5780-2005 Newsletter-v6.indd - Save Venice Inc

Boston EventsThe Boston Chapter continued a busyslate of events in 2004-05 under theable leadership of chairman Juan Prieto.Boston executive committee membersSusan Angelastro and Donald Freemanprovided invaluable creative and organizationalhelp for all of these events. TheAnnual Meeting was held on October19 at the Tavern Club. Prof. RafaelBras of the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology discussed Venice’s acqua alta(high water), environmental complications,and the engineering solutionspresently under construction.Lecture SeriesThe spring lecture series, revived lastyear by Juan Prieto, continued to drawlarge and varied audiences. On March29, at the Chilton Club, Daniel Stepner(baroque violin) and Laura Jeppesen(viola da gamba) presented a lectureperformanceentitled Musical Lights ofEighteenth-Century Veneto. On April 25at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, board memberFrederick Ilchman filled in at thelast minute when the lecturer was indisposed,delivering a talk entitled TheRestoration Process and Recent Successes inthe World’s most Fragile City. On May 25,the Chapter’s annual excursion to theCountry Club in Brookline, MA broughtthe season to a resounding conclusion.Patricia Fortini Brown, Chairman of theDepartment of Art and Archaeology atPrinceton University and a Save Veniceboard member, gave a brilliant lectureon Life in the Venetian Renaissance Palaceto a standing-room-only audience.Una Cena VenezianaThe tireless enthusiasm of BarbaraLloyd ensured a very successful blacktieevening, Una Cena Veneziana, thattook place at the Boston Athenaeumon November 14. Michael Romano ofNew York City’s Union Square Caféselected a Venetian menu paired withnorthern Italian wines and spoke ongrowing up with Italian cooking. Thefunds raised will help to restore AndreaVicentino’s painting Wedding at Cana inthe Church of San Trovaso. The manysatisfied guests look forward to Barbaramaking this an annual event.Top Left: Hal Caroll and Victoria Di Stefano. Top Right: Krishna Simonetti and Steven Scotford.Above: Alexandra Foster, Lacy Garcia, Tamar Salter, Victoria Reed, Frederick Ilchman, AllisonDrescher, Juan Prieto, Meredith Roy, Faye Higbie, and Hollis Colby.St. Mark’s Day GalaOn April 23, 2005 the Boston YoungFriends held their annual fundraisingparty and the first Saint Mark’s DayGala. Two hundred young Bostoniansin black-tie and masks, all supporters ofVenice, attended the festivities.For the second year, the Bostongroup relied on the kind sponsorship ofLux, Bond & Green. The Hartford basedcompany graciously provided elegantgifts for all attendees. On November4, 2004, at their Back Bay location, Luxhosted a reception, “La Notte Italiana,”to introduce Mario Buccellati and hisfine jewelry collection.The proceeds of this year’s eventwill go to fund the restoration of theSaint Helen Altarpiece by Michele diMatteo (c.1430 – 7), currently locatedRoger Farringtonin Room I of the Accademia Galleries(see pages 8 – 9). The Boston YoungFriends have raised the necessary fundsto finance the cleaning, stabilization,and consolidation of this impressivepainting, including the paint surface,the wooden panel support, and theelaborate gilded frame.Next year’s Young Friends eventwill be co-chaired by Frederick Ilchmanand Meredith Roy. Allison Drescher willremain as the chairman of the YoungFriends in Boston. Under her tenureof seven years of chairing the Bostonevent, the Boston Young Friends raisedin excess of $350,000.Roger Farrington Roger FarringtonMatteo De FinaVenice EventsLecture SeriesThe Venice lecture series, “VeneziaRestaurata,” sponsored by FrancescaBortototto and the Hotel Bauer, is nowdedicated to the memory of board member,Prof. W.R. Rearick, who foundedthe series in 2000.At the first lecture of the spring2005 series, held on January 31, RogerRearick’s friends and fellow art historiansFrederick Ilchman, Giovanna NepiScirè, Giandomenico Romanelli, AttiliaDorigato, Bernard Aikema, FrancesClarke, John Millerchip, and Nelli-Elena Vanzan Marchini affectionatelyremembered him with stories, tributes,anecdotes, and recollections of Rearick’slife dedicated to Venetian art.On March 10, Attilia Dorigato,Coordinator of Restoration in VeniceCivic Museums, spoke on the SaveVenice-sponsored restorations of sixpaintings belonging to the CorrerMuseum. Prof. Rearick personallyselected these works of art for conservationfrom the Correr deposits, convincedthat their restoration would contributeto the scholarship of Venetian artby providing clues that would clarifyquestionable