Art & Architecture Tours

Australian building designer Stephen Hanson, whom I met when he traveled to Los Angeles to participate in my architecture tour in 2003, has made arrangements for us to experience a unique tour of architecture in his homeland.

The House

The tour begins with five days in his native Melbourne , exploring the architecture of the city and taking excursions into the beautiful Yarra Valley, the Mornington Peninsula, and Eltham, one of Melbourne ’s outer suburbs, to discover the work of the top contemporary architects, such as David Godsell,, Stephen Jolson, Graham Jones, and Gregory Burgess. See some buildings by Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony in Melbourne and then again when we travel to Sydney for four more days.

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BELGIUM: BRUSSELS - ART NOUVEAU & ART DECO

Victor Horta House 1898-1901 Hotel Tassel (Horta) 1893-97

Our local Belgian architecture guide will be waiting for us upon disembarkation from the River Queen in Antwerp , early in the morning. We travel by minicoach to Brussels and begin our two day tour of the Art Nouveau and Art Deco architecture for which Brussels is so beloved. Two nights in a central Brussels hotel.

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CENTRAL EUROPE - BUDAPEST, VIENNA, PRAGUE

20th Century Architecture

Start with three days in Budapest, Hungary, where the historic blends easily with the modern.

Get to know buildings by Odon Lechner, the first architect in Hungary at the end of the 19^th century who gave new direction with his unique art nouveau buildings.

Discover the movement of Hungarian organic architecture as it expresses itself through the works of Imre Makovecz (see photo above of the Stephanaeum), who embraces the theories of Frank Lloyd Wright, Bruce Goff, Herb Green, AlvarAlto and above all, the ideas of Rudolf Steiner.

Continue to Vienna, Austria, for three nights: see the unusual Hundertwasserhaus by Joseph Krawina; works by Otto Wagner, including the Steinhof Church, one of Wagner’s most inspired designs, and the Viennese Secession Building (see photo above) by Joseph Olbrich.

On the way to Prague, Czech Republic, we stop in Brno to discover Mies van der Rohe’s Villa Tugendhat and the permanent exhibition pavilions built in the Interwar period.

In Prague for four nights, we explore the beautiful Nouveau Obecni dum (Municipal House), the Cubist Dum u cerne matky bozi (House of the Black Madonna), and the 20^th century additions by Joze Plecnik to the great Hradcany Castle . Also, modern works by Adolf Loos, all the way to Frank Gehry’s Dancing House.

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COSTA RICA

Tropical Gardens and Plantations Tour

Travel to lush, green Costa Rica for a week exploring the tropical splendor of this Central American paradise.   Art and architecture enthusiasts will enjoy the unique accommodations, as well as the natural beauty of the land.

Stay the first few days at the Finca Rosa Blanca Resort on the high central plateau of this magnificent country, outside the capital city of San Jose. Visit a coffee plantation, an herb farm that produces more than 2 tons a week for export, the world's largest producer of tropical flowers, a spice farm, an orchid plantation, a butterfly farm, and a renowned landscape architect's home and private gardens.  Visit the Poas Volcano, hiking through cloud forest and dwarf trees to peer into the two-mile crater. Stay overnight at Los Lagos Resort at the base of the active Arenal Volcano.

Spend three days at La Mansion, an oceanfront resort hotel on the Pacific Coast in Manuel Antonio National Park, with its perfect sand beaches and unspoiled forest growing right to the high-tide mark. With a naturalist guide, tour Rainmaker, a 1,600 acre private reserve dedicated to preserving the varied ecosystem.

Return to San Jose for a final night at the Xandari Resort before heading home.

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FINLAND: AALTO, SAARINEN, and CONTEMPORARY

FINNISH ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN

+ excursion to ST. PETERSBURG

mention a few.

Alvar Aalto, Finlandia Hall, Helsinki

This extensive tour takes us through Aalto's early classical works, heroic buildings of the 30's, and his golden period of the 50's, travelling through southwest Finland for several days. Visit Paimio, Turku, Seinajoki, Alajarvi, Jyvaskyla, and Tampere.

Then return to Helsinki for a day to study design: fabrics by Marimekko, glass and ceramics by Arabia, the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art by Steven Holl... and more!

We conclude with a visit to the beautiful countryside of Hvittrask, a collective artists' villa built by a wilderness lake by the architecture team of Eliel Saarinen-Herman Gesellius- Armas Lindgren.

