August 2021

Woman Addressing the Public: Project for a Monument, Joan Miro, 1981; conceived as a stylized personification of motherhood, this sculpture at the museum entrance relates to one of the oldest themes in art: the earth goddess

The Torment of St. Anthony, Michelangelo, c. 1487-88; this is the first known painting of Michelangelo completed when he was 12 or 13 and is the only painting by the artist on display in the Americas

On the Pont de l'Europe, Gustave Caillebotte, 1876-77; Robert McCarter, author of Louis I. Kahn (architect of the Kimble), says the Kimble entry gallery is one of the most beautiful spaces ever built, with its astonishing, ethereal, silver-colored light

Man in a Blue Smock, Paul Cezanne, c. 1896-97; the Museum's collection today consists of only about 350 works of art, but they are of notably high quality; there are no American pieces since they are covered by the Amon Carter Museum next door

Abstraction, Piet Mondrian, 1939-42; the Kimball began as the collection of Kay and Verna Kimball which became the best select of Old Masters works in the Southwest; their wills stipulated that the collection be housed in a museum of the first-class

L'Air, Aristide Maillol, 1962; this work honors the crew of the hydroplane Croix du Sud, which left on Dec 7, 1936 for the 24th trans-Atlantic crossing of a newly established mail service between France and South America, and disappeared after take-off

Weeping Willow, Claude Monet, 1918-19; this work belongs to a series of 10 paintings Monet completed as the fighting from WWI threatened his home in Giverny and as his eyesight worsened

Mountain Peak with Drifting Clouds, Caspar David Friedrich, c. 1835; Friedrich is among the greatest of those Romantic artists in whose work spiritual yearning is the dominant theme; admission to the Kimball is free

The Kitchen Garden (Le Potager), Alfred Sisley, 1872; Sisley befriended Monet and Renoir in the early 1860s and spent most of his working life not in Paris but along the rivers Seine and Loing; he often painted with Monet and Pissarro in the 1870s

Portrait of Aymard-Jean de Nicolay, First President of the Chambre des Comptes, Jean-Antoine Houdon. 1779; Houdon was acclaimed as perhaps the first sculptor in the history of art to render eyes so convincingly

The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs, Georges de la Tour, c. 1630-34; this work is one of the greatest masterpieces of 17th century French art and comically highlights the dangers of indulgence in wine, women, and gambling

Still Life with Oranges, Jars, and Boxes of Sweets, Luis Melendez, c. 1760-65; the greatest Spanish still-life painter of his time, yet I had never heard of him; many of his works decorate the walls of El Escorial in Spain

Portrait of Dr. Francisco de Pisa, El Greco, c. 1610-14; born on Crete, El Greco settled in Toledo, Spain in 1577 where he painted commissions for the city's wealthy and educated elite

Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Buckingham, Peter Paul Rubens, 1625; Rubens was both a painter and a diplomat which enabled him to get nice commissions from the British Royal Family such as this one

Cocoon-shaped Jar with Cloud-Scroll Design, Western Han Dynasty, China, 206 BC-9 AD; this handsome jar would have served as a mortuary object, placed in a tomb as a substitute for the more valuable bronze and lacquer vessels used in daily life

Portrait of Heriberto Casany, Joan Miro, 1918; the Renzo Piano Pavilion opened in 2013 expanding the Kimble by 85,000 sq ft; Piano also designed the Menil Collection in Houston and the Pompideau Centre in Paris

L'Asie, Henri Matisse, 1946; painted near the end of his career, this piece culminates his obsession with single female figures, richly costumed, in exotic settings

Miss Anna Ward with Her Dog, Sir Joshua Reynolds, 1787; Reynolds painted this portrait nearly two decades after becoming president of the Royal Academy of Arts and only two years before losing his sight and being forced to retire from painting

Portrait of Charles Carpeaux, Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, 1874; among the preeminent French sculptors of his day, Carpeaux remains best known for his influential sculpture of allegorical nudes that graces the facade of the Paris Opera House

With 17 curatorial departments, 2.2 million sq ft of space, and 2+ million works in its permanent collections, the Metropolitan Museum of Art—colloquially known as The Met—contains more treasures than most visitors will ever be able to see in a lifetime

Marble Statue of Athena Parthenos, discovered at Pergamon (Turkey), ca 170 BC; the Met Gala, with a different theme each year, has been chaired by Vogue editor Anna Wintour in recent years

The Guggenheim Museum is better known for its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed building than for the art it contains; admission is $25; given the largely disappointing reviews on TripAdvisor, I decided to skip going inside

