homer

The Huntington has acquired a rare Civil War-era painting by American master Winslow Homer. “The Sutler’s Tent” was made in 1863 when Homer was traveling with the Union Army as an illustrator for Harper’s Weekly. The title refers to a type of transitory store that sold goods to soldiers when they were out in the field, and the canvas shows a soldier eating bread and cheese while another soldier rests beside him.

The acquisition is the Huntington’s first oil painting by Homer. The museum’s other holdings include his watercolor, “Indians Making Canoes (Montagnais Indians)” (1895), and several prints, including “The Life Line” (1887). The pieces show the artist’s journey from commercial illustrator to celebrated painter.

“The Sutler’s Tent” will be unveiled to the public on Dec. 7 in the Huntington’s Virginia Steele Scott Galleries of American Art. It was acquired through a partnership with the Ahmanson Foundation — which seeks to help boost the notable holdings of the museum — and marks the fifth major acquisition made through the program.

The gift is intended to honor the country’s upcoming semiquincentennial, and will anchor an ongoing reinstallation of the galleries as the Huntington seeks to expand the multicultural narrative of American art. It will also be integral to the Huntington’s “This Land Is …” initiative, which works to examine the country’s history through its metaphorical and literal landscapes as it approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding.

“The Sutler’s Tent” will be placed in conversation with works about the Civil War and Reconstruction, including Eastman Johnson’s “Sugaring Off” (1865), Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux’s “Why Born Enslaved? “(1868, cast 1872), and a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation.

“The Ahmanson Foundation’s partnership with The Huntington has allowed us to bring works of profound artistic and historical resonance into our collections and into public view,” said Huntington President Karen R. Lawrence, in a statement. “Winslow Homer’s ‘The Sutler’s Tent’ — a meditation on the experience of war — embodies our mission to connect art, history, and literature in ways that deepen understanding of the American story.”

The Huntington Library is known for its vast scholarly trove of Civil War ephemera. Its United States Military Telegraph archive includes ciphered communications between Abraham Lincoln and the Army command, and soldiers’ letters and diaries. It also holds the James E. Taylor Collection of scrapbooks documenting the war through photographs and newspaper clippings, and two of the most significant known Lincoln archives.

The art museum’s director, Christina Nielsen, said in a statement that the acquisition of “The Sutler’s Tent,” “deepens our representation of the Civil War era and expands the dialogue between our art and library collections. As we look toward the 250th anniversary of the United States, the painting invites reflection on a pivotal chapter in our nation’s history — one that continues to shape the American experience.”

I’m arts and culture writer Jessica Gelt, looking forward to taking a deep dive into all that can be learned about our present from our past. Here’s your arts and culture news for the week.

Dispatch: Pulitzer Prize-winning Times art critic Christopher Knight to retire

Times art critic Christopher Knight.

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

After 45 years, 36 of them at The Times, art critic Christopher Knight is retiring from daily journalism. His final day at The Times is Nov. 28. In 2020, Knight won the Pulitzer Prize for criticism, and was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Art Journalism from the Dorothea and Leo Rabkin Foundation.

It’s impossible to overstate the loss Knight’s departure represents for the paper and Los Angeles, or what a tireless, generous, inspiring colleague he is. He possesses a quiet, encyclopedic knowledge of art, and in column after column he connected the dots of culture, history, folklore, civics and psychology in razor-sharp assessments of what a piece of art really means, or how a particular exhibition is poised to change the narrative around a longstanding or misguided idea. In short, he is everything a truly excellent critic should be.

He is also endlessly supportive of arts writers like me who look up to him — will always look up to him.

Thank you, Christopher, for all your words.

On our radar

Janai Brugger as Mimi and Oreste Cosimo as Rodolfo in L.A. Opera’s 2025 production of “La Bohème.”

