Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Museums, murals, and friends...


My friend and artistic cohort, Celestia, has arrived from the distant non-existent shores of Las Vegas for a visit. We have had a lot of fun wandering around the Mid-Atlantic region! We did the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. the other day, and I finally got to see what I wanted to see---- instead of what middle-school field-trip parent-chaperone agendas wanted me to see (I won't miss the Air and Space Museum if I never set foot in it again!)
Here are some highlights of what my now eyeglasses-less eyes have had the pleasure of seeing lately!

I've always been riveted by self-portraiture, so seeing this Rembrandt was an amazing experience for me.

This is the ONLY Da Vinci in the Western hemisphere. Seeing this lovely piece close up made me very aware of the profound influence this artist has had on the entire world...
Below are two paintings by one of my favorites, Mary Cassatt.


We also made time to see the Rockwell exhibition in the Museum of American Art. Whether or not it's cool to like Rockwell (and I do) the man was a master of images, brushwork and storytelling. Unlike the other museums, photography was not permitted. I was totally taken with a large charcoal study Rockwell did for a 1947 Saturday Evening Post cover "Going and Coming". It depicts a 1940's family on its way to and from vacation, and Rockwell caught every nuance of the differences in expressions of the same subjects in different circumstances.

During our southerly jaunt, Celestia was the art director/head artiste on this cute nursery mural that we painted for her new nephew:


2 comments:

  1. Great museum pics. In NYC they absolutely FORBID you to take photos or even draw pictures of the paintings.. I think the art cops would do you bodily harm if you snapped a shot here in the big apple

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  2. Thanks, Elgin. I was very surprised that it was allowed (non-flash, of course). The Rockwell exhibition had signs saying photos weren't permitted due to copyrights...

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