Over the next several weeks on Art Expeditions we’ll be exploring Baltimore’s renowned Baltimore Museum of Art and The Walter’s Museum.

I’ve had both museums on my art expeditions bucket list for awhile and finally made the trip to Baltimore several weeks ago. For art enthusiasts a pilgrimage to both museums is a must-do. Baltimore is only an hour from DC and you can stay in DC if you prefer. We ended up staying in Baltimore. I was a bit underwhelmed by the rest of the city, but 100% would return in a heartbeat to visit both The Baltimore Museum of Art and Walter’s Art Museum.

The Baltimore Museum is on a portion of John Hopkins campus and it’s claim to fame is it’s Matisse collection. Baltimore natives (who also have times to my home state of NC at their Cone Manor in Blowing Rock), Clarabel and Etta Cone donated an extensive collection of modern art to the museum. This includes the largest collection of Matisse works in any museum in the world.

• Highlights:
  • Extensive collection of Matisse masterworks including his famed Women in a Purple Robe Coat (1937)(cover photo)
  • Cezanne’s
  • Collection by Post-Impressionist artists:
    • Eduoard Vuillard
    • Van Gogh
    • Bonnard
  • Modern art by Pablo Picasso, Braque and more…
  • Excellent Medieval and Renaissance Collection including works by two of my personal favorites: Botticelli and Titian
  • Plus so much more
  • *we’ll be detailing the collection in a series of articles over the coming weeks
• Pro Tip: My mother and I loved the onsite restaurant, which featured fresh Maryland Crab and a delicious chocolate torte (gluten free)
• Plan your visit here

Walters Art Museum:

Located in the historic Mount Vernon neighborhood, this museum features the collection oWilliam Thomspon Walters and his son Henry. Free to the public, The Walters is hands-down has one of America’s best collections of Medieval and Renaissance Art. The collection rivals even a few European galleries I’ve visited, with master works by Raphael (yes The Raphael), Botticelli, Bellini, Veronese and the list goes on.

If you regularly follow the Art Expeditions blog and our facebook page, you know I’m a huge Medieval and Renaissance geek – I love the history and illuminated beauty of these periods. I spent hours drooling over the Medieval and Renaissance collections – demanding my art loving mother to run to the Bellini and giving excited shouts of glee.

• The Asian and Ancient Art Collection is AWESOME… You’ll discover thousands of years of history from Ancient Greece to Ancient China.

The Walters Art Museum also has a decent collection of 19th century works including members of The Barbizon School (predecessors to The Impressionists) like Corot and a Monet.

• Usually The Walters has the famed Manet painting – The Cafe Concert , but unfortunately for me it’s currently on loan to The Musee d’Orsay in Paris for their Degas-Manet exhibit. This exhibit will be at The Met in NYC in the fall. Hopefully I can save up enough to make the trip to NYC then or I’ll happily return to The Walters in the future.

• They have a grab and go cafe with select coffee drinks – a relaxing spot to grab a snack in between touring different exhibits

Plan your visit here

Art Expeditions is written by artist and art historian Adele Lassiter…

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