(Cory Weaver)

La Bohème
Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 opera remains one of the most popular works in the Italian canon. Its doomed romanticism among struggling artists in 1830s Paris has a particular appeal to young people and became the inspiration for Jonathan Larson’s musical “Rent.” Lina González-Granados conducts the L.A. Opera orchestra. Brenna Corner directs this revival of the late Herbert Ross’ enduring production.
Saturday through Dec. 14. Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laopera.org

Roberto González-Monjas conducts the L.A. Phil this weekend at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

(L.A. Phil)

Elgar’s Enigma
Roberto González-Monjas conducts the Los Angeles Philharmonic in a program featuring Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s “Themes and Variations, Op. 42,” Edwin Elgar’s “Enigma Variations, Op. 36,” and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason’s performance of the world premiere of an Edmund Finnis concerto. 
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. Walt Disney Concert Hall, 111 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. laphil.com

Robert Therrien, “No title (plaster snowman),” 1982-98, plaster

(Douglas M. Parker Studio)

Robert Therrien: This Is a Story
A quintessential artist’s artist, internationally admired Los Angeles sculptor Robert Therrien (1947-2019) made eccentric objects in two and three dimensions that seem strangely familiar when they are wholly abstract, and strangely abstract when they are instantly recognizable as representations of known things — a tall pillar of giant dinner plates, for example, or a simple little snowman. Often the materials are unusual, like zinc over bronze, buffed plaster or tempera on silver, adding to the sense of mysterious specificity. With more than 120 works spanning five decades, this should be the most compelling museum solo show of the season.
— Christopher Knight
Saturday through April 5, 2026. The Broad, 221 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. thebroad.org

The week ahead: A curated calendar

FRIDAY
Fall of Freedom
In a unified act of creative resistance, hundreds of galleries, museums, libraries, comedy clubs, theaters, concert halls and individuals across the nation will host exhibitions, performances and public events, asserting the power of free expression to mount a response to escalating authoritarian threats and censorship in the U.S.
Friday and Saturday. There are dozens of local events in Southern California, please check the website for details. falloffreedom.com

¡Cómo el Grinch robó la Navidad!
The Old Globe Theatre will present two performances of the world premiere of a new version of the Dr. Seuss classic with your favorite songs in Spanish. And for the 28th year, the Old Globe will also be doing its traditional holiday musical of “Dr. Seuss’s How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Nov. 21-28.
7 p.m. Friday; 10 a.m. Saturday. Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. theoldglobe.org

From “The Dying World” by Lauren Tsai.

(Josh White)

The Dying World
Lauren Tsai’s solo exhibition, an installation utilizing drawing, painting, sculpture, puppets and projected stop motion imagery, explores the liminal space between worlds: subject and object, fiction and maker. Final two nights.
6-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Hollywood Forever, the Cathedral Mausoleum Courtyard, 6000 Santa Monica Blvd. hollywoodforever.com

Amy Engelhardt in “Impact,” a solo one-act at the Fountain.

(Peter Serocki/peterserockivisuals.com)

Impact
Composer/lyricist/performer Amy Engelhardt’s one-act solo show (with musical accompaniment) probes the 1988 terrorist attack on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland.
8 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 2 p.m. Sunday. The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., Los Angeles. fountaintheatre.com

SATURDAY
Animal Instinct
Chinese American artist Kristen Liu-Wong’s solo exhibition of vibrant paintings with slightly macabre narratives highlights her varied influences from American folk art, the cartoons she watched as a kid, Japanese erotic art and an appreciation for architecture.
Opening reception, 7-11 p.m. Saturday; noon-6 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, through Jan. 3, 2026. Corey Helford Gallery, 571 S. Anderson St., Los Angeles. coreyhelfordgallery.com

A Brahmsian Affair
The Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra presents a program featuring two sextets by Brahms, plus the world premiere of Julia Moss’ “(Please Don’t) Look Away.”
7:30 p.m. Saturday. Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A.; 4 p.m. Sunday. The Wallis, 9390 N. Santa Monica Blvd., Beverly Hills. laco.org

