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The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is currently presenting the exhibition ‘The American West in Bronze: 1850-1925.’ The show explores the aesthetic tastes, technical achievements and cultural attitudes that led American artists to create bronze statuettes depicting scenes of the new frontier.

The works on view cover a variety of themes including nostalgia and the struggles faced by Native Americans, the region’s wildlife and settlers during the transformative time. The exhibition’s 65 sculptures and three paintings are divided into four sections -- American Indians, Wildlife, Cowboys and Settlers. Highlights include James Earle Fraser’s ‘End of the Trail,’ Alexander Phimister Proctor’s ‘Stalking Panther,’ and Frederic Remington’s ‘The Mountain Man.”

‘The American West in Bronze: 1850-1925’ will be on view at the Met through April 13, 2014.

The Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, VT has organized an exhibition that explores the use of extreme perspectives, unconventional angles and powerful narratives in works by N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), his son, Andrew (1917-2009) and Andrew’s son, Jamie (b. 1946). Wyeth Vertigo presents nearly 40 works from one of the most influential families in modern American art.

Highlights include the Shelburne’s own monumental painting by Andrew Wyeth, Soaring (1942-1950), and 39 works on loan from institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as well as from private collections including those of the Wyeth family. Thomas Denenberg, The Shelburne Museum’s director and co-curator of the show, said, “The exhibition expands our understanding of the work of each Wyeth, while tracing a key theme that unifies the generations. Imaginative, playful, thoughtful, somber – at times even magical, the work of the Wyeths tells the story of twentieth-century America.”

Wyeth Vertigo will be on view at the Shelburne Museum through October 31, 2013 and is complemented by an exhibition catalogue published by the University Press of New England.

Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure, which is now on view at the National Gallery in London, presents the art of Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) and his contemporaries alongside rare musical instruments and songbooks. A reoccurring theme in Dutch painting, the presence of a musical instrument represented a variety of things such as the social position of the sitter if present in a portrait.

The paintings on display include the National Gallery’s two works by Vermeer, A Young Woman Standing at a Virginal and A Young Woman Seated at a Virginal; The Guitar Player, which is on loan from the Kenwood House in north London; the Royal Collection’s Music Lesson; and a work from a private collection. In total, the exhibition present 5 of the 36 Vermeer paintings known to exist. A selection of music-themed paintings by other Dutch golden age artists such as Jan Steen (1626-1679) and Pieter de Hooch (1629-1684) complement the Vermeer works. Musical instruments on view include a virginal (a type of harpsichord), lutes and an extravagantly decorated guitar.

Vermeer and Music: The Art of Love and Leisure will be on view at the National Gallery through September 8, 2013 in the museum’s Sainsbury Wing.

In honor of Art Museum Day, approximately 180 art institutions across the United States will offer free entry or reduced admission rates on May 18, 2013. The event, which is in its 4^th year, was planned by the Association of Art Museum Directors and is meant to unite the organization’s members. Many institutions will also offer special events and programming in honor of Art Museum Day, which coincides with International Museum Day for countries outside of the U.S.

Participating institutions include some of the most renowned museums in the country such as the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles), the Phillips Collection (Washington, D.C.), the High Museum of Art (Atlanta), the Art Institute of Chicago, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (New York), and the Frick Collection (New York). A full list of participating museums can be seen here.

This year’s Art Museum Day theme is museums (memory + creativity) = social change.

Atlanta’s High Museum of Art has joined forces with the Art Gallery of Ontario to present the exhibition Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting. The show, which features approximately 140 works by the Mexican modernists Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) and Diego Rivera (1996-1957), includes works from Mexico’s Museo Dolores Olmedo, the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of Mexican Art, and the Galeria Arvil. The works are presented in pairs based on chronology and theme including Mexican identity, maternity, and portraiture.

Kahlo and Rivera, who married in 1929, were known for their tumultuous relationship as well as their involvement in Mexican politics and culture. Frida & Diego aims to take the focus off of the personal lives and explore the ways in which they influenced each other as artists.

Frida & Diego: Passion, Politics, and Painting will be on view through May 12, 2013. The High Museum of Art is the only museum in the U.S. to host the exhibition, which is the largest presentation of the couple’s art ever to appear together.

On January 21, 2013, the Cleveland Museum of Art opened Gallery One, an interactive gallery that brings together art and technology to enhance as well as personalize each museum visitor’s experience. Gallery One features the largest multi-touch screen in the United States, which displays images of over 3,500 objects from the institution’s permanent collection. Known as the Collection Wall, the touchscreen spans 40 feet and helps patrons create their own tactile tour of the museum while rotating works according to theme, time period, and technique.

Gallery One, which includes works by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), Auguste Rodin (1840-1917), and Chuck Close (b. 1940), employs different hands-on activities to engage visitors using the power of technology. For example, one game asks viewers to recreate the poses of sculptures in the museum’s collection; the ArtLens ipad application illustrates how works of art were made, where they came from, and what inspired their creation. The ArtLens application uses image recognition software and allows visitors to scan objects and access additional multimedia content such as audio tours and educational information for up to 9 hours after their visit.

David Franklin, the Cleveland Museum’s Sarah S. and Alexander M. Cutler Director, said, “Gallery One offers an unparalleled experience for visitors of all ages. The space connects art and people, art and ideas, and people with people…we are especially proud to lead the way internationally in using technology to enhance and customize the art museum experience.”