Claire had her birthday. This was an excellent week because Kathleen and I were able to vacation with Veronica and Magdalene in Niagara Falls with Brian, Joan, Tom, Dad and Mom, Jay and Carrie.
The only incident was that Joan "passed gas" causing a minor reaction:
Here's what the Museum --intimately involved in the recovery of Hitler's larceny -- reports:
"During World War II, Europe’s art and monuments faced an unprecedented crisis brought on by Adolf Hitler’s aesthetic tastes and racial theories and the crushing force of the Nazi war machine. Cathedrals, monuments, and historic buildings were demolished by Nazi bombs and tanks or destroyed by Nazi soldiers, who used them as headquarters and hideouts. Major collections of art and artifacts were illegally acquired through a systematic program of coercion and seizure. Art that exemplified the Nazi Party’s ideology was scattered across Europe, destined for the private collections of Party officials or that of Hitler himself. Modern art, deemed as “degenerate,” was sold to collaborationist dealers to procure hard currency for the Third Reich.
This
exhibition presents archival materials, as well as recently discovered
information about one of the Albright-Knox’s paintings, Edgar Degas’s
Mlle. Fiocre dans le ballet La Source (Mademoiselle Fiocre in the Ballet
La Source), 1866–68, to celebrate the contributions made by Buffalo’s
Monuments Men to the preservation of Europe’s cultural heritage.
This exhibition was organized by Gabriela Zoller, Fine Art Collection Cataloger and Acting Head of Research Resources
In 1943, the United States responded to the plight facing Europe’s
cultural treasures by establishing the Monuments, Fine Arts and Archives
(MFAA) Section of the United States Army. Drawn from the civilian ranks
of art historians, museum directors, conservationists, curators, and
registrars, this unlikely group of officers became known as the
Monuments Men. The original mission of the Monuments Men was to protect
Europe’s historical and cultural monuments from damage, but it quickly
grew to encompass recovering and returning works of art that had been
looted by the Nazis—a task that would ultimately take until 1951. The
Albright-Knox Art Gallery is proud to count three Monuments Men among
its past employees: Andrew C. Ritchie, Art Director, 1942–49; Charles P.
Parkhurst, Curator, 1946–47; and Patrick J. Kelleher, Curator of
Collections, 1950–54.This exhibition presents archival materials, as well as recently discovered information about one of the Albright-Knox’s paintings, Edgar Degas’s Mlle. Fiocre dans le ballet La Source (Mademoiselle Fiocre in the Ballet La Source), 1866–68, to celebrate the contributions made by Buffalo’s Monuments Men to the preservation of Europe’s cultural heritage".
It is the Mlle. Fiocre dans le ballet that is shown above.
Anyway, we then went to dinner with the famous Xavier Sauvageau --star runner of the second-only-to-Niagara Canisius College track team. He had just gotten off the bus from his winning court case. Apparently, as I understand it, Raffi, the Sauvageau canine, was about to undergo the electric chair or death-by-injection and Xavier bussed into town to give the winning testimony to save his life. Some fat-assed dog broke his leg and Raffi was wrongfully blamed. Justice outed in the end due to Xavier's testimony and Raffi lives to bark another day!
Many other great things were done on our vacation. I mean GREAT. Masses at Niagara University, Tours de le school des high au Niagara Falls, Honey's Pizza, Brian's pork roast, Jay's laugh, Tom and Joan's school antics, etc.
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