Adoring the Art of London

Present day London is blossoming with the fine arts. The English capital's incredible abundance of art shows, galleries, museums, exhibitions and events runs nearly year long, flourishing since this past October, with a schedule that goes through next June at least. In addition to the usual places so familiar to visitors, like the National Gallery, the British Museum, the Courtauld Gallery, a plethora of art displays are budding all over the cityscape.

Maman, the 30-foot bronze spider by the 95 year old American artist, Louise Bourgeios, stands near the Tate Modern, neatly framing St. Paul's Cathedral across the Thames. Her works will be shown until January 20, 2008. At Kew Gardens, against a backdrop of fall foliage, you can see 28 of Henry Moore's large-scale sculptures in the biggest outdoor exhibition of his work ever held in the UK. At the Royal Academy, "An American's Passion for British Art" is open through January 28, 2008. The collection, given to the Yale Center for British Art, consists of 150 items including paintings by Reynolds, Gainsborough, Constable and Turner.