C and I spent 4 hours at the VAG last night and it was marvelous. The Monet-Dali show was amazing, as I had hoped, even though Vancouverites really don't seem to get that impressionism is best viewed from more than 18 inches away and the fact that it was a bit of a mob scene. Still, it was amazing. Above are two of my favorites, but it's so hard to choose. They also had quite an array of Rodins on hand, and I've been a big fan ever since a show I saw at the Smithsonian oh so many years ago. His (I think it's called ) "The Fallen Angels," an amazing piece of work in marble, was absolutely captivating. We saw more wonderful art than I can name - some beautiful Monet, Cezanne, Dali - really too much for one human brain to wrap itself around. If I have a single complaint (crowds aside) it's just the Vag's tendency to prioritize breadth over depth, and the fact that some of the pieces were in rooms that were clearly too small for them - our poor, diminutive VAG.

We escaped the crowds for awhile upstairs in the Carr and G7 display, which is actually also fantastic (even though it's Canadian - oh how we don't support our own!). C had never seen it before, so that made it even more special. I think C decided he's especially fond of the work of Arthur Lisman - one great Canadian painter, to be sure. The VAG has, however, painted most of the walls upstairs green. Umm, hello??

I'm still enchanted, even though today must now be devoted entirely to marking and school work. At least my head is full of beautiful things.