Debuting the ultimate arts and culture program of the season, The Society of the Four Arts has something for everyone.
The Sitkovetsky Trio will perform throughout the season
Located along 10 picturesque acres on the waterfront in Palm Beach, serenity and inspiration abound at The Society of the Four Arts. With historic roots in Florida dating back to 1936, the nonprofit cultural organization offers the creme de la creme of artistic expressions through live events, concerts, exhibits, workshops, films, children’s programs and more. The Society of the Four Arts kicks off its season with an impressively curated program touching all aspects of art and culture.
1.SCULPTURES
Th e Four Arts’ art exhibition season opens Dec. 3 with Hard Bodies: Contemporary Japanese Lacquer Sculpture, organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Art and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, D.C. The 33 works by 16 artists in Hard Bodies constitute the first-ever comprehensive exhibition of contemporary Japanese lacquer sculpture.
2.PORTRAITURE SKETCHES
Contemplating Character: Portrait Drawings & Oil Sketches from Jacques- Louis David to Lucian Freud opens Feb. 4, 2023. Contemplating Character explores the evolution of portraiture in 81 works on paper by 68 artists. Executed by some of the most famous portraitists in Europe and America, the works range in date from the 18th century to present day and encompass the many art styles and movements during this expanse of time.
Adolf von Menzel, “Studies of a Man” (circa 1890, graphite on paper), 208 mm by 134 mm
Spier gold and rock crystal pendant from Nubia
3.LANDSCAPE PAINTINGS
On display concurrently will be Eduard Angeli: Cities on Water, an exhibition curated by Philip Rylands, president and CEO of the Four Arts. A landscape painter whose favored medium is charcoal, Eduard Angeli (born in Austria, 1942) began spending summers in Venice, Italy, in 2002 and 2003, and in 2004 he went there to live. Before this he had lived, and painted, in Istanbul and more recently sojourned for a long period in St. Petersburg, Russia. Hence the title of this show, with 18 large works depicting motifs from these three cities.
4.PHOTOGRAPHY
In April, the 2022 Benjamin Mkapa African Wildlife Photography Awards exhibition opens at the Four Arts. This exhibition is organized by the African Wildlife Foundation and Nature’s Best Photography, in honor of one of Africa’s most beloved leaders, H.E. Benjamin Mkapa (1938 to 2020), to engage global audiences in conserving wildlife and wild lands in modern Africa.
Eduard Angeli, Cities on Water, “The Balcony” (2020, oil charcoal and pastel on canvas), 74.8 inches by 118.1 inches (Venice)
5.CLASSICAL MUSIC
The Four Arts has scheduled a full season of some of the finest cultural programs in South Florida, including concerts curated by Wu Han, the Four Arts’ artistic adviser for classical music and co-artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Wu Han will lead the Schubert Revealed festival of three performances in March. Other notable performers scheduled this season include Emanuel Ax, piano; the final tour of the Emerson String Quartet; Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s Voices of the Americas; and the bluegrass group Joe Mullins & The Radio Ramblers.
6.LIVE PERFORMANCES
New this season will be a performance by The Royal National Ballet, Direct from Tbilisi, the Democratic Republic of Georgia, with Fire of Georgia, and Winter Journey a two-day film and live performance program inspired by Martin Goldsmith’s book, The Inextinguishable Symphony. The live performance will include works by composers silenced as victims of the Holocaust.
Professor Emmanuel Ducamp will discuss travels of French prince Louis-Philippe d’Orléans
7.LECTURES
Campus on the Lake lifelong learning center will feature a series on George Bernard Shaw by Richard Digby Day and “A Survey of Southern Culture” with Taylor Hagood. Returning this season are Conversations on Style with designer Steven Stolman and American Foreign Policy with Jeffrey Morton.
8.BOOKS
No matter what your reading preference, there are many options to take a deep dive into pages and pages of inspiration— from the biography book club to the Page Turners discussions. Florida Voices, supported by the Fred J. Brotherton Endowment for Literature of the Fred J. Brotherton Charitable Foundation, features a presentation by the author, Q&A with the audience and a book signing. The Children’s Library offers curriculum-based story times for school groups or organizations.
Cynthia Barnett, author of The Sound of the Sea.
9.FILM SERIES
Held in the Walter S. Gubelmann Auditorium, film screenings will take place that range from family-friendly flicks like The Black Stallion to adult movies like Argo. They will also show documentaries from the Sundance Film Festival and Project Paradise Film Fund.
10.ARTS & CRAFTS
From origami to potholder weaving to macrame wall hanging and paper quilling, there are a variety of crafts to participate in in the King Library. Seating is limited, so you’ll want to make reservations in advance, but they are free and open to the public in the afternoons on select Fridays.
Photography by: SITKOVETSKY TRIO PHOTO BY VINCING; ALL OTHER PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE SOCIETY OF THE FOUR ARTS
