Grace, Cary, and Audrey join Churchill, Dali, Sinatra and some of the most famous names of the stage, screen and sports in a unique retrospective – free and open to the public – combining two-photographic-exhibitions-in-one to celebrate the 150-year history of Monte-Carlo, on now through September 28 at The Forbes Galleries at 62 Fifth Ave in New York City. Monaco’s Consulate General and Tourist Office in New York present Monte-Carlo Legends, a celebration of vintage images featuring iconic personalities from the past who have helped write the Monte-Carlo story.Sourced from the archives of the Prince’s Palace, Monte-Carlo SBM and the Automobile Club of Monaco, sporting greats including Juan Fangio, Stirling Moss, Graham Hill, Suzanne Lenglen and Fred Alexander, pose alongside international cultural icons of the 20th century who are so well-known they only need one name: Balanchine, Burton, Chaplin, Colette, Cocteau, Hitchcock, McQueen, Nureyev, Piaf, Sellers and Wayne.
“We are delighted to present this wonderful collection of images to the visitors at The Forbes Galleries, and to celebrate the iconic people who have played such an important role in a century and a half of Monte-Carlo style,” said Maguy Maccario Doyle, consul general and director of the Monaco Government Tourist Office (North America).
“The story of Monte-Carlo started 150 years ago on a rocky hill where farmers grew olive trees and shepherds led their flocks to graze. In 1863, Prince Charles III established, by Sovereign Decree, the Société des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers, now known as Monte-Carlo SBM, and launched the Casino de Monte-Carlo, marking a turning point in Monaco’s history. In the ensuing years, luxury hotels and restaurants opened their doors, and the legend of Monte-Carlo (Mount Charles) has flourished ever since.”
Juxtaposing this black and white collection is Forever Monte-Carlo by renowned Italian photographer and video-maker Gea Casolaro. In this series of original artworks commissioned by Monte-Carlo SBM to celebrate their 150th anniversary, personalities from the past, who helped forge the legend and shape the dream that Monte-Carlo embodies, merge with the present. Casolaro plays with the notions of space and time by overlapping two images marked by a shared place and telescoping them into a single image, the past becomes the present. The black and white portions of each image are from the archives of Monte-Carlo SBM and the color portions feature current Monte-Carlo SBM employees who cheerfully volunteered to pose for the artist.
“With Forever Monte-Carlo I wanted to pay tribute to all the people who have contributed, and are contributing every day, to keep the myth of the Principality alive, from big stars to all of the people working behind the scenes,” Casolaro said.
Casolaro, who lives and works in Italy and France has exhibited her work in many important European galleries in London, Milan, Potsdam, Prato, Rome, and many others along with prestigious venues in countries around the world including Turkey, India, New Zealand, and China since 1994 In 2009, the artist was selected to be a resident at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris. Her project explored relationships between cinema and daily life in the French capital.
Also included in Timeless Monaco are two whimsical works — Gamblers in the Casino at Monte-Carlo (1905) and Roulette at Monte-Carlo (1909) — by famous 19th century French illustrator and caricaturist, Georges Goursat, known as SEM (1863–1934), who rose to fame during the Belle Époque era. He published three Monte-Carlo series in the early 1900s depicting the high society of the time.
With its sunny skies, sparkling Mediterranean Sea and sumptuous architecture, Monaco has been a premiere location for movie-makers since the early days of cinema. To accompany this extraordinary collection of still images, a montage of 150 clips from films shot in the Principality and compiled by students from The Factory film school in Lyon, France, called Monte-Carlo Fait Son Cinéma (“Monte-Carlo At The Movies”), will be screened in the Galleries’ Club Room.
Monte-Carlo Legends follows the success of another recent photographic exhibition, Mythical Monte-Carlo, which showcases the remarkable architecture of this captivating Principality as seen through the lens of award-winning documentary photographer Gabriele Basilico (1944-2013). Mythical Monte-Carlo is on view at the French Institute Alliance Française (FIAF) Gallery in New York through August 23. (www.MonacoTakesNewYork.com)
Timeless Monaco and Monte-Carlo Legends are organized by the Consulate General of Monaco and the Monaco Government Tourist Office in New York, with Monte-Carlo SBM and Forbes Media, and with the support of Archives Monte-Carlo SBM, Archives of the Princely Palace of Monaco, Automobile Club de Monaco, Histoire d’Entreprises, The Forbes Galleries, The Gallery Apart, and the Princess Grace Foundation – USA. Additional support is provided by Champagne Paul Goerg, Le Club Diamant Rouge de Monaco, Nespresso USA, Swiss International Air Lines and Tesla.
Photo credit: La_troupedes_Ballets_du_Sporting_Club_1958 (c) Gea_Casolaro
LISTING SUMMARY
| What: | Monte-Carlo Legends and Forever Monte-Carlo Photographic Exhibitions |
| When: | Saturday, August 10 – Saturday, September 28, 2013 |
| Where: | The Forbes Galleries – 62 Fifth Avenue (at 12th Street), New York City |
| Admission: | Free and open to the public: Tues–Sat: 10:00am – 4:00pm |
| Information: Transportation: | www.ForbesGalleries.com | 212- 206-5549 www.MonacoTakesNewYork.comSubway: From the East Side of Manhattan: Take 4, 5, 6, N, R train to 14th St. and walk two blocks west to Fifth Ave. then continue walking two blocks south to 12th St. From the West Side of Manhattan: Take A, C, E, B, D, 1, or 9 train to 14th St. then walk East to Fifth Ave. and continue two blocks south to 12th St. Bus: From uptown locations take M1, M2, M3 bus down Fifth Ave. to 14th St. and walk two blocks south to 12th St. From downtown locations: take M6 bus up Sixth Ave. to 14th St. and walk one block east and two blocks south. |
