Wayne Thiebaud's great talent

 This exhibit at the Legion of Honor just opened and my friend Susan (who lives up in Davis) and I felt great appreciation to see it yesterday before the crowds descend. Susan had met Mr. Thiebaud (who used to live in Sacramento) and we were both a bit overwhelmed by the depth and diversity of his work. He painted way more than the desserts he is so famous for. A very good Sunday for sure!

a full day with rain

 Yesterday Nancy, Scott and I had a good and relaxing time at the Legion of Honor and paid our respects to Mary Cassatt and some of my former co-workers. We had an early dinner at Tacolicious on Valencia Street and today they are headed up to Placerville to visit with their daughter, Ceci (and Zac) and I will return to playing catch-up here in my cozy home.

time for Tudor talk?

 The Savannah Four (bottom photo) reunited yesterday for a fun visit to the Legion of Honor to see the Tudor exhibit which closes soon. I'm not really INTO this, but the Blogmaid is and we all had a good time roaming around my city and chatting away and then looking at all the suits of armor and tapestries and paintings of kings and queens. An excellent day for sure.

China's premier couturier

 Guo Pei is dramatic and remarkable. I so enjoyed her exhibit at the Legion of Honor yesterday afternoon. The lavish embroidery, over-the-top designs and obvious fun this designer has as she hits the Paris and Beijing fashion worlds. A lot of crystal and sparkle ~ displays are not only only in the official exhibit but spread throughout the museum too. Well done!

Peter Paul Rubens

the lion cave

front lawn of the Legion of Honor

I took myself out to the Legion of Honor yesterday afternoon, between
rain storms. Some huge paintings by this genius artist and I liked the
Lions (above) best. Rubens painted in the 1600's and that in itself is
something to appreciate. Yes, I recommend this visit with a coffee in
the cafe after gazing at saints and angels for an hour or so.

truth and beauty

Yesterday Neti and I went out to the Legion of Honor to see the new
exhibit of pre-Raphaelites and Old Masters. It is not a large show and
we did not stay long and I only cried once. This was a very good
thing to do and Husbando would approve ~ he loved that I worked at
the museums, despite all my bitching at the time.

three culture vultures

Neti, the Blogmaid and I hit the Legion of Honor yesterday and every once
in awhile we would agree on what was a terrific piece of art. We did not
have tea with these overdressed gentlemen. The Casanova exhibit ends
this month and it is a good one, in my most humble opinion.

and one more

I also really liked this painting by Gustav Klimt. Quite a change from the way
I usually think about him. You'll also see some interesting landscapes by this
Austrian painter (1862-1918) out at the Legion of Honor.

upstairs at the Legion of Honor

Usually the special exhibits are downstairs, so I was impressed with the
Klimt installation at the LOH, upstairs with the Rodin pieces. Both
artists loved the female form and everything works beautifully here.
There are three rooms of Klimt art including the more colorful
pieces that we all know and love, but I was especially impressed
with the panel pictured above. And yes, I will return. (Through 1/28/18)

back to the Legion

We finally hit the Legion of Honor yesterday for the exceptional Monet
(The Early Years) exhibit and it was wonderful indeed. I had heard that
the best time to go was during the late afternoon when the buses of people
and school kids had departed, so we followed this very good advice and
were able to see all of these magnificent paintings without much interference.

go ahead ~ pin your hopes

My first trip back to either museum since I retired! It was an easy re-entry
yesterday out at the Legion of Honor and this particular exhibit of the
Madeline Albright pin collection is terrific. It is well categorized and
the displays are easy-to-read and there is so much history as well as
beauty to be enjoyed. So allow some time just to read and admire the
woman and her jewelry.

watch this

I didn't think I'd care much for the Brequet exhibit that opened yesterday
out at the Legion of Honor, but it was way better than I expected. Brequet
provided watches to the royalty in Europe in the 1800's and here we have
70 elegant timepieces to marvel over. Many of our first museum guests
were jewelers and people who know and truly appreciate these elegant pieces.

when is a dog...

...a service dog? Here we have a few from the Legion of Honor store
yesterday. It's OK with me since I love dogs, but I know that it gets
easier and easier to get a certificate and vests online now. The first thing
the human says when I approach to see the canine(s) is "she's a Service Dog,"
in an almost defensive manner. There, ponder this for a few minutes.

saturday at the LOH

We are between special exhibits at both museums now, but I like
this new painting at the Legion of Honor.  It will be quiet enough today
that I'll be able to visit Eugene's nephew again. Here is the official scoop:


The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are pleased to announce 
the acquisition of the Portrait of Charles de Verninac, by Eugène 
Delacroix (French, 1798–1863). This is the first painting by the
artist to enter the Museums’ collection, which strengthens the 
institution’s holdings of French Romantic paintings of the early
nineteenth century.

LOH conquers exhaustion

new Salon Doré

looking out the front of the Legion

My lunch spot

It was NOT a crazy day at the Legion of Honor yesterday, thankfully, so I
had lots of art breaks (and gossip sessions) which I desperately needed after
that bout with insomnia. Then last night the Giants won early (thank you!)
and I slept like the very weary woman I was. Feeling great today for in-
person baseball - first game of the season!