Kravis, Michael Stipe Admire Picasso Guitars: Scene Last Night
Just past six o’clock last night, Marie-Josee and Henry Kravis walked through a gallery at the Museum of Modern Art filled with more than 65 images of guitars by Picasso.
It was noted that the gallery was silent. “These are so beautiful, you don’t need music,” said Kravis, co-chairman and chief executive of KKR Management LLC. Marie-Josee Kravis is president of MoMA.
The preview reception for the exhibition “Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914,” which opens Feb. 13, brought out few guitar players.
“I never played any instrument,” said art dealer Daniella Luxembourg.
MoMA’s chief curator emeritus, John Elderfield, said he studied piano as a child. “Growing up in northern England, it was so cold I had to practice with gloves on,” he said.
“I like listening,” said the director of the museum, Glenn Lowry. Some of his favorites: “Everything from Pink Floyd and the Stones to Radiohead and Fleet Foxes.”
At the bar set up in the second-floor atrium, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe, beer in hand, noted that he is the band’s singer and songwriter and has never played an instrument.
In a couple of hours of mingling, a few guitar players were identified: Nick Winokur, the 12-year-old son of the show’s curator, Anne Umland; Brett Littman, the executive director of the Drawing Center, who said he can play the first few chords of “Lola”; Michael L. McCarty, the proprietor of Michael’s restaurant, who plays a dobro; and a onetime assistant to Jean- Michel Basquiat, artist Rick Prol, who plays classical guitar and rock ‘n roll.
(Amanda Gordon is a writer and photographer for Muse, the art and leisure section of Bloomberg News. Any opinions expressed are her own.)
To contact the writer on this story: Amanda Gordon in New York at agordon01@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Manuela Hoelterhoff at mhoelterhoff@bloomberg.net.
Picasso Guitars
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Marie-Josee Kravis, president of the Museum of Modern Art, and Henry Kravis, co-chairman and CEO of KKR Management LLC.
Marie-Josee Kravis, president of the Museum of Modern Art, and Henry Kravis, co-chairman and CEO of KKR Management LLC. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Daniella Luxembourg, art dealer, and Glenn Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art.
Daniella Luxembourg, art dealer, and Glenn Lowry, director of the Museum of Modern Art. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Clara Weyergraf-Serra and artist Richard Serra.
Clara Weyergraf-Serra and artist Richard Serra. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Thomas Dozol, photographer, and Michael Stipe, R.E.M.'s lead singer and songwriter.
Thomas Dozol, photographer, and Michael Stipe, R.E.M.'s lead singer and songwriter. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Donald L. Bryant
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Ann Temkin, chief curator of sculpture and painting at the Museum of Modern Art, and Donald L. Bryant, art collector.
Ann Temkin, chief curator of sculpture and painting at the Museum of Modern Art, and Donald L. Bryant, art collector. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Phyllis Hattis, widow of former MoMA curator William Rubin, Anne Umland, curator, and Umland's children Nick and Lucy.
Phyllis Hattis, widow of former MoMA curator William Rubin, Anne Umland, curator, and Umland's children Nick and Lucy. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Robert Grossman, director at Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery, and Jay Gorney, director of contemporary art at Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery.
Robert Grossman, director at Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery, and Jay Gorney, director of contemporary art at Mitchell-Innes & Nash gallery. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Mercedes Bass, vice chair of the Metropolitan Opera.
Mercedes Bass, vice chair of the Metropolitan Opera. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Edward Bleier, retired media executive, and Magda Bleier.
Edward Bleier, retired media executive, and Magda Bleier. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
James Niven, vice chair of Sotheby's.
James Niven, vice chair of Sotheby's. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Picasso Guitars
Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
Michael McCarty, proprietor of Michael's Restaurant, and Kim McCarty, artist.
Michael McCarty, proprietor of Michael's Restaurant, and Kim McCarty, artist. Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg
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