You might remember me once telling how years ago I startled guards and museum visitors alike by sitting cross-legged on the floor of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts to admire John Singleton Copley’s painting Watson and the Shark. What a pleasant surprise it was to discover that Watson now lives at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, where I couldn’t help but snap this picture. It seems Copley’s painting is as popular with viewers (and photographers) in DC as it was in Boston.
I’m back home after my recent travels, so now I have (literally) hundreds of photos to sort and sift through. I expect I’ll be sharing the best of these over the next few days. In the meantime, it’s good to be home.
Hoarded Ordinaries 
Jun 28, 2005 at 12:29 pm
Welcome home!
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Jun 28, 2005 at 1:06 pm
I’m always amazed at shots like these. Around here, cameras are forbidden in the museums.
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Jun 28, 2005 at 2:01 pm
Be glad you’re out of DC – we’re having a heat advisory this afternoon. I’m glad I remember to close the blinds this morning …
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Jun 28, 2005 at 5:01 pm
I can just bet your camera will feel an immense relief to finally spit out all those pix. And you’ll be tempted to sit too long til all of them have been sorted, processed and posted. We’ll count on you to share. Welcome home.
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Jun 28, 2005 at 5:29 pm
There is no place like home!
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Jun 29, 2005 at 6:58 pm
Thanks for welcoming me home: it’s great to be back. NH was steamy upon my return, but now an afternoon thunderstorm has broken the heat. Nice!
Robert, I was surprised that photography was allowed in the National Gallery. In several Smithsonian Museums & in the Library of Congress, there were some rooms where photography was prohibited…but elsewhere, folks were snapping away. My museum pictures are all a bit blurry because I disabled my flash: even where flash photography is allowed, I find it to be invasive & disturbing to other visitors, so I try to be discreet. This means, though, I have lots of semi-blurry shots that aren’t ready for blog-time! 🙂
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Jul 2, 2005 at 2:32 pm
Copley painted more than one copy of Watson and the Shark. If you visit the MFA again, you will find that theirs is still there.
More info here:
http://www.nga.gov/collection/gallery/gg60b/gg60b-46188.0.html
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Jul 3, 2005 at 12:02 pm
Oh, that makes sense! I know “Watson & the Shark” was wildly popular, so it makes sense that Copley would have produced several versions. The next time I’m in Boston, I’ll have to say “hi” to the old familiar Boston version!
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