♪ >>> COMING UP ON "NYC ARTS," A VISIT TO THE RESTORED ELDRIDGE STREET SYNAGOGUE ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE.

NOW HOME TO THE MUSEUM OF ELDRIDGE STREET AND A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK.

>> IT IS THE SYMBOL OF JEWS COMING TO AMERICA AND BECOMING AMERICAN JEWS.

AND IT STANDS FOR THAT.

IT SYMBOLIZES THAT FOR ALL JEWS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

>> AND WE'LL TRAVEL UPTOWN TO THE GUGGENHEIM TO LOOK AT THE EXHIBITION "VASILY KANDINSKY: AROUND THE CIRCLE."

>> KANDINSKY WAS A RUSSIAN-BORN ARTIST WHO PURSUED ARTISTIC CAREER AT AGE OF 30 AFTER ABANDONING A PROMISING LAW CAREER.

HE'S WORKING IN MORE EXPRESSIVE MANNER, BLUE MOUNTAIN ANCHORING THE BACKGROUND.

AND FOREGROUND, SERIES OF HORSE AND RIDERS.

CAN ALMOST FEEL THE WIND RUSTLING THROUGH THE RIDERS' HAIR.

>>> FUNDING FOR "NYC ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THEA PETSCHEK IERVOLINO FOUNDATION, THE LEWIS "SONNY" TURNER FUND FOR DANCE, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION, JODY AND JOHN ARNHOLD, ELISE JAFFE AND JEFFREY BROWN, CHARLES AND VALERIE DIKER, THE NANCY SIDEWATER FOUNDATION, THE MILTON AND SALLY AVERY ARTS FOUNDATION, ELROY AND TERRY KRUMHOLZ FOUNDATION, AND ELLEN AND JAMES S. MARCUS.

THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY MEMBERS OF 13.

"NYC ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY -- >> FIRST REPUBLIC BANK PRESENTS, FIRST BANKS FIRST.

AT FIRST REPUBLIC BANK, "FIRST" REFERS TO OUR FIRST PRIORITY, THE CLIENTS WHO WALK THROUGH OUR DOORS.

THE FIRST STEP, RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY CLIENT IS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH UNIQUE NEEDS.

FIRST DECREE.

BE A BANK WHOSE CURRENCY IS SERVICE IN THE FORM OF PERSONAL BANKING.

THIS WAS FIRST REPUBLIC'S MISSION FROM OUR VERY FIRST DAY.

IT'S STILL THE FIRST THING ON OUR MINDS.

>> AND BY -- >> BY SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES.

WE HAVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT AUCTIONS, OFFERING VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE ARTS SINCE 1941, WORKING TO COMBINE KNOWLEDGE WITH ACCESSIBILITY, WHETHER YOU'RE A LIFELONG COLLECTOR, A FIRST-TIME BUYER, OR LOOKING TO SELL.

INFORMATION AT SWANNGALLERIES.COM.

♪ >>> GOOD EVENING, WELCOME TO "NYC ARTS."

I'M PHILIPPE DE MONTEBELLO, ON LOCATION AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM, LOCATED AT 5th AVENUE AND 92nd STREET ON NEW YORK'S FAMED MUSEUM MILE.

IT IS A DESTINATION FOR ART AND JEWISH CULTURE FOR PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS.

FOUNDED IN 1904, THE MUSEUM WAS THE FIRST INSTITUTION OF ITS KIND IN THE UNITED STATES, AND IS ONE OF THE OLDEST JEWISH MUSEUMS IN THE WORLD.

DEVOTED TO EXPLORING ART AND JEWISH CULTURE FROM ANCIENT TO CONTEMPORARY, THE MUSEUM OFFERS EXHIBITIONS AND PROGRAMS FOR VISITORS OF ALL AGES.

IT ALSO MAINTAINS A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF NEARLY 30,000 WORKS OF ART, CEREMONIAL OBJECTS AND MEDIA, REFLECTING THE JEWISH EXPERIENCE FOR MORE THAN 4,000 YEARS.

IN ADDITION TO SELECTIONS FROM PERMANENT COLLECTION, SPECIAL EXHIBITIONS ARE FREQUENTLY ON VIEW.

"THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES" HERE IN THE SECOND FLOOR GALLERIES TELLS THE STORY OF THE EPHRUSSI FAMILY, ONE OF THE MOST PROMINENT JEWISH FAMILIES IN EUROPE IN 19th AND EARLIER 20th CENTURIES.

THE EXHIBITION FOLLOWS THEM OVER GENERATIONS FROM PARIS TO VIENNA AND ACROSS CONTINENTS.

AS THE FAMILY'S WEALTH GREW WITH SOCIAL STATUS, BUILT A COLLECTION, INCLUDING PAINTINGS BY FRAGONARD, CLAUDE MONET, BERTHE MORISOT, GUSTAVE MOREAU AND PIERRE-AUGUSTE RENOIR.

THE EPHRUSSI FAMILY ALSO BECAME A TARGET OF ANTI-SEMITISM IN PERIOD LEADING UP TO WORLD WAR II.

THEY WENT INTO EXILE LOSING FORTUNE AND COLLECTIONS TO NAZI LOOTING AND THEY WERE UNABLE TO RECOVER MUCH OF THEIR PROPERTY AFTER THE WAR.

FORTUNATELY PART OF THEIR DECORATIVE ARTS COLLECTION IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF EDMUND DE WAAL, AUTHOR OF THE MEMOIR, "THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES."

HE IS THE MOST RECENT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY TO INHERIT THE COLLECTION AND LENDER TO THIS EXHIBITION.

"THE HARE WITH AMBER EYES" IS ALSO THE NAME GIVEN TO ONE OF THE OBJECTS IN JAPANESE NETSUKE, ONE OF THE MINIATURE CARVED SCULPTURES FROM THE EDO PERIOD ON VIEW HERE.

HANDED DOWN THROUGH GENERATIONS, IT SERVES AS POIGNANT SECTIONS BETWEEN THE PAST AND THE PRESENT.

ALSO ON VIEW IS THE EXHIBITION "JONAS MEKAS: THE CAMERA WAS ALWAYS RUNNING."

THIS IS THE FIRST MUSEUM SURVEY OF THE LITHUANIAN-BORN FILMMAKER, POET AND CRITIC WHO HELPED SHAPE THE AVANT-GARDE IN NEW YORK CITY AND BEYOND.

THE EXHIBITION COINCIDES WITH THE CENTENNIAL OF MEKAS.

ARCHIVAL MATERIALS THAT EXPLORE THE IMPORT OF HIS ART IN THE FIELD OF MOVING IMAGE.

DURING THE FINAL MONTHS OF WORLD WAR II, MEKAS WAS FORCED TO FLEE HIS NATIVE COUNTRY DUE TO SOVIET AND NAZI OCCUPATION.

HE WAS UNABLE TO RETURN UNTIL 1971.

EVEN AFTER MAKING HOME IN NEW YORK, BETWEEN EXILE AND CREATIVITY IS THE HEART OF HIS WORK.

IN OUR PROGRAM WE LOOK AT INSTITUTION WITH GREAT SIGNIFICANCE FOR COMMUNITIES AROUND THE WORLD SEEKING REFUGE AND HOPE FOR BETTER FUTURE.

DURING THE LATE 19th AND EARLY 20th CENTURIES, 2.5 MILLION EASTERN EUROPEAN JEWS CAME TO THE UNITED STATES, AND EASTERN SIDE OF MANHATTAN BECAME THEIR HOMELAND.

FLEEING PERSECUTION, POVERTY, RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WAS A NEW CONCEPT.

RESULTING IN BUILDING OF SYNAGOGUES.

ONLY A FEW STILL STANDING.

ELDRIDGE STREET SYNAGOGUE OPENED.

IT PROVIDED INSPIRING CONTRAST TO THE CROWDED TENEMENTS OF ITS MEMBERS.

FOR 50 YEARS THIS CONGREGATION FLOURISHED.

BUT AS THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGED, THE BUILDING FELL INTO DISREPAIR AND WAS CLOSE TO COLLAPSE.

