Fine Art Connoisseur magazine
Cover art: Eileen Hogan (b. 1948), “His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales” (Version 2, detail), 2016, oil, wax, and charcoal on paper, mounted on board, 34 1/4 x 34 1/4 in. (overall), Garden Museum, London

Fine Art Connoisseur May/June 2019, Editor’s Note:

All Aboard for Art

Each year, Fine Art Connoisseur leads a small group of art lovers on a VIP tour that visits an area of the world renowned for its artistic heritage. The distinguishing factors are that we can access private collections, artists’ studios, and museum galleries that other travelers don’t see, that I contextualize the visits with illustrated lectures that lay out why this art matters, and that we enjoy on-site commentary from curators and seasoned experts who live in the community. They are not just tour guides, but professional colleagues who really know their art.

It is truly hard to believe that a decade has passed since Fine Art Connoisseur launched this travel program, which has featured adventures in such countries as Russia, Italy, and Holland. Now we are turning our attention to the South of France.

Yes, this autumn our merry band will explore Provence (staying in Saint-Rémy October 11–15) and then the Riviera (staying in Nice October 15–19). Beyond the sunny weather, breathtaking scenery, delicious cuisine, and friendly hospitality, we will see how this region influenced the artistry of such masters as Paul Cézanne, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Marc Chagall.

In Provence our destinations will include the:
• Musée Estrine, with its interpretation center about Van Gogh, who lived here in 1889–90
• Saint-Paul de Mausole, the monastery where Van Gogh stayed
• Carrières des Lumières, an unforgettable light installation in Les Baux de Provence
• The pretty town of Aix-en-Provence with its outstanding Musée Granet
• Located in and around Aix are important sites related to Cézanne: Les Lauves, Jas de Bouffan, Bibemus Quarries, and Mont Saint-Victoire
• Marseille has fine museums and historic buildings, including the Museum of Fine Arts, and the Musée des Civilisations de l’Europe et de la Mediteranée
• The Centre Interdisciplinaire de Conservation et Restauration de Patrimoine
• Cassis: the Camargo Foundation, a private artist-residency campus overlooking the sea
• Avignon: medieval architecture and Musée Angladon (Collection Jacques Doucet)
• Arles, where Van Gogh lived 1888–89, including the Musée Réattu and Roman Arena

After we settle in at Nice’s famous Hotel Negresco, our destinations on the Riviera will include the:
• Musée Matisse
• Musée National Marc Chagall
• Saint Paul de Vence: Fondation Maeght
• Vence: The Rosary Chapel designed by Henri Matisse
• Antibes: Musée Picasso at Vallauris
• Le Cannet: Musée Bonnard
• Mandelieu-la-Napoule: Chateau de la Napoule
• St Jean Cap Ferrat: Villa Ephrussi, Villa Kerylos, Villa Santo Sospir
• Monaco, with its impressive new art museum

For our optional four-night post-trip, we have cooked up something special. So many of our previous guests asked that we visit Scotland that we decided to take a non-stop flight from Nice to Edinburgh, where we will settle in at the Scottish capital’s most prestigious hotel, the Balmoral, in the heart of town. Edinburgh is filled with great art and architecture, so we will keep busy here (October 19–23), adding in a few jaunts into the lovely green hills nearby. Our destinations here will include the:

• Scottish National Gallery
• Holyrood Palace and the adjacent Queen’s Gallery
• The Georgian House
• Edinburgh Castle
• Royal Scottish Academy of Art and Archi-tecture
• The Royal Yacht HMS Britannia
• Phoebe Anna Traquair’s murals in two his-toric churches
• Dovecot (an extraordinary tapestry weav-ing workshop)
• The Fine Art Society
• Lyon & Turnbull auctioneers
• Scottish National Portrait Gallery
• Hopetoun House
• A day in the Borders near Edinburgh

I truly hope you can join us for some or all of these adventures, and we look forward to answering any questions you may have. For details or to reserve your seat, please visit finearttrip.com/france or contact our marvelous travel coordinator, Gabriel Haigazian ([email protected]).

See you in France this fall!

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