ART

AMERICAN ETCHINGS
An exhibit of work by Edward Hopper and John Marin includes prints, drawings, watercolors, and a large selection of etchings. The pieces reflect the artists’ views of American life during the first quarter of the 20th century. Marin’s suite of etchings, created between 1913 and 1915, capture the rapidly changing Lower Manhattan cityscape. His urban-themed watercolors accentuate a two-dimensional perspective. Hopper’s stark etchings of urban scenes, which he made between 1915 and 1923, pare down and simplify compositional elements. A complementary selection of works by American photographers of the era, including Paul Strand and Walker Evans, demonstrates that the visual language shared by Hopper and Marin was cropping up simultaneously in other media forms. Opens: Thursday. Runs: through Thursday, November 11, Tuesday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m., Saturday, 9:30-4:45 p.m., Hirschl & Adler Galleries, 21 E. 70th St., between Madison and Fifth avenues, 212-535-8810, free.

PANDORA’S BOXES
The new exhibit “Secrets” features six large paintings and six prints by New York artist Gloria Garfinkel. Ms. Garfinkel creates works that appear to be spare on first glance but whose complexity is seen on closer inspection: Each painting is 4 inches deep and has two doors that open to show a melange of related objects. Opens: Tomorrow, 6-9 p.m. Runs: Through Saturday, November 6, Wednesday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m., Paul Sharpe Contemporary Art, 86 Walker St., between Broadway and Lafayette Street, 646-613-1252, free.

ARCTIC ART
Photographer Subhankar Banerjee discusses his work photographing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (tomorrow, 7-9 p.m., Columbia University Earth Institute, 116th Street and Broadway,212-854-8158,free).Mr. Banerjee captured the refuge in all four seasons during a two-year, 4,000-mile trip that he embarked on in 2001. The exhibit “The Last Wilderness” includes 30 large-format color photographs of the region’s sweeping landscapes. The photographs played a role in a recent congressional debate over whether to open up 1.5 million acres of the Arctic Refuge to exploratory drilling for oil and gas. Exhibit: Through Saturday, October 16, Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., Gerald Peters Gallery, 24 E. 78th St. at Madison Avenue, 212-628-9760, free.

AUCTIONS

THE LINE KING An auction of drawings and prints by the late illustrator Al Hirschfeld offers portraits of Fred Astaire, a young Marlon Brando, Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe, and many other performers. More than 200 items from private collections will go under the gavel, including 27 of the pen-and-ink drawings for which Hirschfeld is most famous. Viewing: Today and tomorrow, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Auction: Thursday, 2:30 p.m., Swann Galleries, 104 E. 25th St., between Lexington and Park avenues, 212-254-4710 ext. 303. Online viewing at www.swanngalleries.com.

BENEFITS

STRAUSS SELECTIONS
Carnegie Hall’s opening night gala includes a performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra with Renee Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma. The program features Strauss’s “Don Juan,” “Four Last Songs,” and “Don Quixote.” A black-tie dinner follows. Tomorrow, 5:30 p.m. reception, 7 p.m. concert, Carnegie Hall, Isaac Stern Auditorium, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, 9:30 p.m. dinner, Waldorf-Astoria, 301 Park Ave. at 49th Street, 212-903-9682, $500 reception and concert only, $1,000-$2,500 concert and dinner.

BOOKS

NICKEL FOR HER THOUGHTS
The New Yorker’s Malcolm Gladwell talks with Barbara Ehrenreich about her book “Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America” (Metropolitan). Actress Jane Curtin reads selections from the book, which is based on two years Ms. Ehrenreich spent working for the minimum wage as a waitress, nursing home aide, and Wal-Mart clerk. Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Symphony Space, Peter Jay Sharpe Theater, 2537 Broadway at 95th Street, 212-864-5400, $18 general, $16 seniors and students, $15 members.

DYLAN DISCUSSION
The editor of “Studio A: The Bob Dylan Reader” (W.W. Norton), Benjamin Hedin, joins contributors Rick Moody, Sean Wilentz, Alex Ross, Robert Christgau, and Gary Giddens for a discussion on Mr. Dylan – whose autobiography, “Chronicles, Vol. 1” (Simon & Schuster), goes on sale today. Tomorrow. 7:30 p.m., Barnes & Noble Upper West Side, 2289 Broadway at 82nd Street, 212-362-8835, free.

FAMILY

FLORENTINE FUN
The Splendor of Florence festival includes a day of events for children. Activities include Italian lessons, helping artists create a giant map of Florence, and a performance by a commedia d’ell arte troupe. Saturday, noon-5 p.m., World Financial Center Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St. at West Side Highway, www.splendorofflorence.com, free.

