Whilst in Cleveland I took The Daughters to the Cleveland Museum of Art to see the Paul Gauguin: Paris: 1889 exhibit. It was fortuitous that we were in town for it because Cleveland is the only U.S. stop. After Clevo, it heads to the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. What a coup for Cleveland!
The show recreates the exhibition that Gauguin organized on the grounds of the 1889 Exposition Universelle, which is now recognized as the first Symbolist exhibition in Paris. It included In The Waves, one of my favorite not-Polynesian Gauguin’s.
Were you aware that the Cleveland Museum of Art has one of the greatest art collections in the country? It’s true! It can easily hold it’s own against the big houses in New York. They have some spectacular Calder mobiles and sculptures. I love Calder. So did the kids.
One of my proudest moments so far as a parent occurred when we turned a corner and 8-Year Old Daughter casually said, “Look, Dad, there’s a Pollock.” My work is almost complete.
Here’s something to tuck away in case you visit a museum in the near future: 3-years old is WAY, WAY, WAY too young for an art museum. Their attention span just isn’t there yet and you’ll have to divide your time between worshiping the art and making sure she doesn’t climb on the Degas sculpture pedestal. Just so you know.
3-Year Old Daughter did stop long enough to admire the Red Grooms diorama of New York. This scene is the corner of Broadway and Canal Street. Click on this one! Red Grooms and Alexander Calder are the most kid-friendly artists you’ll find in any museum, anywhere.
3-Year Old Daughter got her first face-full of Monet’s water lilies. She was not impressed. Yet…
The museum also has a pretty impressive collection of medieval armor and weapons. 3-Year Old dared him to climb down off of that horse.
Exile on Pain Street 
What a feckin’ cool dad you are!That NY painting is something else!!Happy NY pal.:¬)
Canal & Broadway *sigh*How wonderful!
I like that New York one. With all the cars and stuff. And I think your daughter has pretty much mastered the uminpressed, hands on hip stance that every girl should be a pro at.
This is just so so great! Red Grooms’ “Ruckus Manhattan,” the life-size installation that you could go into, was one of the all-time great experiences of my young life–it mirrored my own experience of New York, but taking the elements of bold color and craziness and heightening them. It was mind-blowing for me. You reminded me of that.Also, have you taken the daughters to Storm King? Now, that is a great place for a 3-year-old, in the spring when everyone can run around and enjoy the fantastic scale of the sculptures. We took Hedgehog there when she was 3 and she loved it.
“Through the Eyes of My Daughters” is the name of the coffee table book you should be putting together… photos of the girls as they experience great artwork? With your commentary? i’d buy it…
Map: That’s not a painting! it’s a 3-D diorama made of little clay figures and vehicles. It’s what Grooms is know for best.Nurse: You wouldn’t recognize that corner now. Jo: That stance is indicative of her personality. Unfortunately.Leah: Mrs. Wife and I both THANK YOU for the link. We knew nothing about Storm King. You can be sure we’ll visit when the weather breaks.Daisy: That’s a neat idea. Wish I had kept the high resolution pics.
I second what Daisy said. That would be one cool book. And I can’t wait ’til you take the elder to Europe…maybe for her 12th? You can start saving now.
I’m impressed, Pollock huh? Amazing the amount if information they retain at such a young age! Sounds like a great day, all things considered. Better than our primary activity yesterday, cleaning out the rain gutters…
I’m so glad you’re going to check it out! Just wait till you see the Calder stabiles…
HIF: So let’s see…that’s two copies sold. Rome wasn’t built in a day!Point: You have to grind this stuff into them while they’re still young. Soon, they’ll be out of my control.
Red Grooms diorama is pretty impressive. I can’t imagine my folks visiting an art exhibit. They’re just not the type to appreciate … art
what great memories this brought back. haven’t been there in 30 years, but remember being in awe of the guy’s brilliance.
Love daisyfae’s book idea – let me know when it’s available for purchase!
This is a great post. I tried in vain to take my child 3 year old to art galleries – as at the time it was the only way I could go about getting to one. After reading this I feel much more positive about trying again before they are 10.