FOLLOWED BY THREE DAYS IN ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA

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FRANCE: TOUR d’ART Provence, the Riviera, Paris

An exciting Art and Architecture Tour! Fly to Nice

for three nights exploring the picturesque towns of St. Paul de Vence, Antibes, Cagnes-sur-Mer, where Picasso, Renoir, Chagall, Matisse, and others loved to live and paint – Then continue for three more nights based in Aix en Provence, the land of Cezanne, Van Gogh, and superb, ancient Roman architecture in Avignon, Arles, and Les Baux de Provence.

Take the TGV high-speed train from Avignon to Paris, for a four-night stay and visits to the great art venues of the City of Light. Also, special early entry to Monet’s home and gardens at Giverny, before they open to the public.

For architecture enthusiasts, we plan visits to some great contemporary buildings, too.

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FRANCE: PROVENCE & PAYS BASQUE

(The Basque Country: France & Spain)

Five nights based in Biarritz, on the French side of the border with Spain. Explore the French Basque Country as well as two days crossing into Spain: see the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao by Frank Gehry, and the Chillida Leku outside San Sebastian.

Drive across southern France eastward toward Provence, stopping in Carcassonne en route.

Four nights based in Aix en Provence, the heart of Paul Cezanne's territory.

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GERMANY: BERLIN & DESSAU

Contemporary, Modern, Bauhaus Architecture

Join us for this very special tour to Berlin, and experience the excitement of the proliferation of new architecture as a construction boom followed the fall of the Wall in 1989.

See the stunningly Post-Modernist I. M. Pei wing that was added to the old German Historical Museum; Frank Gehry's spectacular DG Bank Building near the Brandenburg Gate; Sir Norman Foster's Parliament Building within the Reichstag; Daniel Libeskind‘s aluminium-clad Jewish Museum, in the form of a silver lightning bolt "reviving what was destroyed". The innovative buildings of Potsdamer Platz mark Berlin as an international city, but not forgetting the old, including: Alvar Aalto’s Flats at Hansaviertel, 1955-57; Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s Altes Museum, 1823-1830; Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s New National Gallery, 1962-1968. And much more!

After five nights in Berlin, we travel to Dessau for two more nights to visit the Bauhaus Foundation in depth. Constructed in 1925-26 from plans by Walter Gropius, the Bauhaus designs united art and technology and ushered in a modern industrial culture. Return to Berlin for flights home.

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GREAT BRITAIN: LONDON, EDINBURGH, GLASGOW

Featuring CHARLES RENNIE MACKINTOSH in Glasgow

The ten day tour begins in London for FOUR DAYS, focusing on contemporary architecture with expert local guides.
Discover the latest architecture in the City of London, continuing the next day on the new Jubilee Underground line to the Docklands, on the eastern end of London.   The Docklands, a deteriorating shipping area along the Thames, recently underwent a massive redevelopment. Now Canary Wharf is a thriving and vibrant center for business (see below) and banking, and the train stations were designed by foremost British architects, such as Sir Norman Foster and Sir Richard Rogers. Also see the London Eye (see above) ferris wheel erected to celebrate the Millennium, the new Tate Modern art museum designed by Swiss architects Jacques Herzog and Pierre de Meuron in the former Bankside Power Station.

Then fly to Edinburgh for the next three days. Our Scottish Guide will show us the highlights of Edinburgh by coach and on foot: Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, and the Museum of Scotland, with a private tour led by architect Peter Wilson. Also, a special tour to see the new Scottish Parliament.

There will be a half-day excursion in the countryside of East Lothian, visiting some beautiful homes and gardens: Gosford House, the private home of the Earl and Countess of Wemyss, famous for its alabaster interior; Greywalls Hotel (1901) by Edwin Lutjens, with garden by Gertrude Jekyll; Arniston House, an 18th century Palladian villa by noted architect William Adam); and the 12th century substantial ruins of Dirleton Castle.

And finally, for some, the highlight of the entire tour: three days in Glasgow exploring most of the work of Glasgow-born architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928). After visiting his masterpiece, Hill House (at right), designed for publisher William Blackie in Helensburgh, explore the magnificent countryside of the Trossachs, and Loch Lomond, on the last day of the tour.

