NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART and the JACKSON POLLOCK CONNECTION

NATIONAL GALLERY OF ART

Andrew W. Mellon became one of the world's richest men and as a philanthropist began the National Gallery of Art.  His son Paul and Paul's wife Bunny continued their patronage and philanthropy of the art museum, a gift to our nation.

A tie in here at Mistress Manifesto is the art of Jackson Pollock, as in September 2012 his Mistress Ruth Kligman, also an artist, was our Mistress of the Month.  Use the Google search feature on the side bar for that month or posts about Pollock or Kligman!

JACKSON POLLOCK DOCUMENTARY

A long video... but watch a little!

RUTH KLIGMAN'S NEW YORK TIMES OBITUARY

It begins "Ruth Kligman, an abstract painter who for decades seemed to know everyone and be everywhere in the art world and who was the lone survivor of the 1956 car crash that killed Jackson Pollock, her lover at the time, died Monday at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx. She was 80 and lived in Manhattan..."


Ruth was an artist herself, and I find that women in the arts are never as well represented in galleries or museums as men artists. I have met a number of men with aspirations in the arts and music who have been or are kept, at least for a time. They may not be married, their keeper may not be married, but they are financed, introduced to people who can help them, and generally supported in other ways. None of these men has seemed to be the least bit apologetic or insecure. They seem to feel that their talent deserves support. - Missy

A FILM : POLLOCK : DOES AN ARTISTS NEED A WIFE AND A MISTRESS?

Linking to IMDb movie database which has the cast and crew list. Jackson is acted by Ed Harris, Marsha Gay Harden is Lee Krasner, Pollock's wife and Jennifer Connelly is Ruth Kligman the mistress... a little portion.

LOVE AFFAIR : A MEMOIR OF JACKSON POLLOCK BY RUTH KLIGMAN

RUTH KLIGMAN OFFICIAL WEB SITE

Here is the history of her art, for Ruth Kligman was also an artist, and influenced by artist Wilhem de Kooning.

A MISTRESS AND A WIFE FIGHT OVER A PAINTING : MISTRESS RUTH KLIGMAN

Vanity Fair - September issue - devotes an article to the story - and so I elect artist Jackson Pollock's mistress Ruth Kligman, as September's Mistress of the Month. As I've said before, there are plenty of historical mistresses, but there are also plenty of modern-day mistresses and they keep making the news if not history!

You know, most Americans claim to loath mistresses. While gay pride parades go happily down the street, the mistress is hidden away. It's presumed that the man is married, that he's rich, that it's heterosexual, that it's "just a fling," that he has a madonna - whore complex. Mistresses are called "home-wreckers," even though the marital relationship may have been "wrecked" for years. Sometimes these things are true, but mistresses are too common for them to always be true. For some people being in a love triangle is simply an alternative lifestyle. It's not for everyone. It's not always for long. And some common ordinary, even conservative women, have found themselves there when they least expected it would ever happen to them.

Despite the denial, films, books, and news about mistresses are just so interesting. Maybe it's just a great fantasy for some people. Maybe it's a lot about sex. Maybe the fiction mistress is safely far far away in a make believe place that even a wife enjoys the read. It's when a mistress isn't make believe that the uproar often starts.

Reading author's like psychologist Dr. Toni Grant, we learn that there is a bit of "Courtesan" in every woman, if she chooses to coax it out. Reading Rabbi Shmuley Boteach we learn that married couples can keep their relationship alive by pretending affairs. Reading Robert Greene we learn seduction is an art and science and philosophy.

Some of our mistresses have lives that are cautionary tales. Some have had a great ride and don't want to get off the roller coaster.

Linking to an interview of author Leslie M. M. Blume, whose Vanity Fair article introduces us to artist Jackson Pollock, his wife, and his mistress!

C 2012 Missy Rapport/ Mistress Manifesto All Rights Reserved ; International : Internet