"The American Hispanic Society pt 2"

 

As I mentioned in the previous entry, the American Hispanic Society has many Spanish Masters' works.  
After we finished the main floor we proceeded upstairs.  

Notable among 16th century paintings are The Portrait of the Duke of Alba by Antonis Mor(1516 /19 ~1576), The Holy Family by El Greco(1541 ~1614), and three portraits by Diego Velazquez(1599 ~ 1660).  And of course you can find more works by Francisco de Goya(1746b ~1828).

But for me balcony itself was worth going to see, you will feel the true essence of Spain from the design of the main room.  
Staircases and doorways are so diferrent from any other museum in this city.  

Here are some of those paintings I found at the balcony.  

The last photo of the Painting is another one by Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida(1863 ~1923). They are showing two more works by Sorolla, but they are too big for me to take a photo.

The Hispanic Society has many Decorative Arts from Spain, Portugal, Latin America, and other countries.  

Our guide told us that Ceramics represent one of the most significant facets of the collection, ranging from 3000 year old Bell-Beaker Pottery to contemporary works. The collection of Spanish Luster-wear, numbering over 150 pieces, is considered the finest in the United State.

Other Decorative Arts include silver, glass-wear, secular, and ecclesiastical furniture, decorative iron-work, and textiles dating from the 15th ~19th Centuries.

I liked very much their Luster-wear, those Shiny Golden Plates & Bowls are just fantastic.  Come to think of it, I do have some antique ones in my kitchen.

In addition to Ancient and Classical Sculpture, the Hispanic Society collection contains Islamic and Christian Religious Works dating from Middle Ages to the early 20th century.

With more than 600,000 books, manuscripts, documents, and letters dating from the 10th century to the present day, the Library on the Hispanic Society offers resources for researchers interested in the history and culture of the Spanish (and Portuguese) speaking world.

When you get to the Library section you will see walls covered with those small drawers all the way to the ceiling.  

That is the kind of walls I'd love to have even if I don't have that many library cards.  Can you imagine how easy to organize your recipes or your hankies & sox, if we have these wall of small drawers in our home ?

           Even if you are out of the Museum, 

           you feel like you are somewhere in Europe.

    Can you believe you will see this kind of scenery in Manhattan ?

    You could take many pictures without fighting with other visitors.

    When I visited, almost no one else was taking photos in the court yard.