Monday, March 21, 2011

Construction at the Atheneum


The Wadsworth Atheneum's renovations are supposed to be finished this summer.  Most of the work has been the thankless task of fixing the roof . . . lots of money, entirely necessary, but no more space and no new features.  The museum has been open during renovations, but I am sure attendance has been hurt by the construction barriers that obscure the building.

The lead exhibition today is Monet's water lilies.  I didn't go in today.  I will have to see it later.

Nathan Hale's statue is bravely standing amidst the construction materials.  I showed him before here and here.

26 comments:

  1. Nice building! Impressive tribute to Hartford! But I doubt the construction stuff hurt attendance. When we visited the palace at Versailles, they were remodeling and construction stuff obscured whole sections of it...but zillions of people were there screaming to get in.

    Well, maybe not screaming, but...

    Yeah, Candler Hills is a very nice golf course. Not as difficult as Stone Creek, but is different enough to make it an enjoyable outing.

    What's this about not caring where the ball lands? One of my two friends says it's a terrible game and if he didn't love it so much he'd quit playing!

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  2. Please don't get lost in Monit's lilies! Honor to the brave Nathan Hale, a really beautiful and noble statue.

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  3. Make sure you get to see those stunning water lillies

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  4. I wonder if the museum will let you take photos inside? It would be nice to get a shot or two of the paintings. The building looks pretty massive.

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  5. Good ole Nathan, ever the faithful servant! :) THis is a lovely structure, but we all need patching as we age! HA Even the Louvre had cranes and such in January.

    Now go back and see M. Monet's lilies. He worked very hard on them!
    V

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  6. I love the building and I'm glad too see that Nathan has held his ground.

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  7. This is an amazing and important building.Thanks for the sculpture shot as well!I love the arches in the entrance.
    So nice they are taking good care of it!
    Hugs
    Léia

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  8. I'm sure Nathan Hale has seen worse. Monet? And there's no queue? Gosh, you'd have to stand in line for about 5 hours here!
    I think I recognise where yesterday's chap, sorry I mean gal, was walking along...

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  9. Oh...so jealous you get to see the Monet!
    And that statue? What a brave one! He looks to be in a very precarious position.....

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  10. It is a grand looking building. I would love to see that water lily exhibit!

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  11. It reminds me of when we had to shore up a corner of our house a couple years ago-- the beams were rotting underneath. Same story-- spending lots of money and time and effort on something that did not contribute to the beauty of our home. It hurts... but it's necessary!

    You'll have to let us know how Monet was when you get back there.

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  12. I would love to see the water lilies! Enjoy them when you get there!

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  13. I'm still working a good time to visit. Right now it's snowing (mixed with rain) and has been for about three hours straight. I could use some water lilies right about now!

    Thanks as always for your glimpses of Hartford and its goings-on, Jack!
    Gina

    Gina

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  14. Good old Nathan! He'll weather any storm. Sorry to hear there won't be any rennovations to the building. But it's lucky it got a new roof. A lot of institutions have fallen on hard times in the recession. Would love to see the Waterlilies. Hope you get back before the exhibit closes.

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  15. Wow, Monet's Lilies? You have to go!
    Nice building, by the way:)

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  16. That's an interesting looking building. Can't wait to see the finished product.

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  17. If I was Nathan I was very worried about that crane! :-) Enjoy the lilies, Jack.

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  18. It's a gorgeous building. Those old roofs are difficult. I checked out a church that redid its slate roof and spent nearly $1,000,000 on it. You wouldn't know if no one told you.

    I think you could manage out at night! I just started doing it a few months back and REALLY like it. It's a unique set of challenges. Anyway, thanks for the nice words. I certainly agree about (and enjoy) different perspectives.

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  19. Great building! Would love to go there and see Monet's water lilies too.

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  20. Nathan looks as though he's standing guard over the museum. Btw, that's a great name for a pub. If it was located in SRQ, I'd have some great additions for their walls.

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  21. What a wonderful buildings. I am buying my ticket for Monet here.

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  22. Renovations can be awfully expensive. The Monet exhibit ought to be wonderful.

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  23. Looking forward to lots more pictures from inside the museum.

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  24. I would love to see that Monet exhibit.

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  25. I would love to see that exhibition too. Are you going to sneak a few shots?

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  26. I agree with Ciel: Monet and no queue?!!!We would cut one of our arms to be able to see a Monet exhibition without queueing here!
    What a strange building, both old and new, I wonder about this architecture..

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