2022 Fall Trip - Day 4/42 - 8/28/2022

Sunday, August 28, 2022 - After Trinity North Shore on-line, I left the Super 8 in Peru, IL at 10:30 AM - 2-out-of-3 Museums later, I checked into the Super 8 in Lincoln, NE at 7 PM - 457 miles today:

Its good to be Out-On-The-Road:

Very Cool Bridge going over the Mississippi River:

Under threatening skies, I reached the Figge Art Museum in Davenport, Iowa just after noon:

They have 2 lovely paintings by Thomas Cole, on loan courtesy of the Warner Foundation:

"Autumn Landscape (View of Mount Chocorua)", 1827 oil

"Catskill Mountain House", c. 1846 oil

The Warner Foundation sounded familiar - they are in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Their mission is to promote an understanding of American History through American Art. The foundation is dedicated to continuing the legacy of Jonathan “Jack” Westervelt Warner. Its holdings were previously in The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art, which I visited in September 2015 (see that blog here). I didn't see any paintings by Thomas Cole at that time.

Wikipedia says: The Tuscaloosa Museum of Art, previously the Westervelt-Warner Museum of American Art, was an art museum in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. The museum permanently closed in 2018. It was founded by Tuscaloosa businessman Jack Warner.

However, I did see "Autumn Landscape (View of Mount Chocorua)" up at the Thomas Cole National Historic Site in October 2019 (see that blog here). The Lesson for today is "Keep Your Eyes Open - You Don't Know What You May See".

Other beauty at The Figge - Thomas Hart Benton - "The Hailstorm", 1940 oil (from the Joslyn Art Museum, currently closed for renovation until 2024):

William Robinson Leigh - "The Grand Canyon", 1940s oil:

Winslow Homer - "In the Wheat Field", c. 1867 oil:

Very Nice Space:

F.C. Welsch - "The Majesty of the Mountains", c. 1869 oil (private collection):

Thomas Moran - "Welcoming the Return of the Boat", 1859 oil:

On their top/4th floor they have a fascinating installation:

The view from one corner:

The view from the other corner:

They seem to be thousands of filaments stretched across the room. I don't know if they are colored, or clear-with-light-passing-through-them. An EXCELLENT use of The Space! This is why I "Look At Everything"!!

The view out at the Mississippi River:

and then it was time to head down the road to the "World's Largest Truckstop":

I drove through a Big Rainstorm, and reached the Stanley Museum of Art at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA) at 2 PM:

Ouch - it is Homecoming, and there is a huge group of people trying to get in. I'm out-of-here!

I hustled on down the road, and reached the Des Moines Art Center at 3:49 (they close at 4):

Andy Warhol - "Mao", 1972 screenprints:

Claude Monet - "Lion Rock, Rocks at Belle-Île", 1886 oil (I have not seen this before):

Edward Hopper - "Automat", 1927 oil:

I was going to crop this, but I think it is better this way.

Roy Lichtenstein - "The Great Pyramid", 1969 oil:

Winslow Homer - "Banana Tree - Nassau", 1885 watercolor:

It was hot heading into Lincoln, Nebraska:

Where I checked in at 7 PM. THANK YOU GOD for this wonderful driving-and-museums Day!

Music for today -

Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band - The Saint, The Incident & The Main Point Shuffle PA 2/5/75, 1975 live 2 cds:

So, I was a Senior at Penn, and had already been a Big Fan for a year-and-a-half (having seen him 3 times by now). I didn't go out to the show at The Main Point, but I recorded it on a friend's cassette deck (it was broadcast on WMMR), and it was a great tape that I loved having. I bought this cd a number of years ago, and IT WAS SUPER LISTENING TO IT DRIVING DOWN THE HIGHWAY!!!! My only complaint is because the "mastered-volume" is low, I have to turn my volume up to MAX (but I guess that's ok).

Another problem is driving through a "mist-of-tears" - Wonderful Versions of

"Incident on 57th Street"
"The E-SAtreet Shuffle"
"I Want You" (by Bob Dylan)
"Kitty's Back"
"New York City Serenade"
an acoustic version of "For You"

PLUS "early versions" of stuff on his "Born to Run" album:
"Thunder Road - Wings For Wheels"
"She's The One"
"Jungleland"

Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism, 2003 fourth album:

Fleetwood Mac - Mirage, 1982 13th studio album:

Florence & The Machine - Lungs, 2009 debut album:

This has their big hit "Dog Days Are Over" - SOUNDS GREAT LOUD!

Fred Astaire - The Essential Fred Astaire:

The recordings were made before the technology improved, so they sound not-very-good. Having said that, it is GREAT hearing all these Cole Porter tunes.

Gabriela Anders - Wanting, 1998:

wonderful sound - Sade-meets-The-Girl-fro-Ipanema