Baltimore Museum of Art |
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| 10 Art Museum Drive | |
| Baltimore, MD 21218 | |
| 443-573-1700 | |
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Hours:
Hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Wednesdays-Fridays, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays-Sundays | |
| What's nearby: | |
Shaggy lions caught in stone mid-prowl guard the grand, classical facade of Baltimore's premier art museum. But first impressions, however strong, can be a little misleading. Inside the Baltimore Museum of Art (BMA) is an entire gallery of Andy Warhol's work (the second largest publicly displayed collection in the world), within a wing devoted to post-1945 art. Roy Lichenstein is here, along with Willem de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Jasper Johns, Robert Colescott, Ellsworth Kelly, Barbara Kruger, Bruce Nauman and Frank Stella.
But onward and upward. The BMA's Cone Collection of early-20th-century modern art is not to be outshone by these post World War II types. Donated by two Baltimore benefactresses, Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone, the exhibit is comprised of works by Cezanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Renoir, and Picasso (113 of his to be exact). Although the collection as a whole is considered impressive, it is its Matisse selection that has earned a reputation for being one of the most outstanding in the world. With more than 40 paintings, including "Blue Nude" (1907), and hundreds of sketches and prints, there aren't many galleries that can challenge what the BMA now boasts.
Decidedly a treasure house of modern art, the BMA lures also with artifacts alluding to the mystery of the long past cultures of Oceania, Africa and the Americas. Terrifying figures of fertility and a 19th century funerary statuette for some Oceanic tribal chief leer like gargoyles through the doorway to the first exhibits. Then move on to the detailed clay figurines of costumed dancers and musicians from 350-100 B.C. pre-Columbian Mexico and intricately beaded slippers. The pieces on display haven't found their way here merely by way of age, but by their artistic quality. You'll see real works of art, not just dated baubles.
The BMA's American Painting and Decorative Arts collection spans the three floors of the John Russell Pope Building. Whole rooms are replicated from six Maryland historic houses, and galleries are filled with American paintings and sculptures from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Meanwhile, Chesapeake Bay chef John Shield's Gertrude's provides a nice spot to satiate your other appetites. There won't be a shortage of fine food to keep you going on your cultural tour.
At the end of an art-filled day, take a wander round the museum's three acres of sculpture garden, and then make a last stop at the gift shop, which sells stunning reproductions, not just picture postcards. --Pia Harold
But onward and upward. The BMA's Cone Collection of early-20th-century modern art is not to be outshone by these post World War II types. Donated by two Baltimore benefactresses, Dr. Claribel and Miss Etta Cone, the exhibit is comprised of works by Cezanne, Gauguin, van Gogh, Renoir, and Picasso (113 of his to be exact). Although the collection as a whole is considered impressive, it is its Matisse selection that has earned a reputation for being one of the most outstanding in the world. With more than 40 paintings, including "Blue Nude" (1907), and hundreds of sketches and prints, there aren't many galleries that can challenge what the BMA now boasts.
Decidedly a treasure house of modern art, the BMA lures also with artifacts alluding to the mystery of the long past cultures of Oceania, Africa and the Americas. Terrifying figures of fertility and a 19th century funerary statuette for some Oceanic tribal chief leer like gargoyles through the doorway to the first exhibits. Then move on to the detailed clay figurines of costumed dancers and musicians from 350-100 B.C. pre-Columbian Mexico and intricately beaded slippers. The pieces on display haven't found their way here merely by way of age, but by their artistic quality. You'll see real works of art, not just dated baubles.
The BMA's American Painting and Decorative Arts collection spans the three floors of the John Russell Pope Building. Whole rooms are replicated from six Maryland historic houses, and galleries are filled with American paintings and sculptures from the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries.
Meanwhile, Chesapeake Bay chef John Shield's Gertrude's provides a nice spot to satiate your other appetites. There won't be a shortage of fine food to keep you going on your cultural tour.
At the end of an art-filled day, take a wander round the museum's three acres of sculpture garden, and then make a last stop at the gift shop, which sells stunning reproductions, not just picture postcards. --Pia Harold
