Art Shopping in London (plus a couple of recs, not really a trip report)
Dec 10th, 2009, 12:58 PM
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Art Shopping in London (plus a couple of recs, not really a trip report)
If this thread's title is a little grandiose, it may seem that I'm trying to pass as some callous sophisticate who travels the world, flinging lots of money around at galleries, buying up any sort of artwork that takes my fancy to display in my sumptuous home. But that's not the case at all--actually, my husband and I are middle-class people who, while on a trip to London last week, went into a couple of galleries and saw some very interesting and beautiful things.
Our reason for going to art galleries is that very soon I'll turn (sob!) 50 years old, and we want to mark the day by making a contribution to our local art museum, giving some small something that will go into its collection and wind up on exhibit. (All right, that's not quite true about wanting to mark the day--really, I just want to do something to distract myself from the realization that I'm going to keep getting OLDER and OLDER till someday I DIE!) The European arts curator at our museum is working with me on what to buy, and she suggested a couple of places in London to look.
One of these galleries was Daniel Katz Ltd. on Old Bond Street, a small place with some exquisite things. Imagine that you're looking at some very fine pieces of rare and old artwork in a museum, and that the curator opens the cases for you, takes out the pieces and invites you to handle them, and shows you special markings and intricacies on each piece. That's just what it was like visiting this gallery, getting to see some extraordinary carved pieces of old ivory and alabaster, some lovely bronzes and delicate marble sculptures, as well as the less expensive terra-cotta or plaster pieces we may actually be able to afford! From Romanesque architectural fragments, to marble bas-reliefs, to a large, lovely, solid-silver "Corpus" figure from a 17th-c. crucifix, everything we saw at that gallery impressed us mightily, and if I did have a lot of money, I know where I could happily drop much of it in a hurry!
Next we went to Sotheby's, very close by on New Bond Street. Sotheby's is an auction-house, of course, rather than a gallery per se, but they have a day prior to auction sales on which people can come and see the items to be auctioned. Unfortunately, even that day was too late for our schedule--we had to come in the day before that, to see some of what they would be offering.
And there were some lovely pieces--15th-c. German polychrome wooden sculptures, a splendid medieval cask of ivory and bone, some old Roman mosaics restored in France in the 19th century--there were some wonderful, wonderful things to see. And I would happily have spent the whole afternoon looking at them, but we were in the way--it was bedlam in the exhibit space, with unpacking and preparing items for display. The fellow showing us items was all graciousness, but we could see how inconvenient our presence was, and we abbreviated our visit. We were very glad to have had the opportunity to see these special things!
This was a very brief trip to London--my second visit there ever (my husband has been several times). We didn't do a great deal, but there were things we enjoyed and would recommend from this trip. Like the hotel--we would recommend the Trafalgar Hilton to anyone who wants easy access to the National Gallery. No matter how filthy the weather, it's a simple matter of crossing the street to Trafalgar Square.
And I enjoyed one restaurant a great deal--our hosts, who arranged for my husband to come and speak, recommended that we go to Veeraswamy, which they told us is the oldest Indian restaurant in London. Seated there, even before we were served, I was enjoying the restaurant very much--from the banquette the view through the windows that spanned the width of the space was of the illuminated white facades of the buildings on the other side of Regent Street, with blue lights strungs across (this was pretty--the really garish lighting was further along, closer to Picadilly Circus). My dinner of chicken chatpatta and saag with fluffy white rice was very nice and just spicy enough, while my husband's roast lamb was good as well, though it was lightly spiced and so not the way he prefers it (utterly bland).
The trip was much too short, but it was worthwhile!
Our reason for going to art galleries is that very soon I'll turn (sob!) 50 years old, and we want to mark the day by making a contribution to our local art museum, giving some small something that will go into its collection and wind up on exhibit. (All right, that's not quite true about wanting to mark the day--really, I just want to do something to distract myself from the realization that I'm going to keep getting OLDER and OLDER till someday I DIE!) The European arts curator at our museum is working with me on what to buy, and she suggested a couple of places in London to look.
One of these galleries was Daniel Katz Ltd. on Old Bond Street, a small place with some exquisite things. Imagine that you're looking at some very fine pieces of rare and old artwork in a museum, and that the curator opens the cases for you, takes out the pieces and invites you to handle them, and shows you special markings and intricacies on each piece. That's just what it was like visiting this gallery, getting to see some extraordinary carved pieces of old ivory and alabaster, some lovely bronzes and delicate marble sculptures, as well as the less expensive terra-cotta or plaster pieces we may actually be able to afford! From Romanesque architectural fragments, to marble bas-reliefs, to a large, lovely, solid-silver "Corpus" figure from a 17th-c. crucifix, everything we saw at that gallery impressed us mightily, and if I did have a lot of money, I know where I could happily drop much of it in a hurry!
Next we went to Sotheby's, very close by on New Bond Street. Sotheby's is an auction-house, of course, rather than a gallery per se, but they have a day prior to auction sales on which people can come and see the items to be auctioned. Unfortunately, even that day was too late for our schedule--we had to come in the day before that, to see some of what they would be offering.
And there were some lovely pieces--15th-c. German polychrome wooden sculptures, a splendid medieval cask of ivory and bone, some old Roman mosaics restored in France in the 19th century--there were some wonderful, wonderful things to see. And I would happily have spent the whole afternoon looking at them, but we were in the way--it was bedlam in the exhibit space, with unpacking and preparing items for display. The fellow showing us items was all graciousness, but we could see how inconvenient our presence was, and we abbreviated our visit. We were very glad to have had the opportunity to see these special things!
This was a very brief trip to London--my second visit there ever (my husband has been several times). We didn't do a great deal, but there were things we enjoyed and would recommend from this trip. Like the hotel--we would recommend the Trafalgar Hilton to anyone who wants easy access to the National Gallery. No matter how filthy the weather, it's a simple matter of crossing the street to Trafalgar Square.
And I enjoyed one restaurant a great deal--our hosts, who arranged for my husband to come and speak, recommended that we go to Veeraswamy, which they told us is the oldest Indian restaurant in London. Seated there, even before we were served, I was enjoying the restaurant very much--from the banquette the view through the windows that spanned the width of the space was of the illuminated white facades of the buildings on the other side of Regent Street, with blue lights strungs across (this was pretty--the really garish lighting was further along, closer to Picadilly Circus). My dinner of chicken chatpatta and saag with fluffy white rice was very nice and just spicy enough, while my husband's roast lamb was good as well, though it was lightly spiced and so not the way he prefers it (utterly bland).
The trip was much too short, but it was worthwhile!
Dec 10th, 2009, 02:26 PM
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I think it is fantastic that you are donating an artwork of historical value to your local museum as a birthday gift to share with everyone. I can't express enough my admiration for your generosity and thoughtfulness. Museums are an essential part of the education system of any culture, and to support them in this way is marvelous. Thank you.
I'm also happy to see another recommendation for the Trafalgar Hilton, which is, as you point out, a great London location.
In general, I think that trips that are organized around some very keen personal interest can be a more rewarding way to travel than sightseeing vacations.
I'm also happy to see another recommendation for the Trafalgar Hilton, which is, as you point out, a great London location.
In general, I think that trips that are organized around some very keen personal interest can be a more rewarding way to travel than sightseeing vacations.
Dec 11th, 2009, 02:44 AM
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stepsbeyond, that is so kind of you to say! Our museum here at home is very important to my husband and me, and we are eager to support it as we're able. And I agree with you that museums are so important in education!
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