Don't Miss These Exhibitions!

December is a time for the holidays, but there are some wonderful exhibitions to see as well:

1. Willem de Kooning - A Retrospective - M.o.M.A - 11 W. 53rd Street.
This is the first museum retrospective to cover de Kooning's entire career. From his earliest figurative works, to his famous paintings of abstract women to his final series of paintings that look as if parts of them disappear (de Kooning suffered from Alzheimer's), he is one of the great artists of the 20th or any century.

2. Neo Rauch at David Zwirner - Heilstatten - Sorry, but I don't know how to do the umlaut thing over the 'a'. No matter, this is show of paintings definitely worth seeing by one of the brightest stars in contemporary art.

3. Elizabeth Taylor - Christie's - Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Miss Taylor passed away this year. She leaves behind a legacy of films, beauty, marriages and... jewelry! Not just some jewelry, but lots of it and of the highest quality in the world, hands-down. She left everything to the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS foundation, which she tirelessly championed for the last part of her life. Included in the sale is the Krupp diamond - 33 flawless carats that could go past 30 million dollars. She could raise as much as 150 milion dollars from her jewelry alone for AIDS research. That's how you do it.