October 26-28                       Mystic, Connecticut

As predicted, the weather on Wednesday was cloudy but there was little wind.  Once again, we were captivated by the beauty of the area surrounding the river with its lovely homes and marinas surrounded by autumnal foliage.  The journey to Mystic was smooth and uneventful.  Returning to our familiar dock at Seaport Marine was a bittersweet experience as it marked the ending of our 2011 journey on The Bottom Line.

 On the following day, I rented a car in Mystic (they rent one-way only so we have to go to Groton to rent cars to the Boston airport) and drove  approximately sixty miles to New Haven for a visit to the Yale University art museums.  The drive was entirely on I95 and traffic was slight.  Misting rain enhanced the autumn foliage of the countryside giving the red and gold leaves a richer hue and making the huge granite outcroppings shine brilliantly. 

The Paul Mellon Center for British Art is the largest collection of its kind outside the United Kingdom.  It is rich in exquisite paintings by noted British artists, Reynolds, Gainsborough Romney, Turner, and many, many more.  In addition, there are works by artists such as Canaletto and Rubens which depict British scenes.  I was delighted to see several magnificent paintings by Richard Parke Bonington, whose luminescent work at the Kimbell is one of my favorites.  Henry Raeburn’s full-length portrait of a young lad is exceptionally beautiful and J.M.W. Turner’s seascapes are representative of his flamboyant use of color and loose brushwork. 

The collection is housed in a building designed by Louis Kahn and there are similarities to the Kimbell in the use of concrete, expanses of travertine, and allowances for flexibility to facilitate installation needs.  Kahn’s distinctive touches are evident in the beautiful interior with its open spaces. The exterior is nondescript, box-like, sheathed in aluminum, and housing retail outlets at street level. It appears to be overshadowed by the magnificent Gothic chapel across the street.  

The Yale Art Museum is readily accessible in the next block and it, too, is housed in a Louis Kahn designed building.  This one was built many years before and is much more traditional than its near neighbor.  The characteristic use of concrete with rows of holes where form supports had been placed is evident here as it is in the Mellon and the Kimbell buildings. 

Yale’s art collection has benefited greatly from the generosity of benevolent alumni and their collection is comprehensive and exceptional in quality.  Displayed over four floors, there are representations of Pre-Columbian, African, Asian, American, and European art and artifacts,  ranging from medieval to modern.   There are magnificent works by Van Gogh, Bonnard, Pollock, Warhol, and many others.

I spent almost five hours touring the museums before I returned to the car and headed back to Mystic.  The rain had accelerated and the traffic had increased.  My drive home was without incident but it was tense. 

Our final night on the boat was spent in front of the television watching one of the best baseball games ever.  Finally, at almost one o’clock in the morning, we turned in after our beloved Texas Rangers had fought back time and again before eventually losing Game Six of the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. 

On Friday, we met Dan and finalized plans to leave the boat at Mystic until our return at the end of April.  We carried our heavy bags to the car, bade farewell to Andrew and Maribel, and began our trip to Boston with many, many happy memories of our summer on The Bottom Line.