Sunday, April 17, 2011

A Day at The Frick


Yesterday, I took my eleven-year-old daughter, Samantha, to the Frick. I originally wanted to take her to the Guggenheim, but it had sold out when I tried to purchase tickets on the internet at 6:00 am that morning. I was a little disappointed because there were some really great exhibits there this weekend, but, as it turned out, going to the Frick was a better choice because the Frick collection contains the best of the best of some the earliest masters.

This was Samantha’s first time at an art museum, and I was anxious to see how she reacted to really fine art. I was pleasantly surprised by her delight at everything she took in. She was astounded by the amazing architecture, the gorgeous antique furniture, the paintings that she studied with utter fascination, Frick’s taste in delicate statues and even the splendid Persian rugs that covered the floors of the main rooms.

We both took audio devices, and next to each painting or statue was a number which you punched in and then hit play. Samantha wanted to know about every single piece, and was fascinated by the short discourses about the artists and their work. Although Frick was not a major fan of the Impressionists, he did have a few important pieces. Samantha fell in love with them. I explained to her that Frick’s collection of Impressionism was atypical because the ones he chose were somewhat dark, unlike the majority of the movement, where everything was depicted in soft pastels and full of light. I will take her to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where there is a much more extensive collection of Impressionist work.

We stayed several hours until we both got hungry and had seen every major piece. I took her to Lumi on Lexington and 70th, a really fine Italian restaurant. Samantha had the ravioli and I had fettuccine Bolognese. The food was extraordinary and Samantha was happy. After lunch we shared a delicious piece of chocolate cake, and I finished with a cappuccino.

As we left the restaurant it started raining in buckets, so we decided to go back up to Rockland County to the Palisades Mall and go see a movie. Thankfully the traffic wasn’t bad, considering how hard it was raining. Samantha said she wanted to see “Hanna.” The movie didn’t start for another hour and a half, and Samantha said she wanted ice cream from the Cold Stone Creamery. The ingredients she chose were pretty creative—strawberries, chocolate chips, walnuts and peanut butter in vanilla ice cream. They slap the ice cream on a frozen stone, throw in the ingredients and mix them all together using two putty knives. Too rich for me, but Samantha loved it.

We walked around the huge mall and did a bit of window shopping. I bought her a really cool cover for her iPhone 4—a picture of a tiger stalking its way toward you on the back. The movie started and we were lucky to have gotten there early to get the seats Samantha wanted because the theatre was packed. Hanna was a great action/thriller, and I was riveted throughout the entire show. Samantha loved it just as much as I did. She said she wanted to be Hanna in the sequel. We talked about the movie, and Samantha said that Hanna only wanted to be happy and have a normal life. She was convinced she got what she wanted.

It was time to take her home, so we got in my car and started up the Palisades Parkway to Spring Valley. We both had a wonderful day, and I know this will be a day she will cherish forever. I hope there will be many more like this one with both of my kids. It’s really too bad Andrew’s autism would never allow him the patience to enjoy an art museum, but there are so many other things that he can enjoy, and I will be there to make sure that he enjoys all that he can.


Love to all!


James M. Weil

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