Does this artist's name ring a bell?

I happened to come across these two paintings listed in a Skinner's  auction catalog. The paintings, while pleasant and competent, might not seem that striking. The name of the artist, Edward Darley Boit, may not immediately ring a bell with most people.

Lot 1016: Edward Darley Boit (American, 1842-1916) Hillside Landscape

Lot 1362: Edward Darley Boit (American, 1840-1915) Villa, San Remo 

What makes them of interest is the connection the artist has to a very well known painting, possibly the most famous painting in Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Yes, those are his daughters in the famous Sargent painting.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)

The December Travels

We typically make some sort of December trip. In years when long distance travel is not feasible, we can take advantage of the many options available to us in the northeast. One favorite is to visit the Yuletide at Winterthur, and the holiday decorating at nearby Longwood Gardens.

Winterthur picks a theme relating to history, holiday traditions, or the lives of the DuPonts. This year's seemed to be a mix, with some vignettes coordinated with their current exhibition of Currier and Ives prints.

Christmas morning, DuPont style

Mr. DuPont wanted nice table settings and decorations

The cut-off date for the collection was pre-Victorian, but this display was created to show 19th century traditions.

Longwood's outdoor lighting is beautiful, but if you can't manage the long walk or the cold, just visiting the acres of conservatories and greenhouses is a winter treat.

I didn't need the scarf and coat inside there.

Organist from Australia (with jeweled jacket)

 With rest breaks, including a carol singalong in the organ hall, we managed to see just about all of it.

The Berkshires in Winter Part II

The second day of our December trip to the Berkshires was devoted to museums. We were anxious to revisit the Clark (Sterling and Francine Clark Institute) in Williamstown, as we had not been there since the opening of the large remodeling/addition project. The approach to the new wing is rather cold and sterile (perhaps it would have felt more welcoming on a day with better weather.

New wing at the Clark 

The new wing has large open spaces for temporary exhibitions. Currently on view was Monet/Kelley, showing how Ellsworth Kelley was inspired by Monet's work and environment during his 1950s stay in France. The "finished" Monet's in this particular exhibit were, I felt, some of his least successful. But the large oil sketches were electrifying, and had you not known the artist, you might have guessed they were contemporary paintings. Sorry that I could not take pictures in this exhibit.

Impressionist Gallery at the Clark

19th Century Salon at the Clark

Grant Wood: Death on the Ridge Road, 1935. Williams College Museum of Art

Our next stop was the Williams College Museum of Art, with its interesting and eclectic collection ranging from Early American to contemporary. I was surprised and delighted to see one of my
favorite Grant Wood paintings in the collection, Death on the Ridge Road.

One of the current exhibits was Franz West (Austrian, 1947-2012). His works were strange, sometimes funny, particularly his "adaptives" which vaguely resembled tools and appliances you may see in a dream or nightmare. In his original gallery installations, he intended for visitors to pick up and handle these items in order to interact with the art (we did not have that privilege in the museum).

Franz West

We then moved on to Mass Moca in North Adams. The highlight was the multi-story installation by Sol Lewitt. While not an artist I particularly care for, it was fascinating to see an art environment so large you wander through it, almost as if in a shopping mall of visuals.

When you visit Mass Moca, you may not care for the art, but the visit is so immersive that even if you feel contemporary installation art is some sort of con game, you still can enjoy the ride through the artist's vision.

Winter in the Berkshires

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This past year's tactic of making trips closer to home is paying off. Our second December 2014 trip was a visit to the Berkshires. We have passed through on quick visits in previous years, but this was our first winter visit, and in spite of the gray weather, we really enjoyed seeing the landscape when it is not leaf covered.

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Whenever I read Edith Wharton's "Ethan Frome", I can almost feel the bitter cold and stark atmosphere. Having been through some of these small towns on a gray and snowy day, I can see that she captured them accurately.

Reminded me of Wharton's line about "the rest of the Fromes in the graveyard"

We opted to stay in Lenox, so we would be central to the museums. This also gave us the chance to sample a terrific restaurant in Lenox, Nudel.

Well, I picked the hotel because of the indoor pool, as well. 

On our first day, we visited the Berkshire Museum in Pittsfield. A combination natural history and art museum, this was also the time of their "Festival of Trees", where local businesses and organizations sponsor trees decorated with a theme (this year's was "Safari"). Some were quite clever, and this did make an interesting addition for the season.

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Some of the galleries were devoted to a new installation of items from the permanent collection. Called  "Objectify" it juxtaposed various objects, and was designed to look as though items were shipped in from around the world, with the viewer seeing the uncrating. They also provided this lovely frame for "photo ops"

Where's John Singer Sargent when you need him?

Newport Holiday Decorations 2014

Instead of any major travels, this season we are taking some shorter trips closer to home. More and more sites are promoting their holiday decor, so this week we spend a couple days in the Newport, Rhode Island area.

Our first stop was Blithewold, in Bristol, Rhode Island. This home, while grand, is much smaller and homelike than the Newport mansions. The volunteers decorated throughout, with different themes. Some of these were clever interpretations, and all were lovely. The centerpiece, however, was the tree that was tall enough to reach the second floor in the stair hall.

The next day we toured three of the Newport mansions: The Breakers, Marble House and The Elms.

If you have never been to visit these mansions, you will probably have a hard time grasping the size and grandeur. These "palaces" were only intended for the summer season, so any holiday decor is a modern interpretation. Photography is not normally permitted, but during this season they do allow photographs of the main decorated areas in the three houses. Frankly, most of the decorating looked pretty much like what you would see an any upscale shopping mall or grand hotel lobby. It does seem like an uphill battle: Do you do simple designs that will be lost among the house's architecture, or try to match or out do it? 

