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<p>As long as we’re not limiting ourselves to the northeast, I’ll put in a plug for the Salvador Dali Museum in St. Petersburg, FL. Very surreal ;).</p>
<p>In NYC, I would add the Frick Collection on the Upper East Side, which has a nice audio tour.</p>
<p>cheers,</p>
<p>Good list. I suggest you add The Wallace Collection to your list of London museums. Former private collection in a former private home in Central London - fabulous!</p>
<p>If you’re looking to travel a little farther South, Atlanta’s High Museum, while much smaller than MoMA and those types, has some cool pieces. Last time I was there, about a year ago, they had cool busts of people from the Spanish Civil War (or Spanish-American?), and an exhibit of collages that I really liked. It doesn’t really specialize in any one category: sculpture, 18th century landscape paintings, modern art, furniture.</p>
<p>You cannot forget the Detroit Institute of Arts - the fifth largest art museum in the country.</p>
<p>Drew said that was their starting point, in fact. Right now, due to extensive renovations, you can’t see most of the museum. But they have several galleries of “greatest hits” available.</p>
<p>The Barnes Museum is being moved to Philadelphia in a few years to avoid the problems being in a small town entail…</p>
<p>er, cheers? </p>
<p>How about Florence:</p>
<p>Uffizzi
Bargello
Galleria del’Academia
Santa Croce
San Marco
Santa Maria del Carmine
Santa Maria del Fiore
Palazzo Vecchio
Palazzo Pitti
Palazzo Medici Riccardi
Palazzo Strozzi
Santa Maria Novella</p>
<p>…just the most obvious ones.</p>
<p>Yet another vote for the Frick in NYC…some absolutely exquisite pieces and not as overwhelming as the Met, you can easily do a thoughful once-through in 2-3 hours. </p>
<p>The Huntington in L.A. (San Marino) is well worth going to. In addition to some cliches–“Blue Boy” and “Pinkie” for two–it has some very nice works, includings “Mrs. Siddons and the Tragic Muse.” For books there’s the Chaucer, the Gutenberg, the First Folios, early works of Jonson, etc. etc. etc. The various gardens, including Rose Garden, Shakespeare Garden (all with plants mentioned in Shakespeare), the Japanese Garden, etc. are staggering in their dimensions. </p>
<p>And they have a very nice afternoon tea with scones/etc. that’s very nice though often you need reservations though I’ve managed to time it right for a wangle-in on even a moderately busy day.</p>
<p>We have done all the art museums in the DC area–wonderful collections, and the Smithsonian affiliated galleries are free! (National Gallery of Art and its East Wing, Hirschorn & the National Portrait Gallery). But I had my first visit to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston last year, and loved it! That should definitely be on the list for an east coast trip!</p>
<p>Phillips Collection in DC
MOMA in NYC</p>
<p>While you are in Philadelphia visiting the magnificent Museum of Art be sure to check out the smaller nearby gems, Brandywine River Mus., rustic, on the water and the Woodmere, an ecclectic treasure where you can often sit along side the restorers while they work, locayed in a quaint architecturally interesting residential area of Philly called Chestnut Hill. (20 min. commuter train ride from downtown Phila.)</p>
<p>For all the time I’ve spent in Italy–no visits to Florence! My bad! :eek:</p>
<p>UMDAD…never been there! S2 will spend part of GAP year in London next spring so maybe? Have you ever been to Sir John Soane’s Museum? <a href=“http://www.soane.org%5B/url%5D”>www.soane.org</a></p>
<p>Definitely add the Wallace Collection and Sir John Soane’s Museum to the list of must see in London. At Windsor, you can see Leonardo’s sketches (at least we did).
Florence is marvelous. The whole city is like a museum. We liked Siena, too.</p>
<p>The Yale Center for British Art has a magnificent collection. I think it’s the most comprehensive museum of British Art in the U.S.</p>
<p><a href=“Homepage | Yale Center for British Art”>Homepage | Yale Center for British Art;
<p>British Art–kinda like British Food. I like the early furniture and silver but art is not a British strength.</p>
<p>When I go through the Boston MFA, I think I’ve died and gone to heaven. Until I see the Met. To see both plus the Frick on one trip is to gorge.</p>
<p>cheers,</p>
<p>Check it out at <a href=“http://www.wallacecollection.org%5B/url%5D”>www.wallacecollection.org</a>.</p>
<p>barrons,</p>
<p>I think Turner, Reynolds and Gainsborough are right up there with the old masters. With the latter two, portraiture is really exquisite.</p>
<p>Drew: Haven’t seen it mentioned yet so I will suggest in NYC the Neue Galerie, 5th and 86th, to see the newly purchased Klimt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, which is supposed to be there July 13. I’ve always loved that painting and finally got to see it recently at the exhibit in Los Angeles – so much more stunning in person. </p>
<p>And for future reference on the international list: Moscow is stuffed with great art galleries and museums but I particularly recommend those inside the Kremlin for the Smithsonian-like collection of everything from the czar’s hunting kit to state jewels and Faberge eggs. The Tretyakov Galleries (old and new) also should not be missed. One of the most fascinating exhibits I’ve ever seen was a collection of the works of various artists who created their work and then hid it during the Communist era, from the 1930s on. Far from the rosy worker portraits of Soviet Realism, these paintings spoke to the suffering of most people under those regimes. In painting after painting, people were portrayed with no faces, no limbs. In one landscape, a plowed field, the furrows ran red. Very chilling art. I saw it in 1993 after Gorbachev had stepped down and the artists or their families began bringing these pieces out of hiding.</p>
<p>OK, the Detroit museum is under long term construction / repair. Its exhibits are limited, but still worth a visit. Since you are in the area, start with the UM art museum, then Detroit, then Toledo (also under limited repair which eliminates most of their glass art), then Pittsburg, then Philli, then NYC, then Boston, then Albany, then Rochester, then Buffalo, and then Toronto. Try the Windsor, ON museum if you are free on time. The Cleveland and Akron museums are closed for repair. If you have extra time, you can take in art from northern New Jersey (Trenton), RI and CT. If you have lots of extra time, you could wander down to Baltimore and DC. Timing is key, as many museums are dark on Mondays and Tuesdays. Good luck. (If you ever want a long weekend art trip, try Toledo, Columbus, Cinci, and Dayton.)</p>