In our quest to not let winter trap us in the house, last week my husband and I ventured out to visit the Currier Art Museum. We had been to this small museum numerous times, but not recently. The special exhibition (which ended 1/16) was on Mount Washington.
But before we headed to the gallery, we stopped by the café for lunch. I am a huge fan of museum cafes and find that art appreciation is enhanced by a stellar lunch. Memorable meals include the D’Orsay, the National Gallery in London, Bravo at the MFA. Alas, the Garden Café at the Currier is not among those. Pretty standard fare in an unattractive setting. The selection of teas was pretty good though.
It turns out that Mount Washington was a huge subject for landscape painters far and wide between 1820 and 1870. I like this Winslow Homer which illustrates the crowd of artists seeking inspiration.
In spite of a disappointing lunch and a weak appreciation for landscapes , I enjoyed this exhibition quite a bit – there were many, many attractive and intriguing examples of the 19th century obsession with the highest peak in the Northeast. The centerpiece of the exhibit was The Emerald Pool, a GIANT painting by Albert Bierstadt which you must admit is stunning and mystical.
The exhibition was rounded out with photographs and quite a few period artifacts. In the end, we decided that we should take a summer time trip North to view this natural beauty in the flesh and perhaps repeat my childhood experience of riding the cog railway.
We finished our day out with a stroll through the permanent collection and – how cool is this?
The Family by Marisol Escobar – 1963
It is hard the capture the the whole sculpture in one photo as I am a terrible photographer. I am also a terrible subject for photography. But, despite these handicaps, art speaks to me, even when I am not expecting it. And, as this statue demonstrates, it also listens to me.
Nadia, The Blind Flower Girl of Pompeii – Randolph Rogers, 1863
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