The Woman in Gold Movie and Exhibition

Woman in Gold: the Painting in the Movie

I often say I wish I could remember everything I’ve ever read as well as everything I’ve ever written. I give myself a pass on the former but in terms of the latter, I’d think I’d remember most of it. Oh, if only that were the case! In my four guidebooks, one travel memoir, almost four hundred blog posts and an assortment of freelance pieces, I’ve researched and reported intensively on subjects I’m passionate about. And yet, sometimes I catch myself in a sort of black hole-space of my mind.

Take the feature film “Woman in Gold” as an example. I’d been hearing talk about it for months and I vaguely knew about the story of Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece, Adele Bloch-Bauer, the Mona Lisa of Austria, and how it was returned to its rightful owner and found its home in America. It wasn’t until last week, however, upon seeing this fabulous movie starring Helen Mirren, one of my favorite actors, that I realized I had had the pleasure of gazing upon this magnificent work in New York City. I refer to it as “a glittering painting by Gustav Klimt” in my story Gallery Going with the Ladies of Larchmont, one of the first posts to my blog back in 2008.

Adele Bloch-Bauer in the Movie

Well, I think I’ll add a photo or two to that post along with the actual title of this celebrated work. Fortunately I do remember the whole experience at Neue Galerie–which included a fabulous lunch at Café Sabarsky–with great fondness. Now I hope to go back, perhaps this summer because it comes as no surprise that an exhibition, entitled Gustav Klimt and Adele Bloch-Bauer, was mounted in conjunction with the release of the film. It’s on view through September 7, 2015. Wundebar!

Yes, I will go and soak in the grandeur of this work, other Klimt pieces and the splendid space of the Neue Galerie some more. This time I swear I’ll remember the name of Klimt’s extraordinary painting and the fascinating story behind it.

For more on the Neue Galerie and my fun time with friends, I encourage you to read Gallery Going with the Ladies of Larchmont.