What ever happened to Baby Jane?
Not Bette Davis' Baby Jane, that horrifying child star turned cosmetically challenged psychopath, but the young model known throughout the 1960s as 'Baby Jane' Holzer. The Palm Beach native -- and her role as artist Andy Warhol's friend, confidante and collaborator -- is the focus of an exhibit now showing at the Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach.
"To Jane, Love Andy: Warhol's First Superstar" explores Holzer's rise as one of the most famous faces of the '60s and a member of Warhol's famous Factory, the studio that attracted hipsters and artists of every kind.
Fashions from Holzer’s career as a model are exhibited, as well as photographs by David Bailey, Nat Finkelstein, Billy Name, and Irving Penn, to name a few. Also on display are Warhol paintings, sculptures, prints and films featuring her as “Baby Jane."
Holzer was already an established model when she and the guy with the alarming shock of white-blonde hair were first introduced by a mutual friend in 1963 New York City. Before long, Holzer was appearing in a number of Warhol's experimental films. They remained friends until Warhol's death in 1987.
Exhibition-related programs include:
- Art 101 mini-course, "Warhol’s ‘60s": This three-part course looks at the heyday of Warhol’s Factory and other contemporary approaches to art that continue to resonate today; gallery discussions and power-point presentations led by museum staff, 1 to 3 p.m. on three consecutive Wednesdays: Feb. 26, March 5, and March 12. Registration is $75 for members and $100 for non-members. Call 561-832-5196 ex. 1113.
- "To Jane, Love Andy" Curator’s Conversation at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 27: Organizing curator for the exhibition, Cheryl Brutvan, leads a discussion of the exhibition during Art After Dark.
- "Cinema of the ‘60s" series, beginning 6:30 p.m. March 20: Film scholar, author, and former Palm Beach Post books editor Scott Eyman screens cutting-edge films by some of the most daring filmmakers working in New York during the '60s. Each screening will be followed by a discussion. The series opens during Art After Dark with D.A. Pennebaker’s "Don’t Look Back," a documentary about Bob Dylan’s 1965 U.K. concert tour, and closes on April 17 with films by Warhol.
To Jane, Love Andy: Warhol's First Superstar, until May 25 at the Norton Museum of Art, 1451 South Olive Ave., West Palm Beach, 561-832-5196
