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If you are in Chicago for a few days and want to see top-notch museums the city has them and they are encompassed in a fairly small area so that it makes them easy to get from one to another. The closest to the City but a walk from the "natural" museums is the has a wonderful Art Institute of Chicago. It houses the classical and modern collections. The Art Institute is surrounded by two of the major parks of the City that are worth investigating and can be done on the same day if you just want to get a sampling of both the art museum and the parks. There is the Maggie Daley park and the formidable Grant Park filled with great statuary. I would recommend that you spend one day doing that. If you have the energy I would head over to the interconnected Museum Campus. The campus is about 12 blocks from the Art Institute. The campus includes the Shedd Acquarium (one of the nation's best acquarium), the Adler Planetarium (a lot of fun), and the Field Museum (one of the world's finest). https://www.tripsavvy.com/overview-to-chicagos-museum-campus-1492446 The separate museums are all within walking distance from each other. Soldier Field, home to the Bears (for the sports fans out there) is nearby. There are also notable museums in Chicago worth checking out. If you are into more contemporary art there is the Museum of Contemporary Art however that is near the Water Tower area. There is also the Museum of Science and Industry. It is pretty fantastic if that is your bent. https://www.tripsavvy.com/museum-of-science-and-industry-chicago-1492441 So one thing you can definitely say is that there is always something to see in Chicago if you are visiting.

 

P.S. The following are not in "museums" but if you want to see great individual works by many renowned (Picasso, Chagall, Miro') or lesser renowned artists the following lists them by area of the City. Many are outside or can be seen simply by walking into the accompanying building. https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/Public%20Art/publicartguide1.pdf

Edited by TruthBTold
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If you are in Chicago for a few days and want to see top-notch museums the city has them and they are encompassed in a fairly small area so that it makes them easy to get from one to another. The closest to the City but a walk from the "natural" museums is the has a wonderful Art Institute of Chicago. It houses the classical and modern collections. The Art Institute is surrounded by two of the major parks of the City that are worth investigating and can be done on the same day if you just want to get a sampling of both the art museum and the parks. There is the Maggie Daley park and the formidable Grant Park filled with great statuary. I would recommend that you spend one day doing that. If you have the energy I would head over to the interconnected Museum Campus. The campus is about 12 blocks from the Art Institute. The campus includes the Shedd Acquarium (one of the nation's best acquarium), the Adler Planetarium (a lot of fun), and the Field Museum (one of the world's finest). https://www.tripsavvy.com/overview-to-chicagos-museum-campus-1492446 The separate museums are all within walking distance from each other. Soldier Field, home to the Bears (for the sports fans out there) is nearby. There are also notable museums in Chicago worth checking out. If you are into more contemporary art there is the Museum of Contemporary Art however that is near the Water Tower area. There is also the Museum of Science and Industry. It is pretty fantastic if that is your bent. https://www.tripsavvy.com/museum-of-science-and-industry-chicago-1492441 So one thing you can definitely say is that there is always something to see in Chicago if you are visiting.

 

P.S. The following are not in "museums" but if you want to see great individual works by many renowned (Picasso, Chagall, Miro') or lesser renowned artists the following lists them by area of the City. Many are outside or can be seen simply by walking into the accompanying building. https://www.cityofchicago.org/content/dam/city/depts/dca/Public Art/publicartguide1.pdf

 

An architectural tour is a great tour plus Frank Loyd Wright’s home and studio out West is good plus a neighborhood walk with several homes and a church he designed.

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  • 9 months later...
If you are in Chicago for a few days and want to see top-notch museums the city has them and they are encompassed in a fairly small area so that it makes them easy to get from one to another. The closest to the City but a walk from the "natural" museums is the has a wonderful Art Institute of Chicago.

If you get a chance, catch the "Rembrandt Portraits" exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Absolutely transfixing portraits - one could easily spend an hour absorbing the beauty and mystery of a single Rembrandt portrait. Exhibition now thru June 9.

