MAY THE CULTURAL DIVIDE

MODERN DESIGN PIONEERS

The "Eames Exhibition," at the Museum of Arts & Design, in New York, celebrates the iconic Eames lounge chair, made from molded plywood, which Ray and Charles Eames unveiled in 1956. The brothers, long recognized as leaders in the field, produced work that symbolized a new era of modern design and living (5/8—9/3).

THE CLASSICS

Longtime Hollywood favorite Du-Par's, at the Farmers' Market, has just undergone a complete renovation. Fortunately, the pancakes will be served just as you remember them.

Restaurateur Sirio Maccioni will once again welcome and entertain guests at his legendary Le Cirque when he opens the Adam Tihany-designed restaurant in its new location, atOne Beacon Court (151 East 58th Street), N.Y.C., this month.

HIGHEST BIDDER

■ Original Polaroid prints from artists such as Chuck Close and Ross Bleckner go to the highest bidder at the Free Arts NYC 7th Annual Art Auction Benefit— which brings the arts to at-risk children—held at Phillips de Pury & Company on May 23.

■ Joe DiMaggio baseball memorabilia, including a ball from the 45th game of his 56-game hitting streak, and items from his relationship with Marilyn Monroe, are on the block at the public auction of the Joe DiMaggio Collection, at the New York Marriott Marquis on May 19-20.

THE KENTUCKY DERBY

Flashbulbs fire in rapid succession as Thoroughbreds race toward the finish line at this year's Run for the Roses, at Churchill Downs, in Louisville, on May 6. Experience Derby delight amid wide-brimmed chapeaux, lethal mint juleps, and pedigreed country couture.

ON BROAD Some of the creative minds behind Spamalot, Chicago, and The Producers raise the curtain on The Drowsy Chaperone, an original musical comedy about the power of theater, starring Danny Burstein and Georgia Engel, opening at the Marquis Theater May 1.

ART AND EXHIBITIONS

■ The "AngloMania: Tradition and Transgression in British Fashion" exhibition at the Met, in New York City, kicks off on May 1 with a glamorous gala co-hosted by Vogue editor Anna Wintour (5/3-9/4J.

■ London begets horticultural dreamscapes when the Chelsea Royal Hospital's Ranelagh Gardens metamorphose into showpieces by the world's leading landscape and floral designers (5/23-27).

■ Ridgefield, Connecticut's Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum offers a final opportunity to see Anselm Kiefer's most significant project, the Velimir Chlebnikov paintings, before they're tucked away into a private collection (5/27-10/1).

■ The first joint photography-and-painting exhibition by father-and-daughter artists Timothy and Isca Greenfield-Sanders is on display at the Museum Morsbroich, in Leverkusen, Germany (3/26-6/18).