Raleigh, Durham, & Chapel Hill - Triangle Area of North Carolina

[giradman]

Nasher Museum of Art on the Duke University Campus

On the previous page, I posted on the Nasher Museum of Art which we also visited after the lemur center. A recent renovation included the opening of a new area w/ about 8 small galleries mainly of various types of art objects from their permanent collection (quote below from link) - a pic below shows the layout - not large collections but worth seeing if you live in the area and have not visited in a while - there were no traveling exhibits at the moment which mainly draws us to travel to the Triangle Area.

Below just a few images from the web - the Mayan pottery collection was excellent; a gouache painting by Thomas Hart Benton, a favorite American artist of mine; and a pre-restoration of a painting of Henry Ward Beecher (a famous abolitionist, minister, and orator; and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the 1852 novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin') - unfortunately, I could not find a good pic of the superbly restored painting, an amazing accomplishment. SO, plenty to do in the Durham area. Dave

The New Galleries: A Collection Come to Light is a comprehensive and dynamic reinstallation of the museum’s collection. Eight new galleries are dedicated to specific collection areas highlighting many of the museum’s masterworks while illustrating a history of human creativity. The Ancient World covers a broad geographical and chronological reach, featuring works from ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures. Medieval Europe displays important architectural sculpture, devotional objects and stained glass from the Romanesque and Gothic periods. European Art, 1400-1900, illustrates cultural and aesthetic changes from the Renaissance to the dawn of the modern period through a variety of objects, paintings and sculptures.

American Art, 1800-1945, begins with portraiture from the early Republic, continues with Hudson River School painting and Ash Can School works, and concludes with examples of Regionalism. Modern Affinities features European and American modernist art alongside works by self-taught artists, illustrating connections between them. Two galleries dedicated to non-Western cultures include Art of the Americas, presenting ceramics, metalwork and textiles from Mesoamerica, and African Art, featuring many of the museum’s best masks, figural sculpture and beadwork from the African continent. The galleries include a flexible Incubator, often used for rotating student- and faculty-curated exhibitions.

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[giradman]

Well, after visiting the Duke Lemur Center, we purchased some items from their gift shop, i.e. several tee shirts and a 'stuffed' lemur - I wanted a BIG one but Susan decided on a smaller lemur - we have dozens of stuffed animals around the house, but one area is sitting on top of a wall unit containing about 200 DVDs/BDs (about a quarter of my collection) - we call this our 'bunny collection', but there is a squirrel there and now a 'little' lemur - Dave
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[giradman]

Duke University

Duke University is considered one of the finest schools of higher education in the United States - there is an East and West campus in Durham (see maps & first quote) - the West Campus has all of the places that I'll discuss briefly (see the map for arrows of their specific locales). Duke's nickname, the Blue Devils - as in Chapel Hill, football and basketball (stadium & indoor arena shown below) are important sports, especially the latter w/ 5 National Basketball Championships, as mentioned in my posts on UNC @ Chapel Hill. The Duke University Medical Center is also renowned - the complex and hospital entrance also illustrated below.

Now there are many areas of interest on this large campus, but I can just discuss a few - the Duke Chapel (second quote) is a MUST visit - despite being built in the early 1930s, the Gothic architecture and stained glass windows seem to take the structure back centuries - views below of both the outside and inside - in front of the chapel, a statue of James Buchanan Duke, son of Washington Duke - just amazing what that Duke endowment created! A few pics of the chapel and one of the statue added.

Finally, another MUST visit - the Nasher Museum of Art (again see map of the West Campus w/ the arrows) - final quote below from the link - this beautiful museum has both permanent and rotating exhibits - we visit 1-2/year depending on what is being shown - there is a small but excellent cafeteria for lunch, so can be a half day visit - highly recommended.

