Oprah Winfrey | The New York Observer

Opening This Weekend: Jim Carrey Gets Mean, George Clooney Gets Silly and Precious Gets Controversial

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:28:51 -0500

It looks like all it took for some movies that you actually might consider seeing to get released into theaters was a flip of the calendar. The first full weekend of November arrives with no less than five new films, and, as usual, there is something for everyone. As we do every Friday, here's a handy guide to the new releases.

A Christmas Carol

What's the story: Are you ready for Christmas? Yeah, we...

Not So Fast! Kathy Freston Sets the Pace at Overheated Cleansing Party

Thu, 07 May 2009 11:38:11 -0400

The downstairs area of Pure Yoga on the Upper East Side, where the lifestyle expert Kathy Freston celebrated the publication of her new wellness book, The Quantum Wellness Cleanse, on Wednesday, May 6, was a collision of important Manhattan men, many of whom were friends of her husband, former Viacom CEO Tom Freston.

While the women went off to mingle over cucumber cocktails and discuss Ms. Freston's useful diet tips—pardon us, it's not a diet...

Morning Memo: Jeffrey Epstein on the Loose; Socialista Shut Down; It's Oprah's Party

Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:08:15 -0500

After watching surveillance videos, Paris Hilton said that she believes the burglar who stole $2 million in jewelry from her was someone familiar with her house. [Us Weekly]

Jennifer Lopez used to send her assistant on tour with husband Marc Anthony to make sure he didn't cheat on her. Unsurprisingly, the couple seems to be having problems. [P6]

Socialista, which is located on the bottom floor of the apparently rat- and asbestos-infested Jane Street...

Taylor Momsen: 'Blondie Changed My Life!'

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:04:28 -0500

Last night, at the opening of The Annex, a SoHo satellite of Cleveland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Daily Transom found itself on the red carpet with Gossip Girl Taylor Momsen; later that evening, Debbie Harry of Blondie and Dave Mason from Traffic were to perform.

"Blondie like changed my life!" Ms. Momsen said, excitedly swaying back and forth at us. She was proudly wearing head-to-ankle vintage--a silver smock dress and gold...

Can Oprah Save Newspapers?

Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:34:44 -0500

Since at least the mid-90s, Oprah Winfrey has been credited with reigniting the publishing industry with her Oprah's Book Club. More recently, she's done her best to boost sales of Amazon's Kindle. But can the most powerful woman in media save daily newspapers? (Please.)

The Chicago Sun-Times' Mark Bieganski sure hopes so. In a blog post on his paper's Oprah blog, Mr. Bieganski does a little victory dance over Ms. Winfrey's endorsement of......

Feet Feat

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 11:30:41 -0500

Dance Theater celebrates its 50th anniversary with a gala performance at City Center on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the company dancers will have plenty to jeté about. For one, Oprah is hosting!

Then there are the fabulous outfits they’re wearing to the after-party, to be held at the Metropolitan Ballroom. Each of the 14 female performances will be specially outfitted in animal-printed Badgley Mischka (some dresses have feathers, too); male dancers are being dressed...

Report: Hearst Closing Down Oprah's O at Home Magazine

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 11:58:32 -0500

Last night, Oprah Winfrey made her much-hyped guest appearance on NBC's 30 Rock, playing herself. At one point, 30 Rock's Liz Lemon (played by star and showrunner Tina Fey), high on a tranquilizer, says to Ms. Winfrey, "I didn't get my September issue of O Magazine. Do you have the number for subscriptions?"

If Ms. Lemon had a subscription to O's companion magazine, O at Home, she'll have to wait a long time....

Morning Memo: Naomi Campbell Cuts the Line; Oprah Winfrey's Victory Speech Neighbor; Obama to Model?

Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:44:28 -0500

Bravely disregarding their own safety, travelers at Kennedy Airport booed temperamental model Naomi Campbell as she cut in front of around 200 people to go to the front of the passport checking line. Ms. Campbell's lawyer says the special treatment was for "security reasons." [R&M]

Sam Perry, the random campaign worker whose shoulder Oprah Winfrey was photographed crying on during Barack Obama's acceptance speech, will appear on her show today. [US Weekly]

More to look...

