I took a little journey today up to one of my favorite places in the LA area: the Huntington Library. For those who’ve never been there, it’s actually so much more than just a library. It’s a huge botanical garden, which also houses an amazing art museum. To me, that’s heaven right there.
I felt the urgent urge to go today, because an exhibit I wanted to see (Venice: Real and Imagined) is closing on Monday. There is also an exhibit of British artist Celia Paul’s work that looked interesting. So off I went.
I got started later than I had planned and that turned out to almost be a disaster. I had forgotten that there’s always something going on at the Huntington on the weekends and today was no exception. The parking lot was so full I almost turned around and left. I would have gone to the LA Arboretum instead (I passed it on the way!), but the exhibits and the hour drive from my house to get there made me keep looking for a spot. After a short while of roaming, my persistence paid off and someone pulled out right as I was coming upon them.
The exhibits at the Huntington tend to be small and these two were each confined to just one room. Still, the art in both was lovely, particularly the Celia Paul one. I’d never heard of her before but I loved her paintings. Very impressionistic. (I don’t know anything about art, really, but I love Impressionism!)
I spent a little time in the gardens afterward…can’t leave without doing that! Camellia’s are in bloom right now, so I headed to the Chinese garden section. I was treated to lovely views of a cormorant and some egrets who were enjoying the lake.
This visit was bookended by trips to the Huntington’s cafe (a very nice place to have lunch) and the gift shop (disappointing lack of Celia Paul post cards). All-in-all I had a good day.