 

https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9244/rembrandt-portraits

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I too am a museum junkie. Now that I'm in LA I've been hitting the major art museums. I really liked the Broad Museum and its free which is very nice. Also I'm very fond of the Brooklyn Museum which is often overlooked by tourists. On a spring day it's very nice to combine a visit with the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens which are really lovely.

Another overlooked museum in NYC is The Museum of the City of New York.

 

For those who are traveling to Chicago, The Chicago History Museum is also worth a visit.

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I was hugely impressed with the Cleveland Museum of Art when I visited last month. A really vast collection. It takes several days. I also finally visited the Barnes, which we found absolutely exquisite. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is also impressive, especially the Paul Mellon collection. I really enjoyed the English hunting and equestrian painting s from the 18th century.

 

I walk through museums all over the world. One of the most interesting is the WW2 museum in Gdańsk. Massive and expertly curated in a post-modern building.

 

As for the Prado, I agree that it’s superior to the Louvre. I went in at opening and forced myself to just wander through the galleries without a plan. It was worth it.

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If we are heading over to Europe, in Paris a smaller museum on beautiful grounds is the Rodin Museum.

 

I was hugely impressed with the Cleveland Museum of Art when I visited last month. A really vast collection. It takes several days. I also finally visited the Barnes, which we found absolutely exquisite. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is also impressive, especially the Paul Mellon collection. I really enjoyed the English hunting and equestrian painting s from the 18th century.

I walk through museums all over the world. One of the most interesting is the WW2 museum in Gdańsk. Massive and expertly curated in a post-modern building.

As for the Prado, I agree that it’s superior to the Louvre. I went in at opening and forced myself to just wander through the galleries without a plan. It was worth it.

 

Something I found interesting is that the same gentleman who planned and carried out the evacuation of the majority of the art works from the Prado during the Spanish Civil War to make sure they were preserved was then called upon to do the same thing regarding the Louvre in WWII. It was not only for preservation purposes but also because Hitler intended to create a huge Nazi art museum after the war was won by Germany and Nazi leaders tended to steal great works of art for themselves.

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It's strange, but I can hike for miles, and stay on the cross-trainer for 45 minutes without stopping, but I find it very difficulty to stand for more than 20 minutes at a time at museums. Are any of you like that? Also, I'm always surprised at how handsome museum-goers seem to be. I find museums to be great places to stare at gorgeous men. They're often too engrossed by the work of art to notice that I'm staring. Do you guys love staring at men as much as the works of art?

It’s officially called museum fatigue. I have a friend who got a degree from GW on museum design and works to make sure people can enjoy exhibitions. My limit is 2 hrs.

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I taught Advanced Placement Art History yet I have very mixed feeling about various art museums.

 

1. Louvre – I absolutely HATE this museum. I hate the constant crowds besides 75% of the contents is pure shit. The other 25% is quite wonderful if you can get close enough to enjoy it.

2. D’Orsay - I absolutely LOVE this museum. Although I’m not a great fan of Impressionism the lay out and setting are great.

3. Uffizi – Probably my favorite art museum. 90% of its contents are wonderful. Crowds can be daunting but if one goes early or late it’s fine.

4. New York Metropolitan – Some really wonderful things but also a good amount of junk. Its special exhibitions are frequently outstanding. The price is right – donation only requested.

5. J. Paul Getty – A perfect example where the building architecture takes precedent over the contents. One spends a great deal of time going up and down and up and down. Richard Meier could have cared less about properly displaying the art works. It was all about his building. He absolutely hated Robert Irwin’s garden design and walked off the site when he could not get it changed to meet his idea of what it should be. As far as I'm concerned the best thing about this museum IS the garden.

6. The Norton Simons – Is a very nice small museum in Pasadena, CA that has a few really nice things and very small crowds.

7. British Museum – Not really an art museum but has a large numbers of very interesting things including the Elgin Marbles (now for the sake of political correctness called the Parthenon Marbles), and the Rosetta Stone.

All of the above are great places to guy watch.

