Winslow Homer: Crosscurrents (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
We made two visits to the Met Museum this month. The first was to see the very large and comprehensive exhibit of Winslow Homer’s work. A New Englander by birth, Homer (1836-1910) lived in Boston and then in 1859 moved to New York. Although associated rightfully with his portrayals of the sea, his work was much more than that. He captured returning soldiers from the Civil War, both Black and white, and showed women at work or enjoying a day at the beach. Added to that are his luminous watercolors depicting scenes from his trips to the Bahamas, Florida, and other islands. It’s a wonderful exhibit!
Here are a few examples.
In America: An Anthology of Fashion (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
On our second visit, the Chief Penguin re-visited the Homer exhibit and spent time in the Annenberg Wing admiring the simply marvelous collection of Impressionist paintings. I missed seeing the first part of the Costume Institute’s fashion exhibit for 2021 but decided to tour this year’s part two which is housed in the American Wing.
I had never spent any time in this section, but it consists of a series of period rooms from the early 19th century to the 1950’s. For this exhibit, various curators have dressed manikins in fashions related to the rooms’ furnishings from Shaker Retiring Room to Richmond parlor to 20th century ballroom. This is not as showy exhibit as some of those of previous years, but interesting, nonetheless. With the right inclination, one could spend a fair bit of time reading all the information about the setting of the room itself and then the fashion-related labels.
Note: Header photo is Winslow Homer’s Oranges on a Branch, 1885. Photos by JWFarrington.
