Category: Other Art

Beaverbrook Trio

In late November ’25, Monica and I along with our son, Ryan, visited the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton to see three new exhibits: (each title below will link you a Google Photo Album for that exhibit)

A Family Journey: the Private Collections of the Sobey Family. It was fascinating to learn about the family’s humble beginnings in the early 1900s and the rise to riches over the next century. Also the impressive family philanthropy across all aspects of society, most notably Health, Education and the Arts.
Icons: Portraits of Women. These pieces are all part of the Beaverbrook permanent collection and together make a wonderful exhibit on a theme.
Leaders in the Field: the History and Legacy of Art at Mount Allison University. This was of particular interest to both Monica and me since we both attended Mount A. One of the artists, Dan Steeves, was a fellow floor resident at Bigelow House at the same time as me.

Other Art

Beaverbrook Gallery Exhibits Tour

Post author By nellyglass
Post date August 30, 2025
1 Comment on Beaverbrook Gallery Exhibits Tour

Monica and I enjoyed an inspiring late August Friday afternoon at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton. We went specifically to see the Canadian Impressionism exhibit but also enjoyed several other exhibits at the same time.

Here are six Google Photos albums highlighting our visit.

Good for Mind and Body

For a change of view, Monica and I went uptown today for our daily walk. The sun was out and the wind was calm. We parked our car at the Brunswicker (frigate terminal) and walked to the Saint John Arts Center to take in two exhibitions: Delights (Fabric Art) and High Schools Student Art. Then a stroll through the city market and some window shopping along the streets. Lunch was at Ta-Ke Sushi and then the walk back to the car. Total walking distance was 5 kms.

Other Art

Beaverbrook Art Fix

Monica and I, along with our son Ryan, had a wonderful visit to the Beaverbrook Art Gallery in Fredericton to see two amazing exhibits:

Radical Stitch (bead and embroidery)

Tom Thompson – North Star

The Beaverbrook is a favorite of ours. It’s big, bright and beautiful inside but small enough that you can see everything in a couple of hours. We always make sure to visit all the wing galleries even when we’re there for a specific exhibition.

The first exhibit was titled Radical Stitch. We saw many articles from suits of beautifully embroidered clothing to a variety of articles and wall art made out of thousands of tiny beads sewn onto cloth. We even met the Beaverbrook’s Artist in residence, Mel Beaullieu, and got to watch They/Them making art. Fascinating!

Next we saw the Tom Thompson exhibit. It was amazing to see so many of his paintings all together at once. They were curated from several galleries and private collectors. Great historical placards also on his life and work. Such a tragic end to his young life… in a canoeing accident on Canoe Lake. It must have been a favorite spot of his… there are paintings in this exhibit of Canoe Lake from 1915 and ’16. He was back there again in 1917, that’s where and when he died.

home life Other Art

A gallery and hop to dinner

Post author By nellyglass
Post date January 26, 2020
2 Comments on A gallery and hop to dinner

Monica and I visited our son, Ryan, in Fredericton on a mild Saturday in January. Our family destination was the Beaverbrook Art Gallery to enjoy the excellent 1-hour guided tour through the various exhibits and permanent collections. It was our first time at this gallery since the new wing was added in 2017. It is a beautiful space full of light.

After the gallery, the three of us hopped next door to Issac’s Way for a delicious meal and stimulating conversation as we recollected our gallery experience. This restaurant is also a venue for emerging artists and displays works on all the walls. Patrons can bid to purchase the artworks in a silent auction format that lasts for several weeks. It’s genius marketing as it keeps partons coming back to the restaurant to check if their latest bid is still on top.

