July 2021

Vase, Steuben Division - Corning Glass Works, ca. 1925-1932; the Portland Vase, found now in the British Museum, is a Roman vase from around 1 AD that served to inspire modern cameo glass

Window from the Darwin D Martin House, Frank Lloyd Wright, 1903; popularly referred to as Tree of Life windows, Wright designed a series of 400 of these for the Martin House (400 windows in one house???)

Fruit Bowl with Underplate, Dorothy C Thorpe, ca. 1920s-1930s; despite her lack of formal training, Thorpe's designs were hugely popular with American consumers; she started in Hollywood and counted Clark Gable as one of her first customers

Flowerform Vase, Quezal Art Glass and Decorating Co., early 1900s; founded by alums from Tiffany, Quezal’s wares are known for the use of bold iridescent colors, particularly blue, gold, purple, white and green

Vase, A Douglas Nash Corp, ca. 1924-1931; silica is the primary ingredient in glass with most silica coming from sand; not all sand can be used so there have been shortages of the primo sand

Vase, Union Glass Co., early 1900s; the glass industry was highly fragmented in the 1800s and early 1900s with lots of small operations; the same small universe of master glassmakers tried to succeed in the highly competitive industry

Cocktail Pitcher, Steuben Division - Corning Glass Works, 1920s; glass is a miraculous material which can be opaque as mud or transparent as water; it can also be fashioned in any color of the rainbow

Basket Whimsey, ca. 1850; whimsies became one of the most sought-after styles of glass during the 19th-century, especially representations of boots and shoes, though this style of glass is first recorded in 15th-century Germany

HIV, Luke Jerram, 2013; this is a jaw-dropping, scientifically precise 1:1,000,000 scale model of HIV, a virus that does not have any color because it is smaller than the wavelength of light

Fire Screen, John La Farge, ca. 1883; an early rival of Tiffany, the American painter and designer La Farge used opalescent glass in this beautiful fire screen with each piece of glass being unique

Vase, Hobbs, Brockunier and Co, ca. 1886; designers were rushing to imitate Mary J Morgan's Chinese porcelain vase after it sold for the unheard of amount of $18,000 in 1886; that vase is at the Walters Museum in Baltimore

Vases, Smith Brothers Co., after 1877; glass designers used pattern books that were full of Asian-designed motifs to satisfy American demand for Chinese-style glass products

Canteen with Portraits of William Jennings Bryan and Adlai Stevenson, ca. 1900; you'd think flasks with Trump/Clinton or Trump/Biden would have sold well given how both campaigns drove voters to drink

Molasses Can, ca. 1860; this looks a lot like the maple syrup pitcher at IHOP, but it held molasses which was a sweet treat at the time

Pitcher, Vasa Murrhina Art Glass Co., ca. 1883; production of this cased glass starts out as a ball of glass that is rolled in small pieces of broken glass called frit; then another layer of crystal was gathered over the frit

American Eagle Flask, Louisville Glass Works, ca. 1855-1873; there were at least seven glass factories that operated in Louisville during the period from 1850 to 1901 with six of them principally bottle houses

Six Inch Plate, ca. 1832; to make glass strong and water-resistant a stabilizer is needed in the production process; common stabilizers include lime or lead

Water Lilies, Claude Monet, 1919; you really come to see which artworks I appreciate most in a museum like the Met when there are so many pieces I could have selected to feature

Still Life with Teapot and Fruit, Paul Gauguin, 1896; one of Gauguin’s most treasured possessions was a painting by Cézanne, Still Life with Fruit Dish (1879–80, MOMA), which he emulates in this work

Bouquet of Flowers in a Vase, Vincent van Gogh, 1890; in less than 10 yrs, the artist painted 900+ works although only one sold in his lifetime; only the lobe, not the whole ear was cut off

Rue de l'Epicerie, Rouen (Effect of Sunlight), Camille Pissarro, 1898; Monet is better known for his works in Rouen but he and Pissarro were great friends and often painted the same subjects

Study of a Girl in Red, Benedetto Luti, 1717; I've previously been to the much smaller second Met location, The Cloisters at Fort Tryon Park in Upper Manhattan, which contains an extensive collection of art, architecture, and artifacts from medieval Europe

Adoration of the Magi, Hieronymus Bosch, 1475; unlike Bosch’s familiar hallucinatory depictions of hell, this tranquil scene, with its tunneling perspective and wooden figure types with sensitively rendered faces, is characteristic of his earliest works

Little Denise, Theo van Rysselberghe, 1889; when the painting was exhibited in 1890, critics praised the naturalism and emotional expressiveness that he brought to the analytical rigor of Pointillism

Study of a Young Woman, Johannes Vermeer, 1667; outside of art circles, Vermeer remained an obscure figure until the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring with Scarlett Johannson came out in 2003

The Englishman at the Moulin Rouge, Henri de Toulouse Lautrec, 1892; the artist was born into aristocracy but his parents were first cousins which may have contributed to his many health problems; he was also an alcoholic and died at 36

