Art Museum Part 2

Today I thought we should take my niece and nephew to the Delaware Art Museum to see the exhibit of over 60 original Dinotopia works by illustrator James Gurney. I went in knowing about the books and art but I hadn't read the books and dinosaurs, while interesting, aren't really my cup of tea. Well, we were completely blown away by this show - completely. Gurney's imagination and painting skill is absolutely incredible. I felt like the picture frames were windows and I was looking through to another world. His handling of light, shadow and color were brilliant and I really loved the character and personality he gave to the dinosaurs. If you live anywhere near Delaware, please do yourself (and your kids, if you have them) a favor and go see this show which runs through May 16th. I can't wait to read the books now!

After viewing Dinotopia, we walked the rest of the museum and I snapped a few photos of some of my favorite paintings of the day. Click on each painting for a larger image.

This Howard Pyle mermaid painting was a big hit with everyone!

A huge painting made to look like stained glass. Sorry, I don't recall the artist.

A small painting created by an illustrator for a book or magazine.
I love the Pegasus.

The greyhounds are great aren't they? Painting by Thomas Wilmer Dewing.

This George Inness painting, "Early Autumn - Monclair", painted in 1891, really drew me in. I could look at that one all day.

Delaware Art Museum

On Sunday we ventured out to the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington for the last day of their exhibit on Maxfield Parrish (sorry couldn't take photos of that - it was amazing though).
The DE Art Museum is such a gem, one of my favorite small museums. It won't overwhelm you like The Metropolitan or the Philadelphia Art Museum. The best part is, it houses an impressive collection of my two favorite styles of art: illustration and Pre-Raphaelite. And... get this... on Sundays, it's free!
Here are some photos from our day...

 "Crying Giant"  - awwww, poor guy.

I could stare at this piece all day. I didn't get the artist's name but it looks like N.C.Wyeth.

A fine example of American illustration. The Peacock Robe by George Watson Barratt. This was Zoe's favorite painting of the day.

A lovely Rossetti painting.

The Spring Witch by George Wilson (1880)

I think this was my favorite in their Pre Raphaelite exhibit.

More modern art upstairs. Here's a wonderful Deborah Butterfield horse sculpture.

 The cabinet my family is looking at in the background was amazing. It's called the Queen's Closet by Richard Cleaver. Made of beads, wood and ceramic, it's the ultimate mixed media piece of art. When knobs are pulled and drawers are opened, they reveal images of king Henry VIII's 6 wives. On the back it shows their fate...

Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. ~George Bernard Shaw