Winston Salem more fall colors more art

We arrived at the fairgrounds, Winston Salem, NC  yesterday after a beautiful drive, 148 miles in 2 hours and  40 minutes, along I 40 from Asheville while gazing at ever extensive fall colors.  We are set  for the duration of this FMCA RV Rally,  along with hundreds and hundreds of other coaches and big rigs.  This is the south eastern region's annual rally and promised great entertainment venues each night.  Our beautiful weather stopped last night with rain which continued off and on all day today.  

Today was a free day without seminars or activities  other than the late afternoon welcome to us "First Timer Attendees" followed by an  ice cream social.  Left to my own devices while Jerry chose to hang out in the coach and tinker with the satellite receiver box,  I chose to go to the Reynolda House Museum of American Art, where they are hosting the Modern Masters exhibit from the Smithsonian, one of only six venues across the country.  I admit to hesitancy about this exhibit because modernism is a stretch for me, but where else would I see this.  And while there I could tour the estate of the R J Reynolds family, the tobacco magnate. And Jerry while recovering and now left with only the slight cough has no interest in such museums.   

Lest you think that I have made a typo about the estate above, Reynolda is the feminine of Reynolds, conceived by Kathryn.  I know when I saw the directions on the GPS I thought Godfrey had slipped a page.

http://www.reynoldahouse.org/index.php     After the Vanderbilts, this was much smaller scale, but of great interest none the less.  Richard Joshua (RJ) Reynolds, was a very wealthy man the founder of the JRReynolds tobacco company and a very eligible  bachelor most of his life; when he was about 60 years old he married Kathryn Smith who was his personal secretary and they were also distant cousins.  They had four children and the estate fulfilled her dream of having a house with hills, cattle and flowers all around.  It was known as a bungalow estate, but  other than the dormers, certain design features, I certainly would not call it a bungalow.  However in the day and time 1917 and on through the  30's  a bungalow was a popular style.  JR however became ill and did not live in the estate very long, dying there; this is becoming a familiar theme about the wealthy men of the era, I think of my Uncle John's grandfather, JR, who also died after building a mansion/estate.  It was a self sustaining community with its own dairy, gardens, cattle, school and church.  Kathryn  administered the estate after JR passed on and kept quite busy on all the details of the estate and the design of the Presbyterian Church and the school.  She was no shrinking southern belle; while the estate was being built she oversaw every architectural design and detail. The Reynolda Gardens and Village Shops offer more to see and enjoy.

 The permanent art collection through out the home with masterpieces by the Hudson River School, Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Church,  was more to my liking than the Modern Artists on exhibit in one of the halls.  http://www.albertbierstadt.org/    Bierstadt is a favorite for me and I was reminded how his work fell out of favor for a long time.

Seeing the Modernists http://www.reynoldahouse.org/experience/special/experiencespecial2.php  stretched my imagination, as I would stand back, look, then squint and finally  coming up close to scrutinize and attempt to digest the explanations.  The  fully black canvas by one to me was an absolute questionable piece of art, the explanation was it is the absence of color, no kidding and that upon close up view one can discern  blue and plum squares.  There were three themes:  Significant Gestures,  Optics and Order and New Images of Man.  Well it was different.  Can't say I would spend a dime on anything I saw in that exhibit, other than perhaps the iron sculptures and all are beyond any consideration in my budget. 

   The RV Rally site at the fairgrounds is across from Wake Forest University which is a gorgeous setting and well known university, a huge sports complex advertising free admission to many events.  From their website, "Wake Forest claims the distinction of being the nation's premier collegiate university...Offers the personal attention of a small liberal arts college coupled with the breadth and depth of a large research institution. This duality extends to our faculty ideal of professors who are both teachers and scholars, resulting in meaningful research opportunities for students and classroom experiences with professors who are relevant in their fields.  With fewer than 12 students per professor, our students benefit from engagement with outstanding teachers every day, inside and outside the classroom."  Another lovely place in walking distance where I saw many students out running their miles up the hills and through the woods, in the rain.  

Tomorrow after absorbing all this art,  history and culture, I intend to balance with a trip to  the massive Goodwill store down the hill from the Rally; when we first saw it we thought it might be Goodwill Headquarters as it is massive and many corporations have home offices here in Winston Salem.  In fact it is a Goodwill center with donations accepted and items for sale.