Barbara Haskell, curator of the Whitney Museum,
introducing Modern Life: Edward Hopper and His Time

The Whitney's exhibit features works by Edward Hopper, John Sloan, Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand, Charles Demuth, Guy Pène du Bois, Charles Sheeler, Charles Burchfield, Ben Shahn, Reginald Marsh. A 250-page illustrated catalogue with essays accompanies the exhibit.

To put it plainly, kids who have arts education as part of their school day do better in school. Any experienced teacher will agree that there is an obvious and glaring connection: the more kids are involved in the arts, the greater their commitment and participation in all aspects of their school day ... including the effort they give to mastering reading, writing, science and math.

Throughout my teaching career, I couldn't help but notice that kids who entered my classroom hauling a trombone or saxophone case along with a full backpack consistantly did far better than the kids who entered class without their book, without a pencil, and without a clue.

Why was this? Why did kids with a busy and demanding day fare better than those with a light load, and even lighter expectations? Here's why.

First, kids who are involved in an artistic pursuit get in the habit of investing their energies. Some of this enthusiasm and effort spills over into their academic life, with astounding results.

Wynton Marsalis ..."It saddens me that people my age might not even know that. It is a comment on the failure of our educational system, to deal with cultural education, not just Duke Ellington, Walt Whitman. The list goes on and on. So it saddens me for us as a nation because we have such a rich cultural heritage, and we will be so much the better for it, and we will make such better decisions if we understood what brings us together. The Arts are our collective human heritage. You’re a better person if you know what Shakespeare was talking about. If you know what Beethoven struggled with, if you know what Louis Armstrong was actually saying through his horn, you’re better, because its like you get to speak with the wisest people who ever lived."

We know the effort to restore arts education in our public schools needs much more than speeches. It will require a strong and focused political will. So far, the actions of government don't show evidence of such a will. But we do hear the swoosh of the budget ax chopping away, year after year, swing after swing, each more intense and hurtful than the last.

There are far too many politicians eager to offer sloganistic, easy-sounding money-saving answers which require little from their constituents. They offer simplistic solutions to voters, like weeding out the bad teachers, trimming the power of teacher's unions, allowing for all kinds of charter schools, or as Indiana is doing, using scarce and disappearing public funds to support kids in private schools. These swings of the budget ax are certainly energetic, but in the end, will such efforts improve schools? Will kids be better off and better equipped for their future?

From a strict accounting point of view, spending less money solves the problem, but when it comes to providing effective schools, accountants and politicians don't have the best angle to view the problem or offer solutions. For them, spending more to retain and bolster the arts in education doesn't make sense. But from other perspectives, it makes a great deal of sense.

And perhaps most importantly, we would see kids celebrated for their efforts. Audiences at plays, basketball games, concerts and recitals would have parents, friends, and teachers applauding our youth. Having such cheering and supportive parents at school events is a school asset which doesn't show up in budget considerations, but is a huge asset of any school.

The reason it is valuable is that it comes directly from the hearts of citizens who care and make a major difference. When kids attend a school supported by the surrouding community, they feel valued and do far better. But when kids don't feel valued by they community, they often feel warehoused or shelved out-of-the-way, unimportant and unvalued.

Arts programs in schools builds community. As communities respond to the artistic efforts of "their kids" in "their school," magic happens. Parents show up for teacher conferences and encourage their kids to do better in the class work. The community comes together for fund raisers to support their band, their drama program, and their athletic teams. We all know the phrase, "It takes a village." Schools with thriving arts programs stimulate vitality and become a focal point of community life, the backdrop of all successful schools.

And what a grand visit it was, back to back exhibitions featuring the best of the Musée d'Orsay's Impressionist and Post Impressionist works. Now these art treasures have returned to their renovated home, and the good news is, the next time we see them, we'll be in Paris.

So, with a sweet note of gratitude, we thank the Musée d'Orsay for bringing their treasures to San Francisco for a memorable visit.

And we'll take this opportunity to recall fondly some of what we were so privileged to enjoy.

James Whistler spent most of his painting career in London and Paris.

Whistler's Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 is valued for its linear austerity and chromatic colors, and exhibits Whistler's experimentation with prints. This painting was acquired by France in 1891, and is one of the most famous works done by an American artist while outside the United States.

The painting goes beyond the scope of the poem, and was a popular at its 1878 Salon showing.

while the woman, glances away, as if in embarrassed by the attention.

Van Goph had long been fascinated by the idea of painting the stars at night. In April of 1888, he wrote his brother Theo, "I need a starry night with cypresses or maybe above a field of ripe wheat." He then wrote to Emile Bernard, "But when shall I ever paint the Starry Sky, this painting that keeps haunting me?" In September of that year, he wrote his sister, "Often it seems to me the night is even more richly colored than the day." Later that month, he painted Starry Night.

conversation of two women over a fence. He depicts the trees decoratively, in a series of evenly spaced trunks highlighted with foliage.

One of the favorites of the Impressionist show was Claude Monet's, The Magpie. In the late 1860's, Monet wanted to capture fleeting states of nature, and was challenged by snowy landscapes. Monet chose to paint a lone magpie sitting on a fence gate like a note on a musical staff. Monet uses light and shade to capture the nature of the snow, part solid, part liquid. Monet painted this scene on site, and chose pale colors to highlight the scene's temporary luminosity. Parisian critics not used to this pale approach were more comfortable with darker palettes, and the painting was rejected by the jury of the 1869 salon.

We are pleased to be in Bodega Bay, a uniquely beautiful place to visit in its own right, where the constant rhythmic percussion of the surf blends with a mixed chorus of barking sea lions and squawking gulls, a setting well suited for brisk windy walks through waving dune grasses, glorious vistas of the sea, a well deserved bowl of warm clam chowder, and some well spent contemplative moments in art galleries.

Our dream is to promote California's historic art, to tell the fascinating tales of the artists and exhibit examples of what they created. Many of these artists were trained in Europe or the best American schools such as the Art Student's League in New York, or the Art Institute of Chicago. They came to the new exciting land of California, using their talents and training to interpret a new vibrancy they encountered.