 

P.S. I have always wanted to visit the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and they are both on my bucket list.

Maybe I’m biased as a Philly guy, but the Barnes is among the best for Impressionist art in an atypical setting. More like the Frick. And the Pennsylvania Academy was the first museum and art school in the country in a splendid Victorian building.

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Philadelphia really has an under appreciated cultural patrimony.

Years ago they had something called the Norman Rockwell Museum which I quite enjoyed. I tried to see it about 10 years later, and they told me they were no I'll get open to the public. They only dealt in sending out posters and memorabilia.

 

Gman

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Years ago they had something called the Norman Rockwell Museum which I quite enjoyed. I tried to see it about 10 years later, and they told me they were no I'll get open to the public. They only dealt in sending out posters and memorabilia.

 

Gman

There is a Norman Rockwell Myseum in Stockbridge MA, known mostly as the setting of Alice’s Restaurant by Arlene Guthrie. After she closed the restaurant, she opened a small roadside shack for take-out, called Take Out Alice. Reportedly, she wanted to call it Eat Out Alice, but the town put the kabosh on that.

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I was hugely impressed with the Cleveland Museum of Art when I visited last month. A really vast collection. It takes several days. I also finally visited the Barnes, which we found absolutely exquisite. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is also impressive, especially the Paul Mellon collection. I really enjoyed the English hunting and equestrian painting s from the 18th century.

 

I walk through museums all over the world. One of the most interesting is the WW2 museum in Gdańsk. Massive and expertly curated in a post-modern building.

 

As for the Prado, I agree that it’s superior to the Louvre. I went in at opening and forced myself to just wander through the galleries without a plan. It was worth it.

 

The Cleveland Museum of Art really deserves a higher profile, esp. with the enlargement/renovation. Very nice setting as well.

The Philadelphia Museum also deserves more attention.

 

The lesser known art museums in DC (e.g., Portrait Galley, Freer/Sackler, Hirschorn, Phillips Collection) are better uses of time than the National Gallery, which is poorly laid out and rather uneven, although their contemporary art collection is quite good.

 

The Norton Simon has some nice Asian peices but otherwise not worth the trip.

 

The Isabella Grdner is very worthwhile. I liked it more than the Museum of Fine Arts which seems to have far too many portariuts of dead white guys.

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There is a Norman Rockwell Myseum in Stockbridge MA, known mostly as the setting of Alice’s Restaurant by Arlene Guthrie. After she closed the restaurant, she opened a small roadside shack for take-out, called Take Out Alice. Reportedly, she wanted to call it Eat Out Alice, but the town put the kabosh on that.

I don't know if it still exists, but there was a museum dedicated to Rockwell in Arlington, Vermont as well, pretty much due north of Stockbridge. Its exhibits were more likely to be prints or actual magazine covers than the original paintings, but Rockwell had lived there and used locals as models for some of his most famous work, and displays about that personalized his work in ways the Stockbridge museum doesn't. I felt fortunate to visit both back in my leaf-peeping country inn-visiting days.

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Dear lord, how did I miss this thread the first time around?

 

The Met - the home of my spiritual soul. I’ve spent days, weeks, years, wondering the galleries.

I “know” every inch...and yet each time I discover something exciting and new. They missed

the boat on Modern and have never caught up. I forgive them. That’s what MOMA is for after all...

 

The Guggenheim - the spiral of my dreams. Eternal and never aging. Thank you Mr Wright.

Thank you Peggy. Visionaries both.

 

MOMA - the once perfect building is now a face lifted pale imitation. And the dumb whore

is going back to have more work done. Love the art and always will. Pity about the massacred

structure it’s “sort of” displayed in. Dont fuck with perfect.

 

The Neue Galerie - God love Mr. Lauder for bringing a small piece of Vienna to NYC.

I will meet anyone, any time, in the Cafè Sabarsky for lunch.

 

The new Whitney - now THIS is how you upgrade a building. From drab and ugly to fabulous

and cutting-edge in one fell swoop. They always said they had an amazing collection of

American Art. Now they can prove it.

