New Britain Museum of American Art

This morning, I visited the New Britain Museum of American Art (NBMAA). I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

I heard about it through word of mouth. The secondhand information included a report that it had started as an exhibition out of someone's home and was later expanded. Having seen something like that in New Hampshire where I enjoyed some Maxfield Parrish paintings, my expectations for the building were low.

Also, NBMAA's site shows no pictures of its building. That reinforced my low expectations.

So, imagine my surprise when I found a large, spanking new building perched right next to an invitingly large park named Walnut Hill Park. Plenty of parking spaces were available. Everything was immaculate. Even the scent inside the building was "new," reminding me of the scent of a new car when you drive it for the first time.

Entering the building, I found the main desk manned by two very nice women. Happily, they informed me that I had arrived in time to enjoy the museum's collection free of charge. Apparently, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM on Saturdays, there is no charge.

NBMAA has its share of modern art. Fortunately, not enough was there to overshadow my enjoyment of genuine art.

By modern art, I mean obvious crap like one display that included nothing more than a wooden border holding white flourescent lights. The name associated with that display is Dan Flavin. However, I must give him credit—he made me laugh. If he meant his work as a joke, it worked.

By genuine art, I mean work by artists like Claude Raguet Hirst, Charles Courtney Curran, Thomas Moran, and Robert Salmon, among others. All of these artists are new to me. Learning about them added to my enjoyment of this museum only a couple of towns away from my home.

Topping the day for me was finding in NBMAA's collection MaxField Parrish's The Old Glen Mill. Important note: This web picture does not do justice to this work. It fails to show the exquisite detail in each leaf at the center of the painting.

All that and I didn't have to pay to enter the building. Thank you NBMAA!