The city of Pasadena, east of Los Angeles is blessed with three world class art museums, and I journeyed here to visit all of them!
The USC Pacific Asian Art Museum in Pasadena
The USC Pacific is in what I think is known as the old town of Pasadena. The collection is housed in a revivalist Chinese style building which is a fantastic backdrop to the collection.
The highlight were the buddhas and bodhisattvas. A beautiful collection, from all over Asia. They also have some of the 19th century Mount Fuji series of pictures by the Japanese’s artist Hiroshige.
The gallery is not huge, I would say 90 minutes would allow you to see everything. There is a beautiful courtyard in the middle, and the cafe sells nice objects, lots of Asian gifts.
I visited on a Thursday and it was pay-as-you-like.
The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena
This impressive gallery has 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th & 20th century western art, as well a superb South East Asian art collection, occupying the entire ground floor.
It costs 20 dollars to enter and it is well worth it. Impressive modern building with great natural light and exhibition spaces. There are 5 galleries, one for each century and the 5th is the SE Asian gallery.
The 19th and 20th century collections are my favourite. They have some wonderful Cezannes and Van Goghs. The SE Asian floor is amazing, I have rarely seen so many excellent buddhas and bodhisattvas, from countries including Japan, Thailand, Tibet and India. There were few people in this gallery so I felt I had the place to myself!
There is a lovely little outdoor cafe with tables overlooking the central garden. The garden is full of sculptures too, including lots by Henry Moore and some very old Asian statues in a separate garden area connected to the Asian gallery. Parking is easy and free.
All in all this a 5* world class gallery. In my guide to California it does not even get a mention! Outrageous!
The Huntington Gallery, Library and Gardens
What an amazing place to end my trip to Pasadena. A glorious combination of art and nature.
It costs about ¢29 to enter but it is worth. It is located actually in the small town of San Marino, so technically not Pasadena. There are two separate buildings for both American and European art.
The European gallery
The star of the European gallery is ‘The Blue Boy’ by Thomas Gainsborough.
I have never seen this painting before and it really does live up to the hype, a very striking portrait. The European gallery also has some lovely early religious paintings from the 1400s. It also has many paintings by Antony Van Dyke, Constable and Turner.
The American gallery
I really enjoyed the American gallery too. There was a great John Singer Sargent, and paintings by Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase and many other artists I have not heard of.
The gardens
There are various gardens to look round including a Chinese, Japanese sub-tropical, desert and Australian garden. The grounds are huge! My favourite was the Japanese garden, so well laid out with a large bonsai collection.
The library
If that wasn’t enough, there is also a large library with some stunning books! This Huntingdon family sure had some cash to spend!
The highlights of the collections are:
- Shakespeare’s First Folio
- The Gutenberg Bible
- Principa by Isaac Newton
- Birds of America by James Audobon
This last book I think is the most expensive book ever sold, fetching prices over ¢8m!
Ben Hills-Jones 
Another outstanding blog, Ben. Loved looking at all the pictures & gardens, especially the Japanese ones. I love Buddhas, as you know& the books looked interesting. Gift shops are always fascinating too….! The cafe must have been nice as it wasnt busy. Looking round galleries can be tiring. I will forward your blig to David& Carole as I,m sure they will love to read it.
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