Hello everybody and welcome back to My Weekly Flickr.
My vacation is, alas, at an end but I really had a splendid week. The weather cooperated, actually I would have liked it to be a little warmer but I managed to avoid the rain on my outings. Took a very long walk almost every day, visiting the Met, the Frick and a gallery on 81st Street where I saw some very nice Gericault drawings.
The big event was my trip to Washington, DC on Sunday.
I took the train into NYC, transferring once before I arrived at Penn Station. Then it was the Amtrak to DC. The trains all ran right on schedule to the minute except for the ride back from Washington which was three minutes late. I rode in the quiet car both ways and that was good as I didn’t have to listen to people’s pointless telephone conversations. There were a number of empty seats on the way down but the train was sold out on the ride back. The reading lights were lousy which is annoying as my eyes are pretty lousy but I was able go through the newspapers on the way down and then the Book Review, the puzzle and my book on the way back. It was very cold on the train and in the museums so the 90 degree weather in Washington was actually a relief to me for the little bit that I was outside. And it didn’t rain which was a bonus.
I took a cab out of Union Station to the Freer/Sackler museum. The cabbie didn’t know the museum but he was able to find the street. He dropped me off just past it and since I was unfamiliar with it myself I wound up walking past the Smithsonian and had to walk back once I realized where I was. Luckily my brother gave me a little map so I knew I had walked the wrong way. Not surprising with my keen sense of direction. I visited the Freer first. All told I got to see three Whistler exhibitions. First is an ongoing exhibition, Freer & Whistler: Points of Contact, this is a link to a description at the website.
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/pointsOfContact.asp There were views of the Thames from Whistler’s residence and his Nocturnes, as well as two magnificent full size portraits. You can see small illustrations on the website. Then in the basement they had a lovely exhibit of his early drawings and etchings. Off the Beaten Path: Early Works by James McNeill Whistler. This is a link to a description of the exhibit and the second link shows items from it.
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/off-the-beaten-path.asp http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/off-the-beaten-path/gallery.asp The last print, in the lower right hand corner is a Rembrandt who Whistler was emulating in his self-portrait right next to it. As I’ve always enjoyed his etchings, this show was a real treat.
I wandered through all the galleries seeing Japanese and Chinese scrolls and screens which were very beautiful. Many of the Chinese works were a little too dark for me to fully appreciate them and being behind glass, the reflection impeded enjoyment as well. But one of the exhibits I came for was Bountiful Waters: Aquatic Life in Japanese Art, 20 woodblock prints of fish by Hiroshige and it was magnificent. This is a link to a description of the show with one illustration
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/bountiful-waters.asp I’m disappointed there aren’t more illustrations on the site but this is a Pinterest link which has a number of the large fish prints posted on it.
http://www.pinterest.com/freersackler/give-a-man-a-fish/ I continued on into the Sackler where they had the two main exhibits that I had come to see. The third Whistler show which was An American in London: Whistler and the Thames. It was an enormous show filled with his oils, watercolors and prints. Some of the Nocturnes were very evocative of works done by Monet. This is a description from the website
http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/american-in-london/ This is a press release with images.
http://www.asia.si.edu/press/downloads/american-in-london_images.pdf It showed scenes of London as the City was changing with bridges being torn down and replaced. City scenes and views of the Thames and mixed in were more wood block prints by Hiroshige to point up the Japanese influence that Whistler took note of. And in an adjacent gallery was Kiyochika: Master of the Night, wood block prints of Japan during the same period. Bridges, fireworks, fires and their aftermath and general views, all very colorful and beautiful. This is a link to a description followed by a link to illustrations.
https://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/kiyochika/ https://www.asia.si.edu/press/primg/kiyochika/Kiyochika_ImageSheet.pdf So this was a major success as far as I was concerned. I was there about three hours and would have stayed longer but I wanted to get to the National Gallery as well.
I managed to find my way from the Freer to the National Gallery and after a brief bite to eat, fried chicken and French fries which didn’t set so well, I stopped in at the Degas/Cassatt exhibit. This was fun but it was comprised for the most part of items from the National Gallery’s collection, supplemented by loans from the Metropolitan Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago, all of which I was familiar with. But there were a few from other museums which made it worthwhile. Adjacent to this show was an Andrew Wyeth show that I enjoyed it immensely. He’s someone else who I’ve only come to appreciate of late and I really like his houses and the austerity of his art. I found it Hopper like in its isolation, so much of the art is without people, although you don’t get the sense that the people missing from Wyeth’s art came to a bad end like with Hopper. This is a link to the website description of the show and if you click on the thumbnail illustrations it brings up a slide show of larger versions.
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/exhibitions/2014/andrew-wyeth.html With the limited time I had left I wandered through the permanent collections and got to see a number of things that I like, including a Hopper, as well as the Hudson river painters. And they currently have a small room devoted to their Van Gogh’s which is highlighted by a loan from the Netherlands, a portrait of Joseph Roulin, his postman friend. This is a press release that discusses it with an illustration.
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/press/exh/3959.html And an added treat were two new acquisitions, bequests from the Mellons now that his wife Rachel has passed away. Oranges and Lemons with Blue Gloves and Green Wheat Fields in Auvers. It’s a wonderful room filled with examples of Van Gogh’s greatness. This is a link to a press release about the latest Mellon bequest and there is an illustration of Oranges and Lemons.
http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/press/2014/mellon-bequest.html And on my way out I bumped into Titian’s Danae on loan from the Capodimonte Museum which my brother says is one of the most beautiful paintings in the world. Can’t disagree. This is a link to the museum brochure with many illustrations.
http://www.nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/exhibitions/pdfs/2014/titians-danae-brochure.pdf I didn’t get a chance to visit with the Dutch as I forgot the time of my train was 5:20PM and not 5:05PM but I was pretty tired by this point anyway. I walked back to Union Station from the Gallery and didn’t get lost which was surprising. It’s fairly straightforward but the streets in Washington are like the streets in lower Manhattan in that you will be following one and suddenly it turns into something else if you’re not paying close attention. Treated myself to a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cone and waited for the train. Made my connection to NJ Transit and got home at 9:45 PM. A late night for Andy G. but a really splendid day from top to bottom. I will definitely go again.
On to the Flickrs.
Andy G.
Anime Midwest 2014
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rickthephotoguy/14638250171 <3 my gold dress
https://www.flickr.com/photos/41248331@N02/14421107003 20140606 14.18.41
https://www.flickr.com/photos/9296771@N06/14213402520Me back in the day lol.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/trikchiks4u/14486092874 Pink, Prissy and Sissy
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hello_monique/14430842406 Oh youth...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ginaazzurro/14313727599 Gender Switch- Boys In Dresses
https://www.flickr.com/photos/radicalfeministrule/14657476523 IMG_5369
https://www.flickr.com/photos/39870354@N07/14285853238 Me and my baby #Otokonoko
https://www.flickr.com/photos/125297767@N03/14276094167 Is this a suggestive pose?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/shinypenny77/14497559414 
Betty's Pub 20.1
Topic: It’s the Summer is here Flickr, or boy that was a short Spring. (Read 34890 times)
