Manhattan: Arts & Flowers

PORTRAITS

Bad pun in the title of this post, I know, but couldn’t resist. A new exhibit at the Whitney, Human Interest, contains 200 portraits —paintings and sculpture from its extensive collection.  Lots to see and a lot to take in on one visit, including a larger than life-size sculpture that is a candle, so we went twice. First on Sunday when it was fairly crowded and then again on Monday morning when most of the visitors were school groups and for the first hour it was delightfully calm. I had a long conversation with a volunteer, Pamela, who is a dancer, writer, lover of art, and especially passionate about the Whitney and the excellence of its curators. Here’s a sampling from the exhibit:

BLOOMS

We didn’t get to the New York Botanical Garden last fall so it was a high priority for this visit. We got rained out a few days, then delays at Grand Central and on Metro North made waiting wise. Finally, all seemed propitious and we made the trek. Long walk from our apartment to the 6 Line at Union Square, subway to Grand Central, then a search for the ticket vending machines (they are tucked back against a recessed wall and initially we walked by), followed by a quick dash to just make the 9:25 train.  Stated time to the Botanic Garden stop in the Bronx is 20 minutes, but more like 25 or 30. Nonetheless, we crossed the street from the station and were at the garden entry gate just at the 10:00 am opening.

Lovely expanses of green lawn and many trees. We first toured the small art exhibit on Impressionism in the garden in the Mertz Library, then walked areas of the grounds (think lilacs, peonies, and roses), ate a simple sandwich in the café, and ended our inaugural visit admiring the gorgeous traditional flowers (poppies, lupine, foxglove, and iris) in the Impressionism garden display in the historic domed conservatory. A relaxing way to while away a morning or afternoon. Looking forward to an encore visit in September.

Note:  All photos by JWFarrington (some rights reserved)