Actually the breakfast marathon always started with yogurt and fruit….Now I’m really embarrassed!
O.K. then, I will...
Can you even begin to imagine how seeing this building made my heart sing?
Actually I was close to weeping…..overcome with the thought of all the artwork that has been created and gathered through the centuries….All the donors and collectors who found it imperative to house their collections in a space that would benefit more than themselves….all of us! A year is not enough time to experience all The MET has to offer.
Rodin was a quick walk through as I had been to the Rodin Museum in Paris and of course there’s the Norton Simon collection. There will be some delights to see in the Leonardo to Matisse collection. I had read about the 'Japanese Bamboo art’ exhibit in the New York Times and was eager to see the exhibit.
Ahhhhh………...
On the way to the Japanese Bamboo Art exhibit….
I know we’ve seen hundreds of reproductions of this but it always captures me….
Finally…The Abbey Collection. How extraordinary to gather together all these exquisite pieces and then donate the collection to the Met!
A docent tour had just begun…perfect timing! There were so many incredibly intricate, stunning pieces that I think I’ll create a special notebook for those interested in knowing more.
It goes without saying that I was more than eager to move on to the extraordinary collection of Chinese Landscape paintings. It will take me some time to compile a notebook of them for the Landscape class in the studio.
Leaving the inspiration of the Landscape paintings one strolls past the Astor Chinese Court area….
At this point I noticed that my phone had completely lost it’s charge so it was off to a cafeteria where they had charging stations. I was excited about that until I realized that I left my charger at the Four Seasons. Fortunately as I wandered from table to table with a plaintive ‘please sir…may I have more porridge’ type of entreaty, I stumbled upon one fellow who said, ‘No problem, I’m the manager of the second floor gift shop and I’ll charge it for you as soon as I finish my lunch’! Imagine that!
While waiting for my phone I decided the best thing to do would be to visit the roof garden to take advantage of the extraordinary vistas. I must confess I was a little confused about the art installation but it takes all kinds……….
Argentinian artist Adrián Villar Rojas has transformed the Cantor Roof with an intricate site-specific installation that uses the Museum itself as its raw material. Featuring detailed replicas of nearly 100 objects from The Met collection, The Theater of Disappearance encompasses thousands of years of artistic production over several continents and cultures, and fuses them with facsimiles of contemporary human figures as well as furniture, animals, cutlery, and food. Each object—whether a 1,000-year-old decorative plate or a human hand—is rendered in the same black or white material and coated in a thin layer of dust.
The artist has reconfigured the environment of the Cantor Roof by adding a new pergola, a grand tiled floor, a bar, public benches and augmented planting throughout the space. The Met's own alphabet has even been incorporated into the graphic identity of the project. To realize this extensive work, the artist immersed himself in the Museum and its staff for many months, holding conversations with the curators, conservators, managers, and technicians across every department who contributed to the realization of this installation.
There’s no telling what you’ll run into at The Met…Perhaps some modern dancers...
Back to major donations to the museum where the Robert Lehman collection was on display.
This was quite extensive, covering a lot of ground and utterly fascinating to see one man’s pursuit of his fascination.
This is so utterly charming and perhaps owning only it with no other art would bring one joy.
Here’s my joy. I am entranced by any and all of Degas’ studies of dancers. Years ago the museum had an extraordinary collection of his pastel studies and I wanted to just live there amongst them. I could have stayed with this study for hours and been content.
I’m including this little drawing so you can see how much thought and work went into Leonardo’s final compositions.
It’s really wonderful to see the most brilliant of artists sketched just the way we do!
There were so many more but it’s time to move on. I’ve mentioned many times that the best way to visit a museum is to zone in on a few paintings and really ‘see’ them. On that basis, permit me to share my favorites.
I wanted to show you this painting because to me, no artist has ever captured female flesh as well as Renoir. He somehow made it lyrical and sublime.
I know that today, a painting such as this is considered ‘decorative’ but it’s so meaningful to me because as a very young child I fell in love with a beautiful book on Renoir and this painting was included in it. The scale alone of it is enough to stop one in their tracks or perhaps it’s just the dog I love!
Years ago MoMA has a brilliant retrospective of Picasso’s work and the viewer was able to see a comprehensive array of his early works of which I am a great fan. This piece is no exception.
I mentioned in the first bog of the New York trip that Matisse’s ‘Dance’ in any form is my happy place. This painting is no exception.
Oh there was so much more, a lifetime of more but we needed to move on……Who wants to go to NYC with me???
Just enough time to get to the Guggenheim before it closed……….But first, priorities….a dog encounter….
The New York Times had a provocative article in the Arts section October 7th about a ‘powerful, unmissable event’ at the Guggenheim showing works of Chinese artists who were & are morally controversial and very critical of politics. These conceptual pieces are quite explosive and demanding of the viewer.
Oh dear, too much thinking. I needed to go to Bergdorf Goodman’s for some retail therapy and especially gifts for those who went above and beyond with caring for Charles while I was away. But first….how late was it? Are we missing a meal? I had planned on going to Bouchon at the Time Warner Center but serendipity took us to the 7th floor at Bergdorf’s where the BG Restaurant beckoned. After some of the best meals in NYC, I was bowled over by our dinner and have to say it won hands down with each dish more delicious than the previous one.
Besides, it’s lovely viewing Central Park and the Plaza Hotel from our table...
After dinner we staggered down to the basement in the hunt for interesting lotions and fragrances. That turned into a party with conceptual artist Wangui Maina (wanguimaina.com) the salesperson at Buly, a French company and fun Sara from Guerlain.
Their sections were adjoining and way in the back of the huge room so we didn’t notice that there weren’t any other people…. we were told when we left that the store had been closed for 30 minutes! Since the Plaza Hotel is right across the street we decided to check out the Food Court.
A small section of the Food Court in the lower level of the Plaza Hotel….
Ahhhhh love…...
and see Elouise on the way to the Palm Court for some Lady M cake…..
Many layers of crepe goodness….
Thank you Nikka for my surprise Bergdorf gift…..
O.K., so it’s 10:00 at night and you’re in NYC, what do you do? Why walk across the street to the Paris theatre and see a movie of course!
Can you believe Nikka lugged all this about? Perhaps I helped a very little...
End of day two and you deserve a medal for looking at all this!
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