Wallace Collection Details

 

Last Sunday I featured the Wallace Collection in London, a house filled with artistic treasures.  In last week's post, my photos just walked through many of the amazing rooms filled with paintings, sculptures and furniture.  This week, I thought I'd show you just a few of the smaller pieces on display.  As you can see from this shot, some of the rooms were filled with cabinets full of beautiful things.

Here is a perfect example.  This cabinet is full of 18th Century French porcelain, exquisitely painted.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York recently did an exhibit detailing how Walt Disney was inspired by the beautiful porcelain pieces of this era and the Wallace Collection loaned many pieces to the Met for that exhibit.  When I checked the website for The Wallace Collection, I learned that same exhibit has now moved to London and will be on display at the museum through mid-October.  

Today, I'll feature a few other things that caught my eye when I visited this beautiful museum.  First is this painting by Flemish artist Pieter Pourbus called "An Allegory of True Love".  Since I studied Flemish art in school, I recognized the busy style of this artist who lived from 1523 to 1584.

I loved seeing these two exquisitely painted plates.  The one on top is described as "the virgin leading the Magdalene to Christ" and the second one depicts women bathing.  These are from the early 16th century.  

Here we have a larger sculpture made from Sicilian marble.  This is a copy that Sir Richard Wallace commissioned of "Love Triumphant".  

This painting was familiar to me.  I've seen it featured in books many times.  It's called "The Laughing Cavalier" by Frans Hals (1584 - 1666).  

He does look like a rather jolly fellow.  

Here we have a bust of Louis XIV, King of France.  This is a 19th-century replica.  

This last piece I've pictured brings to mind the art of Walt Disney that I mentioned above.  This reminded me so much of Cogsworth, the talking clock from the movie "Beauty and the Beast".  The clock in that movie is based on a mantel clock but that didn't stop me from seeing the rather proper, butler-like figure this clock seems to represent.  

The Wallace Collection

 

The Wallace Collection wasn't on my original list of things to see in London but, I saw it on my street map and decided to check it out.  It is located in Hertford House which was once the London Home of the Marquess of Hertford.  

The collection contains a vast amount of art that was collected over four generations with a strong representation of 18th century French art.  

Each room in the house is brimming with paintings, furniture and art objects for the visitor to admire.  

The house itself is huge with many rooms that all seemed to be filled with priceless pieces of porcelain, paintings and other small objects.  Visitors can wander from room to room.

The collection was brought together by the first four Marquesses of Hertford and Sir Richard Wallace the son of the 4th Marquess.  The entire collection and the home was bequeathed to Britain by Lady Wallace, Sir Richard's widow in 1897.  There is no charge to view the collection making it well worth a visit.   

Small Town Sculpture Garden

 

The city of Prescott Valley Arizona has created an area around its municipal buildings that is filled with sculptures.  My sister lives in Prescott Valley, about an hour and a half drive north of Phoenix.  On one of my visits to see her, we walked around this area admiring all the art work.  Here are some of pieces we admired.  First is a sculpture by Debbie Gessner called "Not So Gentle Tamer".  It's a tribute to all the pioneer women who helped tame the west.  The artist was inspired by the works of western artist, Bob Boze Bell. If you look closely, you will see she is holding a snake in one hand and a spade in the other.  Those pioneer women were a tough bunch.

Above is a modern sculpture called "Limitless" by Michael J. Tierney.  Those colorful arms are reaching for the sky.

And to the left is a cute piece called "Bedtime" by Joan Andrews.  It looks like that cat is off to bed with that child.  

The sculpture to the right is called "To Protect and Serve" and was created by Clarke C. Riedy.  This one was commissioned by the city of Prescott Valley to honor the police force.

The piece above is "Learning Together" and was sculpted by Jeff Carol Davenport.  The artist based this sculpture on her own son and his dog.  