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ITALY: FLORENCE & VENICE

Fiesole, Siena, San Gimignano, Padova, & Palladian Villas

Meet in Florence for the start of this nine day adventure in beautiful  Italy! Stay five nights in FLORENCE at a charming boutique hotel and explore the city's many artistic and historic venues on foot. Discover works by Michelangelo, Donatello, Cellini, and the most revered artists of the Renaissance.


Il Duomo, Florence                        Rooftops of the medieval walled city of Lucca

Several excursions will take us to medieval Siena, and historic San Gimignano, and northwest to Lucca and the hilltop hamlets of the magnificent Appuan Alps.

Venezia, Padova, & the Palladian villas of the Veneto

Then travel by coach to romantic VENICE, stopping at the medieval cities of Ferrara and Padova en route. Stay four nights in Venice at another charming boutique hotel. Tour the exquisite sites of Venice, the Grand Canal, the Doge's Palace, Basilica San Marco, and the renowned Peggy Guggenheim Collection of modern art.



         Grand Canal, Venice                                                        Villa Foscari, by Andreas Palladio

Spend a day in the countryside of the Veneto exploring some of the elegant villas designed by architect Andrea Palladio in the 16th century.

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MEXICO CITY Featuring: Artists Frida Kahlo & Diego Rivera

Fly t

Eight day tour to Mexico City, focusing on the art of Frida Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera. This is an exploration of the sites frequented by the renowned artist couple, and an immersion in the culture that shaped and surrounded them.  There is also a day excursion to the Ancient Pyramids of Teotihuacan, as well as visits to buildings by contemporary Mexican architects, Luis Barragan and Ricardo Legorreta.

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NETHERLANDS: AMSTERDAM - CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE

Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ

Muziekgebouw aan’t IJ Van Gogh Museum , Exhibition Wing

Two nights at a charming Art Nouveau hotel in central Amsterdam, two half days and one full day of touring contemporary architecture with our local architect guide, including a surprise visit to a sculptor's studio, where she lives and woTwo nights at a charming Art Nouveau hotel in central Amsterdam, two half days and one full day of touring contemporary architecture with our local architect guide, including a surprise visit to a sculptor's studio, where she lives and works on the boat she rehabbed 25 years ago. rks on the boat she rehabbed 25 years ago.

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PORTUGAL & SPAIN: SANTIAGO CALATRAVA IN IBERIA
Lisbon, Valencia, Barcelona, and Bilbao

Unique tour of works in Spain and Portugal by renowned Spanish architect SANTIAGO CALATRAVA, whose spectacular recent addition to the Milwaukee Art Museum has created great excitement in America. (See photo below of the Hemisferic (Planetarium), City of Science, Valencia)

Three nights in Lisbon, two nights in Valencia, two nights in Barcelona, and two nights in Bilbao. See architecture by Calatrava in each of these cities.

Also: explore other great works of art and architecture such as Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. Discover the fantastic modernist architecture of Antoni Gaudi, and see Mies van der Rohe's elegant pavillion designed for the 1929 International Exposition, in Barcelona.

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RUSSIA! Waterways of the Czars: Moscow to St. Petersburg (a Uniworld cruise)

Russian River Cruises

Peter the Great sailed from Moscow along the Volga River to St. Petersburg approximately 300 years ago on a quest to take Russia from the "Dark Ages" into the "Enlightened Age."

Today you have a chance to follow his path, celebrating the rich history and traditions of Russia, yet witnessing the flourishing entrepreneurial spirit of a new market-driven economy. Experience these legendary cities rich in culture, tradition and royalty. And as you travel along the river, discover another side of Russia with its remote forested islands, vast lakes, tiny summer houses, quaint lifestyles and pastoral landscapes. On your journey, meet the people who express the true soul of this proud country.

English-speaking guides accompany you along the way, so you can understand and experience Russian culture, cuisine and people. Cruise in the comfort of our intimate ship - the MS Litvinov, a friendly Russian-style ship that offers comfortable amenities - as we highlight the diverse influences that have shaped this intriguing nation.

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SPAIN: From BARCELONA to SEVILLE
(VALENCIA, GRANADA, CORDOBA)

Meet the group in BARCELONA to begin our tour with highlights of Architecture by Modernist Antoni GAUDI and contemporaries, and Art by native Catalan artists Joan MIRO and Pablo PICASSO.

