Niagara Falls Honeymoon

 (Built to Live Anywhere, at Home Here by Nancy Rubins, 2010-11)

We began our voyage to Niagara Falls with a stop in Syracuse, NY to visit the Everson Museum of Art and the Syracuse University Art Museum. It was raining lightly, which didn’t keep us from tracking down a few sculptures:

 Delphi by Lila Katzen, 1975

Two Piece Reclining Figure No 3 by Henry Moore, 1961.

Beginning as the Syracuse Art Museum in 1897, the current home of the Everson Museum of Art is the first museum designed by I.M. Pei in 1968. The permanent collection is mainly American, by design, the Gilbert Stuart George Washington and Edward Hick’s Peaceable Kingdom, their best known holdings. They also committed to major collections of ceramics and, it turns out, has the largest video collection in the world.

The special exhibition was From New York to Corrymore: Robert Henri and Ireland and photos were not allowed. It was mostly portraits and here are four I was able to scan:

Pet (Wee Annie Lavelle), 1927

Old Johnnie's Wife, 1913

Catherine, 1913

Tom Cafferty, 1924

Best known as the leader of The Eight (see blog), Henri traveled to Ireland extensively between 1914 and 1928. Here are a few other pieces we found in the museum:

 Red Composition by Jackson Pollock, 1946

 Portrait of the Artist's Daughter by J. Alden Weir, ca 1880

Realm of Muses II by Margie Hughto, 1992

The ceramics were in the basement and consisted of glass cases packed with work:

just a small portion

 Ceramic Form by Ka Kwong Hui, 1968

 Click here to see more paintings, pieces, and sculptures.

It was still raining when we went up the hill to Syracuse University. While the first class of SU began in 1876, the school’s roots go back to 1832, and it now has a student body of over 14,000.

SU has a permanent art collection of over 45,000 objects from artists including Picasso, Rembrandt, Hopper, Tiffany and Dali. Photos were not allowed, but I snuck these two of Elizabeth Murray’s:

Bill Alley by Elizabeth Murray, 2006

Jazz by Elizabeth Murray, 2001

We found a show in one building:

 by Claire Stankus

There are more than 100 paintings, sculptures, and murals displayed around campus. Here are a couple:

Herakles the Archer by Emile Antoine Bourdelle, 1909

Six Curved Walls (Syracuse) by Sol LeWitt, 2004

CLICK HERE TO SEE OTHERS WE FOUND.

And then we found a tree full of sneakers:

We continued on to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls, where we had a honeymoon suite at the Imperial Hotel, with a heart-shaped tub, and a big window overlooking the Falls and attractions:

We had dinner at the Love Boat.

The next morning, we had planned to have breakfast in Buffalo before visiting the art museum there, but we were greeted by an early morning snowstorm. Notice the foreground in comparison to the one above:

The snow was coming down sideways and accumulated fast. The roads became hazardous so we returned to the hotel. We thought we’d be stranded for the day, but then it suddenly stopped and the sun came out. The snow melted and we drove to Buffalo. There we found sculpture:

  to have a grip on the earth so the whole of this globe can quiver  

by Reinhard Reitzenstein, 2010

Coronation Day by Kenneth Snelson, 1980

And the magnificently Art Deco, City Hall:

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SCULPTURES:

But before we got to the art museum, the snowstorm returned. I wouldn’t let it stop me from shooting sculptures, however:

 Flat Rate II by Lyman Kipp, 1969

 Karma by Do Ho Suh

Stacked Revision Structure by Liam Gillick, 2005

And then it was gone. The Albright-Knox Art Gallery was founded in 1862, making it one of the oldest public art institutions in the US. It is located at the edge of Frederick Law Olmsted’s Delaware Park. The bad news was that the majority of the galleries would be closed to us as they prepared to install a new special exhibition for their 150th anniversary. The good news was that what we were able to see was wonderful. Here are just a few pieces:

Gotham News by Willem de Kooning, 1955

 Painting No 46 by Marsden Hartley, 1914-15

 Untitled by Alexander Calder, 1947

The Liver is the Cock's Comb by Arshile Gorky, 1944

Woman Sewing by Berthe Morisot, ca 1879

CLICK HERE TO SEE LOTS MORE PAINTINGS AND SCULPTURES.

Suddenly, we were in another snow squall. The third of the day, I think. But soon, it too died out. We drove north to Niagara University and the Castellani Art Museum. On the way, we stopped at the Niagara Power Vista, where we learned about one of the largest power producing dams in the country. Second only to Grand Coulee, with more capacity than the Hoover Dam. They also had this Thomas Hart Benton painting:

Father Hennepin’s Discovery of Niagara Falls by Thomas Hart Benton, 1961

The Castellani, we discovered, was closed. No reason given. They just locked the doors and turned off the lights. Bummer. There were, however, these sculptures:

Bollard by Joel Fisher, 1987

Majestad II by Betty Gold, 2004-05

Portrait of George Bernard Shaw by Jacob Epstein, 1934

Disc #1 by Jack Squier, 1969

Untitled by Mel Kendrick, ca 1990

High Five by Joel Perlman, 1980

Next stop was the American side of the Falls. It is all so much drearier there, in addition to the weather. But we made our way through the old state park to the edge of the American Falls:

And walked across to Goat Island, to get a better look at Horseshoe Falls:

It was pretty windy and cold, but there were some who chose not to wear a coat.

The lights are much brighter of the Canadian side:

 On Saturday, we drove to Toronto. There we found sculptures. Here’s a couple:

Flower Power by Mark di Suvero, 1967

Bobber Plaza by Douglas Coupland, 2009

 The Audience by Michael Snow, 1989

untitled mountain by Anisa Kapoor, 1995

 Button and Thimble by Stephen Cruise

CLICK HERE FOR LOTS MORE.

And then the Art Gallery of Ontario. In addition to the almost $20 admission, there was a $1 charge for the coat check, and then I was told that no photos were allowed at all. Except for the “architecture.” So here it is:

In truth, there wasn’t much that we would have shot. Not surprisingly, the majority of Art was by Canadian artists. Wild contemporary (they did include Andy Warhol and a couple of others) and lots of landscapes. We did find a couple that were of interest, including members of “The Group of Seven.”  Consisting of seven men who focused on Canadian landscapes in the 1920's, Lawren Harris and A.Y. Jackson were the only two we liked.

The Group of Seven

Afternoon Sun by Lawren Harris

by Lawren Harris

by A.Y. Jackson

St Johns, Newfoundland, 1951 by A.Y. Jackson

Emily Carr, who was associated with the group but not a member, had numerous paintings in the museum.  

Autumn Woods by Emily Carr

by Emily Carr

Even in the exhibits of European Art, they oddly included Canadians. There was a very nice Marie Laurencin, as well as a Rembrandt, and a Renoir.

There were rooms of decorative and religious art, which we were able to ignore, as well as displays of prints and photos that were not very interesting.

The mild temperatures finally arrived on Sunday morning, so we walked to the edge of the gorge from our hotel and enjoyed the views: