Beatrix Potter: The Picture Letters

This past weekend I returned to The Morgan Library and Museum, this time in the company of Claire and Jenna. The exhibit featuring Beatrix Potter's picture letters was the primary draw, although we also enjoyed a trip through Pierpont Morgan's study and library. It was during my first trip to the Morgan last April that I spotted one of her picture letters ("The Big Elephant is Dead"). That particular letter was not displayed in this exhibition; however, we left with an even greater appreciation of Miss Potter's craft and devotion to the minute visual details of the natural world.

Since this was just an eight-hour day trip, we saved time by taking a cab down to Tribeca for lunch at Aamaans-Copenhagen (New York City cab rates are a bargain for DC residents, anyway). There we enjoyed Danish Smørrebrød accompanying our fish entrees, rounded off with a tasty platter of three cheeses, spreads and more of that delicious brown bread. Claire and I selected a Prosecco to go with our brunch; Jenna ordered a hot chocolate. 

Claire and I then capped off the afternoon with a fascinating tour of the scandalous world of art forgery at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. With great enthusiasm and a deep knowledge of ancient cultures, our brilliant tour guide, Erin Thompson, showed us how to spot a forged work of art. We left the museum with a completely new appreciation for the cutthroat business of acquisition and the shadowy practices that sometimes accompany the need to establish provenance. Yes, folks, that ancient Greek statue may not be all it seems ....