2025 April: Vero Beach Art Museum

 21 April 2025

We are trying to make the most of our time here. This morning we decided to take a bike ride to complete some chores. First we stopped at a bank to replenish cash, and then we biked to the post office to mail the cards I made for the grandkids. 

At the bank, I found a fountain.

It was a pretty short outing, but it was good to get out on the bikes. We stopped near the ocean briefly. Once again, Clark got to demo his folding bike as someone noted we were riding on Brompton's.

A few days ago, when we stopped at the VB library, Cathy picked up tickets to the Vero Beach Art Museum. At that time, we had no idea we would still be here or that we would be able to enjoy the exhibit of French Impressionist art. Well, we are still here, and today we got to use those tickets.

Cathy, Anna, and I went. Franklin had already attended, and Clark was doing electronic paperwork this afternoon. We arrived at the museum about 1:45 - just in time to be able to participate in the 2:00 tour given by a museum docent.

Vero Beach Museum of Art - VBMA

The exhibit contains pieces on loan from other museums as well as private collections.

The docent was very knowledgeable and walked us through the exhibit selecting key pieces to discuss the progression of changes to art through time. 

At the end of discussing each picture, the docent asked if that picture was one we would want to add to our personal collection. My gut reaction to all of them was a resounding "no", but that was obviously the incorrect answer.

First we discussed portraits. 

The quality of the painting shown below makes it closely resemble a photograph in detail and clarity.

William Bouguereau
"The Elder Sister" c. 1864

Over time the styles changed.

Berthe Morisot
"Madame Boursier and Her Daughter" c. 1873

The picture below introduces motion to the portrait.

Giovanni Boldini
"Portrait of a Lady" 1912

Next we explored landscapes.

Alfred Sisley
"Flood at Moret", 1879

Paul Cezanne - unfinished
"The Village of Gardanne", c. 1886

The picture below is unique in that the subject of the picture is not front and center!

Odilon Redon
"Jacob Wrestling The Angel" c. 1910
Genesis 32: 24-29

We then moved into more abstract works of art - certainly not my "cup of tea"! As the docent gave details of the piece below, Anna asked, "Will this be on the quiz?" She used to be a college professor!

Henri Matisse
"Flowers", 1906

I noticed that on the picture below, and only this picture, did the docent not ask if we wanted it to be part of our own collection.

Jacques Villon
"The Philosopher", 1930

Lastly, we moved on to sculpture.

The description on the sculpture shown below was interesting.

Auguste Rodin
"Danaid", c. 1903

We did not discuss the sculpture below with the docent, but it too was done by Rodin. Done in Bronze, the detail is amazing. The monk is wearing a Dominican robe with a stack of manuscripts by his side.

Auguste Rodin
"Balzac in a Monk Habit" c. 1893

After the tour, which took about an hour, the three of us walked around the museum and studied some of the other pieces. I particularly liked the ocean scenes!

This hat carved out of wood was fascinating! I could not understand why a baseball cap was on display!

The statue in the corner of one room looked so lifelike. Every room of the museum had a guard stationed. This one blended right in.

"Art" - the guard

The table below, piled high with objects, was interesting as well. To me it looked like the table was bowing in the middle from the weight. 

Black vs White / Clear

The last room we explored showed photographs related to advertising like the one shown below.

Robert Farber
"Empire Diner"

We departed the museum and arrived at Anna's house just before 5:00 - what Don and Franklin refer to as "Martini Time". All 6 of us sat on the patio at Don's house overlooking Bethel Creek having what I would normally call "Docktails". 

After dinner, I updated the blog. Later, we watched a disappointing Richard Dreyfus movie before calling it a night.