Stay in #Dallas #Texas #DMA #DallasMuseumOfArt Sept 5th

Arriving in Dallas, after collecting the car, we arrived at the apartment we had booked. This proved to be a converted warehouse type building with very modern self contained apartments.

After settling in, we decided to get something to eat and to our surprise it was even hotter here than Houston! Again, there several homeless people wandering about. Because of the heat, we were soon back in our apartment to watch television and have an early night.

​For our first day, we decided to go to the art district and soon found the Dallas Art Gallery. This proved to be a large gallery in an impressive setting. Sitting for a drink, it was interesting observing the clientele sat having lunch or  simply chatting; this was my first character study. 

The first area we entered contained contemporary art and for the first time, I can remember, we were approached by the security guard, who was gushing with information about the work on show. The rooms were set out a bit like a maze and, as with all work, some pieces appealed more than others. It is always interesting to see the work of the more well known artists such as Picasso  and one of my favourites Edward Hopper.

Moving on, it was interesting to see a large room where families could create their  own artwork. An artist here had asked people to draw a self portrait and then he would do his own painting from these images. The gallery had expected a couple of hundred  portraits but a couple of thousand at least had been done. I don't think he will ever get round to doing ours though! 

For some reason we had missed one of the main rooms, which contained the personal collection of Wendy and Emery Reves. This contained many of our favourite artists including several from the impressionists and this proved to be the highlight of the visit. 

​It was also interesting to see a set of Mondrian's paintings showing his development from tree studies to his famous abstractions.

What was impressive was the amount of sponsors who helped to finance the gallery and the work on show. It's a shame that the UK millionaires aren't as interested anymore in this type of activity and would rather buy a football club rather that enrich our heritage by supporting the arts.