Corita Day
Corita Art Center celebrates L.A.’s favorite artist/nun with an afternoon of art activities for all ages, live screen printing by Self Help Graphics, holiday shopping, food, music by KCRW, and a performance by Bob Baker Marionette Theater at 2 p.m. Visitors can also reserve spots from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. to see the exhibitions “Corita Kent: The Sorcery of Images” and “Irregularity: Corita and Immaculate Heart College’s Rule Breaking Designs.”
1-4 p.m. Marciano Art Foundation, 4357 Wilshire Blvd., L.A. marcianoartfoundation.org

Grief Bacon and Other Holiday Treats
Melanie Mayron and Sandra Tsing Loh deliver “old and new humor for trying times.” Part of the Odyssey’s “Thresholds of Invention” series.
8 p.m. Saturday. Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd. odysseytheatre.com

Tom Wesselman, “Bedroom Face,” 1977, color aquatint

(Palm Springs Art Museum)

Mapping the Female Body: Tom Wesselmann and Mickalene Thomas
An unexpected juxtaposition of two very different painters from the end of one century and the beginning of the next is set to consider dissimilar representations of the contemporary female nude. In the 1960s, the famous “Great American Nude” series by Tom Wesselmann (1931-2004) applied commercial advertising techniques to painterly traditions in Western art familiar since the Renaissance. Fifty years later, Mickalene Thomas applies commercial craft techniques to vibrant paintings of queer Black women — a subject previously absent from Western art history. Questions of gender, sexuality and their depictions are the exhibition’s focus.
— Christopher Knight
Through April 6, 2026. Palm Springs Art Museum, 101 Museum Drive. psmuseum.org

Venice Winter Fest
Chill out SoCal-style with artisan markets, hot cocoa, live music, festive bites and interactive winter-themed activities for all ages.
10 a.m.-6 p.m. 12257 Venice Blvd. thevenicefest.com

SUNDAY
Habsburg Harmonies: Haydn, Ligeti, and Brahms
Violinist Martin Beaver, flutist Demarre McGill, cellist Clive Greensmith and pianist Fabio Bidini team up for an evening rooted in Austro-Hungarian musical tradition.
4 p.m. Thayer Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown L.A. colburnschool.edu

TUESDAY
Dungeons & Dragons: The Twenty-Sided Tavern
Three adventurers need your help on an epic quest to save the world in this interactive fantasy inspired by the immensely popular role-playing game.
Through Jan. 4, 2026. The Montálban, 1615 Vine St., Hollywood. broadwayinhollywood.com

Culture news and the SoCal scene

The Palm Springs Art Museum, founded in 1938, has a small board of 22 trustees.

(Lance Gerber / Palm Springs Art Museum)

Speaking of Christopher Knight’s tremendous skills as a critic, did I mention he’s also a phenomenal reporter? In one of his final columns, Knight chronicles the many financial travails of the Palm Springs Art Museum based on internal documents obtained by The Times. “Recent developments have opened a Pandora’s box,” Knight writes of an accounting firm’s annual audit of the museum’s 2024 books. The audit revealed that there is a “reasonable possibility that [the museum’s] internal financial statements are significantly out of whack,” Knight wrote before detailing the fallout leading to a trustees revolt.

Knight also delighted us with a list of “22 essential works of art at the Huntington and the surprising stories behind them.” No one can highlight what should be considered essential viewing at a museum quite like Knight, who takes readers on a virtual tour of the storied San Marino museum and its exquisite holdings, including Sir Joshua Reynolds’ “Portrait of Samuel Johnson (‘Blinking Sam’),” which Knight writes was not favored by its famous subject.

Times theater critic Charles McNulty once again checks in on Broadway, this time with a review of Robert Icke’s “Oedipus,” a modern retelling of Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King.” McNulty notes that the play “must be the buzziest, if not the chicest, Broadway offering of the fall season.”

Cher Alvarez, who reprises her role at the Ahmanson, in “Paranormal Activity” at Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

(Kyle Flubacker)

Closer to home, McNulty reserved high praise for the spooky “Paranormal Activity,” now playing at the Ahmanson Theatre. “I caught myself wondering during the first act, ‘Is this the best staged production of the year?’,” McNulty writes of the show, which is based on the horror film franchise of the same name and just completed a run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Director Felix Barrett, playwright Levi Holloway and Tony Award-winning illusion designer Chris Fisher are “masters of misdirection,” McNulty concludes.