Morning Memo: Barack Obama's Star-Studded Victory Party; Tim Robbins's Voting Debacle; The National Enquirer Plays (Very) Dirty

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:41:29 -0500

Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Will.I.Am, and Star Jones were among the celebrities who attended Barack Obama's victory rally in Chicago's Grant Park last night. Ms. Winfrey called the win "the greatest experience of [her] lifetime." [US Weekly]

An indignant Tim Robbins spent five hours attempting to vote yesterday after a registration mix-up that eventually required the attention of two police officers and the Board of Elections. [R&M]

The red and black dress Michelle...

Oprah: 'There Are No Words'

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:10:25 -0500

Chicago—Exclusive! Oprah Winfrey’s dreams have come true.

Asked how she felt tonight as she walked into a V.I.P. tent here at Grant Park, Winfrey answered, “There are no words. It’s sort of like the culmination of a world of dreams. It’s everybody’s dream. It’s everybody who has come before me and before him and everybody who will benefit from his hopefulness. It’s amazing.”...

Morning Memo: Barack Obama Confers With Oprah; Justin Long Downgrades; Lindsay Lohan Gets Out the Vote

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 09:33:22 -0500

Barack Obama did some last minute strategizing in a Monday morning conference call that included Oprah Winfrey and Sean "Diddy" Combs (also Donna Brazile, House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, and Rev. Joseph Lowery). [R&M]

Lindsay Lohan is once again harnessing the power of Myspace to remind fans to vote. [People]

Justin Long, who previously dated Kirsten Dunst and Drew Barrymore, was spotted making out with, uh, Tila Tequila. [P6]

Charlize Theron settled her $20 million lawsuit...

The Transom in Print, Oct. 15, 2008: Socialite Halloween!; Kim Hastreiter's Book on Geoffrey Beene; Chris Wilson's Tall Tale

Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:15:44 -0400

Irina Aleksander called around to find out the costumes prominent New Yorkers are wearing this Halloween. Celerie Kemble's going to need a lot of hairspray!

Ms. Aleksander also moseyed down to Diane von Furstenberg's meatpacking district store, where the fashion empress was throwing a party for Paper mag's Kim Hastreiter's new book about Geoffrey Beene.

And Spencer Morgan rang his old friend Chris Wilson to find out the real story behind his scandalous tale of...

All Is Forgiven: Esquire Names Banned Author 'Most Influential'

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 14:43:35 -0400

Looks like Esquire has finally forgiven Dave Eggers.

In 2001, writing in The New York Times 'Style' section, Anna Holmes offered a rundown of words and phrases banned by various publications. Among the offerings:

David Granger, the editor in chief of Esquire, forbids ''Dubya,'' ''at risk'' and ''Eggers,'' the last because he had a falling-out with the novelist David Eggers, who worked at Esquire before he was...

Sarah Palin Is Not One of Oprah's Favorite Things

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:13:10 -0400

According to a statement released to TMZ, Oprah Winfrey will not be inviting Republican Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin onto her show.

Ms. Winfrey's statement was made on the heels of a Drudge Report report that "Oprah's staff is sharply divided on the merits of booking Sarah Palin..."

Here's what Ms. Winfrey told TMZ:

The item in today's Drudge Report is categorically untrue. There has been absolutely no discussion about having Sarah Palin...

Will Oprah Be 30 Rock's Miracle?

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:26:00 -0400

When a television comedy gets overloaded with stunt casting, it usually means the show is just not funny and thus has to over-compensate by dangling shiny objects in front of viewers' faces. Think Will & Grace. "Look there's Matt Damon! And that's Demi Moore! Oh, I love Michael Douglas!"

With 30 Rock, it's the opposite. It's pretty much the funniest show on television, hands down. [Though we also love Samantha Who?....

ZOMG Oprah

Fri, 29 Aug 2008 10:32:43 -0400

While we're waiting to find out whether this can possibly be true... Here's what it looked like for the Obama (and Oprah) fans in the box behind section 103 at Invesco Field....

