American Museum & Gardens - Bath - Part II

Leaving the riot of color in the American Museum gardens was hard, and

looking out across that beautiful English countryside HERE dressed for spring

 I had to tear myself away to go inside Claverton House. 

Born in San Francisco but later settling in England, Kaffe Fassett has dedicated

 the last 50 years of his life to the world of knitting,  needlepoint and patchwork, 

promoting these crafts through his own work and inspiring others to find their

 own creativity.

The gift shop was a treat - if only the suitcase had been larger to bring all 

these beautiful books home.

One of many of Kaffe Fassett's extraordinary quilts. The exhibition of 20 stunning new 

quilts designed by him is inspired by the Museum's world-renowned collection of

antique American quilts (photos of them not permitted due to their fragility). 
This provides a unique opportunity to see the old and the new alongside one another.

Shaker sewing box.

As part of the Museum's fiftieth anniversary celebration, the collection of folk art

 treasures are redisplayed in an acclaimed new gallery. The collection testifies

 to they exuberant resourcefulness of art and home decoration made

 'by the people, for the people'.

As always, discovering new places with Ruth - see us together in the reflection

 above - and her husband Mike, was special. Later that evening an extra treat was

 meeting their daughter, an accomplished equestrienne, who joined us for dinner. 

Prior to that, after returning to Bath city, we made a stop at wonderful
 independent bookshop 'Mr. B's' where Ruth took me on our first meeting
 a few years back.
My stack of new books is awaiting exciting page-turning - yes I did make
 room in the bag to get those home - and will be discussed in a future post.
 I brought back some special ones!

American Museum & Gardens - Bath, Part I

The sign said, 'Welcome to the American Museum & Gardens'. 

The taxi stopped at the top of the hill and we all clambered out into a chilly,

 but dry, typical English morning, only to view breathtaking green rolling hills

 and the valley beyond - a view of Bath never seen before, literally a different

 side of this wonderful city.

Our friends Ruth and Mike who had traveled from Wiltshire that morning, met us

 with warming hugs and lots of chatter at the hotel whilst we awaited the taxi.

They picked this very special place to take us knowing it would be of interest

to us both - history for Bob and gardens and art for me. They certainly made
 the right choice - we loved it all, including a break for 'elevenses' with coffee and 

delicious homemade cake in the Orangery Café.

The American Museum takes you on a journey through the history of America,

from its early settlers to the twenty-first century. With its remarkable collection

of folk and decorative arts, the Museum shows the diverse and complex nature

 of American traditions and is actually the only museum outside the United States

 to showcase the decorative arts of America.

 

Claverton Manor 1820 - built of Bath stone in the neo-classical style - home

 of the museum since the 1950's.

Go HERE for more interesting history of how the museum came to be.

Posts later on the fabulous Kaffe Fassett quilt exhibition and the Folk Art Gallery.