Painting Women

The Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art in Las Vegas has had some San Diego connections in the past through the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego. The current exhibition, Painting Women, has an East Coast connection, however, having traveled to the Bellagio from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Shows are beautifully curated in the Bellagio Gallery and Painting Women is no exception. On display through October 26, the works have been arranged according to themes, beginning with the 1870s, a period when fine arts training programs first became available to women, and progressing to the mid-20th century when modernity reigned as women embraced abstract expressionism. Magnificent pieces that span major art periods are shown — think Mary Cassatt, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Berthe Morisot. The series is introduced through a portrait by French painter Elisabeth Vigee Le Brun, a woman who paved the way for others, serving as a role model for artists highlighted in this exhibition.

Art & Wine events, held at the Bellagio the second Wednesday of every month, are delightful on several levels. Interesting people attend and the pairings of wine and art induce lively discussions among guests, all in an exquisite setting. But, the main event is the personal interaction with the creative work itself, in those moments alone with art and artist. (877.957.9777, www.bellagio.com)     DARLENE G. DAVIES