Dallas Museum Of Art Yesterday, A Day Trip Denton, TX, Today

Lunch at Dallas Museum Of Art

After School With Marisa

It's 8:30 and I have been up since 6:30.  Rami left for Baltimore already and Beth and Marisa were up soon after he left.  Marisa has two big exams today, so she has an early start.  Evie's up and we are planning a day trip to Denton, TX, about 45 miles away, to visit Evie's sister Jean who moved there a couple of years ago.

Yesterday was an easy morning because Marisa did not have to be at school till 10:00.  So we relaxed with our coffee, I took Cody for a walk, and Beth drove Marisa to school around 9:30.  At 10:45, we took a 15 minute drive, just 4 miles, to downtown Dallas to visit the Dallas Museum of Art.  It's amazing how close the city is to Beth's home.  Traffic downtown was light at this hour, so we easily found the museum and parked in their garage.  It's one of the free art museums in the nation, or so they advertise which is great for the public.  When we got there, we saw the ubiquitous yellow school buses, with the end of the year trip to a museum, just like our visit to the Crystal Bridges Art Museum in Bentonville, Arkansas.

Self Portrait Freida Kahlo

Navajo Blanket. "Dazzling Eyes"

We spent the next four hours enjoying the museum and having lunch.  We spent the first hour in the section on Art of The Americas, mostly from the ancient civilizations of South America and Mexico.  It was fascinating, much of it reminding us of early Greek art. Then on to African and Asian sections before we got to the Modern American, with the likes of Jasper Johns and Edward Hopper.

Hopper's Lighthouse At Cape Elizabeth, Maine

We then had lunch at the Klyde Warren Park, a 5.2 acre park which connects the art district with downtown. It's a green space 'out of thin air' and opened in 2012.

Dallas Food Trucks

Four food trucks were lined up along the edge of it, with lines of people waiting for their food. The park is a long narrow lawn, tree walks on both sides, with tables up and down the walk way, a perfect place to relax, have lunch or a coffee and enjoy the day.  What a great way to spend an afternoon or morning or evening, surrounded by skyscrapers, next to an art museum.

Early Piet Mondrian

Late Mondrian, A Radical Shift In Style

Afterwards, we finished our viewing with European art, the Impressionists, a special exhibit with a Vermeer and my favorite, two exhibits, one a bequest to the museum of paintings by a Dallas art patron, many of the them early 20th century Europeans like Edward Munch.  And my favorite was the paintings from the estate Wendy and Emery Reeves, from their villa on the French Rivera.  Three of their rooms were recreated, with their paintings from Renoir, Cezanne, Monet and the likes.  It was a great way to end our visit.

Vermeer's Lady At A Piano

Self Portrait By Winston Churchill in Reeves Collection

We left just after 3:00 and were on time to pick up Marisa from her school at 3:25.  We then spent the rest of the afternoon at home. Marisa was starved when she got home, so with Evie's help, she made her typical smoothie, with only one mistake, as you can see below.

Art By Marisa? 

Splattered Smoothie 

After cleaning up the mess, Marisa and Evie went over some of Marisa's notes on Texas history while Beth put together her special vodka and shrimp pasta dish for dinner.  Once it was made, we relaxed with a glass of wine and Evie's favorite cheese, St. Andre.  Dinner was restaurant quality, shrimp with an amazing vodka pasta sauce, salad, fresh bread and a glass of red wine.  I limited myself to two helpings.  We watched some Modern Family with Marisa until it was time for bed.  Then, we watched Oklahoma rout Golden State once again in the NBA playoffs.  Evie and Beth are awfully good about letting me watch the games even though they have little interest in them.  I ended the night as I have the past few nights, with a night walk with Cody.