RISD Museum of Art, Providence Rhode Island

-

 


The  College Hill neighborhood in Providence, Rhode Island, gets its name from the educational institutions that have their campuses there. At the top of the hill is Brown University, one of the Ivy League schools. At its foot is the Rhode Island School of Design, one of the country’s top art and design institutions.


Chase Center


Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) was founded in 1877 by Helen Adelle Rowe Metcalf, the wife of a textile manufacturer. Her goal was to increase access to training in the arts, especially for women. As an art college, RISD created a museum of art early in its life. The RISD Museum opened in 1893, and its collection has grown ever since.

RISD Museum holds about 100,000 objects in its permanent collection. These include pieces from all corners of the earth, and from times dating back to ancient Egypt. The works are spread through galleries in four buildings. On North Main Street is the Chace Center, which houses the RISD student gallery and space dedicated to contemporary art. There is also the Charles Pendleton House, which was built to look like a private home, and was the countries first exhibition space built especially for the display of decorative arts.


Gilded Frost and Jet Chandelier by Dale Chihuly


RISD Museum is one of the largest university art museums in the country. Its wide range covers a wide range of artistic eras and styles. I hope these photos give you a good feel for what they have.


Nyala Chair and Stool/Meedo Wallpaper by Jomo Toriku (for Black Panther)

Posters celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Guggenhein Museum by Malcolm Greer

Model for The Bergher by Rodin

Still Life by George Braque

La Savoisienne by Edgar Degas

Repose by Edouard Manet

Portrait of Edouard Manet by Carolus-Duran

Micromosaic Tabletop with nine views of Rome

Perseus and Andromeda by Giuseppe Cesari

View of Paris from The Lourve by Louise Joséphine Sarazin de Belmont

The Coloseum by Giovanni Paolo Pannina

Tray depicting Reverend Lemuel Haynes

George Washington by Gilbert Stuart

Chinese Landscape #4 by Huang Yin



There was also a special exhibit of works by Liz Collins. Ms. Collins is a RISD graduate who works in fiber arts, blending knitted materials with other textiles.


Conversation Chairs and Ottoman

Red Lightning Wheel



The area around RISD is also a great place to explore. Three parallel streets offer great views of the city and historical buildings. First is the riverfront along Water and Canal Streets, with Memorial Park in between. These follow the Providence and Moshassuck Rivers. For most of the 20th century these rivers were covered by roadways. In the 1990’s, in an effort to revitalize the city’s core, they were uncovered and their courses shifted to create a wonderful place to enjoy a beautiful day.










One block east of the river is Main Street. Many of the buildings here were built originally as warehouses and businesses, including some of Providence’s oldest banks.








Walk one more block east, starting up College Hill, and you will arrive at Benefit Street. While Main Street was for business, Benefit Street is where the monied people of early Providence lived. It is lined with grand old homes along with many of RISD’s facilities.





Hope Club

First Governor's House

Providence Anatheum


I have always believed that Providence doesn’t get get the attention it deserves as a tourist destination. Boston, Cape Cod, and Newport all draw big crowds, but Providence has been a “drive-by” city. Don’t! It is great place to spend some time. 


Nuts and Bolts


  • RISD Museum is open Tues - Sun 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM (Thursday until 8:00 PM).
  • Entrance fees are Adults $22/ Seniors $17/ Students $12. It is free on Thursday from 5:00-8:00 and all day on Sundays. 
Location: College Hill, Providence, RI, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Locks of the Erie Canal

-
Image
There is something about setting a series of tasks for yourself, especially if there is a time limit to complete them. It sets in your mind. After an initial burst of energy it becomes zen, a focus that blocks out other things. In this case I gave myself 33 tasks and 72 hours. Some were longer than others. Some were more interesting. I set out to photographs every lock on the Erie Canal. This year is the bicentennial of the beginning of construction on the original Erie Canal. Finished in 1825, the Erie Canal opened the west to the direct transport of goods. Prior to that everything had to be taken by cart over land. The canal spurred the settlement of western New York and Pennsylvania by taking a trip of up to 45 days and shortening it to about 9. It provided a faster and cheaper way for farmers to send grain to the cities along the coast and for industries in those cities to send manufactured goods to new settlers. It also allowed industry to develop along the rivers ...
Read more

The Real NYC #28 - City College of New York

-
Image
 As I wrote in my last post, I am a graduate of the City College of New York. And despite wondering what I missed by not going away to a large university, CCNY will always feel like home. I grew up in New York and have lived here my whole life, and City College really represents the New York I love. It is truly a cross section of the city. I started college in 1979 at The Cooper Union, a small, elite engineering/art/architecture college in Greenwich Village but I never really felt comfortable there. I quickly learned that while I loved studying chemistry, I really hated engineering courses. I also really didn’t fit in. The students were almost all white, suburban kids who viewed their studies as a fast path to a big paycheck. Even worse, Cooper Union is the first place that I had to deal with the casual racism that exists. . I grew up in the very integrated Upper West Side of Manhattan and in a family that celebrated diversity and actively fought against racism. I rem...
Read more

Callicoon NY is a beautiful place to visit

-
Image
Delaware River near Narrowsburg NY   When I take a road trip, I love to travel on small roads, avoiding the major highways. It helps that I am retired, and rarely on a tight schedule. One of the things I look forward to is discovering the small towns that the interstate passes by. I am often surprised by what I find. A recent trip through the Catskill Mountains of New York brought me just such a find.  In the northwest corner of Sullivan county, where the Delaware river serves as the border between New York and Pennsylvania, is the town of Callicoon . The town sits in a valley along the river. It was founded in 1842, when the Erie Railroad came through this part of the state. This part of the Catskills was already a center of the timber industry. In 1849 a tannery was built, taking advantage of the local hemlock trees, whose bark played a key role in preparing leather for boots and industrial belts. The railroad allowed for an influx of farmers, offering them a reliable way to...
Read more