Still Life with Flowers and Fruit, Henri Fantin-Latour, 1866; the Metropolitan Museum of Art was founded in 1870 to bring art and art education to the American people; it was closed 202 days because of the pandemic

Going to the Market, Constant Troyon, 1860; the Met's collection of drawings and prints—one of the most comprehensive and distinguished in the world—began with a gift of 670 works from Cornelius Vanderbilt in 1880

Portrait of a Man in a Red Cap, Hans Holbein the Younger, 1532; I'd visited the Met before but the size is always intimidating; for this visit I primarily focused on the galleries with paintings

Parochialstrasse in Berlin, Johann Philipp Eduard Gartner, 1831; the official mascot for the Met is the form of a cute, blue, ancient Egyptian hippopotamus statuette

Condesa de Altamira and Her Daughter, Maria Agustina, Francisco de Goya, 1788;the Museum's holdings of El Greco and Goya are the finest outside of Spain

Houses on the Achterzaan, Claude Monet, 1871; the artist found Zaandam in the Netherlands to be a superb place for painting due to the enchanting boats and 100s of windmills

Juan de Paraja, Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velazquez, 1650; Paraja was Velazquez's enslaved assistant but months after depicting him in such a proud and confident way, Velázquez signed a contract of manumission that would liberate him from bondage in 1654

Built in 1907, the Tercentennial Monument celebrated the 300th anniversary of the Jamestown settlement; it cost $50,000 and stands 103 feet tall (one foot for each of the first settlers)

The 17th century brick church tower is the last surviving above-ground structure from the days when Jamestown was the capital of Virginia; admission to Historic Jamestowne was $25 (free for National Park pass holders)

The Archaearium focuses on the 1607-1624 Virginia Company period at Jamestown presenting some of the most important examples of their material culture which have been uncovered in 25+ years of excavations

Captain John Smith had a fascinating life (he was sold into slavery in Russia) and was elected Governor of Virginia in 1608; he learned the Indians' language and led a 3000 mile expedition that explored and mapped the Chesapeake Bay

Jamestown Island is the original site of the first permanent English settlement in North America; an archaeological project discovered the original James Fort in 1994 which experts had long thought was lost in the James River

This 1922 statue depicts Pocahontas who was kidnapped by Jamestown settlers in 1613; the next year she married John Rolfe which helped ease relations between the colonists and Indians (they had a son with Pocahontas dying at age 22)

Just beyond this cross lie the graves of settlers who died in the perilous first years of the colony; this is the earliest known burial ground of the English in America

The 1907 Memorial Church protects the brick foundations of the 17th century churches, including the one in which the colonists met in 1619 for the first representative assembly in English North America

Here archaeologists uncovered a multi-purpose, 2 room cellar used during the first years of the colony; iron objects (1607) indicate the building was used as a blacksmith shop before converting to a bakery around 1610

These 1737 beads (ca. 1608-1610) were made by Indian women living and working at James Fort; Jamestown served as the colonial capital from 1616 until 1699 and lies just 4 km SW of modern Williamsburg

The historic seawall was built in 1901 to stop erosion at the west end of Jamestown Island and protect the original 1607 Fort James site; I tagged along with a tour in which the guide explained the current digs and what had been unearthed

One of the primary planners of the Jamestown colony, Bartholomew Gosnald died just 3 months after arriving; he had previously explored and named Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard (for his daughter)

Foundations from the Virginia statehouse (1630s); first meeting in 1619, the Virginia General Assembly is the oldest representative legislature in the Western Hemisphere

Archaeologists found this unbroken drinking jug, dating from the early 17th century, which was commonly used for drinking beer; it's helpful to have the archaeology museum right next to where the artifacts are being uncovered

Colonel Swann's Tavern (1670s) provided accommodations to colonists who attended the assembly and courts or had business in town; ruins indicate the tavern burned in 1676

Robert Cotton arrived in Jamestown in 1608 as one of 150 tradesmen sent to support the colony and exploit the resources of the New World; this is the only complete Cotton pipe known to exist

The Ambler House was built in the 1750s as the centerpiece of a fine plantation estate; the successful Jamestown colony followed several failed attempts, including the Lost Colony of Roanoke, established in 1585 on Roanoke Island, later part of NC

August Allegory (Anagrams), Robert Rauschenburg, 1997; the artist came to Augusta in 1995 for an exhibition dedicated to his work which eventually led to the development of this monumental piece

Preacher, Benny Andrews, 1994; the museum was established in 1985 by William S. Morris III, publisher of The Augusta Chronicle as the first museum dedicated to the collection and exhibition of art and artists of the American South

Col. Poole's Pig Hall of Fame, John Baeder, 1995; the museum’s collection includes 5,000 works of art that represent fifteen states and DC (you won't see any European art here)

Ware-Sibley-Clark House, Augusta, Georgia, Horace Talmage Day, 1937; despite its small size, the Morris has a focused collection and is a bargain for $5; it's primarily paintings along with a nice studio art glass collection

A Field Trial - On the Point, John Martin Tracy, 1885; this excellent regional museum is along what is called the Riverwalk in Augusta but it is far more generic than the one in San Antonio

