Yesterday I spent part of the morning seeing Collecting the Impressionists, an exhibit of twelve Impressionist paintings from the The Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute (the exhibit was supplemented with other works from the Joslyn's collections), which is being held at my local museum, The Joslyn (the museum is about a 15 minute walk from my house, and this is actually where I wait for my bus every morning going to work). Imagine having the kind of money that enables you to buy contemporary artwork! Sterling Clark, heir to the Singer sewing machine fortune, started collecting Impressionist works in the 20s and amassed something like 300 works of art (if I am remembering the number correctly). Impressionist paintings were a bit of a shock to the art world at first, so I suppose Clark was able to procure the works at prices nowhere near what an Impressionist masterpiece would sell for today. I really love museums and there is nothing like seeing a work of art up close (well relatively so) and in person. While I was happy to see the exhibit was quite busy (it ends today), it isn't always conducive to a leisurely stroll through the museum admiring the art while fighting crowds. Of course that's what I get for waiting until the end! My favorite painting by the way was by Renoir called A Girl Crocheting, which was the first painting Sterling acquired (and the link is nothing like the original as you might guess).
While I couldn't take any photos in any of the galleries, I was able to take a photo in the atrium. A sculpture by Dale Chihuly called Inside Out hangs above their cafe. Of course my photo doesn't do it justice. On the opposite end there is even a more spectacular chandelier by Chihuly, but I didn't want to walk through the food court to take a photo.
Of course I had to stop in the gift shop and look through the books and postcards before leaving. I somehow managed to miss the exhibition catalog in the crush of people, but I found an interesting book by Sue Roe called The Private Lives of the Impressionists, which I am really looking forward to reading. I have been in the mood lately to read about art and artists, so the timing is perfect. By the way I finished Elizabeth Hickey's The Wayward Muse (very enjoyable, post to follow soon), and now I think it would be fitting to start Susan Vreeland's The Luncheon of the Boating Party (Clark more paintings by Renoir than any of the other Impressionists by the way!). Oh, and they had very cool (though a tad bit pricey) canvas bookmarks! Yes, I had to splurge and buy one. It was a hard choice, but I opted for Degas' Four Ballerinas.