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Claude Monet, Pablo Picasso and artists in between have drawn huge crowds to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts on the University of Utah campus. People of all ages are impressed with the impressionists.
"Monet to Picasso," a title and exhibit including the most famous artists who ever lived, has brought a record crowd to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, perhaps the largest to any exhibit ever in the state.
David Dee, the museum's executive director, said, "We project by the time we finish this show, 75,000 people will have been here to see this show, which will shoot probably 20,000 past our projected and hoped-for goal."
Months ago, curators unpacked the priceless works. They hoped they would attract people who had never come here. They did, making the exhibit historic and very personal.
Sixteen-year-old Raquel Robinson said, "I think Picasso's one of the better ones because you have to think about his paintings harder."
Seven-year-old Alexis Halladay said, "I thought it was awesome and it was really good, and I liked the paintings."
Those who work at the museum say they are most excited about the number of students who have come to see the masterworks. Children as young as 5 years old are going home and telling their parents, "I can draw as well as Claude Monet."
The children are taken with the art, and they are teaching their parents.
Ten-year-old Jayci Black said, "I thought it would be really cool to see the original paintings by really famous artists, and I liked it a lot."
Jayci's mother, Erin Black, said, "I actually came last week, and I was so moved that I could barely breathe. It was such an amazing experience. So I thought immediately, 'I've got to bring my girls.'"
Eight-year-old Libby Black said, "I liked all the sculptures and how they did it."
And 14-year-old Tessa Black said she liked, "..the bright colors and stuff, and how you can actually see the brush strokes coming out. So it was really cool."
The paintings and sculptures will leave Utah in days, but the museum's managers say after this success, stay tuned because there will be more.
The exhibit is sold out for the remainder of its stay through Sunday.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
