From Mourning to Night - At the Fleming Museum

I love our little Fleming Museum at the University of Vermont in Burlington. Tonight I went to the reception for the new show called "From Mourning To Night," a show with two large John Singer Sargent paintings. Displayed near the paintings are black capes and black dresses that would be worn in mourning. The idea was that black was only used in mourning until it became included in fashion.

The curator's comments about the exhibit are these:
"Black in Fashion will consider John Singer Sargent's role in popularizing the color black in America as a choice for high fashion, altering its association from a color chiefly associated with mourning dress, as a signal of sexual experience, or working class wear. These associations waxed and waned throughout the nineteenth-century, and often operated simultaneously. In America, however, black as a choice for high fashion lagged behind its European counterparts. As this exhibition aims to demonstrate, John Singer Sargent played a role in transmitting black as a fashionable color in couture in America through his publicly exhibited portraits, circle of fashion forward clientele, and his own sartorial selections he chose for his sitters."

First, there was a lovely reception with hors d'oeuvres. In the background a stringed duet played classical music. The setting for the reception was beautiful, at the bottom of a grand marble stairway.

It is a small exhibit but a good reason to visit the Fleming Museum -- be sure to see their permanent exhibits.

After the reception, my friend and I went to eat at "Cafe L'Hospital" which is my name for the cafeteria at the hospital next door. I know, I know, sounds strange,  but it is great, freshly made food with a fabulous salad bar. We had a half of a pesto pizza on very thin crust, salad and a brownie for $3.50  Fun night!

For more information, check out

http://www.uvm.edu/~fleming/index.php?category=exhibitions&page=sargent