Alexander Hamilton was founder of the nation's financial system, the Federalist Party, the US Coast Guard, and the New York Post newspaper; the first Secretary of the Treasury, Hamilton was killed in a duel w/VP Burr near Trinity Church where he is buried

The NY Botanic Garden is located an hour away by bus (you really see the other NYC) and is next to the Bronx Zoo; admission starts at $35 but the place is huge and you could easily spend an entire, enjoyable day here

Grand Central Terminal is one of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions, with 21.6 million visitors in 2018 and is the 3rd busiest train station in North America

The JP Morgan Library and Museum was expanded in 2006 by the world-famous architect Renzo Piano; the addition of light-filled pavilions served to connect the three historic structures on the property

The statue of Atlas is one of many at the complex of 19 buildings known as Rockefeller Center; in addition to the famous ice skating rink, the Rock contains Radio City Music Hall and is the HQ for NBC

Seating 3000+, St. Patrick's Cathedral is the largest, decorated Neo-Gothic-style, Catholic cathedral in North America; the 1878 building received an update in 2017 getting a new geothermal system believed to be the largest in the city

The 84 story Steinway Tower is said to be the thinnest skyscraper in the world; there are 60 residences in the building with prices ranging from a mere $16 million for a studio to $60+ million for the duplex penthouse

The $4-billion, Santiago Calatrava-designed Oculus, opened in 2016, is the World Trade Center Transportation Hub and serves roughly 20 million passengers each year; it's generally considered the most expensive train station in the world

It was a gorgeous day when I walked the Hudson River Park from Little Island down to the Freedom Tower; this oasis in the city runs 4 miles and includes a slew of parks, playgrounds, ball fields, etc and is immaculate

Little Island had just opened the week before my visit and, to help with crowds, you needed a timed ticket to visit after noon but not before noon; Barry Diller and wife Diane von Furstenberg donated funds for the park and its upkeep

The Vessel at Hudson Yards is an elaborate, honeycomb-like structure that rises 16 stories and consists of 154 flights of stairs, 2,500 steps, and 80 landings for visitors to climb

Charging Bull was created by an Italian artist in the wake of the 1987 Black Monday stock market crash; one of the city's most photographed artworks, there was a long queue waiting to have their photo taken with the bull when I was there

In 1985, the great US Congresswoman Barbara Jordan spoke these prescient words - Liberty can gradually suffer erosion just like the Statue itself has suffered erosion. You have to attend to Liberty.

Castle Williams on Governor's Island was constructed in the early 19th century to protect New York City from naval attack; the Smothers Brothers were both (they're not twins) born on the island

There are dozens of humorous artworks by Yayoi Kusama at the NY Botanic Garden, such as Dancing Pumpkin, that help substantially drive attendance; each year new pieces and attractions are added to keep the idea fresh

A Woman's Garden was designed to celebrate the strength, courage, creativity and nurturing demeanor of women and is a favorite location for wedding receptions; the Arboretum opened to the public in 1984

The Jonsson Color Garden is home to 2,000+ varieties of azaleas, along with daffodils and tulips; one of the largest areas of the Arboretum is the Meyers Children's Adventure Garden which could be visited for a small additional fee

According to the 2020 census, Dallas is the 9th largest city in the US with 1.3 million residents (just ahead of Austin in 10th and Ft. Worth in 12th); the DFW metro area is the 4th largest in the country with 7.5 million people

The Arboretum had just concluded a sculpture exhibition by Zimbabwean artists; 100 sculptures had been for sale for prices ranging from $800 to $20,000 with about half selling

The Crape Myrtle Allee is one of the most photographed locations in the Arboretum; admission prices fluctuate but in August I paid $2 plus another $5 to park

Toad Corner; the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden sits on 66 acres on White Rock Lake just east of downtown; when I lived in Dallas in the early 1990s I ran around the lake many, many times but never visited the Arboretum

The Arboretum had colorful trial gardens where different species are evaluated to see how they fare in North Texas; there was little evidence of the significant damage caused by the brutal 2020-2021 winter

I don't find many things better in Dallas than in Houston but the Arboretum is one of them; it is extremely well-maintained and is worth a visit no matter the month as the gardens change with the seasons

Mike's sister Pam enjoyed working at the Arboretum and has her ashes spread here; Mike's parents, Harold and Ruth, also have their ashes spread here so I wanted to pay my respects while remembering happier times like our Alaska cruise together

Melinda Gates grew up in Dallas before going to Duke for a degree in computer science and also her MBA; she co-founded the world's largest private charitable foundation and is also one of the world's richest women

