Author name: emily

Summer Reads: The Gardner Heist

Categories: Art History, Art Tours, Book Reviews

The Gardner Heist is a thrilling recount of the world’s largest unsolved art theft, at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, MA.   On March 18, 1990, two men broke into the museum and stole a dozen masterpieces worth over $500 million dollars.  Historically significant works by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Degas, along with other precious artifacts, slipped into the dark underbelly of crime.  

“Storm on the Sea Galilee” by Rembrandt

Ulrich Boser joins a growing list of investigators who become obsessed with this crime and work countless hours for years on end to try to return these masterpieces to humanity.  There’s hair raising accounts of various criminals, gangsters and art thieves that all have some sort of connection to the Gardner Theft. 

Boser also takes time to elegantly depict the lost paintings and their significance.  “The Storm on the Sea of Galilee” was the only seascape painted by Rembrandt, and “The Concert” by Vermeer is considered the most valuable painting currently stolen, with an estimated value of over $200,000,000.  You are compelled to weep when you read the horrific acts committed against these treasures of human achievement.

“The Concert” by Vermeer


One of the most beautiful elements of “The Gardner Heist” is the compelling stories of the good people involved in the search for the missing art.  Detectives, FBI agents, Art Historians, Restorers and Conservationists, as well as the loyal patrons and employees of the Gardner Museum all lovingly work to return the art to its rightful home. 

Because the case is unsolved, you end the book with a sense of disappointment, but the knowledge you gain about Art’s value, Art Museum practices, and  Art theft, investigation, and recovery makes this a fascinating read!

Up Next….

What are you reading this summer? 

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Photo by Christopher s. Penn via Flickr

 
Julia Cameron, author of “The Artist’s Way,” includes the daily practice of “Morning Pages” as an essential tool in the path to unblocking one’s creativity.  Morning Pages is simply a daily ritual of writing three pages of “stream of consciousness” writing.  This must be done first thing in the morning, as the purpose is to get your creative brain flowing, thereby releasing any “gunk” in your mind.  Similar to the first morning stretches, or eating breakfast, to awaken your body and get your metabolism working, these pages are to become essential in awakening your mind each day. There is no right or wrong content or method, the key is to just do it, and do it daily.

Photo by jjpacres via Flickr

This writing is not meant for an audience.  You may not even want to revisit what you have written.  It is merely a personal daily exercise to connect with your inner creativity, and to release the thoughts and fears that inhibit your performance each day.  I have just started my practice, and plan to continue it for many years to come.

Since I will be collecting a lot of notebooks, I’d love something beautiful to write in, and consistency of the notebook collection would be nice.  Writing in something that feels more special than just a utilitarian notebook creates motivation to pursue your practice. 

Coincidentally, my children have just brought home a collection of scarcely filled composition books from school.  I’ve claimed these mismatched notebooks for myself and transformed them into beautiful fabric covered journals with ribbon bookmarks for writing my Morning Pages. You can easily do this too!

Make Your Own Fabric Covered Journals

You will need:

Composition notebooks

Fabric (heavy enough to hide pattern/writing of notebook)
Ribbon (grosgrain will not fray)
Scissors
Spray Adhesive, plus extra white glue to secure corners

Lay the book flat, with the exterior facing up.  Place the notebook on a work surface, like a cardboard box or craft paper.  Spray adhesive liberally over the notebook cover.

Press ribbon down along the spine of the notebook.  Position the end of the ribbon so it is about one inch above the edge of the notebook.

Flip the notebook over on top of the wrong side of your fabric. Press down.

Flip the book and fabric over and smooth out any air bubbles or wrinkles.

Fold the notebook closed so that the fabric is sufficient to cover all the way around the notebook.  If the notebook doesn’t close properly, you can pull up the fabric, respray the adhesive in the problematic area and re-smooth.

Open the notebook, and using scissors, trim the excess fabric from the edges.

  Trim the ribbon into an attractive diagonal or dovetail end for your bookmark.  If your ribbon begins to fray, add a little Fray Check or white glue to stabilize the end.

You now have a pretty notebook, with a handy bookmark, in which you may unleash your inspired writing!

 

Have you ever written Morning Pages? Do you have a regular writing routine? Would you like to start this habit with me? I’d love to hear about how you unblock your creativity and get your ideas flowing!

