The Blanton (Belatedly)

When I first moved to Austin a dozen years ago, it occured to me that there were just three things keeping it from being a true metropolis - a rapid transit system, a major art museum, and the availability of good donuts downtown.

We're still awaiting the first - and thankfully both Whole Foods and BakerMan's Bakery have taken care of the third - but now we finally have the second in the form of the long-awaited Blanton Museum of Art at UT.

I had the pleasure of visiting it on opening day (April 30), but haven't had the chance to write about it until now (given the arrival of RoboBaby and all). It's inspiring, even in its unfinished form (the main two-story, 124,000 sq. ft. Michener Gallery is now open, with an adjacent 56,000 sq. ft. Education and Visitor Center due within a year). The first floor hosts rotating exhibitions (currently Paul Chan and New Now Next), while the second floor is home to a showcase of the Blanton's permanent collections, representing 300 European paintings (primarily Italian Renaissance and Baroque), over 400 works of American and Contemporary art (from 1875 to the present), and over 2,000 works of Latin American art (from more than 600 artists). Shown here is one of my favorite pieces, Giovanni Francesco Barbieri's Personification of Astrology (circa 1650-1655).

This is a real museum - the largest university art museum in the country, and the third largest museum in Texas - and well worth a visit. (Thursdays offer longer hours and free admission, and it's always free for members.)