Thursday, Jack and I went to the Woodmere Art Museum in Chestnut Hill, PA, about a half and hour northwest of Philadelphia. They have an exhibit of paintings by Pennsylvania-born impressionist Walter Elmer Schofield. I've only seen his paintings on television or in magazines, but I like them.
Because this is a small museum, I wasn't really expecting much. Goodness, was I overwhelmed! They had about thirty or forty of his paintings! He painted in Pennsylvania, Great Britain, and France. I apologize, but I didn't expect to be able to take photos at the museum, so I didn't take my camera. Jack took some photos of another exhibit with his cell phone, but I was so engrossed in the Schofield paintings that I forgot to ask him to take photos of them. I hope you can see some of them here. This exhibit closes on January 25th or 26th, so if you're in the area and you want to see it, go now.
They had just installed an exhibit that I thought was creative and fun. It's a great way to introduce kids to good art. Do you know the song / rhyme 'I Know and Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly'? If you don't know the rhyme / song, you should be able to read it / listen to it here. This was a favorite song of mine when I was little. A silly song. The museum has illustrated the song with paintings from their collection. Remember, these photos were taken with an I-phone, which the museum encouraged as long as you don't use the flash.
Here are two photos of permanent exhibits at the museum: a doll house and a portrait of Charles Knox Smith, the founder, over the fireplace decorated for Christmas. The photo of the lovely Christmas tree didn't come out well, but it was decorated with bows and little ornaments. Very pretty.
Here are some photos of the 'I Know an Old Woman' exhibit:
And just to wrap things up, here's a painting done of a harbor on the Delaware River in the area that used to be called Southwark, a.k.a. Queen Village, where we live, and Pennsport. I wish it still looked like this!
I really wish I had been able to go there with you, it looks like a great afternoon out. Thanks for telling me about Schofield, I hadn't heard of him before, and what a fantastic doll house, and the 'old woman' song took me right back to a Saturday morning radio show in the 1960s.
ReplyDeleteI wish you could have come along, too. Some of these small museums are more impressive than the bigger ones. Isn't that doll house fun? Now that Jack's finished his jigsaw puzzle, I told him he can build me a doll house!
DeleteExcellent! Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThe Impressionists have long been my favorites, although Monet is not one of my favorite Impressionists. There is a whole school of Pennsylvania (and maybe other states, too) Impressionists that most people have never seen.
DeleteComing from Boston, which has the wonderful Museum of Fine Arts and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum a few steps away from the MFA, as well as all the Harvard museums, I'm disappointed in Philadelphia's Art Museum. However, we've found several wonderful small museums within an hour or so of Philly.
What an inventive display for There was an old woman who swallowed a fly! Nice day out!
ReplyDeleteWasn't that clever? It was a very nice day from start to finish. We're looking for more short trips like that. Anyone in the Philly area have any suggestions?
DeleteThanks for the info. My daughter lives across from the East Falls station on the Norristown line. We've been to the Barnes, Philly Art Museum and a few used bookstores. Looking forward to following your suggestions.Thanks.
ReplyDeleteLorraine
The special Schofield exhibit is gone now, but it's worth a trip to see the Old Woman Who Swallowed a Fly exhibit. We didn't spend much time at the other exhibits and will go back to check them out one of these days. I really like these smaller museums, where you don't get 'museum brain'. And it's in or near Chestnut Hill, which is chock full of little shops and restaurants, a nice place to spend a few hours.
DeleteI forgot that your daughter lived in the area. I hope you got to The Book Trader when you were here. It's a great used book store at 7-9 N. 2nd St., open 10 to 10 every day.
I get "museum legs".
ReplyDeleteLorraine
I get "museum legs".
ReplyDeleteLorraine
I admit to 'museum legs', too, especially as I get older. Thank goodness most museums have benches.
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