Summer Exhibitions

Some interesting exhibitions going on or coming up this summer...

*National Gallery, Washington: "Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures from the National Museum, Kabul" (May 25-Sept 7). I just missed this exhibit at the Musee Guimet in Paris last year--it looks great. The National Gallery is the first stop on the US tour. Exhibit includes material from the Greek city of Ai Khanoum, from along the "Silk Road," and from the site of Tillya Tepe (the so-called Bactrian Hoard). Many of these treasures were believed lost during recent conflicts until they were recovered from a vault in 2004. The exhibit highlights Afghanistan as a cultural crossroads in the ancient world. Read about it here.

*Metropolitan Museum, New York: As usual, the Met has a busy program of exhibitions large and small, but the summer highlight is going to be "J.M.W. Turner" (July 1-September 21), the first Turner retrospective in the US in over 40 years. The exhibition will include Turner paintings from both US and European collections, including over half from the Tate Britain. Read about it here.

*Museum of Fine Arts, Boston: Up now is "El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III" (April 20-July 27). This looks like a great show, combining painting, sculpture, and decorative arts to present a picture of the Spanish court in Philip III's day. Read about it here.

*High Museum, Atlanta: The partnership between the Louvre and the High continues with the current show, "Louvre Atlanta: The Louvre and the Ancient World," through Sept 7th. Read about the Louvre Atlanta project here.

*Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, Paris: "Marie Antoinette" (Through June 30). I'm bummed to be missing this one; I've always been interested in Marie Antoinette and her era. The official site is here. "Mistress of the Revolution" author Catherine Delors provides an insightful and in-depth review here.

*Musee du Louvre, Paris: The Babylon exhibition remains on view until June 2nd.

*Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam: The big Millais exhibition closes today. A new focus exhibition, "Vincent van Gogh and the French still life," opened a couple of days ago and will be on view until 4 January 2009.