McNulty also wrote a news dispatch that Jessica Stone, “a Tony-nominated director (‘Kimberly Akimbo,’ ‘Water for Elephants’), has been named the new artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, succeeding Christopher Ashley at the helm of one of the nation’s preeminent regional theaters.”

I had a great Zoom call with Shaina Taub about the inspiration behind her musical, “Suffs.” Taub is only the second woman, after Micki Grant, to star in a Broadway musical for which she also wrote the book, music and lyrics. The show is about the women’s suffrage movement leading up to the ratification of the 19th Amendment. It opened earlier this week at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre as part of the show’s inaugural national tour.

Daniel T. Gaitor-Lomack in his studio.

(Daniel Tyree Gaitor-Lomack / Night Gallery, Los Angeles. Photo by Tomasa Calvo.)

Interdisciplinary Los Angeles–based artist Daniel T. Gaitor-Lomack is staging a solo exhibition, “You Can Hate Me Now,” at Night Gallery. This marks the artist’s second solo show at the space. Much of the new work was informed by Gaitor-Lomack’s life in his MacArthur Park neighborhood. A rep for the gallery wrote in an email that Gaitor-Lomack describes the exhibition “as a kind of ceremony, a gathering of ideas and emotions that have been unfolding across his work over the past three years. Guided by intuition and lived experience, he continues to use found and everyday materials to reflect on the innumerable systems of the world around. The exhibition’s title, long held in his mind, frames the presentation as a meditation on anticipation, transformation, and resilience.” The show will be at Night Gallery through Feb. 14.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has made what it is calling the first-ever restitution of artwork to the descendants of an enslaved artist. The artist, David Drake, was born around 1800 in Edgefield, S.C. He is known for signing his vessels and inscribing them with poetic verses, including one that read, “I wonder where is all my relations.” Fifteen of Drake’s descendants recently traveled to Boston from various states for a ceremony during which MFA returned one of Drake’s stoneware jars to them, and purchased a second back. An L.A.-based attorney named George Fatheree represents Drake’s family and help shepherd the transaction. “This is a day we hoped and prayed for,” said Pauline Baker, the third great-granddaughter of Drake, in a news release. “To see it realized is almost overwhelming. On behalf of our family, we express our deepest gratitude to the Museum of Fine Arts for its courage and integrity. Most importantly, this ceremony restores not just his work, but his humanity.”

A Gustav Klimt painting, “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” recently sold for $236.4 million, including fees, making it the most expensive modern work to be sold at auction. The 71-by-51-inch painting, created between 1914 and 1916, portrays the 20-year-old daughter of the Viennese art collectors who commissioned the work. The portrait was sold during a Sotheby’s auction in New York and was part of the private collection of cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, who died in June. According to the Washington Post, a 19-minute bidding battle catapulted the painting “far beyond its $150 million estimate, with two bidders competing over the phone via their auction representatives.”

— Jessica Gelt

And last but not least

The unfettered, stand-up kindness of Keanu Reeves has become the stuff of legend thanks to legions of fans who faithfully recount the actor’s good deeds on social media. Most recently, Reeves penned a handwritten letter of gratitude to the FBI after it recovered a stolen Rolex watch used in “John Wick.”

Kyle Schwarber, 33, DH, 4.7, 19.9: Schwarber is a premier slugger with 187 home runs in four seasons with Philadelphia, where he also was an exceptional clubhouse leader. He is pretty much restricted to designated hitter and is approaching an age where offensive production might decline. He still merits a lucrative multi-year deal, although going longer than four years at a $30 million average annual value (AAV) might be inviting buyer’s remorse in 2030.

Kyle Tucker, 29, OF, 4.5, 27.3: Although his 2025 bWAR was lower than that of Bellinger and Schwarber, Tucker might have the highest sticker price in this free-agent class. The average of projections from 20 ESPN experts is 10 years and $391.5 million for a $38.8 million AAV. The Dodgers are considered a prime suitor because of their deep pockets and need for a productive corner outfielder.

