hand-colored with watercolor dyes, Warhol used photos
from books on fl ower arranging as source material. He
took formal elements of line and structure created by
leaves and branches with few blooms in the style of Ikebana
arrangements.
While NAC is a membership club (a right turn from
reception takes you the member’s bar, dining area and the
formal parlor seating areas), NAC is committed to engagement
with the community and hosts a slew of public events.
The NAC’s fall season follows the theme of “NAC Next:
A Season of Innovation” of more than 50 programs open
to the public is focusing on new works and interpretations
of classics in the worlds of art, music, dance, theater and
beyond. This reawakening of arts in the City includes lectures,
conversations and performances, all free of charge,
with support from Amazon.
Opening Oct. 11 until Nov. 6 is an extensive bronze
sculpture exhibition Globe Changers and Sculpture of the
Sublimeby one of NAC’s long time members, Marc Mellon.
Mellon’s new sculptures unveiled include the mid-scale
model for his recently dedicated statue of Jackie Robinson
and George Shuba. Portrait busts of other Globe Changers
– Jackie Robinson, Albert Einstein and Elie Wiesel are
among his ongoing series of busts of individuals of global
Marilyn Monroe. Warhol used a cropped
publicity still from film Niagra (1953, Gene
Kormon photographer), the source for over 50
paintings and dozens of prints.
Sculptor Marc Mellon with his bust of Jackie Robinson.
Elegant and contemporary: National
Arts Club exhibits Andy Warhol
BY TEQUILA MINSKY
The only way to describe The National Club Arts
Club at 15 Gramercy South is elegant. Home
to artists and patrons since philanthropist and
fi nancier Spencer Trask acquired the historic Samuel
Tilden Mansion for NAC in 1906, the stately townhouse
boasts landmark designations, from New York City in
1966, and a national designation in 1976.
The 1840s building had been the home (with quite
a design and architecture history) of former New York
Governor Samuel Tilden who lived there from 1863
until his death in 1886.
Steps up from the marble lobby, visitors enter the
renovated and restored – now airy and bright – Grand
Gallery. With this season’s Andy Warhol Portfolios: A
Life in Pop, The National Arts Club inaugurates its new
galleries; the exhibition will continue until Nov. 4. Over 80
pieces are spread over two fl oors of the landmark building.
Featuring selections from Andy Warhol’s forty-year
span of work of photographic silkscreen printmaking,
many of the works refl ect Warhol’s decades-long process
of mirroring popular American culture. Collage, drawing,
diamond dust and color variation are among Warhol’s vast
array of techniques. Pieces exhibited are from the Bank of
America collection.
Included in the show are works from his Muhammad
PHOTOS BY TEQUILA MINSKY
Ali series (1978), Flowers (1970), and Campbell’s Soup
(1969). Ten screenprints from Myths (1981) depict
Uncle Sam and Superman and range to Greta Garbo and
Dracula. One of his Marilyn Monroe prints (1967) is in
the show.
Also exhibited are lesser known earlier works, Hand-
Colored Flowers (Ikebana Prints, 1974). Individually
signifi cance, each speak to the challenges to our planet.
Many pieces completed during the Pandemic, Mellon
comments on his work, “A small contributor to a counternarrative
that speaks to a saner and more just future.”
The exhibit also includes works from Mellon’s Sculpture
of the Sublime series, bronzes created in collaboration
with elite ABT dancers, and new bronzes from Mellon’s
pas de deux dance sculptures.
The National Arts Club is also part of Open House New
York Weekend – this coming weekend. NAC is offering
the public to step inside the historic landmark building for
a tour that starts at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 16. Reservations
required. ohny.org/place/national-arts-club.
Myths: Greta Garbo as Mata Hari, Dracula, The
Shadow (Andy Warhol), and The Witch.
12 October 14, 2021 Scchnepss Mediia
/national-arts-club