 

The Frick, the Morgan Pierpoint, the Cooper Hewitt, the Cloisters,....all gems worthy of hours

of quiet contemplation.

 

Ok....so I love Manhattan and all it’s museums. I can spend hours upon hours. No problem.

I realize I am unusual in this regard and I warn my friends, “I’ll be spending 6 to 8 hours here.

I’ll do the “highlights” with you for one hour and then you can run along and leave me with

the art....I'll meet you for dinner”.

 

Philly - for its size.....it’s the best art town in the world.

 

Boston - not as great as you’d expect, but Isabella is one hell of a crown jewel.

 

Chicago - like most of the Midwest...it’s occasionally amazing, but rarely breath taking.

 

LA and San Fran - Lots of mediocre stuff. Fun to visit if you’re in town. Don’t go out of

you’re way to get there though.

 

The Uffizi - astounding but strangely hard for me to get through despite numerous attempts.

I get bored fast and it makes me feel like a Philistine. Any art daddy who wants to take me here

and educate me is welcome.

 

The Hermitage - Wow. It’s like looking through your mothers attic and finding 10 Rembrandt’s.

As with most of Russia it’s insane and impressive at the same time. When I was here Matisse’s

The Dance wasn’t open to the public “for budget reasons”. A sympathetic security guard took

pity on me and allowed me to have a 10 minute private viewing. He didn’t speak English and

I don't speak Russian....but the love of art is indeed a universal language.

 

The Louvre - flawless despite the hordes of unwashed masses. That’s an impressive feat to accomplish.

After the Met...it’s the place I’m most at peace. I’m not a fan of the Mona Lisa, but everything else

I pretty much love. Jacques-Louis David alone is worth the price of admission, not to mention the

Michelangelos, Ingres, Géricaults, Delacroixs and so much more.

 

The d’Orsay - another gem. Impressionism’s high holy ground. A spectacular building as well.

Also over run with tourists, but at least they’re trying to expose themselves to culture.

 

The Prado and the Sophia....stunning. Wish I had made the effort to discover them earlier

in my life. When I cried in front of Guernica...a guard approached me. I was afraid she was going

to reprimand me. Instead she gently hugged me and said “don’t worry, you’re not the first”.

 

Vienna - love it. “The Kiss” astounded me in person like few pieces ever have. If you like

The Neue Galerie...you owe it to yourself to see it’s inspiration. Provincial and fabulous

at the same time. Something I never thought possible before I came here.

 

Berlin and Munich - the Barberini faun alone is enough. And there is soooo much more.

The Pergamon Alter makes me weak, Käthe Kolltitz gives me strength, and Casper David

Friedrich makes me at peace with being alone the world.

 

So to the OP, I understand how museums can exhaust you...but strangely I can spend

eternity in them, and never get even the slightest bit tired. Yes, when I return to to my

hotel room, my feet hurt and I barely have the strength to eat dinner, but my spiritual

soul is still yearns for 2 more minutes in front of a masterpiece.

 

Thankfully, as this thread demonstrates, I’m not the only one.

Edited by nycman
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So much disdain for LA museums here. Some of them are outstanding.

 

The Getty Center - It is a collection for connoisseurs of art --- not comprehensive, but only the best examples of their kind. All of the art is impeccably preserved and presented. The cases, framing, lighting, and educational materials set the standard. As for the building, it is a masterpiece of its own and worth the trouble.

 

The Getty Villa - This is my favorite LA museum. The setting is secluded. The collection of antiquities is one of the best in the US. The presentation is also remarkable. No expense is spared in how the art is displayed or in how the building has been outfitted. The ocean views from the Villa give you a sense of what it must have felt to be a Roman elite.

 

LA MOCA - One of the best post-War art collections in the world, though it might appeal more to art historians than art audiences. The building is unassuming, but it is finally getting the recognition it deserves. (The architect of the building won the Pritzker Prize this year.)

