Today James and I visited an AWESOME museum. Seriously. I find my favorite museums tend to be "collector" museums--places like the Isabella Stewart Gardner in Boston or the Frick in New York that are basically just rich people's mansions housing their amazingly fabulous collections of stuff.
Hillwood in Washington, DC is no exception. But James and I enjoyed it even more because it houses the largest collection of Russian art outside of Russia. Marjorie Merriweather Post, the Post cereal heiress, married four times, and one of her (many) husbands was the U.S. Ambassador to the Soviet Union in the 30s. Since the Soviet government decided right about then to get rid of all the remnants of Imperial Russia, the country was pretty much the most amazing flea market ever, if flea markets contained priceless treasures belonging to royalty.
Marriage crown of Alexandra, Nicholas II's wife? Imperial Faberge eggs? Catherine the Great's china? Check, check, and check. It's pretty amazing stuff.
Plus, right now they are having a fun exhibition of photographs of the Soviet Union taken by Mrs. Post's step-daughter, the Ambassador's daughter. Great fun and definitely hearkens back to an earlier era of diplomacy.
Highly recommended, my friends.
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So glad you enjoyed your visit, Katie. Be sure to come back for the amazing spring gardens and Wedding Belles, an exhibition of Mrs. Post's wedding gowns and more, this June. Thanks for your great words about Hillwood. Great blog!
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