attributions.The third lecture, on March 24,focused on the work of Paolo Veronese.Stefania Mason, professor of Art Historyat the University of Udine presentedVeronese’s mythological paintings. Thelecture was planned to coincide with aVeronese exhibition at Venice’s CorrerMuseum.Save Venice’s restoration of thefaçade of the Scuola Grande di SanMarco was the subject of the May 12lecture, given by Grazia Fumo, DinoChinellato, and Silvia Magnani of theSuperintendency of Monuments andFine Arts of Venice.California EventsOn September 15, Hutton and RuthWilkinson hosted an evening atDawnridge, the historic and beautifulhouse of the late designer TonyDuquette, for the major supporters ofthe California Chapter of Save Venice.They discussed plans for the upcomingCarnival Gala, which will take place inVenice from February 18 to February 21,2006. During the evening, two pledgeswere made for major underwriting.Cat Pollen, a long-time supporter ofSave Venice and a California Chapterstalwart, generously committed tounderwrite the Casanova evening atthe Ridotto, which will include dining,dancing, and traditional 18th-centurybetting games. Angie Barrett, visitingfrom Dallas, Texas, pledged to sponsorthe lectures and luncheon at the SanClemente Palace Hotel.A superb dinner was served andthere was great buzz and excitementat the prospect of experiencing carnivalin Venice. Many of those who havebeen to Venice scores of times havenot seen the famous spectacle. As ifthe carnival itself were not enough tolure one to magical Venice, the festivelunches, lectures, balls, and a specialtheatrical performance, written just forthis performance and underwritten byThe Walt Disney Company, should provideenticement to throw on a cape andmask and join in the fun. Many supportershave sent in their reservations,already making the event a successTerry Stanfill, Matthew White,Amanda Stonnington, and ShaneMcCoy, all co-chairs with HuttonWilkinson of February’s carnival, werein attendance as were many enthusiasticCalifornia Chapter supporters. Thegoal, as stated by the inimitable HuttonWilkinson, is to have every event fullyunderwritten so that all proceeds godirectly to Save Venice’s restorations.Many possibilities were discussed forreaching out to potential sponsors forunderwriting and to ask them to offerprizes for the best costumes. And nowthe work begins!Fulvio Zuliani and Save Venice Project Director,David Rosand, at the reception following theinauguration of the restored Scuola Grande diSan Marco façade. The façade was the topic ofthe May 12 lecture in the Venice series.New York EventsLecture SeriesThe New York Lecture Series was onceagain generously underwritten by a giftfrom the Hazen Polsky Foundation.On September 30, David B.Whitehouse, executive director of theCorning Museum of Glass, began thefall lecture series with Beyond Venice:Glass in Venetian Style, 1500-1750. Theslides shown allowed guests to seethe dramatic influence that Venetianglassware has had on numerous glassmakers.Eugene J. Johnson, the Classof 1955 Memorial Professor of Art atWilliams College, presented Inventing theOpera House on October 11. He providedinsight into the construction and creationof Venetian opera houses. On November11, Christopher Wood presented TheGlorious City – English Nineteenth-CenturyArtists in Venice. He showed the audiencemany remarkable depictions of Veniceby lesser-known artists.Frederick Ilchman opened thespring lecture series on February 8,with How Save Venice Saves Venice: RecentRestorations in the World’s Most FragileCity. Members were able to see many ofthe restorations to which their donationshad been applied. On March 23, JohnCarswell discussed the Feast of the Gods:The Porcelain Trade between China, Istanbul,and Venice. Using Giovanni Bellini’sThe Feast of the Gods as evidence, heillustrated for us the strong connectionbetween the cities, which were linkedby the porcelain trade. Our 2005 seriesclosed on April 14 with Patricia FortiniBrown, new Save Venice board memberand Chairman of the Department of Artand Archaeology at Princeton. In her lecture,Seen but not Heard from: RenaissanceChildren and their Visual World, she usedvarious works of art to explore the livesof Renaissance children.Young Friends Dinner atthe Jason McCoy GalleryOn June 3, 2005 the Jason McCoyGallery and Caroline Bassett generouslygave an intimate dinner for membersof the Young Friends of Save Venicestanding committee. Guests viewed thegallery’s collection, enjoyed an Italianmenu, and heard Stephen Cadwalader,Jackson Pollock’s nephew, speak aboutthe artist’s connection to Venice.12 13