Morning Memo: Uma Engaged; Oprah Snubbed

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:23:32 -0400

Uma Thurman is reportedly engaged to financier Arpad Busson. [NY Daily News]

Those awkward photos of Sean Avery standing shirtless in a fashion closet at Men's Vogue mysteriously disappeared from the magazine's Web site. [Radar]

Graydon Carter, Jann Wenner, Tom Wolfe, Jimmy Buffet, Gay Talese and others gathered at the Waverly Inn on Wednesday to celebrate Gonzo, a Carter-produced documentary about the life...

Oprah's Chef May Cook for Obama

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 14:01:06 -0400

When Oprah Winfrey endorsed Barack Obama, she probably didn't expect him to snag her personal chef once he went off to the White House.

Gael Greene is reporting on her Insatiable Critic blog that the Chicago-based chef Art Smith, employed by Oprah as her personal chef for a decade, may become Sen. Obama's personal chef if he gets elected.

This past Sunday, Mr. Smith reportedly catered a Mexican meal for Sen. Obama, and Mr. Smith's...

Departing Sunday Observer Books Editor Recalls the Past 10 Years of Literary History

Mon, 26 May 2008 12:03:24 -0400

Robert McCrum, literary editor of the UK Sunday paper The Observer, stepped down this month after a decade on the job. Yesterday he deployed a parting shot both wistful and sober-minded. "When I joined The Observer in 1996, the world of books was in limbo between hot metal and cool word processing, " he writes, with a nostalgia that comes off not a little anachronistic, considering we're talking about 1996 here and not 1958....

Department of Justice Approves Sirius-XM Merger

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 17:15:27 -0400

The Associated Press reports that The Justice Department has approved Sirius Satellite Radio's plan to buy its rival, XM Satellite Radio, for $5 billion.

Sirius, which is home to Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Judith Regan, The Rolling Stones, and others, will incorporate XM's programming which includes Oprah Winfrey, E!, and Fox News.

"After a careful and thorough review of the proposed transaction, the [Justice Department's Antitrust] Division concluded that the evidence does...

Did Oprah's Dead Dog Sophie Inspire Gayle King's New Penthouse?

Mon, 24 Mar 2008 15:13:08 -0400

In January, the Post reported that Oprah Winfrey's best friend, Gayle King, had bought a penthouse at the Place 57 condo on East 57th Street for "approximately $7.4 million."

The deed for the deal just surfaced in city records, and it turns out that the three-bedroom, two-fireplace apartment was bought in the name of SOPHIE'S PENTHOUSE LLC, which seems to refer to Oprah's famous cocker spaniel Sophie. Maybe the women's television guru thought the...

Kirstie Alley Inks Talk Show Deal With Oprah

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 15:05:07 -0400

Kirstie Alley is trading Jenny for Oprah. Ms. Alley has inked a TV development deal with Oprah's Harpo Productions, with a daily talk show under consideration, according to Variety. The deal comes after a series of high-profile appearances on Oprah's show (remember when she wore a bikini after reaching her goal weight with Jenny Craig?). Ms. Alley told Variety that she's hoping to come up with "something totally fresh" with Harpo. "I'm very open...

Maria Shriver Endorses Obama

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 18:09:15 -0500

LOS ANGELES—This could be big.

Maria Shriver, the first lady of California (wife of Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger) just endorsed Barack Obama on a stage here at an event at UCLA with Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and her cousin Caroline Kennedy.

Shriver, the daughter of Eunice Kennedy, John F. Kennedy's sister, said that above her computer in her office she keeps a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt that said “Do one...

Sculptor Daniel Edwards Bronzes Oprah

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 13:51:21 -0500

While Oprah was "breaking new ground" with her "boldest" Book Club choice yet: A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle, American sculptor Daniel Edwards was revealing a new King-Tut like Bronze statue of the media queen. Mr. Edwards is that guy who made that weirdo sculpture of Britney giving birth a couple years ago (remember that?). "Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston" was considered Pro-Life's first monument...