HOWEVER BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF A DEDICATED FEW, IT WAS RESTORED TO ITS ORIGINAL CONDITION.

THE ELDRIDGE STREET SYNAGOGUE WAS DESIGNATED A NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK IN 1996, AND TODAY IT IS ALSO HOME TO THE MUSEUM AT ELDRIDGE STREET.

VISITORS FROM AROUND THE WORLD ARE WELCOME TO JOIN TOURS AND TALKS WHICH BRING TO LIFE BOTH THE OBSTACLES AND THE OPPORTUNITIES ALL IMMIGRANTS FACED AS THEY BUILT NEW LIVES IN THE NEW LAND.

♪ >> THERE WERE THREE GREAT WAVES OF JEWISH IMMIGRATION TO THIS COUNTRY.

IN 1600s, SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE.

LATE 1700s AND 1800S, AND THEN IN THE LATE 1900s, GREAT WAVE OF EAST EUROPEAN JEWS CAME TO THE LOWER EAST SIDE.

LIFE WAS TERRIBLE FOR JEWS IN THAT PART OF THE WORLD.

AND THEIR FREEDOM OF RELIGION WAS NONEXISTENT, AND THEY WERE REALLY IN GREAT PERIL.

COMING TO AMERICA, THEY SEIZED THE OPPORTUNITY TO HAVE RELIGIOUS FREEDOM.

THE LOWER EAST SIDE BECAME THE NEW HOME.

BUT LIFE WAS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT ON THE LOWER EAST SIDE.

HOUSING WAS VERY, VERY TIGHT, THE STREETS WERE VERY CROWDED AND DIRTY.

MOST OF THEM MADE THEIR LIVING PEDDLING, BUT TO BE ABLE TO SAY I'M HERE, I'M FREE, I'M ALLOWED TO BE WHO I WANT TO BE, AND I CAN WORSHIP OPENLY.

THIS WAS REMARKABLE FOR THESE PEOPLE.

AND THAT'S WHAT THIS BUILDING REPRESENTS.

♪ THERE WERE VERY FEW SYNAGOGUES BUILT AS THIS ONE WAS.

THERE WERE MANY, MANY STOREFRONTS AND CHURCH CONVERTED SYNAGOGUES, AND PEOPLE PARADE IN TH PRAYED IN THEIR HOMES.

BUT THIS WAS THE GRAND SYNAGOGUE BUILT BY EAST EUROPEAN JEWS AS A SYNAGOGUE.

AND YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN HOW THIS PLACE WAS BUILT WITH SUCH EXUBERANCE.

AND THIS SYNAGOGUE WAS REALLY WELCOMING PEOPLE FROM ALL AREAS OF EAST EUROPE.

THE ARCHITECTS OF THIS BUILDING WERE NOT JEWISH, THEY WERE THE HERDER BROTHERS, THIS IS THE FIRST AND ONLY SYNAGOGUE THAT THEY DESIGNED.

IT IS A MOORISH RENAISSANCE DESIGN, AND IT'S QUITE DIFFERENT THAN OTHER SYNAGOGUES THAT JEWS HAD COME FROM.

WHEN YOU ARE STANDING ON THE STREET LOOKING AT THE FACADE, YOU SEE THE BEAUTIFUL, ROUND STAINED GLASS WINDOW WITH 12 ROSETTES REPRESENTING THE 12 TRIBES OF ISRAEL.

DIRECTLY UNDERNEATH ARE FIVE BEAUTIFUL ARCHES SYMBOLIC OF THE FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES, THERE ARE FOUR DOORS REPRESENTING THE FOUR MATRIARCHS -- SARAH, REBECCA, LEAH AND RACHEL.

THE BUILDING ITSELF IS AN ORTHODOX SYNAGOGUE WITH SEPARATE SEATING FOR WOMEN AND MEN, WOMEN IN THE BALCONY, MEN IN THE MAIN SANCTUARY.

IT CAN SEAT 750 PEOPLE.

IN ITS DAY ON THE HIGH HOLY DAYS, THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WOULD COME, ACTUALLY NEEDED A POLICE PRESENCE TO CONTAIN ALL THE PEOPLE.

