friday at the museum

Day 7

Woke up in Philadelphia. To the sound of sirens. Loud, blaring sirens. All week long we've been hearing the news of a shooting that took place in town. Today the victim's funeral is taking place at the cathedral next to our hotel. He was a policeman. The turnout was astonishing. The weather, appropriate.

Rainy. Our last full day in Philadelphia. It rained all day.

Fortunately for us, we had made the most of our time outdoors over the last few days. Our plan for today was to visit the museum to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit.

Organized in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the artist's birth, Frida Kahlo is the first major Kahlo exhibition in the United States in nearly fifteen years. It presents over forty of the artist's most important self-portraits, still lifes, and portraits from the beginning of her career in 1926 until her death in 1954. Rendered in vivid colors and realistic detail, Kahlo's jewel-like paintings are filled with complex symbolism, often relating to specific incidents in her life. In her iconic self-portraits the artist continually reinvented herself. Paintings like The Two Kahlos (1939) demonstrate her penchant for self-examination, and works like Henry Ford Hospital (1932) and The Broken Column (1944) express her struggles with illness throughout her life.

Still, we are at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, on the famous steps where Rocky did his thing. You can't come here without doing this...

The exhibit was awesome, needless to say. It took a while to get through it, but everyone remained polite and well-behaved. Good on you, Philly!

Of course, there is no photography allowed in the special exhibit.

So, I shot some photos in the gift shop.

Yes, there was a gift shop exclusively for the Frida exhibit. And if you make a purchase, they give you a sweet Frida Kahlo gift bag. We'd been seeing these cool bags all over Philly.

Afterwards, we hit the museum cafe for a spot of lunch. Mmm!

Then we waited in the rear lobby for the free highlights tour to begin. I enjoyed the tour so much that I hardly noticed I wasn't taking any pictures.

After the tour, we began to wander. I wondered as I wandered.

Sam admires a Rothko.

Some butterfly exhibit. These little black butterfly silhouettes were everywhere.

Van Gogh's Sunflowers. As if I had to say it.

The design on the ceiling here is one of their works of art. Allegedly.

Butterfly escapee near a Mondrian.

Cy Twombly. I don't get it. I didn't get him at the Menil Collection in Houston, where there is a separate gallery for his works, and I still don't get him.

Look at me, reflecting on the Eiffel Tower!

Picasso's Self-Portrait and Sam

I thought these were nice.

Highway of Combes-la-Ville by Boldini.
The colors really pull you in.

Front lobby.

We noticed the museum was preparing for an event. Every Friday evening, the museum stays open late and offers a jazz dinner. Very cool. However, it had been a long week, and we had been standing around in the museum all day, so we opted to head on back to the room and start packing.

Rear entrance. As you can see, they were renovating big time.

We waited for a cab for a while, then decided to return to the front and just walk back to the hotel.

Wee is so cultured and well-traveled.

Rocky statue

A great thinker and a wee man

Frida rocks!

Before the night was over, we were near about delirious.

Thank you, Philadelphia.