Contemporary works by artists including Andy Warhol, Ed Ruscha, Jim Dine and Keith Haring will be auctioned Friday at 7 p.m. at Installations One Gallery, 15821 Ventura Blvd., Encino. Proceeds will go to the Midnight Mission, a shelter for the homeless. Information: (818) 905-7355, Ext. 1255.
A grant workshop for the L.A. County Transportation Commission's Art for Rail Transit Program will be held on Tuesday from 3-5 p.m. at Watts Towers Arts Center, 1727 E. 107th St. Five visual artists and a number of performing artists will be commissioned to take part in the program's July 14-15 Metro Blue Line Opening Arts Celebration. The grant application deadline for the commissions is this Friday. Information: (213) 236-9570.
Two lectures on the art of Vincent van Gogh will be given at USC's Dickson Art Center Auditorium Saturday in celebration of the Van Gogh centennial. "Sunflowers in Art and Literature" will be the topic from 9 a.m.-noon, and "Van Gogh's Vision of Nature" will be discussed from 1:30-3:30 p.m. Both lectures will be taught by art historian John C. MacGregor IV. The cost for both lectures is $15, with an optional lunch available for $18. Reservations are required. Information: (213) 633-6321.
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The Palm Springs Desert Museum has added an oil painting by Bay Area artist Nathan Oliveira to its permanent collection. The work, "Untitled, Standing Figure I," features a haunting silhouette, painted mostly in browns and contrasted against a neutral background enlivened with areas of vibrant color. It is the sixth piece of contemporary California art purchased by the museum, and it was selected from a group of works by Oliveira, Viola Frey and Stephen de Staebler.
May 31 is the slide deadline for entries in the Los Angeles Printmaking Society's 1990 11th National Exhibition. The biannual competition is open to printmakers residing in the United States and Canada and the juror will be Santa Monica-based artist Laddie John Dill. At least $3,000 in purchase awards will be given and the exhibition will run from Nov. 13-Dec. 15 at Loyola Marymount University's Laband Art Gallery. The entry fee for non-members is $15 for a total of six slides. Information: (818) 982-1088.
Responding to criticism about the planned sale of Thomas Eakins' 1885 painting, "The Swimming Hole," the Modern Art Museum of Ft. Worth has withdrawn the work from Sotheby's New York auction on May 24. The painting--valued at $10 million to $15 million--will be sold privately to assure that it remains on permanent public exhibition in Ft. Worth. The museum, which collects American art made after 1940 and European art after 1920, will use proceeds of the sale for its acquisitions fund.
\o7 Times Staff Writer Suzanne Muchnic contributed to this column.\f7
