Dennis Dixon is heading West!: Two Conn. Museums: Mystic Seaport & Florence Griswold

Wednesday, October 16, 2019 - Wendy's schedule was clear for today, so we did a nice little day-trip down to Connecticut:

The Mystic Seaport Museum is hosting, for only 5 months, a wonderful J.M.W. Turner exhibit:

I have never been to see the Mystic Seaport Museum. We left after my step-class/workout, so it was nice not having to deal with any rush-hour traffic. Got down there at 1:30 (peanut-butter-and-honey sandwiches in the car, a la New Zealand):

Very nice interior space, and a TON of art (or should I say "TONNE"?)

Just under 100 pieces by Turner, including a few oils! Highlights include:

Whalers (Boiling Blubber) Entangled in Flaw Ice, Endeavouring to Extricate Themselves, 1846 oil:

Stormy Sea with Dolphins, c. 1835-40 oil:

Storm over the Mountains, c. 1842-43 graphite, watercolor:

Venice: An Imaginary View of the Arsenale, c. 1840 watercolor:

Venice: Looking Across the Lagoon at Sunset, 1840 watercolor:

Banditti, for Samuel Roger's Italy, c. 1826-27 pen and ink, graphite and watercolor:

Holy Island Cathedral, c. 1806-07 watercolor:

The Fifth Plague of Egypt, c. 1806-07 watercolor:

Durham Cathedral: The Interior, Looking East Along the South Aisle, 1797-98 graphite, watercolor and gouache:

My only complaint is all the works are behind glass, which makes appreciating them more difficult with the reflection. A major plus is that given the sheer volume of works, there really is "something for everyone" - from detailed works up to "concept watercolors" (how blues work with reds).

We looked around their other Art Galley (current artists), got a cup of coffee, and headed 23 miles west to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme:

In the main museum/structure was an exhibit:

I was excited to see the flag-painting by Childe Hassam:

Italian Day, May 1918, 1918 oil:

this piece is on loan from Art Bridges, which is associated with Alice Walton's Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Bentonville, Arkansas). "The Art Bridges collection endeavors to demonstrate the wide range of art and stories of the American experience across time, media, and artists. Art Bridges encourages institutions to consider their own collections, galleries, and exhibitions in tandem with the Art Bridges collection in order to activate their visitors' experiences."

Two other pieces in the 'Nothing More American' exhibition are:

Childe Hassam - Avenue of the Allies, 1924 etching:

Childe Hassam - Church at Old Lyme, 1918 lithograph:

On the way up to "The Old House", we went down to the river. This property was an artists' colony in the early 1900s, and you can see why:

Up in "The Old House", the kitchen/pantry/dining is fun - all the artists painted one (or more) of the panels - very artsy! A bug exhibit was downstairs, but the rooms upstairs were totally devoted to display of the art:

Childe Hassam - The Ledges, October in Old Lyme, Connecticut, 1907 oil:

Childe Hassam - The Dry Northeaster, Isles of Shoals, 1906 oil:

Everett Warner - Winter on the Lieutenant River, n.d. oil:

The Lieutenant River is the river that runs behind this property.

Headed out of there a little after 4, dinner at Five Guys in Peabody, and then home. WOW - Thank You God for a great Art-Adventure Day!

Music for today was albums from an mp3 cd I burned back in August 2000:

Van Morrison - Back on Top, 1999