff to weather the storm.

As the Baltimore Opera Company rehearsed last month for the production of Bellini's Norma , it faced a serious problem: Its available cash had dried up. With rumors spreading about the company folding, a board member ensured that the show would open - by making a personal guarantee to cover the cast's salaries. Norma went on as scheduled - the final performance is today - but the remainder of this season, and beyond, depends on the company's making a major fiscal turnaround. Already this year, ticket sales fell $200,000 short of the goal for Verdi's Aida, normally a very popular work at the box office.