The Scene In and Around Boston . . .
By Hilda M. Morrill
May 25, 2007
 Director Anne Hawley, right, welcomes Oscar de la Renta to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. (Photo by Roger Farrington)
In April, the internationally renowned designer Oscar de la Renta was a special guest of honor at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston for a luncheon benefit in the famed Tapestry Room. The event centered on Mr. de la Renta’s love of gardening.
Between courses featuring an asparagus and spring herb salad, a trio of native lobster, and strawberry and lemon semifreddo with French macaroons, Mr. de la Renta talked about and illustrated the vista of the gardens at his home in the heart of Connecticut.
His gardens include many “rooms,” he said—areas delineated by adding walls and hedges to split up the space, filled with some of his favorites such as flowering gardenia trees, Arizona cypress, and blankets of blue agapanthus.
Interspersed and tucked in corners around the gardens are a number of sculptures – including one of Diana – which he cited in his presentation in direct reference to Isabella Gardner’s own courtyard garden, which also contains a statue of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt.
In designing gardens, including his own, Mr. de la Renta said, “What I try to do is create a little piece of paradise.” Mr. de la Renta’s home and gardens occupy nearly five hundred acres of land abutting a nature preserve, extending the views of the Berkshires.
The event helped to raise more than $200,000 to support the Gardner Museum’s programs “growing” under Curator of Landscape Patrick Chasse, to promote deeper learning for visitors through interdisciplinary connections with horticulture – activities that Mrs. Gardner undoubtedly would have enjoyed.
Under Mr. Chasse’s direction, a landscape lecture series has been launched and new interpretative resources – including a courtyard book and landscape-themed group tours – are now available to visitors. In the next few years, publications and special exhibitions are envisioned to enhance the landscape experience and programs at the Gardner.
“A Spring Serata” Wine-Tasting Soiree Scheduled for Gardner Museum
Incidentally, on Thursday June 7, the Gardner Museum will hold “A Spring Serata” from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. The wine-tasting soiree will feature indoor and outdoor tastings of wines, expertly paired by Best Cellars sommeliers to complement the museum's galleries and gardens.
Guests will enjoy live music in the courtyard and an insider's self-guided tour of the museum's collection, highlighting flower-inspired artworks and installations complemented with poetry. Ticket prices include free wine tastings, light hors d’oeuvres, live music, and exclusive admission to the museum’s galleries and gardens. A cash bar will be available.
For tickets or more information, call 617-566-5643, or email membership@isgm.org.
“The History of Floral Design” Exhibit
at Boston Marriott Hotel at Copley Place
This weekend, the National Garden Clubs, Inc. will hold their “78th Annual Convention” at the Boston Marriott Hotel in Copley Place. The NGC, Inc. is an international volunteer organization composed of 57,183 clubs and 221,943 members, who promote the love of gardening and floral design as well as civic and environmental responsibility.
The Convention is a special coup for Boston, and Massachusetts in general, not only because we get to show off our beautiful part of the country, but also because Barbara May, who will be installed as the new national president, is a Massachusetts resident and a past president of the Garden Club Federation of MA.
Although the convention events are for registered members only, there will be an extravagant floral exhibition that will be open to the public today, Friday May 25, and tomorrow, Saturday, May 26 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, May 27 from 10 a.m. to noon.
The exhibition, titled “The History of Floral Design,” showcases the creativity of 75 of Massachusetts’ finest floral designers, with historical inspiration coming from Ancient Egypt, Classical Greece, Imperial Rome and Italian Renaissance into the Dutch-Flemish, French and Georgian periods through the American Colonial, Victorian, Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods, and into the 20th Century—as well as Chinese and Japanese designs.
Exhibition signage will describe the characteristics of each historical period. The nominal admission fee is payable at the Exhibition’s Back Bay Exhibit Hall entrance on the hotel’s third floor. For more information, call 781-237-0336, e-mail
gcfm@verizon.net, or visit
www.gcfm.org.
Gloucester Stage’s 2007 Season Begins
Gloucester Stage opens its 2007 season with the New England premiere of Yvette Heyliger's “Hillary and Monica: The Winter of Her Discontent” from May 25 through June 3.
This witty, history making re-telling of an all-American uproar considers what would
have happened if First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Monica Lewinsky, the infamous intern, had a chance meeting before the scandal broke.
Directed by the playwright, the cast features Heidi J. Dallin as Hillary Clinton, Jacqueline Kristel as Monica Lewinsky, Vanessa Shaw as Betty Currie and Jeff Pierce in the dual roles of the Secret Service Agent and Bill Clinton.
Gloucester native actress Heidi J. Dallin originated the role of Hillary Clinton. A graduate of Harvard University, Ms. Dallin has appeared at Gloucester Stage in several of Israel Horovitz's productions. Her New York credits include many off-Broadway productions. She has guided and taught the Gloucester Stage Company Youth Acting Workshops since their inception in 2003.
For reservations or further information, call the Gloucester Stage Box Office at 978-281-4433 or visit
www.gloucesterstage.org.
Free Open House at MFA on Memorial Day
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston honors Memorial Day with a “Free Open House” on Monday, May 28 from 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Visitors are invited to take a global journey through several special exhibitions and the MFA’s wonderfully diverse collection.
Events include a world music performance by members of the group Electric Kulintang; storytelling by members of the Chinese community; a screening of the film, “The Crocodile River,” set in South Africa; and a presentation by the MFA’s Teen Arts Council––a group of teenagers engaged in a year-long apprenticeship––about their contribution to the current exhibition “War and Discontent.”
In addition, there will be art activities for children, including travel journal and map creation. Guided gallery tours will also be offered throughout the day and are available to those who are hearing impaired, blind or have low vision.
Tickets to the exhibition “Edward Hopper” will be offered at a reduced rate. For more information, call 617-267-9300 or visit
www.mfa.org.
Enjoy!
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