Our first venture into New York state starts in upstate NY,
around the Finger Lakes. We especially
enjoyed the wineries in this area! I must
thank many of you for your wonderful suggestions for things to do in this area
and the Hudson River Valley. This may be
my most favorite area that we have explored!
Corning: We were totally surprised at the size of the
collection at the Corning Museum of Glass.
The Museum has wonderful exhibits and live demonstrations on the making
of glass as well as fabulous displays depicting the history of glass objects
worldwide. We could have spent days in
this museum alone. One of my favorite
artists is Chihuly, and I wasn’t disappointed here. A Chihuly greats you as you walk in the
door. But I was thrilled to see more of
his pieces that were different, using Navajo blankets as inspiration.
The works of glass were showcased in beautiful display cases
and the museum itself was arranged to pull you through in a thoughtful
progression. Here are some of my
favorites:
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| Designed by Josef Hoffmann |
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| Glass from Russia |
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| Harvey Littleton and Dante Marioni |
Lynn, here is one for you!
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| "To Die Upon a Kiss" by Fred Wilson |
Hudson River Valley: Jon & Diane – all I can say is THANK YOU,
THANK YOU! We loved Storm King Art
Center, Dia: Beacon and Olana State Historic Site!
Storm King Art Center:
Although we had some wet weather during our days in the Hudson River
Valley, we didn’t let that stop us. We
were very lucky that the first morning we were there was only cloudy, so we
were able to enjoy Storm King without getting wet. The grounds are beautiful and provided a
lovely early morning walk. This is
definitely the best way to see these large sculptures.
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| "The Arch" by Alexander Calder |
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| "Frog Legs" by Mark di Suvero |
Dia: Beacon: Another
favorite artist of mine was featured at Dia: Beacon – Dan Flavin!
I also loved the Francois Morellet installation:
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| "No End Neon" by Francois Morellet |
There were several works by Fred Sandback. These are made with string only; however, it
appears that there are sheets of glass leaning against the wall.
Olana State Historic Site (Frederic Church Home &
Studio): Another wonderful
surprise! I certainly did not expect
that the home of Frederic Church would feature so many Middle-Eastern
decorative motifs. The exterior’s
architectural features were striking, the views spectacular (even on a rainy day)
and the interior designs stunning!
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| Olana |
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| View of the Cascades |
And there is even more to see in this area! We went to the Vanderbilt Mansion in Hyde
Park, home of Frederick and Louise Vanderbilt.
This home is a notable example of gilded-age country homes.
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| Vanderbilt Mansion, Hyde Park |
Springwood Estate, also in Hyde Park, was the birthplace,
lifelong home, and burial place of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The library, started by FDR, was the first US
Presidential Library.
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| Springwood Estate, Hyde Park |
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| Roosevelt's bedroom from youth until marriage |
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| Franklin & Eleanor sculpture, FDR Presidential Library and Museum |