FILM

CAPTURED ON SCREEN
A screening of the documentary “Capturing the Friedmans” is followed by a discussion with director Andrew Jarecki about the implications of the film and what it tells us about our justice system in light of highly publicized cases involving alleged sexual abuse of children. Other participants include U.S. District Judge Gerard Lynch, consultant Kenneth Lanning, and psychiatrist Moisy Shopper. Tomorrow, 5:30 p.m., Association of the Bar of the City of New York, 42 W. 44th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-382-6713, free.

HEALTH

LIVING WELL
A health expo for New York City schoolchildren features sports clinics, health screenings, a street festival, and information about nutrition and exercise. Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Harlem Center Police Athletic League, 441 Manhattan Ave., between 118th and 119th streets, 718-346-5852, free.

MUSIC

STARRY NIGHT
Minimalist composer Terry Riley’s multimedia musical exploration of space, “Sun Rings,” has its New York premiere as part of BAM’s Next Wave Festival. The experimental Kronos Quartet, which frequently collaborates with Mr. Riley, is joined by the Dessoff Choir for the performance. Willie Williams, who has created large-scale works for U2 and David Bowie, constructed the elaborate staging. The NASA Arts Program, among others, commissioned the piece, which examines Pythagoras’s 2,500-year-old theory that space is filled not only with planets and stars, but with music. Mr. Riley, Mr. Williams, and members of the quartet discuss the work after Friday’s performance (free for ticket holders). Tomorrow through Saturday, 7:30 p.m., BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, 30 Lafayette Ave., between Ashland Place and St. Felix Street, Brooklyn, 718-636-4100, $20 and $40.

JUILLIARD JAM
Conductor Mark Stringer leads the Juilliard Symphony in a concert of works by Debussy, Mendelssohn, and Strauss. Advance tickets have been distributed, but stand-by attendees who arrive early will likely be able to enter. Thursday, 7 p.m. stand-by opens, 8 p.m. concert, Juilliard Theater, 60 Lincoln Center Plaza, Broadway at 65th Street, 212-769-7406, free.

POETRY

CELEBRATING POETRY
The Academy of American Poets presents a reading by members of the organization’s board of chancellors. Participants include Frank Bidart, Lucille Clif ton, Galway Kinnell, Yusef Komunyakaa, Philip Levine, and Ellen Bryant Voigt. Pulitzer Prizewinner Gary Snyder reads from “Danger on Peaks” (Shoemaker & Hoard), his first collection of new poems since 1983’s “Axe Handles” (North Point). Tomorrow, 7 p.m., Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St., between Park and Madison avenues, 212-355-6160, $12 general, $8 students and members.

POETRY IN MUSIC John Ashbery reads his poetry and new-music ensemble Speculum Musicae performs musical settings of his work at a concert that kicks off the fall CooperArts performance series, which runs until December. Friday, 7:30 p.m., Cooper Union Great Hall, 7 E. 7th St. at Third Avenue, 212-279-4200, $20.

SPORTS

ROLLER RACING
The Gotham Girls roller derby league, whose members have names like Sybil Disobediance and Baby Ruthless, hosts a Roller Rumble in which members face off in a series of sprints under the BQE. In each heat, observers can bet on their favorite racer, with prizes going to the best guesser. An after-party includes grilled goods, drink specials, and more prizes. Saturday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Brooklyn-Queens Expressway overpass, between Meeker and Union streets, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, $5 to bet, free to watch.

TALKS

EPHEMERAL ART
Artists Joan Jonas, Julian LaVerdiere, and Arlene Shechet discuss the role of art in an ephemeral world. The talk takes place at the new Rubin Museum of Art, which is dedicated to Himalayan art. Tonight, 7 p.m., Rubin Museum of Art, 150 W. 17th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-620-5000, $15.

MARRIAGE OF TWO MINDS
The founder of Freedom to Marry, Evan Wolfson, and the head of the Log Cabin Republicans, Patrick Guerriero, discuss gay marriage at an event moderated by a staff writer at The New Yorker, Jeffrey Toobin. Tonight, 8:15 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $25.

SINGER’S WOMEN
The editor of “Isaac Bashevis Singer: Collected Stories” (Library of America), Ilan Stavans, discusses the women in Singer’s life and literature. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., the Mercantile Library, 17 E. 47th St., between Madison and Fifth avenues, 212-755-6710, free, reservations required.

THEATER

TRIO TOGETHER
Playwright Edna O’Brien’s “Triptych” follows three women as they reveal their love for the same man. Ally Sheedy portrays a woman whose lover also has a wife and child. Opens: Thursday, 7 p.m. Runs: Through Sunday, November 14, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 8 p.m., Wednesday, 2 and 8 p.m., Saturday, 3 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Irish Repertory Theater, 132 W. 22nd St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-727-2737, $40 and $45.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.