January in New York

It has been very cold in New York this week, which has its advantages and disadvantages.   Because I am now walking Maggie all the time, that means going out to Riverside Park at midnight, when the temperature is 15 degrees F., and the wind is blowing at 30 mph off the Hudson River, and I am trying to pick up poop while juggling the leash, my gloves, etc.   You could say the the wind at that temperature is certainly invigorating, but even Maggie hustles home at high speed to retreat to our warm apartment.
Speaking of poop, I bought some doggie poop bags at a local pet store, and when I looked at them more carefully when I got home discovered that they were "scented".  For someone who is allergic to perfume, this is doubly appalling.   (For those in need of confirmation of the Decline of Western Civilization, a visit to your local pet store is all that is needed.   I think I saw dog nail polish the other day.)

I experienced the advantages of January in New York today when I went to the Metropolitan Museum.   It was relatively empty (18 degrees temperature and snow in the forecast!), and I got involved in all the 19th century French galleries, the back rooms of which I had never explored before.
Here is the main Cezanne room, which I had all to myself for a long time (except for Madame Cezanne).  I have never seen it this empty.

Degas is also a highlight, including this rather strange pastel, which up close has an extraordinary variety of textures and colors.

I also saw an exhibit of the American painter George Bellows, who is known mostly for his paintings of boxing, especially this one, which is always reproduced when someone is talking about American painting of that period.

It was an interesting show, since I knew nothing about him.  Most exciting were the paintings of New York at that period, including one of Riverside Park at night  (see above!).  Bellows was talented, and his career followed a number of promising trajectories, but I didn't come away thinking I had seen the works of a great painter.  Interesting, though,  in that he was around at a time of great ferment (he was involved in the famous Armory show of 1913), and that a lot of his work reflected the tendencies in art at the time.