There was plenty of bicycle parking outside the station, the nation's 3rd busiest. Huge light fixtures, too.
Once we crossed the JFK Boulevard Bridge, it was a short
walk to Rittenhouse Square past what appeared to be a castle.
It took us quite a while and some delicate negotiation to
decide where to grab a mid-morning snack and discuss The Art ofthe Steal, a “documentary” about the relocation of the Barnes collection, which
Joe had recommended. He said he would
not have purchased tickets if he’d been aware of the legal and political shenanigans involved. I had no qualms since I’m the kind of guy who likes pretty pictures, even
if I find them in my hot chocolate.
City Hall loomed just outside the cafe.
After checking in at our hotel we headed to Monk's for beer-steamed mussels (yum!) with Greg and his fiance. Joe and Greg are medical students at Columbia.
Then we raced over to the Barnes to meet Karl, for our timed admission. Magda & Karl roomed together at Columbia.
Say what you want about ignoring the wishes of the deceased, the new Barnes certainly makes the collection more accessible in a lovely space. This mobile hangs near the entrance.
Check out the upholstery on the lounges.
Which of course complements the floors.
Photography is prohibited in the galleries, which have been hung almost identically to those at the original site. Dr. Barnes grouped his collection of Impressionist paintings and objets d'art more idiosyncratically than most curators, often punctuating the arrangments with odd metal fragments, such as hinges or locks. Although he loved re-arranging his art, the arrangements now on view have been frozen in time since his death in a 1951 car crash. With a fortune accumulated from the sales of a gonnorhea drug he developed, Dr. Barnes bought mostly Impressionists before they became fashionable. Way too many Reniors for my taste, but plenty of Seraut, Matisse, Modigliani, Cezanne, Picasso, Rousseau, Monet Toulouse-Lautrec & Van Gogh, too.
The museum turns its back on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a snub Dr. Barnes probably would have appreciated given his distaste for mainline Philadephia.
Joe insisted that we take a quick peek at the Rodin Museum, which houses mostly copies of the original sculptures, like the Thinker.
Though tiny, it has an enchanting exterior.
But the Balzac bust inside is more like a fairy tale monster.
We paid a visit to this fountain nymph on the way back to the hotel.
A hawk guarded her from above.
It seemed like a good moment to take another portrait of a bemused Magda & Joe.
After a delicious brunch at Sabrina's Cafe and Spencer's Too on Sunday, we headed to the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with a little help from this map.
And a blessing from this beloved father, basking in the morning sun.
Love this mural of downtown Philly.
No visit to the Philadelphia Museum would be complete without a kitsch detour to snap this statue of Rocky. Can you imagine the Met in NYC allowing such a thing to be installed on its grounds? What's up with that Swedish flag? Maybe a sly tribute to Dolph Lundgren in Rocky IV?
Magda & I posed on the museum steps . . .
while Joe and I opted for the entrance, below the monstrosity scultped by the same artist whose work adorns the law school at our alma mater.
I much preferred the bas relief on the dry fountain.
and the colorful frieze at the top of the museum's facade.
The diversity of the art inside didn't disappoint. Dr. Barnes should have gotten over himself a long time ago and saved everyone a trip by bequeathing his unparalleled collection of Impressionists to the Philadelphia Museum.
I couldn't resist this self portrait.
Or a final shot of Magda & Joe after we were museumed out.
Before heading back to New York City in Joe's brother's car, Magda arranged to meet Maria, Karl's former girlfriend, in front of our hotel for a quick chat. Soon to be a dermatologist, she looked a little stunned when Magda informed her she had seen Karl. Nothing like a little drama to end our visit.
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