Many famous musicians hail from the DFW area including: Kelly Clarkson, Norah Jones, Emily and Martie Erwin (the Chicks), LeAnn Rimes, Usher, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Erykah Badu

The two places I lived in Dallas between 1990-1993 were both still there despite the trend toward higher density luxury apartments; the area in Plano around Frito-Lay HQs has completely changed from buffalo pastures to multi-use urban development

The Poetry Garden; the racial breakdown of the city of Dallas is 41% Hispanic, 29% White, 24% Black and 4% Asian-American; the city is less diverse than Houston and significantly more segregated

The Lay Grotto honors Herman Lay who merged his business with The Frito Company in 1961, creating the largest-selling snack food company in the US; 4 years later Frito-Lay would merge with Pepsi-Cola forming Pepsico

The most notable event held in Dallas is the State Fair of Texas, which has been held in October annually at nearby Fair Park since 1886; the Red River Shootout, a football game that pits UT against Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl occurs then as well

Guineafowl by Zimbabwean Passmore Mupindiko was one of my favorite sculptures and also one of the first sold; roughly 1 million guests visit the Arboretum each year

I had planned to visit George W. Bush's Presidential Library on the campus of SMU but it was closed due to Covid; I had previously visited the Sixth Floor Museum at the Texas School Book Depository which is a must see when in Dallas

Designed by Santiago Calatrava, the Margaret Hunt Hill bridge opened in 2012 and spans the Trinity River; the bridge cost an estimated $182 million and was part of a larger urban revitalization project

The Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge parallels the Margaret Hill Hunt Bridge; the bridge was originally built for vehicles in 1933 but, in 2014, transitioned to a very nice pedestrian park that saw little use on an August afternoon

Eleanor Blake Kirkpatrick Memorial Tower, 2002; at 55 feet high, and made of 2400 handblown parts, the glass sculpture remains the tallest Chihuly tower; it fills a three-story atrium at the Museum's main entrance

Reeds, 2002; the exhibit here contains some works very similar to those at the Chihuly Museum in St. Petersburg, FL; the museum in FL has a glass studio across the street which helps with understanding how the pieces are made

Autumn Gold Persian Wall, 2002; the Museum’s collection represents over three decades of Chihuly’s finest work and heralds this brilliant luminist as the most important artist working in glass since Louis Comfort Tiffany

Confetti Anemone Wall, 1999; Chihuly Garden and Glass is a new venue next to Seattle's Space Needle that I'd like to visit; it includes a wide variety of works covering Chihuly's life as America's foremost glass artist

Putti Frolicking in Branches atop Speckled Carnelian Vesse, 1998; in 2002, the Museum inaugurated its new home in the Reynolds Visual Arts Center with an exhibition of glass and drawings by Chihuly which it then purchased to display permanently

Waterford Crystal Chandelier, 2001; Chihuly only made 2 of these spectacular chandeliers; while in England in 1976, Chihuly was in a devastating automobile accident, which cost him the sight in his left eye

Blue Basket Sets, 2001; in 1971, Chihuly co-founded the Pilchuck Glass School near Stanwood, WA which is an internationally-acclaimed art school offering residencies for artists of all levels

Float Boat, 2002; Chihuly first filled boats with glass pieces in Finland, after tossing bulbous glass pieces into the river to let them float downstream; Chihuly has continued to revisit this concept ever since

Jerusalem Cylinders, 2000; with large, jagged glass crystals fused onto cylinders, the Jerusalem Cylinders series presents bold, chunky forms inspired by the massive walls of the Citadel in Jerusalem

Putti and Birds, 1999; Chihuly added classical solid glass figures to contemporary blown glass vessels in this series; the name Putti was inspired by the frolicking cherubs featured in the earliest pieces

Seal Pups, 2002; Chihuly is the Tiffany of our generation since much of his work has actually been made by others; he designs the pieces and is the marketing genius behind the brand

Oklahoma Persia Ceiling, 2002; I had to lay down on the floor to capture this work; Chihuly's work, to me, always radiates fun and happiness through bright colors and whimsical design

Macchia, 1999-2001; just finished reading The Premonition by Michael Lewis which is an amazing account of how the government botched its response to the pandemic and of rogue scientists who spoke out and made a difference

Ikebana Boat, 2002; Chihuly created an impressive freestanding, circular relief of Ikebana as a permanent installation for Union Station in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington

