The Boston Museum of Fine Arts

Treasures from the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.

The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is on my list as one of the best museums to visit in the US.  They let you take photos in the museum (no flash of course) and it's a great space to view all the art.

The main entrance was closed due to construction.  We go through the side entrance which has a modern mid-century look.

5  One of the Asian galleries

They have a great Asian collection.  It's wonderfully displayed.

5  European Painting gallery

The European gallery is a tight collection that has representations of the great artists from Europe.  They have a Van Gogh, El Greco, several Velasquez and some Zurbarans.  The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum has a Zurbaran as well.

5  Van Gogh

5  Zurbaran - let's go shopping!

Balenciaga (Cristobal, not Nicholas Ghesquiere) was heavily influenced by Zurbaran's paintings.  They usually have ecclesiastical themes with wonderfully draped figures in religious vestments.

5  Renoir and Degas

Most of the paintings in their European collection came from the collections of prominent Bostonians.

5  A very sexy "Automedon with Achilles' Horses" by Henri Regnault

The best part of the museum is the American collection.  Some great American artists are featured here more than any other museum.  They have a large collection of John Singleton Copley (a native Bostonian), John Singer Sargent and Winslow Homer.

5  Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley and the famous Revere Liberty bowl.  Paul looks like Bob Hope.

5  Samuel Adams by John Singleton Copley who looks nothing like the picture on the famous beer.

5  TWO WOMEN BY COPLEY

Ann Tyng (left) and Mercy Otis (right) looks to me like two women of the same social class from the same period.  Ann looks sinister and painted to seem like a devil with a headress that give the appearance of horns and holding what could be construed as a trident.  She is also dressed more daring than Mercy who seems to be the very picture of a virtuous woman.  They could easily have been the Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly of their time.  Hmmmm...interesting.

5  One of John Singer Sargent's society portraits (left) and the sexiest Arab man (right) in the collection.

5  An Edward Hopper.  This could easily be a match print for "Nighthawks" in the Art Institute of Chicago.

Around the corner is the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum which is also another great museum.  It houses the collection of Isabella Gardner who placed evey item in the museum with a proviso that the collection not be touched or altered in any way.  Unfortunately, they had a huge theft in 1990 (the loot included a Vermeer) so security is tight and absolutely no photos allowed.

Boston Hotels

Boutique and Grand Hotels in Boston.

Boston has a profusion of new boutique hotels and Grand Hotels that never fail to impress with it's opulence.

5  Ian Schrager's Morgans is opening up a branch next year!

5  Nine Zero is another boutique Hotel that is on the Freedom Trail

5  The pebble-wash at the front of Nine Zero Hotel has the word "relax" embedded in brass which was a nice touch.

5  The Fairmont Copley Plaza on Copley Square.  This was formerly the Museum of Fine Arts and was converted into a hotel in 1912.

5  The sumptuous and opulent lobby.  John Kerry had his election night festivities here.

5  What's this?  A stray dog?

5  It's  Catie Copley!  The Official Ambassador of the Fairmont Copley Plaza.  She represents the hotel in public functions like store openings and community events.  You can also take her out for walks (she has an appointment book).  And she's available for a friendly chat and free hugs right at her station in the lobby!

Emmets

Exploring Bar Food in Boston.

Someday, I'd like to do an entry just on the bar food that is available in Boston. Boston has a lot of Pubs and Bars, some of which are really old venerable establishments with a wide variety of food that is served along with the myriad beers that are made in Boston (Samuel Adams comes to mind).

Emmets is located on a quiet street and is a typical Irish Pub with wooden panels and "Ye Olde Victoriana" decor.
It has a very inviting storefront, a welcoming atmosphere and friendly service.


The food is fairly simple with some wonderful surprises like mussels and other local seafood. The menu is peppered with old favorites such as burgers and chicken wings listed alongside curry, spring rolls and quesadillas without feeling TGIFridays.

5  Turkey Club with Fries

5  Mussels in Garlic and White Wine

Emmets is on 6 Beacon Street, Beacon Hill, Boston.

Harvard in 23 Minutes

College is a breeze!

We thought we'd take a peek at Harvard before we headed back to the airport not realizing we didn't really have that much time so here goes!

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00:23  Done!

The Boston Public Library

Read it and weep.

The Boston Public Library is the first library in the United States that was built with public funding and the first library to lend books for free.

5  Side view of the Boston Public Library 

The current building in Copley Square was designed by the famed architectural firm McKim, Mead and White who also designed Penn Station, Madison Square Garden and the Morgan Library in New York.

5  Facade with Bela Pratt's sculpture of Science on the left.

There are two statues on the platform by Bela Pratt.  One is Science and the other is Art.  The facade is flanked by gothic looking sconces that are at once sinister and majestic.  

5 The sconces

5  The Grand Staircase

The central staircase is flanked by two lions created by Louis St. Gaudens and murals of the muses by Pierre Puvis De Chavannes.

5  Pierre Puvis De Chavaness mural.

5  Bates reading room

The reading room has amazing vaulted ceilings and large windows.  One can't help but think that this is what a library should look like.

5  The Abbey Room

This library has a ballroom (actually called the Abbey Room but I'd like to have a party there someday so let's call it the ballroom).  The murals of "The Quest For The Holy Grail" by American artist Edwin Austin Abbey surrounds the room.

5  The Courtyard

There is a wonderful Italianate courtyard with galleries that are perfect for sitting and reading a book or having a snack.  It's very quiet and peaceful.

5  The Novel Restaurant

They have several choices for eating including a formal dining room called Novel.  It seems empty as people seem to prefer the more casual snack bar right next to it.

5  John Singer Sargent Gallery

The Boston Public Library has a whole gallery that has murals by John Singer Sargent.  It depicts scenes from Judeo-Christian history and Sargent worked on a lot of it in a studio in London.  These murals were recently restored and is something to see.  For more about the Sargent murals, click here.

If you are a devout Catholic, you may even want to walk on your knees from one end of the hall to the other to fulfill your "panata".

5  Sargent mural lunette.

5  Mural with highly articulated crucifix

5  Bela Pratt's sculpture of Art overlooking Copley Square and Trinity Church

From what I understand, the Boston Public Library is severely underfunded, compared to the New York Public LIbrary.  A lot of the rare books are deteriorating.  The BPL has 2 curators versus New York Library's 35, so you can imagine how overworked the curators must be.