LAST UP will be a post on the Washington Duke Inn & Golf Club - I found enough pics to warrant a separate post of this special destination - Dave






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Well, January again - Susan's birthday, so since we missed a day a year ago because of ice/snow, returned to the Washington Duke Inn for 2 nights - our activities included a return to Bennett Place (see post previous to the one quoted), Duke Chapel, and the Nasher Museum (latter two discussed in this quoted post). Duke Chapel was closed for renovations on our last visit but looks beautiful now w/ the restorations done.

The Bennett Place has also 'improved' since our last visit (maybe a dozen years ago) - an excellent 17 minute film, expansion of the exhibit area (now 3 small rooms), and restoration of the grounds. Just a few pics below w/ the main room shown in the farmhouse - this is the site where Generals Sherman & Johnston met three times to discuss terms of surrender of the latter's Confederate Army after the Battle of Bentonville (North Carolina) and the surrender of Robert E. Lee to U.S. Grant in Appomattox (western Virginia). The small gift shop had some nice items - bought a tee shirt and the book A Shattered Nation by Anne Sarah Rubin (published in 2005).

The Nasher Museum had a small but fascinating exhibit by the Afro-American artist Kara Walker entitled "Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)" based on using prints from the book (first published in the 19th century) w/ superimposed hand-cut silhouettes, so kind of 'mixed media' - quote below a brief synopsis of the presentation, along w/ some pics - this I wanted to see and a reason to come back to Durham. Dave
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Kara Walker creates challenging works that address the legacy of slavery in American culture by invoking racial and gendered stereotypes and myths. This series of 15 prints features Walker’s signature black silhouettes layered over illustrations first published in Harper’s Pictorial History of the Civil War. Walker’s annotations draw attention to people, events and issues that have long been overlooked. In this way, the artist activates the past in order to confront the reality of racial conflict and violence that still persists in the United States today.

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[Jupiter7]

Thanks for a fascinating travelogue!

 

[giradman]

Thanks for a fascinating travelogue!

Thanks Jupiter7 - not sure if you looked at the previous pages in this thread, but more info on each of the places mentioned; and please take a look at some of my other travelogues - have left a bunch! Dave

 

[Jupiter7]

I have been following your postings for a while now and wonder if you have ever thought of publishing in a magazine or book?

 

[giradman]

Nasser Museum of Art on the Duke University Campus

On the previous page, I posted on the Nasher Museum of Art which we also visited after the lemur center. A recent renovation included the opening of a new area w/ about 8 small galleries mainly of various types of art objects from their permanent collection (quote below from link) - a pic below shows the layout - not large collections but worth seeing if you live in the area and have not visited in a while - there were no traveling exhibits at the moment which mainly draws us to travel to the Triangle Area.

Below just a few images from the web - the Mayan pottery collection was excellent; a gouache painting by Thomas Hart Benton, a favorite American artist of mine; and a pre-restoration of a painting of Henry Ward Beecher (a famous abolitionist, minister, and orator; and the brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the 1852 novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin') - unfortunately, I could not find a good pic of the superbly restored painting, an amazing accomplishment. SO, plenty to do in the Durham area. Dave


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As I was reviewing my previous posts in this thread, I left the one quoted here on the Nasher Museum of Art and showed an 'unrestored' portrait of Henry Ward Beecher (1813-1887) - famous abolitionist, minister, orator, and brother of Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of the 1852 novel 'Uncle Tom's Cabin' - first paragraph quoted below from his Wiki article - images of the pre- and post-restoration photos of his 1858 portrait by Francis Bicknell Carpenter - if interested in the restoration process, check HERE for an excellent extended discussion - quite amazing and was great to see this portrait 'in person' the other day. Dave

Henry Ward Beecher was the son of Lyman Beecher, a Calvinist minister who became one of the best-known evangelists of his age. Several of his brothers and sisters became well-known educators and activists, most notably Harriet Beecher Stowe, who achieved worldwide fame with her abolitionist novel Uncle Tom's Cabin. Henry Ward Beecher graduated from Amherst College in 1834 and Lane Theological Seminary in 1837 before serving as a minister in Indianapolis and Lawrenceburg, Indiana. (Source)

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[giradman]

I have been following your postings for a while now and wonder if you have ever thought of publishing in a magazine or book?

