Stopover on our way back in Tampa on the west coast, to spend the weekend with the LeBels at their newly acquired place. Top-floor condo in secluded area, on golf course, with a superb view on the Gulf of Mexico, on the Clearwater – St-Petersburg peninsula, the ideal southern retreat from the snowy cold-biting winters of the North!
Fabulous sandy beaches, 35 miles of it, on the Gulf side of the peninsula. Have time to walk along only a tiny part of it, from the southern tip, to almost the old wedding-cake like, pink Don Cesar hotel that sits further north. Took advantage of the sun, and the wind, that day, as the weather turned nasty the Sunday, with heavy sky, north-westerly winds of 34 mph, and waves in the Gulf reported at 13 to 15 feet-high! Strangely though, very little rain, at least where we are, and God knows they need it; it has been extremely dry this season, burning every patch of grass, except the links of course. Toured and walked St-Petersburg itself, very inviting core of the city, practically desert because of the weather, but strolled around nonetheless. Stopped by the Venoy, old dame of the local hotel scene, pink again, by the water.
Struck by the fact that there is a Salvador Dali Museum in St-Petersburg, and actually a very considerable one, a fact we discovered too late to go. I was curious as to the origin of its presence in this city, and here is the story from the website of the museum:
The Dali Museum is the flagship of cultural tourism on the West Coast of Florida and welcomes over 200,000 visitors each year from around the world...
The Museum celebrated 24 years in St. Petersburg in March 7, 2006. However, the history of the collection began in Cleveland, Ohio in 1942. Industrialist A. Reynolds Morse and Eleanor Reese began their marriage and their lifelong involvement with Dalí and his wife, Gala, as friends and collectors with the purchase of their first painting Daddy Longlegs of the Evening-Hope! in 1943. They spent the following 40 years seeking out the artist's work and assembling the largest private collection of Dali's art in the world.
Ten years later, they began the search for a new, permanent home for their collection. After seeing an article in the Wall Street Journal, "U.S. Art World Dillydallies over Dalí," St. Petersburg attorney James W. Martin persuaded local leaders to approach the Morses to choose St. Petersburg. With the financial support of the City of St. Petersburg and the State of Florida, the collection moved to Florida in 1980.
The Museum opened its doors in St. Petersburg Florida, in March 1982, with the Morse bequest - the most comprehensive private collection of Dali's work in the world...
Was able nonetheless to enjoy some of Dali’s work as the museum and the Tampa International Airport Authorities had taken the good initiative of organizing a mini exhibition of hi-quality photos of some of his great works they have at the museum – well done! That is where we learned that a new aisle of the museum is going to be completed in 2011 – one more reason to come back to this part of the world! http://www.salvadordalimuseum.org/home.html
March 2, 2009
