Also this issue: World Warp At Arcadia, the art of making subtle changes. -Robin Rice Artsbeat -Debra Auspitz Inga Saffron Reading -Mike Gainer Critical Mass -Deni Kasrel Traveling Wares -Helen i-lin Hwang Red Dot -Debra Auspitz The Magic Fire -David Anthony Fox

December 19-25, 2002

artpicks

Lure of the West

If you're too pressed for time this season to take a trip to D.C. to check out the Smithsonian American Art Museum, don't fret -- 64 works from the museum are coming to town. Well, to Delaware. "Lure of the West: Treasures from the Smithsonian American Art Museum" features work by American artists made from the 1820s through the 1940s. All of the work centers on images of the American West, from grand landscapes to American Indian and Hispanic cultures. The exhibit is part of a national program through the Smithsonian, "Treasures to Go," taking art from the capital to the rest of the country in eight separate exhibitions. This will be the first traveling show to visit Wilmington's Delaware Art Museum in its temporary location at the First USA Riverfront Arts Center (the museum's home is undergoing extensive renovations). Since the Smithsonian was founded in 1846 it has played a part in America's fascination with the West, and the art in this show covers that initial excitement and exploration, and also the later iconic images that make up modern definitions of "the Old West." Take advantage of this convenient way to check out these "treasures."

Dec. 20-Feb. 16, $2.50-$7, Delaware Art Museum at the First USA Riverfront Arts Center, 800 S. Madison St., Wilmington, 302-571-9590.

—Debra Auspitz