Daytrip: The Barnes Collection in Its New Home

I will be facilitating an informal tour through the Barnes Foundation collection this Spring for my neighbors, so last week I drove to Philadelphia to see the collection in its new home on Franklin Parkway and to start the process of putting together a tour.   I was very excited to be surrounded again by the work of two of my very favorite artists, Matisse and Cezanne.  The Barnes has one of the largest holdings of Cezannes.   The last time I'd seen the collection it was in the Merion gallery that Dr. Alfred Barnes built in 1925 to exhibit his then-avant-garde holdings of post-impressionist and early modern paintings, many of which are priceless, seminal works.

                                              The Card Players, Paul Cezanne, 1890-1892

Over time, Barnes also acquired many African and Native American objects, antiquities, and Asian art, and boldly displayed his collection in "ensembles", arranging them according to his sense of space, color, line, etc.   Barnes felt that by combining works from different eras and cultures, viewers would gain a better understanding of the creative impulses of artists through time.

The move of the Barnes collection to a new building on Franklin Parkway was very controversial and I wasn't sure what to expect.  Much of the excitement and charm of seeing the collection in Merion was the idiosyncratic way in which the art was arranged.  You had a real sense of the collector, as well, of course, as the sheer quality and quantity of works by such artists as Matisse, Cezanne, Picasso, Renoir, etc.  The "ensembles" seemed like works of art themselves, Barnes having painstakingly arranged the paintings and objects according to his personal aesthetic sense.

On this day, as I approached the new building, I noticed, outside of the minimalist building by architects Tod Williams and Billie Tsien,  a soaring sculpture, The Barnes Totem, by Ellsworth Kelly, that echoes the simplicity of the entry path and landscape.

Navigating through the building is very comfortable and easy, with areas to sit and take a break, a cafe, restaurant,  several indoor and outdoor courtyard gardens, and a gift shop.  Photography is not allowed.

After navigating through all these zen-like spaces, it's a real shock to enter the actual galleries.  I was so pleasantly pleased to have that same overwhelming feeling of awe in seeing the main gallery, arranged in Dr. Barnes' "ensembles", much like the Merion arrangements.  The architects even replicated tall windows, wall coverings, moldings, etc. to resemble the experience of the Merion location.  Overhead was Matisse's The Dance, in three arched alcoves.  Matisse had been commissioned by Barnes in 1909 to create The Dance, and Matisse had crossed the Atlantic with his finished canvasses to oversee their installation.

The experience of walking through rooms that seem like someone's "salon" is still very much a part of viewing this unique collection.  There are many pieces with Lancaster connections.  Early American painted chests, boxes and metalwork are placed among impressionist or modern paintings.

                                              American, Pennsylvania German Chest, 1784

The collection is truly staggering, and how I'll choose a handful of highlights for my tour is not evident right now.  I will have to return many times.  The Barnes is a one and a half hour drive from Lancaster.
If you enjoy looking at art on your own terms (there are no labels next to the art), or would like to gain insights into how this important collector chose, acquired, and exhibited the works he loved, it's well worth the drive.

My only disappointment was the $18 admission charge and additional $20 charge for a docent-led tour.  Dr. Barnes was very keen to make viewing, appreciating and learning about art democratic.  I'm not sure how accessible this collection is to the average person.

America's Coolest Small Town 2013

It's official!  The votes are in!  Budget Travel Magazine has named Lititz, PA, the Coolest Small Town for 2013!

It's cold and blustery today and my husband and I coincidentally drove up to Lititz this morning to pick up my favorite Rooibus Chocolate Mint Tea from the Chocolate Cafe on Main Street.  The winter sun was throwing beautiful shadows over the red brick townhouses as we made our way into town.

There was a lot of excitement in the air!  Not only is Lititz celebrating their Fire and Ice Festival this weekend, but Budget Travel Magazine announced Lititz has beaten out fourteen other small towns in their contest to find the coolest small town in America.

250-yr old Lititz is just a few miles north of Lancaster and draws a lot of tourists from Philadelphia and New York.  As well as my friends and I.  It's one of our favorite local destinations when we want to feel like we are somewhere different, a respite from the same old chain retail stores and restaurants.

The town was founded by the Moravians in the  1750's and until 1855 only Moravians were permitted to live there.  Today friendly merchants, unique shops, cafes, teahouses and inns make you feel like you've stepped back in time.    Along tree-lined streets you can enjoy the colonial architecture, the Sturgis Pretzel Bakery, Wilbur Chocolate Store and Museum, enjoy a beer tasting at the Bull's Head Pub, visit the Moravian Church, Linden School, the oldest girls' boarding and day school in the U.S., and much more.

The coolest small town in America was pretty cold today, so while there, we enjoyed some of Celine's (the charming owner of Chocolate Cafe) wonderful hot chocolate.  With fresh whipped cream.  More about Celine and her unique cafe in a later post!

Historic Roots Inspire an American Modernist

When we moved to Lancaster PA, one of my first discoveries was the Charles Demuth Museum and Studio.  I was taking a break from house hunting.  Missing my fellow art freaks and work as a docent at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, I was drawn to the home and studio of Charles Demuth, an American Modernist painter.  The Federal-style house was built in 1760 and is located in the historic center of downtown Lancaster, on east King Street.

The studio is where almost all of Demuth's work was created, and his mother's garden full of fruits and vegetables, as well as surrounding buildings, inspired much of his work.  I've always enjoyed visiting artists' studios.  It sheds light on our understanding of the creative process.  Demuth's working space was a small second-floor room with windows overlooking his mother's garden and the steeple of historic Trinity Lutheran Church.

The museum houses 38 Demuth works.  One of the highlights is a self portrait in oil of Demuth as a young man.

Much of the remaining collection is on paper and is stored (for protection) and rotated, often in context with temporary exhibits.

Although Demuth's work was inspired by his hometown of Lancaster, his career was not defined by regionalism.  He studied at Lancaster's Franklin and Marshall Academy and also in Philadelphia.  He spent time in Paris, New York and Provincetown and had many influential and avant-garde friends such as Georgia O'Keefe, Alfred Stieglitz, Marcel Duchamp, Gertrude Stein.  His longtime friend, the poet William Carlos Williams,  wrote the following poem that inspired Demuth's most-recognized painting, The Figure 5 in Gold (a poster portrait of letters and figures associated with Williams, as an homage to his friend).  The Figure 5 in Gold is part of the Metropolitan's collection in NYC.

The Great Figure, William Carlos Williams

Among the rain

and lights

I saw the figure 5

in gold

on a red

firetruck

moving

tense

unheeded

to gong clangs

siren howls

and wheels rumbling

through the dark city.

                                                    

                                                             The Figure 5 in Gold

The Demuth Museum is located at 120 East King Street, Lancaster, PA 17602, and is free to

the public.