It was a fun afternoon. I enjoy going through the photos again and again 😀

Eastern Canada 2019 Other Art

Toronto – 7 churches and the AGO

Post author By nellyglass
Post date May 23, 2019
No Comments on Toronto – 7 churches and the AGO

Monica’s navigation skills are superb. She took us into East-end Toronto amid bumper to bumper lunch time traffic on the 401 and the Don Valley Parkway. It baffled me how the traffic continuously went from 130 km/hr to zero and then back up again. Here is the chronological list of events over the next two days:

We stopped for a moment in the Don Mills neighborhood to visit St. Brigid’s church. Lucky to get in as carpenters were working there getting ready for the church’s 100th anniversary. Guido Nincheri windows!
Through downtown Toronto white-knuckled on the Gardiner Expressway (!!!)
Stop in Port Credit for a quick bite. Cute town with lots of shops and restaurants.
Arrived at Monica’s sister’s house mid-afternoon. Marg and Gary welcomed us and we enjoyed a warm sunny afternoon on the back patio.
Marg and Gary’s entire family came to dinner (her two children with their spouses and children plus the family dog). Thirteen in total, we had a delicious home-cooked ham dinner. So great to see everyone and very appreciative they would all take the time to come and see us.
The next morning, Mon and I hopped the Go Train to downtown Toronto. The day’s agenda was packed as follows:
St. James Cathedral – gothic, dark, tall narrow windows. Interesting note: this was my 200th church that I have officially documented the stained glass! That was a happy mile stone for me 😁
Metropolitan United Cathedral- neo-gothic, less ornate, we had it all to ourselves. The east window was not illuminated on this day. The church is looking like it needs some sprucing up.
St. Michael’s Basilica- dark, wonderful stained glass, blue/red rose window.
Church of the Holy Trinity – nestled in a courtyard amid towering skyscrapers, small and simple, very old, lucky to get in as they were just about to start a music concert. Folks were seating as I quickly snapped my pics.
Lunch at The Village Idiot Pub (Village Idiot salad with tuna and anchovies)
St. Patrick’s Cathedral- stunning windows, lots of tourists there just like me.
The Art Gallery of Ontario where we spent two hours admiring the collections: Inuit sculpture and Group of Seven paintings (Lawren Harris is my fav) were the highlights for me. Great views of downtown and the CN Tower from the 5th floor.
St. Andrews Presbyterian – had it all to ourselves, lovely windows and wrap-around second level pews.
Back to Marg’s house to relax, share stories of the day and blog.

Here are the photo highlights of Toronto – 7 churches and the AGO

Eastern Canada 2019 Other Art

The National Gallery of Canada

Post author By nellyglass
Post date May 19, 2019
No Comments on The National Gallery of Canada

The day dawned with sunshine 😀

We checked out of our hotel, got in the car and headed to the Byward Market before 9am. There, we parked the car for the next four hours and set out on foot. Since the art gallery does not open until 10am, we had a calculated hour to fill in.
First visit was to Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica to see the stained glass by Guido Nincheri. We’ve seen alot of his work on this trip and are starting to see some repeat patterns but always something new as well. This church is exquisite with its starry-sky blue ceiling.
We strolled through Byward Market as the flower venders were just setting up their tables. The sunshine had everyone smiling.
We strolled through Major’s Hill Park for some postcard shots of Parlament Hill and to enjoy the tulips. They were smiling also with the sunshine.
Finally we spent 3 hours in the National Art Gallery perusing the collections, seeing work by many of our favorite artists and discovering some new ones. Fascinating! I took many photos for studying later.
By 1pm we were driving away from Ottawa toward Arnprior on the shores of the Ottawa River. There has been devastating flooding here this spring and the water is still disturbingly high.
We arrived at our friends, Doug and Nancy York, and enjoyed a wonderful afternoon chatting and enjoying the many bird species coming to their feeders. The Baltimore Orioles put on the brightest show with close competition from the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks.
Doug and Nancy prepared a savory meal of barbequed filet mingnon, baked potatoes and asperagus followed by limoncello mousse. We were totally spoiled and very appreciative for a home-cooked meal!
Bedtime was with the windows open. No big city sounds, just the wood frogs peeping. I love that!

Here are the day’s photos: The National Gallery of Canada

Other Art Spain-Portugal 2018

21 – The Museum Mile

This is our last day… tomorrow we will go home. While Maneau and Jake opted to see the sights in the west end (the Almudena Cathedral, Royal Palace and Plaza Espana), Monica and I completed Madrid’s famous Golden Triangle of Art; the Thyssen-Bornemisza, the Reina Sophia and the Prado.

