Bid au revoir to Messrs. Monet, Renoir and Cezanne.
The famous French painters are summering in Texas.
Sunday is the last day to view the Art Institute's collection of Impressionist and post-Impressionist works before they head to the Kimbell Art Museum in Fort Worth. The 92 paintings go on exhibit at the small, respected museum from June 29 through Nov. 2.
Among the priceless icons hitting the road: "Paris Street; Rainy Day" (1877) by Gustave Caillebotte; "Water Lilies" (1906) by Claude Monet; "Two Sisters (On the Terrace)" (1881) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir; "The Bathers" (1899-1904) by Paul Cezanne; "Self-Portrait" (1887) and "Bedroom at Arles" (1889) by Vincent van Gogh; and "Moulin de la Galette" (1889) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Twenty-six Monets, 12 Renoirs and seven Cezannes are Texas-bound along with works by Manet, Gauguin and Degas.
Since the museum must renovate its Impressionist and Post-Impressionist galleries, the unprecedented loan was made so a new audience could enjoy the works, spokesman Chai Lee said. Chicago-based Vinci-Hamp is overseeing the construction project.
The signature paintings will be missed, he acknowledged. "But think of them as taking a mini-vacation down South, before coming home again in December of this year to be reinstalled in a new and improved space," he said. The Art Institute, which draws 1.3 million visitors annually, hopes a full slate of exhibits and programs keep attendance steady.
One super-sized masterpiece is staying put: "Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte" (1884-1886) by Georges Seurat. The 10-foot-wide painting "is too fragile to travel," Lee said.
The paintings will return to Chicago and be reinstalled in their rehabbed galleries by Dec. 22. The Art Institute's long-awaited Modern Wing debuts next year.
Aw, darn!
I'm late again.
Registration is closed for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon 2008.
Some 45,000 runners have signed up for the 26.2 mile race set for Oct. 12.
Last year's ill-fated marathon remains nicknamed "Da Bacle."
Weather alert
Congratulations to Bob Breck, still trying to reason with hurricane season. New Orleans' top-rated meteorologist, 60, is celebrating 30 years at WVUE TV-Channel 8 in the Big Easy. Known locally as Hammond native Bob Zabrecky, the Bishop Noll grad is the son of Dorothy and the late Bernie Zabrecky of Hammond. "I watch him on my computer every night at 5:30 and at 9," his proud mom said. By Breck's count, he's outlasted 10 general managers, 12+ news directors "and so many different anchor combinations that I lost track long ago."
Trump this
Donald Trump's tune of choice, blasted at Monday's ribbon-cutting for his $112 million Chicago hotel: "For the Love of Money." The O'Jays ditty is the theme song for "The Apprentice."
Grapevine
Spotted: Donald Trump Jr. and sibs Ivanka and Eric dining at Dad's posh Sixteen restaurant in his namesake Chicago tower ... Candice Sanders, 19, ("Steel Waters") stars as force-of-nature Effie White in West Side Theatre Guild's May 8-11 production of "Dreamgirls" ... Gary Oldman ("Harry Potter"), Jane Alexander ("The Ring") and Odette Yustman ("Cloverfield") have just wrapped the exorcism thriller "The Unborn" here. The cast filmed scenes in the Loop, Hyde Park, the Near North Side and in Lake Forest.
