Whenever I’m in the UK, I try to squeeze in a visit to the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath. It’s a haven from the busy city center and at the moment, the Christmas Shopping crowds. It’s a very welcome break at any time of year and certainly one of my favorite art places.
The permanent collection occupies one room, howbeit a large one. It still has the feel of bygone days where art was packed in somewhat more so than today – hung high to the ceilings. Eclectic works are indeed still hung one over another, sometimes a little too high to see them properly. It’s part of the appeal and the quality is generally quite good, with some local interest (a Turner watercolour of Bath Abbey for example) and also a few surprises, including a small Paul Klee (then again, most Klees are small).
As with all collections, it takes on the patina of the passage of time, care and attention, underscored by the love of volunteers. Downstairs, there’s a more contemporary space for rotating exhibitions. I don’t always get to these, however last week, I just sat and enjoyed. I’d love to hear about your favorite art spaces: museums or commercial, large, small, far or wide, please drop me a comment!
The remainder of my Christmas shopping dissipated my reverie and I returned to the build up to the Holiday Season. On this frenzied but happy note, France and I would like to wish you all a wonderful Christmas!
Hi David,
My favorite art space is the unexpected one. Example : In Paris a few years ago, I was walking beneath a covered passage way. I just happened to look up and saw a painting on the “ceiling”. Who would have thought? That was a delightful surprise. One can also find art in unexpected places in Ottawa: the fire station with metal cat sculptures. Cool!
Hi Diane, Maybe the most poignant art creates itself in least expected places, placement and circumstance being so consequential…..I’ll have to check out the Ottawa Fire station! David