Art in Splendid Isolation
Lancelot “Capability” Brown was England’s premier landscape architect of the 1700s. Anyone who has visited Blenheim Palace, Stowe, or other British estates knows Brown’s work—massive integration of landscapes and great houses. The grounds of Buckingham Palace and Highclere Castle (“Downton Abbey”) all bear a bit of Brown’s influence.
A bit of classic landscape architecture
Capability Brown would feel at home at Glenstone Museum in suburban Washington, DC. Yes, this is a contemporary art museum, built in the early 2000s to showcase the post-World War II collection of founders Emily and Mitch Rales. But the integration of museum buildings and art installations into 230 acres of rolling Potomac landscape is perhaps the most striking feature of Glenstone.
Admiring the landscape from inside Glenstone
The landscape is expansive and guests are encouraged to walk long pathways through fields of wildflowers and groves of trees. With admission limited to just 600 guests per day, Glenstone is the perfect antidote to the crowds of visitors at Washington’s better known art museums. Glenstone is art in splendid isolation.
The museum’s Water Court is filled with aquatic plants
Glenstone’s isolation does pose some challenges for visitors. The museum is located about twenty-one miles northwest of downtown DC. And with Washington’s daunting traffic, count on at least a forty-five-minute drive, or a two-hour subway and bus/rideshare trek from downtown Washington to the upscale Potomac, Maryland suburbs. But before you pack younger kids or grandkids into the car, note that Glenstone only allows visitors over age twelve.
Saddled up on a stainless steel steed at Glenstone
We are travel writers, not art critics. So we’ll eschew commentary on the artworks displayed at Glenstone. As a DC day trip though, Glenstone’s setting alone makes it a compelling destination.
Thirty-seven-foot-tall Split-Rocker, a living sculpture, peaks over a hilltop
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Deb Hosey White is an executive management consultant with over thirty years experience working for Fortune 1000 companies. She is the author of Pink Slips and Parting Gifts, a workplace novel based upon those experiences. With English ancestors on both sides of her family, Deb is a serious Anglophile and an avid traveler.
David Stewart White began his adventures in family travel as a child when he lived in Paris and traveled throughout Europe. He is the author of Let's Take the Kids to London His travel articles have appeared in the Washington Post, the Charlotte Observer, Examiner.com, AAA World Magazine, and in numerous travel websites and online magazines.
Beyond Downton Abbey — A Guide to 25 Great Houses was their first collaborative travel writing effort. They followed up with Beyond Downton Abbey Volume 2 to tell the stories of another group of great homes in Britain.
www.beyonddowntonabbey.com/
