Roberta Maneker hits the Folk Art Museum breakfast this morning for yet another dose of Martin Ramirez:

Armory VIP attendees with a penchant for folk art congregated early this morning at the gorgeous American Folk Art Museum for a continental breakfast and tours of two current installations. Brooke Davis Anderson, Director and Curator of the Contemporary Center, walked groups through two stunning exhibits by self-taught artists: “Up Close: Henry Darger,” and “Martín Ramírez: The Last Works.”

Readers of the New York Times may remember enthusiastic coverage when 300 of Ramírez’s pictures were on view at this museum in 2007;  it was that exhibit which flushed out the additional works on view now, and Ms. Anderson’s enthusiasm is contagious. Stacy Hollander, Senior Curator and Director of Exhibitions, explicated similarities, or at least some shared aesthetic values, in the paintings of abstract expressionist Mark Rothko, and folk portraitist Ammi Phillips. Whatever you may think of this unexpected pairing, you will get to see some really smashing pictures.