Oprah Gets Her OWN Channel

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 17:05:06 -0500

Oprah Winfrey continues her quest to take over the world! The media queen is partnering with Discovery Channel to start "OWN: The Oprah Winfrey Network." Ms. Winfrey is already running her own TV show, production company, magazine and Web site, and will be the chairman of OWN, set to start airing programming in 2009. The companies said it was a cashless deal, but did not disclose other financial details. OWN will also seek a...

Oprah Winfrey's Blessing Aside, Tommy Hilfiger Still Haunted by Racism Rumors

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 12:19:11 -0500

False rumors that Tommy Hilfiger voiced regret over his clothing’s popularity in the African-American community dogged him for years. It took nothing short of a blessing from Oprah Winfrey to make them go away. Except, it seems, they didn’t go away at all.

Clothing label Frank Fuller Classic, apparently a sort of wannabe prep outfitter with a CK Bradley style sense, took out an advertisement...

Weekend in Review: Chelsea, Dorothy, Oprah

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 18:27:57 -0500

The top Democratic presidential candidates brought out some of their more powerful symbolic stumpers this weekend. To counter Barack Obama’s breathlessly awaited Oprah event in Iowa, Hillary Clinton campaigned with both her generally press-shy daughter Chelsea and her mother, Dorothy Rodham.

Clinton also sent her husband, who arguably has as much star power as Oprah, to South Carolina. In New Hampshire, the Clinton team dispatched the former secretary of the Navy to deliver a speech...

Oprah Makes Obama's Case in Iowa

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 07:41:09 -0500

DES MOINES, Iowa, Dec. 9—Oprah Winfrey made her long-awaited debut on the campaign trail with Barack Obama yesterday, pulling a crowd estimated by the Obama campaign at around 20,000 to downtown Des Moines despite driving sleet and fierce cold.

Echoing a line of argument regularly used by Mr. Obama to contrast his candidacy with Hillary Clinton’s, Ms. Winfrey said “I’m so tired of politics as usual” and added, “That’s why you seldom see politicians on...

Spanx Me, Baby!

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 20:07:12 -0500

Kate S., 27, a slim, attractive event planner who lives in Chinatown, was recently getting dressed for a high-profile party. “I always wear a black pinstriped suit,” she said. “I give away my womanly rights to wear stilettos and a low-cut shirt, so I have do something, you know? I knew there would be men around. You don’t want to look like a corporate person; you want your hiney to look cute.”

And so she...

'Bama Can You Hear Me? Babs Goes Funny For Hillary After All

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 16:46:43 -0500

Barbra Streisand just put a rain cloud over Barack Obama’s parade, offering her endorsement, for what it’s worth, to Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign. Having donated to Mr. Obama as well as to his fellow Democratic hopeful, John Edwards, in the recent past, Ms. Streisand settled any lingering speculation today. The 65-year-old entertainer—as was just reported on our sister blog, The Politicker—shared her somewhat dramatic sentiments with Ms. Clinton’s campaign, which then...

Oprah Winfrey Smooths Abuse Wrinkle in South Africa

Mon, 26 Nov 2007 15:02:31 -0500

It has been a tough day for Oprah Winfrey in the press, but things might be looking up for the supposed subject of a new biting exposé. Ms. Winfrey made a “secret visit” yesterday to Henley-on-Klip, near Johannesburg in South Africa, where she visited her recently scandalized Leadership Academy Girls School. (Last month, a 12-year-old student’s allegations of sexual abuse at the hands of a school employee were made...

Oprah Launches YouTube Channel

Fri, 02 Nov 2007 11:44:17 -0400

Oprah launched her own YouTube channel here. You can watch exclusive (and ridiculously cheesy) videos of Oprah's production staff presenting a skateboarding bulldog and P.Diddy announcing his search for a new assistant. His special requirements: "You gotta know how to read, you gotta know how to write."

According to Broadcasting & Cable:

According to Winfrey, the channel will feature “exclusive video including video I made myself just for YouTube, what’s coming up on my...

It's Official: Oprah Picks Love In the Time of Cholera

Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:21:20 -0400

As predicted, Oprah's 59th book club pick is Gabriel Garcia Marquez's 1988 novel Love in the Time of Cholera, according to a press release just sent out by Vintage.

