Favorite Art, Science, Natural History, or Other Museum?

It lies between Broadway and Park Avenue South, EB--which is (or once was) a ritzy neighborhood. They were fairly well off--they might have been rich, but Theodore, Sr. had several brothers, and the estate of Teedie's grandfather had been divided between them. Nevertheless, when Theodore, Sr. died while Teedie was at Harvard, the estate was sufficient that Theodore, Jr. was independent, with careful management.

When I was a child, I loved the Museum of the City of New York. Loved the dioramas. Loved the dollhouse on the top floor. It has a working elevator in it. A dollhouse for rich people, my parents explained. Love the old fire engines. I haven't been there in decades.

I don't know whether it's where it used to be (around 155th Street, I think) but the Museum of the American Indian is worth a looksee. It was near the Spanish Museum. Also interesting.

I don't like the Guggenheim at all. In fact, I get a bit seasick just thinking about it, but it has a wonderful collection of early Picassos.

I haven't been to it but I walked by it, the National Museum of the American Indian (www.nmai.si.edu)

Has moved down south to Battery Park.
1 Bowling GRN
New York, NY 10004-1415

Yup, the Battery Park venue for the American Indian museum is the one I'm familiar with. There are some other little-known small museums in that area. There's a Police museum right on the banks of the East River (can't think of the address now; you can probably find it in the Manhattan Yellow Pages under "museums.")

Funny story on how I discovered that one. I had a State Dept. assignment to accompany a couple of high-ranking Latvian cops on their visit to the US. NY was the last stop on the iteninerary. We had some free time and I was showing them around the Battery when we spotted the sign on the police museum. What could have been more appropriate?

I'm going to list some gems that have not been mentioned:

The Walters-- Baltimore, MD Byzantine collection is amazing.
I always thought Baltimore was a dump...

Visionary Art Museum-- Balitimore, MD (although I do not love this museum, I do love the idea of it.


That's right, the outside facade is one big mosaic. Upon closer inspection the artist embedded toy size artifacts on the surface as well, many of the presidents are there-- Roosevelt, Lincoln, Jefferson, very playful stuff.

Here's the link for more information: http://www.avam.org/

Rhode Island School of Designn Museum, Providence, RI-- it's a small collection but they've got some gorgeous Italian painting, some decent modern art, decent 19th century stuff too, and a fantastic Buddha.

"We frown upon your remarks."

The largest Wood Collection is in the Iowa museum I mentioned but CH Inst is (to me) the greatest art museum in the US , even surpasses the National GAllery. Its a Gem.

Thats cause their collections go DEEEP , as well as broad.

That building is mindbogglingly stunning!

It's halfway between Gramercy Park and the 'hostel' someone you know always is staying. Passed (and photographed) it a couple of times myself ...




Back to favourite museums.

Certainly all the well known have been mentioned. And they are worth being someone's favourite.

Personally, I like more the less crowded. In NY, for instance, the Nrooklyn Museum is my all-over favourite.

In London, it's the Sir John Soane's Museum‎ ... which gets crowde since two years, too (so you aren't allowed to photograph now, which was still possible four years ago).
In Paris, it's the Musée d'Orly (but only in winter time).


My all-over favourites, however, are archives: usually not more than a handful of people there .... and you can really look at (and even touch) the pieces ...

Art Institute of Chicago has some pretty great modern art.

Here's another angle of the museum:
I also remembered the DIA in Detroit, mostly for the Diego Rivera murals.

I'm still working on it - I don't plan to explain memories from every museum I've been to, just put in highlights, so the list here will probably shorten a lot - or not - once I finish it.
On the other hand, I haven't even thought about italy yet.
So this is a kind of bookmark post.



Art Museums

New York Metropolitan Museum. I went berserk about the Manet Velasquez show, went back something like nine times in a few days to that set of rooms. For whatever reason, possible overexposure re a then recent show at the SFMOMA, when I explored the rest of the museum I skipped along past Monets and chased Rubens. I chased Delacroix. I chased Courbet - found a bunch of painters I'd never heard of interesting.
Hard to walk away from that building figuring I'd not be back.

