Culture in LALA Land!

Huntington Library, San Marino/Pasadena, LA.
For a bit of culture, we went to see the Huntington Library on Sunday. Well, 'Library' is a bit of a misnomer, because it's far more than that! It's an estate really. It was created in 1919 by Henry Edwards Huntington, who made his fortune in railroads among other things. His wife, Arabella was the driving force behind much of the collecting, as she was a renowned art collector. The estate consists of 4 art galleries, research centre, library and an enormous garden, made up of regional areas; Japanese, Chinese, Australian, Desert, Tropical, Jungle, Palm, Rose and Children's gardens!
Now, I have to tell you that the temperature was over 100F, so exploring the gradens in full was out of the question! The Library is closed for renovations, so we mainly stuck to the galleries. Probably the most famous painting there is Gainsborough's Blue Boy. Here he is, followed by some others I liked in this genre:

Gainsborough's Blue Boy

Pinkie - see her story below.

Imagine the weight of that dress!

I became fascinated by the shoes on some of the ladies!

Note similar styles and pose.

The story of Pinkie was fascinating, and tragic. She was sent from her home in one of the Caribbean Islands to England for schooling at the age of 11. Her gandmother knew that she would miss her so much that she commissioned Sir Thomas Lawrence to paint a full length portrait of her. Sadly, Pinkie died in England, probably of tuberculosis.

I got a few pictures of a Constable landscape too - the detail is amazing!

Another one I photographed was a Turner scene of Venice. It's the market district, where the merchants did their trade. The figure at the bottom right hand corner is judged to be Shylock!

After the Huntington Art Gallery, there was time for a stroll through (the shady) part of the gardens! Here are a few pics:

One of the very many sculptures in the gardens

Just a typical view of part of the buildings

Japanese garden

Wish I could bring you the sent!

Unfortunately the battery ran down in the camera, so I got very few photos in the American art gallery. I was delighted to see a real Hopper (The Long Leg, not one I knew).  So too was a fabulous American female artist, Mary Cassat, who mostly painted beautiful scenes related to motherhood, in her later work. I'd love to explore more of her work. Andy Warhol was represented too!

There was a whole section on William Morris & Co and how their inerior design influenced fashion. Also American crafted furniture from the early 20th century. I wish I could have taken more photos!!
And I wish the weather had been cooler!

If ever you go to LA and want to see something more than the glitz, remember the Huntington!