CONGREGATION WAS VERY MIXED CONGREGATION IN TERMS OF FINANCIAL RESOURCES.

THERE WERE SOME VERY WEALTHY PEOPLE WHO BUILT AND HELPED SUSTAIN THE PLACE, AND THEN THERE WERE MANY, MANY PEOPLE WHO HAD VERY LIMITED RESOURCES IF ANY.

THE PLACE WAS ALSO USED FOR ACTIVITY FOR POLITICAL DISCUSSIONS, FOR DISCUSSIONS OF HOW TO BECOME AMERICANIZED AND YET KEEP YOUR CULTURE.

IT WAS AN IMPORTANT, IMPORTANT PLACE FOR OPEN DISCUSSION AND DIALOGUE FOR PEOPLE WHO WERE NEW IN A NEW COUNTRY.

♪ IN THE EARLY DAYS, THERE WAS NO RABBI HERE.

THE CONGREGATION HAD LAY LEADERSHIP, AND THEY BROUGHT A CANTOR FROM EAST EUROPE AND THE CANTOR BECAME THE ONE WHO LED THE SERVICES, AS WELL AS SAYING THE HYMNS AND PRAYERS.

♪ [ SINGING IN FOREIGN LANGUAGE ] ♪ >> MY VERY FAVORITE ARTIFACT IN THIS BUILDING IS THE TZEDAKAH BOX.

THAT MEANS CHARITY.

JEWISH LAW SAYS THERE'S RELIGIOUS OBLIGATION TO GIVE.

NO MATTER HOW RICH OR POOR ONE SHOULD GIVE ANONYMOUSLY.

WHAT'S UNIQUE ABOUT THIS ARTIFACT, IT'S A TWO-SIDED TZEDAKAH BOX.

MEN GAVE ON ONE SIDE AND WOMEN GAVE ON THE OTHER SIDE.

EACH SLOT THOUGH WAS DESIGNATED FOR A SPECIFIC TYPE OF CHARITY.

AND ALL THE MONEY, WHETHER IT WENT ON THE WOMEN'S SIDE OR THE MEN'S SIDE, FILTERED TOGETHER.

AND WAS USED FOR THE DESIGNATED CHARITY.

THE 1970s WAS A VERY, VERY SAD TIME IN THE LOWER EAST SIDE.

IT WAS BASICALLY A SLUM.

AND BECAUSE SO MANY OF THE JEWS HAD MOVED OUT AND MOVED ON, THIS PLACE REALLY FELL INTO GREAT DISREPAIR.

IT WAS TRULY NEAR COLLAPSE.

THE ROOF HAD WATER COMING THROUGH IT, PIGEONS FLYING THROUGH.

THERE WAS NO HEAT, THE STAIRCASE WAS COMPROMISED AND THE BUILDING WAS NEGLECTED.

IT WAS NEGLECTED BECAUSE OF RESOURCES.

SO THEY LOCKED THE SANCTUARY AND PRAYER CONTINUED ON THE LOWER LEVEL AS IT DOES TODAY.

TOOK A LOT OF MONEY TO RESTORE THIS BUILDING.

AND IT TOOK A LOT OF TIME TO RAISE THAT MONEY.

IT WAS WHEN COMPLETED $20 MILLION AND 20 YEARS PLUS TO BRING IT BACK TO LIFE.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS THEY'D RAISE ENOUGH MONEY TO DO THE ROOF.

THEN THERE WOULD BE A PERIOD OF TIME THEY WERE RAISING MONEY, DIDN'T HAVE ENOUGH TO DO THE NEXT PIECE OF THE RESTORATION.

SO THE REASON IT TOOK SO LONG WAS BECAUSE THE FUNDRAISING WAS ERRATIC.

THE FIRST TIME I WALKED IN THIS BUILDING 8 1/2 YEARS AGO I COULD NOT BELIEVE MY EYES.

THERE WAS SCAFFOLDING UP TO THE OCULI, NO PEWS, NO LIGHTS IN HERE.

PAINTING WAS NOT FINISHED, THE WINDOWS WERE ALL OUT.