 

The Broad - One of the best post-Warhol collections of contemporary art in the world. The best examples from all the top artists, beginning more or less with Warhol. This is a collection meant to appeal to art audiences more than art historians. It is pure spectacle.

 

Norton Simon - Simon was the preeminent art collector of his time. The collection is a testament to that. Almost every piece attests to his eye for art and his taste level. Like the Getty Center, it is a collection for connoisseurs of art, but at a much smaller scale.

 

LACMA - an encylopedic museum, modeled after the Met. Worth visiting alone for two pieces --- Burden's Urban Light sculpture and Metropolis II. Probably the best LA museum for people watching. In the process, however, of shutting down its main building as it prepares for construction of a new building.

 

See not so bad. The other thing worth noting is that LA has become over the last 20 years one of the top centers for art production in the world. As a result, the galleries here function almost like museums of the now. The top galleries in LA are Blum & Poe, David Kordansky, Regan Projects, Maccarone, Gagosian (BH), and Hauser & Wirth.

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Dear lord, how did I miss this thread the first time around?

 

The Met - the home of my spiritual soul. I’ve spent days, weeks, years, wondering the galleries.

I “know” every inch...and yet each time I discover something exciting and new. They missed

the boat on Modern and have never caught up. I forgive them. That’s what MOMA is for after all...

 

The Guggenheim - the spiral of my dreams. Enternal and never aging. Thank you Mr Wright.

Thank you Peggy. Visionaries both.

 

MOMA - the once perfect building is now a face lifted pale imitation. And the dumb whore

is going back to have more work done. Love the art and always will. Pity about the massacred

structure it’s “sort of” displayed in. Dont fuck with perfect.

 

The Neue Glaerie - God love Mr. Lauder for bringing a small piece of Vienna to NYC.

I will meet anyone, any time, in the Cafè Sabarsky for lunch.

 

The new Whitney - now THIS is how you upgrade a building. From drab and ugly to fabulous

and cutting-edge in one fell swoop. They always said they had an amazing collection of

American Art. Now they can prove it.

 

The Frick, the Morgan Pierpoint, the Cooper Hewitt, the Cloisters,....all gems worthy of hours

of quiet contemplation.

 

Ok....so I love Manhattan and all it’s museums. I can spend hours upon hours. No problem.

I realize I am unusual in this regard and I warn my friends, “I’ll be spending 6 to 8 hours here.

I’ll do the “highlights” with you for one hour and then you can run along and leave me with

the art....I'll meet you for dinner”.

 

Philly - for its size.....it’s the best art town in the world.

 

Boston - not as great as you’d expect, but Isabella is one hell of a crown jewel.

 

Chicago - like most of the Midwest...it’s occasionally amazing, but rarely breath taking.

 

LA and San Fran - Lots of mediocre stuff. Fun to visit if you’re in town. Don’t go out of

you’re way to get there though.

 

The Uffizi - astounding but strangely hard for me to get through despite numerous attempts.

I get bored fast and it makes me feel like a Philistine. Any art daddy who wants to take me here

and educate me is welcome.

 

The Hermitage - Wow. It’s like looking through your mothers attic and finding 10 Rembrandt’s.

As with most of Russia it’s insane and impressive at the same time. When I was here Matisse’s

The Dance wasn’t open to the public “for budget reasons”. A sympathetic security guard took

pity on me and allowed me to have a 10 minute private viewing. He didn’t speak English and

I don't speak Russian....but the love of art is indeed a universal language.

 

The Louvre - flawless despite the hordes of unwashed masses. That’s an impressive feat to accomplish.

After the Met...it’s the place I’m most at peace. I’m not a fan of the Mona Lisa, but everything else

I pretty much love. Jacques-Louis David alone is worth the price of admission, not to mention the

Michelangelos, Ingres, Géricaults, Delacroixs and so much more.

 

The d’Orsay - another gem. Impressionism’s high holy ground. A spectacular building as well.

Also over run with tourists, but at least they’re trying to expose themselves to culture.

