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"Aristotle Onassis: Beyond his Myth" - Exhibition
05/10/2006
ARISTOTLE ONASSIS Benaki Museum |
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On the occasion of completing 30 years of
social contribution, the 'Alexander S. Onassis' Public Benefit Foundation,
in collaboration with the Benaki Museum, organizes an exhibition entitled
'Aristotle Onassis: Beyond his Myth', at the new building of the Benaki
Museum, at 138, Pireos Street, from October 5 to November 12, 2006. The first part of the exhibition is concerned with
Aristotle Onassis' 'myth'. The exhibition takes the visitor from the resourceful Smyrnian's early Argentinean years to his business activities, social associations and women in his life, the luxury yacht 'Christina', the island of Skorpios, his family and children, mainly intending to describe Aristotle Onassis as a person, until the end of his life. The exhibits include documents, photographs, personal objects, books, furniture and works of art owned by Aristotle Onassis, which have been taken from the 'Alexander S. Onassis' Foundation Collection. Also included in the exhibition are objects from the Aristotle Onassis Collection of the Hellenic Maritime Museum, private collections, as well as archive material from the National Centre for Hellenic Studies and Research at La Trobe University in Melbourne (Victoria), Australia. The exhibits, not all of which are of great artistic value, were selected on the basis of their 'involvement' in Onassis' life, as items which are indicative of his character, but also according to their exhibition qualities. Special attention was paid to those valuable items that are worth of museum exhibition, such as Onassis' collections of rare travelers' books and works of Oriental Art, which he seemed to have been very fond of. The bone models of sailing ships, constructed by French war prisoners in England (late 18th - early 19th century), are really rare artistic creations. Aristotle Onassis' most profound wish was to honour the memory of his son Alexander. The fulfillment of his wish, as crystallized in the creation and operation of the 'Alexander S. Onassis' Foundation, paved a way that leads to the consistent attainment of two aims: it keeps Alexander's memory alive and constantly promotes culture. The second part of the exhibition presents the activities of the 'Alexander S. Onassis' Public Benefit Foundation, to which Onassis bequeathed the part of his estate which would have gone to his son Alexander. Over the past 30 years, the successful trajectory and remarkable profitability of the Business part constantly supports the social welfare work done by the Public Benefit Foundation, which has developed various public service activities both in Greece and abroad. Culture, education, environmental protection, health and social solidarity: such are the principal priorities in the agenda of the Foundation, which has consistently and powerfully achieved the goals originally set by Aristotle Onassis himself. The public presentation of the Foundation's work clearly proves how
fully its Founder's plans were accomplished through the different activities
undertaken by the Foundation, which not only materialized, but also managed
to expand Onassis' vision considerably. In essence, the Foundation is described through its work: photographs
and documents about its activities, models of its buildings, projections,
and a wealth of materials evidencing and reflecting the Foundation's
thirty-year contribution to society, as well as its plans for the future.
The exhibition closes with a number of rare paintings from the Foundation's
collection, several of which were created by such major Greek artists
as Nikolaos Lytras, Constantinos Volanakis, Nikolaos Gyzis, etc. Benaki Museum - Pireos Street Annex |
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