Frick Museum, New York City

National Gallery of Art, Washington

[b/Hirshhorn Museum, Washington[/b]

Corcoran Gallery, Washington

Phillips Museum, Washington

Institute of Art, Chicago

Getty Museum of Art, Malibu, before recent renovation

LA County Museum of Art, Los Angeles

LA Institute of Contemporary Art (LAICA), Los Angeles

Temporary Contemporary, Los Angeles

Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles

Norton Simon Museum, Pasadena

Santa Barbara Museum of Art Liking the Phillips Collection at this museum in the late seventies is what made me check out the Phillips Museum in Washington in the later eighties. I also really liked the architecture of the SB Museum; it's been renovated since I've been there.

Newport Harbor Museum of Art (now Orange County Museum)

Irvine Museum, Costa Mesa This was a comfortable carpeted exhibition space for early california painting from the collection of Joan Irvine - set at the top of an office building in the area near the John Wayne Airport.. I loved dropping in there. I understand the museum has moved, but not far.

SF Museum of Modern Art Mobs in front of the Monets that had been leant for an exhibit. I liked the museum, and also liked the serene cafe across the street for a good lunch with a glass of wine at reasonable cost.

Fine Arts Museums, San Francisco I forget most else about the work I saw but remember The Celtic Huntress painting by George De Forest Brush, and a favorite penguin sculpture, well the only penguin sculpture I think I've seen - from photos I took. The one of the Celtic Huntress is a favorite photo because it had a young woman up close to the painting staring fixedly...

Crocker Museum, Sacramento
A few of us went to a Wayne Thiebaud show there - relatively contemporary work in a great old building. I've met Thiebaud, but he doesn't know I knew it was him - long story.

Morris Graves Museum of Art, Humboldt County
I showed a couple of my paintings there, so naturally it's a favorite museum, but I liked the place besides that. It was set in an old Carnegie Library that was rather beautiful; I thought the museum was nicely run with some interesting solo shows.

I didn't mean that directly to you, I was just musing.

Mutter? Gabriele? (or is that Munter, I forget)

Yeh, the Barnes is on my wanna see list.
I had an Osso period of extreme Fauve fervor.

Visited the MOMA for the first time today to see the William Kentridge Five Themes exhibit and the Lee Bontecou exhibit.
http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/964



http://www.moma.org/visit/calendar/exhibitions/1051


Both are more then my favorite contemporary artists but two of my all time favorite artists.

It's also the first time I actually saw a Francis Bacon painting up close (and not a book or online photograph). Far more impressive then I could ever imagine.

I'm in a major query. Since I can basically only afford one museum membership this year, I battling with the choose between the Met or MOMA.

I'm leaning towards MOMA:
1. preference towards modern and contemporary art;
2. yearly membership is cheaper by $20;
3. up and coming Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913"1917 exhibition;
4. entrance fee is $20 without membership or free if I choose to drop by on the very crowded Fridays.

Anybody have any persuasive arguments for the Metropolitan Museum?

I can't help you on that. My own experience is being in nyc with my mother, who I didn't know had dementia and our not being able to get into the moma, in '69 as the door just closed. I've followed it for years. Craved ny for years.

I finally got back there in 2003, and spent a big part of 4 days , or was it 3, at the met.
Still didn't see moma, but the frick and whitney (sort of) and a bunch of galleries.

I think if I were you and I'm not, I'd go for moma and still visit the met on occasion.

If I were me, I'd pick the met.

A friend of mine recently became a member of MOMA. She loves it. Lots of movies. The wonderful garden in the back.

I was a member of the Metropolitan Museum many years ago. Loved it, but it might have changed. Went to some truly great lectures. My favorite was mythology and Greek art.

These days I ain't a member of nuttin'.

The MFA is about to reopen in its entirety after such a prolonged restoration and building project.
http://www.mfa.org/thenewmfa/

I have to make my way to the museum sometime this winter and give my favorite museum a reevaluation.

I hope the Buddhist temple has been restored. The past 4 or 5 times I revisited the museum, the room was gone because of the construction of the new wing.