 

The Prado and the Sophia....stunning. Wish I had made the effort to discover them earlier

in my life. When I cried in front of Guernica...a guard approached me. I was afraid she was going

to reprimand me. Instead she gently hugged me and said “don’t worry, you’re not the first”.

 

Vienna - love it. “The Kiss” astounded me in person like few pieces ever have. If you like

The Neue Galerie...you owe it to yourself to see it’s inspiration. Provincial and fabulous

at the same time. Something I never thought possible before I came here.

 

Berlin and Munich - the Barberini faun alone is enough. And there is soooo much more.

The Pergamon Alter makes me weak, Käthe Kolltitz gives me strength, and Casper David

Friedrich makes me at peace with being alone the world.

 

So to the OP, I understand how museums can exhaust you...but strangely I can spend

eternity in them, and never get even the slightest bit tired. Yes, when I return to to my

hotel room, my feet hurt and I barely have the strength to eat dinner, but my spiritual

soul is still yearns for 2 more minutes in front of a masterpiece.

 

Thankfully, as this thread demonstrates, I’m not the only one.

 

holy cow, your enthusiasm is palpable!!.....thanks for your summary.......there may still be hope for me yet as, so far, art museums have not bitten me.....but I know what I like and if you take me by the hand and talk me through it......;)

 

I had to look up Guernica.......oh man, what a sad story....I certainly can see why you weren't the first to cry........

 

https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp

 

guernica.jpg

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So much disdain for LA museums here. Some of them are outstanding.

 

The Getty Center - It is a collection for connoisseurs of art --- not comprehensive, but only the best examples of their kind. All of the art is impeccably preserved and presented. The cases, framing, lighting, and educational materials set the standard. As for the building, it is a masterpiece of its own and worth the trouble.

 

The Getty Villa - This is my favorite LA museum. The setting is secluded. The collection of antiquities is one of the best in the US. The presentation is also remarkable. No expense is spared in how the art is displayed or in how the building has been outfitted. The ocean views from the Villa give you a sense of what it must have felt to be a Roman elite.

 

LA MOCA - One of the best post-War art collections in the world, though it might appeal more to art historians than art audiences. The building is unassuming, but it is finally getting the recognition it deserves. (The architect of the building won the Pritzker Prize this year.)

 

The Broad - One of the best post-Warhol collections of contemporary art in the world. The best examples from all the top artists, beginning more or less with Warhol. This is a collection meant to appeal to art audiences more than art historians. It is pure spectacle.

 

Norton Simon - Simon was the preeminent art collector of his time. The collection is a testament to that. Almost every piece attests to his eye for art and his taste level. Like the Getty Center, it is a collection for connoisseurs of art, but at a much smaller scale.

 

LACMA - an encylopedic museum, modeled after the Met. Worth visiting alone for two pieces --- Burden's Urban Light sculpture and Metropolis II. Probably the best LA museum for people watching. In the process, however, of shutting down its main building as it prepares for construction of a new building.

 

See not so bad. The other thing worth noting is that LA has become over the last 20 years one of the top centers for art production in the world. As a result, the galleries here function almost like museums of the now. The top galleries in LA are Blum & Poe, David Kordansky, Regan Projects, Maccarone, Gagosian (BH), and Hauser & Wirth.

I don't dislike LACMA, but it is not one of my top 5 museums, either. The grounds are absolutely wonderful and I love, love, love, love the Japanese building. The Getty is another museum where I find the grounds to exceed the collection.

 

Give LACMA 20 years and it will be a very good museum. It is definitely on the right track.

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addendum to my "not into art" post just above: I once went to the Getty Center only to see the building up close.....I took their offered architecture tour, walked around outside, had a meal, bought a print in the bargain bin of a photo (seen below) from a special LA photography exhibit they were having, then left........sorry!

 

from the Getty website:

 

Los Angeles International Airport’s space-age tower looms over two women stepping onto a curb as they head toward it. For years, Winogrand visited L.A., where he eventually settled. He was drawn to public places where he could find large numbers of people and photograph their interactions.