We started with a hearty breakfast just around the corner consisting of strong coffee, scrambled eggs with half-cooked bacon and hot dogs!! Protein for walking and away we went.

Our first stop was at a gorgeous little church off Gran Via called the Real Oratorio del Caballero de Gracie. It is small and cosy with beautiful frescoes in the dome and “one of Madrid’s best statues of the crucifix”. There is only one stained glass window but that is what drew me… The Last Supper window is exquisite.

Then we bought a 3-museum pass and started with the Thyssen-Bornmisza. This is such a fantastic museum holding works by the greatest renaissance and contemporary masters. Best thing about this museum is you can take photos 😀. I have posted just a sample of our favorites.

Next we found a quick lunch spot right across the plaza from our next museum. We quickly scarfed down our caesar salad and pizza and headed for the Reina Sophia. This is a contemporary art museum featuring works by Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso, among others. It was weird and wonderful and some of the art was beyond contemplation. Although photos were allowed in most exhibitions, they were not allowed on the Picasso floor. The most famous piece is his “Guernica”, which I fondly remember from my Grade 11 History textbook. So, I downloaded a photo from the internet to include in my post. It is an absolutely haunting depiction of the Spanish civil war.

Almost tired now, we pushed on to the third and largest museum, the Prado. Absolutely no photos allowed anywhere inside the museum 😯 so I have downloaded and included four of the more famous artworks. I can only say this is a stunning museum with incredible artwork from the 12th to 18th centuries. The Raphael’s and Ruben’s are beyond exquisite. After an hour and a half, Mon and I were rushing to get through because fatigue was upon us. One could easily spend an entire day here.

We staggered home to regroup with Maneau and Jake to share stories of our day, snacks of M’nMs and chips and start the packing process. We have covered so much in the past three weeks, our minds are exploded and our bodies worn out. Absolutely fantastic, we can’t quite find the right words. We will sleep and dream of Spain and Portugal. Thank you to Maneau and Jake for being such excellent travel companions and thank you to Monica for coordinating the entire trip… you rock, Mon!

Here are the photo highlights of Day 21- The Museum Mile

home life Important Dates to Celebrate Other Art Saint John

Family Gallery Hop

As a pre-father’s day celebration, Monica and I were treated today by our daughter, Sarah, to lunch uptown at Cask ‘n Kettle. Then the three of us enjoyed a round the block Gallery Hop to seven fine arts shops all within easy walking.

I am very spoiled and so fortunate and happy to be so.

Other Art USA 2017

6 – New Philadelphia

For our last day in Philadelphia, Mon and I caught the train downtown for some sightseeing in the business and cultural districts. The weather man called for rain so we dressed appropriately; long sleeves and rain jackets. But the weatherman was wrong and by 9:00 it was clear blue skies and inching up over 20 degrees. We were already sweating when we got off the train.

It was just a short walk to Logan Square where we saw the beautiful Swann Memorial Fountain, the parade of Nations flags and the gorgeous Bacilica of Saints Peter and Paul (see Gallery/World Windows for all photos).

Then we proceeded along Benjamin Franklin Parkway toward the Philadelphia Museum of Art, stopping first to visit the Rodin museum along the way. Most of his more notable sculptures were on display but my favorite was the massive “Gates of Hell” which Rodin worked on for 37 years until his death in 1917.

Arriving at the foot of the stairs to the Art museum, we had our photo taken with the famous Rocky Balboa sculpture and then climbed the steps to enter the museum. Three hours later we emerged overwhelmed by this vast collection of art from America, Europe, and Asia covering 3000 years of art history. Really fascinating and equally as impressive at other major museums we have visited.

Right next door to the art museum is the Perlman Building (part of the Art Museum complex). There we saw the library and archives of the work of Violet Oakley and the Red Rose Girls (female Philadelphia illustraters). Violet was the woman who painted the murals in the First Presbyterian Church in Germantown we saw yesterday. We also saw the painted glass work of Lino Tagliapietra who Dale Chihuly called “perhaps the greatest living glass blower in the world”. Awesome!