The "Poinsettia Tree" under the watchful eye of a Breakers staff member.

The most intriguing aspect for me was the use of LED candles, which provided a lifelike, flickering flame effect. These are perfect for house museums, and also for people who don't want live flames around.

Marble House and The Breakers are both so over the top, that the floral decorations didn't have a chance (I didn't even have the heart to take a picture of the main hall at Marble House - even with a wreath of enormous size on the marble wall, it still looked just sad. The Elms, more restrained in its elegance, seemed like better coordination of color and theme.

A decorated mantelpiece at The Elms

The Elms grand holiday tree

But all was not lost. We had breakfast and lunch at Annie's restaurant on Bellevue Avenue - where the kitchen staff puts up the ceiling decorations. Apparently there will be a contest to guess the number of ornaments.

Summer at Old Sturbridge Village

Since I had an errand to run in the area, we stopped in to Old Sturbridge Village for a visit. This weekend they had a variety of textile-related activities being demonstrated.

Bedding being aired on the fence at the Small House

Dying wool with natural materials.

The Freeman Farmhouse and barns

Baking time at the farm kitchen; no fly control here.

Dairy room at the farm.

Shoemaker at work.

Towne House barns.

Towne House with all blinds closed.

Art Forgery, Steampunk and the Cat in the Hat

Do you like green eggs and ham?

 

As is often the case, you can overlook things that are almost in your own backyard. There was an exhibit on art forgery ending this weekend, so that lit the fire to finally make a trip out to the Springfield, MA museum complex about 60 miles from us.

The museums in downtown Springfield include a science/natural history museum, two art museums, and a historical museum which is currently closed for refurbishing. The buildings are grouped in "the quadrangle, whose center includes a whimsical monument to one of Springfield's famous sons, Theodor Geisel, aka "Dr. Seuss".

 

 

"Intent to Deceive" was an interesting exhibit on fakes, although without the amount of depth and history I would have liked. One of the highlights for me was finally seeing some of the Han van Meegeren "Vermeers" in person. Even when seeing the photographs in art books, my reaction was always "How could anyone be fooled by these?". The story of van Meegeren was about more than simply faking art - and you can read more in this article.

But this exhibit did get me to finally see the D'Amour Museum of Fine Arts. Not the largest museum or collection you will visit, but does include some gems. I was astounded to see, almost immediately upon entering the front door, the monumental "The Historical Monument of the American Republic" by Erastus Salisbury Field. I knew of the painting, but it never registered with me that it was about one hour from home.

 

 

 

We were on a tight schedule this visit, but we did take time for a quick look at the Smith Art Museum  as well. I enjoy idiosyncratic collections, and this one was not only a reflection of the original benefactors' tastes, but is still retained in a late-Victorian display format. So rare to see such a time capsule. A large gallery of 19th century paintings hung "salon style", large Asian art collections and a hall of classical and antique casts. The museum was, appropriately enough, hosting a "Steampunk" exhibit on view through September 28, which fits well with the Victorian architecture.

 

Great hall of casts

 

 

Nicolas Tesla and Thomas Edison united in Springfield.

 

Outfits for your steampunk wedding

 

 

Spring Road Trip Part IV: Barnes and Michener Museums

The warm and welcoming entrance to the Barnes Foundation museum.

We finally made our visit to the new Barnes Foundation Art Museum. We had visited the museum in its previous incarnation in Merion, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Due to local restrictions, and the restrictions of the foundation, visiting the Barnes was a complete pain in the ass in those days. After a contentious battle to break the conditions of Dr. Barnes will, and a controversial grab by the art/charity establishment, the collection has moved to a new museum in Philadelphia's museum district. Inside a severely plain stone box, they have recreated the interior and collection arrangement of the original museum. In addition, whether by accident or intent, visiting the new Barnes is also a complete pain in the ass. Limited numbers of visitors, timed tickets and a strange arrangement makes it rather user-unfriendly.

What is interesting is the arrangement and juxtapositions of the works, espousing Barnes' theories about art and design connections (whether interesting or just whacko I'll leave to others to judge). In addition, the framing of many works was interesting, in that it showed the taste of Barnes and the period.

Works are mostly tightly grouped, in fairly small rooms, along with African artifacts, early American iron work and furniture, etc. There are some masterpieces here, along with many smaller and lesser works, which makes the collection interesting in that it is a personal statement more so than a curated collection of a particular school or history of art. Renoir is probably the artist most heavily represented; unfortunately, not my favorite artist (when I look at Renoirs I keep thinking I am in a Hampton Inn).

 Some of the small works (which can often be overlooked in large institutions) are really gems, such as the Demuths, and there are some nice examples of  Prendergast and Mattisse. If you are at all interested in art, worth the visit, if only to see a different take on the museum arrangement and experience.

Wish I had some pictures taken inside, but of course they don't allow that. You can see some images on the Barnes website.

 

Michener Museum entrance

The next morning we visited the Michener Museum of Art in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. A wonderful small museum, with a collection that features local artists and craft workers. There is a good selection of works from the school of Pennsylvania impressionism, which to my view, seems a bit "grittier" and realistic than, for example, the "Old Lyme" artists.

 

 

 

And of course, dear to my heart, the number of frames made for a number of these paintings by local carver/gilders Harer and Badura.

 

The Twins: Virginia and Jane, 1917 by Joseph Pearson. 60 x 72 inches.

The painting shown here, "The Twins", is one of the most arresting in the collection. I know that every time we see twins represented we immediately want to compare it to Diane Arbus, but there is something about this painting that makes it hard to look away.