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The Best of Cleveland - Retro-Futurist Art

You’re walking through the Cleveland Museum of Art’s new, ultraglassy wing, marveling at its sleek, avant garde spaciousness, the way it makes you feel like you’re in a much bigger city. Then you abruptly step into the neoclassical 1916 wing and face a painting that looks like a put-on. A guy in 19th-century clothing and futuristic green eyeshades looks at you, coolly and googly-eyed. Your mind wonders if it’s a joke, like a Mohawked Mona Lisa. Check out the plaque: It’sNathaniel Olds, an 1837 portrait by Jeptha Homer Wade, a traveling portrait artist who changed careers, moved to Cleveland, founded the Western Union telegraph company, became wildly rich, and got Wade Oval named after him. The glasses? People wore them often 170 years ago to shield their eyes from the piercingly white light of argand lamps, which burned whale oil. The curator says it’s by accident, but the painting provides a strange welcome by straddling past and present at the spot where the museum itself time-warps.11150 East Blvd., Cleveland; (216) 421-7350; clevelandart.org

best of cleveland

12:00 AM EST

September 24, 2008

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Story:

Colleen Mytnick
Beth Stallings
Andy Netzel
Anne Hartman
Katie Kuehn
Emily Ouzts
Jim Vickers
Amber Matheson
Erick Trickey
Kim Schneider
Jennifer Bowen
Steve Gleydura
Jennifer Keirn
Heide Aungst
Chuck Bowen
Samantha Pirc
Adam Griffiths
Aman

Editor:

Jim Vickers

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