Timeless Monaco Exhibition Showcases Past & Present Stars In This Iconic Destination

NEW YORK, Aug. 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Grace, Cary, and Audrey join Churchill, Dali, Sinatra and some of the most famous names of the stage, screen and sports in an extraordinary retrospective combining two-photographic-exhibitions-in-one to celebrate the fabled 150-year history of Monte-Carlo, open now through September 28 at The Forbes Galleries at 62 Fifth Avenue in New York City, free and open to the public.

Monaco's Consulate General and Tourist Office in New York present Monte-Carlo Legends, a celebration of vintage images featuring iconic personalities from the past who have helped write the Monte-Carlo story. Sourced from the archives of the Prince's Palace, Monte-Carlo SBM and the Automobile Club of Monaco, sporting greats including Juan Fangio, Stirling Moss, Graham Hill, Suzanne Lenglen and Fred Alexander, pose alongside international cultural icons of the 20^th century who are so well-known they only need one name: Balanchine, Burton, Chaplin, Colette, Cocteau, Hitchcock, McQueen, Nureyev, Piaf, Sellers and Wayne.

"We are delighted to present this wonderful collection of images to the visitors at The Forbes Galleries, and to celebrate the iconic people who have played such an important role in a century and a half of Monte-Carlo style," said Maguy Maccario Doyle, consul general and director of the Monaco Government Tourist Office (North America).

"The story of Monte-Carlo started 150 years ago on a rocky hill where farmers grew olive trees and shepherds led their flocks to graze. In 1863, Prince Charles III established, by Sovereign Decree, the Societe des Bains de Mer et du Cercle des Etrangers, now known as Monte-Carlo SBM, and launched the Casino de Monte-Carlo, marking a turning point in Monaco's history. In the ensuing years, luxury hotels and restaurants opened their doors, and the legend of Monte-Carlo (Mount Charles) has flourished ever since."

Juxtaposing this black and white collection is Forever Monte-Carlo by renowned Italian photographer and video-maker Geo Casolaro.  In this series of original artworks commissioned by Monte-Carlo SBM to celebrate their 150th anniversary, personalities from the past, who helped forge the legend and shape the dream that Monte-Carlo embodies, merge with the present. Casolaro plays with the notions of space and time by overlapping two images marked by a shared place and telescoping them into a single image, the past becomes the present. The black and white portions of each image are from the archives of Monte-Carlo SBM and the color portions feature current Monte-Carlo SBM employees who cheerfully volunteered to pose for the artist.

"With Forever Monte-Carlo I wanted to pay tribute to all the people who have contributed, and are contributing every day, to keep the myth of the Principality alive, from big stars to all of the people working behind the scenes," Casolaro said.

Casolaro, who lives and works in Italy and France has exhibited her work in many important European galleries in London, Milan, Potsdam, Prato, Rome, and many others along with prestigious venues in countries around the world including Turkey, India, New Zealand, and China since 1994 In 2009, the artist was selected to be a resident at the Cite Internationale des Arts in Paris. Her project explored relationships between cinema and daily life in the French capital.

Also included in Timeless Monaco are two whimsical works -- Gamblers in the Casino at Monte-Carlo (1905) and Roulette at Monte-Carlo (1909) -- by famous 19^th century French illustrator and caricaturist, Georges Goursat, known as SEM (1863–1934), who rose to fame during the Belle epoque era. He published three Monte-Carlo series in the early 1900s depicting the high society of the time.

With its sunny skies, sparkling Mediterranean Sea and sumptuous architecture, Monaco has been a premiere location for movie-makers since the early days of cinema. To accompany this extraordinary collection of still images, a montage of 150 clips from films shot in the Principality and compiled by students from The Factory film school in Lyon, France, called Monte-Carlo Fait Son Cinema ("Monte-Carlo At The Movies"), will be screened in the Galleries' Club Room.

Monte-Carlo Legends follows the success of another recent photographic exhibition, Mythical Monte-Carlo, which showcases the remarkable architecture of this captivating Principality as seen through the lens of award-winning documentary photographer Gabriele Basilico (1944-2013). Mythical Monte-Carlo is on view at the French Institute Alliance Francaise (FIAF) Gallery in New York through August 23. (www.MonacoTakesNewYork.com)

Timeless Monaco and Monte-Carlo Legends are organized by the Consulate General of Monaco and the Monaco Government Tourist Office in New York, with Monte-Carlo SBM and Forbes Media, and with the support of Archives Monte-Carlo SBM, Archives of the Princely Palace of Monaco, Automobile Club de Monaco, Histoire d'Entreprises, The Forbes Galleries, The Gallery Apart, and the Princess Grace Foundation – USA. Additional support is provided by Champagne Paul Goerg, Le Club Diamant Rouge de Monaco, Nespresso USA, Swiss International Air Lines and Tesla.

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SOURCE Consulate General of Monaco