Tag: photography

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Gardens of Hillwood

In the Lunar Lawn the magnolia blooms were breathtaking, along with spring blooming azaleas and dogwoods. This garden was designed for entertaining on a grand scale.
Foo Dog statue along the garden path.

Diana the Roman goddess of the hunt in the French Parterre garden, which are formal beds divided by paths.

This weekend was spent exploring the gardens on the Hillwood Estate in upper northwest Washington, and to see the varying gardens with greenhouses set on 25 acres that sit adjacent to Rock Creek Park are breathtakingly inspiring. For an entire day we were able to see what prominent landscape architects Umberto Innocenti and Richard Webel were able to do in capturing the vision of Marjorie Merriweather Post in 1950’s.

Their formal gardens extend from the house’s terraces and porches in a progression called “outdoor rooms”. Each area compliments the mansion’s interior spaces or design if you will so, as you stroll the grounds you see beauty all year long.

Hillwood Estate and Gardens
4155 Linnean Ave NW, Washington, DC 20008
{202} 686-5807

I have been stylishly inspired so, stay tuned for more from Hillwood!
K

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Women in the Arts

Lately, one of my favorite haunts has been the National Museum of Women in the Arts {NMWA}. I frequent the gallery to view the latest work dedicated to celebrating women’s achievements in the visual, performing and literary arts.

The first piece I was immediately drawn to was What if Women Ruled the World. The artist Yael Bartana explores imagery of identity and politics of her native country, Israel. What women wouldn’t want this neon sign blazed across her desk at work! Next was Spider III by Louise Bourgeois who associated maternal protectiveness with this arachnid. She frequently remarked on her mother’s shared attributes with the spider: patience, cleverness and industriousness…. personally these eight-legged critters still give me the “creepies”.

Yael Bartana (b. 1970, Kfar Yehezkel, Israel) What if Women Ruled the World, 2016

Louise Bourgeois (b. 1911, Paris; d. 2010, New York City) Spider III, 1995

Niki de Saint-Phalle (b.1930, Neuilly-sur-Seine; d.2002, La Jolla, California] Pregnant Nana, 1993

Niki de Saint-Phalle will always have a special place in my heart, after grad-school I went to Paris. Walking the Centre Pompidou and the Church of Saint-Merri I saw the Stravinsky Fountain sculptures dotted around the plaza. They were so gorgeous that I couldn’t stop taking photos of the works.

Once in the NMWA you instantly notice the signature style of de Saint-Phalle with her colorful, patterned art work, and the French term for “nana” means a woman, chick, or girlfriend.

Stay stylish,
K