DH and I went to nearby Oshkosh WI to visit The Paine Art Center and Gardens this past Saturday, and we’re so glad we did! We specifically went to see an exhibit of Rodin sculptures they have on display right now, but the Paine mansion and gardens themselves are pretty spectacular.
The Rodin exhibit was pretty great. It featured quite a few of his statues, along with the studies that he did to prepare for the main statues themselves. It was a really good way to see how he developed the various parts of the figures and made the decisions that resulted in his final pieces. Another nice thing is that though there were two main rooms with the statues, parts of the exhibit were spread throughout the museum, so that there were Rodin things to see throughout the house.
The mansion itself is also pretty amazing. Constructed over a period of years in the 1920s, it was designed to look like an English country manor that featured several types of architecture. The craftsmanship throughout the house – wood and stone carving, art, textiles – was all just beautiful.
I spent a fair amount of time identifying the embroidery (i.e. – that’s Hardanger embroidery, that’s Battenburg lace, etc.) and other handwork on display, which I’m sure DH did not find annoying AT ALL.
And then there the gardens, plural. Beautiful formal gardens, water features, statues – all kinds of interesting outdoor spaces. We walked around for about an hour and could have spent more time still.
We’re going to keep an eye on their schedule, as it looks like they have a few events throughout the year. If you are ever in Oshkosh, check it out!
Do you have a favorite museum? Do tell!
Quite A Yarn 
Love the pic of you and DH! The place looks beautiful!
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Thank you! It was really a beautiful place!
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Very nice. I recently visited Akron Art Museum. It’s small but very contemporary in style.
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That sounds fun!
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That looks like a stunning place! I need to visit more of my local museums; we have a lot nearby since I’m so close to San Francisco, but it’s also far enough away that it’s still a bit of a hike to get there. The Walt Disney Family Museum is one that I have been to several times, though, and it’s great fun.
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That sounds pretty cool!
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The exhibition looks great. In Glasgow at the Burrell Collection I saw Rodin’s The Thinker. The original is still in Paris and this was another casting of it, it was much smaller than I’d expected. Interesting though.
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That would be cool to see 🙂 From what I gathered from the exhibit materials, he sold a lot of copies and casts of his original works.
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Wow the Paine Art Center and Gardens looks amazing, I would definitely visit there! So cool you got to identify the embroidery while visiting. You are having great adventures in Dairyland!
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Definitely! There is a lot to see and do 🙂
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