Quilts and Color at the MFA

     A group of us went to see the "Quilts and Color - The Pilgrim / Roy Collection" at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today and had a wonderful time hanging out there.

     Many of the quilts dated back to the 1850s. If you go, be sure to rent the audio unit as one of the collectors, Gerald Roy, explains how and why he and his partner had acquired some of the pieces for their collection of antique quilts, and the curator provides insight into significant aspects of the quilts and put them into historical perspective.

     I'm not sure whether I should post photos of the quilts, so I'll show you some artwork from lunch instead.

This little plated canvas was as tasty as it appears. Did we have dessert? Another masterpiece . . . 

Touring the quilt exhibit and lunch took a few hours, so I didn't get to stroll through the Impressionists or explore a room filled with early photographs or view the soon to be ending Caravaggio exhibit, but I know I will return in July to see the 30 year retrospective of artist Jamie Wyeth's work.

     Yesterday, I offered a couple of reading suggestions. When I finished posting, I picked up a book that I had forgotten that I had purchased, Orphan Train,  a novel by Christina Baker Kline. The evening was still warm at 11:00 p.m. when I headed to the sunporch to read just a "few" pages before turning in for the night. Two and a half hours later, I forced myself to shut the book and head to bed. For those who may not have heard of the orphan trains, let me give you some background. Between 1850 and 1930, the orphan trains arranged by the Children's Aid Society of New York transported over 200, 000 orphaned, abandoned, homeless children from the crowded cities of the Northeast to the less crowed  Midwest. The train would make stops along the way where the children would be presented for possible adoption. For some children, it was the beginning of a safe, new, wonderful life. For others, the reality was far more harsh as some families took children only as a means to obtain free labor. That's the context for part of the story. The other part involves a troubled, modern teenager who has faced a similar life of hardship and abandonment. I won't say more about it then it is a fairly good read which I finished tonight. Consider giving it a try.