"Cholera” is the second Marquez book Oprah has chosen for her club (the first was 100 Years of Solitude back in 2004). The timing is good: New Line/Stone Village Pictures will release a film adaptation of the book next month.

...

Oprah’s Obama Endorsement Could Sway Some Dems, Survey Says

Fri, 21 Sep 2007 10:54:11 -0400

Back in August The Observer wondered whether Oprah Winfrey could convince people to vote for her favorite presidential candidate as effectively as she could get them to read her favorite book. Asked whether the endorsement would have any effect on the election, most commentators told The Observer it would, as it’d give Sen. Obama all kinds of crucial votes from the millions of impressionable, middle-aged ladies who watch Oprah’s show.

...

Reconstructing Frey

Tue, 18 Sep 2007 20:38:19 -0400

At 5:15 on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 29, James Frey informed his fans, in strikingly confident terms, that he had finished his first novel. “Done,” he wrote on his blog. “To be released in 2008.”

Two weeks later, The Wall Street Journal broke the news that Jonathan Burnham of HarperCollins had acquired the book after Mr. Frey’s highly regarded new agent, Eric Simonoff of Janklow & Nesbit—who also represents Jhumpa Lahiri and...

Oprah Cranks Up the Obama Machine

Tue, 07 Aug 2007 19:40:38 -0400

If you picked it up with a pair of tweezers and plopped it down in a sterile laboratory environment, the conversation which took place between Oprah Winfrey and Barack Obama on Oct. 18, 2006, probably wouldn’t look so good under a microscope.

Here were two people with impeccably manicured public images bemoaning the calculated spin of politics. Two professionally driven people paying homage to life outside of work. If you tested the...

Hey, Hey, It’s the CFDA’s! Oprah … Uma … and Oscar de la Renta!

Tue, 05 Jun 2007 20:16:58 -0400

“When the dress arrived, I said, ‘I’m going to have to name her,’” Oprah Winfrey told the crowd at the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s annual awards at the New York Public Library on Monday, June 4, speaking of the ankle-length pink wrap ball gown that designer Ralph Lauren had created specifically for Ms. Winfrey to present him with the American Fashion Legend Award.

Mr. Lauren also won Menswear Designer of the Year....

Oprah, Elie: TiVos Go on Overdrive as Waldorf Fills With Swells … on a Sunday!

Tue, 22 May 2007 21:09:51 -0400

It’s hard to imagine two people whose combined influence could get more important people off their couches and over to the Waldorf-Astoria on a Sunday night (May 20) than Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel and talk-show hostess Oprah Winfrey, who was being honored by Mr. Wiesel’s foundation.

For once the tip sheet was true: Dustin Hoffman, Ron Howard, Diana Ross, Edie Falco, David Bowie—everyone was there (even, somewhat incongruously,...

Tonight: Buying the War, 9 P.M., PBS

Wed, 25 Apr 2007 17:33:44 -0400

In the fall of 2002, during the run up to the war in Iraq, Oprah Winfrey devoted a portion of one of her shows to answering a pressing international question. Do the Iraqi people want America to liberate them from Saddam Hussein?

Ms. Winfrey posed the question to Entifadh Qanbar, a spokesperson for the Iraqi National Congress—an erstwhile group of Iraqi exiles led by Ahmed Chalabi that, at the time, was busy lobbying the American...

Oprah To Help Tommy Hilfiger Refute Pesky Racism Rumor

Tue, 24 Apr 2007 22:30:27 -0400

In the wake of the Don Imus “nappy-headed hos” scandal, fashion designer Tommy Hilfiger wants to get something straight.

“There’s a rumor about me being a racist,” Mr. Hilfiger told The Transom on Thursday, April 19, at real-estate developer Josh Guberman’s launch of his new boutique condominium complex on East 84th Street. The rumor in question started many years ago, as an anonymous item circulated on the Internet. It alleged that Mr....

Dreamgirls Wakes Up

Sun, 03 Dec 2006 19:00:00 -0500

“She killed it!” excitedly exclaimed a male audience member, filing out of the Loews theater on 34th Street on Nov. 21, after an early screening of Dreamgirls, the $70 million–plus joint release from Paramount/DreamWorks.

