Thanks to MIT's membership at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts (MFA), MIT students can visit the new Monet exhibit for a discount rate of $5.
Monet in the 20th Century, the first major exhibition devoted exclusively to the later works of impressionist artist Claude Monet, is on view at the MFA -- the only US venue -- until December 27. (Regular ticket prices are $17.50 for weekends and $15 for weekdays.)
The student discount tickets can be purchased in person at the MFA's Monet box office upon presentation of a valid full-time MIT student ID. The tickets are valid only Monday through Friday between noon and closing and are subject to availability.
The Institute's MFA membership is funded annually by the Council for the Arts at MIT. Through this program, MIT students can enjoy the regular exhibitions and cultural programs for free and receive a 10 percent discount at the Museum bookstore and gift shop by presenting a current student ID at the Museum. MIT employees can borrow one of eight membership passes for free admission to the MFA. No staff discounts are available for the Monet exhibition. For more information, call x3-4003.
Visitors who peruse the 272-page exhibition catalogue for the Monet show will find, amidst the water lilies, an essay by MIT Associate Professor of Architecture Michael Leja on the Monet revival in the 1950s.
"One of my fields is the 1940s and 1950s, which happens to be the time when the revival of interest in Monet took shape," said Professor Leja, an art historian who wrote a book on Abstract Expressionism, also known as The New York School.
"The curator of the Monet show, Paul Tucker, invited me to tell the story of how Monet came to be interesting again after decades of disinterest among artists, curators and collectors. That story has a lot to do with the Abstract Expressionist painters," said Professor Leja. Nicole Michel, a senior in arhictecture, assisted him in his research for the essay as part of a UROP project.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on September 23, 1998.
