Courtauld Gallery in the Somerset House
An early arrival into London prevented us from checking into the hotel right away. Luckily, directly across the street was the Somerset House, a huge, old building with central courtyard that now houses a variety of restaurants and art galleries, including the Courtauld Gallery, which was never on our to-do (or even aware of) list. Ensconced in a small portion of the Somerset House, the Courtauld feels like a large, multistoried apartment, but what a treasure trove it holds! Masterpieces on view include Manet’s A Bar at the Folies-Bergere, The Card Players (amongst many other works) by Cezanne, and a Van Gogh self-portrait, the one with his ear bandaged! London has some of the greatest museums in the world, but this one was a nice surprise and a great way to start off the trip.
Tate Modern
This is the one museum in London I was looking forward to the most. The Tate Modern is housed in what used to be a huge power station and features one of the largest interior spaces I’ve ever seen. The day we visited, this huge lobby was empty of art, but was dramatic enough to take in on its own. The Tate Modern is the most visited modern art museum in the world (take that, MOMA!) and it’s easy to see why. Not only is the collection world-class, you can’t beat the awesome South Side location between right between Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre and the National Theatre. The art itself is brilliantly organized by the following themes (as opposed to the more typical time-period or style): Poetry and Dream, Transformed Visions, Energy and Process, and Structure and Clarity. David especially enjoyed the room of Mark Rothko red and black paintings originally created for, but never displayed at, the Four Seasons restaurant in NYC.
Any visit to the Tate Modern should include a visit to its sit-down restaurant on the top floor with its awesome views of the Thames and St. Peters directly across the river (requesting a table with a view on Open Table definitely paid off!). More economical (though not by much) than the nearby, more famous Harvey Nichols-branded bar/cafe/restaurant in the Oxo Tower (featured in many a movie), the food is outstanding with the best risotto I’ve ever had.
Prada exhibit at Harrod's
We stumbled upon this exhibit after a visit to Harvey Nichols (whose fifth-floor food market is foodie heaven) and the nearby, much more touristy Harrod’s. I didn’t realize that Prada only started making clothes in the late 1980’s, relatively late in the history of the company. Before that it was just leather goods and accessories. This small, clothes-on-mannequins exhibit featured some of Prada’s most dramatic dresses and was worth the free visit.
Victoria and Albert Museum, aka the V&A
This huge museum is entirely devoted to the decorative arts, which most museums confine to small spaces in their basements. Organized by material (glass, metal, clothes, etc.), the rooms nicely display contemporary works alongside ancient ones. There weren’t any interesting temporary exhibits at the time (I can’t wait to see the V&A-curated David Bowie exhibit when it comes to Chicago’s Museum of Contemporary Art in the Fall), but highlights from the permanent collection abound. We ran short of time to take it all in, but especially enjoyed the glassworks (including the huge Chihuly chandelier in the entryway), the furniture displays, the large-scale Raphael cartoons, and the stagecraft rooms (with full-size Joey from War Horse!).
National Gallery
We didn’t know if we would have enough time for the National Gallery, but we walked by it so many times (it’s centrally located in Trafalgar Square) that we eventually went in (more than once too since like most London museums it’s free!). This large museum focuses on painting up through the Impressionists, their collection of which really is outstanding. On our return trip, we focused on their excellent Renaissance collection, housed in a more recent building addition.
Kirsty MacColl bench in Soho Square
I had to stop by Soho Square to honor one of my favorite female singers. I had no idea where her bench was located or that there were so many (100?), but, after being drawn across the park, the first bench I walked up to was hers! And, thankfully it was empty, giving me a nice moment with her. Instead of retelling Kirtsy’s story, I thought I’d just cut and paste a piece I wrote in September, 2010:
I'd like to declare tomorrow Kirsty MacColl Day in honor of one of my favorite singer-songwriters, who died tragically 10 years ago to the day. MacColl never achieved the recognition that she deserved, her career being eclipsed by those who covered her songs (among them Tracy Ullman and Bette Midler), marriage to and subsequent divorce from superstar record producer Steve Lillywhite (U2, Dave Matthews Band, etc), a horrible boating accident in Cozumel in which she saved her son's life in exchange for her own, and the Mexican authorities who deprived her sons of restitution by allowing a penniless boathand to be charged in her death instead of the millionaire tycoon who actually drove the boat through her scuba diving group.
I had the great pleasure of seeing Kirsty twice in concert (at St. Louis' own Mississippi Nights in 1993 and 1995). It was after that second concert that my friend Lisa obtained Kirsty's autograph for me, which I've had framed on my wall ever since. It gives me great pleasure that her albums and new compilations keep getting released with additional recordings as any Kirsty MacColl demo or B-side beats most of the crap filling our airwaves today. One can only imagine what kind of music Kirsty would be writing today, 10 years after her last album, Tropical Brainstorm, inspired by her travels to Cuba and South America. Thankfully, she left us with a treasure chest of songs that elicit joy and pain, laughter and tears. And, hopefully one day I'll find myself in London sitting on Kirsty's "bench in Soho Square. And we'll dance around like we don't care.”
British Museum
I usually ignore the antiquities department of any museum I’m visiting, but this is the museum-of-all-museums for antiquities, housing (sometimes controversially) the best from around the world. The first stop of course was the Rosetta Stone, the key to understanding Egyptian hieroglyphics thanks to the same passage inscribed in three different languages on its surface. While this chuck of black rock is not quite a work of art, the statuary from the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens sure is. If they can’t be seen on the actual Parthenon, this may be the next best thing, though Greece might argue otherwise. The Parthenon galleries at the British Museum are huge, stately, and display the statues beautifully. There are lots of can’t-miss objects throughout the museum, whose covered courtyard is a work of art itself.
Barbican Centre
This concrete complex is somewhat off the beaten path, but features multiple galleries, cinemas, and performance spaces (this used to be the home of the Royal Shakespeare Company and was where their English-language version of the musical Les Miserables premiered before moving onto stages around the world). While probably not worth the trip to see just one exhibit, there were two running currently that we were interested in (even if only one turned out to be worthy).
Momentum exhibit in the Curve
On paper, this seemed like a must-see installation, one I figured would be an assault on the senses. More atmospheric than visceral, the long, curved-shaped gallery was cast in complete darkness with widely-spaced, slow-moving speaker/light poles suspended from the ceiling moving in unison to create an otherworldly space. Many viewers chose to sit against the wall to take it in, but the effect just wasn’t interesting or fast enough to keep us engaged. Glad this one was free!
The Fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier
I missed this exhibit when it made its Brooklyn Museum stop so was happy to be able to catch it in London. I don’t really follow fashion, but Gaultier’s cloths for both women and men(!) are pretty amazing. This collection is huge and incredibly displayed on talking mannequins (projections of Gaultier himself I believe) and ordered by style. Photographs nicely accompany the clothes along the way. Not only was the entrance fee rather expensive, but the items for sale in the gift shop were ridiculous! No souvenirs for me. :(
The ME London Hotel
It turns out that our hotel was practically a work of art itself. An interior pyramid, best seen from the second floor registration "hall," runs the entire height of the building, with the point ending in the rooftop bar. At night, projections turn the inside of the pyramid into another world. Check out the video!
The place also delivers a fun quote to your room every day!
Random graffiti in London - Banksy?
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