Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

This mornings plan was to go to the Plaza and take some pictures before the stores opened and then go to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art which is nearby. I have never been to the Museum before, even during the years I lived here. About the time I leave the apartment this morning it starts sprinkling rain even though the 7 a.m. weather said the rain would go north of KC. By the time I get downtown, it is still lightly raining so I scraped the Plaza.  I get to the Museum, walk in the door and find out that they are closed on Monday and Tuesday for Art Classes (small print on their web page). So by now the rain is down to occasional sprinkles and since I'm there, decide to take a look at the Museum's Sculpture Park since no one else is in the park. I finally find a place about 2 block away to park - couldn't access it directly from the Museum since it was closed.... The Sculpture Park is a 22-acre Park surrounding the Museum with grass, trees, walkways and 31 sculptures.  There are no "keep off the grass" signs - only "don't touch the sculptures" signs.

 

As sculptures go, The Thinker has always been one of my favorites.  I have seen small scale models of it but have never seen the full size made by the original artist. Auguste Rodin made the first small plaster version around 1880. In 1902 he made a bronze sculpture set on a marble pedestal for the City of Paris. After that he made 28 original monumental-sized bronze casts of the sculpture and they are scattered though the world.

There are four Shuttlecock sculptures scattered around on the Sculpture Park grounds. They are aluminum and fiber-reinforced plastic painted with polyurethane enamel. The sculptures are each 17 ft. 11in. high and 15 ft. 1 in. crown diameter and a 4 ft. nose core diameter.  The four are in different positions on the grounds. The Nelson-Atkins Museum commissioned Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen to create the sculptures in May 1992 and they were installed in July 1994.

While walking the grounds and at the longest distance from the car, it started a steady rain - not exactly a downpour but it was coming down pretty good. And no, I did not have an umbrella with me. Needless to say, I was soaked by the time I got  back to the car.

Oh yeah...the main reason I went down to the Museum was to see the red–marble Fauno rosso, a life size statue created in the early 1700's and on view for the first time ever in America.  It was carefully packed up and ship to the Museum. last month. I plan to go back soon to see it and the other exhibits inside the museum.