In The Grand Hall

I did a full tour of the Museum of History, but as I wanted some extra posts before I started the Tulip Festival series, I confined myself to photographs of the exhibit I showed you in the last two days, as well as today's post. Tomorrow we get things started with tulips.

Alex Janvier's masterful mural Morning Star is a delight to see at the Canadian Museum of History, occupying a dome above the Grand Hall. It is an abstract work that fits the First Nations spirituality of the artist, and a dazzlingly colourful painting that cheers me up every time I see it, from the ground level or up close from the third level. If I had to pick a favourite work of art in the National Capital Region, this is it.

The Grand Hall features totem poles and structures typical of the Pacific Coast tribes, with artifacts in rooms behind the wall. It is a grand space, often used for official events. It was quiet while I was in here, but that's deceptive- my visit this time found a good many visitors to the Museum.

I took a shot outside from here at the river. It was a bleak, rainy day, and that fog over the river caught my eye as it seemed to creep up over the Ottawa side of the river.

Here we have a close up of one of the totem poles.

During my visit, I happened to notice several young women dressed in ballerina attire. One of them was with a photographer, using the hall to strike ballet poses. I decided to take a couple of shots.

Here we have another detail in here. If you're ever in the area, this is the first museum you should see.

This statue was added outside last year. Tessouat is a larger than life statue of an Algonquin chief who lived in this area in the 17th century. As you can see, the weather was better by the time I left.

Taking my leave, I photographed architectural details, first here on the curatorial wing of the museum.

Then I turned around and photographed the exhibit wing, with its main entrance.