Continue by coach, first to VALENCIA, site of SANTIAGO CALATRAVA's City of Arts and Sciences, a large-scale urban recreation center for culture and science (which also incorporates L’Oceanogràfic, an underwater city designed by the late Felix Candela.)




Calatrava's Hemisferic (Planetarium), Valencia                                             Calatrava's El Alamillo Bridge, Seville

Next stop GRANADA, home of the incomparable Alhambra Palace, then on to ancient city of CORDOBA en route to SEVILLE. Spend three nights in this vibrant capital of Andalucia exploring it's fascinating Roman, Moorish, Judaic and Christian past, and some contemporary developments that continue to make this one of the loveliest cities of Spain.

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TORONTO & BUFFALO An International Weekend

The Art Gallery of Ontario is also planning a major expansion, the first major project in Canada for the world-famous architect, Frank Gehry, who was born in Toronto. The intended redesign incorporates the present structure of the AGO. It is to be completed in 2007. (see schematic design below)

In Toronto, explore the city’s HISTORIC & CONTEMPORARY ARCHITECTURE, and take a day's excursion back across the Canadian border to nearby Buffalo, NY, to see the renowned Albright-Knox Art Gallery, and Frank Lloyd Wright masterpieces: the Darwin D. Martin House (‘04) (see image above), the Barton House (‘03), and Graycliff (‘27), the Martins’ summer estate.

Stop to marvel at Niagara Falls and dine at the Pinnacle Restaurant

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USA Destinations

ALASKA: Anchorage + cruise to Vancouver

Meet the group in Anchorage, Alaska. Two nights in Anchorage - see a residence by John Lautner, and architecture by William Bergenthal. One night at Talkeetna Lodge, spectacular views of Mt. McKinley. Seven-night Celebrity Cruise from Seward to Vancouver B.C.

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Enjoy the first day cruising from Seward, AK to Hubbard Glacier, then four days calling at ports of Juneau, Skagway, Icy Strait Point, and Ketchikan, before cruising the last day through the Inside Passage to Vancouver, BC, Canada.

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ARKANSAS: E. FAY JONES, ARCHITECT

Thorncrown Chapel, Eureka Springs , AR                                    Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel, Bella Vista , AR

Visit the studio of E. Fay Jones and about a dozen private residences, in and near Fayetteville, designed by this award- winning organic architect who once apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright.

Highlights include two magnificent chapels in the woods, Thorncrown Chapel in Eureka Springs, and Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Bella Vista.

Travel also to Fort Smith and Little Rock to see other work by E. Fay Jones, and the new Anthony Chapel in Garvan Woodland Gardens, Hot Springs - designed by Maurice Jennings and David McKee, who worked with Fay Jones and continue where he left off.

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AULDBRASS PLANTATION
plus Savannah, GA and Beaufort, SC

                                                        Living room of the main house, Auldbrass Plantation: Alan Weintraub/Arcaid

Meet in Savannah for a great weekend getaway, and continue directly to Beaufort, South Carolina.

          Discover historic Beaufort on a guided walking tour, with homes dating to the 18th century. In the evening, attend a special lecture at the University of South Carolina-Beaufort featuring Tom Crews (current architect at Auldbrass Plantation) and David G. DeLong (author of Auldbrass, Frank Lloyd Wright's Southern Plantation.)

          The next day, visit the Auldbrass Plantation, with special arrangements for our group to enter the property early, before it opens to the public. This event is sponsored by the Beaufort Open Land Trust every other year. There will be a picnic lunch on the grounds of nearby Twickenham Plantation.

          In the afternoon, return to Savannah, Georgia, and tour the Telfair Museum of Art, which includes the Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences (permanent collection), the new Jepson Center for the Arts (20th-21st century art), and the historic Owens-Thomas House.

          Discover Savannah on Monday: morning walking tour through Savannah's Historic District. Afternoon bus tour of Mid-Century Modern Savannah.

BOSTON & VICINITY: Salem, Lincoln, Hartford, Providence

Art and Architecture Tour

With Boston as our home base, travel by coach through beautiful New England, exploring art and architecture. Begin in Boston with visits to the Museum of Fine Arts, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum, and Henry Hobson Richardson's Trinity Church (see above).

In Salem, famous for the witch trials of 1692, visit the Peabody Essex Museum and historic houses from three centuries. In Lincoln, see the Gropius House, designed for his family by German-born architect Walter Gropius, who came to the Boston area to head Harvard's School of Architecture before the World War II. Also in Lincoln, discover the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park, a contemporary art museum in a beautiful setting.

