The Art Institute of Chicago....

We flew into Chicago on Thursday, and had about three inches of snow fall, reminding me of my childhood in Iowa. It melted today, so I was able to get to the Art Institute easily. It's the first large art museum I ever visited, and made a profound impact. I had taken the train in to Chicago to view an extraordinary exhibit that had come from France, including Matisse's large painting of the Five Muses in a circle dance. It was also the first time I ever saw a large sculpture, in that case Rodin's "Adam." This is a wonderful, well-used museum that keeps expanding in a thoughtful way. The Jasper Johns exhibit called "Gray," put together by the Met, did not disappoint. While there, I had time to take a trip down memory lane through galleries of Impressionist paintings, and then sit with a cup of tea looking out at Lake Michigan. My cold is still with me, and a cough, so took a cab back to the hotel after walking my couple of miles inside the Institute.