Nassau County Museum of Art Presents “Feast for the Eyes”

“Feast for the Eyes,” guest curated by Franklin Hill Perrell, explores how food has always inspired artists. The exhibition opened at Nassau County Museum of Art on July 30, 2016, and remains on view through November 6, 2016. This sweeping two-floor exhibition is focused on food and dining in art and features works by a wide range of artists, including Audrey Flack, Red Grooms, George Grosz, Henri Matisse, Claes Oldenberg, Cindy Sherman and Andy Warhol, among many others.

Drawn from a wide variety of media, the exhibition offers viewers eclectic portrayals of feasts, eateries, restaurants, cafés, groceries, and table settings. Included are luscious depictions of edible delights by artists such as Ben Schonzeit, Gina Beavers, Luigi Benedicenti and Wayne Thiebaud. Berenice Abbott contributes iconic 1930s photographs of the Automat and other dining destinations of New York City. The designer Judith Leiber makes fabulous jeweled evening bags modeled after sensuous fruits and vegetables.

Stylistically, the works range from a classic 1908 still life by William Merritt Chase to a 1973 Pop Art painting by Roy Lichtenstein.

Caricaturist Al Hirschfeld shows celebrity diners from stage and screen in his famed line drawings while The New Yorker’s Roz Chast pens humorous cartoons on a range of culinary topics.

Photorealistic works from the 1970s to the present day by Don Eddy, Ralph Goings and others portray a variety of gastronomic experiences. Among the Long Island artists represented in A Feast for the Eyes are Frank Olt, Susan Cushing, Richard Gachot, Bruce Lieberman, Christian White and Joe Szabo.

In conjunction with the exhibition, the Museum will be offering many public programs for adults and family groups. To learn about these programs, visit nassaumuseum.org/events.

Nassau County Museum of Art is located at One Museum Drive in Roslyn Harbor, just off Northern Boulevard, Route 25A, two traffic lights west of Glen Cove Road. The museum is open Tuesday-Sunday, 11 a.m.-4:45 p.m. Docent-led tours of the exhibition are offered at 2 p.m. each day; tours of the mansion are offered each Saturday at 1 p.m.; meet in the lobby, no reservations needed. Tours are free with museum admission. Family art activities and family tours are offered Sundays from 1 pm; free with museum admission. Call (516) 484-9338, ext. 12 to inquire about group tours. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for seniors (62 and above) and $4 for students and children (4 to12). Members are admitted free. The Museum Store is open Tuesday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Call (516) 484-9337 for current exhibitions, events, days/times and directions or log onto nassaumuseum.org