AND THIS WAS AFTER 17 YEARS OF RESTORATION.

WHAT WAS THRILLING FOR ME PERSONALLY WAS TO SEE ALL THE ARTISANS HERE.

IT WAS SUCH A DIVERSE GROUP OF PEOPLE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD WORKING ON THIS BUILDING AS A LABOR OF LOVE.

AND YOU COULD FEEL THE EXCITEMENT THAT THERE WAS GOING TO BE COMPLETION.

THE WINDOWS THAT WERE OUT WERE BEING RESTORED.

AND THE BENCHES THAT WERE OUT WE'RE GOING TO COME BACK.

FOR ALL THESE ARTISANS, THERE WAS A DEADLINE FOR REDEDICATION.

AND THAT STIMULATED EVERYBODY'S EXCITEMENT THAT WE ARE GOING TO RESTORE THIS BUILDING, AND IT WILL HAVE A NEW LIFE.

AND WE WILL BE ABLE TO TELL THE STORY.

MANY, MANY PEOPLE HAVE ASKED THE QUESTION -- WHY SAVE THIS PLACE IN THE HEART OF CHINATOWN TODAY WHEN THERE ARE VERY FEW JEWS WHO LIVE HERE OR EVEN PRAY HERE?

WHY?

AND THE QUESTION REALLY IS VERY SIMPLE TO ANSWER.

IT IS THE SYMBOL OF JEWS COMING TO AMERICA AND BECOMING AMERICAN JEWS.

AND IT STANDS FOR THAT.

IT SYMBOLIZES THAT FOR ALL JEWS THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

TODAY WE HAVE OTHER 40,000 DIVERSE VISITORS, MANY ARE JEWS, MANY ARE NOT.

ABOUT 25% OF OUR VISITORSHIP TODAY ARE INTERNATIONAL.

MANY HAVE NEVER WALKED INTO A SYNAGOGUE BEFORE, AND OUR EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS REALLY TALK ABOUT HOW LIFE CHANGES FOR PEOPLE WHEN THEY COME TO A NEW COUNTRY.

OUR CULTURAL PROGRAMS TODAY ARE VERY DIVERSE.

WE HAVE CONCERTS, WE HAVE LECTURES, WE HAVE CLASSES.

BUT OUR VISITORSHIP IS VERY DIVERSE AND OPEN TO ALL.

THIS BUILDING STANDS AS A TESTAMENT TO JEWISH CULTURAL TRAITS.

THE NEED TO REMEMBER, THE IMPULSE TO CELEBRATE, AND THE OBLIGATION TO INSTRUCT.

>>> RUSSIAN PAINTER VASILY KANDINSKY HAS ALWAYS BEEN A CENTRAL FIGURE IN THE HISTORY OF THE GUGGENHEIM.

SO MUCH SO HE EVEN HELPED INSPIRE THE DESIGN OF THE ICONIC SPIRAL ROTUNDA.

THE TITLE OF THE EXHIBITION -- "VASILY KANDINSKY: AROUND THE CIRCLE" -- MAKES A SUBTLE NOD TO THIS CONNECTION WHILE ALSO SUGGESTING A LESS LINEAR INTERPRETATION OF HIS CAREER.

THE EXHIBIT GOES BEYOND KANDINSKY'S STYLE TO OFFER A MORE EXPANSIVE AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING VIEW OF HIS WORK.

♪ >> I THINK WHEN PEOPLE FIRST THINK OF KANDINSKY, IT'S THE CIRCLES, TRIANGLES AND SQUARES, PULSATING GEOMETRY.

BUT HE'S AN ARTIST THAT IS REINVENTING HIMSELF AT EVERY TURN.

WE ARE IN THE EXHIBITION, "VASILY KANDINSKY: AROUND THE CIRCLE" AT THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM.

THIS IS A COMPREHENSIVE EXHIBITION OF OVER 70 WATERCOLORS, DRAWINGS, WOOD CUTS AND PAINTINGS FROM THE GUGGENHEIM'S COLLECTION.

AND THAT'S REALLY A TESTAMENT TO OUR FOUNDERS, SOLOMON R. GUGGENHEIM AND HIS ART HILLA REBAY.

