Travel | The Studio

Archive for the ‘Travel’ Category

Art at the Mill

Posted in Small Town Life, Travel, tagged Art at the Mill, Burwell-Morgan Mill, Shenandoah Valley, Small Town Life on May 9, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Art at the Mill – Spring 2013

Art at the Mill-Spring 2013

I drove over to Millwood this week to see “Art at the Mill” at the Burwell-Morgan Mill. The mill was built in 1785 and is the oldest operable mill in the Shenandoah Valley. It’s on the Historic Register and is open to the public. You can learn more about the Mill and their hours here. “Art at the Mill” is a fundraiser that the volunteers put on twice a year to raise money to support this wonderful old structure. If you have a chance drive over to see this wonderful show before Sunday be sure to go. The show runs through May 12th.

Read Full Post »

Little Dancer by Degas

Posted in Little Known Facts, Travel, Trivia, tagged Ballet, Degas, Edgar Degas, Little Dancer, Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Met, Travel on May 5, 2013| 1 Comment »

Little Dancer – Edgar Degas

Over the years I have posted many times about Edgar Degas and his dancers. The Little Fourteen Year Old Dancer that he sculpted in 1880 is just beautiful. Degas exhibited the original version of this sculpture at the 6th Impressionist exhibit in 1881. The wax original was tinted to simulate flesh, clothed in a fabric bodice, tutu, and ballet slippers and topped with a horsehair wig tied behind with a silk ribbon. Can you imagine seeing that???!!! Did you know that this sculpture was not cast in bronze until after Degas died. His family had it done and 69 sculptures survived the bronzing process. (You can read and see more about it here and at the link at the end of this post.)

Degas Dancer from the back

The wonderful thing about seeing the sculpture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art recently is that they have it displayed right in the middle of a gallery where you can walk all the way around it. Wonderful! And there are many Degas Dancer paintings hanging in the gallery with it. A dancer would be in heaven!

There is much known and written about Degas and his dancers. Check it out here.

Read Full Post »

A Look at Hopper at the Met

Posted in Travel, Trivia, tagged Edward Hopper, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Modern Art on April 17, 2013| 1 Comment »

There is so much to see at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, as I have been sharing over the last few days, that it’s hard to know where to look. I narrowed down my time there to some galleries I have never had a chance to visit. One was the “Modern Art” galleries.

I found two Edward Hopper paintings there that were interesting in that they showed the range of his subject matter. The first is called “Tables for Ladies, painted in 1930, oil on canvas. It is a good example of the observations he made of everyday life.

The second one is “Office in a Small City” painted in 1953, oil on canvas. He often painted solitary figures that seemed emotionally detached from other people or their surroundings. This is a good example. You can learn more about Hopper by clicking here.

Read Full Post »

Bronze Sleeping Eros

Posted in Little Known Facts, Sculpture, Travel, tagged Metropolitan Museum of Art, Sleeping Eros on April 15, 2013| Leave a Comment »

There is so much to see at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York that I didn’t have any problem gathering loads of photos and information to share on my blog. I mentioned a few months ago that I have a desire to learn to sculpt so I was so happy to see this special exhibit that the Met had of Sleeping Eros, a bronze statue of Greek origin from the Hellenistic period dating to the 3rd-2nd Century B.C. It is said to be from Rhodes. It is amazing that it has survived in such good shape. You can see the wonderful detail in the work. Read more about this exhibit here.

I still plan to show my favorite from the Fashion exhibit but it will be tomorrow. 🙂

Read Full Post »

A Day at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

Posted in Serendipity, Travel, tagged daily painter, impressionism, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Virginia Artist on April 14, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I spent a lovely day yesterday in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I went on a bus trip with a nice group of people who went as a fundraiser for a Relay for Life team and I was told we raised over $500 for them. Yeah!

I went specifically to see the exhibit- Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity. And it was well worth the trip. There were over 80 major paintings of figures clothed in lovely period clothing with actual fashions from the time being shown with the art. It was fabulous! You can read more about it here on the Mets website.

This painting, “In the Conservatory (Madame Bartholome) by Albert Bartholome shows his wife entering a door. Displayed by the painting was the actual dress she wore in the painting. It was fascinating to see.

If you have an opportunity to get to New York before the show closes on May 22nd be sure to stop into the Metropolitan and enjoy this wonderful exhibit.

Tomorrow I will share my FAVORITE!

Read Full Post »

Largest Art Heist in History

Posted in Little Known Facts, Travel, Trivia, tagged Boston, Boston Art Theft, Isabella Gardner Museum, Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Largest Art Theft, Largest Art Theft in History, Travel on March 18, 2013| 2 Comments »

Twenty-three years ago, early on the morning of March 18, 1990, two thieves dressed as police officers entered the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum while everyone outside was preparing for the St. Patrick’s Day parade and committed the largest art robbery in history. Thirteen pieces were stolen including a Rembrandt, a Vermeer, five Degas drawings, a Manet and more. The estimated value is over $500 million! Read more about the art here.

