Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art

The Bellagio hotel boasts some of Las Vegas’ biggest artistic masterpieces. The hotel lobby’s ceiling is adorned with a Dale Chihuly sculpture, commissioned exclusively for Bellagio. The piece, called Fiori di Como, is made of 2,000 colorful hand-blown glass flowers. The Picasso restaurant inside the Bellagio not only offers gourmet cuisine, but also surrounds diners with an extensive collection of original Picasso artwork.

But by far the largest display of art in the hotel can be found in the Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art. The gallery presents world-class exhibitions of art and objects drawn from internationally known museums and private collections. Past exhibitions have included Monet masterworks, Andy Warhol’s celebrity portraits, Faberge treasures from the Kremlin and Alexander Calder mobiles.

The gallery’s newest exhibit is titled  “American Modernism,” and it features more than 30 masterworks by American modernists. These carefully chosen works are among the most renowned paintings owned by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and are on loan for the exhibit.Visitors can enjoy this exhibit through Jan. 2, 2009.

The period known as American Modernism began at the turn of the 20^th century and reached its pinnacle between World War I and World War II.

At the time when Impressionism dominated American painting, many younger artists craved something unique and began to explore different arenas. These up-and-coming American artists became inspired with the vibrant and emotional artwork frequently seen in France and Germany. These artistic elements, also known as Modernism, became apparent in the United States in the early 20th century. While its exaggerated, unconventional style did not initially attract a lot of attention, Americans began to embrace it after seeing these works all over the country.

Notable artists in the Modernist period include Georgia O’Keeffe, Max Weber, Stuart Davis, Marsden Hartley, Helen Torr, Arshile Gorky and others.

Famed artist O’Keeffe began experimenting with painting by offering a subjective take on the traditional subject matter of still life and landscape. While she came from New York, a lot of her art draws inspiration from the Southwest. For O'Keeffe's "Deer's Skull with Pedernal," she took an animal's cranium and mounted it onto a twisted tree trunk. By painting a bright, vivid blue sky in the background, this contrasting element cleverly brings life to the skull. The gallery also features her New Mexico-inspired painting, "Red Tree, Yellow Sky." 

While Helen Torr didn't receive as much attention as other Modernists, critics (including O'Keeffe) admired her work that illustrated a gentle, profound take on life. Since she and her husband lived on a tiny boat without a lot of room to paint, her work from this time was typically small in scale. In Torr's oil painting "Evening Sounds," she combined the use of pastel and dark colors. "Evening Sounds" depicts a close-up view of lavender oval rocks in a Zen garden that appears to be drifting off into silvery space. While the painting itself is small in scale, the color scheme and abstract elements evokes a strong, dramatic feel.

Other notable works include Max Weber's "New York (The Liberty Tower from the Singer Building)," Leonard Maurer's "Out of Eden," Mardsen Harley's "Black Duck"and much more.

At the end of the exhibit, visitors can watch a film and browse through a variety of books about the featured artists.

For those wanting to take a little piece of the experience home with them, an adjacent store at the gallery offers a wide array of unique gift items, books, toys, jewelry and exhibition-related merchandise including a full-color exhibition catalogue.

-- Review by Jeannie Borbe