The secret is out – I’m a huge fan of art museums. A visit is always a good use of time and can give you insight on culture and history. And if you’re not careful, you might just get a little education thrown in!
You don’t have to love everything, but the more you get exposed to the more you can learn to appreciate. I’ll admit that I tend to have a hard time with some contemporary art while there is a lot that I’m just crazy about. Remember, as with life “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”.
While my favorite European works tend to be the realism portrayed by Dutch Masters such as Rembrandt and Frans Hals, I’ve grown to also appreciate the beautiful play of color and light depicted in the works of the French Impressionist movement.
While a visit to the Musee d’Orsay or l’Orangerie in Paris may not be in your immediate future, there are incredible collections closer to home that are offering virtual and/or in-person tours of their collections.
The following are some of the best.
NORTON SIMON MUSEUM
PASADENA, CA
Home to one of the most significant collections of Impressionist Art in California, the Norton Simon Museum is home to the works of Degas, Renoir, and Monet. The Degas collection alone comprises over 100 pieces of work by the French Impressionist, and includes many of his images of dancers, a subject for which he perhaps best known. World-renowned architect Frank O. Gehry, who is also a museum trustee, has recently renovated the museum.
THE PHILLIPS COLLECTION
WASHINGTON D.C.
Known as the first museum of modern art, Washington D.C.’s Phillips Collection houses some of the 20th century’s most important works. Founded in 1921, Duncan and Marjorie Acker Phillips built a collection that rivals those of many of the world’s most famous museums. Renoir’s most important work, “Luncheon of the Boating Party”, is perhaps the collection’s most famous piece.
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
NEW YORK CITY, NY
Founded in 1870, The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City is America’s largest museum. The collection includes nearly 50,000 pieces of European painting, sculpture and decorative art, including a large number of Impressionist paintings by artists including Degas, Renoir, Seurat, Van Gogh, Pissarro, Monet and Cassatt.
MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS BOSTON
BOSTON, MA
The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is one of the country’s largest museums and was founded in 1870. Home to the work of Manet, Degas, and Renoir to name a few, the collection also includes a significant number of works by post-Impressionist painters Paul Cezanne and Vincent van Gogh. Monet’s obsession with the movement of light on objects is perhaps best shown in his series of haystacks, one of which is part of the museum’s collection.
J. PAUL GETTY MUSEUM
LOS ANGELES, CA
Perhaps one of the most interesting collections in the United States, the J. Paul Getty Museum is home to the work of Monet, Renoir, and Sisley. The collection includes Manet’s “The Rue Monsier With Flags” from 1878, and again marks a moment in time, a quick glimpse of the 1878 Exposition Universelle, painted from Manet’s studio window above the street.
THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO
CHICAGO, IL
The Art Institute of Chicago’s holdings of late 19th-century French art are among the largest and finest in the world. The collection features some of the most well-known and best-loved works in the museum, including “The Bedroom” by Vincent Van Gogh, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte” by Georges Seurat and “Water Lilies” by Claude Monet.
BARNES FOUNDATION
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Known around the world as the home of what is perhaps the most significant collection of painting, sculpture, and objects from ancient cultures and modern masters, the Barnes Foundation also contains one of the most complete collections of Impressionist and post-Impressionist art in the world. With 181 paintings by Renoir alone, the Barnes Foundation has work by Monet and Degas as well as their successors Picasso and Matisse.
After all this research and exposure, you will be well prepared to fully enjoy and appreciate your next trip to Paris, the gardens at Giverny or the lavender fields of the South of France!
