Museum of Fine Arts, a Must to see in Boston, Massachusetts

Museum of Fine Arts (MFA)
465 Huntington Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts
www.mfa.org

We visited the MFA soon after Christmas to see two new exhibits. One was closing soon, French Pastels, and the exhibit Ansel Adams In Our Times had just opened. Photos of some of my favorite paintings and photos are shown below.

Dancers Resting (above) and Dancers in Rose (below) both by Edgar Degas and were in the special exhibit French Pastels, Treasurers from the Past.

This exhibit is probably my 3rd or 4th that I've seen over the years. The first one was in 1978 in Yosemite, California.  One special one was in 1979 in Washington, DC, where I was able to get two autographs, and position him in place so I could take his photo. See blog to see autographs and my photo at: https://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2014/02/happy-birthday-ansel-adams.html.

The exhibit had only been open for two weeks when we went, and it was too crowded. Practically every picture I took is a disaster because they have shadows of visitors or exit lights. I hope to go back on a non-vacation day and retake these. My husband and I love this museum, and since it was the 2nd visit in 11 months, we decided to become members, so the rest of 2019 visits are free.

Georgia O'Keeffe and Orville Cox, Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Arizona, 1937.

I especially love this photo because it is of my 4th cousin once removed, Georgia O'Keeffe and her guide. This photo was high up on a wall, so much so, I couldn't look straight at it, thus, no shadows.

A favorite photo, below I did a closeup, but of course you see shadows of people.

I loved this photo, but you can all see the reflections of the people looking at it.

Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer by Edgar Degas.

Interesting view 11 months earlier.

Hanging Head Dragonfly table lamp by Louis Comfort Tiffany.

Peonies Blown in the Wind by John La Farge, Parakeets and Gold Fish Bowl by Louis Comfort Tiffany, and Butterflies and Foliage by John La Farge.

Boston Common at Twilight by Childe Hassam, 1885.

The Drummer Boy, abt. 1862 by William Morris Hunt.

The Buffalo Trail, abt. 1867 (above) and Valley of the Yosemite, 1864 (below) both by Albert Bierstadt.

Paul Revere, 1768 by John Singleton Copley.

Washington at Dorchester Heights, 1806 by Gilbert Stuart.

Watson and the Shark, 1778 by John Singleton Copley. (The young boy was bitten by a shark, and lost his leg.)

 Monet Room.

 

Mary and Elizabeth Royall, by John Singleton Copley, 1758.

I wrote about their historic house, Royall House and Slave Quarters, in Medford, Massachusetts. https://lifefromtheroots.blogspot.com/2017/06/the-royall-house-and-slave-quarters-at.html

Maria Bockenolle (Wife of Johannes Elison), 1634 by Rembrandt van Rijn.

Winter Landscape near a Village, abt. 1610 by Hendrick Avercamp.

I have a lot of Dutch ancestry and was interested in all the masterpieces the museum has. I took plenty of photos, and hope to put them together in another post.

In the Loge, 1878 by Mary Stevenson Cassatt.

Houses at Auvers, 1890 by Vincent van Gogh and shown below if:

Dance at Bougival, 1883 by Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Museum Epiphany III, 2012 by Warren Prosperi.

The little girl is being told something about the statue. The statue is shown below behind my husband looking at the above photo.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882 by John Singer Sargent.


Second floor, rather interesting to see people flying above.

From Google, you can see the MFA on the lower left side.

Flyer from my 2005 visit to the MFA.

Wilson Castle in Vermont -- The Minute I Heard About This Place...

Wilson Castle

Physical Address: 2708 West Street, Proctor, Vermont

Mailing Address: P.O. Box 290, Center Rutland, Vermont, 05736

The minute I heard about this place, I knew I wanted to visit. Thanks to a magazine write-up about it, I was alerted to this place. Then I signed on to Wilson Castle's Facebook page, which provides information. In June, we made a visit, and I was happy to cross this off my "Bucket List." As I entered the property, I was amazed at the size. The 32 room castle sits on 115 acres in a beautiful area, north of Rutland, Vermont.  NOTE: I took these photos in 2017. They are constantly making improvements at the castle. I suggest you pay them a visit.

http://www.wilsoncastle.com/history/ From this site you learn that the castle's construction was begun in 1885 by Dr. and Mrs. Johnson, and lasted over seven years. After their death, the castle was bought and sold numerous times. It wasn't until 1939 that Colonel Herbert Wilson purchased it as a summer home. He opened it in 1962 for tours.

Grand staircase, and three stained glass panels, shown above and below.

From Wilson Castle's Facebook page, July 2018, "This massive stained glass window along with the two on each side were purchased from a deconstructed church in France and are said to be over 500 years old. They are original to the Wilson Castle and the building was designed to incorporate them. Colonel Wilson had them strengthened in the 1970s by adding the steel bars running horizontally to prevent the window from sagging from its own weight."

Front hallway, stairs to the left.

This is the room where we sat, below a Tiffany chandelier, and watched an informative DVD about the history of Wilson Castle. Just look at the ceiling.

The four photos below are of the formal living room. There are antiques from around the world, including a Louis XVI crown jewel case.

The Music Room (above and below). While looking at the photos on the piano, I mentioned I was into genealogy. I was told who these people were, by the granddaughter.

Dining Room, with Tiffany chandelier. 

Our tour guide was the granddaughter of Colonel Herbert Wilson who bought this castle. She told us that this is the place setting they used for holiday meals that were served in the dining room, shown above.

Pantry, looking into the Dining Room.

The Pink Room. Usually used for brides prior to their marriage in the castle.

Various seating areas, and bedrooms, all have great views. I read there are 84 stained glass windows!

I think the above room was done over and now looks like the photo below.

I love fireplaces, here are three of the 13 in the house.

Veranda

Something this old always needs some touch-up.

I learned there is a ballroom on the 3rd floor, now closed to visitors, but when repair work is completed, it will be open.

All statistics were confirmed by Wilson Castle on July 8, 2018. I had been given a few from my tour guide, but I didn't have the number of rooms or number of fireplaces. Searching the web showed that some sites had different figures!

As we left the property and got on the main road, we saw this view of the castle. Fortunately, a day later the above photo appeared on Wilson Castle's Facebook page, June 22, 2018 page! I called Wilson's Castle and got permission to use this on my blog.

Their Facebook page is loaded with information.

A great photo I found online in January 2026.