Some Fave paintings from the De Young

Gerhard Richter

Thomas Eakins

John Singer Sargent

My new most favorite Helen Frankenthaler

The Legion of Honor Museum

Given by Alma de Brettville Spreckles, this beautiful copy of the Hotel de Salm (Paris - Legion d'Honneur) has an amazing collection of sculpture by Rodin (friend of Mme. S), and a small but choice collection of European art and decorative objects. Pretty squisite here.

The Fantin-Latour painting above is my favorite F-L - small, perfect, moving, and conveys in its simplicity the whole range of human emotion - he was quite a painter! Fell in love with this painting 20 years ago and have carried its image with me since.

The museum sits atop Lincoln Park at the far west end of San Francisco - the views across the ocean to the Golden Gate Bridge and the city are breath-taking.

These are a few of my faaaaav-o-rite thiiiinngs.....


A room from a Parisian town house

a domed wooden ceiling from a 17th C. Spanish castle

Some nice Japanese ebony on a Oeben console

painting by Degas

painting by de la Tour

self-portrait by Tissot

THREE! Fantin-Latours!

Rodin!

More Rodin!

Some Random San Francisco Pix

The new De Young Museum

I am so excited about this building! It's phenomenal, it's primal, it's extraordinary, it's an amazing showcase for art, it's beautifully crafted, it's so well-thought, it's powerful, it's moving, it's profoundly spiritual.

Designed by Herzog & De Meuron to replace a boring classical structure, it rises up out of the ground as an organic whole. Clad in perforated copper and finished with beautiful wood and stone, it absolutely takes your breath away. There's nothing else like it.

There are ribbons of windows that keep you connected to the outside and the views of Golden Gate Park, as well as to the interior courtyards and gardens. Most spectacular of all is the tower which torques up out of the museum and contains an observations floor with 360' views of San Francisco.

No picture can do justice to the total of this achievement - I can only show you bits of it - all fantastic.

I had the same emotional response to this building as at the Villa la Roche - very moving.

The new De Young Museum

St. Mark's, Berkley

The first Mission-Revival building in California, 1904, this lovely church is across the street the UC Berkley campus and is a lively place. Charming architecture, a v. nice Flentrop organ, great acoustics, some beautiful details and stained glass, and a v. welcoming Music Director and Rector

The high ceiling is supported by elegant beams, the facade pipes of the organ are flamed copper, the Sanctuary with its exquisite altar is placed behind an intricately carved screen, and the choir sings from a very advantageous acoustical location. And, ecco, the two Maestri: George Emblom (St. Mark's Music Director & Organist) and Richard Clemmitt!

St. Mark's, Berkley

Grace Cathedral

The Cathedral sits atop Nob Hill - a very high hill, v. steep from the hotel, scary coming back down at nite! There are several exquisite things to see: the Keith Haring triptique in memory of all who've died from AIDS, the copies of the Baptistry doors from the Duomo in Florence, the long nave with its unfinished vaulting (earthquakes, you know), and of course, the exquisite E. M. Skinner organ.

Grace Cathedral

Christ Church Choir in San Francisco

Just back from a glorious - and warm! - weekend in San Francisco with the Christ Church Choir - a lovely weekend singing at St. Mark's, Berkley, and Grace Cathedral.

Beautiful music in beautiful places. St. Mark's is a wonderful building - the first Mission Revival church in California (1904) with a very nice Flentrop organ and a fun and very talented Music Director: George Emblom. The church is across Bancroft Avenue from the UC Campus - Olmsted designed! We had a great time there on Saturday and Sunday and the welcome was warm. I enjoyed the morning at the Flentrop. Grace Cathedral is a very interesting building - Gothic in poured concrete! Amazing that poured concrete can be so "grace"ful. The organ is an E. M. Skinner with contributions from G. Donald Harrison and, I have to say, one of the most beautiful I've ever played! Such gorgeous, lush, expressive sounds in a room with 8 seconds of reverberation. I had to choose, while practicing, between weeping at the beauty of it and actually getting to work. What an amazing life!

So, of course, I didn't sit still - off the plane and straight to the Legion of Honour Museum to see my favorite Fantin-Latour, off to the new De Young Museum (Herzog & De Meuron) which is one of the most stunning and intriguing new buildings of this century - it made me weep! San Francisco Symphony for Tchaikovsky, dinners with Gerry Montana (Catch and Nob Hill Cafe), a tour around the UC Berkley campus including their weird and very scary art museum, the San Francisco Ballet dancing Giselle, and hobbing and nobbing with all the fun Winnetka folks.

and then back to cold Chicago......

Burghley House

Peterborough Cathedral was a magical start to Saturday - and just up the road is one of the great Tudor treasure houses - Burghley. Built by Elizabeth I's chief minister, it is an enormous and splendid house. Altho the exterior is v. much the same as when Mr. Cecil built it, the interior has gone thru many renovations and changes by later generations. One sees high baroque painted rooms (LaGuerre), some 18th C. decor, a lot of Regency which is v. charming, and some heavy-handed 19th C. decor - all of which, more or less, lives together fairly well. Burghley is remarkable for the fact that the collection is mostly complete - the family hasn't had to sell off objets to keep the house from falling down.

A v. relaxing lunch in the Orangerie garden next to the fountain was a charming end to the visit.

Burghley House

Peterborough Cathedral

On Saturday morning, Randy Manges and I drove up to Peterborough to see the fascinating Cathedral - a Norman building, added to in the Gothic style right up through English Perpendicular, later additions to the decor in the 19th C., and following a recent fire a complete restoration of the beautiful painted wooden ceiling.

The Cathedral is often overlooked on the Big Cathedral Tour and shouldn't be - it's quite beautiful, has striking juxtapositions such as Norman arches next to fan vaulting, a gothic porch added to the Norman front, an elaborate 19th altar in the severe Norman choir, and is the burial place of Katherine of Aragon (Henry VIII's first wife - divorced) and the original burial place of Mary Queen of Scots. The central tower has absolutely exquisite painted vaulting.

And, we got to hear the organ - a v. nervous and harried guest organist practicing the weekend's repertoire!

Peterborough Cathedral

Wimpole

After leaving Burghley, I whizzed down the road to Wimpole Hall just outside Cambridge - and of course had to have a moment of car drama - I hit a BIG rabbit and he broke part of the underside of the car. So the nice repairman came, fixed it, and I got into Wimpole Hall for the last 50 minutes of the day!

A beautiful house, 18th C., added to and refurbished during the 19th and 20th Centuries. Some amazing architects including our man Kent and John Soane did some amazing things. The last owner did a very good restoration, making it a v. livable house in the process.

Wimpole Hall

Boughton

After leaving Knebworth, I whizzed up the A1 to Kettering - actually figuring out the back roads way to get to a Very Big House which has intrigued me for a long time. Boughton is called the Versailles of England - The house built by Ralph, 1st Duke of Montagu, Ambassador to the court of Louis XIV, who became very fond of all things French while living there, and bringing French style back to England at a time when France was not particularly popular! He was fortunate to do this after Louis had expelled the Huguenots from France and so was able to employ the many fine craftsmen among that number.

Boughton is an exquisite and mysterious place - a Tudor house fronted by the massive and elegant French-style state rooms added by Ralph. In appearance it is severe, elegant, beautiful and hides a rambling and charming collection of Tudor buildings, wings, courtyards and nooks. Outside, symmetrical French - inside, elegant English Baroque! The Duke collected French furniture, decorative arts, French/Italian/Dutch paintings, Chinese porcelain - the collection is stupendous! I have to say that it was beyond all expectation and I'm still finding it the most intriguing of the many Big Houses I saw on this trip - and as you're yet to read, I saw some amazingly thrilling houses!

Below are some pictures of the exterior: a view from the drive, two views of the front, the stables, and a view of some thatched cottages in a little village down the road.