magstravs: The Norton Simon Museum

This is by far the best of the LA museums. It is in Pasadena and as it only opens at 12 we went to the Huntingdon first. After problems getting lunch and such like we only arrived at 3.30 and were worried that 21/2 hours would be a quick visit so we were very unhappy when we found the guide book was wrong and it shut not at 6 but at 5. One and a half hours leaves you dashing past things you should be spending time with so if you ever want to go to an art museum in LA go here first and then decide if you can bother going anywhere else. The quality of the collection is amazing and the display is only a small part of their holdings. For example there is a room with 3 Rembrandt van Rijn portraits

but they hold another 1800 of his drawing, lithographs etc which are available only to scholars or on line, and when you've finished those you can start on the 2400 Goyas.

The quality of the paintings is exceptional and does not always come over in my snaps. For example I have never been a particular fan of Peter Paul Rubens but this portrait was just brilliant,

you wanted to stroke the embroidered velvet but that feeling doesn't come out in the snap. The depth of the collection was pretty impressive too and whoever did the lighting should give lessons to the Huntingdon.