Located in the heart of the city, The Indianapolis Museum of Art is the fifth largest general art museum in the country, and is sure to amaze and delight all who visit.  The museum celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2008, and with it’s new addition of “100 Acres,” proves that it will continue to thrive for many generations to come.  The very best part, and I am still in disbelief about this, is that touring the permanent collection and gardens at the museum is completely free. 

Housing a phenomenal collection of American and European art, you can spend hours just walking the second floor.  Monet, Picasso, Bernard, Gaugin, VanGogh, Seurat, and Renoir are all represented in the European collection.  The galleries are beautifully organized in a way that highlights schools and styles of painting, and the descriptions provide insightful details about the pieces.

This creates a beautiful story of the history of art immediately in front of you.  The museum has wide open gallery spaces that are handicap accessible and convenient for children to have ample room to move.  Want to add to the story of the art in the room?  Try to mimic the sculptures!

 

The museum allows still photography without the use of a flash, and you are permitted to sketch with pencils in the galleries.  I would love to share all of the photos I took of the paintings, but that could make for quite a long post! 

Nothing replaces seeing these works in person. No matter what developments we make in technology, there is nothing like standing in front of a painting by a master artist.  Look at the glorious brushstroke and color in this detail of “The Seashore” by Jean Metzinger. Don’t you just want to touch that beautiful bumpy paint?

My whole family was fascinated by the variety of gallery spaces within the museum.  This double loggia was such a noble space with its open courtyard, high ceilings, and grand staircase.

In the Hunt Rotunda Gallery, you will be awed by this large, original stained glass window by Tiffany Studios.  Commissioned in 1901 by Mrs. Benjamin Harrison to honor her husband, the 23rd President of the United States, “Angel of the Resurrection” is the lower half of the large window that was installed in the First Presbyterian Church of Indianapolis, where he served as an elder for more than 40 years.  To give you an idea of scale, this portion of the window is about 30 feet wide by 14 feet high.  We sat for awhile and just marvelled!

 

Art lovers of all ages will enjoy the variety of interior spaces within The Indianapolis Museum of Art.  From historic architectural to sleek contemporary, this museum does an excellent job of demonstrating the many ways art fits harmoniously into our lives. 

For someone from the high plains desert of Colorado, strolling through the lush gardens of Indiana was invigorating!  Classical Gardens are so lovely, and the Museum Gardens provide examples of both the formal and informal styles.

Crisp white arbors were stunning against the rich green hedges of the Richard D. Wood Formal Garden.  Brilliant purple iris blooms swayed in the breeze to the song of the bubbling fountain in the garden’s center.  In a more informal setting, romantic stone statuary stood calmly within a dense wooded grove of ferns and ivy, providing a shady respite from the warm afternoon sun.

Located on 100 acres within the city of Indianapolis, 100 Acres: The Virginia B. Fairbanks Art & Nature Park is one of the largest museum art parks in the nation.  It includes woodlands, wetlands, meadows and features commissioned site-responsive artworks. 

Ever wanted to feel like you could be “beamed up” for a little space travel?  Step under the two 30 foot-wide suspended metal rings of “Align” , and you’ll feel like it may just be possible! These rings are remarkably suspended from nearby telephone poles and oriented precisely so their shadows become one during the summer solstice.
Have you ever experienced a somber garden space?  “Park of The Laments” is a unique garden space surrounded by walls made of limestone-filled Gabion baskets.  To enter the space, you must walk through an underground tunnel and then climb stairs up to the sunlight-filled garden. 

I believe your reaction to this garden, which is influenced by the manner you enter it, is deeply personal.  The artist describes it as a refuge- a contemplative space for lamenting about global atrocities of the 20th and 21st centuries.  I felt the space to be very confining- reminiscent of a prison yard.  Though this is not a garden I would prefer to linger in, I think it is a very remarkable piece of conceptual art!

We were so excited to see the Ruth Lily Visitors Pavilion, which is part of 100 Acres.  Set deep within the 100 Acres, it is a beautiful example of architecture by Marlon Blackwell.  The stunning building houses an interior space ideal for resting, reading and gathering with friends as well as drinking, restroom and emergency services.

Wouldn’t you just love to vacation in such a beautiful “cabin” out in the middle of the woods? 

We had a wonderful time! Can you believe I’m actually only sharing the highlights of our day at the Indianapolis Museum of Art?  We didn’t even get to see everything the IMA had to offer!  I hope you have the opportunity to visit, and if you do, take time to hop around on “Funky Bones” – it’s sure to bring out your inner child!

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