Starry Night in New Haven

Visitors to MOMA this summer will be searching in vain for van Gogh's "Starry Night" -- it's traveling to New Haven. In a fantastic artistic coup, the Yale University Art Gallery will showcase "Starry Night" and "Cypresses" (which belongs to the Met) in a "Visions of Saint-Rémy" mini-exhibition from June 15th through September 7th. TIckets are free but timed in order to give viewers an optimal viewing experience; you can get yours online at artgallery.yale.edu. New Haven is an easy train ride from New York City and makes for a pleasant daytrip. The YUAG is a gem among university museums (don't forget to visit the ancient art collection!), and the very enjoyable Yale Center for British Art is across the street. And of course, the Yale campus itself is worth a stroll. If you go, I recommend the Atticus bookstore and cafe near the YUAG on Chapel Street for lunch.

It might seem odd that MOMA would part with "Starry Night" for the summer, especially when it'll be going to Amsterdam next spring for the "Colors of the Night" exhibition. I have a hunch it has something to do with YUAG's ownership of "Night Café," which surely will be a centerpiece of the "Colors of the Night" show at both its NYC and Amsterdam venues. "Night Café" is one of YUAG's treasures--it's one of two van Goghs they own--and in agreeing to part with it for several months, they must have worked out a swap. Similarly, I'd bet that some of the Yale Center for British Art's nice collection of Turners are heading to the Met for the Turner retrospective this summer, hence the visit to YUAG of the Met's "Cypresses." Nice wheelin' and dealin' there, YUAG!