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Van Gogh Sort-of Up Close

The Van Gogh show at the Philadelphia Museum of Art is great. So are the Sunday crowds.

The Philadelphia Museum of Art's "Van Gogh Up Close" is a terrific show.

Alas, so are the crowds, especially on Sundays. Turns out lots of people had the same great idea on a bitterly cold February afternoon.

The result is "Van Gogh Kind of Up Close," though it's wonderful to see the museum that packed, and with all ages.  Here's the Inquirer's Stephan Salisbury's smart piece on the continuing allure of the tortured artist.

The museum also has kind of a "Downton Abbey" vibe with the terrific Zoe Strauss photo exhibit on the ground floor attracting a sort of hipper, less well-heeled crowd than the vibrant Van Goghs upstairs. The Dutch painter made nothing in his lifetime -- selling one painting and utterly dependent on his brother, Theo -- but his paintings have since become among the most expensive works in the world.

Will try to make a return trip on a work day when the crowds must be smaller.

Which reminds me, when you think of visiting Washington, D.C. monuments or Mt. Vernon next Monday -- as we did a few Presidents Days ago -- you will not be the only person with that idea, either.

---Karen Heller