“Van Gogh in America” celebrates the Detroit Institute of Arts’ status as the first public museum in the United States to purchase a painting by Vincent van Gogh, his “Self-Portrait” (1887). On the 100th anniversary of that milestone acquisition, 74 van Gogh works from collections around the world reveal the fascinating story of America’s introduction to this iconic […]
I’ve heard much about Black Mountain College over the years, and often wondered about its current status. So, on a recent visit to Asheville NC, I was on a quest. What I found was a wonderful little storefront museum in the Downtown Arts District that celebrates Black Mountain College (BMC). For almost 30 years, the […]
I wonder how you score a Duke University dorm room overlooking the Sarah P. Duke Gardens. This is the view the lucky students who reside in those rooms see below their windows — and what we saw up-close on a recent visit. Sarah P. Duke Gardens consists of 55 acres of landscaped and wooded areas […]
I’ve been wanting to visit Reynolda House and its American art collection since I first learned about it 25 years ago. Finally made it! Set at the center of 180 acres in Winston-Salem NC, the Reynolda House Museum of American Art presents an acclaimed art collection in an historic and incomparable setting: the original 1917 […]
When you think of Duke University, do you think “Basketball”? “Medical school”? Or do you think “Art”? Like any top university, Duke has built a Department of Art, Art History & Visual Studies, and the Nasher Museum of Art is a classic adjunct to that program. Founded in 1969 with the acquisition of 200 medieval […]
Asheville is an art town, boasting two separate studio & gallery districts, numerous art and craft-related museums and historic houses … and the recently expanded Asheville Art Museum. The Museum’s collection of American art of the 20th and 21st centuries presents the narrative of art and culture in western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia, within […]
Western North Carolina is all about stunning layered mountain views, Blue Ridge hiking, the Biltmore estate … and art. Turns out that Asheville is an art town, boasting two separate studio & gallery districts, numerous art and craft-related museums and historic houses … and the recently expanded Asheville Art Museum. The River Arts District is […]
You might expect the South’s oldest art museum to be in the capital city of one of the southern states, not in a city of 330,000 (2022). But in 1885, Savannah –with about 35,000 residents — was nearly twice the size of the second-largest city in the state, Augusta. In fact, when Savannah was established […]
Part 1 (Savannah’s Jepson Center – an architectural delight) of this 3-part series about the Telfair Museums began with, “I just had a museum experience that blissed me out, from beginning to end!” The architecture enhanced the experience, to be sure, but the art absolutely held it’s own. In addition to the awesome architecture of […]
How do you design a new museum to fit into a National Historic Landmark District — an area that was planned in 1733 — a neighborhood defined by a grid of streets punctuated by tree-shaded urban squares? The Jepson Center stands at the heart of Savannah’s Historic District, just steps around Telfair Square from the Telfair Academy, which is the oldest public art museum in the South (built 1819.) […]