I couldn’t really not go to the Walters Museum of Art; it’s Baltimore’s premiere art museum. Not as big as the ones in Chicago or New York City (duh), but it’s got a fine collection of art and artifacts, and their curators know what they are doing.

It also has free admission…..

I’m going to get the complaints out of the way. The “floor plan” guide is of very little help. Yes, it tells you what is on what floor – but there’s no maps of the actual floors. So you wander around, confused, going from the Ancient Near Eastern collection to the Roman gallery without any indication that you’re moving through time and space.

It may be of some use to the casual visitor who is willing to be surprised, but if you’re looking for one of the special exhibits….

Speaking of which, there were two exhibits that I really enjoyed. First, “If Books Could Kill” – which was a small display of old books and manuscripts where the makers unintentionally used toxic pigments – ones containing mercury, arsenic, or lead. Or the attempts at pest control used insecticides that made the pages dangerous to handle. A cool insight into the hazards of the curator, collector, and restorer.

The other also showed items that rarely get put on display. Not because they’re dangerous to handle, but because they don’t know enough about them to display them in the right collection. “Objects of Curiosity: What Will We Discover? presents objects from the Walters’ historic collection that members of the curatorial and conservation staff have unanswered questions about.”

Like the small statue that could have been made at any time from the ninth to the seventeenth century, and has design elements that were used in Persia, Turkey, and Armenia at varying times….

Of note is their “Conservation Window”, where visitors can see and chat with conservators as they work. It’s something I’ve never seen anywhere else. It’s not always “in use”, but at any time you can look in and see their “tools of the trade” and a work in progress.

Not is use when I was there.

I should also mention that the Walters collects and displays contemporary art as well. Like this animation – “ColdLife” from Team Lab:

My favorite piece, though, is the “Portrait of Countess Livia da Porto Thiene and her Daughter Deidamia” (1552) by Paolo Veronese (Italian, 1528-1588) (oil on canvas).

Much of the talk about the work has to do with the detail in the fur and fabric – something Veronese is known for. Yeah, that’s all well and good. I loved the work on Deidamia, who was about six years old at the time. Mom is standing there, hoping the artist can get on with it…. Deidamia, on the other hand, looks like she’s about to break out in a fit of giggles.

“Mom! When’s he gonna be done?”

More museums and other places I visited soon enough…..