By 2:00 pm it was 27 degrees and blazing sun. So instead of walking, we caught the bus to Rittenhouse Square to enjoy the beautiful flowers and several public sculptures amid the gardens. The park was full of people (some quite colorful) enjoying this lovely afternoon.

Right around the corner of the square, we found a delightful Italian restaurant, D’Angelo’s, and gorged on salad and pasta (anchovie for me and bolognese for Mon).

After dinner, and too full to stride along with determination, we shuffled slowly through the park and along the busy streets, through the courtyard of City Hall and finally to the Jefferson train station to catch to 7:00 train home to Chestnut Hill. Another memorable day with lots of photos to sort through. Tomorrow we leave Philadelphia and head to Amish Country.

Here are the photo highlights of day 6 – New Philadelphia

home life Other Art

Winter 2015 Art Gallery

Ahhhh… now that’s the stuff. A fantastic January Saturday at home. A lovely pink sky morning offered up a photo-op before this bright beautiful day of productive chores: mega laundry, bottling a batch of wine, tidying the garage and moving furniture (Monica’s going to paint something), shredding old bills and paperwork (smiley face) and of course enjoying an afternoon glass of the new wine while blogging some photos (last part not very productive but VERY relaxing).

Once the camera is in hand, I just can’t help myself as I wander through the house enjoying various art forms. Snap, snap, delete, snap, snap, delete.

Starting with first light – well not quite. I laid around in bed until 7:15 this morning which is late for me… but felt really nice. Yawn! Coming downstairs I saw the sun just coming up over the neighbor’s house so I grabbed the camera – snap. First photo of the day!

Looking out a little closer I could see the curious deer had been right up to my living room window in the night. Hmph! That’s why I can’t have a bird feeder. I’m on to you, deer! Nevertheless, the fresh snow from yesterday cast a glow in the early morning. Really quite pretty if you like snow – which some of you do.

Then, continuing around the house I realized we have quite a few pieces of art with winter themes. So I thought I’d share them with you. Here is a quick tour through the gallery to lift your spirits on this early January day. Hope you enjoy.

In the kitchen is our Jane Wooster Scott print titled Alpine Constitutional. We got this in North Conway in 1990 on a trip to Ontario and back through the States. Ryan was 4 and Sarah was 2. That was the same trip Ryan threw Sarah’s rubber pants out the car window. What memories.

Also on the same trip I bought these two oil paintings. They are among my favorites. The Villiage of Conway and Mount Washington. The artist, Richard Packer, is deceased now but I remember running into his gallery while Mon and the kids waited in the old blue Dodge Caravan. He was there and he noticed me admiring these oils. I was torn – I really wanted them but the price was quite high and I knew we were just about broke by this point in our trip. So, I followed my heart and I bought them. I’ve never regretted it. I love them every time I look at them.

Wandering downstairs to the family room, I discovered we forgot to put away the treetop snowflake. There it was on the window sill. And, it made a lovely photo with a bit of stained glass for color.

Also in the family room is the Winter Gazebo print that Marlene gave us. It has little battery powered LED lights that show off the winter details: snow on the branches, cardinals in the tree and at the feeder, squirrel and other little birds on the ground. How inviting is that. I want to go there.

Here is a winter print by Linda Nelson Stocks. If you can zoom in on this, the details are incredible.

I couldn’t resist taking a close up to show Monica reflecting in the corner surfing on her i-pad.

Finally, a prized painting by my Grandfather, Spurgeon Keith (Mom’s dad). “Sugar Woods” hung in my Mother and Father’s house in recent years and my Uncle Harold’s house before that. It would be from my grandfather that I inherited my love of art and any artistic talent he passed on to me. I admire him more and more as I get older.

Well, that’s it. Hope you enjoyed a quick tour through the winter art gallery.

Happy January, everyone! As you bundle up against the cold in your own winter wonderland, dream of warm beaches in far away lands. I know I will be 🙂