william blake, jane austen, and puccini exhibits at the morgan library

it seemed strange to take the weekend off from races (although i did get in a pair of ten milers - but that's for a different post). it was even stranger to spend a good chunk a perfect running day inside - even if that interior space happened to be the morgan library! i've been a huge fan of the morgan since the early 1980's - going there during my college years to check out their unrivaled collection of "books of hours!"

i became even more fascinated with the musuem and its collections after i read "the house of morgan" a few years ago. what made me especially keen about visiting the museum was the william blake exhibit - and the 21 book of job watercolors on display! ever since i read william safire's take on the book of job - profusely illustrated with blake's work - i've wanted to see these watercolors up close.

the jane austen exhibit was a great bonus. i don't count myself a fan of austen - the 19th century russians (dostoevsky, in particular) are more my cup of tea. but the relics of her writing life were fun to see (along with the film commissioned for the exhibit). puccini was an even bigger surprise - albeit much smaller exhibit.

if you happen to be at 36th street and madison - stop in for a visit!