William Bennett Gallery - COLLECTOR’S CIRCLE

About the Exhibition

WILLIAM BENNETT GALLERY COLLECTOR’S CIRCLE PRESENTS THE INAUGURAL COLLECTOR’S CIRCLE FALL ARTS PROGRAM WITH SPECIAL GUEST SPEAKER DR. VÉRONIQUE CHAGNON-BURKE, CHRISTIE’S NEW YORK

Thursday, January 24, 2008, 7PM-9PM
65 Greene Street, NYC

William Bennett Gallery is pleased to present the Collector’s Circle Fall Arts Program, an ongoing quarterly informative dialog open to members and private collectors. The series will have its inaugural debut on January, from 7PM–9PM, located at 65 Greene Street in SoHo. The kickoff engagement will focus on the printmaking career of Pablo Picasso with special guest speaker, Dr. Véronique Chagnon-Burke, Director of Studies, Christie’s Education, New York. Dr. Chagnon-Burke is an expert on the art market and well versed on the impact of Picasso on the art market over the last century..

William Bennett Gallery will have numerous Picasso works on view from the Sable Mouvant and Le Cocu Magnifique portfolios, as well as select rare individual prints.

About Dr. Véronique Chagnon-Burke, Christie’s New York Dr. Véronique Chagnon-Burke is an Associate Professor and Director of Studies, and teaches the History of the Art Market Seminar. A specialist in the history of nineteenth century French landscape painting, her fields of expertise also include nineteenth century art criticism and women artists. She received her Ph. D. from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York, her M.A. from the Institute of Fine Arts of New York University, and her Licence from the Université Paris-Sorbonne. She is also a graduate of the Ecole du Louvre in museum studies. She has taught a wide range of subjects at Queens College, Parsons School of Design, and Hunter College, among other institutions. Her museum and research positions have included work at the Museum of Modern Art and the College Art Association, and she has also worked at the Hôtel Drouot in Paris. She has published widely on nineteenth century art. Her most recent projects involve a contribution to the Dictionnaire Des Femmes Creatrices, dealing with female art critics, and a book project focused on the mid-nineteenth century Parisian art market centered on la Rue Laffitte.

Le Cocu Magnifique (1966)
Le Cocu Magnifique (The Splendid Cuckold) is an illustration of the 1921 play by Belgian playwright and friend of Picasso, Fernand Crommelynck. The title refers to the cuckoo bird female who commonly lays her eggs in other nests and the play revolves around the tribulations of love and adultery. These works divulge in Picasso’s use of erotic sequences; making use of his dramatic line and mastery of aquatint. Consistent with many works in his later years, we often see reflections of an autobiographical quality within the suite.