He was referring to Jennifer Hudson’s rendition of the iconic Broadway torch song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” five mellifluous, molto vibrato minutes that have suddenly catapulted Ms. Hudson, 25, an erstwhile failed American Idol contestant...

New Times Newsroom Still Low-Slung

Sun, 15 Oct 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Are you feeling lucky, Nicholas Kristof? When The New York Times moves to its new Eighth Avenue headquarters next year, the 10th floor will become the 13th floor. Progress is not sentimental. So next spring, the opinion-page offices will be pried out of their ornate and ancient home on the upper floors of West 43rd Street to take their place on the not-at-all-upper floors of Renzo Piano’s 52-story futuristic tower. For generations, the layout...

Monday: Welcome to Hearst's Watery Wonderland, Welcome to Opera Ikea

Mon, 09 Oct 2006 04:30:22 -0400

NY architects, circa 1880 [Metrop.] How do you get Mayor Bloomberg, S.I. Newhouse, Arthur Sulzberger, and Ms. Oprah Winfrey in one room together? Cathy Black has the answer--tonight she's hosting the grand opening gala for the new Norman Foster-designed Hearst Tower. These days, $500 million buys you a rainwater waterfall (there's also "The Wave"), and rainwater buys you a "green" certificate. (See below...) (NY Post) After his hippy Tribeca rock club closed down, Peter Shapiro...

Forgotten But Not Gone

Thu, 21 Sep 2006 06:41:02 -0400

I'm not sure it qualifies as politics-related at this point, but in case you missed it and you're still at all curious... here's Jim McGreevey on Oprah. -- Azi...

Kinder, Gentler Lit Crit, With Tips on 'Real Life'

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Remember when literary criticism was a frightening discipline, austere and combative? Its devotees were in the grip of implacable theory, or buried deep in the “text”—that sunless realm where books are forgotten, readers irrelevant and authors dead. Split into feuding factions, the high priests of lit crit were imposing figures who spoke in tongues, made a fetish of obscure facts and issued all-encompassing edicts. They were also, it seemed, at war with the rest...

Kinder, Gentler Lit Crit, With Tips on ‘Real Life’

Sun, 20 Aug 2006 20:00:00 -0400

Cosmo Gets Prized Spot in Hearst Tower

Fri, 21 Apr 2006 07:15:00 -0400

Office assignments went out yesterday to the more than 2,000 employees of Hearst magazines, with Cosmopolitan getting the highest floor for any individual title, reports the New York Post. (It's sort of like that moment in the summer when you get the best homeroom assignment, except with Central Park views). Since two mechanical floors are situated on the top, the 44th floor is devoted to lavish conference rooms, and the 43rd will...

See Ya' Later, Gray Hair!

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 12:47:55 -0500

AIMEE: I'm embarrassed to say I've never gotten my hair colored. Ever. I never even experimented with any of those hairdyes in a box that kids used to get at the drug store in high school. And I'm convinced I'm the only woman in Manhattan without highlights. But all that's about to change.... Sandra at the Jeffrey Stein Salon patiently answers the same questions over again as she runs her fingers through...

Cook and Carlyle: Last of the Best

Sun, 19 Mar 2006 19:00:00 -0500

Barbara Cook is always opening somewhere. This is good for those of you who are still interested in hearing what the most beautiful voice on the cabaret planet sounds like. But this is bad for those of us who get paid to write abut her. Every time she works Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center or a jazz club lit by neon, I tell myself, “I’ll pass; I’ll hold off awhile.” I mean, what else...

Munch’s Nightmarish Narcissism Prophesied Century’s Obsessions

Sun, 12 Mar 2006 19:00:00 -0500

Here’s an ironclad guarantee: Visitors to Edvard Munch: The Modern Life of the Soul, an overview of paintings, drawings and prints by the Norwegian artist at the Museum of Modern Art, will snap to attention upon entering the second gallery of the exhibition. The canvases that greet the viewer there—Despair (1892), Angst (1894) and Evening on Karl Johan Street (1892)—won’t necessarily be identifiable as individual pictures, though the latter two should be familiar to...