Surprise!

Hello friends,

I ran out of work to do at 1:30 pm today, so, um, I started a blog? Welcome.

Before I started the blog, though, I took a quick walk outside to experience April in DC sans climate control.   (Spoiler alert: it is warm, pollen-filled and slightly sticky).  I first wandered down to Lafayette Park in front of the White House, just a 5 min walk from my office.  There is often something (or someone) interesting to see there:

Eli Nature Boy (p.s. we're FB friends)

"Yes We Cannabis"

Magnolias

But today the park was pretty tame, so I kept a-walking.  Right past, and then back, and into, the Renwick Gallery/American Art Museum.

The Renwick

How gorgeous is this building?  The Renwick houses the Smithsonian American Art Museum's craft and decorative arts program.  I stop in on occasion to see probably my favorite piece from their collection, Larry Fuente’s Game Fish.

Larry Fuente - Game Fish

(If you’ve been to our apt. you may have noticed a postcard-sized picture of this piece in an Ikea frame on the wall, because E and I are classy like that.)

The Grand Salon

The Renwick is kind of a weird hodgepodge of a museum, combining contemporary folk art and sculpture with traditional portraiture and landscapes.  Truthfully the architecture and interior design is as much of a draw for me as the art.  The Grand Salon looks like how a classic art gallery should look, with circular couches, pink walls, oriental-inspired rugs, gold window-dressings and a high ceiling with skylights.  And did I mention PINK WALLS? The only drawback is that the paintings high on the walls are harder to see because of glare from the lights.  I picked out a few to focus on today, mostly from what appeared to be the “Artist Self-Portraits and Paintings of Cows” wall.  (You can see all of the paintings in the Grand Salon at the Renwick’s Flickr).

James Jebusa Shannon - Mother and Child (Lady Shannon and Kitty)

I love the movement in this portrait.  The woman looks a bit too white and the girl’s right hand is a little too posed (unless she’s fiddling with something, can’t tell for sure), but the fistful of hair, the facial expressions and the character’s actions are compelling.

William H. Howe - Monarchy of the Farm

This painting benefits from the context of its sheer size on the wall and its large, gilded frame.  Great title.

Alice Pike Barney - Self-Portrait with Palette

Movement!  Can you tell I like it in paintings?  Also wacky backgrounds.  Also tough painter ladies with wild hair.  I love how her signature is incorporated into the painting itself rather than hiding away in the corner, even though it’s kind of distracting and totally breaks the rules.  If you're feeling clicky, here is Alice Pike Barney’s Wikipedia Page (DC salons! Douchebag husband!  Lesbian daughter!  Decades-younger second husband! This lady did some living.)

That is all.  Thanks for reading, or at least looking at the pictures!

m