Utah Museum of Fine Arts

Yesterday Sean and I made a visit to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts.  There are three paintings on loan from the Smithsonian American Art Museum that I really wanted to see before they leave on Oct. 4.  I invited Sean to come with me and I was a bit surprised when he enthusiastically agreed.  He is a fan of museums but he usually likes science and natural history ones so I wasn't sure if he would like paintings and sculpture.  He actually really enjoyed looking at the art work and we had a really great time.

Georgia O'Keefe's Manhattan.  This was quite spectacular to see in person because of its scale and vibrant colors.  When you walk into this particular gallery it is the first thing you see and it takes your breath away.

Here is Sean posing in front of it to show its actual size.  

Alma Thomas's Red Sunset, Old Pond Concerto.  Thomas is a lesser-known artist who is starting to be more recognized for her contribution to post-war abstraction.  The brush strokes are meant to mimic how the light hits the ripples in the water.  It was beautiful in its simplicity.

Thomas Moran's Mist in Kanab Canyon, Utah.  This painting was one that helped shape popular perceptions of the American West in the nineteenth century.

Another painting on special loan to the UMFA through a collection-sharing program called Art Bridges is Diego Rivera's La ofrenda.  I am a huge fan of Rivera (I used his paintings when I taught about Mexico in my World Geography classes) so it was thrilling to be able to see this in person.  It will also leave on Oct. 4.

There is a temporary display (through Nov. 8) called Beyond the Divide which features scrolls, screen dividers, sculpture, prints, and Samurai armor and weapons from Edo-period Japan.

These screens are quite spectacular because they are covered in gold leaf.  I found them fascinating.

We also enjoyed wandering through the permanent collections.  Sean was particularly taken with these two paintings by Elisabeth Louise Vigee Le Brun in the European Collection.  I bought him a book about all of the paintings in the UMFA and he immediately looked Le Brun up.  He told me all kinds of facts about her on the drive home (she was the official portrait painter of Marie Antoinette).

He loved this ancient Egyptian coffin for someone named Padiusur in the Ancient Mediterranean Collection.

He also loved this bronze sculpture in the South Asian Collection.

There is plenty to see in the permanent collections at the UMFA but if you would like to see the paintings on loan you need to visit before Oct. 4.  The museum is located on the campus of the University of Utah and is now open Wednesday-Friday from 12:00-5:00pm.  It is highly recommended that you purchase tickets online in advance for a specific time block (that seems to be standard operating procedure for most places due to Covid-19).  You may still purchase tickets at the museum but entrance is not guaranteed because museum capacity is now limited to 100 people.  Tickets are $15.95 for adults and $12.95 for youths (6-18) and seniors.  Children under 6, U of U students, UFMA Members, and active military personnel are free.  Masks must be worn while inside the museum at all times and social distancing is recommended.  Go here for more information.

A Day at the Art Institute of Chicago

Whenever I am in a big city for a few days, I always like to visit a major art museum (like I did in New York City).  Marilyn and I had a morning free in Chicago so we decided to visit the Art Institute of Chicago.

Because we are such tourists we had to find what is arguably the most famous painting in the museum:  A Sunday on La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat.  This painting is featured in the movie Ferris Beuller's Day Off and because I love that movie it was really fun to see this.

Another really famous painting in the collection is American Gothic by Grant Wood.  It took us quite a while for us to find this painting but it was absolutely spectacular to see it in person.

I am a huge fan of Impressionism and I was thrilled to find a huge collection of paintings by some of my very favorite artists.

Cliff Walk at Pourville by Claude Monet

Houses of Parliament by Claude Monet

Stack of Wheat (Thaw, Sunset) by Claude Monet

Stacks of Wheat (Sunset, Snow Effect) by Claude Monet

Stacks of Wheat (End of Day, Autumn) by Claude Monet

Two Sisters (On the Terrace) by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Venice, Palazzo Dario by Claude Monet

Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Water Lily Pond by Claude Monet

Waterloo Bridge, Gray Weather by Claude Monet

Woman at the Piano by Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Arrival of the Normandy Train, Gare Saint-Lazarre by Claude Monet

Poppy Field (Giverny) by Claude Monet

Drapery, Pitcher, and Fruit Bowl by Paul Cezanne

Self-Portrait by Vincent Van Gogh

It was incredible to see all of these paintings, which I had studied in college, up close and in person.  I highly recommend a visit to the Art Institute of Chicago!

A Day at the Met

Whenever I am in a big city for a few days, I like to plan a visit to a museum because I find them to be endlessly fascinating.  In New York City there are so many to choose from!  I had been to the MoMA (although it merits a return visit) so I thought about the Guggenheim (it was closed) and the Natural History Museum but, in the end, I opted for the Metropolitan Museum of Art and it was incredible!  I started on the ground floor with a current exhibition called Manus x Machina (it runs through August 14) showing how the sewing machine has changed haute couture.  My favorite piece is a wedding gown designed by Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel which has a 20 foot train embroidered in gold.  It is quite spectacular.  I also loved the exhibition of J.M.W. Turner's Whaling Pictures (it runs through August 7) which includes one painting in the Met's permanent collection and three on loan from the Tate in London.  These four paintings were completed near the end of Turner's life and are very tumultuous, to say the least.  (I became a fan of Turner after seeing this movie).  Next, I wandered through an exhibition called Artistic Furniture of the Gilded Age.  It is fascinating but it closes soon (June 5).  Finally, I wandered through the permanent collections including Egyptian Art, Medieval Art, Greek and Roman Art, and the Art of Africa and Oceania (which has some dramatic exhibits).  I was there most of the day and still didn't see everything!  If you are a fan of art from around the world, I highly recommend a visit to this amazing museum (I also recommend the cafeteria in the basement!).  Go here for more information.