BEGAN COLLECTING HIS WORK IN LATE 1920s.

KANDINSKY WAS RUSSIAN-BORN ARTIST WHO DECIDED TO PURSUE ARTISTIC CAREER AT AGE OF 30 AFTER ABANDONING A PROMISING LAW CAREER.

COMES TO MUNICH, A VIBRANT CULTURAL CENTER AND NEXUS OF THE AVANT-GARDE.

"BLUE MOUNTAIN," 1909, MORE EXPRESSIONISTIC MANNER.

BLUE MOUNTAIN ANCHORING THE BACKGROUND AND IN THE FOREGROUND, HORSE AND RIDERS, CAN ALMOST FEEL THE WIND RUSTLING THROUGH THE RIDERS' HAIR.

KANDINSKY AT THIS MOMENT WAS STILL FINDING HIMSELF AS ARTIST, WORKING IN MORE REPRESENTATIONAL ROUND, BUT BECOMING LOOSER WITH BRUSHWORK, MOVING TOWARDS THIS PLACE WHERE IMAGERY IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN THOSE COLORS, LINE AND FORM.

IN JUST A FEW SHORT YEARS HE WILL COME TO THIS MORE ABSTRACT STYLE.

1913 WAS VERY IMPORTANT YEAR FOR KANDINSKY.

HE WOULD COMPLETE WHAT HE CALLED HIS FIRST TRULY NONREPRESENTATIONAL ABSTRACT CANVASSES.

PAINTING WITH WHITE BORDERS IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT YEAR, ON THE PRECIPICE, ABOUT TO JUMP OFF THAT CLIFF BUT HASN'T DONE SO QUITE YET.

IMAGERY IS LOOSE, LOT OF SWIRLING, DYNAMIC BRUSHWORK IN THERE.

JUST A FEW MONTHS PRIOR IN THE FALL OF 1912, HE HAD RETURNED TO NATIVE MOSCOW.

WHEN HE COMES BACK TO MUNICH, HE WRITES HE WANTED TO CAPTURE THAT SENSATION, THAT FEELING OF MOSCOW ITSELF.

THERE'S A CALLIGRAPHIC IMAGE OF A TROIKA.

THERE'S ST. GEORGE, PATRON SAINT OF MOSCOW, WITH LANCE AND DRAGON.

THIS IS WORK THAT UNDERSCORES THE WAYS IN WHICH MEMORY AND PLACE INFUSE KANDINSKY'S WORK.

♪ "COMPOSITION 8" IS A PAINTING FROM 1923.

THE YEAR PRIOR, KANDINSKY JOINS FACULTY AT THE BAUHAUS, A PROGRESSIVE ART SCHOOL FOUNDED AFTER THE FIRST WORLD WAR.

THIS PAINTING REALLY EPITOMIZES HIS STYLE IN THIS MOMENT, A MORE GEOMETRIC LANGUAGE, CIRCLE, SQUARE, TRIANGLE, LINE.

THERE IS THIS WONDERFUL ENERGY TO THE CANVAS, PULSATING BETWEEN CALM AND AGGRESSIVE.

GEOMETRY THAT REALLY TAKES US INTO THIS OTHER DIMENSION.

SEVERAL CIRCLES FROM 1926 IS ANOTHER PAINTING FROM KANDINSKY'S SO-CALLED BAUHAUS PERIOD.

FOR KANDINSKY, THE CIRCLE WAS A SHAPE THAT REPRESENTED BALANCE AND HARMONY.

IN THIS WORK IT'S HARD NOT TO THINK OF THE COSMOS, OF ANOTHER DIMENSION, A MORE SPIRITUAL REALM.

AR "AROUND THE CIRCLE" FROM 1940, A L LATE LIFE PAINTING.

IN PARIS, HE WRITES THAT LIGHT OF PARIS EXPANDED HIS PALETTE, WE SEE PASTELS COMING TO FORE, USING WHIMSICAL, BIOMORPHIC IMAGERY.

FOR ME IT BRINGS EVERYTHING TOGETHER, WAYS HE'S GOING BACK TO EARLIER MOMENTS IN HIS CAREER.

