Visiting Glenstone museum

 Glenstone is a private, but open to the public art museum near Travilah.  Entry is free but you do need to get tickets in advance (except if you are a student, educator, or show up on the Ride-On Route 301 bus, see website for full details).  Glenstone focuses on post WWII art as well as distinctive architecture in a natural setting.  There is lots of walking, but most of the trails are paved. Most of the art is in the galleries, but there is quite a bit outside too.  The Museum's address is 12100 Glen Road, Potomac, Maryland 20854.

Interior courtyard

I really like the architecture, it is almost brutalist in that you have lots of flat gray walls, but instead of concrete, the walls are covered in rectangular slaps of stone (both outside and inside the building). The courtyard is almost entirely this water feature which, during the summer has more plants growing in it.  There is a deck and a bench so you can go outside and sit for a while.

 I went there for the first time this week.  Prior to this I had heard about Glenstone mostly because it's non-profit status was questioned. At the time, it was only open a few days a month and didn't allow many visitors.  The question was if it was a true non-profit or just a tax shelter.  I can't say whether that was true at the time, but now it has clearly moved beyond that and there is no question that it was built for the public to view. 

 

The lake

This is from outside the original gallery, you look across a lawn to a large pond, on onto the Rales house (where the founder of the museum lives. It's nice to be a billionaire). The trees on the far side are just starting to turn green. 

 Photography isn't allowed inside the buildings, but it is allowed outside, so these (and most pictures you'll see online) are from outside.  There are photos of some of the inside art on the Glenstone website if you want to see it.

“As Long As the Sun Lasts” by Alex Da Corte’s

It's Big Bird, but blue.  There was a movie in 1985, "Follow that Bird" where Big Bird gets painted blue, this sculpture references that.  It is set on a hill that slopes down to the pond and yes, it does rotate in the breeze.

 You can easily spend the whole day here and not see everything.  There is a cafe and a patio spot where beverages and pastries are sold.

Four Rounds: Equal Weight, Unequal Measure. Richard Serra

The museum has multiple Richard Serra works, this one is four cylinders that are different sizes but each is the same weight. It is housed in a custom built pavilion set off in the woods.  The pavilion is in the brutalist style and from the outside it just looks like an undistinguished block of concrete.  Inside however, it really showcases the sculpture and adds to the experience.