Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art – North Adams, Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) is a museum located in the old Arnold Print Works Factory building complex in North Adams, Massachusetts. Built by the Arnold Print Works, which operated on the site from 1860 to 1942, the complex was opened with 100,000 square feet of exhibit space in the late 1980s after a series of fundraising efforts. In 2008 the site was expanded to 130,000 square feet. This is one of the largest centers for contemporary art in the United States. The large space allows room for very large art pieces and is also a center for performing arts in the area. The museum and performing arts center has attracted interest from around the country and has revitalized the entire area attracting artists and tourists alike.

The space itself is worth a visit for its 19th century architecture

Monumental pieces on display

Smaller pieces interspersed

Walls themselves are works of art

Interactive light show

Currier Museum of Art – Manchester, New Hampshire

The Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. features European and American paintings, decorative arts, photographs and sculpture. The permanent collection includes works by Picasso, Matisse, Monet, Wyeth and Saint-Gaudens.

Main entrance

Spacious interior

Standing Lincoln bronze cast circa 1910 – Augustus Saint Gaudens

Saint-Gaudens bas-relief of Robert Louis Stevenson

Another Saint-Gaudens for the Adams Memorial

Spindrift by Andrew Wyeth

Woman Seated in a Chair by Pablo Picasso (1941)
The Bridge at Bougival (1869) Claude Monet

Alex has an appreciation for modern art

The painting, sculpture and decorative art are mixed throughout the collection

There is a modest collection of modern art

The Body in Art was the current exhibition

 

Queluz Palace – Queluz, Portugal

The Palace of Queluz is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe, the palace was conceived as a summer retreat for Dom Pedro of Braganza, later to become husband and then king consort to his own niece, Queen Maria I. It served as a discreet place of incarceration for Queen Maria as her descent into madness continued in the years following Dom Pedro’s death in 1786. Following the destruction by fire of the Ajuda Palace in 1794, Queluz Palace became the official residence of the Portuguese prince regent John VI, and his family and remained so until the royal family fled to the Portuguese colony of Brazil in 1807 following the French invasion of Portugal. Work on the palace began in 1747 under Portuguese architect Mateus Vicente de Oliveira. Despite being far smaller, the palace is often referred to as the Portuguese Versailles. One wing of the palace, the Queen Maria I Pavilion, built by Manuel Caetano de Sousa, is currently used as Portugal’s official state guest house, allocated to foreign heads of state.
The grounds and gardens of the palace are a great place to start your exploration.

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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos

The statue of Maria I is on the grounds.

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Other statues also adorn the grounds.

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The Queluz Canal is beautiful with its azulejos tiles.

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The Robillion Staircase leads to just one of many beautiful buildings.

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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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The interior is nothing but spectacular.

New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos
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New photo by Wanderlust Family Adventure / Google Photos