Explore wonderful museums Hartford CT (Wadsworth Athenaeum and the Mark Twain House) and Providence RI (Rhode Island School of Design). Many art museums have been building exciting new works of art to house their works of art!

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DALLAS & FORT WORTH

Art & Architecture

Visit exciting contemporary architecture in Fort Worth and Dallas in the company of Ft. Worth architect Mark Gunderson.

Fort Worth Modern Art Museum, designed by Tadao Ando

See buildings by four AIA Gold Medal winners in the Dallas/Fort Worth area: Louis Kahn; E. Fay Jones; Philip Johnson; and I. M. Pei.

In Fort Worth, see the new Modern Art Museum by Tadao Ando, and in Dallas, major buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright (Dallas Theater Center), I. M. Pei, (Meyerson Symphony Center), Edward Larrabee Barnes (Dallas Art Museum), and the splendid museum and sculpture garden by Renzo Piano (Nasher Sculpture Center).

Private homes, with great art collections, by architects Antoine Predock, Steven Holl, Richard Meier, Paul Rudolph, and others.

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FLORIDA: ARCHITECTURE & DESIGN TOUR

Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Lakeland

Start with two days in Jacksonville with Robert Broward, a former Taliesin architect who worked with Frank Lloyd Wright. He’ll show us many of his own designs, plus the work of Prairie architect Henry John Klutho, who was deeply influenced by Wright and Louis Sullivan. Next, a day in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the nation, and then on to Lakeland for two more days.

The largest concentration of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings is at Florida Southern College in Lakeland, including chapels, library, administration building, seminar buildings, classroom buildings, and connecting esplanades.

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FLORIDA MODERNISM

Sarasota School of Architecture

In the company of architecture specialists from the Sarasota Architectural

In the company of architecture specialists from the Sarasota Architectural Foundation, explore the work of architects who collectively became known as the Sarasota School of Architecture. Their "Florida Modern" style flourished in the 50's, led by Paul Rudolph (Cohen House photo above right) and Ralph Twitchell, followed by Gene Leedy (Leedy House photo above left), Mark Hampton, Tim Seibert, Carl Abbott, Guy Peterson, and others who are still active today.

Visit homes by many of the above architects, in Sarasota, Winter Haven, and Lakeland, Florida. Also in Lakeland, see the complex of buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright at Florida Southern College.

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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT in IOWA

Cedar Rock, Quasqueton , IA

Four days of touring around Iowa by private coach to see buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright, Louis Sullivan, Walter Burley Griffin, the Saarinens, and more!

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HAWAI'I Architecture Tour

Hawaiian architecture is a distinctive style of architectural arts developed and employed primarily in the Hawaiian islands of the present-day United States — buildings and various other structures indicative of the people of Hawaii and the environment and culture in which they live.

Hawaiian architecture is said to tell the story of how indigenous native Hawaiians and their complex society in ancient times slowly evolved with the infusion of new styles from beyond its borders, from the early European traders, the visiting whalers and fur trappers from the Canadian wilderness, the missions of the New Englanders and French Catholics, the communes of the Latter Day Saints from Utah, the plantation laborer cultures from the Orient to the modern American metropolis that Honolulu is today.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed two houses, both adapted after his death by the Taliesin Architects. The Grand Waikapu Country Club on Maui was originally designed as a home for Marilyn Monroe, and a Hemicycle House on the Big Island of Hawaii was originally designed for a site in Pennsylvania.

In addition to discovering the architecture of Honolulu, we'll visit art venues including the Contemporary Art Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts, and Doris Duke's spectacular home, Shangri-La.

On the Big Island, there will be a full day to explore Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

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LAS VEGAS: ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR

With the opening of the Mirage more than ten years ago, the current wave of fantasy architecture was launched, and there are no signs of this trend slowing down.    Hotel design has been increasingly extravagant, with fine art becoming more and more relevant.

The Guggenheim Museum has recently opened two museums inside the palatial Venetian, both designed by internationally acclaimed Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.   The Hermitage-Guggenheim Museum showcases intimate exhibitions from the holdings of both museums, while the Guggenheim Museum Las Vegas mounts larger travelling shows.   The Bellagio has its own Gallery of Fine Art, exhibiting world class art from exclusive collections.

Join us for tours of major hotels and an architecture tour of the City of Las Vegas, focusing on the city’s growing interest in culture, taste and substance. For example, the Clark County Library designed by Michael Graves, with an accompanying art gallery, and the Las Vegas Library designed by Antoine Predock, which also has a children’s Discovery Museum. The Liberace Museum, recently expanded, is not to be missed, as well as the Boneyard, a museum for retired neon signs. Only in Las Vegas!   We also plan to visit a couple of private residences of artistic and architectural significance and take in a performance of Cirque du Soleil.

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LOS ANGELES: WRIGHT & OTHER ARCHITECTURE

Our popular tour to Southern California, featuring the architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright, and California architects who worked with the master and continued on their own: his son Lloyd Wright, Richard Neutra, Rudolf Schindler, John Lautner.

..... Greene & Greene’s fabulous Gamble House, the homes and studios of Charles and Ray Eames, Ray Kappe, and FLLW’s grandson Eric Lloyd Wright, our host for special visits. .

...also included is Richard Meier’s monumental Getty Center complex (above), plus new examples of contemporary architecture: Rafael Moneo's Cathedral of the Angels, Frank Gehry's Disney Concert Hall, and more!+

THIS TOUR IS A MUST FOR EVERY SERIOUS ARCHITECTURE ENTHUSIAST!

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MICHIGAN: ALDEN DOW in MIDLAND

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MILWAUKEE & WISCONSIN: ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR
SANTIAGO CALATRAVA FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT*

Milwaukee is the destination for this four-day tour, featuring the brand-new spectacular expansion of the Milwaukee Art Museum by renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Also see the Bradley Sculpture Gardens, on the suburban estate of the late Peg and Harry Lynde Bradley, prominent art patrons and major donors to the Art Museum collection.

Wisconsin is where Frank Lloyd Wright was born, and where you’ll find the largest number of his buildings, spanning 82 years. In the Milwaukee area discover unique Burnham Street, where all six houses on the north side of the 2700 block were designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in 1911 as American System Ready-cut prefab plans. In 1916, Arthur L. Richards built four duplexes and two small houses, none supervised by Wright during construction, however. Visit the Frederick C. Bogk Residence (’16) on Milwaukee’s East Side, and see several houses in Milwaukee's northern suburbs.

In Racine, visit the S C Johnson Wax Administration Building and Wingspread. In Madison, see the newest Wright building in Wisconsin: the Monona Terrace Community and Convention Center, designed in 1938 but unbuilt for nearly 60 years. Also visit private Wright-designed homes: the Herbert Jacobs I Residence (’36), the first built Usonian House, the E. A. Gilmore Residence, Airplane House (’08), and others.

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MILWAUKEE & CHICAGO

CContemporary architecture in Milwaukee has been spurred by Santiago Calatrava’s expansion to the Milwaukee Art Museum. Get an in-depth tour at the museum and a comprehensive tour of what’s going on in Milwaukee now, and see several great buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright in the area.

Stay at the private Milwaukee Athletic Club the first night and then travel to Chicago for two nights at the Sheraton on the Chicago River.

In Chicago, enjoy an eye-opening Architecture Cruise on the Chicago River, and a walking tour covering classic works by Louis Sullivan, Frank Lloyd Wright, Mies van der Rohe, and others.

See the special exhibition “Seurat and the Making of La Grand Jatte” at the Art Institute of Chicago, and have lunch there with the Director of Publications, Susan Rossen. Special visits to private homes and art collections, too.

Contemporary architecture abounds: the Pritzker Music Pavilion (above) in Millennium Park by Frank Gehry, a new student center designed by Rem Koolhaas and dormitory by Helmut Jahn at the Illinois Institute of Technology. And so much more.

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MINNEAPOLIS Art & Architecture Tour

New for art lovers: the Minneapolis Institute of Arts; has a new addition by Michael Graves; the contemporary Walker Art Center (together with its 11-acre Minneapolis Sculpture Garden) has a new building by Herzog and de Meuron; and visit the University of Minnesota’s Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum, designed by Frank Gehry.

More new architecture: the new Guthrie Theatre, by Jean Nouvel; the Library by Cesar Pelli,; and much more!

And, of course, private homes by Frank Lloyd Wright and John Howe, one of Wright’s distinguished apprentices, as well as prairie architects William Purcell and George Elmslie.

