Afternoon at the Museum

Monet to Matisse exhibit

After a little too much sun on Saturday, we spent a few hours indoors the next day at the Museum of Fine Arts. I'd wanted to see the Monet to Matisse exhibition, and I thought Bob would enjoy some of the places we'd visited in Normandy portrayed on canvas. We went right to the exhibition that featured paintings of the Atlantic coast and the Côte d'Azur. I liked it, but I would have preferred to see more Monet and Matisse, since I had the impression (based on nothing) that the exhibit would be heavily weighted in favor of those two painters.
I really did enjoy the adjacent exhibit Life's a Beach, photographs by Martin Paar. The photographs are printed poster size, some brighter than life. Others though recent, had a retro look, and a few were almost shocking. One large poster showed largish women in old, undersized suits sitting on a rock at some beach in Slovenia, so awful I really wondered if the subjects had signed a release authorizing publication of the picture. I loved the photos and thought that I've taken so many water pictures myself that I could put together a little online collection. Something to think about.



Sculpture Museum, Museum of Fine Arts

We walked through the rest of the museum, looking briefly at some items in a wide variety of collections, from many periods and cultures. Way too many periods, but fine for those looking for a kind of art history "sampler". We appreciated a little break in the lovely sculpture garden that made me think of a long ago visit to the Cloisters in Manhattan. The little courtyard is a cool and comfortable space in the middle of downtown St. Petersburg.

As always, I visited the museum store but thought the inventory was limited and poorly selected. The $25 Monet to Matisse book was lovely but more than I wanted to spend for a souvenir. Some of the local crafts were way beyond my budget and I wasn't interested in mugs or other souvenirs made in China. The little store could be so much more!

We had a bite to eat at our "go to" restaurant, Parkshore Grill. The Guinness and Corona were refreshing and our appetizer, Sonoma Goat Cheese Spinach Dip Roasted Red Peppers, Olive Crostini, was delicious. When I balked at the "olive crostini", the server graciously offered plain ones for me. Against my better judgment, I did try one of the little toast rectangles with a small dried olive, and was surprised that it was almost OK. Perhaps my aversion to olives will end some day ... but not yet!