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In Munich:
Die Alte Pinakothek
Die Neue Pinakothek
Lenbachhaus
Staatsgalerie moderner Kunst
Deutsches Museum
In Dresden:
Der Zwinger
In Berlin:
Egyptian museum
Pergamon
Art Institue of Chicago
The Pergamon ! I could I forget. The Ishtar Gate is sublime. I remember it first time when I was about 6 and it sent me on my way to become an Archaeologist so I have much to thank the Museum for...
The Art Institute in Chicago is wonderful and the Met and the Tate Gallery as well, but my all time favorite is the Cincinnati Art Museum. I grew up in Cincinnati, and spent many an hour there with my mother. We would walk through and she'd point out the faces on the Grant Wood, or tell me to look at how thick the paint was applied on the Van Goghs, or we'd discuss what story Marc Chagall was trying to tell. It's where the seeds of my love of art and art history were planted.
The Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford Pennsylvania, because I like Illustration and this is where one will find the Wyeths, as well as Maxfield Parrish, Howard Pyle, Frederick Remington, etc. It's a nice overnight trip for me from the Washington DC area
Chicago's Art Institute has a great collection. I also grew up in Chicago, but as a teen-ager, had about zero interest in art. Later, in my 20s I became a regular visitor, at least twice per month. One day every week admission was free. Rode the 'L' downtown, first smoked a joint in Grant Park while watching the squirrels in the trees and then went inside. A great experience!
Not all people have the good fortune to travel to other art museums. I've been to the Louvre in Paris and seen some art museums in Germany. It wasn't until living in Germany that I discovered that Chicago's Art Institute is rated as one of the world's best, especially the Impressionist collection.
Musee d'Orsay is probably my favorite worldwide. There are a couple here in Florida you might not be aware of:
Sarasota: Art Museum,
St. Pete: http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/
I've been all over Europe, but never to Illinois! The Art Institute is next on my list!
Very informative thread. I am reminded of a few museums I had forgotten, and I never even knew some of these mentioned existed.
Looking forward to exploring . Thanks.
The Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford Pennsylvania ... It's a nice overnight trip for me from the Washington DC area ...
Quote:
Originally Posted by nanannie
Very informative thread. I am reminded of a few museums I had forgotten, and I never even knew some of these mentioned existed.
Looking forward to exploring . Thanks.
This is an interesting thread isn't it? I wished I'd have added a couple of things to my post. One can see prints or computer pictures of artists' works but there is nothing like standing in front of an actual painting expertly lit in a museum setting. The colors and images are stunning in real life.
And for an overnight trip to Chadds Ford PA (just north of Wilmington DE), there is more than the museum. Nearby is Longwood Gardens, one of the premier botanical gardens in the United States. With extensive grounds and large arboretum and conservatory it is an all season attraction. One can spend a whole day there. And there is Kennett Square "The Mushroom Capital of the World" and other nearby places of interest. This area is great for a short visit. Arrive early and spend the day at the Brandywine Museum, then spend the next day at the Gardens.
I think everyone can agree that the Metropolitan, National Gallery, Art Institute of Chicago, etc. are great museums, I'd like to mention some smaller and not so small museums that don't get a lot of attention but have great collections or a few gems worth checking out:
1. Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Not as well known to out of towners as the Getty Museum, but LACMA has one of the finest collections in the United States. It is a comprehensive museum (unlike the Getty) and has also greatly expanded their collections in recent years.
Highlights:
-One of the finest collections of Indian (Asian Indian) art in the world. Fantastic stone sculptures, manuscript paintings, and a wonderful bronze statue of the Dancing Shiva.
-LACMA has an excellent presentation of Latin American art, from the Pre-Columbian civilizations of Mexico, Central America, and Peru through the Spanish colonial period, to the masters of the 20th Century (Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo, Wilfredo Lam, Rufino Tamayo, Matta, etc) Diego Rivera's portrait of Frida Kahlo (the only one he painted) and Kahlo's small still life painting are not to missed.
-A great collection of German expressionist art. When it comes to Modern Art, most people think immediately of Picasso (and LACMA has quite a few) but what really is overwhelming here is the German expressionists. They have one large gallery filled with masterpieces- 4 paintings by Kirchner, one of the best assemblages by Kurt Schwitters anywhere, Otto Dix's "Leda and the Swan" (violent and erotic at the same time) and one of my favorites is the painting "The Orator" by the little known Magnus Zeller. It was painted in Germany in the early 1920's and seems to pre-figure fascism and the political upheavals of the following two decades.
-LACMA has a good collection of European old masters that somehow never gets the recognition they deserve. Perhaps the best of the best are the three galleries of 17th century Dutch paintings that includes the Carter collection. Some of the greatest examples of Dutch still life, landscape, and seascapes in the United States are in these galleries. LACMA's collection in this area is the equal to or even superior to the larger and more famous museums on the east coast. Don't miss the paintings by Hendrick Avercamp, Clara Peeters, Ambrosius Bosschaert, and Pieter Saenredam - four supreme masterpieces all in the same room. LACMA also has one of the best collections of Italian Baroque art in the U.S. The museum also has the following paintings that are superb and cannot be missed by anyone interested in the Old Masters: "Magdalene with the Smoking Flame" by Georges de la Tour. One of four versions he painted of this subject, and by far the finest. "Holy Family with the Dove" by Peter Paul Rubens. A holy family full of life, warmth and humor. He actually painted them smiling, something you don't see too often. "Virgin and Child with St. Ann and the Infant St. John the Baptist" by Rosso Fiorentino. You don't see too many Italian mannerist paintings in American museums, but this one is fascinating and disturbing. It is unfinished, and that only heightens its weirdness. Scholars still don't know what exactly the artist meant by this painting.
2. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum- Boston
The first vanity museum in the United States, and still the best. The museum was built to showcase the ecclectic collection of Mrs. Stewart, a wealthy art collector of the late 19th- early 20th century. The museum is full of medieval and Renaissance furniture, tapestries, sculpture, paintings, glass, ceramics, fabrics, etc. It is not displayed the way a "professional" would, but displayed to reflect Mrs. Stewart's taste. Walking thru it you feel as if you are walking thru the Italian palazzo of some distinguished collector of the 17th century. Titian' great painting of "The Abduction of Europa" is here.
3. Portland Art Museum (Portland, Oregon)
This might seem like an odd choice. It certainly is no Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it is a fine little museum for a city of Portland's size and wealth. While the building itself is not very distinguished, it is in a charming location facing the South Park Blocks, a green expanse of shady trees and rose bushes. There is a small outdoor sculpture court between the two buildings that make up the museum. They have a small but fine collection of Chinese art, with several outstanding examples of ancient Chinese tomb art that would be the envy of any museum. One of the strongest areas of the collection is the Native American art, especially the art of the NorthWest tribes. The museum's collection of European paintings is small, but wonderfully displayed in galleries flooded by natural light (I can't stand dark museums!) Although lacking in many important artists, there is a good group of Renaissance and Baroque paintings by Taddeo Gaddi, Botticelli, Granacci, Crivelli, Cranach, Strozzi, and Pittoni. What I really liked was the fact that a small museum like this has been able to keep adding to it's collection, with paintings by Cezanne, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Luca Giordano, Sebastien Bourdon, and Phillipe de Champaigne all having been acquired in the last few years. If you are ever in Portland (one of my favorite cities) be sure to stop by and see for yourself.
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I could I forget. The Ishtar Gate is sublime. I remember it first time when I was about 6 and it sent me on my way to become an Archaeologist so I have much to thank the Museum for... 
