As we travel around the Country I am constantly amazed at how the journey has provided as much, if not more, satisfying surprises than the destination.
Who would have guessed that we could have walked to the Buddy Holly crash site from our destination of Winnebago Headquarters in Iowa, or on our way south from Mount Rushmore, we were able to stop at Wounded Knee, the significant site of a terribly unfortunate incident in our ever-evolving history of living side-by-side with our Native American friends?
Again, Journey vs. Destination.
That brings me to today’s amalgamation of past journeys and destinations.
Destination: Vermont
Journey: New York State Thruway
For the past 38 years or so I have traveled on this road on the way to Vermont. The destinations vary, Stratton Mountain, where all the kids learned to ski, courtesy of my friend Elaine, whose family has had a house since the early Eighties. Killington, where my friend Glenn and I would drive up just for the day to ski (and be the first people on the lift-line!) Stowe, where Donny and Hilary started their careers and Augustus was born. And Dover, the home of Paula’s sister and where her family had a house for years at Mount Snow.
The journey was always the same, up the NYS Thruway and then through Albany, with it’s magnificent State Buildings that seem just a little more grandiose than most.
Hey, it’s not called the Empire State for nothing!
One of the things that I like about this particular roadway is its views of the Shawangunk Mountains (where if you know the precise place on the Thruway you can glimpse the Tower at Mohonk Mountain House in a fortuitous break in the trees along the highway) and of course the Catskills, home to Woodstock and the wonderfully nostalgic Borscht Belt resorts of the mid-twentieth century.
It is also the setting for the aptly named mid-nineteenth century art movement, The Hudson River School. You may not know its name, but I’m sure that you’ve seen examples of it. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been drawn to this style of art and its paintings. Maybe it’s because of the detail on then canvas, or the way the artist used the sunlight, or maybe even because I was familiar with the environs and subject matter.
Who knows?
All I know is that I’ve always wanted to see as many examples of this style as I could.
Enter the New York State Capital Region Visitors Center. This is a relatively new structure built on the northbound side of the Thruway, just south of Albany and adjacent to the New Baltimore Service Area. It is a convenient place to stop going north. It’s new, the restrooms nice, its not crowded and they do a good job of promoting the sights of the Region using displays and multi-media.
Grinding to halt on my way to the restroom, I was mesmerized by one display showing the Albany Institute of History and Art. There, right before my eyes was the Holy Grail of the Hudson River School!
A collection that rivaled by no other!
A collection that fit because it was home!
A collection that was nearby!
But alas, it may as well have been a thousand mile away.
Always traveling with the destination as the reason for driving from one place to another left little time for side-shows.
Rule #1 – One pee-stop only!
Rule #2 – Always try and break the Here-to-There Elapsed Time Record!
No time for dilly-dallying!
The traveling times would also need to coincide with the hours of the Museum and/or one would need to build in the time on the travel side so as not to interfere with the approved Destination Estimated Time of Arrival.
Until yesterday.
We left Dover mid-morning and had ample time to do whatever we wanted, for two reasons:
#1 – We had nothing else on the schedule for the day
#2 – We’re Retired!
The Albany Institute for History and Art has been in existence since 1791, making it one of the oldest museums in the Country. Its names have somewhat morphed through the years, but its purpose has not. It exists to display, catalog, and preserve the Art and History of that region of New York State. It seems do this nicely and at the same time offer a site for rotating exhibits that travel the Country. Starting next month there will be a sixty-piece exhibit on the art of the Wyeth’s. The Wyeth’s are considered the First family of American Art. More on this later.
As we pulled off of the 787 loop and into the heart of Albany, all seemed a little too tranquil. Maybe because it was a Friday in August or maybe it was because their Governor just got the ax, but anyway, it was a pleasure driving the streets of this major city….. alone!
The museum has its own parking lot, which surprisingly, was free. We walked in and there were only three other folks in front of us, a group of elderly ladies who seemed to be there for the same reason as we were. Admission was half-price because they were between exhibits, getting ready for the previously mentioned Wyeth Exhibit and one on period clothing of the nineteenth century. So, for the grand sum of eight dollars, (in total and Senior Discount included!) we entered and proceeded to the third floor where the Hudson River School had its permanent display.
On the way we passed through an older part of the complex, one with those kinds of stairways that you seem to find only in museums.
And then through an exhibit on the New York Central Railroad. Seeing how travel was before the airplane took over made one yearn for those days. Dining Cars with elegant table settings, Sleeper Cars just as nicely appointed, and Lounge Cars designed with moveable deep-cushioned living room type chairs so they could be arranged for fun and conversation.
Ahh… to be back then!
And the advertising posters and ads! I don’t know about you, but there is something about that Art-Deco style that just give me goosebumps!
Eventually we entered the gallery that was the home to The Hudson River School. It was very large and spacious which made it easy to be able to stand back and admire the work in the way it was intended to be viewed, but at the same time we were able to get within inches of it and scrutinize the techniques of these artists.
The Hudson River School was started in the mid-nineteenth century by Thomas Cole. Fortunately, there were several of his paintings on display here at the museum.
When it became obvious (back then, when Cole’s paintings started to sell rapidly out of a New York City gallery) that this was a style of art that could be commercially successful, a handful of other artists started painting this way. In reality, this style is an off-shoot of the plein-air style which was gaining in popularity. All of the various new modes of transportation helped artists get out into country previously difficult to travel to. This was also one of the reasons for its popularity, it enabled folks to have beautiful scenic paintings of far-away place in their homes.
One of the other things that the Institute is known for are their Mummies. In the early 1900’s as travel abroad became somewhat easier, several artifacts of Egyptian Antiquity were acquired by the Institute. No grave robbing here! These artifacts were made available by the Egyptian authorities to bona-fide educational organizations. They have been, over the years, one of the top reasons for visiting here and one can see why. The displays are first-rate, with detailed explanations that don’t bore you to death!
So now I’m back to the Journey vs. Destination quandary.
I alluded to the Wyeth Exhibit coming next month.
We won’t be here.
I LOVE Andrew Wyeth’s work!
Is a return trip in the offing?
We shall see……