Arts talk

An honor and a pleasure

Monsieur Gilbert DesVoisins gazes at the world with an engaging mien in his 1761 portrait by Guillaume Voiriot. How appropriate that it was recently purchased by the Museum of Fine Arts in St. Petersburg in honor of another engaging individual, Michael Milkovich, who retired as director in 2001 and is now the museum's director emeritus.

The painting was unveiled at a reception on Thursday.

"We spent a lot of time thinking about a painting that would strengthen our collection and also honor Michael," said John Schloder, museum director. "I especially like the fact that the subject is a man of education and taste, like Michael."

Milkovich was the museum's director for almost 20 years. During that time, he added significant French paintings to the collection, but the museum has very few 18th century French or European portraits so, Portrait of M. Gilbert DesVoisins, Councillor of State in Ordinary is an important addition.

Milkovich has been busy since his retirement. He recently returned from a trip to his native Croatia to see family, with detours to London and France to "see some shows," he said.

Take a closer look

Before you love it or hate it, get a complete look at the new design for the $52-million Tampa Museum of Art. Architect Rafael Vinoly's model, along with large renderings, sketches and a computerized walk-through of the building, are on view at the museum, 600 N Ashley Dr. Call (813) 274-8130 for more information.

Modern dance company folds

Donald Byrd, the modern dance choreographer who grew up in Clearwater and whose company, Donald Byrd/The Group, performed frequently in the Tampa Bay area, has closed operations. The 10-member troupe, which appeared at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center in January, gave its final performance this month in Santa Fe, N.M. Byrd cited debt incurred in the creation of his acclaimed Harlem Nutcracker as the main reason for disbanding the company.

Byrd told the New York Times that the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 sounded the death knell for his New York-based company. "After Sept. 11, I felt like I didn't have any will left. I had been feeling for about a year that I was pushing a boulder uphill."

Playwrights, composers selected

LiveArts Penninsula Foundation and American Stage selected six playwrights and six composers to contribute to its upcoming project, The Floridians, a series of original one-act plays and songs focused on Florida people, events and themes. The playwrights: Lila Donnolo, Michael Updegraff, Bob Devin Jones, Bill Leavengood, Doug Cooney and Larry Parr. The composers: Danny Hamilton, Lee Ahlin, Peter Gallagher, Steven Coy Cook, Steve Blackwell and Bonnie Whitehurst.

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