Well, I was an academic radiologist for 34 years at the Wake Forest Medical School in Winston-Salem, now a 'Professor Emeritus' - had a busy career w/ my name on over 200 articles and plenty of book chapters - help to edit a dozen books; of course, radiology publications always include plenty of photos - so now in retirement, putting together these travelogues is kind of a continuation of my decades of professional writing - keeps me busy, and as I get older helps me remember 'where' I've been! Also lucky to live in an area w/ so many past & present attractions w/i driving distance.

Thanks for your comments. Dave

 

[suenc]

Well, January again - Susan's birthday, so since we missed a day a year ago because of ice/snow, returned to the Washington Duke Inn for 2 nights - our activities included a return to Bennett Place (see post previous to the one quoted), Duke Chapel, and the Nasher Museum (latter two discussed in this quoted post). Duke Chapel was closed for renovations on our last visit but looks beautiful now w/ the restorations done.

The Bennett Place has also 'improved' since our last visit (maybe a dozen years ago) - an excellent 17 minute film, expansion of the exhibit area (now 3 small rooms), and restoration of the grounds. Just a few pics below w/ the main room shown in the farmhouse - this is the site where Generals Sherman & Johnston met three times to discuss terms of surrender of the latter's Confederate Army after the Battle of Bentonville (North Carolina) and the surrender of Robert E. Lee to U.S. Grant in Appomattox (western Virginia). The small gift shop had some nice items - bought a tee shirt and the book A Shattered Nation by Anne Sarah Rubin (published in 2005).

The Nasher Museum had a small but fascinating exhibit by the Afro-American artist Kara Walker entitled "Harper's Pictorial History of the Civil War (Annotated)" based on using prints from the book (first published in the 19th century) w/ superimposed hand-cut silhouettes, so kind of 'mixed media' - quote below a brief synopsis of the presentation, along w/ some pics - this I wanted to see and a reason to come back to Durham. Dave
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We go to Durham a couple of times a year, since they also have two performing arts centers with nationally touring shows. The WD Hotel is elegant and comfortable. The Nasher Museum is always worth seeing,though this time two of the galleries were being readied for new exhibits. As Dave said, the Walker exhibit was fascinating.

 

[suenc]

Well, I was an academic radiologist for 34 years at the Wake Forest Medical School in Winston-Salem, now a 'Professor Emeritus' - had a busy career w/ my name on over 200 articles and plenty of book chapters - help to edit a dozen books; of course, radiology publications always include plenty of photos - so now in retirement, putting together these travelogues is kind of a continuation of my decades of professional writing - keeps me busy, and as I get older helps me remember 'where' I've been! Also lucky to live in an area w/ so many past & present attractions w/i driving distance.

Thanks for your comments. Dave

Dave could easily write all kinds of books, but now that we’re “seniors,” we’re enjoying being lazy (you might say “relaxed”)

 

[Jupiter7]

Quite right too! [emoji846]

 

[giradman]

Return Trip to the Raleigh Museums - October 30-31, 2019!

Well, has been over 2 years since my last contribution to this travelogue - we just spent 3 days on the Carolina shore in Wrightsville Beach (added some posts there) - yesterday arrived at the Umstead Hotel after a light lunch and visit to the North Carolina Museum of Art which had multiple major exhibits, the reason for our 2-day stop before returning home. The main exhibition was Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera but there was also a photographic exhibit of Mexican Images and one on Scott Avett, a musician and artist (his family paintings are large and beautiful) - all are worth seeing.

Diego Rivera (1886-1957) and Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) were two of the most famous Mexican artists of the 20th century; and the two were married to each other twice in a complicated relationship (see the links for much more, if interested). The exhibition was large and works were from the Jacques & Natasha Gelman Collection - the first post will be just a sampling of Diego Rivera's works, which are a small representation of the many art forms and styles he used during his career; probably most impressive for me having seen the works in person are the huge murals from the Palacio Nacional in Mexico City - just awesome. The second post will continue with the works and photos of Frida Kahlo. Dave
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[giradman]

Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera Exhibit at the NC Museum of Art (continued)

The exhibit was dedicated mostly to Frida Kahlo, although in addition to Rivera, other famous Mexican artists were present - below just some more notes on Kahlo who had a difficult and painful life and passing at a young age. Over a third of her paintings are self-portraits, many showing aspects of her life and symbolism; there were also numerous photographs - a small dedicated gift shop was at the end of the presentation concentrating mainly on Kahlo.