Twilight and Silver Persian Set, 2002; Persians are an exploration of form, shape and color—a celebration of wild asymmetry and swirling pattern; they have an ancient sensibility, and for Chihuly, conjure notions of Venice, and the Near and Far East

Ikebana, 2002; Ikebana pieces are inspired by the Japanese art of flower arrangement; they feature long-stemmed flowers and leaves of glass, presented dramatically in vase-like vessels

Orange Basket Sets, 2001; experimenting with the use of fire, gravity and centrifugal force, Chihuly found new ways to create asymmetrical vessels with thin, undulating walls

The Whitney, which focuses on 20th- and 21st-century American art, moved into this Renzo Piano-designed building in 2015; unlike the Met and MOMA which are huge, the Whitney can be enjoyed in a couple of hours

Kitchen, Liza Lou, 1996; this very cool (and huge!) work took 5+ years as the artist covered every surface in small beads; she highlights gender inequality, racism and other societal ills as well

Queensborough Bridge, Edward Hopper, 1913; the bridge extending diagonally into the background allows Hopper to let near objects merge gradually with more distant ones - just as Monet did with such virtuosity in his series of Waterloo Bridge paintings

Summer Days, Georgia O'Keeffe, 1936; the artist would collect bones on her sojourns west since she felt the bones cut sharply to the center of something that is keenly alive in the desert

Bound Logs, Jackie Winsor, 1973; the museum was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney, a wealthy and prominent American socialite and art patron (what would she thought of this work?)

Three Flags, Jasper Johns, 1958; this work was made through the use of encaustic, a mixture of pigment suspended in warm wax that congeals as each stroke is applied; the resulting accumulation of discrete marks creates an almost sculptural surface

Big Red, Alexander Calder, 1959; for his mature, wind-driven mobiles, Calder sought the random movement induced by air currents, but controlled it through carefully calibrated systems of weights and balances

Before and After, Andy Warhol, 1962; Warhol based this composition on a small advertisement for a plastic surgeon that ran in the National Enquirer in early April 1961, I never thought of the National Enquirer as inspiring art before

Gettin' Religion, Archibald John Motley Jr, 1948; one of the first African-Americans to attend school at the Art Institute of Chicago, Motley painted one of his iconic Chicago street scenes in this work which I loved

Door to the River, Willem de Kooning, 1960; the artist described his paintings as emotions, most of them are landscapes and highways and sensations with the feeling of going to the city or coming from it

The Lord Is My Shepherd, Thomas Hart Benton, 1926; this painting depicts a deaf couple at their home on Martha's Vineyard where the artist summered for 50+ years

Bathroom, Roy Lichtenstein, 1961; the Whitney, conveniently located at the southern end of the High Line and adjacent to Little Island, costs $25 with timed reservations required

Giant Fagends, Claes Oldenburg; 1967; whatever negative, non-glamorous associations one has about cigarettes—carcinogenic smoke, grubby fingers, stained teeth, and so on—come to the fore here

Number 27, Jackson Pollock, 1950; Pollock said: On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting

Winter Twilight, Charles Burchfield, 1930; the artist was a close friend of Edward Hopper who said of him - the work of Burchfield is most decidedly founded, not on art, but on life, and the life that he knows and loves best

Brooklyn Bridge: Variation on an Old Theme, Joseph Stella, 1939; by combining contemporary architecture and historical allusions, Stella transformed the Bridge into a 20th-century symbol of divinity, the quintessence of modern life and the Machine Age

Untitled, Robert Gober, 1991; this sculpture is meticulously crafted to be highly realistic, yet it is also disturbingly altered; the work also suggests a vigil, a sense of time passing and running out, and of bodies melting away

The Beauty of Summer, Miriam Schapiro, 1974; in 1972 this proud feminist began incorporating textiles onto painted canvas surfaces and intentionally chose items associated with women's work in the home

Yoicks, Robert Rauschenberg, 1954; with its inclusion of cartoons and a title derived from a comic strip exclamation, this work is whimsical and exuberant, a departure from the monochromatic paintings that had occupied the artist during the early 1950s

Skywalker/Skyscraper, Marie Watt, 2012; here a stack of blankets has been pierced by an I-beam, a reference to the Mohawk ironworkers who helped build many of Manhattan's skyscrapers starting in the 1920s

Cupboard VIII, Simone Leigh, 2018; this piece is a multilayered representation of Black womanhood where the character resists being subjected to outmoded notions of the female body as a vessel

J+K, Alan Shields, 1972; this work, made of acrylic, thread and beads on canvas, could mean most anything or nothing at all I suppose; it was at least colorful and might match the furniture