 

This image combines two of Garry Winogrand’s favorite subjects, airports and women-and alludes to a third-animals. Winogrand often made comparisons in his photographs between animals and people, as he does here. The woman on the right in an animal-print dress seems appropriately headed toward a cluster of palm trees.

 

This image is not as complex as many of Winogrand’s pictures, which are so filled with visual elements that they often border on chaos. Still, the elements here are layered-the women in the foreground, the trees in the center, and the tower in the background-adding up to a well-balanced photograph.

 

tumblr_m63pe5d1pL1qggdq1.jpg

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holy cow, your enthusiasm is palpable!!.....thanks for your summary.......there may still be hope for me yet as, so far, art museums have not bitten me.....but I know what I like and if you take me by the hand and talk me through it......;)

 

I had to look up Guernica.......oh man, what a sad story....I certainly can see why you weren't the first to cry........

 

https://www.pablopicasso.org/guernica.jsp

 

guernica.jpg

 

Old enough to remember it when it was in NYC. MOMA did not want to give it to Spain and claimed it was too fragile to move.

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So much disdain for LA museums here. Some of them are outstanding.

 

The Getty Center - It is a collection for connoisseurs of art --- not comprehensive, but only the best examples of their kind. All of the art is impeccably preserved and presented. The cases, framing, lighting, and educational materials set the standard. As for the building, it is a masterpiece of its own and worth the trouble.

 

The Getty Villa - This is my favorite LA museum. The setting is secluded. The collection of antiquities is one of the best in the US. The presentation is also remarkable. No expense is spared in how the art is displayed or in how the building has been outfitted. The ocean views from the Villa give you a sense of what it must have felt to be a Roman elite.

 

LA MOCA - One of the best post-War art collections in the world, though it might appeal more to art historians than art audiences. The building is unassuming, but it is finally getting the recognition it deserves. (The architect of the building won the Pritzker Prize this year.)

 

The Broad - One of the best post-Warhol collections of contemporary art in the world. The best examples from all the top artists, beginning more or less with Warhol. This is a collection meant to appeal to art audiences more than art historians. It is pure spectacle.

 

Norton Simon - Simon was the preeminent art collector of his time. The collection is a testament to that. Almost every piece attests to his eye for art and his taste level. Like the Getty Center, it is a collection for connoisseurs of art, but at a much smaller scale.

 

LACMA - an encylopedic museum, modeled after the Met. Worth visiting alone for two pieces --- Burden's Urban Light sculpture and Metropolis II. Probably the best LA museum for people watching. In the process, however, of shutting down its main building as it prepares for construction of a new building.

 

See not so bad. The other thing worth noting is that LA has become over the last 20 years one of the top centers for art production in the world. As a result, the galleries here function almost like museums of the now. The top galleries in LA are Blum & Poe, David Kordansky, Regan Projects, Maccarone, Gagosian (BH), and Hauser & Wirth.

 

I would add:

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g32070-d276852-Reviews-Frederick_R_Weisman_Art_Foundation-Beverly_Hills_California.html

 

A great house museum and entry is free. Not to be missed.

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Dear lord, how did I miss this thread the first time around?

 

The Met - the home of my spiritual soul. I’ve spent days, weeks, years, wondering the galleries.

I “know” every inch...and yet each time I discover something exciting and new. They missed

the boat on Modern and have never caught up. I forgive them. That’s what MOMA is for after all...

 

The Guggenheim - the spiral of my dreams. Enternal and never aging. Thank you Mr Wright.

Thank you Peggy. Visionaries both.

 

MOMA - the once perfect building is now a face lifted pale imitation. And the dumb whore

is going back to have more work done. Love the art and always will. Pity about the massacred

structure it’s “sort of” displayed in. Dont fuck with perfect.

 

The Neue Glaerie - God love Mr. Lauder for bringing a small piece of Vienna to NYC.

I will meet anyone, any time, in the Cafè Sabarsky for lunch.