The Yellow Parasol, Louis L. Betts, 1925; this was one of my favorite works; the museum also houses the Center for the Study of Southern Art for academics and art historians

Point of Return, Don Cooper, 2007; born in Belton, TX, the artist graduated from the University of Georgia; there was a temporary exhibit at the Morris showcasing his work

Columbia Welcoming the South Back into the Union, Constantino Brumidi, 1876; the artist worked on decorating the US Capitol for 25 years with this painting being designated for the Senate office of the Vice President

Bargain Basement, Lamar Dodd, 1937; the artist was head of the art department at the University of Georgia; even with my affinity for art museums, I only recognized a couple of artists in the entire museum

Candidates for the Horse Show, John Martin Tracy, 1893; what struck me about this huge work was the expert detail in rendering the horses; animals are notoriously difficult to paint and these are exceptional

Avenue of Oaks at Litchfield Plantation, Elizabeth O'Neill Verner, 1940; this Charleston artist captures one of the South's most iconic scenes at the 1750 plantation on Pawley's Island, SC

Georgia Landscape, Henry Ossawa Tanner, 1890; the artist was the first African-American painter to gain international acclaim; Tanner enrolled in 1879 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and was the only Black student

The Hunt, George Inness Jr, undated; the artist's father was often called the father of American landscape painting and was one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century

Bayou Teche, Meyer Straus, 1870; this painter was born in Germany so it's easy to see why his images of the Louisiana bayous look so mysterious and foreboding

Old New Orleans Mammy, Wayman Adams, 1920; the artist, famed for his portraits of the rich and famous, traveled to New Orleans where he was fascinated by the French Quarter; the title of the painting is cringeworthy today

By the Arbor, Anna Catherine Wiley, 1923; Wiley studied art in NY before returning to teach at the University of Tennessee in 1905; she played an important role in gaining recognition for Southern female artists

Two Magnolia Blossoms in a Glass Vase, Martin Johnson Heade, 1890; known for his remarkably detailed and often exotic landscapes, portraits and depictions of birds, Heade preferred still lifes above all

The Price of Blood, Thomas Satterwhite Noble, 1868; despite fighting for the Confederacy in the Civil War, Noble was an abolitionist who depicted the inhumane treatment of Blacks in his work

Still Life, Thomas Wightman, 1861; painting in a style reminiscent of 17th century Northern European painting, Wightman's work could be found in the grandest mansions of his native Charleston

Plantation Portrait, William Aiken Walker, 1885; after the Civil War there was a growing demand for paintings (like this one) showing a romanticized version of a reconstructed South

Unveiled in 1890, the Robert E Lee Memorial has always been the largest sculpture on Monument Avenue and is the last remaining Confederate monument there; the VA Supreme Court heard arguments in June contesting the governor's plan to remove the statue

This was my favorite mural as I drove around Richmond; surprisingly, the city only has about 230,000 residents but the metro area has 1.26 million; Warren Beatty and Shirley MacLaine were both born here

The Maggie L Walker National Historic Site was established in 1978 to tell the story of the life and work of this daughter of slaves who was the first woman to serve as president of a bank in the US

Established in 1831, the massive Virginia Museum of History and Culture was closed for construction when I visited but should be open now

The bronze representation of Jefferson Davis, which was constructed in 1907, was toppled by rioters during the George Floyd protests in June 2020

Designed in 1916, the Branch House was the largest private residence in the city and now houses the VA Architecture Foundation and the Branch Museum of Architecture and Design; the same designer handled the Jefferson Memorial in DC

The sculptor met with Arthur Ashe when designing this monument back in the early 1990s; the books are raised higher than the tennis racket, this was requested by Ashe himself, as he tended to emphasize education over sports

Until last year Monument Avenue had statues of several Generals of the Confederate States Army, as well as Confederate States Navy Commander Maury and Confederate President Jefferson Davis; now the only monuments remaining are Robert E Lee and Arthur Ashe

The Gothic Revival Old City Hall operated from 1894 through the 1970s; it is currently undergoing extensive renovations and will house state offices; the city is 51% Black and 41% white

The Virginia Executive Mansion was built in 1813 and is the oldest governor's house in the nation that is still used for its intended purpose; despite being an old city the sights here are very spread out

The Virginia State Capitol, designed by Thomas Jefferson, was completed in 1788; today it houses the oldest elected legislative body in North America, the Virginia General Assembly, first established as the House of Burgesses in 1619

Jefferson Davis lived here at the White House of the Confederacy from 1861 to 1865; the Neoclassical mansion was built in 1818 and is now part of the American Civil War Museum (and surrounded by the VCU medical campus)

Agecroft Hall, a Tudor manor house, was built in the late 15th century in Pendlebury, England; the house was taken apart and shipped across the Atlantic to be completed here in 1928

The Virginia Washington Monument (1869) features a 21-foot, 18,000-lb bronze statue of George Washington on horseback; there was construction everywhere in downtown Richmond

Virginia House was constructed from the materials of the 16th century Warwick Priory in Warwickshire, England, and shipped over and reassembled shortly before the 1929 stock market crash