“The Barnes Foundation is the only sane place to see art in America.” ~Henri Matisse
On Thursday I went to visit the Barnes Foundation outside of Philadelphia in Merion. There has been quite a lot of controversy surrounding this museum lately because of the documentary, The Art of the Steal. I went before watching the doc. The museum was founded by Albert Barnes in 1922 to “promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts.” He was an avid art collector who bought hundreds of impressionist paintings before the artists were famous. When he died, he left in his will that the collection was to always remain in Merion but through some loop holes and tricky maneuvering, the city of Philadelphia has managed to secure the collection for a new Barnes Museum along the Ben Franklin Parkway. I watched the doc after I visited to the Foundation and was deeply saddened at the plans to go against Mr. Barnes will. I would love to hear how others feel about this move. I think part of what made my visit so moving was the building, the amazing gardens and arboretum around the mansion, and the closeness I felt to the art being in such an intimate space (a limited number of tickets are sold each day and only available online by reservation). I couldn’t take any photos inside the museum so I only have a few of the outside.
Beautiful gardens around the foundation.
Unusual trees in the arboretum like this monkey puzzle tree.
Amazing carvings above the windows by Jacques Lipchitz.
African inspired reliefs around the front doors. Barnes thought African art was the precursor to modern art and inside the museum are hundreds of examples of beautiful carvings and masks.
A large sign in front of a wealthy residence across the street from the Barnes.
Another protest sign in a neighbor’s yard. Visit Friends of the Barnes for more info.
A photo I found online showing the interior. Barnes hung the art along with pieces of metal work. He arranged them to be pleasing to the eye and play off one another. Not only will you find work by famous Impressionist artists but there are religious paintings from Medieval Europe, hand painted PA Dutch hope chests, African and Asian art, and works by artists such as El Greco and Hieronymus Bosch. The collection is valued at over 30 billion dollars! All in a little museum in Merion, PA. All collected by a self made man from a working class family that was laughed at when he first showed the collection. You better hurry out and see it before it moves to Philadelphia next year. I’m sure poor Albert is turning over in his grave.
©Copyright 2010 by Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
Today I thought we should take my niece and nephew to the Delaware Art Museum to see the exhibit of over 60 original Dinotopia works by illustrator James Gurney. I went in knowing about the books and art but I hadn’t read the books and dinosaurs, while interesting, aren’t really my cup of tea. Well, we were completely blown away by this show – completely. Gurney’s imagination and painting skill is absolutely incredible. I felt like the picture frames were windows and I was looking through to another world. His handling of light, shadow and color were brilliant and I really loved the character and personality he gave to the dinosaurs. If you live anywhere near Delaware, please do yourself (and your kids, if you have them) a favor and go see this show which runs through May 16th. I can’t wait to read the books now!
After viewing Dinotopia, we walked the rest of the museum and I snapped a few photos of some of my favorite paintings of the day. Click on each painting for a larger image.
This Howard Pyle mermaid painting was a big hit with everyone!
A huge painting made to look like stained glass. Sorry, I don’t recall the artist.
A small painting created by an illustrator for a book or magazine.
I love the Pegasus.
The greyhounds are great aren’t they? Painting by Thomas Wilmer Dewing.
This George Inness painting, “Early Autumn – Monclair“, painted in 1891, really drew me in. I could look at that one all day.
©Copyright 2009 by Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
If you are a frequent visitor to this blog you know that on the weekends I do not like to sit around the house. We have been sharing a car for 10 years now (it’s tough) and I sit around the house all week.
In last week’s Sunday paper there was a story about the Pennsylvania State Museum’s new exhibit on Mammoths and Mastodons including a newly remounted mastodon skeleton that was found in a peat bog in PA. I’ve always wanted to visit this museum but never really had any reason until now. All I can say is wow, this place really blew me away. Four stories of PA artifacts and treasures from art (past & present) to vehicles (horse and gas powered), Civil War history, geology, Native American history, natural history and more. To top it off it’s insanely cheap – only $8 total for our admission. They also had a planetarium show but we didn’t have time for it. Here are some photos from our day.
A HUGE statue of William Penn at the entrance.
I loved the mural behind him too.
An unusal sled. The sign said it was used for mail delivery I think.
Stuffed Bison. I liked how this diorama was painted.
The stars lit up in the backgroud.
My favorite painting of the day.
“A Romantic View of Nuclear Power”
by Clifford Lamoree
An impressiove painting of The Battle of Gettysburg.
And a sweet little robin to great us as we left.
Please visit the gift shop’s website for some lovely arts and crafts by PA residents.
©Copyright 2009 by Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
Today we went to the National Christmas Center. It’s only about 20 minutes away in Paradise, PA. You may have even seen this place on TV, on shows like Martha Stewart. It’s a wonderful museum for the Christmas lover, young and old. This is a short video I took of one of my favorite rooms, the 5 and 10 store.
Some more pictures…
Display cases of old feather trees with antique ornaments.
Huge model train room is really amazing. I love the tree coming out of the center with hundreds of glass ornaments on the ceiling!
Zoe loved looking at all the old toys.
Santa’s Workshop complete with animatronic elves and animals.
Old Toy Shop
German Santa in the Christmas around the world room.
Candy shop display.
©Copyright 2009 by Jennifer MacNeill-Traylor. See original post here.
To learn more about this artist, visit her website.