Eugenio Suárez, 34, 3B, 3.6, 26.8: A drop of nearly one win above replacement from the top three free agents — Cody Bellinger, Schwarber and Tucker — still puts Suárez in an enviable position. Splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, Suarez tied a career high with 49 home runs and drove in 118 runs.

Alex Bregman, 32, 3B, 3.5, 43.1: Even though Bregman’s bWAR was slightly lower than that of Suárez, he should command a larger deal because he’s younger and more well-rounded. Bregman missed 44 games because of injury in his single season in Boston but still put up solid numbers. His average bWAR over his 10-year career is 4.3.

Trent Grisham, 29, OF, 3.5, 14.6: Grisham is an enigma, a first-round draft pick who blossomed with the Padres only to crater and bat under .200 three years in a row. But in 2025 he rebounded, swatting a career-high 34 home runs with the Yankees in 2025. Grisham also has two Gold Gloves in center field. Still, he’s a bit of a gamble.

Bo Bichette, 28, SS, 3.4, 20.8: Bichette showed his toughness by playing effectively in the World Series despite a lingering knee injury. Bichette can flat-out hit, accumulating more than 175 hits in four of the last five seasons with above-average power. He also plays a premium position and will turn only 28 in March, meaning he could command a contract exceeded only by that of Tucker.

Toronto Blue Jays’ Bo Bichette hits a three-run home run during Game 7 of the World Series, Nov. 1, 2025, in Toronto.

(Ashley Landis/AP)

Pete Alonso, 31, 1B, 3.4, 23.3: Alonso was disappointed by the tepid interest in him as a free agent last offseason, re-signing with the Mets on a one-year, $30-million deal with a player option. He’s expected to test the market again after once again posting the glittering power numbers that have made him a fan favorite in New York for seven years.

Josh Naylor, 28, 1B, 3.1, 8.4: The 5-foot-10, 235-pound left-handed slugger produced well in 2025 while splitting the season between the Diamondbacks and Mariners, batting a career-high .295 and hitting precisely 20 home runs for the third time in five seasons.

Gleyber Torres, 29, 2B, 2.9, 18.7: Torres needed to restore his value after taking a one-year deal with the Tigers following a ho-hum 2024 season with the Yankees. He did so incrementally and should land a measured multi-year deal this time around.

J.T. Realmuto, 35, C, 2.6, 38.8: Realmuto is recognized as one of the top-hitting catchers in baseball, and he’s clearly the top free-agent backstop, proving in 2025 that he can still catch upward of 130 games while putting up solid offensive numbers. Still, he will be 35 on opening day and his .700 OPS was his lowest in a decade.

Jorge Polanco, 32, 2B, 2.6, 20.7: Polanco hit 26 home runs and posted an .821 OPS, the switch-hitter’s best season since 2021 when he hit 33 homers and drove in 98 runs. Chronic knee problems have put his shortstop days behind him and cut into his range at second or third base, but the bat still plays.

Mike Yastrzemski, 35, OF, 2.6, 16.8: Although the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski posted his best OPS (.839) since the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, he might be entertaining only contract offers of one year at $10 million or so.

Ryan O’Hearn, 31, 1B/DH, 2.4, 3.1: O’Hearn is an accomplished left-handed hitter coming off a season split between the Orioles and Padres. He can expect a large raise from the $3.5 million he made in 2025, perhaps tripling it.

Marcell Ozuna, 35, OF/DH, 1.6, 29.5: Ozuna is a proven power bat who has exceeded 20 home runs in nine seasons and led the NL with 18 homers and 56 RBIs in pandemic-shortened 2020. After tremendous 2023 and 2024 seasons in which he totaled 79 homers and 204 RBIs, Ozuna slipped in 2025, batting .232 with 21 home runs while battling hip pain.