And the theft is still a mystery. The art has not been recovered and there are really no leads bringing the FBI closer to recovering the art. When I was in Boston a few years ago I visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and saw her unusual collection. (Read about that visit here.) But the really weird part was to walk by a wonderful painting and then see an empty frame right next to it (see above) where the thieves cut the art right out of their frame. The Board of Directors chose to leave the frames exactly as they were since Gardner had left explicit directions that the art remain as she left it.

Isabella Stewart Gardner by John Singer Sargent

The museum is fascinating in that is a home that houses a wonderful collection. Asked in 1917 about building a museum and Gardner said,

“Years ago I decided that the greatest need in our Country was Art… We were a very young country and had very few opportunities of seeing beautiful things, works of art… So, I determined to make it my life’s work if I could.”

She was a fascinating woman. I hope you spend a little time reading more about her and her museum.

Read Full Post »

What is a Museum?

Posted in Little Known Facts, Travel, Trivia, tagged Boston Museum of Fine Art, National Gallery of Art, Philadelphia Museum of Art on March 11, 2013| Leave a Comment »

The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia

Have you ever wondered just “What is a museum”? Museum gets its name from the Greek word mouseion, meaning “seat of the Muses”. The began as places to discuss math, philosophy, science and politics. In the 17th century museums developed into fancy houses devoted to collecting and categorizing curiosities that belonged to noblemen. Today many museums are free or cost little to enter.

They are more than just a huge places that hold artifacts, or in the case of the ones I prefer, art. They also provide classes, workshops, guided tours, interactive exhibits and gift shops.

Museum of Fine Art, Boston

I have been lucky to get to see many wonderful museums over the years in several countries and I still take every opportunity to go to one today when I can whether I have been to it before or not. I see something different every time. Here are a few posts from one of my favorite museums – the National Gallery of Art. Click here and here for more. So on my list of things each day that I am grateful for one toward the top is that I get to enjoy so much beauty at these wonderful places. Make sure you go enjoy them too!

Read Full Post »

Boxcar Graffiti

Posted in Abstract, Travel, Trivia, tagged Boxcar graffiti, train graffiti, Virginia Inland Port on March 4, 2013| 1 Comment »

Most mornings while we are at the dog park we see a train come by. Jed loves to chase the trains along the fence so I usually try to wait for one before we leave. I have noticed that almost every boxcar is covered with graffiti. It made me curious. Graffiti is defined as writings or drawings scribbled, scratched or sprayed on walls or other public places. In most cases it is illegal.

I have learned that there is a specific culture of “Freight Train Graffiti” artists. It’s a vibrant art form that allows these anonymous artists to have their art seen by hundreds of people each day.

Usually painted using aerosol cans of paint, I can only imagine where it is being created and how. It’s almost a stealth art form. We get to see a lot of it as these trains head in and out of the Virginia Inland Port here in Front Royal. The port brings a great deal of boxcars and a great deal of “art” into the community for anyone who will look.

Read Full Post »

The Ibis

Posted in Animals, daily painter, Travel, tagged acrylic, bird, birds, daily painter, Ibis, impressionism, Virginia Artist on March 1, 2013| 1 Comment »

Ibis in the Making 1

Ibis in the Making 2

Ibis in the Making 3

The Ibis is a long-legged wading bird with down curved bills often found in Florida. They are also known as the hurricane bird as they are generally the last to leave an area before a hurricane arrives and the first to return. I saw many of them on my recent visit to Florida but this reference photo comes from Cousin Linda who posted it recently on her Facebook page. Thanks Linda for the inspiration.

Ibis, acrylic on canvas, 36″x18″, $265.

Read Full Post »

Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity at the Met

Posted in Travel, Trivia, tagged Degas, Impressionism Fashion and Modernity, Metropolitan Museum of Art on February 28, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Degas’ Millinery Shop

A new show opened yesterday at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC. I WANT TO GO! Of course, I do. 🙂 It takes a look at the role of fashion in the work of the impressionist painters. It should be fascinating as that work takes place in the mid to late 1800’s when fashion was amazing. One of my favorite Degas paintings, “The Millinery Shop” is in the show. Hats like these are glorious. The wonderful thing about these special exhibits is that some wonderful curator has pulled together paintings from wonderful museums all over the world and put them in one place for us to see. This show features works from The Art Institute of Chicago, The Boston Museum of Fine Art, The Nationalmuseum in Stockholm, The Museum Folkwang in Essen and several others. Some of these paintings have never traveled to the United States. That is the ingenious things about these shows. And we get to see it. Did I mention I WANT TO GO! 🙂 You can see more about the show by clicking here.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »