We actually had fun while Aadi annoyed some of the other visitors by hooting in the photography galleries to hear himself echo while we reviewed the history of printing processes. The architecture and design exhibit looked great but we had to give Aadi a break so headed up to the 6th floor cafe where we feed him berries with cream, drank super dark columbian coffee and split a MOMA sundae made with sorbet, berries, and cheesecake. It was all REALLY tasty. 

And then we found ourselves face to face with a magnificent Picasso and several other masterpieces on the sixth floor. I wanted to cry. Modern art speaks to me in a very visceral way. I felt like our whirlwind dash through the painting and sculpture galleries gave me just what I needed, though I’m not sure just what that is yet. And since Aadi was SO ready to call it a day we had to stop only at those things which really stopped us in our tracks. Here is what really spoke to me:

This piece is “Mlle Pogany” by Constantin Brancusi. They actually had 6 or 7 pieces by Brancusi on display together, but this one I found entrancing. I swung back a second time to look at it again. The simplicity of it is so masterful. And yet there is complexity. Is she prayerful, mournful, enraptured? If you go, look at her from different angles and see what strikes. To me she was simply, sublimely thoughtful.

“Girl Before a Mirror” by Pablo Picasso, 1932. Public faces, private faces. Self-perception. Mortality. I suppose there is a reason why I was riveted by this piece.

This is “The Piano Lesson” by Henri Matisse, 1916. I so adore the work of Matisse. The vibrant and masterful use of color draws me to his painting. But I think the fact that he so often renders interiors is also very interesting to me. I know what I like! This piece is mesmerizing to look at in person.

I think I am seeing a theme as I write this. Each piece shows an introspective figure, perhaps navigating competing emotions and influences in the most internal ways. Hmm. Do I need more time to myself or what?!

What will strike you when you go? A particular color? A mood? A sense of movement or stillness? I do tend to look for themes as I experience life and I invite you to try this way of being on as well.

Celebration on Grandma's patio with requisite french table linens in place. We used paper plates, but with real silver.

I cannot say enough about Grandma Stewart. She always makes me feel like her real grand-daughter. She is a gracious, elegant woman with old-world class, sensibility, manners, and charm. At the age of 90 she is always impeccably dressed in a blazer with skirt. Meals at home require any one of her excellent collection of batik print tablecloths picked up on yearly trips to France, and, yes, good silver. To this day she insists on the things that bring her pleasure and joy, regardless of how impractical they may be for everyone else involved. 

I want to share some photos of Grandma’s home because this is the home of someone who knows what they enjoy and places no limits on that. Just about every room in the house is done in signature blue or green, with vintage floral or damask wallpapers. Little vases and knick-knacks from travels and friends sit along every window ledge and shelf, each with a story. Framed art abounds in every corner, many pieces painted by Grandma herself. Visiting Grandma Stewart’s home is an experience. She will part with nothing, and so the home is packed with mementos, catalogs, photos, you name it, spanning the decades. It is a child’s dream, full of color and objects, rooms, closets, basement, all filled with things to discover and marvel at. 

The photos below are from the living room where the family convenes after dinner, or where friends who drop by are invited to sit for pleasant conversation. The folding card table is generally always in place, with spare chairs nearby for post-supper card games. The game is always rummy and Grandma ALWAYS wins, usually by a margin of a 100 points or so.

A spare sitting room sits between the living room and the dining room for spill over during larger gatherings, plus more space for all of grandma’s treasured things. This sofa is often a quiet place to sit when one needs respite from the boisterous family gatherings.

The dining room is so very important. This is the place where everyone reliably gathers for grace and a good meal. Table settings are a chance for creativity and enjoying newness in a familiar place. Grandma continues to sit at the head of the table.

An upstairs bedroom goes softer and paler with creamy moldings, dreamy paper, and french chair in yellow quilted fabric. Waking up in this room is like waking up in a spring garden. Something about the wallpaper is mesmerizing to me. I never tired of gazing at it.

What I realized is that Grandma posseses the heart of an artist. As we sat outside on a beautiful cloudless day she said, “The sky is so bright that if you put that color on a canvas it would look gaudy. I know because I’ve tried.” Her approach to life is immediate and sensory and sensitive. She continues to put energy into what to wear to lunch or how the table is set, because to her that is as essential to her definition of life as breathing.

It was a visually exciting place right from the beginning, with beautiful exterior grounds and building architecture. Once inside I was immediately drawn in by texture in the plants, as texture is such an important element in interiors at this moment. The first four photos here are plants from the “tropical rainforest” room, while the bottom four showcase just a handful of the truly exciting textures on display in the “desert” exhibit.

I was most struck by the shots that contrasted the structure of the building with the organic nature of the plants. It reminded me of how very curated this display of “nature” is.

The experience of museum versus natural archive was more manifest in other parts of the conservatory where artwork and installations by glass artist Dale Chihuly are on display.

I loved the glass balls in the “Butterflies & Blooms” exhibit. And how cool is the effect of the fish against the glass?

A different kind of curating was in effect with the display of cultivated butterflies in the exhibit.

After stopping to snap as many butterfly pictures as you can, you are led up a ramp where you can observe your fellow shutterbuggers, turning this into a self-conscious sociological experience as well : ).

"Head of Shiva" March 19, 1948.

The mood evoked in “Head of Shiva” is transcendent and inspires meditation, like the subject. The use of a single color draws specific attention to line, shading, and brush stroke. It makes me think of how neutral interiors require great variety in texture, surface, shade, and line to remain engaging. This “wash” painting is a second version of one of his early works originally done in 1910-11. He recreated his paintings in this technique in the 1940′s because much of the original work was unpreserved and lost.

"Evening." August 7, 1941.

“Evening” was my favorite work, and also the frontispiece at the exhibit. The composition is impeccable and riveting. It captures the feeling of Indian art so well, but it is decidedly modern. The spots of vibrant color really make this piece. The strokes in the tree trunks are reminiscent of western techniques, while the leaves on the tree remind me of Rajasthani miniatures. I believe that indigenous and ancient art in India features its subjects in the foreground, often filling the frame. Here this solitary figure is rendered partially obscured, while the trees in the foreground are larger and extend beyond the frame. Somehow the trees feel protective rather than imposing to me. This, again, is a meditative piece.

"Saraswati." April 6, 1941.

“Saraswati” is definitely lighter and livelier in line, color, and mood. The mix of the “niche”-like frame at the top and the vina extending out of this frame on the left gives the dynamic feeling of both a temple murti as well as a live depiction of the Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of arts and learning. The colors and lines, especially the lotus theme in the background, remind me of both Indian batik and block print on fabric.

Overall this exhibit really brought home the question, what does it mean to see the world through the eyes of an artist? There is inspiration and beauty in everything. The world is filled with line and color and diverse ways of interpreting what we see. And how we interpret and represent has an impact. Bose lived life through eyes like these.