For those interested, the bioptic movie Frida (2002) with Salma Hayek doing an excellent performance is highly recommended; also there is a PBS documentary on Kahlo which we may not have seen (will check for streaming options when I return home tomorrow) - see last pic.

Today, some oysters for lunch at McCormick and Schmicks, then a visit to the the downtown Raleigh state museums of history and natural science - more posts to come! Dave

Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is remembered for her self-portraits, pain and passion, and bold, vibrant colors. She is celebrated in Mexico for her attention to Mexican and indigenous culture and by feminists for her depiction of the female experience and form. Kahlo, who suffered from polio as a child, nearly died in a bus accident as a teenager. She suffered multiple fractures of her spine, collarbone and ribs, a shattered pelvis, broken foot and dislocated shoulder. She began to focus heavily on painting while recovering in a body cast. In her lifetime, she had 30 operations. (Source)

Life experience is a common theme in Kahlo's approximately 200 paintings, sketches and drawings. Her physical and emotional pain are depicted starkly on canvases, as is her turbulent relationship with her husband, fellow artist Diego Rivera, who she married twice. Of her 143 paintings, 55 are self-portraits. (Source)

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[giradman]

Oyster/Clam/Salad Lunch - Natural Science & History Museums

Well, for our last day of the trip, we found a highly rated seafood restaurant, St. Roch Fine Oysters & Bar in downtown Raleigh near the museums - split a healthy salad and then shared a dozen NC clams on the half shell and a dozen mixed NC oysters (from Topsail Island, just north of Wrightsville Beach and from Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks) - today 5 different North Carolina oysters were on their list - sourced daily and just delicious, and a nice start for the afternoon.

Then first visited the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences followed just next door by the North Carolina Museum of History - check the links if you're nearby and plan a visit, plus both museums have been discussed in earlier posts in this travelogue. BUT, there was a special exhibit at the history museum on 'Toys from the 1950s & 1960s' (some into the '70s) - many of the toys on exhibit, especially from the early years brought back a lot of memories for both of us, e.g. for me, the pogo stick, erector set, Lionel trains, western shows with outfits & cap guns, plastic army men, and many others in the pics below, just a small representation of the items to see in this exhibit. Dave

P.S. Of course, much later in my life (late 70s), the game of Pong - simple but just so addictive!
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[scifan57]

Oyster/Clam/Salad Lunch - Natural Science & History Museums

Well, for our last day of the trip, we found a highly rated seafood restaurant, St. Roch Fine Oysters & Bar in downtown Raleigh near the museums - split a healthy salad and then shared a dozen NC clams on the half shell and a dozen mixed NC oysters (from Topsail Island, just north of Wrightsville Beach and from Cape Hatteras on the Outer Banks) - today 5 different North Carolina oysters were on their list - sourced daily and just delicious, and a nice start for the afternoon.

Then first visited the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences followed just next door by the North Carolina Museum of History - check the links if you're nearby and plan a visit, plus both museums have been discussed in earlier posts in this travelogue. BUT, there was a special exhibit at the history museum on 'Toys from the 1950s & 1960s' (some into the '70s) - many of the toys on exhibit, especially from the early years brought back a lot of memories for both of us, e.g. for me, the pogo stick, erector set, Lionel trains, western shows with outfits & cap guns, plastic army men, and many others in the pics below, just a small representation of the items to see in this exhibit. Dave

P.S. Of course, much later in my life (late 70s), the game of Pong - simple but just so addictive!
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I had some of those toys back in the 1960s. Thanks for posting.