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NEW MEXICO: SANTA FE, TAOS, ABIQUIU Art and Architecture Tour

See the enchanting art and architecture of scenic New Mexico. Fly into Albuquerque and travel by private coach directly to Santa Fe for two nights.

Then on to Taos for two more nights, stopping first at Georgia O'Keeffe's home and studio in Abiquiu.

Also studio visits with artists and artisans, art galleries, museums (including the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe), an Indian Pueblo, Spanish weavers at Chimayo, and more.

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ART LOVERS TOUR TO NEW YORK

Four-day art tour to New York City designed for art lovers.

Museum tours, artists' studios, private art collections and a walking tour of the Chelsea art gallery district are planned. Also a unique behind- the-scenes demonstration of how fine works of art are repaired, restored and conserved.

Other highlights: a Broadway production; lunch at Tavern on the Green; accommodations at the Empire Hotel, right across from Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.

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FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT in OHIO

Penfield House, Willoughby Hills OH

See twelve buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright throughout the state of Ohio on this four day bus tour, beginning in Cleveland and concluding in Cincinnati

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OKLAHOMA: BARTLESVILLE & TULSA

Frank Lloyd Wright & Bruce Goff

Spend two nights in Frank Lloyd Wright's only built skyscraper, the Price Tower, in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. The building has been renovated and now houses The Price Tower Arts Center and the Inn at Price Tower. Explore this building in depth, as well as the Bartlesville Community Center by Taliesin architect William Wesley Peters.

Also in Bartlesville, see a number of residential designs by renowned architect Bruce Goff (1904-1982), recognized as one of the 20th century's great creative geniuses.

Frank Lloyd Wright designed two wonderful private residences, Hillside in Bartlesville, and Westhope in Tulsa. Also in Tulsa, many fine Art Deco buildings, including Bruce Goff's Boston Avenue Methodist Church and Barry Byrne's Christ the King Church.

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PHOENIX: Frank Lloyd Wright & Other Architects 30

Taliesin West, Scottsdale AZ , designed by Frank Lloyd Wrigh

The centerpiece is an in-depth morning at Taliesin West, with an extended guided tour of Frank Lloyd Wright’s home and studio and a desert hike through the natural landscape Wright so loved.

Visit Wright’s Grady Gammage Memorial Auditorium as well as Antoine Predock’s Nelson Fine Arts Center , both in Tempe on the Arizona State University campus, and the First Christian Church in Phoenix , designed by Wright in 1950 for another site but built here in 1971. Enjoy dinner and a guided tour at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, a Wright collaboration. See a number of private Wright-designed homes, including interior visits to as many as possible.

If you haven’t been to Phoenix lately (or ever), you will also find exciting new buildings here. Discover contemporary architect Will Bruder, who designed the Phoenix Central Library and the Scottsdale Contemporary Art Museum, and many residences. Learn about cutting edge contemporary architect Eddie Jones, specifically known for his expertise in designing for the desert environment. We’ll visit both of these architects in their own homes and see several other buildings by each..

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ST. LOUIS Art & Architecture Tour

Visit the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Russell and Ruth Kraus House (1951) in Ebsworth Park , lovingly restored and preserved for the public to enjoy as a house museum, as well as other significant architecture venues, such as the Wainwright Building and the Wainwright Tomb, both by Louis Sullivan.

And, of course, we’ll see Eero Saarinen’s great Gateway Arch, the famous landmark of this great city.

For art lovers, there are the Pulitzer Foundation for the Arts, a breathtaking contemporary building designed by Tadao Ando, 2002; the St. Louis Art Museum in Forest Park , designed by Cass Gilbert (the only permanent building from the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition; and the new Contemporary Art Museum , designed by Brad Cloepfil, 2003.

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SAN FRANCISCO Art & Architecture Tour

See buildings by FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT - the Marin County Civic Center, San Rafael, the V. C. Morris Gift Shop (restored by Aaron Green) in Union Square, and several private residences near San Francisco, including the Jean S. and Paul R. Hanna Residence (see below), Stanford, and the Maynard P. Buehler Residence, Orinda.

Architecture thrives in the San Francisco area. the California Bungalow style, attributed to Greene & Greene; the Arts & Crafts Movement, which had its roots in mid-19th century Britain with the designs of William Morris, Charles Rennie Mackintosh and others; see work by prominent Bay Area architects Bernard Maybeck, Willis Polk, and Julia Morgan.

