Lambertville, New Hope, & Philadelphia



Lambertville, NJ

 Lambertville & New Hope

 Not unlike Beacon, NY,  we rolled into Lambertville, yesterday, at a time when much of the town was closed due to the winter storm.  Having said this, however, our good fortune placed us in front of the Hrefna Jonsdottir Gallery, where our own artist Clare Barrett is also represented.  Hrefna was kind enough to unlock her door and invte us in for a chat. 



A. Paul & Hrefna


Over the past years, many of the galleries once located across the bridge in New Hope, PA have relocated to Lambertville, joining the already established art venues, such as Hrefna's gallery which has been in existence for over 20 years. The result of this relocation is the transformation of Lambertville into a quaint town filled with antique shops, galleries, small alleyways, cafes and endless charm. After thanking Hrefna for her time, A. Paul and I strolled the streets peeking in the windows and taking in what few shops that were open, noting that we would need to return to Lambertville in the future.  For anyone that is traveling here or looking for a winter activity, Lambertville and New Hope join together to celebrate their Winter Festival, January 22-30, 2011.  Once back in the car, we passed through New Hope, PA on our way to Philadelphia, an hour's drive away.

Philadelphia


City Hall, Broad Street

 We rolled into the City of Brotherly Love just as the city entered into its nocturnal life; a sight beyond words.  The juxtaposition of the historic buildings, such as city hall, against the sleek contemporary highrises washed in neon glow, provided just the right mix for A. Paul's interest.  Philadelphia at night is inexplicably alive.  What is cloaked in shadows of the night become fully visible during the day.


Top of our list during our first day in Philadelphia was the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  Though the cold weather persisted, the sun forced its way through the morning clouds, offering us a fine day to explore the city.  Located at the end of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, the Philadelphia Museum of Art dominates the landscape.  One can hardly look away but if you can, along the right side of the parkway you will see the construction of the soon to be new home for the Barnes Collection, slated to move 2012.  Just past that, the Rodin Museum offers one of the most comprehensive collections of Rodin sculpture dotting the outside landscape.



Philadelphia Museum of Art


Once inside the PMA, A. Paul and I chose to start in the European Art wing to take in the Impressionists.  It was impossible to not feel inspired and moved by being surrounded by Cezanne, Monet, Renoir, Van Gogh, and their contemporaries. We each had our favorites of the collections.


Rodin



We continued to explore the American artists and abstract expressionists, then searched out work by Franz Kline, relative of Cortile Studio visiting artist Paul Kline, and finally found a later, large scale piece that was a detour from his traditional black & white work, below.

 The PMA's collection of art is extensive and impressive.  We took a tremendous amount of images and have a great deal to share once we have time to sort through the selections. 

Tomorrow , we head out to see the Barnes Collection very early in the morning, trying to beat yet another approaching storm. 


Later in the afternoon, we are fortunate, thanks to Lorraine, the owner director of the Artists' House Gallery below, to visit artist studios housed  in a converted warehouse on Spring Garden in Philly.

We promise to fill you in on our day tomorrow and hopefully share some images of the extraordinary works we are seeing.