Joseph Clayes III and Rotunda Galleries
Verdi's Aida Through the Eyes of Zandra Rhodes: Zandra Rhodes
On view April 10 through May 15, 2010
Opening Reception with Zandra Rhodes on Friday, April 9, 6:30-8:30 PM
Free Admission

Get a behind-the-scenes look at the sketchbooks, costume drawings and outfits that Zandra Rhodes created for Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida. The internationally acclaimed, famed fashion designer was commissioned by Opera Pacific, in 2004, to design the sets and costumes for their production of Aida, directed by John Demaine Maine. Zandra's concept originated from a trip she made to Egypt in 1986. She became fascinated with Egypt's color palette of turquoise, gold, orange and ultramarine; the spectacular jewelry and the pleated figure hugging dresses of the pharaohs. This sneak preview highlights a portion of the more than 150 costumes that took Zandra over two and a half years to complete!

Zandra Rhodes, hand-drawn sketch of Aida set design

North Reading Room
Selections from the Athenaeum's Erika and Fred Torri Artists' Books Collection:
Leonard Baskin
On view April 10 through May 15
Opening Reception, Friday, April 9, 6:30-8:30 PM
Free Admission

Leonard Baskin was an artist in possession of enormous literary and visual vocabularies. Sculpture, children's book illustrator, watercolorist, printmaker, and master of artists' books, his lifetime body of work is truly impressive.