Timken Museum of Art

Timken Museum of Art Entrance

The Timken Museum of Art greats its guests with the words everyone wants to hear: “It’s free!” 

Everyone loves free things, but the relief of not paying is more significant to some than others. Walking through the Timken allowed me to examine some privileges I’ve had in my life and understand just how significant it is to have a museum that is free but extensive.

As I strolled through the galleries, I was taken back to my golden college years and was reminded of my art history courses and the trips I took while studying abroad. Luca Carlevarijs’s The Piazzetta at Venice transported me back to St. Mark’s Square when I went with my brother drinking cafés and getting lost in the narrow Venetian roads. These paintings transported me through time and space as my mind traveled from San Diego in 2019 all my European adventures from a variety of previous years. I had been given a free ticket through memory lane!

The Piazzetta at Venice (1700) Luca Carlevarijs

However, I began to think about how many people could not be transported back to their exploring days because they’ve never been able to travel. Traveling is expensive and not everyone is funded for a bourgeois grand tour. While schooling can get students as close as possible to the art and the buildings and the culture of different places, the experience is different when done in person. Art creates an energy which enables people to have new experiences. A museum like the Timken is crucial because it invites people who cannot spend a lot of money to have the experience of travel. 

Have you ever been to the Wallace Collection in London? It has Jean-Honoré Fragonard’s famous painting The Swing done in the rococo style. It’s alright if you have not seen it because the Timken can offer you something similar and by the same artist nonetheless: Blindman’s Buff.  You might not have been to Versailles either but now you have a better idea of the art that lined its walls during the reign of King Louis XIV. Have you every been to a church in Russia? I haven’t either! But the Timken offered part of a 15th century orthodox church’s iconostasis and explained the identity of the figures from the saints to the archangels. It was almost better than seeing the church in person but it was labeled this time so you actually knew what you were seeing. The list goes on for places you can metaphorically visit as the Timken can boast galleries of Dutch/Flemish, French, Italian, Russian, and American art.

The Swing (1767) Jean-Honoré Fragonard                Blindman's Buff (1775) Jean-Honoré Fragonard

Certainly, a painting of Italy is no substitute for the actual place, but something is better than nothing. In an age where money is tight and art programs are being defunded in schools all around the United States, having easy access to art is more crucial now than ever. This small gesture of the Timken being free may seem insignificant, but the price is put in perspective when one considers that the art museum right next door in Balboa Park charges $15 for admission. Despite the price, there is no difference in the quality as both museums house works by art giants like Goya and van Eyck! 

Art and travel are not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is terrible if money acts as the main inhibitor for some people to engage with these topics. There is no easy fix, but free and extensive museums like the Timken make some of the wonders of the world just a little bit more accessible to all. 

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