See beautiful art exhibitions in museums of architectural significance: the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the just-reopened Asian Art Museum, and spend a day in the Napa Valley, where art, architecture and wine are presented in harmony at several of the wineries.

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SEATTLE & VANCOUVER B.C.: Art & Architecture Tour

Begin this tour in Canada with two nights in the beautiful city of VANCOUVER, B.C. Here we'll look at the modern architecture of Arthur C. Erickson, the only Canadian architect to receive the AIA Gold Medal, in 1986.

Travel by coach to SEATTLE for three more days of fine architecture, public and private venues, combining art and architecture

Residences designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and other important architects in the Seattle area;

Frank Gehry’s Experience Music Project, a fantastic interactive museum dedicated to the history of American Music;

Seattle Art Museum by Robert Venturi;

Steven Holl's Chapel of St. Ignatius, at Seattle University, and

Holl's new Bellevue Art Museum.
Waterfront view of Museum of Glass

    See Union Station and several new important buildings in Tacoma:

    Dale Chihuly's Bridge of Glass

    Arthur Erickson's International Glass Museum (above)

    Antoine Predock's new Tacoma Art Museum

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SPRINGFIELD, IL:

2-DAY COACH TOUR FROM MILWAUKEE

Special visit to the DANA-THOMAS HOUSE ('02) by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the LAWRENCE LIBRARY (FLLW '05), Springfield, IL.

Also, tours of Wright buildings along the way: First National Bank of Dwight (FLLW '05) in Dwight, IL on Saturday and the Francis B. Little House (FLLW '03) in Peoria, on the way back on Sunday.

Overnight at the Springfield Renaissance Hotel.

Special visit to the DANA-THOMAS HOUSE (1902) by Frank Lloyd Wright, and the LAWRENCE LIBRARY (FLLW 1905), Springfield, IL.

Also, tours of Wright buildings along the way: First National Bank of Dwight (FLLW 1905) in Dwight, IL on Saturday and the Francis B. Little House (FLLW 1903) in Peoria, on the way back on Sunday.

Overnight at the Springfield Renaissance Hotel.

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WASHINGTON DC & BALTIMORE ART TOUR

An incredible number of GREAT art exhibitions are always converging on the Washington-Baltimore area, and here are some that we saw at the end of 2007:

LOOK AT THIS LIST!:

J. M. W. TURNER at the National Gallery (West Building) - The largest and most comprehensive retrospective of Turner's work ever presented in the United States includes approximately 70 oil paintings and 70 works on paper.

EDWARD HOPPER at the National Gallery (East Building) - This is the first comprehensive survey of Hopper's career to be seen in American museums outside New York in more than 25 years.

IMPRESSIONISTS BY THE SEA at the Phillips Collection - . With approximately 60 works by major figures of 19th-century French painting, the exhibition will focus particularly on the work of Claude Monet, and will also feature major works by Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Berthe Morisot, and Gustave Courbet, along with James Abbott McNeill Whistler and John Singer Sargent.

ANSEL ADAMS at the Corcoran Gallery - takes a new look at the work of this important and influential photographer through approximately.

ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: A Photographer’s Life, 1990–2005 at the Corcoran Gallery - The exhibition features many of Leibovitz’s best-known portraits of public figures.

MARCEL BREUER: Design and Architecture at the National Building Museum - The exhibition will focus on Marcel Breuer’s extraordinary achievement in furniture and interior design

MATISSE: Painter as Sculptor at the Baltimore Museum of Art - In the first major American exhibition of the artist's sculpture in more than two decades, the exhibition presents more than 100 works of art from public and private collections from around the world to explore Matisse’s sculptural ideas and creative process and reveal the influence of contemporaries such as Auguste Rodin, Pablo Picasso, and Constantin Brancusi.

RODIN: Expression & Influence at the Baltimore Museum of Art - The Modern Masters Series at the BMA continues with this intimate one-gallery exhibition exploring the sculptural legacy of Auguste Rodin through nearly 30 works by the artist and his contemporaries.

ALSO INCLUDES PRIVATE ART COLLECTIONS IN THE AREA.

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MILWAUKEE & WISCONSIN: ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR SANTIAGO CALATRAVA * FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT

MILWAUKEE & WISCONSIN: ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR
SANTIAGO CALATRAVA FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT*