Real Nefertiti?
Superstar Pharaohs
We were thrilled during our long, leisurely visit to “Superstar Pharaohs,” a rewarding exhibition at the Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon. We took our time to peruse 250 pieces that show how the history of the…
Apostolic portraits, El Greco
All The Greek to Us: Toledo’s Master
In brief: We located paintings by El Greco across Toledo, from its principal churches to the El Greco Museum. Toledo still hosts many paintings by El Greco, the Cretan artist who lived the second half…
Girl with balloon, Banksy
A Wall of his Own: Banksy
In brief: As a fine exhibit here showed, Banksy keeps meeting walls he likes, on which he likes to critique what he doesn’t like about our world. Self-portrait, Banksy He kept meeting walls he liked.…
Circles on Black, Kandinsky
Vassily Kandinsky: Spiraling through the work
In brief: Not everyone “gets” the abstract art Kandinsky pioneered. Yet attention to the span of his paintings proved engaging, especially while circling Wright's solid spiral. We took time out from family get-togethers in NYC…
Atrium, Gardner museum
Art Touring in Dallas and Boston
We took the opportunity during a long visit back to the States to do some art touring in NYC, Boston and Dallas-Fort Worth. A few special exhibits and a nostalgic re-visit were among the highlights.…
Pimenta staircase and entrance
Pimenta picante: eyeing the dramatic course of a city
In brief: Three dramatic historical themes filled the Palace rooms: how the republic emerged, the massive 1755 earthquake and renovation, the role of water in Lisbon. One branch of the Museum of Lisbon is housed…
Ze Povinho and Brazil
Artist & Poet: Uncovering Museum Gems
In brief: A museum should offer a chance for discovery. Two "boutique" museums in Lisbon did just that for us, revealing the work of an artist and a poet. Some museums cover vast ranges of…
Another ancient dancer
Dancing with the Stars at the National Museum
She was giving us quite an attitude. Her long arms were arrayed in bracelets, her right hand defiantly planted on her hip, which jutted out sideways. She was all sassy, impertinent, take-no-nonsense, and - according…
bit.fall with digital misters displaying words from internet news ephemera
MONA’s Teaser Smile
A six foot head of shiny dark metal lies on its side, as if the person to which it belongs is sleeping. As you move closer, the apparently solid head reveals windows and seams through…
Lighted floor map of New Zealand in the Our Space section
It’s All On at Te Papa Museum, Wellington
It’s a Kiwi smorgasbord: a display of Maori cloaks woven over a two hundred year span, an exhibit of European fine arts collected by the wealthy here, a “colossal” squid from the Pacific depths splayed…