Father Pitt

Tag: Museums

  • A Rainy Day? Let’s Visit the Museum

    Entrance to the Carnegie Museum

    A rainy November afternoon is the perfect time to spend an hour or two in the art museum. Here are a few of the things you might see if you visited the Carnegie right now.

    Aurora Leigh

    Aurora Leigh, by John White Alexander, 1904: an imaginative portrait of the heroine of Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s verse novel. Alexander’s last and greatest work was the decoration of the Grand Staircase in the Carnegie, so you’ll have a chance to see those murals, too.

    Sunrise Synchromy in Violet

    Sunrise Synchromy in Violet, by Stanton Macdonald-Wright, 1918.

    Rue de L’Abreuvoir, by Maurice Utrillo, 1911

    Rue de L’Abreuvoir, by Maurice Utrillo, 1911.

    Harbor Mole, by Lionel Feininger, 1923

    Harbor Mole, by Lionel Feininger, 1923.

    Rue de Beaujour, Pontoise, by Camille Possarro, 1872

    Rue de Beaujour, Pontoise, by Camille Pissarro, 1872.

    Comments

  • Grand Staircase at the Carnegie

    Grand staircase from the ground floor

    The building was designed by Longfellow, Alden & Harlow; the murals were painted by John White Alexander.

    Decorated newel post
    Grand staircase from the second floor
    Canon PowerShot SX150 IS; Samsung Galaxy A15 5G.
    Comments

  • Carnegie Institute

    Music Hall entrance

    The titanic Carnegie Institute building was designed by Longfellow, Alden & Harlow, Andrew Carnegie’s favorite architects. Above: the Music Hall entrance. Below: the main building seen from the west, across Forbes Avenue.

    Carnegie Institute

  • Carnegie Science Center

    The Carnegie Science Center was designed by Tasso Katselas, and in Father Pitt’s opinion the design worked very well for its intended purposes. It had to be flexible enough to house many different kinds of exhibitions. It had to look sciencey. Most important, it had to enthrall children. It does all those things. Old Pa Pitt would never pick this as the most beautiful building on the North Side, but it has been a favorite destination for a generation of Pittsburgh children, many of whom have actually walked out better educated than they were when they walked in.

  • Soldiers and Sailors Memorial, Oakland

    Soldiers and Sailors Memorial

    In 2000, a planting of deep burgundy celosia gave old Pa Pitt the opportunity to take this picture with his beloved Kodak Retinette.

  • Stephen Foster Memorial

    Stephen Foster Memorial

    One of the cluster of Gothic buildings by Charles Z. Klauder at the heart of the University of Pittsburgh, this looks like the baptistery for the Cathedral of Learning. It houses a museum of Stephen Foster, two theaters, and the Ethelbert Nevin Collection. There was a time when Ethelbert Nevin might have got a museum of his own, but he missed his chance, and now he is an appendix to Stephen Foster.

  • Elevator in the Grand Staircase, Carnegie Institute

    Elevator doors

    One of the exceptionally elegant elevators in the Grand Staircase of the Carnegie Museums in Oakland.

    Elevator interior

  • The Noble Quartet Turns 125

    Galileo

    Galileo.

    In honor of the 125th anniversary of the Carnegie Institute, the Noble Quartet—science, art, music, and literature, as represented by four of their most famous exponents—were gaily bedecked with floral wreaths. It’s a good look for them. The statues are by J. Massey Rhind, one of Andrew Carnegie’s favorite artists.

    Michelangelo

    Michelangelo.

    Bach

    Bach.

    Shakespeare

    Shakespeare.

  • Carnegie International Medal of Honor

    The first Carnegie International was held in 1896, and it immediately became one of the most important exhibitions of modern art in the world. Andrew Carnegie believed in encouraging artists by collecting the old masters of tomorrow, and many priceless works have been acquired for the Carnegie’s collection from International exhibitions.

    This Medal of Honor was designed for the Carnegie by Tiffany & Co. It was reproduced in the catalogue of the 1899 International, which is a beautiful publication from the golden age of American printing.

  • Butterflies in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History

    Thousands of drawers like these are in the Carnegie, one of the world’s top natural-history museums. Every once in a while the curators take out a few drawers from the bug collection and display them on the wall near the Grand Staircase.