SEE SUSTAINED INTEREST IN FOLKLORE, PERHAPS SHAMANIC IMAGERY, DRAWING FROM NARRATIVES OF METAMORPHOSIS AND TRANSFORMATION.

LATE IN LIFE, THINKING ABOUT SPIRITUAL ASCENDANCE AND TRANSFORMATION.

HIS STORY IS ONE OF ADAPTATION, CONSTANT DISPLACEMENT AS HE ADAPTS TO EACH NEW SURROUNDING.

ULTIMATELY A STORY OF RESILIENCE, AND IT WAS GROUNDBREAKING, SET THE STAGE FOR SO MANY MORE ARTISTIC ADVANCEMENTS THROUGH THE NEXT DECADES.

♪ >>> NEXT WEEK ON "NYC ARTS."

VISIT TO THE STUDIO OF A MODERN DAY VIOLIN MAKER TO SEE THE DELICATE PROCESS INVOLVED IN CREATING AN OUTSTANDING INSTRUMENT.

>> EVERY VIOLIN I MAKE, I KEEP EXHAUSTIVE RECORDS ON, EVERY ASPECT I CAN.

IF INSTRUMENT OF MINE COMES BACK AND REALLY LIKE IT, I HAVE RECORD OF WHAT I DID.

>> AND LOOK AT EXHIBITION "EPIC ABSTRACTION: FROM POLLOCK TO HERRERA" NOW ON VIEW AT THE MET.

>> THE PAINTING SERVES AS KIND OF INVENTORY OR CATALOG OF PAINTERS STROKES.

SOME THICK, SOME THIN, SOME STABLE, SOME STRONG, OTHERS FLUID, OTHERS WEAK.

>> I HOPE YOU'VE ENJOYED OUR PROGRAM THIS EVENING.

I'M PHILIPPE DE MONTEBELLO ON LOCATION AT THE JEWISH MUSEUM.

GOOD NIGHT AND SEE YOU NEXT TIME.

♪ ♪ >>> FUNDING FOR "NYC ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE BY -- THEA PETSCHEK IERVOLINO FOUNDATION, THE LEWIS "SONNY" TURNER FUND FOR DANCE, THE AMBROSE MONELL FOUNDATION, JODY AND JOHN ARNHOLD, ELISE JAFFE AND JEFFREY BROWN, CHARLES AND VALERIE DIKER, THE NANCY SIDEWATER FOUNDATION, THE MILTON AND SALLY AVERY ARTS FOUNDATION, ELROY AND TERRY KRUMHOLZ FOUNDATION, AND ELLEN AND JAMES S. MARCUS.

THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY PUBLIC FUNDS FROM THE NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF CULTURAL AFFAIRS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY MEMBERS OF 13.

"NYC ARTS" IS MADE POSSIBLE IN PART BY -- >> FIRST REPUBLIC BANK PRESENTS, FIRST BANKS FIRST.

AT FIRST REPUBLIC BANK, "FIRST" REFERS TO OUR FIRST PRIORITY, THE CLIENTS WHO WALK THROUGH OUR DOORS.

THE FIRST STEP, RECOGNIZE THAT EVERY CLIENT IS AN INDIVIDUAL WITH UNIQUE NEEDS.

FIRST DECREE.

BE A BANK WHOSE CURRENCY IS SERVICE IN THE FORM OF PERSONAL BANKING.

THIS WAS FIRST REPUBLIC'S MISSION FROM OUR VERY FIRST DAY.

IT'S STILL THE FIRST THING ON OUR MINDS.

>> AND BY -- >> SWANN AUCTION GALLERIES.

WE HAVE A DIFFERENT WAY OF LOOKING AT AUCTIONS, OFFERING VINTAGE BOOKS AND FINE ARTS SINCE 1941, WORKING TO COMBINE KNOWLEDGE WITH ACCESSIBILITY, WHETHER YOU'RE A LIFELONG COLLECTOR, A FIRST-TIME BUYER, OR LOOKING TO SELL.

INFORMATION AT SWANNGALLERIES.COM.