 

The new Whitney - now THIS is how you upgrade a building. From drab and ugly to fabulous

and cutting-edge in one fell swoop. They always said they had an amazing collection of

American Art. Now they can prove it.

 

The Frick, the Morgan Pierpoint, the Cooper Hewitt, the Cloisters,....all gems worthy of hours

of quiet contemplation.

 

Ok....so I love Manhattan and all it’s museums. I can spend hours upon hours. No problem.

I realize I am unusual in this regard and I warn my friends, “I’ll be spending 6 to 8 hours here.

I’ll do the “highlights” with you for one hour and then you can run along and leave me with

the art....I'll meet you for dinner”.

 

Philly - for its size.....it’s the best art town in the world.

 

Boston - not as great as you’d expect, but Isabella is one hell of a crown jewel.

 

Chicago - like most of the Midwest...it’s occasionally amazing, but rarely breath taking.

 

LA and San Fran - Lots of mediocre stuff. Fun to visit if you’re in town. Don’t go out of

you’re way to get there though.

 

The Uffizi - astounding but strangely hard for me to get through despite numerous attempts.

I get bored fast and it makes me feel like a Philistine. Any art daddy who wants to take me here

and educate me is welcome.

 

The Hermitage - Wow. It’s like looking through your mothers attic and finding 10 Rembrandt’s.

As with most of Russia it’s insane and impressive at the same time. When I was here Matisse’s

The Dance wasn’t open to the public “for budget reasons”. A sympathetic security guard took

pity on me and allowed me to have a 10 minute private viewing. He didn’t speak English and

I don't speak Russian....but the love of art is indeed a universal language.

 

The Louvre - flawless despite the hordes of unwashed masses. That’s an impressive feat to accomplish.

After the Met...it’s the place I’m most at peace. I’m not a fan of the Mona Lisa, but everything else

I pretty much love. Jacques-Louis David alone is worth the price of admission, not to mention the

Michelangelos, Ingres, Géricaults, Delacroixs and so much more.

 

The d’Orsay - another gem. Impressionism’s high holy ground. A spectacular building as well.

Also over run with tourists, but at least they’re trying to expose themselves to culture.

 

The Prado and the Sophia....stunning. Wish I had made the effort to discover them earlier

in my life. When I cried in front of Guernica...a guard approached me. I was afraid she was going

to reprimand me. Instead she gently hugged me and said “don’t worry, you’re not the first”.

 

Vienna - love it. “The Kiss” astounded me in person like few pieces ever have. If you like

The Neue Galerie...you owe it to yourself to see it’s inspiration. Provincial and fabulous

at the same time. Something I never thought possible before I came here.

 

Berlin and Munich - the Barberini faun alone is enough. And there is soooo much more.

The Pergamon Alter makes me weak, Käthe Kolltitz gives me strength, and Casper David

Friedrich makes me at peace with being alone the world.

 

So to the OP, I understand how museums can exhaust you...but strangely I can spend

eternity in them, and never get even the slightest bit tired. Yes, when I return to to my

hotel room, my feet hurt and I barely have the strength to eat dinner, but my spiritual

soul is still yearns for 2 more minutes in front of a masterpiece.

 

Thankfully, as this thread demonstrates, I’m not the only one.

Some of us cried in front of Guernica when it was still at MoMA.

 

And I missed MoMA trying to hang onto Guernica after Franco's death, but that clearly was not in accordance with Picasso's wishes.

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Old enough to remember it when it was in NYC. MOMA did not want to give it to Spain and claimed it was too fragile to move.

At the Sophia, in the room Guernica is displayed, there’s a case showing

all of the letters Alfred Barr of MOMA wrote trying to explain repeatedly

another excuse that MOMA was concocting for not returning Guernica to

Spain. Picasso had stipulated that MOMA could “hold” the painting for

safe keeping during Franco’s reign, but that it was to return to Spain

once he was no longer in power.

 

It’s almost comical.

 

Which of course the Spaniards know, and that’s why they display the letters so prominently.

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