Bens, The Legendary Deli: McCord Museum

Bens, The Legendary Deli

June 19 - November 23, 2014

McCord Museum is presenting a new exhibition about the famous deli Bens Delicatessen, the very first of the Montreal's smoked meat restaurants. McCord is a History Museum, yet this exhibition is set as an artistic installation the purpose of which is to capture the past, and to show how that past had been lived at Bens. The exhibition presents over 100 objects, including posters, architectural plans, photos, counter stools, dishes, utensils, menus, recipes, and individual testimonials that recount the history of that unique landmark.

This exhibition had been enabled by the generous donation of Bens' memorabilia to the McCord Museum by the Kravitz family. It is overseen by Elliot Kravitz, shown in the photo below at the McCord's press conference, a grandson of Ben (Benjamin) Kravitz, the founder of the Bens.

Below is the example of the tables and chairs used at Bens. It is interesting to note that the interior décor and the colour scheme was designed by Ben's wife Fanny. She claimed she chose that specific colour scheme because it had been tested to create a great appetite, yet at the same it made people to leave the deli quickly, thus liberating the place for new customers. Fanny also invented a special device just for women: under every table's corner there was a hook for women to hang their purses.

Bens restaurant existed for close to 100 years, from 1898 until 2006, and had been a vibrant fixture of the city of Montreal throughout the 20th century. Its smoked meat, atmosphere, and décor earned it a local and international reputation that attracted many celebrities including, for instance, Michael Jackson and Catherine Deneuve.

Below are additional views of the exhibition.

The last picture offers a glimpse of the famous Poets' Corner with photos of poets who had dined at Bens and were the deli's patrons.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

For more information visit the McCord Museum's website:

http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/en

FABERGÉ at MMFA 2014

FABULOUS FABERGÉ
JEWELLER TO THE CZARS

June 14 - October 5, 2014

The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts is presenting the most important Fabergé collection outside Russia in an exclusive Canadian venue. 

The Russian jeweller Carl Fabergé (1846-1920) created precious objects for the Russian Czars Alexander III and Nicholas II in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The name of the Fabergé firm became synonymous with elegant craftsmanship and luxury jewellery. It is also associated with the final days of the Russian imperial family.

The exhibition features some 240 objects, including four of the most famous Royal Fabergé Easter eggs commissioned by the Romanovs, the Czar Nicholas II. They are all unique, one of the kind, as is the case of all Fabergé objects.

Below is a photo of a Fabergé Imperial Cesarevich Easter Egg with the Russian imperial double-headed eagle with the royal crown above it.

Large Fabergé eggs have a "surprise" inside them. The royal blue and golden egg's "surprise" is a diamond-clad royal double-headed eagle with the portrait of the imperial heir, Prince Alexei, son of the Czar Nicholas II. The royal crown hovers above the prince's head, yet he was never destined to become a king because all the royal family was murdered right after the Russian revolution.

Below is another Fabergé egg featured at the exhibition. It is Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg. It has on the outside two portraits: one is of the Russian Czar Peter the Great (Peter I), the other is the portrait of the last Russian Czar Nicholas II. Inside, there is a miniature replica of the Saint Petersburg's large sculpture of Peter the Great on a horseback.

Below is a detail of the Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg.

The exhibition also features enamelled picture frames, clocks, gold cigarette cases and knobs for walking canes, rock-crystal flowers, caskets and brooches encrusted with rubies. They still continue to fascinate as they did when they first appeared in the windows of the Fabergé stores in Saint Petersburg, Moscow, and London.

This exhibition was organized by the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond in collaboration with the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.

The exhibition features a wealth of documentation on the history and tradition of the Orthodox Russia, the techniques of the House of Fabergé, and also those who forged Fabergé works.

Click on any image to enlarge it.

For more information, visit the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts's website:

http://www.mbam.qc.ca/en