Lunch and Art

 Fran, Sue, Kathy and I used to teach together: English, Spanish, French and German teachers.  We are mostly retired and now go out to lunch every few months.  Since the St. Louis Art Museum just opened a new wing, we decided to meet there for lunch and browsing.  Although we were told we should have made reservations at least 24 hours in advance, they were able to seat us.  We had turkey, curry chicken salad and trout sandwiches with a cantaloupe and peach beverage (which we at first thought was salad dressing)

After lunch we visited the new East wing which had mostly modern art---some very good and some that looked like raw hide bones.  One looked like it had pieces of my old Camaro.

 As we crossed into the "old" section we noticed  a "wishing tree".  So we each added a wish to the wishing tree.  There have been many new exhibits added outside including one with Missouri limestone  arches.

There were several old familiar pieces, then I noticed this French portrait next to a bust of Louis XIV and said, "I think I know who this is---a relative of mine who was married to Louis XIV after she was his mistress---Francoise d'Aubigne' " (click on the link to see several of her portraits) But the chins look a little different. . . artistic license?

Madame de Maintenon

Portrait of a Woman

Madame de Maintenon AKA Francoise d'Aubigne

For more than you want to know about my genealogy, click here.

 The St. Francis above is one of my favorites because it looks so  contemporary with the browns---love the lines and the light.  Below is a painting that both Fran and her sister have copies of in their homes:  New York City near Central Park on a rainy day.