To the left is another more abstract sculpture called "Adios Columbus".  It was created by Regina Araujo Corritore.  I read that the yellow represents the sun and the blue the seas.  

This last one doesn't need any interpretation.  It's easy to see that it represents a motorcycle.  It's called "Easy Rider" and was created by Sherman Rouse.  The Northern Arizona city of Prescott Valley has done an excellent job collecting a variety of art works for citizens and visitors to enjoy.  

Doors of Tucson

 

When I visit Tucson Arizona, I tend to spend a lot of time in the "old town" area near downtown.  That's where my favorite restaurant is located and it's also where there are a lot of historic buildings.  

The last time I was there, I noticed how each of the doors along the building that houses local arts and crafts has been painted with different designs.

Each one is a unique design.  

What a clever idea!

Such an appealing way to attract customers to each of the little shops inside this building.  

Incredible Homes of Quincy

 

Today I'm taking a visit to my home town Quincy Illinois.  I grew up in Quincy, moving to Arizona when I was 24 years old.  So, I spent my formative years in this beautiful river town.  Quincy sits on the Mississippi River and was fueled early on by trade on the river.  Consequently, there were a lot of prosperous merchants residing in Quincy and the city's vast array of grand homes is proof of its historic significance.  The first photo above is of my favorite house in Quincy.  I have a soft spot for Tudor architecture and this one in my mind, is perfection.  

Here is another house with Tudor touches.  It is located in the same neighborhood as the first house above.  I used to scour this area admiring the homes. 

A lot of homes in Quincy are constructed of red brick.  

There is an equal number of homes constructed in stone.

In recent years, homes of Quincy have become tourist magnets.  People from all over the midwest travel to Quincy just to gaze on these gorgeous houses.

With eye-poppers like this house, who can blame them.  The owners of this home have gone the extra-mile to make their house as beautiful as possible.  With flowers pouring from the roofline, it's a pleasure to see and photograph.  

Back In Time

 

Today I'm taking a little trip down memory lane.  I have a few very old photos, almost all from the late 70's.  That's a long time ago, isn't it?  First up is my favorite photo among these.  It's of the Death Valley Opera House.  As I recall, the opera house was still in use when I visited but today it has become part of a hotel.  I found a series of photos of it for anyone who is interested.  It is truly a historic place.  

Here we have a sweeping view of Yosemite National Park.  This photo has faded into blue tones.  The valley floor should be a nice forest green.

Above is the geological wonder of tall, basalt columns at Devils Postpile National Monument in California.  

To the left is one of the many giant sequoia trees at Sequoia National Park, also in California.  You might have read that these trees were threatened by a dangerous forrest fire last year.  I'm thankful they survived.

By the way, that's my mom and dad looking at the tree in the bottom right of the photo.

Above is the Hollywood Bowl with a symphony performance in progress.  

This last one is the Mark Twain Riverboat at Disneyland.  Back in the 70's and early 80's, I used to take weekend trips to visit Disneyland at least once a year.  I haven't been for over 30 years.  I can only imagine the huge changes to the park since then.

Thanks for sharing my little stroll down memory lane.  

Another Look at the Mission Inn

 

A few years ago, I stayed at the historic Mission Inn in Riverside California.  Many years before that, I was at a conference in the city and took a tour of the place and from then on, I knew I had to stay there one day.  

It's hard to believe that this beautiful place stood empty for a number of years.  It was finally rescued and renovated beginning in 1992. It is now on the National Historic Sites Registry.

The hotel is a composite of architectural styles but is predominantly mission revival style.  

These two photos were taken at the roof garden.

There is an endless supply of beautiful spaces to photograph.  This shows hotel rooms surrounding an open courtyard.  

In one place there is large, spiral staircase circling around a lovely fountain at the bottom.  I've posted photos from this place before.  You can see one of those posts here.

I have many more photos of this place to share sometime in the future.  I can guarantee that if you visit this place you will not be able to resist taking photos.  There is so much to see.