Luis Arráez, 29, 1B, 1.3, 16.5: Arráez doesn’t get much love from bWAR or fWAR, but he sure can hit, leading all major leaguers with a .317 lifetime average. He led the NL with 181 hits in 2025, but because he doesn’t hit for power or walk much, his OPS was a pedestrian .719. The three-time batting champion should continue to be paid about $14 million a year, with the question becoming for how long.

Paul Goldschmidt, 38, 1B, 1.2, 63.8: Goldschmidt boasts the highest career bWAR of any free-agent hitter and he has made it clear that he is not ready to retire. His productivity, however, is trending downward, especially his power. With only 10 homers and 45 RBIs in 534 plate appearances with the Yankees last season, Goldschmidt is no longer an elite hitter.

Victor Caratini, 32, C, 0.9, 4.3: Catchers are at a premium in this free-agent class and Caratini is one of the few with a potent bat and ability to play more than 100 games in a season. He most recently delivered decently on a two-year, $12-million deal with the Astros and could land a similar contract because of the scarcity of backstops.

Will Smith’s 11th-inning home run allows LA Dodgers to win Game 7 against Toronto Blue Jays and record seventh World Series title in franchise history.

Will Smith homered in the 11th inning after Miguel Rojas connected for a tying drive in the ninth, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 5-4 in Game 7 on Saturday night to become the first team in a quarter century to win consecutive Major League Baseball (MLB) World Series titles.

Los Angeles overcame 3-0 and 4-2 deficits and escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth to become the first repeat champion since the 1998-2000 New York Yankees, and the first from the National League since the 1975 and ’76 Cincinnati Reds.

Smith hit a 2-0 slider off Shane Bieber into the Blue Jays’ bullpen, giving the Dodgers their first lead of the night.

Yoshinobu Yamamoto, who threw 96 pitches in the Dodgers’ win on Friday, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth and pitched 2 2/3 innings for his third win of the Series.

He gave up a leadoff double in the 11th to Vladimir Guerrero Jr, who was sacrificed to third. Addison Barger walked, and Alejandro Kirk grounded to shortstop Mookie Betts, who started a title-winning 6-4-3 double play.

Dodgers rally to win Game 7

With their ninth title and third in six years, the Dodgers made an argument for their 2020s teams to be considered a dynasty. Dave Roberts, their manager since 2016, boosted the probability that he will gain induction to the Hall of Fame.

Bo Bichette put Toronto ahead in the third with a three-run homer off two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who was pitching on three days’ rest after taking the loss in Game 3.

Los Angeles closed to 3-2 on sacrifice flies from Teoscar Hernandez in the fourth off Max Scherzer and Tommy Edman in the sixth against Chris Bassitt.

Andres Gimenez restored Toronto’s two-run lead with an RBI double in the sixth off Tyler Glasnow, who relieved after getting the final three outs on three pitches to save Game 6 on Friday.

Max Muncy’s eighth-inning homer off star rookie Trey Yesavage cut the Dodgers’ deficit to one run, and Rojas, inserted into the lineup in Game 6 to provide some energy, homered on a full-count slider from Jeff Hoffman.

Toronto put two on with one out in the bottom half against Blake Snell, and Los Angeles turned to Yamamoto.

He hit Alejandro Kirk on a hand with a pitch, loading the bases and prompting the Dodgers to play the infield in and the outfield shallow. Daulton Varsho grounded to second, where Rojas stumbled but managed to throw home for a force-out as catcher Smith kept his foot on the plate.

Ernie Clement then flied out to Andy Pages, who made a jumping, backhand catch on the centre-field warning track as he crashed into left fielder Kike Hernandez.

Seranthony Dominguez walked Mookie Betts with one out in the 10th, and Muncy singled for his third hit. Hernandez walked, loading the bases. Pages grounded to shortstop, where Gimenez threw home for a force-out. First baseman Guerrero then threw to pitcher Seranthony Dominguez covering first, just beating Hernandez in a call upheld in a video review.

The epic night matched the Marlins’ 3-2 win over Cleveland in 1997 as the second-longest Series Game 7, behind only the Washington Senators’ 4-3 victory against the New York Giants in 1924.