PEN'S PROJECTS FOR A RAINY AFTERNOON

Nothing to do and can't get away? Let's play!

This site is very much under construction, but keep coming back, because Pen is experiencing a lot of damp weather lately and is looking for great things to do. Why not check in again soon!

PEN GOES TO A MUSEUM:

• Canadian Museum of Civilization
  
  
  • This museum is in Hull, Quebec, right across the river from Ottawa and the Canadian Houses of Parliament. Full of a wide variety of good things (including a Children's Museum and a Postal Museum), it also houses an absolutely splendid collection of Canadian Indigenous art and artifacts. It might be the best that Pen and friends have ever seen (yes, yes, we know about the Glenbow - watch for that later, as well as the splendid museums in Victoria and Vancouver). Enjoy!
  
  
  
• The Louvre Museum Official Website
  
  
  • This museum is daunting, but there are other ways to cope than simply rushing past the Mona Lisa (with its unfortunate reflecting protective shield, thanks to earlier attempts at vandalism) and admiring the ankle of the Nike on the stairwell. Pen likes to wander through this site and get oriented.
  
  
  
• MoMA: The Museum of Modern Art, New York
  
  
  • With all that poor New York has been going through, somehow this remains a haven, in cyberspace at least, for art lovers around the world. Pen has spent many many hours here, as well as in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Guggenheim (both) and the Museum of the American Indian. It all depends on one's mood.
  
  
  
• The Guggenheim
  
  
  • As if the collection weren't enough, how about the fantastic building! Pen wanted to skateboard down all those lovely ramps, but Pen's friends said No. Spoilsports.
  
  
  
• The Getty
  
  
  • Pen hasn't been to the Getty since it has moved - any comments from fellow museum freaks?
  
  
  
• Van Gogh Gallery
  
  
  • We may be stuffed to the gills with all those sunflowers everyone has started using as motifs on everything from paper napkins to nighties, but anything by Van Gogh is still more than merely worth a visit. One of the greats.
  
  
  
• National Gallery of Art, Canada
  
  
  • Also in Ottawa (of course) - superb collection! And don't forget to check out the Inuit Art section - truly mind-blowing.
  
  
  
• National Gallery of Art, USA
  
  
  • Washington, DC. Enormous and mindboggling, natch, and one of Pen's favourite haunts in days gone by.
  
  
  
• The Smithsonian
  
  
  • Also in DC, of course. Don't need to tell you how big this is, either.
  
  
  
• Smithsonian Encyclopedia
  
  
  • A useful resource - check it out.
  
  
  
• Rijks Museum, Amsterdam
  
  
  • One of the main reasons Pen likes to return to the Netherlands at any opportunity!
  
  
  
• Museo del Prado, Madrid">
  
  
  • Okay, so Pen was last there a looong time ago. Time for another trip to this absolutely fabulous collection.
  
  
  
• Art Institute of Chicago
  
  
  • As if Chicago itself wasn't any art/architecture freak's dream, this is of course the icing on the cake, and - really - as the crow (or commercial airline) flies, not that far away from Pen's current home. We don't go often enough.
  
  
  
• The Whitney Museum of Art, New York
  
  
  • Another good reason for us all to be in New York from time to time.
  
  
  
• Neprajzi Museum, Budapest, Hungary
  
  
  • Pen has visited Budapest a couple of times in the last year and finds this a special delight.
  
  
  
• The Tate, London
  
  
  • Another reason for Pen and his friends to visit "The OTHER London" again soon!
  
  
  
• The Victoria and Albert Museum, London
  
  
  • Last visited by Pen about three years ago, this museum is a gem, if a little worn and dusty and in need of TLC and gentle restoration.
  
  
  
• Roemisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne, Germany
  
  
  • One among so many great ones! Pen spent a great afternoon here a few years ago.
  
  
  
• Sigmund Freud Museum, Vienna, Austria
  
  
  • So Pen admits, this one doesn't really fit in with the art museums and such, but it is'historical" and made for a MOST interesting morning. Pen, though not a Freudian, was fascinated by everything here. Worth the visit - plus!
  
  
  
• Ansel Adams
  
  
  • A nice collection of photos to finish off this list.
  
  
  

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