Mrs. Warren's Profession - Photos Added

 Doug arranged that we go into London to meet a friend of his and go to the theater.  We were able to go to the National Portrait Gallery and the National Gallery after getting the tickets - there's a half-price booth in the area - and before the play.

  Both galleries had no photo rules, but we're headed off to Kent soon, so I don' t have time to do the photos I did take. [photos added later]

My impressions of London as a chaotic jumble of monumental buildings with lots of walkways in-between and millions of walkers using them was reinforced.  All these pictures were taken within 1/4 mile or less of each other.


The portrait gallery [left] had some interesting new stuff - including computer generated portraits that were not static and one artist made a bust of his head using various materials including his own blood which is kept in a temperature controlled glass box. There was also an exhibit of Indian Portraits from 1560 - 1860, .  From their website:

"This outstanding exhibition, the first of its kind in the UK, tells the story of the Indian portrait over three centuries, exploring the fascinating ways in which Indian artists have approached the depiction of the human form and the changing role of portraiture in Indian history. Bringing together 60 stunning works from international collections, the exhibition will celebrate the beauty, power and humanity of these works of art."

Then we walked out - across the street was St. Martin's in the Field and then around the corner was Trafalgar Square.

The national museum, which looks out onto Trafalgar Square,  had room after elegant room of paintings of Christ at different ages (mostly babies or on the cross) by artists of different times and different European traditions.


As you can see from the banner, the National Gallery has free admission, as did the National Portrait Gallery, and the British museum.  They only charge for some special exhibits.  The Smithsonian in Washington DC is all free as well.  In Berlin, there was an admission fee for all the museums. 

 Here's Trafalgar Square from the steps of the National Gallery as we came out. 

The play, a George Bernard Shaw classic written in 1894, was well acted, but not terribly exciting.  I did like being in a theater where no mics were used.  The story - a young woman who barely knows her mother finds out the source of the income that has paid for her upbringing and education - still has observations of society that are relevant, but I thought the daughter's reaction to be the most dated.  Also, the daughter, Miss Warren, was the actress who did not project her voice as well as the other actors.

Peter Brown  gives a useful review and his conclusion is close to mine:

Watchable and interesting from a historical perspective, and brave for its time, our views about morality have changed significantly, making 'Mrs Warren's Profession' seem rather tame and quaint.